Dégringolade

  BRICS Plus in the Capitalist World-System The economic alliance seeks a break with Western hegemony, but not with neoliberalism Author:  Janine Walter Source:   Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung A snapshot from the sixteenth BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, 22–24 October 2024,  Photo: IMAGO / SNA When the annual BRICS Plus summit was held in Kazan, Russia last October, host Vladimir Putin was clearly in a good mood. Indeed, in terms of foreign policy, the Russian president had done quite well for himself: 40 nations were represented, more than half of them by heads of government or of state; UN General Secretary António Guterres also attended. It was only the previous year that the intergovernmental organization known by the acronym BRICS, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, had expanded. Since then, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have become part of the extended BRICS Plus; meanwhile however, Argentina and Saudi Arabia ...

Published:    Liberation , December 1968 Source:   Marxists.org The year was 1937. German, Italian and Japanese fascism, the three advanced detachments of world imperialism, were conspiring to redivide the world among themselves. German and Italian fascism intruded on the stage of Spain as active supporters of General Franco.The world working class came out in support of the united front government of Spain, and an International Brigade was formed with people who came from different countries. But unfortunately Franco succeeded in smashing the resistance put up by the International Brigade and in imposing his brand of fascism on Spain. Just at that time, the Communist Party of China headed by Chairman Mao liberated a small area, Yenan, and stood up to oppose Japanese militarism. Not only that. It smashed all the boasts of Japanese militarism and began to create one liberated zone after another by rousing the poor peasants in the Japanese-occupied areas. These liberat...

Industrial Policy Is a Nostalgic Pipe Dream   Jun 25, 2024 JAMES K. GALBRAITH To address the public’s anger after four decades of neoliberalism, progressive and center-left economists are calling for innovation to create wealth “for the many” and to deal with climate change, while also reducing market concentration and power. Unfortunately, they are mistaken about where the real problem lies. SIRACUSA, ITALY – At a recent “summit” in Berlin, prominent center-left economists announced a “new consensus” on industrial policy. Their joint declaration was then published in full by the Columbia University economic historian Adam Tooze, who described it as “remarkable both for its capacious agreement on economic and industrial policy principles and the way they are embedded in a reading of the political and geopolitical risks of the moment.” According to the Berlin declaration, those risks are of two types. There are “real risks” such as climate change, “unbearable inequalities,” and “maj...

Jeffrey Sachs’ Grab for the World Bank BY LAURA FLANDERS,  MARCH 20, 2012 Counterpunch There may be worse candidates for the presidency of the World Bank than Jeffrey Sachs (Larry Summers, also a candidate, comes to mind,) but Sachs is well worth raising an alarm about. He combines a new fangled profile as a progressive with policies that amount to full steam ahead for global growth. And he’s running as the candidate of “change”  clearly hoping no one looks too closely at his record as an economic hit-man.   In the US (if not in much of the rest of the world and certainly not CounterPuncht) Sachs’s closeness with the singer/crusader Bono bestows a liberal glow. He directs the Earth Institute at Columbia University, advises the UN and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and he’s winning endorsements from among others, Congressman John Conyers and economist Mark Weisbrot.  He’ll attract predictable opposition from the Right who bristle at any mention of for...

  Voting Is Evil Your country needs YOU... not to vote.  NEMO JONES APR 28, 2024 “You’ve got to vote, vote, vote, vote. That’s it; that's the way we move forward.” ~Michelle Obama “We can all agree on the importance of voting.” ~Jenna Bush “Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country, and this world.” ~Sharon Salzberg “You cannot complain if you didn’t vote.” ~Barack Obama “The right to vote is the basic right without which all others are meaningless.” ~Lyndon B Johnson “Voting is not just a right, it's a responsibility.” ~Don Santo “Voting is a civic sacrament.” ~Theodore Hesburgh Election day. Inhale deep of the blessed and rarified air. Your moment has come. Your time to shine. Today - at long last - your voice matters. Your voice will be heard. Your dream of a just and sane world is damn near palpable. The diligent and painstaking attention you've paid to the rational, informed and balanced debates of the day, the carefully honed a...