Global Crisis

THE GLOBAL CRISIS: RETHINKING ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

December 3–5 2010

Part of 3CT’s Economy and Society Series

• Friday, December 3, 2010
• 8:45–9:30 Breakfast & Introductory Remarks
• 9:30–12:30Panel No. 1: Understanding the Crisis Historically

• Chair: William Sewell
• David Harvey
• Duncan Foley
• Beverly Silver
• Immanuel Wallerstein
• Discussant: Moishe Postone

• 12:30–1:30 Lunch
• 1:30–4:00 Panel No. 2: The Crisis and the Global South
• Chair: Lisa Wedeen
• Vivek Chibber
• Ho-fung Hung
• Claudio Lomnitz
• Achille Mbembe
• Discussant: John Comaroff

• Saturday, December 4, 2010
• 9:00–9:30 Breakfast & Introductory Remarks
• 9:30–11:45 Panel No. 3: The Financialization of Economic Life
• Chair: Paul Cheney
• James Galbraith
• Benjamin Lee/Edward LiPuma
• Greta Krippner
• Discussant: Gary Herrigel

• 11:45–12:45 Lunch

• 12:45–3:00 Panel No. 4: Neo-liberalism as Ideology and as Policy
• Chair: Jean Comaroff
• Neil Brenner/Jamie Peck/Nik Theodore
• Peter Evans/Bill Sewell
• Saskia Sassen
• Discussant: James Sparrow

• 3:00–3:15 Coffee Break

• 3:15–5:30 Panel No. 5: Unsettled Practices: Work and Expert Knowledge
• Chair: TBA
• Michael Hardt
• Richard Sennett
• Kaushik Sunder Rajan
• Discussant: Andreas Glaeser

• Sunday, December 5, 2010

• 10:00–12:30 Roundtable: Paths to the Future

This conference has been co-sponsored by the Franke Institute for the Humanities, the Norman Wait Harris Fund, the History Department, the Anthropology Department, the Nicholson Center, the Social Sciences Division and the Political Science Department. For further information, please contact Anwen Tormey (amtormey@uchicago.edu)

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UNION FOR RADICAL POLITICAL ECONOMICS – CONFERENCE LINKS AND VIDEOS

This is a tremendous site: the URPE Conference site – with loads of links and videos relating to the Conference Program.

See: http://www.urpe.org/conf/brooklyn/brookprog.html

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

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Marx

 

LONDON SEMINAR ON CONTEMPORARY MARXIST THEORY

The global economic and financial crisis has witnessed a deepening of interest in different forms of critical and radical thought and practice. This seminar will explore the new perspectives that have been opened up by interventions of contemporary Marxist theory in this political and theoretical conjuncture. It involves collaboration among Marxist scholars based in several London universities, including Brunel University, King’s College London, and the School of Oriental and African Studies. Guest speakers – from both Britain and abroad – will include a wide range of thinkers engaging with many different elements of the various Marxist traditions, as well as with diverse problems and topics. The aim of the seminar is to promote fruitful debate and to contribute to the development of more robust Marxist 
analysis. It is open to all.

Autumn Term Programme

9th November, 5pm
King’s College London, Strand Campus, S-1.04, Raked Lecture Theatre
Massimiliano Tomba (University of Padua)
The Historical Materialist at work: Re-reading “The Eighteenth Brumaire”

15th December, 5pm
King’s College London, Strand Campus, K.3.11 Raked Lecture Theatre
Peter D. Thomas (Brunel University)
Contours of Contemporary Western Marxism

The schedule for 2011 will be made available at a later date. Speakers will include David Leopold (Oxford), Esther Leslie (Birkbeck), Stathis Kouvelakis (King’s) and Alberto Toscano (Goldsmiths).

For further information, please contact: Alex Callinicos, European Studies, King’s: alex.callinicos@kcl.ac.uk Stathis Kouvelakis, European Studies, King’s: stathis.kouvelakis@kcl.ac.uk Costas Lapavitsas, Economics, SOAS: cl5@soas.ac.uk Peter Thomas, Politics and History, Brunel: PeterD.Thomas@brunel.ac.uk

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Economic Crisis

ECONOMISTS OF TOMORROW

13th Conference of the Association for Heterodox Economics

Call for Papers

6-9 July 2011
University of Trent Nottingham, UK

The Thirteenth Annual Conference of the Association for Heterodox Economics (AHE) will be held at Nottingham Trent University, UK from 6-9 July 2011.

In more than ten years the AHE has established a reputation as a major national and international forum for the discussion of alternatives to mainstream economics, and for the interdisciplinary and pluralistic nature of its discussions. It is also plays an ongoing role in strengthening the community of heterodox economists, and to the development of heterodox economic theories on various themes through the dissemination of ideas and arguments.

The esteem of the economics profession has reached an all-time low, in the wake of the global financial crisis that most economists failed to predict. In this context we have a particularly important role to play as heterodox economists, many of whom were well aware that the crisis was imminent and who also have a range of proposals for new stable and sustainable economic and social structures.

For 2011 the AHE Conference theme is Economists of Tomorrow. This reflects the fact that, the world over, we are focused on challenging the hegemonic domination of our profession by just one approach embedded in mainstream economics, the neoclassical approach. The clear failure of neoclassical economics to predict, explain or find solutions to the global financial and economic crises makes it vulnerable. It is our intention is to use this opportunity to further expand and strengthen the case for pluralism within the economics profession.

Particular topics of interest under this over-arching theme include: addressing the power structures of the profession such as the Research Excellence Framework, the Royal Economic Society and the ABS ranking of economics journals; pluralism in research and teaching; research evaluation; openness to innovation and creativity; and the relationships between economists and decision-makers. The 2011 Conference will have both refereed and non-refereed papers. All paper proposals should indicate whether the paper is intended to be refereed or not.

A feature of the AHE is as a pluralist forum for dialogue. 
Consequently, the conference will also provide a broad pluralistic and interdisciplinary forum to discuss issues that members of the AHE and others feel are important. To gain an idea of the sorts of topics and issues that may be of interest to participants please see the details of the AHE conference 2010 at http://eitherwww.hetecon.org or http://www.open.ac.uk/socialsciences/hetecon/conference/2010/

The international character of the conference has been a vital factor in its growing success. Scholars requiring documentation in support of visa or funding applications should indicate this at the time of submitting an abstract or panel proposal. Conference registration fees, all transportation and accommodation costs are at the expense of participants. Nevertheless, the AHE Conference Steering Committee is able to allocate some limited funding to assist participants from outside the US and European Union whose proposal is accepted. If you wish to apply for help with your conference costs please contact the organising committee (AHEConference@ntu.ac.uk).

The conference language is English.

Details regarding submission and registration

The conference invites submissions for single papers, panels and sessions of relevance to the over-arching conference theme or address topics or issues of importance to heterodox economics from standpoints which differ from, or critically examine, mainstream economics.

To facilitate dialogue and timetabling, participants whose papers are accepted must register by Sunday 12 June 2011. All participants will be expected to take part in at least two full days of the conference, in order to be included in the final programme. Participants should also be prepared to serve as discussants and/or session chairs. 

Further registration details will be announced later.

Single papers
All participants including those proposed for sessions and themes must submit an abstract to the conference website at http://www.hetecon.org. The abstract, which must be no longer than one page, should include a brief informative title, a clear statement of the issue the proposed paper will address, its main points, and its argument. Your abstract must state if you wish your paper to be considered for a theme and if you require it to be refereed. You must provide contact and affiliation details for all authors. If your paper is submitted in the name of more than one author, please indicate who will receive correspondence. The authors of successful abstracts will be notified and must provide a complete paper, unless the proposal is to be taken in a poster session, by the deadline for papers (see below). Both papers and abstracts must either be in Word or PDF format.

Complete sessions
The AHE welcomes proposals for complete single sessions and encourages those which address a single topic or issue from a variety of viewpoints or disciplines. Session proposals should be sent to AHEconference@ntu.net and should include:
* A short title (no more than 5 words),
* A description of the session which should be no more than one page
* The names of the proposed participants in the session
* An abstract for each paper to be included in the session
* The name and email address of the session organiser.

Themes
We encourage proposals for themes which address a single topic or issue from a variety of viewpoints or disciplines. The conference committee will work with theme organisers, when constructing the conference programme, to construct a coherent list of sessions for the theme, and schedule these so that participants can follow the theme. 

Theme proposals should be sent to AHEConference@ntu.net and should include:
* A short title (no more than 5 words),
* A short description of the type of paper that would be suitable for inclusion in the theme, and
* The name and email address(es) of the theme organiser(s).

Themes, once agreed by the conference committee, will be posted on the website along with contact details for theme organisers up until the closing date for papers. When submitting paper proposals, authors will be invited to indicate for which theme, if any, they consider it suitable. Theme organisers will be asked to consider all such submissions for inclusion.

Poster sessions
Poster sessions are intended to encourage new work by postgraduate or postdoctoral students, will depend on the number of submissions, and will be announced nearer the date of conference. If you wish your paper to be presented in a poster session, you need not provide a complete paper.

Deadlines

Proposal for panels are to be submitted by Sunday 14 November 2011.
Proposals for sessions are to be submitted by Sunday 30 January 2011.
Abstracts for all papers—to be included in a panel, theme or general conference session, and poster sessions—are to be submitted by Sunday 30 January 2011.

The AHE Committee will consider all proposals and abstracts and will notify you of the acceptance or rejection of your proposal.

Panel proposals will be notified by Monday 29 November 2011.
Session proposals will be notified by Monday 14 February 2011.
Paper proposals will be notified by Monday 14 February 2011.

Refereed papers are to be submitted by Sunday 15 May 2011.
Non-refereed papers are to be submitted by Sunday 29 May 2011.

Those submitting refereed and non-refereed papers must register, for a minimum of two days of the conference, by Sunday 12th June 2011. 
Registration details will be announced later.

All proposals, abstracts and papers are to be submitted via the AHE website: http://www.hetecon.org

All queries relating to the conference, but not concerning the submission of proposals or papers, should be addressed to: Bruce Philp (AHEConference@ntu.ac.uk).

To keep up to date with the 2011 conference and other AHE activities, subscribe to the AHE-ANNOUNCE mailing list (http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=AHE-ANNOUNCE) and visit http://www.open.ac.uk/socialsciences/hetecon/conference/2010/ or http://www.hetecon.org. Earlier conferences can also be found at http://www.hetecon.com
 
END

‘I believe in the afterlife.

It starts tomorrow,

When I go to work’

Cold Hands & Quarter Moon, ‘Human Herbs’ at: http://www.myspace.com/coldhandsmusic (recording) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h7tUq0HjIk (live)

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Karl Marx

JOHN WEEKS RECORDING, CAPITAL VOLUME II AND MORE: KING’S COLLEGE LONDON READING CAPITAL SOCIETY

King’s College London Reading Capital Society

October 14th 2010
- – -
http://www.kclreadingcapital.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49539959005
- – -
1) John Weeks Recording:

Around 70-80 people came to King’s last Monday evening for John Weeks’ very interesting talk on ‘Capital, Exploitation and Economic Crises’. For those who weren’t able to come, there is a recording of the talk
here: http://rapidshare.com/files/424492618/JohnWeeks_11Oct2010.mp3

A copy of John’s PowerPoint presentation will also be available soon on http://kclreadingcapital.blogspot.com

- – -

2) Volume II of Capital:

The Reading Group continues this year with Volume II of Marx’s Capital. Although, as Engels pointed out, Volume II does not contain ‘much material for agitation’, in describing the process by which the total social capital is reproduced and circulated, it occupies a crucial place in Marx’s analysis of the capitalist mode of production. Volume II, centred around the market-place, explains not how value and surplus-value are produced, but how they are realised.

For our first session, Nicholas Beech, a PhD student from UCL, will be presenting a short introduction followed by a discussion on Ernest Mandel’s Introduction to the Penguin edition of Volume II.

Monday 25th October

6pm
Strand Building, Room tbc
King’s College London

N.B. We will be reading the Introduction to Vol.II by Ernest Mandel for this meeting.

Facebook event at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=116271315100098

- – -

3) Reading Marx:

A number of people have expressed an interest in attending one-off sessions around shorter works by Marx, such the Communist Manifesto, the Paris Manuscripts, etc. If you would like to take part in such sessions please contact us on usual email address kclreadingcapital@gmail.com
.
Also if you would like to be put in touch with others interested in reading Volume I of Capital likewise please email.

- – -

Regards,
KCL Reading Capital

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THE SPIRIT OF CAPITAL – WITH MOISHE POSTONE

This message is to announce the Tenth Annual Graduate Student Conference in Philosophy at the New School For Social Research entitled “The Spirit of Capital: A Conference on Hegel and Marx“

Date: April 28-29, 2011
Paper Submission Deadline: Dec 1st, 2010
Keynote Speaker: Moishe Postone (University of Chicago)

Submission Guidelines:

Papers ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 words should be submitted in blind review format via spiritofcapital@gmail.com and should include the following in the body of the email:

i. Author’s name

ii. Title of Paper

iii. Institutional affiliation

iv. Contact information (email, phone number, mailing address)
Please omit any self-identifying information within the body of the paper.

PLEASE POST, FORWARD AND CIRCULATE WIDELY

Sincerely,

Graduate Conference Committee 2010-2011, The New School for Social Research, spiritofcapital@gmail.com

THE SPIRIT OF CAPITAL: A CONFERENCE ON HEGEL AND MARX

THE TENTH ANNUAL GRADUATE STUDENT CONFERENCE IN PHILOSOPHY

AT THE NEW SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: MOISHE POSTONE

APRIL 28TH -29TH, 2011

“It is impossible completely to understand Marx’s Capital, and especially its first chapter, without having thoroughly studied and understood the whole of Hegel’s Logic. Consequently, half a century later none of the Marxists understood Marx!!” wrote Lenin in 1915. In 1969, Althusser responded, “A century and a half later no one has understood Hegel because it is impossible to understand Hegel without having thoroughly studied and understood Capital.” What are we to make of this challenge today? Are we now ready to understand Hegel through Marx, and Marx through Hegel?

It is high time for a reassessment of the core stakes of the Marx-Hegel debate. What would it mean to think the concepts of capital and spirit together? This conference is a place to explore the internal relations between Hegel and Marx’s philosophical projects. Some possible questions include: how does Hegel’s phenomenology, logic, philosophy of nature, history and right internally contain the elements that Marx will use to decipher the world of property, labor, commodities and capital? Is Capital a logical theory of forms or a theory of history? How does Marx negate and realize Hegel’s project? What is the role of labor in Hegel, and the role of spirit in Marx? Does the development of history show the unfolding of freedom or the unfolding of capital?  This conference echoes the early Frankfurt School tradition, with its project for a critique of the social forms of the present. We encourage submissions on a wide range of topics and thinkers:

Possible Themes:

Capital and Spirit

Hegel’s Logic and Marx’s Grundrisse

Property, Alienation, and Class

Form and Content in Hegel and Marx

Concrete and Abstract Labor

Master and Slave

Critique, Dialectic and Method

Time and History

Freedom and Necessity

Substance and Subject in Capital

The Value-Form

Critique of Labor

Revolution and Negation

Materialism and Idealism

Proletarian Self-Abolition

Commodity, Money and Capital

The Philosophy of Right

Possible Thinkers:

I.I. Rubin

Gyorgy Lukacs

Karl Korsch

Ernst Bloch

Walter Benjamin

Alfred Sohn-Rethel

Theodore Adorno

Herbert Marcuse

CLR James

Raya Dunayevskaya

Guy Debord

Alexander Kojeve

Jean Hyppolite

Frantz Fanon

Helmut Reichelt

Hans-Georg Backhaus

Gillian Rose

EMAIL SUBMISSIONS TO: spiritofcapital@gmail.com

SUBMISSION DEADLINE is Dec 1st, 2010

Papers should be sent as word documents or pdfs, not exceeding 5000 words. Personal information including institutional affiliation is to be sent in the body of the email and should not appear on the paper itself or in the file name.

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Economic Crisis

THE ECONOMIC CRISIS AND LEFT RESPONSES

A CONFERENCE CONVENED BY MARXIST-HUMANIST INITIATIVE

Saturday Nov. 6, 2010 – 9 am to 6 pm
Pace University in lower Manhattan, New York City
One Pace Plaza, Multipurpose Room

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS
Brendan Cooney, Walter Daum, Barry Finger, David Harvey, Mac Intosh, Anne Jaclard, Andrew Kliman, Paul Mattick, Jr., Fred Moseley, and Richard Wolff

Chances of a double-dip recession in the U.S. are increasing–if the first recession ever ended. The threat of government-debt defaults in Europe also indicates that the economic crisis of 2007-08 continues to have consequences. The U.S. government’s efforts to prevent another Great Depression have left it saddled with a serious debt problem that could impede efforts to stabilize the economy for a long time to come. The future is especially uncertain, and “the new normal” may prove to be very difficult, economically and politically.

For the Left to be prepared for what may happen and prepared to respond effectively, activity and organization will not be enough. We also need the organization of thought–and that is why we have convened this conference. In order to work out a viable response, one that doesn’t merely react to and support the least-bad proposals offered by policymakers and mainstream thinkers, we need a clear and deep understanding of what has gone wrong with capitalism, and of the limits and pitfalls of proposed reforms. And we cannot take for granted that more progressive policies would in fact bring capitalism out of the crisis and restore jobs, economic growth, and stability. Wide-ranging dialogue on these topics is needed, not only so that all views can be heard but, above all, so that we can test different ideas in debate and work out answers to the questions we face.

SPONSORS:

Pace University’s Center for Community Action & Research and Economics Department (Pace-Pleasantville campus), the Committee for a Conference on the Economic Crisis, Marxist-Humanist Initiative, League for the Revolutionary Party, Internationalist Perspective, and The New SPACE.

PRE-REGISTRATION:
Pre-registration is required due to limited seating. To register,
please go to the Crisis Conference page of MHI’s website

http://www.marxisthumanistinitiative.org/news/116-conference-on-the-economic-crisis-left-responses.html

The registration fee is $20; $10 for students and low income individuals. The conference is free for Pace University students, faculty, and staff with valid ID. Registrants must check in by 9:15 a.m. The conference will start promptly at 9:30 am in the Multipurpose Room at 1 Pace Plaza.

DIRECTIONS TO THE CONFERENCE
http://web.pace.edu/page.cfm?doc_id=16157

CONFERENCE WEBSITE
http://econcrisisconference.wordpress.com

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Capitalism in Crisis

WORLD ASSOCIATION FOR POLITICAL ECONOMY

Call for Papers

Responses to Capitalist Crisis: Neoliberalism and Beyond

The Sixth Forum of the World Association for Political Economy
May 27-29, 2011, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA, USA

Topics for the Sixth WAPE Forum
1. Class analysis of the responses to the financial and economic crisis.
2. Is neoliberalism on the way out or will it survive the economic crisis? What might replace it?
3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the revived Keynesian economics?
4. What problems are posed by the rising national debt in many countries?
5. The prospects for major institutional and regulatory reform in the global economy and in various countries.
6. Class analysis of the growth of right-wing movements in response to the economic crisis.
7. Lessons from the history of past capitalist crises for the current situation.
8. The problems of, and opportunities for, building socialism in the midst of capitalist crisis.
9. Can the euro survive the current economic crisis?
10. The danger that tensions among states due to the economic crisis may lead to serious conflict.

Proposals for both individual papers and complete sessions are welcome.

Please send your application, including curriculum vitae and a paper abstract of 500 words (in Chinese or English), to Professor Xiaoqin Ding at wape2006@gmail.com.

Deadline for applications: January 15, 2011.
Applicants will be notified about acceptance of their paper by February 15, 2011.
Papers (in Chinese or English), of up to 6,000 words, will be due by March 31, 2011.

· Official Languages of the Forum: Chinese and English
At registration each participant will receive copies of all accepted papers that were submitted by March 31, either in Chinese or in English.

· Schedule
1. Registration on May 27, 2011.
2. Official program on May 28 through May 29, 2011.
· Hotel Accommodations
Individuals will be able to reserve hotel rooms at the University of Massachusetts Campus Center Hotel or at nearby hotels. Information about reserving a hotel room will be available later.

Marxian economists from all over the world are welcome to attend the forum whether or not they will present a paper. The WAPE Forums aim to encourage cooperation among Marxian economists and to enlarge and strengthen the influence of Marxian economics in the world.

· WAPE. The World Association for Political Economy, registered in Hong Kong, China, is an international academic organization founded in 2006 by Marxian economists and related groups around the world. The mission of WAPE is to utilize modern Marxian economics to analyze and study the world economy, reveal its laws of development, and offer policies to promote economic and social progress on the national and global level. The first five WAPE forums were held in Shanghai, Shimane (Japan), Beijing, Paris, and Suzhou (China) during 2006-2010. Participants in past WAPE forums have come from X countries in Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America.

· WRPE. The World Review of Political Economy is a new peer-reviewed quarterly journal of Marxian Political Economy sponsored by WAPE and published by Pluto Press. For more information about WRPE, including types of submissions that will be considered, go to http://www.wrpe.org
· WAPE Award. The Distinguished Achievement Award of World Political Economy of the 21st Century, established by WAPE, has been granted annually since 2009. It is intended to promote research in modern political economy around the world by granting the award to economists who have made important innovations in the theory or methodology of political economy since the year of 2001. The 2011 WAPE Award will be granted at the opening ceremony of the Sixth WAPE Forum. Nominations and applications can be sent to wape2006@gmail.com.

More information can be found on the WAPE website at http://www.wrpe.org

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

David Harvey on Capitalism Today from Herr Naphta on Vimeo.

Thanks to Antonovich from the Lenin’s Tomb comments for originally ripping it.

Capitalist Crisis

CRISIS OF CAPITALISM

Rethinking Marxism: A journal of economics, culture & society

Vol. 22 No. 2
APRIL 2010

http://www.rethinkingmarxism.org

IN THIS ISSUE:

Editors’ Introduction (Full Text)

SYMPOSIUM: CRISIS OF CAPITALISM

The Economic Crisis: A Marxian Interpretation - Stephen Resnick & Richard Wolff
Like most capitalist crises, today’s challenges economists, journalists, and politicians to explain and to overcome it. The post-1930s struggles between neoclassical and Keynesian economics are rejoined. We show that both proved inadequate to preventing crises and served rather to enable and justify (as “solutions” for crises) what were merely oscillations between two forms of capitalism differentiated according to greater or lesser state economic interventions. Our Marxian economic analysis here proceeds differently. We demonstrate how concrete aspects of U.S. economic history (especially real wage, productivity, and personal indebtedness trends) culminated in this deep and enduring crisis. We offer both a class-based critique of and an alternative to neoclassical and Keynesian analyses, including an alternative solution to capitalist crises.

What’s in It for Us? Rethinking the Financial Crisis - Randy Martin
In the aftermath of the financial meltdown, much attention has been given to capital’s crisis. For labor, the crisis augurs more than loss of home, job, or further deterioration of social infrastructure. The evident failure of financial knowledge has wider implications for the purported sovereignty of the professional managerial class in what has been called a knowledge society. Knowledge production has been subordinated to capital yet yielded no mastery of its conditions. Rather, the mutual indebtedness that is a feature of the crisis references an underlying socialization of risk and the work that goes into making it that should properly be the basis for a re-enchantment of socialism.

The Bull-of-Last-Resort: How the U.S. Economy Capitalizes on Nationalism – David Brennan
The dramatic purchase of corporate equities by the U.S. government in 2008 marks a distinct change in the way crises are handled. While many fear that this represents a move toward socialism, others look forward to the progressive possibilities. This paper argues that the policy of massively purchasing stocks is an attempt to provide support for equity values when no other bull could be found. This policy was used because high share values provide important class conditions of existence for capitalist exploitation today. As a consequence, the move to “nationalize” is viewed here as an attempt to protect the capitalist status quo. In this regard, the goals of current government policy are no different from past interventions.

The Green Economy: Grounds for a New Revolutionary Imaginary? – Boone Shear
In this essay I report on and briefly consider the composition, goals, and practices of some social actors in the green economy movement in Massachusetts, where I live. While cognizant of elite interests and state power that are working to shore up capitalist relations of production, I choose to amplify some of the openings and possibilities for intervention and transformation in the green economy rather than focusing on critique or (the very real) possibilities of cooptation and complicity. In doing so I hope to underscore the importance of the following questions: What new discursive formations are emerging from green economic imaginings? How are discourses constructed and contested and what new subjects are being produced in relation to a green social imaginary? Under what conditions are non-capitalist desires being created? What are the possibilities for a new left historical bloc?

2008: A New Chapter for U.S. Imperialism – Antonio Callari
This essay argues that the current economic crisis normalizes a transformation of the U.S. imperialist structure of surplus “accumulation.” Whereas the prior form of imperialism worked to create the conditions for surplus value production within the United States, the new imperialism works to channel globally produced surplus back to it. And whereas the prior form of imperialism was characterized by relatively high labor-power values in the United States, the new imperialism is characterized by a lowering of the value of labor power. The current economic crisis works to normalize this lowering of the value of labor power in the United States. It is this lowering of the value of labor power that sets the conditions for class struggle over the foreseeable future and thus the terms for Marxian theoretical and political work.

Mortgage Stakeholders, 2008 – Damon Rich & Larissa Harris
Red Lines Housing Crisis Learning Center is an exhibition developed between 2006 and 2008 at MIT’s Center for Advanced Visual Studies by artist and designer Damon Rich. An idiosyncratic history of American home finance realized in outsized objects, models, photographs, found artifacts, text, and video documents, the exhibition opened at MIT in September 2008 in the midst of the global crisis spurred by some of its subject matter, and travelled to the Queens Museum of Art in Spring 2009. As in his work with the education non-profit Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP), which he founded in 1997, Rich,who was trained as an architect and works as an urban designer, asked a question about the built environment–in this case, how is it paid for?–in order to tell a story about race, class, private capital, and public power in the United States.

Betting the House – Anette Baldauf
Since spring 2008, an unprecedented housing crisis has left the front yards of U.S. single-family homes littered with “For Sale” signs, foreclosure notices, and dead flowers. The crisis has emptied out entire neighborhoods in Florida, California, Arizona, and Nevada, destroying years of sustained community building. What is happening in the United States of America? How is it that mostly ethnic minorities and women are stripped of their minimal savings, and why is such a vast rip-off possible? If so many Americans are now dispossessed, relocated to shantytowns, or worse, dumped onto the street, why aren’t they marching on Wall Street? And, finally, are Marxist theorists able to make sense of this tragedy?

As the World Turns: Globalization, Consumption, and the Feminization of Work – Drucilla K. Barker and Susan F. Feiner
It is widely argued that global imbalances are the cause of the financial crisis. Political imbalance (the United States as dominant world force) mirrors economic imbalance (the debt-financed consumption sprees of the past three decades). There is, however, a missing (third) term—gender, which is constitutive of the economy both discursively and materially. Gender, in this sense, is a governing code that feminizes women as well as economically, racially, and culturally marginalized men. The feminization of labor made the consumption patterns of the elite possible and naturalized the type of hegemonic masculinity that characterized the international finance system.

Collaborators in Crisis - Harriet Fraad
This article explores the roots of U.S. passivity as the recent economic crisis loots American lives. It looks at four collaborators in this crisis. One is the recent capitalist economic breakdown. A second is the end of traditional gender roles and marriage. A third is the fall in participation in collectives of almost all kinds. The fourth is the anesthetizing of Americans with psychotropic drugs. I also explore ways to reactivate Americans.

Tragedy and Farce in the Second Great Depression: A Marxian Look at the Panic of 2008 and its Aftermath – Asatar Bair

Capitalism in Crisis

In this essay I recount some of the farcical things that were said about the economic prospects of the United States at the end of the great housing boom and the peak of the stock market in 2007; then I turn to a discussion of the causes of the Panic of 2008, examining the relation between productive and unproductive labor in the economy. I discuss the explanations according to which the Panic and subsequent Second Great Depression are blamed on neoliberal ideology. I critically examine the call for a Keynesian solution of government regulation and stimulus, counterposing it to a Marxian strategy of class transformation.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

Beyond Equality
David M. Bholat
My paper explores the character of Marx’s critique of equality as an ideal and the salience this critique has for progressives today. I suggest a reading of Marx different from the standard Marxist critique of liberalism as an emancipatory but unrealized set of ideals whose primary function in capitalist society is to conceal its conditions of inequality and unfreedom. Rather, I argue that Marx gestures at the limitations of liberal ideals, and shows why they are logically compatible with capital. This means that progressives are tasked with transcending, rather than merely appropriating, ideals such as freedom and equality.

REMARX

Task of the Dreamer
Marc Kaminsky
The incidents in this short story are refracted through the shattered sensorium of a traumatized but ethically intact survivor of the Holocaust. His narrative kaleidoscopically reconfigures horror and everyday life, nightmare and history, the gates of a Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Poland and a checkpoint at the border between Israel and Palestine during the First Intifada. His act of witness defends the specificity of the human being, the other, in the face of the reasons of state and the abstractions of ideology.

REVIEW

Marx is Back: The Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe (MEGA) Project
Marcello Musto
After years of neglect, a definitive edition of Marx’s collected works is once more under way. Included are not only the published works of Marx and Engels, but all known correspondence and numerous notebooks of excerpts that are foundational for understanding the development of Marx’s thought. As a result of this project, a different and less dogmatic Marx emerges.

http://www.rethinkingmarxism.org

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

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The Dialectic

CAPITALISM AND THE DIALECTIC: THE UNO-SEKINE APPROACH TO MARXIAN ECONOMY

JOHN R BELL

Capitalism & the Dialectic introduces the approach pioneered by Japanese economist, Kozo Uno and refined perhaps most dramatically by Thomas Sekine. This approach progressively increases its comprehension of capitalism by moving sequentially through three distinct levels of analysis. In the theory of pure capitalism, Uno and Sekine reproduce the logic that capital and its society-wide market employ in the attempt to reproduce material economic life. By adhering to Marx’s Hegelian dialectical method more consistently than did Marx, they are able to correct and complete Capital and to provide a convincing defence of value theory. The stages theory of capitalism’s historical development recognizes that in any historical society capital must also contend with more intractable use-values than the light cotton-type goods that are contemplated by pure theory (and that did indeed dominate British liberal capitalism). In theorizing each of the stages capitalism (mercantilism, liberalism, imperialism), the Uno-Sekine perspective recognizes that stage-specific economic policies must be advanced to tame use-value to the point that the market can operate effectively to reproduce economic life. Subsequent empirical studies are informed by these two levels of theory. The Uno-Sekine approach does not overlook the possibility that a society might still strive to be capitalist after use-value resistance has become so great that no bourgeois policy can provide the market with sufficient support to allow it to successfully regulate economic life.

Contents

Part 1 Dialectical Theory of Capitalism: Circulation
     1 Commodity,Value, Money and Capital Forms
Part II Dialectical Theory of Capitalism: Production
     2 Capitalist Production
     3 Circulation and Reproduction of Capital
Part III Dialectical Theory of Capitalism: Distribution
     4 Theory of Profit
     5 Business Cycles
     6 Rent, Commercial Credit
     7 Interest-Bearing Capital Closes the Dialectic
Part IV Capitalism and History
     8 Stages Theory of Capitalist Development
     9 Conclusion: Capitalists Beyond Capitalism

“This is a clear introduction to a ground-breaking but little-known approach to Marxian economics: the Uno-Sekine approach. … With this perceptive and thoughtful volume, John Bell renders a great service to the interested Western reader.” — Thomas Sekine, author of An Outline of the Dialectic of Capital (1997)

“Many thinkers have been influenced by the work of Japanese political economist Kozo Uno. Thomas Sekine’s two volume work, An Outline of the Dialectic of Capital, has done the most to reflect and enlarge Uno’s work. John Bell’s book is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the core concepts and principles of this important 
school of thought.” – Robert Albritton, author of Economics Transformed (Pluto Press, 2007)

“Japanese political economist Kozo Uno made major interventions [on important questions of Marxist theory] … but due to language barriers these were passed over. John Bell’s book helps to fill an intellectual gap with an overview of Uno’s compelling reconstruction of Marx ‘s Capital.” – Richard Westra, author of Political Economy and Globalization (2009)

Publication date October 2009
ISBN hardcover 97807745329349
ISBN  paperback 9780745329338
h 9.25″ x 5.87″
Pluto Press   http://www.plutopress.com
Author’s site http://capitalismandthedialectic.com

John R Bell taught for over three decades at Seneca College. He was co-editor of New Socialisms (2004) and is currently working on a book on the subject of socialism. He co-authored, “The Disintegration of Capitalism: A Phase of Post of Ex-Capitalist Transition” with Tom Sekine, whom he is now asisting with the translation of Kozo Uno’s 
Economic Policies Under Capitalism.

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Karl Marx

MARX OR KEYNES OR…?

THE HEYMAN CENTER FOR THE HUMANITIES
Schedule of Events, Spring 2010

Admission to all Heyman Center events is free and open to the public.
Unless noted below, no registration necessary.
Seating is on a first come, first served basis.
For more information, please visit: http://www.heymancenter.org

DAVID HARVEY, PRABHAT PATNAIK, and DUNCAN FOLEY

Discussant: SANJAY REDDY
“Marx or Keynes or…?”

Wednesday, 31 March   6:15pm
Davis Auditorium, the Schapiro Center
Co-sponsored by the Committee on Global Thought 

REGISTRATION REQUIRED:

To register visit http://heymancenter.org/events.php?id=167.
Unclaimed Seats will be released to the public at 6:05pm.

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

MySpace Journal: http://www.myspace.com/glennrikowski

The Ockress : http://www.theockress.com

Here’s a link to one of Alex Callinicos’ best books, The Revolutionary Ideas of Karl Marx

Music:
Red Shadow – In the Lobby
Bob Hill (Fred Hellerman) – Pity the Downtrodden Landlord
Dave Lippmann – I Hate Walmart
Ben Folds – Fred Jones Pt. 2
David Rovics – Strike a Blow Against the Empire
Thievery Corporation – The Richest Man in Babylon (G Corp Dub)
Inti-Illimani – El Pueblo Unido
Albino! – Democracy

Background Music by Charlie Hunter, Bonobo, Frankenstein, Crooklyn Dub Consortium, Ani DiFranco and Utah Phillips, Beatmakin Troopa and others.

Download this episode (right click and save)

Original version broadcast on Thursday, January 7th, 2010 8 PM EST on WXOJ-LP 103.3 FM Valley Free Radio Northampton, MA

Program Length – 59:53

Review of Radical Political Economics

REVIEW OF RADICAL POLITICAL ECONOMICS – VOL.41 NO.4

Review of Radical Political Economics — Table of Contents Alert

A new issue of Review of Radical Political Economics has been made available:

1 December 2009; Vol. 41, No. 4 

URL: http://rrp.sagepub.com/content/vol41/issue4/?etoc

Articles

Introduction: The Political Economy of Financialization
Jonathan P. Goldstein
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009; 41 453-457
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/41/4/453?etoc

Financialization and Marx: Giving Labor and Capital a Financial Makeover, by Dick Bryan, Randy Martin, and Mike Rafferty
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009; 41 458-472
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/41/4/458?etoc

From the Gold Standard to the Floating Dollar Standard: An Appraisal in the Light of Marx’s Theory of Money
Ramaa Vasudevan
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009; 41 473-491
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/41/4/473?etoc

Post-Keynesian Theories of the Firm under Financialization
Thomas Dallery
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009; 41 492-515
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/41/4/492?etoc

Islamic Alternatives to Purely Capitalist Modes of Finance: A Study of Malaysian Banks from 1999 to 2006
Tamer ElGindi, Mona Said, and John William Salevurakis
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009; 41 516-538
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/41/4/516?etoc

Financialization and Changes in the Social Relations along Commodity Chains: The Case of Coffee
Susan A. Newman
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009; 41 539-559
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/41/4/539?etoc

Book Review Essay: Heterodox Crisis Theory and the Current Global Financial Crisis: The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash Charles, R. Morris; New York: Public Affairs, 2008, 194 pp.,$22.95 (hardback). The Credit Crunch: Housing Bubbles, Globalisation, and the Worldwide Economic Crisis, Graham Turner; London and Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press, 2008, 232pp., $27.95 (paperback). The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What it Means, George Soros; New York: Public Affairs, 2008, 162 pp.,$22.95 (hardback). Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism, Kevin Phillips; New York: Penguin Group, 2008, 239 pp., $25.95 (hardback)
Jonathan P. Goldstein
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009; 41 560-569
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/41/4/560?etoc

Book Review: Poverty & Inequality: An End to Poverty? A Historical Debate, Gareth Stedman Jones, New York: Columbia University Press, 2005, 288 pp., $29.50 (hardcover). Inequality Matters: The Growing Economic Divide in America and its Poisonous Consequences, James Lardner and David A. Smith, eds., New York: The New Press, 2006, 328 pp., $16.95 (paperback). The Politics of Inequality: A Political History of the Idea of Economic Inequality in America, Michael J. Thompson, New York: Columbia University Press, 2007, 264 pp., $32.50 (hardcover)
Stephen Pimpare
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009; 41 570-576
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/41/4/570?etoc

Book Review: Poverty, Work, and Freedom: Political Economy and the Moral Order, David P. Levine and S. Abu Turab Rizvi. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 159 pp + bibliography and index. ISBN-13 978-0-521-84826-8 (hardback), ISBN-10 0-521-84826-1; $65 (US) or {pound}40, hardback. (hardback)
Matt Davies
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009; 41 577-581
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/41/4/577?etoc

Book Review: New Departures in Marxian Theory, Stephen A. Resnick & Richard D. Wolff; Routledge, 2006, 418 pp
Ian J. Seda-Irizarry
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009; 41 581-585
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/41/4/581?etoc

Book Review: Multinationals on Trial: Foreign Investment Matters, James Petras and Henry Veltmeyer (2007), Aldershot Hampshire, UK: Ashgate, pp159; Price $89.95
Dennis C. Canterbury
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009; 41 585-589
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/41/4/585?etoc

Book Review: International Migration: Prospects and Policies in a Global Market, Douglas S. Massey and J. Edward Taylor, editors (Oxford University Press, 2004) Worlds in Motion: Understanding International Migration at the End of the Millennium Douglas S, Massey, Joaquin Arango, Graeme Hugo, Ali Kouaou chi, Adela Pellegrino and J. Edward Taylor (Oxford University Press, 1998)
Marcos T. Aguila
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009; 41 589-593
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/41/4/589?etoc

Book Review: Ex Mex: From Migrants to Immigrants, By Jorge G. Castaneda. New York: The New Press, 2007. 222 pp. $25.95 hardback
Mary C. King
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009; 41 593-596
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/41/4/593?etoc

Book Review: Communities Without Borders: Images and Voices from the World of Migration, David Bacon (Forwards by Carlos Munoz Jr. and Douglas Harper), Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press 2006 235pp $29.95. ISBN13 978 0 8014 
7307 4
Richard Leitch
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009; 41 596-599
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/41/4/596?etoc

Book Review: Rethinking Municipal Privatization, By Oliver D. Cooke New York: Routledge, 2008. Hardcover ISBN 10: 0-415-96209-9
Tom Angotti
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009; 41 599-601
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/41/4/599?etoc

Book Review: Solidarity Economy: Building Alternatives for People and 
Planet, Jenna Allard, Carl Davidson, and Julie Matthaei (eds) Chicago, 
ChangeMaker Publications, 2008; 427 pages, 978-0-6151-9489-91 by Len 
Krimerman, GEO Newsletter and Director, Creative Community Building 
Program, University, of Connecticut
Len Krimerman
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009;41 601-603
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/41/4/601?etoc

Book Review: Doubt is Their Product: How Industry’s Assault on Science 
Threatens Your Health, David Michaels, New York, Oxford University Press, 
2008, pp372, ISBN 978-0-19-530067-3
Joan Greenbaum
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009;41 604-605
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/41/4/604?etoc

Book Reviews: Labor-Environmental Coalitions: Lessons from a Louisiana 
Petrochemical Region By Thomas Estabrook. Amityville, NY: Baywood 
Publishing. 2007
J. Timmons Roberts
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009;41 606-607
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/41/4/606?etoc

Book Review: Fair Trade: The Challenges of Transforming Globalization, Edited by Laura T. Raynolds, Douglas L. Murray, and John Wilkinson. London and New York: Routledge, 2007. 240 pp. ISBN: 978-0-415-77203-7. $29.95 
Brewing Justice: Fair Trade Coffee, Sustainability, and Survival, By Daniel Jaffee. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2007. 331 pp. ISBN: 978-0-520-24959-2. $22.95
Noah H. Enelow
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009;41 608-611
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/41/4/608?etoc

Books Received
David Barkin
Review of Radical Political Economics 2009;41 612-618
http://rrp.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/41/4/612?etoc

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

The Ockress: http://www.theockress.com

Andrew Kliman

THE PERSISTENT FALL IN PROFITABILITY UNDERLYING THE CURRENT CRISIS

A message from Andrew Kliman

Dear Colleagues,

I have just posted a first draft of a longish (27,000 word) paper at: http://akliman.squarespace.com/persistent-fall

It’s entitled “The Persistent Fall in Profitability Underlying the Current Crisis: New Temporalist Evidence.”

It looks at the rates of profit of U.S. corporations, 1929-2007, with emphasis on the period since the early 1980s. The accompanying spreadsheet files will be posted at the same location soon, as soon as I can clean them up.

Comments are welcome.

Best,

Andrew

Andrew Kliman
http://akliman.squarespace.com:  “I Ain’t Gonna Work on Piero’s Farm No More”

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Capitalism in Crisis

TOWARDS A MARXIST ANALYSIS OF THE GLOBAL CRISIS

The International Institute for Research and Education: http://www.iire.org

Seminar: Towards A Marxist Analysis of the Global Crisis

On 2-4 October, the IIRE held its first international Economy Seminar on the Global Crisis. Thirty-six participants, economists and non-specialists, from Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America attended the three-day event which was open to activists from different tendencies of the radical left.

The objectives of the seminar were to analyse the nature, characteristics and consequences of the current global economic crisis, from perspectives relevant to social activists, and to fortify the global network of Marxist economists. All talks will be available at the IIRE podcast, which we expect to launch with the next newsletter. For now it is possible to download all the talks in one file (original languages, more than 500MB).

Three main questions guided the various sessions of the weekend. First, what is the nature or cause of the crisis? Second, what are the social, economic and political consequences? Finally, what are the links between the current economic crisis and the global ecological and food crises? A solid look at Keynesianism, Ernest Mandel’s contribution on long waves and economic cycles and a (self-) critical take on discourse and propaganda were activities that peppered the debates.

The seminar kicked off with a well-attended public meeting on the crisis with guest speakers Chris Harman of the SWP in Britain and IIRE fellows Michel Husson of the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies and Claudio Katz of the University of Buenos Aires.

François Chesnais (France) opened the seminar itself with an introduction on the role that the so-called financialisation of the economy had in the global crisis. He stated that the crisis cannot be labelled either financial or financialised. Rather, the current crisis has its roots deep in the process of capital accumulation, which, revealing its contradictions, should lead us to look at the dynamics of productivity, the rate of profit and its distribution. The discussion that followed generated a debate between over-accumulation versus under-consumption as explanations for understanding the crisis.

Ozlem Onaran (Turkey), Claudio Katz (Argentina) and Bruno Jetin (France) presented reports on the conditions of the European, Latin American and Asian economies. The debates paved the way for a deeper understanding on how the crisis is perceived and dealt with in the different regions. Participants concluded that an essential characteristic of the crisis is the lack of de-linking tendencies among countries and continents; on the contrary, the efforts to save capitalism have been concerted and almost unanimous.

Michel Husson (France) and Klaus Engert (Germany) analysed the crisis in the framework of the theory of long waves. According to this theory, elaborated by IIRE founder Ernest Mandel, it is possible to use important endogenous factors, i.e. related to the logic of capital and its internal contradictions, to explain the general fall in accumulation that began during the 1970s and has not yet concluded. This discussion left open the possibility of a new ascending wave of economic growth and capitalist accumulation dependent on such exogenous factors as a radical change of the relationship of forces between the classes. One of the conclusions, therefore, was that another wave of attacks on the working class is most likely on its way.

Eric Toussaint (Belgium) emphasised that there is no automatic link between the fact that the crisis is being paid for by workers and the popular masses, and an increase of social struggles. Political, ideological and organisational factors will also play a role in the development of the struggles.

Esther Vivas (Spain) and Daniel Tanuro (Belgium) brought in a fundamental analytical dimension with their introductions: the economic crisis cannot be observed in isolation from the global ecological and food crises. Vivas presented the causes and structure of the food crisis: the current model of agricultural and livestock production is in a large measure responsible for climate change. Tanuro demonstrated how the official, ruling class responses to climate change are insufficient, unreal, irrational and even put us in more danger. He argued that eco-socialists should push for and end to unnecessary production, the retraining of workers in affected sectors and the development of a new agricultural model instigated by radical anti-capitalist measures.

Overall, the analyses revealed that the crisis is systemic, that those who are paying for it are the popular and working classes, and that now, more then ever, it is necessary to build an emancipatory, global anti-capitalist and eco-socialist project.

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

We are going to meet up every Saturday afternoon to discuss sections of the text and explore the issues and questions that arise from each weeks reading. Each week a different member of the group will give a short opening presentation on the chapter before we open the session up to group discussion. Time-permitting we will also discuss some contemporary political issues each week. Our first meeting will take place at 2pm on Saturday October 31. For details of the venue, and if you have any other questions, please email us at oxfordcommunists@googlemail.com

Capitalism

EVENTS IN LONDON AROUND CAPITAL AND THE FUTURE OF CAPITALISM

 

King’s College London Reading Capital Society
 
September 29th 2009
http://www.kclreadingcapital.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49539959005

What are the origins of the current economic crisis? What is the future for capitalism? Mainstream neo-liberal economics presents us with very few satisfactory answers to these questions. For this reason many people are now looking again at the works of Karl Marx and his critique of capitalism.

The Reading Capital Movement is a fortnightly seminar organised by students discussing the main issues & themes raised in Karl Marx’s work Das Kapital.

It brings together students from across a range of disciplines and intellectual backgrounds to introduce and debate ideas about the work.

The group is open to anyone with an interest in finding out more about Marx’s work.

So welcome to all those who’ve just joined us and welcome back to those who were involved last year. We had a very successful launch last January of over 60 people and a group of about 20 of us began reading and discussing throughout the second semester.

- - -

1) Re-launch with Ben Fine:

This year the group is very lucky to be re-launching with a talk by Professor Ben Fine from SOAS (co-author of “Marx’s ‘Capital’”) on:

Why read Capital? Marx in the 21st Century

Tuesday October 13th 2009, 6pm, Room 2.42, F-WB Building, Waterloo Campus, King’s College London

All welcome - no matter whether you are simply interested in Marx or have some tough questions about Marxist economics.

- – -

2) Join Reading Capital @ KCLSU:

Also please join the society officially at:
http://www.kclsu.org/society.asp?itemid=964&itemTitle=Reading+Capital&section=295&sectionTitle=Societies+List

This will enable us to keep booking meetings, getting great speakers and to develop a lending library that will be a fantastic resource for the group.

- – -

3) The Future of Capitalism:

We are very pleased to be able to announce that Reading Capital will be co-hosting a debate on the Future of Capitalism with the KCL Business Club.

Martin Wolf (chief economic commentator, Financial Times) will be debating Alex Callinicos (author of ‘Revolutionary ideas of Karl Marx’ & Professor of European Studies at KCL) about the roots of the current economic crisis and the prospects for capitalism as a whole.

Put the details in your diary now:
The Future of Capitalism
A Public Debate
Alex Callinicos & Martin Wolf

Monday 2nd November, 6:30pm, Great Hall, King’s College, London

We will send out more details closer to the event.

- – -

And finally …

The KCL Reading Capital group was inspired by a Reading Group initiated by the Marxist geographer David Harvey at CUNY (New York) – videos of these seminars can be seen online at: http://www.davidharvey.org

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

MySpace Profile: http://www.myspace.com

Not What It Seems

CAPITALISM AND THE DIALECTIC

PRESS RELEASE
– A Clear introduction to ground-breaking but little-known approach to Marxian political economy –

Capitalism And The Dialectic: The Uno-Sekine Approach To Marxian Political Economy
John R. Bell
Released October 25th 2009
PB / £ 25.00 / 9780745329338 / 230mm x 150mm / 256pp

This book is a clear introduction to a groundbreaking but little-known approach to Marxian economics: the Uno-Sekine approach. With this perceptive and thoughtful volume, John Bell renders a great service to the interested Western reader – Tom Sekine

From the 1960s to the 1990s the ground-breaking Japanese economists Kozo Uno and Thomas Sekine developed a masterful reconfiguration of Marxist economics. The most well-known aspect of which is the levels of analysis approach to the study of capitalism. Written in Japanese, the Uno-Sekine approach to Marx’s work is little understood in the West. John Bell seeks to correct this, explaining how problematic elements of Marxian Political Economy such as the law of value and the law of relative surplus population can be solved by using a more rigorous dialectical analysis. Bell’s clear and accessible synthesis provides economists with the tools to interrogate capitalism in a more powerful way than ever before.

John R. Bell taught for over three decades at Seneca College, Toronto, Canada. His ‘Dialectics and Economic Theory’ appeared in ‘A Japanese Approach to Political Economy’ (1995); ‘From Hegel to Marx to the Dialectic of Capital’ appeared in ‘New Dialectics and Political Economy’ (2003). He and Thomas Sekine co-authored ‘The Disintegration of Capitalism: A Phase of Ex-Capitalist Transition’ in ‘Phases of Capitalist Development: Booms, Crises and Globalizations’ (2001). In 2004 he co-edited ‘New Socialisms’, to which he contributed, ‘Marx’s Anti-Authoritarian Ecocommunism.

For further information, to request a review copy or to speak to the author please contact Jon Wheatley at jonw@plutobooks.com or on 0208 374 6424

345 ARCHWAY ROAD, LONDON, N6 5AA
TEL: 0208 3482724 FAX: 0208 348 9133 http://www.plutobooks.com

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Music:
We Will Stop You – ZSK
The Politics of Sneaker Pimps – Public Enemy
The Ghost of Tom Joad – Junip

Additional background music by Maceo & the Macks, RJD2, Destroy Babylon, DJ Spooky & Mr. Scruff.

Download the mp3.

Original version broadcast on Thursday, September 3rd, 2009 8 PM EST on WXOJ-LP 103.3 FM Valley Free Radio Northampton, MA

Program Length – 1:06:36

Download the mp3.

Original version broadcast on Thursday, July 17th, 2008 8 PM EST on WXOJ-LP 103.3 FM Valley Free Radio Northampton, MA

Program Length – 59:59

Karl Marx - 1872

A MARXIAN INTRODUCTION TO MODERN ECONOMICS

Klaus Hagendorf: eurodos@gmail.com

Université Paris X – Nanterre, 22.7.2009

Dear friends

I have worked for some time on a project “A Marxian Introduction to Modern Economics” (MIME), and in particular on the labour theory of value. Some of the most important results you find at: http://eurodos.free.fr/mime

My work resolves long standing issues and puts the labour theory of value back at the heart of Historical Materialism.

You are invited to contribute to this project of economics and Historical Materialism.

In solidarity: Klaus Hagendorf

Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk

Today, a two-part special: An interview with Fidel earlier this month by the Argentine sociologist Atilio Boron, which appeared on Boron’s blog and was also published at Pagina 12.

Fidel and Boron discussed the G-20 meeting, and the motives for inviting Argentina, Brazil and Mexico to dine with the adults.  And Fidel talked about the recent cabinet changes: “If I expressed an opinion about the change in the cabinet,” he said, “it was due to the necessity to cut off at the root the talk about a conflict between Fidel’s men and those of Raúl. I couldn’t endorse this stupidity by my silence…Raúl is the one who is governing. In Cuba, many people paid with their lives for the victory and consolidation of the Revolution, not just in the Sierra Maestra and in the struggle against Batista. Afterwards, they also killed our literacy teachers in Cuba, and they are still doing it outside of Cuba. The same thing goes on with our doctors, who risk their lives to make socialist internationalism a reality.”

Finally, they discuss the ominous possibility of a rightward political swing in Latin America as a consequence of the economic crisis.

Fidel and the Battle of Ideas

Following his meeting with the Cuban leader, the Argentine sociologist, Atilio Boron, talks about how “Fidel lives surrounded by books and papers. Daily press summaries keep him informed about what’s happening in the world, and in his ever-present notebooks, he jots comments, ideas or questions which go on to make up his Reflections,” he says.

By Atilio A. Boron – Pagina/12

English Translation: Machetera

Fidel doesn’t rest. He remains steadfast in the gap. He hasn’t abandoned, nor will he abandon the struggle. Warrior of so many battles, he continues his relentless hounding of imperialism. His will is indomitable, and as with the best steel, the passage of time, far from nicking it, has only made it harder. He knows that to build a better world, a decisive battle must be won: the battle of ideas. As the faithful heir of Martí, of whom he has not coincidentally spoken as the intellectual author of the attack on the Moncada, he knows as well that one must be cultured to be free. But this culture which leads to liberty should be nourished in the best traditions of critical and emancipatory thought, of which socialism is an indispensable and irreplaceable component.

His prolonged convalescence, which has allowed him to regain his health in a dramatic way, and his distancing from government functions has made it possible for him to cultivate his insatiable intellectual curiosity. But his is not a solipsistic attitude, as it is always guided by the necessity to change the world, not just contemplate it. Few such as he are as aware of the catastrophic outcome that capitalism is pushing upon us, converting the human race and nature into simple commodities to be traded in the marketplace, with the exclusive purpose of making a profit. An intellectual curiosity, we’d say, in which his solid humanistic formation has been enriched by an exceptional political experience, all of which is then socialized in the periodical articles in which he analyzes the most pressing issues of the contemporary scene.

As before, Fidel lives surrounded by books and papers. Daily press summaries from the most diverse countries keep him informed in detail about what is happening around the world, and in his ever-present notebooks he jots his ideas, comments or questions which go on to make up his “Reflections.” As in the past, his hunger for knowledge is inexhaustible, just like his passion for accurate and precise information. Soldier in the battle of ideas, it takes a special character – rare among politicians – to govern the destiny of his homeland for such a long time and then renounce his duties and engage himself, body and soul, in his current mission. “At this time, the responsibility for governing is that of my brother, not mine.” A certain disbelief reflected in my face, perhaps motivated by his harsh public statement in regard to the ministerial re-organization, did not pass his attentive gaze unnoticed. “If I expressed an opinion about the change in the cabinet,” he said, “it was due to the necessity to cut off at the root the talk about a conflict between Fidel’s men and those of Raúl. I couldn’t endorse this stupidity by my silence.” And he repeated, “Raúl is the one who is governing. In Cuba, many people paid with their lives for the victory and consolidation of the Revolution.” And, he continued, “not just in the Sierra Maestra and in the struggle against Batista. Afterwards, they also killed our literacy teachers in Cuba, and they are still doing it outside of Cuba. The same thing goes on with our doctors, who risk their lives to make socialist internationalism a reality.” I gather that this reflection was meant to contextualize the ministerial changes of recent days and dismiss the accusation that in Cuba there’s only one generation, that of the Sierra Maestra, which risked its life and therefore would be the only one with the right to govern. There are several generations that have won this right and, added Fidel, “one of the greatest successes of the Revolution is the huge quantity of well prepared and well educated young people that we have.”

But the old warrior is waging other battles, far from day to day governance. He followed very closely, on Cuban television, the discussions which took place at the Eleventh International Economists Conference on Globalization and Development, organized by ANEC (National Association of Cuban Economists and Accountants), a unique event in the world, where neoliberal, Keynesian, post-Keynesian and Marxist economists debate without any restriction whatsoever. At this conference there were three Nobel prizewinners in Economics, and a plethora of economists linked to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and various economic ministries. Fidel received the papers presented there, and taking time out of his regular work, read a variety of them with his proverbial meticulousness. It was he who, with that eagle’s eye that Lenin so admired in Rosa Luxemburg, put together these meetings in mid-1998, because he could see the approaching crisis and exhaustion of the neoliberal model. At that time, he gave the ANEC president, one of his closest collaborators, Roberto Verrier, the assignment of calling together the widest possible conference of specialists in order to discuss the crisis that was already underway. The first conference took place in January of 1999, and Fidel was there, seated in the first row, taking notes on all that was said, speaking occasionally, either with intelligent commentaries or with pointed questions. These conferences were repeated, year after year, but his health problems deprived us of his presence in the latest ones. Nevertheless, he always kept abreast of what was discussed, and read the papers. I could see mine: whole lines underlined, words or phrases circled, comments in the margins, or above or below. Overall, the work of a methodical and diligent reader, who knows of what he speaks and who is very aware of the subjects that interest him. The level of information he manages is just as impressive today as it was before, when he was head of state.

It’s due to the fact that he saw the crisis coming well before anyone, and now knew before anyone else how to warn about the barbarous forms that the capitalist “resolution” to the crisis might assume. He seemed convinced of the argument I elaborated in my paper about this crisis being more serious than the two great crises that preceded it: the “Long Depression” of 1873-1896 and the “Great Depression” which erupted in 1929. The present crisis is an explosive combination of economic, ecology, energy and food crises, which are unfolding within the context of the ominous consequences of climate change. “The people don’t realize what’s happening,” he mused, while raising his substantial eyebrows, “and the media aren’t reporting what they need to report.” A crisis that is an update of the old dilemma that in a dark period of history, Rosa Luxemburg popularized as “socialism or barbarism,” and nothing is closer to it than the ecologic and climactic catastrophe that today puts in question the very survival of life on the planet. But there’s no capitalist solution to this crisis. Already in his participation in the First ANEC Conference, Fidel had shown, with the rigor of a mathematical theorem, that the capitalist crisis in gestation would not find a solution within capitalism and that therefore, one had to think otherwise. Socialism is now more necessary than ever before.

“Do you think by any chance that the G-20 might find a solution to the crisis?” he asks, taking my negative response for granted. “And why do you think they are inviting Argentina, Brazil and Mexico?” I respond: It’s a tactic to try to distance them from Chávez, giving them a scenic and rhetorical role, but not a real one, and whose latent message is “Forget about ALBA. You’re big countries and you ought to play with us, not against us.” They did the same with the debt crisis, in 1982, when they actively discouraged the creation of a “Debtors Club” to oppose the “Creditors Club” – under the auspices and backing of the G-7 governments – promising in exchange, “preferential treatment” for their debt, a promise that in the end was not fulfilled, finally pushing everyone into crisis equally. The same tactic is on the march today, with the same foreseeable results.

He’s in every detail and nothing in the world is foreign to him. “God,” he said to me some years ago, “is in the details.” He remains faithful to this axiom and continues to examine the data of reality with compulsive attention. “Obama is a good man,” he says, “but the presidency is one thing and the empire is another. It has its laws, its interests, its correlation of political, economic, and social forces.” The man that ten presidents of the greatest economic and military power in history tried to topple, and in some cases, assassinate, does not reveal the slightest hint of resentment or hate. He feels a certain sympathy for Obama, a young African American who by his existence alone is unspeakably irritating for many racists and the radical rightwing of the United States. But, knowing the empire like few others, he knows that the resistance to any kind of initiative for change will be formidable and that the dominant interests are not going to waver in the face of any reformist attempts of an occasional occupant of the White House.

Meanwhile, he continues reading and studying, like before or, really, more than before. He remarks that the body of scientific knowledge doubles every 14 years, and that the tendency is for this period of time to shrink still more. He surprises me, asking, “What good study do you know of Gramsci’s thought?” While I mentally process the list of “Gramsci-ologists” I can’t help but think at the same time about how many heads of state or ex-presidents or heads of state could have asked me a similar question; those who call themselves as leftists referring to Gramsci, or those who identify themselves with the right referring to, for instance, von Hayek. Who? Aznar, Berlusconi, Bush, Menem, Fujimori? And on the left, or center-left, or the so-called “progressive” leaders who recently met at Viña del Mar? Gordon Brown, Joe Biden, Rodríguez Zapatero, Lula, Cristina Fernández, Michelle Bachelet? No chance. Quite probably Hugo Chávez, yes. Conclusion: Fidel belongs to another galaxy.

Fidel and History’s Verdict

Fidel is channeling all his energy toward the strategic “battle of ideas,” a necessary condition for constructing a post-capitalist alternative and not just a post-neoliberal one, as some old disillusioned leftists worry today.  To the extent that capitalism endures  as a mode of production, its exploitive, oppressive and predatory nature is revealed in all its historical manifestations, from the laissez faire at the beginning of the twentieth century to the neoliberalism at the end of the same century, passing through Keynesianism and developmentalism along the way.  The Comandante’s concern about re-reading Gramsci and the classics of Marxist theory is accompanied by a renewed interest in the work of Darwin and the study of the impact of nanotechnology on the productive process and therefore, on the goods and services to which a population might have access. For quite some time he’s held a passionate interest in information technology’s advances, and because of this, Cuba developed an Information Sciences University that is one of the world’s most advanced.  And this, despite the enduring criminal blockade that the White House took upon itself to extend to Internet access, forcing neighboring countries to abstain from providing a broadband connection to Cuba under penalty of having access blocked for their exports to the North American market. Thanks to Venezuela, this blackmail will soon be rendered worthless.  Fidel knows that the new communication and information technologies are a powerful tool of ideological domination but, dialectically, they can also be a formidable weapon to raise a population’s consciousness and facilitate the dissemination of critical thought, as through the various courses offered at PLED (Latin American Program of Distance Education in the Social Sciences, based in Buenos Aires).  But his concern does not remain there: he also reads about climate change, the economic crisis, political processes, and the burning international issues.  The list might be interminable.

If his physical recuperation and moderate weight gain have slightly blurred his quixotic figure of old, his intellect and his heart remain faithful to Quixote’s noble vision, and his passion for righting wrongs is as intense as it ever was.  It’s this spirit that led him to launch an assault on the Moncada, and some time later, with Raúl and Che, to begin the epic guerrilla campaign of the Sierra Maestra.  Just as he predicted in his celebrated plea to the judges of the Moncada history did absolve him, and how!  He also showed he was right when in 1985 he demonstrated the mathematical impossibility of paying external debt, contradicting the opinions of so-called “experts” who came up with ingenious tricks to prove the opposite.  When the Soviet Union collapsed and the (false) socialism of Eastern Europe imploded, there were plenty who advised him to reconcile Cuba with the new realities of globalization and lower the supposedly tattered flags of socialism.  The warrior refused, and disregarding opinion and forecasts both near and far, withstood the storm and proclaimed to the four winds that, although the Soviet Union had sunk, the fragile ship of revolutionary Cuba would resist the storm and arrive at safe harbor.  Once more, history proved him right.

History also smiled upon him in 1992, at the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro, when in the seven minutes granted each participant, he denounced the looming climactic and environmental catastrophe.  His speech was blasted as apocalyptic and purely ideological by many of those who conventional wisdom identified as “realists” and “experts.”  But, who remembers those intellectual midgets now?  And what about the rulers who were present – Menem, Fujimori, and others of the same kind – who closed their ears to Fidel’s speech and aggravated the problem with their criminal indifference?  History once again ruled in his favor when, in 1998, he convened economists to discuss the crisis in gestation, at a time when the established knowledge assured that there was and would not be any crisis, but rather, at most, a temporary slowdown of economic growth.  A decade later, the inconvenient facts demonstrate once again that Fidel was right.

This was the man who honored me with his invitation to discuss certain aspects of my paper.  He was interested above all, in the concept of the “imperial bourgeoisie,” conceived to describe the entanglement produced between the dominant classes of the main capitalist metropolises and the way in which they unified their strategy for global domination. Its members gather annually in Davos to coordinate their strategy on a worldwide scale, review their troops, harmonize their message and politics, and strengthen their political and ideological influence at an international level, for which they invite political leaders, “experts” and social communicators in order to convey the good news.  He asked me for details, examples, reasons for which the concept is used.  He complained about his lack of time: he couldn’t receive a number of presidents, and for those who he did receive, he couldn’t dedicate the time he’d have liked.

We talk a bit about Argentina and he told me that he’d been pleasantly surprised by the strength and conviction that President Cristina Fernández showed, and her willingness to fight, but he was worried about the sequels to the conflict that the government faced last year from the rural sectors.  On examining the Latin American sociopolitical panorama, he expressed his concern because the ideological pendulum, which in the last decade has tilted toward the left – while to a differing degree among the countries – could stop its progress, or worse, swing the other way, threatening the stability and continuity of the progressive governments in the region.  He knows that imperialism is on the lookout for a “course correction” in its back yard.  He knows it completely, and can say, as Martí, that “I know its entrails and my slingshot is only that of David.”  With this slingshot he held the American Goliath in check for 50 years and ended up isolating it: in October of 2008, of the 192 member countries of the United Nations, 185 voted in favor of a resolution that demanded an end to the American blockade against Cuba.  Only two went along with the empire: Israel, the U.S. military megabase in the Middle East, and Palau, a lost island in the Pacific populated by 21,000 people and used as a proving ground for the missiles of the U. S.Navy.  Another two, the Marshall Islands (63,000 inhabitants) and Micronesia (107,000) considered the shame too great, and abstained.  But this message from the world community went unheard by the White House and its masters: the military-industrial complex.  They want to take advantage of the crisis to return the region to “discipline” and do away with the leftist spring.  The succession to the Concertación government in Chile appears inexorably destined to reinstall a rightwinger in the Moneda, whether it is the governmental candidate Eduardo Frei or his opposition, the neo-Pinochetista Sebastián Piñera.  And the electoral forecasts are not that much more encouraging for Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.  The economic crisis might be the trigger for a rightwing re-composition and this threat cannot be taken lightly.  If this happens, the isolation of Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador could worsen, putting at risk the political and economic viability of the transformative projects presently underway, with negative consequences for Cuba.  He also let me know of his worry about the harassment that Fernando Lugo’s government is being subjected to in Paraguay, and the need for Argentina and Brazil to adopt a position of solidarity and generosity relative to the two large dams, the Yacyretá and the Itaipú, whose property is shared with Paraguay.

An hour and forty minutes of conversation had passed and it was time to put an end to the dialogue.  I asked if it wouldn’t be possible for someone to take a picture because there could be plenty of people who might consider me to be making this up.  Fidel kindly agreed to my request, complaining jokingly that everybody says the same thing and forces him into being photographed.  Then he turned to one of his aides and said “Let’s see.  Bring me a mirror.”  It was brought, he looks in it and says: “Hmm, looks good!” and it’s true.  Encouraged by his good humor, I take the opportunity to congratulate him on his recovery and tell him that he looks very good to me, in a way almost as good as Ingrid Betancourt when her mysterious release by the Colombian army came about.  A huge burst of laughter sealed the mood.  We got ready for the photo and there, carried away by the relaxed atmosphere, I dare say that the Adidas logo on his Cuban athlete’s uniform could be used by his detractors to criticize him for doing advertising for the multinational company.  Another burst of laughter and, quick as lightning, and with his finger repeatedly jabbing my chest, enunciating every syllable, he says “It’s-that-I-am-a-victim-of-your-imperial-bourgeoisie.”  More laughter, a photo, and a strong farewell hug that proves the good muscular tone of his body, and, with relief, that we have the Comandante for awhile yet.

Argentinean author Atilio Borón is a friend of Tlaxcala.

Machetera is a member of Tlaxcala, the network of translators for linguistic diversity. This translation may be reprinted as long as the content remains unaltered, and the source, author, and translator are cited.

This article also available at Tlaxcala, here and here.