Portside

The future of the left

We need to change the focus - to focus on public health, public education, the end of precarious work, the green shift in the economy and of course to work for peace. If the women’s movement today does not have a position on this, it is not relevant.

The wars behind the breakup of Ygoslavia left hundreds of thousands of victims. Tribunals have blamed only local criminals, but not international ones—as they probably never will. Because here too, the truth was the first victim of the internal war.

Written two years ago, over the controversy created by inviting Steven Bannon to "discuss fascism" at a public forum, the conclusions of this article are relevant for today, with the coup of January 6 and the pardon of Bannon by Donald Trump.

Reader Comments: Trumpcare: What happens when - Play-by-Play from Planned Parenthood; Attempt to Outlaw BDS; Trump's Voter Fraud "Bait & Switch"; Clancy Sigal; Spicer bails; Globalization; If Capitalism Failed (we wish) - Greek workers find solution; Rosa Luxemburg; Yugoslavia's Socialism; Venezuela; Net Neutrality and Herbert Marcuse; High Noon remembered; New Website - What has the CFPB done in your state?

Yugoslavia’s “self-managed” socialism appeared to be a real alternative to the Soviet model. Why did it collapse so suddenly?

Previously Portside published Michael Brie's, The Tragedy of Party Communism and responses from three socialist activists - what lessons there may be to draw on, and which to forget. Here are additional responses from Nina Udovicki, Gilberto de Leon, Dynamite Hallinan and Scott Tucker. Those responding see capitalism as a system that needs to be abolished and socialism as an alternative - A socialism that is different from the past, and democratic.