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Issue No. 6, Spring 1994

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Issue No. 6, Spring 1994 $2.00 LITICS A Socialist Magazine of News and Political Analysis Number 6 Spring 1994 SOUTH AFRICA'S HISTORIC ELECTIONS: A VICTORY FOR DEMOCRACY INSIDE: t SINGLE PAYER HEALTH INSURANCE t CHIAPAS REBELLION t FOCUS ON ISRAEL AND PALESTINE ▼ THE WORLD AFTER STALINISM CONTENTS Is Single Payer Health Insurance Socialized Medicine? South Africa: The Dawn of Freedom By Alan Hanger.................................................................................................3 By Caroline Lund............................................................................................ 14 Anti-P oor Campaign in New York City Subways W e Have W on The Right to Vote By Kurt T. Hill.................................................................................................... 4 ANC Election Manifesto.................................................................................. 15 Class Warfare in Decatur, Illinois WOSA Calls For a Mass Workers’ Party By Caroline Lund..............................................................................................5 By Malik Miah................................................................................................. 20 Handshake Fails to Bring Peace The Brotherhood of Lies By Malik Miah...................................................................................................6 By Caroline Lund.............................................................................................21 Water and Occupation LINKS By Nancy Brown................................................................................................8 International Journal of Socialist Revewal.....................................................24 Israel: Land-G rab M ania The World After Stalinism ByDaliaHabash............................................................................................... 9 By Barry Sheppard.......................................................................................... 25 Economy of Autonomy Russian Confederation of Anarcho-S yndicalists Interview with Majed Sbeih..............................................................................11 Interview, Part II...............................................................................................28 Behind the Chiapas Rebellion The Refounding of Russian Labor Review Zapatista Speech and Interview......................................................................12 By Renfrey Clarke.............................................................................................30 Why Things Burn COVER: A voter education play is performed for township residents outside Pretoria, Theatre Review by Rich Lesnik........................................................................32 South Africa. Photographer: Gisdle Wulfsohn/lmpact Visuals Socialist Politics. Send $15 to join, or for Rebuilding the Socialist Movement more information, write to: Workers and farmers face an uncertain Democracy: The right to pick our own AISP, P.O. Box 8376, Berkeley, CA future. The drive for profits is putting leaders and make our own decisions. 94707 working people out of work around the Democracy means the majority rules— world. from the bottom up, rank and file con­ The workers in the former Soviet Union trol. But it also means respecting the rights IHDEPENPINTZ and Eastern Europe now face a similar of minority points of view. fate as their brothers and sisters in the Independent political action: A break capitalist world. Their governments are from the framework of the two-party con both pro-capitalist and anti-communist. game of the rich. Labor needs our own P o l it ic s Few voices are defending socialism. voice and party. Class collaboration is a Independent Politics is a socialist magazine of news In the United States, as in all advanced death trap for working people. and political analysis founded in 1992. It is pub­ capitalist countries, employer and gov­ Activists for Independent Socialist lished quarterly by members and supporters of Ac­ tivists for Independent Socialist Politics. Signed ernment attacks fall disproportionately on Politics (A1SP) seeks to rebuild an inde­ articles reflect the views of their authors and publi­ the discriminated oppressed people of pendent socialist movement in the United cation of an article does not necessarily mean color, women and youth. States. The traditional left and progres­ agreement with its content. Unless otherwise Stated, all materials in Independent Politics may be repro­ Only a consciously organized and sive groups have failed. We seek collabo­ duced with acknowledgement. Please send reprints. militant response can defend the oppressed ration and democratic discussions with © Independent Politics 1994 and exploited, here and abroad. The key other activists and groups who agree with Closing News Date: May 4,1994 to bring about fundamental change is mass the three basic principles outlined above. Editor: Malik Miah mobilization and leadership by working AISP members are political activists in Editorial Committee: Alex Chis, Claudette people around three basic ideas: solidar­ trade unions, feminist organizations, Black, Begin, Suzanne Forsyth Doran, Alan Hanger, Mo Harry, Barry Sheppard, Lee Artz (Chicago), Latino and Asian groups, student groups ity, democracy and independent political Kathleen O ’Nan (Los Angeles) action. and other movements for social change. Business Manager; Alan Hanger Solidarity: Active support of the We believe there can be no socialist Design and Production: Blue Dog Design democratic rights of people of color, future unless the working class and envi­ Printing: Howard Quinn, a union print shop women, youth, the disabled, gays and other ronmental movements unite as one. All correspondence and requests for subscrip­ victims and outcasts of society. Solidar­ If you agree with this approach to poli­ tions, single issues, or bundles should be mailed to: Independent Politics, P.O. Box 55247, Hayward, ity means complete support to national tics and want to help us rebuild an inde­ CA 94545-0247, Telephone/Fax: (510) 430-1893. liberation struggles from Asia, Africa, the pendent socialist movement in the United IP is listed under THE LEFT INDEX. Pacific to the Americas and Europe. States, contact Activists for Independent INDEPENDENT POLITICS 2 Spring 1994 Is Single Payer Health Insurance Some theoreti­ On April 27 more than Socialized Medicine? cians on the right say 1 million signatures that even the fire were turned in to systems should be county registrar of By ALAN HANGER privatized because voters across the state “the market is in­ of California to place an initiative on the Additional millions would lose postal herently more efficient.” This could lead November ballot to install a Canadian-style delivery because they could not pay for to a scenario where a fire in one building single payer health care system in the state. delivery, like the 39 million citizens who is left to spread to a larger area because of The 1,064,000 signatures collected repre­ are unable to pay for health care today. unpaid private fire company fees. sented 57 percent more than needed to qualify. While the comparison of single payer This scenario is similar to the current The fight begins now to win the vote—Edi­ with the Postal Service is a demagogic spread of TB, beginning with people who tor. attempt to play on the proverbial errors cannot afford medical treatment, which of the Postal Service, a single payer sys­ is due to underfunded public health pro­ n California, and nationally, the tem is not even as socialized as the U.S. grams. If you ca n ’t pay, you get no treat­ movement to eliminate insurance mail. Single payer is not socialized medi­ ment. company profits and to control costs cine, but socialized insurance. I Socialized medicine in medical care has been attacked from The fire-fighting system in most com­ the right as being socialized medicine, and munities is more socialized because fire The single payer system is not social­ from the left as not being socialized fighters are government employees. ized medicine. Socialized medicine would medicine. Is government sponsored single Doctors and medical workers, on t he other provide free universal health care for all payer health insurance socialized medi­ hand, would work for themselves or pri­ Americans regardless of employment, cine? If not, why should it be supported vate companies rather than for the gov­ nationality, race, sex or citizenship. Health by progressives and workers? ernment. Payroll taxes on employers in care would be treated as a right, not a the health system are analogous to prop­ privilege. The system would be based on The Postal Service argument erty taxes that are paid for fire districts. Continued on Page 5 Republicans such as Robert Dole and Newt Gingrich, and Democrats Jim Coo­ THE UNINSURED IN CALIFORNIA per and John Breauz charge that single Percent of residents under 65 who have no private health insurance, Medl-Cal or Medicare. payer is socialized medicine that will lead The uninsured Category Pet. Category Pet. to faceless bureaucrats running health care, in California counties All residents 22.5% Work status of adults and that situation will deteriorate— like Age Full-time employees 18.5% in the former Soviet Union. Their favor­ Under 18 19.3% Other work 37.5% ite argument against single payer is: if you 18 to 64 24% Nonworkers 28.1% like the U.S. Postal Service, y ou ’ll like single payer. This is their defense of a health Family income, ageo 18 to 64 Sacramento-
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