Capitalism = Mental Illness = Profits

by Richard MellorAfscme local 444, retiredAmerica is not known as a human friendly society.   It is money friendly, but that doesn’t mean human friendly. It is an extremely fast paced society that will leave you behind very quickly.  It doesn’t matter if you are a war hero, a Vietnam veteran, have worked steadily all your life contributing to the wealth of society---if you have no money in this country, you’re on your own baby,A...

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Syria's future uncertain as the Great Game is played out

It is hard from the outside to determine with any certainty what will happen in Syria as the nation state begins to unravel and as the great powers jockey for position.  Although some socialists do support the opposition and some support the regime, it seems to me that socialists cannot support either side in this conflict.  In the absence, or what seems to be the absence of the organized working class to any extent, either further destabalization...

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What Needs to be Added to My SF Chron op ed piece on BART struggle

by Jack Gerson!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;...

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Global capitalism: The global search for value

by Michael RobertsIn my view, we are now in a Long Depression, centred in the advanced capitalist economies but also affecting the emerging capitalist economies.  The latter do better because they still have ample supplies of cheap labour available to exploit (well, at least some larger emerging economies do).   So absolute surplus value can be increased without Marx’s law of profitability applying too strongly.  What do...

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Mos Def's principled act in support of Guantanamo inmates' cruel treatment

A lot of you may have seen this already but it is Mos Def who agreed to have himself force fed as the hunger strikers in Guantanamo Bay concentration camp are twice a day. The hunger strike doesn't receive the mass media coverage it should in the US as controlled and censored as US media is. You have to hand it to him for his commitment to justice....

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Marxist Economics: Heinrich: a small rejoinder

by Michael RobertsThe debate in the comments section of this blog over the proper response to the misrepresentation by Michael Heinrich of Marx’s law of the tendency of the rate of profit to fall has got lively (see my previous posts, http://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/returning-to-heinrich/ and http://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/returning-to-heinrich/).  Some of the best Marxist economists in the world (Kliman,...

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A BART Strike can be won with other unions and the communities and usher in a new era.

The power of labor. Let's put it to good useby Richard MellorAfscme local 444, retired "Negotiations are a euphemism for capitulation if the shadow of power is not cast across the bargaining table." George Schultz I went to a meeting at the ATU hall a couple of nights ago.  It was a meeting called by ATU local 1555 for the purpose of building solidarity between unions and the community as the 30- day cooling off period that halted the...

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Police murders and militarization of US society a threat to all workers

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