Sponsor: West Coast Marxist-Humanists, an affiliate of the International Marxist-Humanist Organization

The deep crisis of global capitalism has led to austerity and renewed racism and sexism, both in the U.S. and abroad, problems that point to the systemic nature of the crisis.  At the same time, the 2011-12 Arab revolutions and the other movements around the world that have sprung up in their wake – from Wisconsin and the Indignados in Spain to the London riots and the Occupy movement – have created a new global situation in which democratic movements and uprisings have begun to challenge capitalism, at least in its neoliberal form.  We will discuss the high points and the contradictions inside these movements and also assess the response of Marxist-Humanists to these developments, both theoretically and practically. 

Note: Westside Pavilion is at Pico & Westwood Boulevards; Community Room A is on east side of the mall, third floor, behind food court; 3 hours free parking is available in mall’s lot.

For more information visit U.S. Marxist-Humanists website or email to arise@usmarxisthumanists.org

 PDF

 On one level, the threat of war between Israel and Iran is a real conflict, a struggle between two state powers for dominance in the Middle East. On another level, each set of rulers finds in the other a “useful enemy”, an external threat that appears to validate its ideology, and consolidate its rule at home.

In both countries, there is a body of enlightened opinion that opposes the rulers’ drive toward war. In an extraordinary new development, Israeli and Iranian dissidents have come together, firstly over the internet and most recently in person in Berlin, to oppose the drive to war.

In the current balance of power, Israel is the only state in the region to possess nuclear weapons. Iran is developing its nuclear processing plants and building up a stock of enriched uranium, to the point where it has the capability to make nuclear bombs. It has also sent a test missile 1,900 kilometres to the Indian Ocean, giving it easily enough range to reach Israel from any launch point in Iran.

Whether the Islamic Republic intends to proceed from the capability to produce nuclear weapons to their actual production is a vexed question. The supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has denied this, describing nuclear weapons as “useless, harmful and dangerous” and going so far as to call their possession a “sin”. According to public statements by U.S. intelligence agencies, there is no evidence that Iran has decided to acquire nuclear weapons. The question is complicated by an internal power struggle between factions supporting the Ayatollah and the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Perhaps for now Iran’s rulers are keeping their options open, and keeping Israel, the West and the rest of the world guessing.

In the ideological worldview of Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, Iran is directly equivalent to Nazi Germany, and the prospect of Iran getting nuclear weapons threatens Israel with nothing less than destruction in a new Holocaust: “It’s 1938, and Iran is Germany, and Iran is racing to arm itself with atomic bombs”.

The view of the world put forward in Iran’s ruling ideology is a mix of crude anti-imperialism and anti-Semitism. All the classic anti-Semitic themes are there, except that the political term “Zionist” replaces the religious and ethnic term “Jew”. The Holocaust is declared to be a myth, and Zionists are accused of dominating both politics and finance in the West. On this point, there is no discernible difference between the factions of Khamenei and Ahmadinejad. However, to launch a nuclear attack on Israel would be suicidal for the Iranian rulers, since Israel is itself a powerful nuclear-armed state, as well as a close ally of the United States.

The tension between Israel and Iran reinforces Netanyahu’s intransigence towards the Palestinians. Netanyahu supports and encourages the continuing expansion of Israeli settlements on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. In response, the Palestinian Authority has broken off negotiations.

U.S. President Barack Obama notionally supports Palestinian statehood and a return to the borders of before the war of 1967 (with mutually agreed exchanges of territory). The antipathy between Obama and Netanyahu is no secret. However, faced with Netanyahu’s intransigence (backed up by the powerful pro-Israel lobby in the USA), the Obama administration has consistently sided with Israel to block Palestinian diplomatic initiatives. In October 2011, Palestine applied and was accepted for full membership of UNESCO. 107 countries voted for this decision, 14 voted against (Israel and the USA, obviously; also Australia, Canada and Germany), while 52 nations abstained (including Britain). The USA withdrew from UNESCO in protest, although Israel did not. Palestine would have applied for membership of the United Nations, but the USA made it clear that it would veto such an application.

On 8 May, Netanyahu announced a new national unity government, formed by a coalition between his Likud Party and Kadima, a party of the centre-right. This strengthens Netanyahu’s general political position, as the new government is supported by 94 of 120 members of the Knesset. Shaul Mofaz, the leader of Kadima , now holds a pivotal political position. Mofaz, who was born in Iran, is a former chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Not long ago, Mofaz declared his intention to remain in opposition and “lead” the social protests against growing poverty and inequality in Israel, saying that “the current government represents all that is wrong with Israel”. It is not clear whether his change of tune extends to an attack on Iran, which he recently opposed.

In Israel there are two kinds of opposition to the warmongering of Netanyahu and defence minister Ehud Barak. Many in the ruling class, quite possibly a majority, believe that an attack would be a strategic blunder and harm rather than serve Israel’s state power interests. A series of senior members, serving or retired, of the IDF and the intelligence agencies Mossad and Shin Bet have made public statements on these lines. So too has the president, Shimon Peres. Then there is the opposition from below, which includes the traditional left and the peace movement, but also many ordinary Israelis who are new to such protests.

Such anti-war sentiment has found a novel and interesting form of expression in the Israel “heart” Iran/Iran “heart” Israel movement on Facebook, which features images such as a couple kissing while holding their passports – one Israeli and the other Iranian. It is expressed also in the brilliant satirical invention of “Mr. Ahmedinyahu”, a composite of the two rulers. Although criticised by some as naive and apolitical, these exchanges between people of the two countries reaffirm and celebrate their common humanity in the face of state power, national and religious conflict.

One Iranian wrote: “I’m from Iran and love your idea and your efforts against war and for peace. I am really happy to get to know you and people like you, and hope to find more people like you. Here in Iran the situation is complicated and many people hate the government and their bullshit”.

On 5 May, a march of 300 “Israelis and Iranians against the war” was held in Berlin, led by a banner with the slogan “Gegen Krieg, Sanktionen, Besatzung & Staatliche Unterdrückung” (Against War, Sanctions, Occupation and State Oppression). This event was organised by a group of eight Iranians and thirteen Israelis, most of whom are women. The march also protested Germany’s recent sale to Israel of a Dolphin-class military submarine, the fourth such vessel, capable of launching nuclear missiles.

One of the Iranian organisers, Arzu, was quoted:

“Calling off the sanctions is very important to us. Prices rose astronomically. My family has a hard time finding medicine. It is only possible to find some in the black market, which is controlled by Iran’s security forces. In fact, they are the primary beneficiaries of the sanctions.”

“The sanctions will not help to stop a nuclear bomb, considering there is a plan to build one. Both Israeli and Iranian governments portray each other as a dangerous enemy, this way they divert the attention from internal issues. The regimes have to keep us in a state of emergency in order to control us. But I am certain the people will win, one day.” (quoted in Haaretz.com, 4 May 2012).

Sponsor: West Coast Marxist-Humanists, an affiliate of the International Marxist-Humanist Organization

Norman Levine’s presentation will cover: (1) system and method in Hegel; (2) the contemporary reinterpretation of Hegel starting with Lukács and Marcuse; (3) Marx’s rejection of the Hegelian system, but his acceptance of the Hegelian method; (4) Marx’s adoption of the Hegelian concepts of subjectivity and labor in the 1844 Manuscripts; (4) Marx’s misreading of Hegel, the parts of Hegel’s writings that Marx overlooked, and those parts of Hegel that were not published during Marx’s lifetime; (5) the Hegelian methodologies that Marx adopted and used in his new political economy.  Kevin Anderson will give a brief overview of the Hegel-Marx relationship and respond to Levine’s presentation.

Norman Levine has published six books and 36 articles in scholarly journals on Hegel, Marx, Engels, and radical philosophy. His books include Marx’s Discourse with Hegel (2012), Divergent Paths: Hegel in Marxism and Engelsism (2006), Dialogue within the Dialectic (1984), and The Tragic Deception: Marx contra Engels (1975). Levine holds the position of Visiting Professor at the University of Wuhan, China, and will lecture there during the first semester of 2012.

Kevin Anderson teaches at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has written on Marx, Hegel, the Frankfurt School, Foucault, and the Orientalism debate. His books include The Dunayevskaya-Marcuse-Fromm Correspondence (co-ed. with Russell Rockwell, 2012), Marx at the Margins (2010), Foucault and the Iranian Revolution (with Janet Afary, 2005), and Lenin, Hegel, and Western Marxism (1995). 

FUTURE MEETINGS
Saturday, June 2, 2 PM, same location, Topic TBA.

Note: Westside Pavilion is at Pico & Westwood Boulevards; Community Room A is on east side of the mall, third floor, behind food court; 3 hours free parking is available in mall’s lot.

For more information visit U.S. Marxist-Humanists website or email to arise@usmarxisthumanists.org

6:30-9.00 pm

@Chicago Public Library

Harold Washington Library Center

400 South State St. Chicago IL

Room 3N-6

Progressivechange in the United States is severely hampered owing both to the failure ofthe left to project an alternative to capitalism and to the myths projected bythe right regarding the nature of capitalism. On the other hand, Karl Marxprojected an alternative socioeconomic system that comes into view in hiswritings in significant part in and through exploding the myths aboutcapitalism. This series of five classes will explore the myths of capitalismthrough discussions of selected writings of Marx, and others.

Event’s Flyer

Readings are available online or from U.S.M.H. Online readings are available from U.S.M.H inpdf format for e-readers etc.

Sponsoredby the U.S. Marxist-Humanists

Email: arise@usmarxisthumanists.org

www.usmarxisthumanists.org

Phone: 773-561-3454

Schedule andReadings

March 7^th - Myth #1: Capitalism is the Economic Systemmost in Accord with Human Nature

Contradictoryconcepts of human nature abound in the culture of capitalism. Human nature is saidto be fundamentally greedy and selfish, or, contrariwise, cast in an image ofperfection, or both. These concepts are used to justify social and economicpolicies that promote and protect capitalism, but this can only work if theirhistorical origin in capitalism itself is obscured. This class will explore theconcepts of human nature extant in capitalist societies and counterpose them toconcepts drawn from the Marxist-Humanist tradition. The myth that capitalism isreflective of human nature will be exploded in a discussion of the followingreadings:

Readings:

Erich Fromm, Marx’sConcept of Man, pp. 24-43, “The Nature of Man“

Karl Marx, Grundrisse,”Introduction,” pp. 84-110 

Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan,Chapter 13: “Of the Natural Conditions of Mankind as concerning their Felicityand Misery“ and Chapter 17: “Of the Causes, Generation, and Definition of Commonwealth“

Karl Marx, “Theses on Feuerbach“

Leading the discussion: Marilyn Nissim-Sabat, author, Neither Victim nor Survivor: Thinking Toward a New Humanity

March 21^st – Myth #2: Democracyis Compatible with Capitalism.

Therhetoric of the candidates for the Republican nomination for president of theUS, as well as their opponents in the Democratic Party, makes it unequivocallyclear that for them, and probably for the majority of Americans, capitalism isentirely conflated with ‘democracy.’ That is, the notion of the ‘free market,’value production, and the drive to accumulate capital for its own sake havebeen superimposed on the meaning of democracy as a political system as if tosay that only the economic system known as capitalism can facilitate democracy.This myth will be exploded in discussion of the following readings:

Readings:

Karl Marx, “The Communist Manifesto“

Karl Marx, “Address to the Communist League ofMarch, 1850“

Raya Dunayevskaya, Marxismand Freedom, Chapter VI, The Paris Commune Deepens the content of Capital, pp. 92-102.

Raya Dunayevskaya, RosaLuxemburg, Women’s Liberation and Marx’s Philosophy of Revolution: Marx’sTheory of Permanent Revolution.” 1843-83, pp. 158-163.

Leading the discussion: Anton Evelynov, student activist

April 4^th - Myth #3:State Forms of ‘Socialism’ are Fundamentally Different from Capitalism

Proponentsof capitalism, as well as many post-Marx Marxists, have attempted to identify “socialism”or “communism” with state control of the economy and a centralizedstate. However, the Soviet Union as well as “Communist China” and theEuropean welfare state represent not so much a departure from capitalism as arealization of it. This class will explore whether there is an alternative toeither reducing a new society to state control of the economy, on one hand, orrefraining from the need to seize state power as part of a revolutionarytransformation, on the other. The myths regarding state forms of capitalismwill be exploded in a discussion of the following readings:

Readings:

Raya Dunayevskaya, Marxismand Freedom, Chapter IV, “Worker, Intellectual, and the State, “pp. 69-77.

Raya Dunayevskaya, State Capitalism and Marx’s Humanism “Lenin vs Bukharin” pp. 10-18. 

“Build It Now“: An Interview with Michael A.Lebowitz 

John Holloway, Changethe World without Seizing State Power, Chapter 2, “Beyond the State?“pp. 11-18.

Leading the discussion: Ali Reza, Iranian activist and member of Iranian LeftAlliance Abroad.

April 18^th - Myth #4: There is No Alternative to Capitalism

Proponentsof capitalism as well as many critics of it have maintained that it isimpossible to overcome such phenomena as commodity production, exchange value,alienated labor, and the existence of classes. This stance has within it all ofthe myths of capitalism, i.e., that capitalism reflects and honors ‘humannature’; that it is a form of democratic practice; and that it prevents thedevelopment of state control of the economy. It has also been claimed by manyon the left that any effort to spell out the content of a new, post-capitalistsociety is at best useless and at worst harmful. The myth that there is noalternative to capitalism will be exploded in discussion of the followingreadings:

Readings:

Karl Marx, Critique of the Gotha Program . 

Raya Dunayevskaya, ThePower of Negativity, “Presentation on the Dialectics of Organizationand Philosophy, ” pp. 3-14.

Leading thediscussion: Peter Hudis, author of Marx’sConcept of the Alternative to Capitalism

Wednesday May 2^nd

MayDay Celebration and discussion

U.S. Marxist Humanists would like toinvite all participants in this class to continue the discussion in honor ofMay Day in a convivial setting, with food and drink. Venue to be announced

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Speaker: Kevin B. Anderson
Date: Saturday 14 April 2012
Time: 2 p.m. 

Venue: The Lucas Arms, 245a Grays Inn Road, King’s Cross, London, WC1

The Arab revolutions and the Occupy movement have placed both revolution and anti-capitalism at the forefront of global social consciousness. While many are again evoking Marx, the legacy of decades of postmodernism and postmodernized postcolonial thought has left us, at best, with a politics of resistance rather than one of full human emancipation. This talk will explore Marx’s thought in light of this legacy. It will be argued that his multidimensional dialectical vision encompassed both ‘totalities’ like capitalism and the specificities of nation, ethnicity, gender, and anti-colonial resistance. Moreover, his philosophical dialectic, rooted in Hegel, theorized precisely this type of ‘concrete totality.’ And finally, his critique of capital was accompanied by an always implicit — and sometimes explicit — vision of a radically humanist future beyond the exploitative, alienating, and reified world of the capital relation.

 MEETING SPONSORED BY THE HOBGOBLIN ONLINE

 Kevin Anderson‘s most recent books are Foucault and the Iranian Revolution; Gender and the Seductions of Islamism(with Janet Afary, 2005), Marx at the Margins: On Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Non-Western Societies(2010), and The Dunayevskaya-Marcuse-Fromm Correspondence, 1954-1978: Dialogues on Hegel, Marx, and Critical Theory(coedited with Russell Rockwell, 2012). He is also the author of Lenin, Hegel, and Western Marxism: A Critical Study(1995) and the coeditor (with Peter Hudis) of The Rosa Luxemburg Reader(2004).