IN THE RUINS OF THE PRESENT

Tricontinental Working Document, no. 1 March 2018 Every few months, Tricontinental will release a working document. These documents are intended to stimu-late debate about issues of importance. Please use them as you see fit – reproduce them, translate them, and discuss the issues raised by them. We hope that readers find the series useful. We are always open to criticism and guidance, not only about the contents of the working document, but also about the form itself. If you have any comments about the papers, or would like to submit a document for the series, please write to [email protected] or [email protected]. they are denied mobility, denied anyexitfrom their produce refugees ofhunger andbombardment, but world’s poor are beingpunished? Poverty andwar person sensitive every that should asktoday. question Whatisthecrimeforwhich the is dilemma, it this with for film his open to clever is Peck punished? know is the crime. For what crime are they being not do they what But killed. even beaten, being are They punishment. the know wrote, he peasants, The dismayed attheviolence against theGermanpeasants. Young Karl Marx,sittinginCologne in1842,is them. the peasants die.Evenfallenwoodisnotallowed to of thearistocrats andtheguards strike them.Someof lances and whips The fall. They energy. no have they right to everything in the forest. The peasants run. But the claim to come have They near.are aristocrats the and cold look hungry. They We hear horses wood. in the distance. The guards fallen and gather Peasants Der Junge Karl Marx (2017) – in the forests of Prussia. – film his opens filmmaker, Haitian the Peck, Raoul In theRuinsof When the axe came into the forest, axecameinto the the When trees the said:the Ağaca baltavurmuşlar‘sapı bendendir’demiş. Present (Turkish proverb). handle is one ofus. handle isone Vijay Prashad.

punishment. Butwhatis the crime? the is This die. to wait just must truly, zombie, new The medicine. or shelter seek to or food for forageto allowed be cannot zombie new the And zombie justwaits around to die’. new zombie cannot expect work of The any kind – the new relief. no with clock the around work to expected were zombies Old means. magical by captured been had work and life whose figure a into not-quite-alive. In the old days, a zombie was are being rendered through economic alchemy nations entire where capitalism, of stage ‘zombie ‘Apocalypse’,Junot Diaz noted that Haiti warned us of the new titled essay memorable a In 2010. Diaz of earthquake devastating the Junot after Haiti visited writer Dominican-American The What have theydonetodeservethis? This they know. Whattheydonotknowistheircrime. death. and starvation indignity, face: that they punishment the know They predicament.

5 Working Document, No. 1 strategic. The United States still possesses the most possesses still States United The strategic. but fatal, arenot wounds Its enemies. vanquishingits countries, –destroying people on fire breathes and the United Stateswhipsitstailacross theplanet US andUNoccupation. Like awounded dragon, countries thatincludeHaiti,nowsubstantiallyunder Since then, the US has also destroyed Libya and other in 2003aspartofitsillegal invasion ofthecountry. It included Iraq, which the United States bombed Bush W.used in 2002 but that then did not include Venezuela. George predecessor his concept a Evil, of North Korea, Iran and Venezuela. This is the new Axis US President Donald Trump threatens to annihilate Division ofHumanity We were people.Withgreat difficultywebecame human. Aadmi tha,barimushqilseinsaanhua. International ­—Akbar Illahabadi. Part 1:Structure. of suffering that follows. There has never been any and then – conveniently – forgets the human cost its immensemilitarypoweragainst humanbeings Ituses ofimperialism. soul the in iron is There humanity oversubmission. are tobecarefully tracked bythosewhofavour not make itgodlike; ithasitsownerrors, which is themostpowerfulcountry intheworlddoes States United the Because ambitions. its benefit always not do that ways in power this uses it But and bytheuseofweapons ofmass destruction. destroying anycountry byaerialbombardment powerful militaryintheworldandiscapable of war. induced planetaryclimatechaosandofnuclear world seems poised atthe brink of capitalist- the when annihilation, of era the like feels This come’. My relatives thoughttheendofworldhad the bombwas dropped. Itterrorised ourpeople. why see don’t I But people. our against atrocities that nodoubt is ISIS was brutal,andthattheyhave committed ‘There reflected, – Shinwari Naveed – mayor Achin’s falling’. was heaven like a boat in a storm’, like said Mohammed Shahzad. ‘It felt felt earth ‘The chilling. were words their When thepeople around thebombsitespoke, journalists into the site on the grounds of security. allow to declined – government Afghan the and States United the by pushed – authorities local States drops amassive bombonAfghanistan.The that there isbarely anyconcern whentheUnited of Iraq and Libya. The iron is so lodged in the soul destruction the and Afghanistan on war endless the indeed nor 1970s and 1960s Vietnamthe of in Korea in the 1950s nor the massive bombardment Japan in1945norforthehideous bombardment of accountability fortheuseofnuclear weapons on

7 Working Document, No. 1 iron andhatred. warmth ofhumansurvival against theharshness of the provide They complacency. These against warnings horizon. are the on is annihilation that appears nuclear attack,are essential forourtimes,whenit of the words The of thenuclear attack,Dr. Michihiko Hachiya wrote, In his made alistinherdiaryofwhatsherecalled, who survived theUS atomicbombattackonHiroshima of mass destructionagainst Japan. Torako Hironaka, the annihilation – the survivors of the US use of weapons and register to pause grave words ofthosewhohave already experienced therefore, fitting, is It people whowalked intherealm ofdreams. the factthattheywere witnessing theexodusof grasp not could outsiders direction.The same the when closebywas asmooth,easy road going in of files long people holdingstolidlytoanarrow, rough path of spectacle the amazement with reactions hadastonished outsiders,whoreported that Their automatons. andlike confused behaved and moved they so broken were They way’. they were ‘This where said, and city the from away pointed asked going, when and way’, ‘That had come, theypointed tothecityandsaid, their initiativegone. Whenasked whence they suburbs inthedistanthills,their spirits broken, the towards silently walked able were who Those 5. Whatwithdead cats, pigsandpeople, itwas 4. Afieldof watermelons. 3. Naked girlscrying‘StupidAmerica’. 2. Anaked woman. 1. Someburned workclothes. just ahellonearth. Hiroshima Diary hibakusha (1955), written in the aftermath , thesurvivorsof There is an is There is fragile. humanity in trust Their young. the before stand military. Wars continue endlessly. Pitiless futures the planet. There is, however, always a job with the impossible dream formillionsofourfellowson agencies showusthatformalemploymentisan dreams ofhumansurvival. Datafrom international oceans. Water drowns landascapital drowns the and astheSouthSea islandsdisappear intothe Caribbeanareislands wracked flood and wind by and the hurricanes as imagination, our capture – levels sea rising – events natural Catastrophic of bourgeois social science? Canweunderstand principles first the by up dreamt world illusory of thereal worldthatweliveinandnotthe imperialism – that are essential as to an such investigation – concepts the have they Do consensus? and theemergence ofneofascism asitscurrent the failure of neoliberalism to manage this crisis between the endemiccrisisproduced byglobalisation, relationship the explain they can But explain thisorthataspect ofourworld. of elitesinourworld,theseapproaches might understandings ofpowerandnaiveabouttherole theory ofour condition. Seeped incommon sense inferential statistics – are at a loss to offer a general theory, regression analysis,multi-level models, game – positivism that American North of thought from come modes The realities? complex and war? Whatconcepts dowehave tograsp these and annihilation,ofpoverty, climatecatastrophe How to understand a world of unemployment for war butdenythattheyhave ahandinit. of peace, incountries thatproduce the conditions are separated from those who live with the illusion tragedy and war great of zones in live who those is asifthere iswall thatseparates ourhumanity; international divisionofhumanity . It

9 Working Document, No. 1 than socialworkers andartists? social goods, whythere are more police onourstreets on thearsenalofrepression thanontheproduction of for whythecountries oftheworldspendmore money explanation have an they Do fromcountry? that flesh Monetary Fund(IMF)wants toextract itspoundof wants tobombthiscountry orwhytheInternational why the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

the commodities thatenhance ourpresent. design ourfuture andwhosehard work produces who workers the – labour social be to seen not is It entrepreneurs. and corporations – Capital be to seen is history of motor The corporations. the an economy humonehastocater totheneeds of they say, thatmake jobs,andsotherefore tomake social labourofhumanbeings.Itiscorporations, ingenuity thatmakes historyrather thanthe absorbed thebourgeois logicthatitiscorporate have intellectuals These institutions. these circle who intellectuals by as well as Bank World the the InternationalMonetaryFund(IMF)and designed by multinational agencies such as Neoliberalism isessentially apolicyplatform of social lifeacross theplanetisneoliberalism. the desiccation to explain used concept The Where dopeopleearn Per the More CapitaIncome? than one starvingthan one soulwouldliketoknow. Globalisation —Eduardo Galeano.

11 Working Document, No. 1 to protect capital’s gains despitepolitical objections factories, and asanewintellectual property regime developed global its of workers towards single-file aflood in marched as swiftly came developments A truly magical era opened up for capital. Technological inaugurates theera of the dearest markets. This god-like position for capital its computers andseeking thecheapest workers and down at it from its satellites, hoarding information on chariot andobserve the planetfrom above, looking relatively depleted. Capitalwas nowabletoascend its been overcome andworking-class power hadbeen had barriers technological certain 1970s, the by But labour. benefit to capital restrict nation-states that demanded that movements working-class by and – access informationinreal timefrom across theplanet to inability the as such – technologicallimitations by But prices. higher at capital’s great global ambitions were held in check goods these sell new find to to markets and new techniques costs lower and for goods produce resources to new find to eager of thelimitssetuponitbynationalgovernments, has always sought a global market, eager to break free changes intheglobalmodeofproduction. Capitalism solve practical problems produced bystructural not is air. Itwas brought tobear bythesegovernments to history thin of out human appear not did to Neoliberalism adequate. approach idealist An towards privatisation andcannibalisation? move they did Why why? But indeedcase. the is That commons and the cannibalisation of social resources. championed theprivatisation oftheprotected They planet. the of institutions the through agenda up publicpolicyasiffrom no-where, drivingtheir is asiftheseleaders were like sorcerers, conjuring to Reagan explain howneoliberalism changed theworld.It Ronald US President the and Thatcher to theprojects oftheUK’s Prime MinisterMargaret Scholars critical oftheneoliberal policy slate turn globalisation . Volcker didbyhismonetarypolicywas toexport What World. Third the of economies the jolted – Volcker) Paul chair Reserve Federal US after interest rates in 1979 – the Volcker Shock (named crisis for the Third World. A sharp increase in US debt induced system’s financial Western the by set was globalisation for condition political The the bourgeoisie. of affairs common the managing for committee truly onecould say thatthe statefunctionsasa delivered comprehensively tocapitalists. Now state powerworkers andpeasants hadwas now from weakened statesaround theworld.What of thesestatestoprovide socialgoods totheir theability crushed debt crisis World Third The by theexportofgoods andservices. governments was greater thantheamountearned that theamountowed tocommercial banksand means This countries. these of exports total the of 126.5% to amounted states which trillion, $1.4 World at was Third the for debt external total The control. of out gone had numbers the 1991, By (1987). billion $36.3 unmanageable an to rose it (1970), billion $2.8 of payment high a from – interest payments onthisloanwas monumental or service debt The GNP). their of (47.5% billion $402.2 to rose figure the – crisis debt the of heat the in – 1987 By GNP). Product, National Gross atotal external publicdebtof$17.9 carried billion(9.8%oftheir countries fifteen these 1970, In illustrative. is assessment) Bank’s World the on (based countries indebted heavily fifteen the of situation The governments. Western and banks at catastrophic levelsofdebtagainst commercial themselves found now states World Third own, their of fault no For skyrocketed. (LIBOR) Rate Offer Inter-Bank London the that meant dollar the rest oftheworld.Highinterest rates forthe to States United the of shores the from inflation

13 Working Document, No. 1 set them up in several countries at the same time – a – time same the at countries several in up them set fast aspossible. Firmscould break-up satellite factoriesand as to manage global, real-time databasesandtomovegoods as ability the such with firms provided – ships – technologies communications, computerisation andcontainer new First, new intellectual property regime. strategies of the monopoly firms and the creation of a of millionsnewworkers totheaccumulation development ofnewtechnologies, thedelivery were There three elements to this new dynamic: the built. be the new would globalisation that of architecture states World Third the of weakness It was onthegraves ofthesechildren andonthe has become. Soit you’. Sankara,‘controls Thomas Faso’s Burkina of consequencea lackofindependence. ‘Hewhofeeds you’, warned a is Dependence the elites. of nationalist confidence cultural the and resolve leaders’ power ofthepost-colonial states,weakening their It was thedebtcrisisthatweakened thebargaining advantages. other and zones’ trade ‘free for negotiate they that meant had littletobargain withwhencompanies arrived to which – America Latin and Asia Africa, in states the of many of confidence political the destroyed Third had the World in crisis debt The clearly, it ‘Must westarveourchildren topay ourdebts?’. put Nyerere time, Julius At this President Tanzania’s system. financial the of because day means, That UNICEF noted, that40,000children died every crisis. debt the of result a as ailments that in 1988 halfa million children died of preventable UNICEF’s interest was in the children. It estimated per capita onhealth by25%andoneducation by50%. poorest countries intheworldreduced theirspending 37 The decade. lost a 1980s, the in averagedropincomes in 25% a in resulted crisis debt this that noted – Agency Children’s UN the – UNICEF populations. commodity swiftly and relatively cheaply as well as cheaply relatively and swiftly commodity the of parts the move could capital containerisation, – instance for – transportation in of advances Because locations. many in factories smaller small changes inprices ofinputcosts tobuild were over. Nowcapital could take advantage of days factory.Those giant one build to or markets Capital didnotneed tobuildfactoriesnear the cheapest location for which production need. judge whichcountry wouldbebestabletoprovide to – proprietarydatabase its on held information commodity, with the firm able – thanks tofinal detailedthe of part one produce could factory Each process knownasthe possible, whichwas crucialtothepharmaceutical and technology. Reverse engineering ofgoods was to make goods andto therefore enhance science new ways find to people allowed That itself. good process bywhichagood was produced, notinthe Previously, intellectual property was vested in the be inthehandsofcapital rather thansociety. ensure thatintellectual property rightswould to to1994 Tariffs 1986 from and Round Trade Uruguay (GATT)’s roundof on final Agreement the General the into went capital Thirdly, disarticulated the await factory todescend intotheirlives. would They market. demands, nowbecame prey tothecapitalist previously sheltered from full-scale capitalist market toforeign capital. Millionsofworkers, the USSR andtheopeningofChineselabour of fall the Third crisis, the debt of becauseWorld Third World Project began to tumble in the 1980s Revolution, theChineseRevolution andthe Second, barriers erected by the October across theplanetnowbecame available. from one territory and to spread production production to remove means technological The as shift commodities to markets with relative ease. disarticulation ofproduction .

15 Working Document, No. 1 and services. First,theymoved their entire production alongthe global commodity chainfortheproduction ofgoods strategies different two used They scale. global a on operate to firms allowed rules property of millions ofpotentialworkers andthenewintellectual the delivery developments, technological These industry andagriculture. what was lostwas economic sovereignty inboth agriculture anditsextracted raw materials.Inreality, of itsworkers andmarkets inreturn forexportingits debt crisis,gave upitsindustrialpolicyandprotection Dahi putit.MostoftheglobalSouth,crippled bythe of a so-called ‘Grand Bargain’, as the economist Omar The World Trade Organisation came about as a result the architecture ofdisarticulated production. of framework legal new the was This colonisation). for asocialInternetisanotherindicator ofdigital asaprinciple (the slowdeath of‘netneutrality’ mainly Western content topeople across theplanet means of consumer surveillance and by the delivery of towards theconsolidation ofnewdesires through new firms’ ‘information large by data of theft the namely – colonisation’‘digital to drive new the for basis the with firms’ ‘information provided also It land. over new poweroveragriculture thattranscended control with corporations food major provided – transgenics the patentingofnanotechnologies, genomics and through – framework property intellectual new the this new intellectual property regime. Furthermore, by protected be will – WesternEurope and America produced outside the core territory of capital – North own innovations. Italsomeans thatthevalue of goods from anyone who makes this good – regardless of their patented, whichmeans thatcapital can collect rent property changed. Now, thegood itselfwas tobe Organisation (WTO) in1994,theidea ofintellectual Trade World the produced final which GATT, the of round After poor. the for medicines life-saving sector in the poorer nations where they could develop r y r-egh usucn – aia found capital its advantage inlabourarbitrage, usingcheaper – outsourcing arm-length by or FDI by – way Either process. production the in to save theircapital and to bear almost no risk firms multinational allowed – it put Smith John ‘arms-length outsourcing’ – as political economist This bottom. the to race a in other each against struggle would who subcontractors, hire merely would firms multinational the commodities their infrastructure forproduction. Second, toproduce invest moneyelsewhere tobuildupthephysical to have still would firm multinational the Here, as Foreign Direct Investment(FDI)outsourcing. known is This country. one to overseas processes They are brand firms. The profits theymake profits The from therent theycollect against theirbrand firms. brand are They others and Apple like them do not investmoney into factories. Nike, process. production the of North tonolonger investtheircapital intothe firms enables outsourcing Arms-length by the camp features oftheExportProcessing Zonesand to change the world is stifled by the concentration motion own Their workers. to available is means production ofacommodity? Neitherofthese they do not control the entire process of the nationalise partsoftheproduction process if can states,iftheyare taken overbyworkers, to extract workfrom replaceable workers? How margins byownerswhouseeverybrutalmeans low on run are that firms sub-contracted length How can workers buildunionsinthesearms- worker power – trade unions and nationalisation. weakens institutional frameworks forthebuildingof of production the powerofworkers byremoving thetwo geography new This South. hollowing out societies in the North and the and weaker labourtomake itsproducts, while maquiladora factories.

17 Working Document, No. 1 means that the richest firms and individuals have individuals and firms richest the that means capital money accumulated of hoard the vast This GDP. countries their percentage of a as wealth offshore with make states highest Argentina and Russia GDP. The elites of the UAE, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, (such as the UAE), the offshore wealth is above 70% of –amounts to about 10% of total global GDP. In some countries havens inthese –held wealth Offshore 2007). (in trillion $5.6 estimated an hold havens tax that indicates – Settlements International for Bank of Economic Research andbased onnumbersfrom the That Bureau National the by study havens. a to according – figure banking such other and Switzerland hoarded inLuxembourg, money’ Singapore,‘black to $7.3 trillion, a numberthat does not include the corporations and banks in Europe and Japan by and the total amounts held cash the in Add trillion. $4.0 of total a That’s reserves. cash in trillion $1 holding are banks US accounts. offshore their in trillion $1.1 $1.9 trillionincash withintheUS andanadditional American corporations – by themselves – are holding North money. that with stingy – years forty past the over – been also have they but cash, of amounts vast Not onlyhave therichandcorporations amassed result ofthelackneed toinvestinproduction. production and by the ballooning financial sector as a arms-length outsourcing established bydisarticulated humanity.of half wealth directTheir a is the of result study, nowholdasmuchwealth astheentire bottom become obscenely wealthy. Eightmen,says anOxfam largethese controlof who peoplefirms some the that the intermediation ofproduction. Nosurprisethen attempt toproduce more moneyfrom moneywithout they where circuits financial in it hoard they good, money forproductive enterprisesorforthesocial unproductive financial casino. Rather than invest this they have turned over mountains of capital into the that or cash of amounts vast on sitting are firms that substantially get reinvested into productive enterprises. Little wonder not does it and – astronomical is h ae h mses f rpry hv be – been have essentially – on strike against regimes property, of taxation. of masters the are who to concept of the ‘tax the strike’. Those who hold capital, – necessary language sense is common our it in – reality,develop grim this on Based strike’. structural constipation ofcapital, this‘investment and peasants. There is no greater scandal than this peasants andlowerlivingstandards forworkers national budgets paidforbytaxesonworkers and the world ofsociallabour, while they insistoncuts to into cash this invest to refused have they – outsourced stagnationintotheheart oftheworld property prices. was now cemented in the foundations of rising the for middle-class andupperlevels oftheworking-class Dream American North the – enabled Put Greenspan’s what is This benefit. short-term theirown for of control out develop to finance willingly to the Greenspan Put and cheered on main asset, sothecountry’s middleclass acceded the was This prices. home increased on premised for oldermiddle-class US residents hadcome tobe real socialsecurity orpension scheme,retirement asset bubblessuchashousingprices. Without any the markets with capital, which was flooding used to inflate for famous was chair Reserve’s Federal US the – Put Greenspan the called was banks to liquidity of delivery government’s US the boom, US housing market. In the heyday of the housing the – yet of as burst to bubble largestasset the of can produce was showninthe2007-08explosion dynamic this that turbulence The WallStreet. in finance: of centre the in is capital of use this of version obscene most The bubbles. asset various and market stock the inflate to work to put is it substantially inanyproductive way. Ifitisused, used not is wealth of pool vast This protections. hide their either money or to change tax laws to offer them increasing wealth vast their use They

19 Working Document, No. 1 ae sap usin fo Rpeettv Henry Waxman Representative (California): from questions sharp faced Greenspan came before theUS Congress in2008,he monetarist practitioners, saidhewas ‘shocked’. When overinflated an – America’sleading of one Greenspan, burst, market – bubble housing US the When from onecrisistoanother, from chaostochaos. designed inthisway, its rationality drivingthe system is system The rational. perfectly but system, this for credit intotheUS consumer sector isnotirrational cheap of entry the and markets asset the of inflation to themanufacturers from ChinatoMexico. Sothe system, allows the US consumer to become essential credit delivered through theinternationalbanking of scale The consumption, fuelled bytheGreenspan Put andby consumption. of level that sustain to resident, thenatleast fourEarthswouldbeneeded of quarter its energy. Ifeveryoneontheplanetlived like a aUS least at consumes US the population, consumption isastronomic. Merely 5%oftheworld’s US of scale The planet. the across from kinds all of to vacuum up goods and services as well as resources oflastresort’‘buyer fortheworldmarket, continuing asthe operates market States United The incomes. consume atrates thatwere farabovetheirown of retirement, credit from banks allowed them to upper sections oftheworkingclass withthedream If housingprices provided theUS middleclass and Greenspan: was notworking. view of the world, your ideology, was not right, it Waxman: equity inthefirms. of protecting theirownshareholders andtheir and others,were suchasthattheywere capable banks specifically organisations, of self-interest Greenspan: In other words, you found that your Absolutely, precisely. You know that’s Youknow precisely.Absolutely, Imadeamistake inpresuming thatthe their choices. They were above politics, inthe land oftheory, atheory thatGreenspan himself politics, above were They choices. their there need notbeanypolitical discussion about the handsoftechnocrats whopushed theviewthat unscathed. Macro-economic policyremained in frameworks. Monetarismcame out ofthiscrisis Economics profession orontheirpublicpolicy the on impact wasno he shockedhad it yet and – and flawed, theory,was Greenspan’shis ideology, Tax strikes come alongsidetheinsistence from the agenda from being completely donor-driven’. development andprevent this[newdevelopment] against attemptstode-politiciseeconomics and ‘WeFeministit, cautionForumAfrican put must by donor-driven agendas. As Sarah Mukasa of the driven less bydemocratic institutionsandmore of acountry. Inthisway, publicpolicyis now policy against thedemocratically produced needs these individualswhobecame key driversofsocial women seen aschampionsagainst poverty. Itwas on medicine andwithotherwealthy menand work his for lionised Gates Bill with times, our of philanthropy. Richdonorsbecame thehero of ora anindividual family could consume, created themorbidcult what wealth. beyond social wealth, of This quantities – unimaginable – hold large to individuals enabled strike tax The bankers tied democracy upinchains. when thewell-paidlobbyistsandwell-behaved for amilitarycoup (except incertain countries) comes notfrom atank,butfrom abank’. Noneed said quite clearly, danger‘The of a coup these days former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis The wrong. been had Congress US the told had exceptionally well. very considerable evidence thatitwas working have been going forfortyyears ormore with precisely the reason Iwas shocked, because I

21 Working Document, No. 1 women infamilies. to beheldtogether bytripletimelabourmainlyfrom of globalisationfrayed society, whoseloosebondshad costs social the – together hold to had heart hidden that the onto society. What the hidden hand destroyed, the then wonder pressure onsocietyisnowdefrayed from thestate No finances. government alongside the tax strike means impoverished slice away atthesesocial goods. Fiscal responsibility continue to maintain social institutions or else they are forced toeithersellassets toraise fundssoasto governments that means This exchequer. public the budgets, evenascapital reduces itspayments into their balance must Governments finances. public of books the balance must officials public that capital) big of force full the by (backed makers policy official

means todeliverupontheirobligations. Dearly the find not could Bourgeoissimply governments andfiscal strike responsibility desiccated publicbudgets. asinvestment as well tax The the crisisofglobalisation. a product ofabourgeois publicpolicysolutionto neoliberalism demands the and from thepublicforsocialgoods thatproduced responsibility thetax fiscal is strike, It civilisation. modern of definition states to provide. These were part of the minimum pensions: allthesethepeople hadforced their Childcare, benefits. education, transportation, fresh air, welfare, social all cut immediately not could struggle, sustained through population Modern states,withcommitments wonbytheir and likebeggars wecontinuetostretch ourhands. Neoliberalism Whiteman societyIMFandsubsidies, A philosophyofahopeless society, —Kalamashaka, NiWakati. Man eat man,mancan’t plan . Neoliberalism, in other words, was 23 Working Document, No. 1 iaca Itgiy n te ete o Applied that thetotalaid,investment andincome thatentered for Centre the Research (Norwegian School of Economics) found and Integrity Financial – is This population. essentially – a the form of theft. A recent study by Global of skills the broaden to social wealth; itisrarely used toinvestineducation that money is does notprovide newinfrastructure orenhance the This imports. energy expensive for to continues be used toservice debtobligations aswelltopay privatisation from raised money The national budgets. seen astheonlyway tocontain theirhaemorrhaging fated toremain so.Fire saleoftheirnationalassets is trap the is This borrowers. high-risk are they alsoprejudiced against because theyare seen as but zone), imperialist the enter they when up valued commodities at low prices, which are marked their GDP is under-reported (since they export for them.Notonlydothesecountries loseoutbecause expensive money making adversely, often countries, commercial markets. ItistheIMFthatrates these thereby make ithard forthemtoraise capital in and countries these ignore – Poors & Standard and Moodys Fitch, – agencies ratings private the words, developing countries have neverbeen rated’. Inother countries have notbeen rated since 2004.Nearly 70 have been rated bytherating agencies. Ofthese,15 end of the previous the year ‘only 86 developing by countries that found 2007 from report Bank World A against the‘developing nations’ isnowwellknown. institutions western by gatekeeping The insolvency. term capital toprotect themfrom thespiral into their bonds,preventing themfrom raising short- downgrading finances, public their into enough deep and commercial bankspunished statesthatdidnotcut modern states. International entities such astheIMF the of finances tenuous the maintain to funds raised of privatisation This block. parts auction the on went nature non-commodified and assets public won , where nationsthatare poorincapital are forever finance-development It comes in three packets – $4.2 trillion in debt in trillion $4.2 – packets three in world? comes It developing the flees that money this of in but , our contemporary period.Whatisthecharacter – happen did as – colonialism high of erathe during not – nations poorer the of wealth nations, like vampires, have been suckingdrythe richer The trillion. $16.3 to amounted has wealth trillion to theWest. Since 1980,the total drain of words, the developing world haemorrhaged $2 found thatthenumberis$3.3trillion.Inother from thedevelopingworldthatsameyear and outflow the at looked study the then, money.But of deal great a is That trillion. $1.3 to amounted the developingcountries from outsidein2012 to pay fortheireducation through debt,asthis people andcashiered olderworkers are forced Youngill. fall they when and study citizens when social function. As a result personal debt increases citizens to find means to pay for what should be a care. It then becomes the private obligation of health and education – services social essential national treasury. Moneyisnotturned overfor and onsecurity services digintothewellsof budgets. Enormousexpenditure onmilitaries are registered have decreased the assets innational they where territories the into profits repatriate wealthy and lax restrictions on corporations to North hassteadily gone global.Tax cutsforthe experience of neoliberal policy in the Global development intotheprivate sector. Infact,the the State’s neoliberal obligations has driven social Matters are noeasier intheGlobalNorth,where are simplynoteasily available. South, then,fundsforbasicsocialdevelopment to $700billionincapital loss). For theGlobal also trade misinvoicing,whichitselfamounted but money’ ‘black just (not flight capital illegal back tothe Global Northand unregulated and repatriated is that firms foreign by made income service (almostfourtimesthetotalaidpackage), 25 Working Document, No. 1 or sciences) seem less attractive. College becomes students toinnovative thinking(whetherin thearts challenge theprevailing socialorder orthatintroduce increasingly not available. This means that courses that the investment in them will pay off with jobs that are private graduate schoolsandhopeagainst hopethat them withtheir English, get theminto expensive decades. Studentsseek out‘coaching’ classes tohelp whose growth hasbeen astronomic overthepasttwo internships, wage-less finding time their spend they find to a high paying job once they graduate. ability To this end their enhance would that courses find to of ability the suffocates students to experiment with new ideas. They debt are eager College world. the across away whittled gradually being is – social democracy for gain major a – education university Free day asincome. extreme povertyfrom $1.90orless perday to$3.10per for lifted is threshold the if year per people million 180 to rises number The costs. care health of result a hundred million people go into ‘extreme as poverty’ a about show, WHO and WorldBank the year, Each Indians were impoverished byhealth care costs in2011. World the Health Organisation foundthat52.5 million and Bank World the India, In bills. care health has resulted inariseglobalbankruptcythrough of privatisation model’ ‘American This bankruptcy. reason forindividualsintheUnited Statestodeclare paying theirmedical bills.Medical debtisthemain 2010 showed that40%ofUS residents hadtrouble on trillion $2.7 spent health care outoftheirownpockets. Onestudyfrom residents US – 2012 in – yet 85% ofthepopulationhassomehealth insurance and States, United the In Mexico. to India from Africa, Student debt is on the rise from China to South has been rapidly exported intotherest oftheworld. billion. This model of the privatisation of social goods is now$1.3trillion,intheUnited Kingdom $500 advancement. Student loan debt in the United States education was promised astheavenue for individual workers, peasants andtheunemployed. hegemonic thoughtrooted intheexperiences of new thinking,especially elaborations ofcounter- discourse of‘excellence’ outof suckstheenergy if youare controversial’. Inotherwords, the centres ofexcellence. You can’t attainexcellence centres ofcontroversy; nowwecovet tobecome Salaam said,‘our universitiestookprideinbeing Professor Issa ShivjioftheUniversity ofDares on intellectual lifeingeneral. ‘Once uponatime’, impact an has This desperation. debt-induced by but cupidity by driven not – success individual less asocialincubatorandmore aspringboard to This drive for planned obsolescence certainly obsolescence planned for drive This cars). new or phones new get to requirement the products thatdonotneed tobereplaced (suchas not essential orthatare newversionsofolder Demand iscreated forgoods thatare either and toproduce subcultures ofconsumption. segmentation to target more finely grained desires have developed sophisticated theories of market the visuallandscape thatsurrounds us.Firms of advertising tocreateThe newdesires proliferation isevidentin a buyer. finds products of humming, tomake sure thattheoverabundance Debt isonepartoftheplantokeep theeconomy ordinary people hadtogo into debt. grow, economy the make To theft. and trickery derivative civilisation,acivilisationfounded on led tomore turbulence oftheglobaleconomy, a assets inflated the and debt to led technologies Instead, consumerism and the emergence of new happened. this of None goods. social on spent – somehow – be could that wealth social produce would miraculously increase growth rates and the creation ofnewtechnologies andassets that consumerism, paidforthrough debt,andfrom policy betonlettingloosetheanimalspiritsof How was the economy to grow? Neoliberal 27 Working Document, No. 1 only societybuthuman personality. Itundermines not damages it, put Scharff Christina sociologist as neoliberalism’, of life psychic individually. borne ‘The on individualtalentordrive. Failure isacost thatis premised success immediate for drive quixotic a by are theoutcome ofasocietythatisincreasingly driven background andonchance. Depression andinsecurity individual inworldwhere success is premised upon able tolivewiththeassumption ofbeingaself-driven world ofself-improvement andself-motivation, tobe a in flourish to able easily so not are resources fewer it impacts upon human beings divergently. Those with but – as a great deal of psychological research shows – entrepreneurism attracts people ofallbackgrounds, The sensibilityofan enterpriseculture oraculture of one isnotahumanbeingbutbusiness enterprise. if as life one’s live to call a is that beneathpolicy. But of aworldcommodities isthelure ofneoliberal functioned as a desirable cultural agenda. The promise More thananeconomic policy, neoliberalism version ofNirvana. ability ofcapitalism togallop forward intoitsown and the destruction of nature are slowly eroding the of garbage volume The drinking land. fertile precious onto into and water leach that landfills in and bottom of the seabed, as toxic gases after incineration the at home their find that waste of mountains the obsolescence toexpandtheshrinkingmarket is planned of image mirror The recycled. gets which of has generated 9 billion tons of plastic waste – only 9% would exceed 4billiontonnes.Since 1950,theworld likely tripleandthatby2100,thetotalannualwaste study showsthatby2025,thetotaldailygarbage will Bank World The months. six within away thrown is It hasbeen estimated that99%ofwhatispurchased namely around 11milliontonnesofgarbage aday. waste, of tonnes billion 1.3 to amounts study, Bank world’s The annual garbage production, according toaWorld waste. of volumes enormous creates it helps a saturated market expand, but atthesame time The data on the poverty of our times isutterly times our of the poverty on data The particularly amongsttheyouth. asit society, unequal an in effects harsh has be, seductive might of neoliberalism, ideology The among thosemenandwomenaged 15and44. out, amongthethree leading causes ofdeath pointed has WHO the now,as is Suicide 60%. by in thepast45years, suiciderates have increased that suggested has Organisation Health World less socialcohesion. To putthepointsharply, the – individualism leading, in sum,togreater dispersed anxietyand of cultures and consumerism cultures ofsolidarityinfavour ofcultures of could beused toovercome povertyisnowmoved that wealth Social Hazards. Analysis, Sensitivity Mitigation, Risk Security,Surveillance, – control the inevitabilityof newmechanisms of suggest to vocabulary new a with Terror– Waron Drugs, on War a – ingenuity great of devices towardsenergy corralling tax themasses through the break to fight strike, thegovernments oftheworldturntheir than Rather slums. of we are tounderstandthecondition intheplanet if needed be will – anger alienation, desolation, frustration, humiliation, as such – science social Older categories thathave been setasideby of people willbesporadic andinsufficient. number large very a of suffering of amelioration by verysmallnumbersofpeople; andthatthe exploitation of social labour, has been sequestered data – the fact that global wealth, drawn from the this for implications miserable are There pattern. middle class intoadebt-drivenconsumption the implicates which – astronomically increased Household debtrates inmuchoftheworldhave world’s population live on less than $2.50 per day. the of half About hunger. of dies child a seconds children dieeveryday from poverty. Everyten miserable. Let’s beginwiththefactthat22,000 29 Working Document, No. 1 any hopeforabetterfuture. intimidate people buttheydonotprovide themwith sense deepening of despair that grips large partsof the planet. Guns the and gap inequality widening military sideofstatepolicy, haslittleanswertothe the social side ofstate policy andindulgence ofthe Neoliberal policy, whichisessentially starvation of aid andviolence showsthatthemarket hasfailed. Development between discrepancyGDP, this of 0.7% merely is Official Aid for commitment stated the violence amounts to 13.3% of the world’s GDP. Since of cost ($3.5 total The security. quarter internal to a going trillion) and expenditure military to going trillion) ($6.6 this of half with trillion, $13.6 about is Peace showed thatthetotalcost ofviolence per year and Economics for Institute the from report 2016 A – increasingly –tobuildup thearsenalof‘security’.

hy rml aot o ls ad tradepolicies, and loss job about grumble They gesture towards policiesofeconomic sovereignty. neofascists the and Trump that – constituencies politicalhereis It level. speechesin – before their found be to at thepolicylevel,butonlyrhetorical or not are globalisation of critiques policies thatcurtailthesocialwage. Substantial policies thatincrease economic growth andto inany policy neoliberal direct way, since theyremain committed to oppose not do They a muted rhetorical opposition to neoliberalism. Trump – and the European neofascists – provides finance anddiplomacy. coursing through theinstitutionsofinternational with vast militarycapabilities andwithitspower Trump isincharge ofthemostpowerfulstate, Turkey’s Recip Tayyip Erdogan. Of these men, Duterte through India’s Narendra Modito long linethatrunsfrom thePhilippines’ Rodrigo He isthemostbellicose ofthestrong men,a Fixation onDonald Trump isa natural instinct. Neofascism I justdon’t wantapoorperson. —Donald Trump.

31 Working Document, No. 1 Mexicans. Anti-immigrant sentiment is the platform the is sentiment Anti-immigrant Mexicans. an IndiawithoutMuslims, theUnited Stateswithout of cultural homogeneity – a Europe without minarets and hijabs, afantasy over obsess They nationalism. policy provisions are stuck at the border of cultural rhetoric Their sparkles with economic nationalism, but infacttheir working-class. the around or states either economic sovereignty structured around nation- What the neofascists promise is much weaker than ‘failure’, neofascism blamesthescapegoat. community. afalse, Ifneoliberalism blamestheindividual for – fulfilment’ of brutal community substitutes for a genuinely humane ‘swindle a ago, century a almost wrote Bloch Ernst as is, It blame. to someone find to shoulders their over look AynRand’srules by fail who Those structured. is system the way the by limitations or the barriersplaced uponsocial advance own one’s not failure, one’s for reason the is who – scapegoat the – else someone is It terms. structural be allowed tobepersonal,butnorisitunderstoodin they thinkisnecessary fortheirdesires? Failure cannot ‘succeed’, who find it hard to even live at the standard But win. can – what happenstothosewhodonot‘win’, whocannot himself as such – motivation and handers’ mustbeshunned sothatpeople oftalent her novel from Roark, Howard Rand’s Ayn and philosopher thenovelist of attitude the is This wealth. and personal journey, that self-direction drives excellence of neoliberalism atmosphere breeds theattitudethatsuccess isa cultural general The neoliberalism. Neofascism istheinverseofpsychiclife which theyseem tohave noclaim. world’s population,whoproduce thesocialwealth to by financial structure; while great harvested misery grows for the mass of the the feed that profits corporations multinational immense its material by contradictions: trapped are They globalisation. to alternative real no have they – neoliberals like – but Fountainhead (1943),whobelievesthat‘second from economic insecurity. This is the cruelty of cruelty the is This insecurity. economic from them, but with little meaning for those who suffer slogans of great meaning to those who are hurtby on ‘drug pushers, hold-up men and do-nothings’ – the Wall’ and ‘Muslim Ban’, ‘Beef Ban’ by‘Build and the war suffocated is suffering to antidote the Serious economic discussion is by the wayside as role collar’ jobs. inthehaemorrhagingof‘white cause of job loss. Trade has played only a marginal the been have – technology by Westdriven the – here abouthowincreased productivity rates in conversation serious little is There racism. about principles ofexchange andbecomes increasingly of theirnationalism.Trade ceases tobeaboutthe colonisation come alongside calls for the theft of theft the for calls alongside come colonisation doses tomaintaintheirdomination. Callsforre- believe inviolence andwant touseitinallopathic They ‘security’. or interventionism’ ‘humanitarian their belligerence, tohidebehindphrases suchas mask to compulsion no under are neofascists The propertied. their turn to attention against thevulnerable rather thanthe happy quite are who neofascists this is under threat from the ‘nationalism’ of the sacrosanct. Soistheinvestmentstrike. Noneof remains strike tax The obscenity. cultural its by comfortable withneofascism, ifalittleembarrassed than tothedispossessed populations.Wealth is rather children Rand’s Ayn towards favouritism of the Trump administration are indicative of the ‘reforms’ tax previously. The than world financial will allow far more wealth to be created in the liquidity that and more even lessen will burdens Street, andintheCityofLondon,asensethattax Dalal Finanzplatz, the Street, Wall in buoyancy great a charge, that in now are – succeeded believe have they who those – children Rand’s Ayn our times. the neofascism , thedominantpolitical formof 33 Working Document, No. 1 human beings. those whoare seen asforeigners, asoutsiders,lesser cultural homogeneity sotheyuseforce tointimidate of world a make cannot sovereignty.They cultural of are theprophylaxis against thefailure oftheirfantasy natural resources. Their wars – internal and external –

government hasbeen themaingendarme forthe In ourcurrent period,theUnited States of hyper-monopolyarms-length capitalism. the extra-economic power used by states in an era is avisibledemonstration of KoreaNorth to VenezuelaIran from to runs that pressureThe action. areinto mobilisedNorth the corporate media andthemilitaryestablishmentof policies moveagainst property, thefullforce ofthe if or firms multinational Northern-based largely the benefit that arrangements institutional the intimidation. Whencountries donotagree with diplomatic andlegal extortionaswellmilitary architecture ofproduction ismaintained by It is important to say directly that this new that confronts us. world miserable a is It society. above itself grafts as disposable, as a gated-community civilisation produced byglobalisation.People are beingseen moving ahumanagenda against thecontradictions Neither neoliberalism norneofascism iscapable of When imperialismfeelsWhen weak, itresorts tobruteforce. Imperia —Hugo Chávez. imperialism lism , namely 35 Working Document, No. 1 certainly being undermined – although it would take would it although – undermined being certainly are two first The challenged. being indeed are pillars for its own ends. There are small signs that these three property rightsandtheuseofviolence bytheWest of capital: arms-length outsourcing, intellectual disarticulated production andglobalaccumulation to emerge the three pillars of the Western advantaged system of – Russia and China become powerfulpoles,thentheywouldchallenge – rivals these If accumulation strategy. intellectual property drivenarms-lengthoutsourcing challenge theUS andWestern dominationofthe patent might the world’s China that suggests of This 2015. in applications a third filed fact, in China, the number of applications filed by US-based entities. filed the largest number of patent applications – twice from 2016 showed that in the previous year, China had report Organisation Property Intellectual The World productivity improvements. but ontechnology-driven dynamism is no longer to be based on low-wage work, economy intheworld.Furthermore, China’s economy China, inotherwords, ispoised tobecome thelargest PricewaterhouseCooper by study says thatChinawillbethelargest economy by2050. A 1.6%. of pace slower much a at grew economy US the while 2016, data shows that the Chinese economy grew by 6.7% in is China that next ($11trillion,14.84%oftheworldeconomy). IMF but economy), world the of size the economy intheworld($18trillion,justabove24%of estimates that in 2017 the United States had the largest Russia.and China being The Economic World Forum putative hegemony – with the main rivals in our time that itwouldnotlike tosee anyrivals challenge its clear it made has States United The contradictions. of set unsustainable an together hold to has – allies European its and – States United The Colombia. and India Arabia, Saudi as such allies regional important to outwards goes and (NATO) Organisation Treaty Atlantic North the in countries the from runs that structure ofimperialism.Itlinkstogether awebofallies The United States also has a massive military a massive has also States United The billion. $69.2 at Russia, namely spender, largest military spendingthantotalspentbythethird to theUS militarybudget willaddmore toUS US President Donald Trump’s proposed increase which spentamere $215,7billionincomparison. States dwarfs the second largest United spender, namely China, the billion, $611.2 At Germany). India, France, theUnited Kingdom, Japan and Arabia, Saudi Russia, (China, combined arms on spent more thanthenexteightlargest spenders 2016, in States, United The shake. to harder be to going is – force on monopoly – pillar third The many decades before theycan betotallysetaside. too hard against China and Russia might move push To firms. Western advantages that process would undermine the disarticulate production production andaccumulation architecture that intellectual property developmentsisbuildinga own its through as well as Africa investments its China already through itsSilkRoad project and institutions. Western of parameters the outside building theirownnetworksofaccumulation on them would turn them inwards, or towards cannot beeasily besubordinated. Too muchpressure Despite their military weakness, these countries change operations, suchasinSyria. behaviour oftheUnited Statestoconduct regime aggressive the halt to able be will they most, At to challenge US militarysupremacy atanypoint. able be will – Russia and China – powers these that indication no is There Vietnam). and (Syria Asia edges the in bases two with Asia), Central are mainlyintheformerSovietUnion (mostlyin US massive base inthesamecountry. Russia’s a militarybases of shadow the in – Djibouti in – foreign bases. China hasoneforeign military base Kingdom, United France andRussia combined have atotalofthirty The countries. seventy over footprint withitseighthundred basesspread 37 Working Document, No. 1 thing is certain: NATO will not expand to the east’. the to expand not will NATOcertain: is thing one us, unified For questions. a complicated for raises Germany membership NATO that aware are ‘We Shevardnadze, Eduard minister foreign USSR’s foreign ministerHans-DietrichGenschertoldthe Germany’s NATO. into Germany unified newly the the SovietsandGermansforabsorption of eastwards, breaking the minimal agreement between NATO of expansion the in evident is sabre-rattling military bases and over-flights. Much the same sort of use of the sea-lanes and to threaten its security with has, therefore, been imperative tochallenge China’s its political systemtobedictated byWashington. It easy to force China to revalue its currency and to allow Prime MinisterYukio Hatoyama. Ithasnotbeen so Clinton directly intervened toforce theresignation of base atOkinawa in2010,US Secretary ofStateHillary oriented government onamandatetoremove theUS reform- a in elected people Japan’s Plaza When Reverse Accord). 1995 the and Accord Plaza 1985 the revalue the Yen to the betterment of the Dollar (in government twice allowed US political pressure to surpluses alsobothered theUnited States.Japan’s is instructive.Inthe1980sand1990s,Japan’s trade Japan to opposed as China of behaviour The rankle. the saddle for the United States. Its trade surpluses advantages totheWest. Chinaisthenettleunder Russia norChinaiswillingtoprovide economic South the Neither struggles. these of measure the are Sea China around conflicts cold and Korea North and Ukraine in conflicts Hot China. of encirclement in the in isevident and Russia ends towards NATO of expansion for economic the of force use The imperialism. orbit oftheWest isthecomplex taskofmodern-day and makingsure thattheydonotmoveoutsidethe down the rivals holding between contradiction The rely uponWestern markets forsaleofitsproducts. system to park its surpluses elsewhere andto cease to China toslowlywithdraw from theWestern banking Behind doors, the Masters of the World – the G7 Worldthe the – of Masters the doors, Behind globalisation. of glove velvet the inside fist iron a Russian or Chinese one. The force of arms is the Western-dominated political economy rather than these countries remain withinthetentaclesofa along theRussian perimeterbuttoensure that Europe is not merely toprotect thecountries into Eastern NATOinto NATO’sexpansion Europe. of Eastern expansion the of consequence the security of Russia. The Ukraine crisis is a clear aggressive an with so missile defence shield,ithasdirectly threatened doing in and has, it But skilled jobsviaextreme automation,butmay not Fourth Industrial Revolution, compromising low- face thethreatin theGlobalSouth‘will ofthe e-commerce, saidthebankinganalysts,countries agenda, rather thanendpoverty, wouldexacerbate it.With e-commerce the that suggested report UBS A poverty. reduce to strategy ‘e-commerce’ development project andtoassert initsplace an old the aside set to is agenda TISA the of point The harvested. is data this which from territories over databylarge corporations outsidethe privatisation ofpublicservices andforthecontrol Paraguay) in the process. The TISA pushes for the with onlytwolowerincome states(Pakistan and negotiations are from theupperincome countries, TISA the in involved Friends Good Really the of refer to the bloc they have put together). The bulk (a strange termofartused bytheUS andtheEUto the and European Union andtheir‘Really US GoodFriends’ the Services by in pushed Trade (TISA) the Agreement is Another such. one is requirements security food their against South Global the on pressure The freedom. little South them latitudeonsubsidiesbutallowingtheGlobal by them in international institutions, allowing constrained is space Policy crisis. financial world the despite shenanigans their continue – states

39 Working Document, No. 1 the TPP as a change in direction is an illusion. The illusion. an is direction in change a as TPP the order toripuptheTPP. To see Trump’s rejection of US President Donald Trump hassigned anexecutive intrade discussions. pressure ofimperialist essence the is This will be rejected outright by the Western West leadership. the of firms rent-seeking monopoly large the weakens the intellectual property regime that benefits that rule trade WesternAny advantage.to South the rules willcontinue tosubordinate theeconomies of Western pressure continues tobeoverwhelming.Its ‘negotiations’ istypically avictory fortheWest. these of outcome The proposal’. its on flexibility no the documentsshows,‘theUnited Stateshasshown intellectual of property. Inthedebatearound investment,oneof questions on opinion of divergence ‘great isapplying pressure’ onthecountries toget through the US the that suggests documents leaked would set anagenda fortherest ofthe‘partners’. Oneofthe theNorth where TPP, and TTIP the before to the public. Domestic laws would be set-aside the – entire leak content of the discussion would be unknown occasional the for not if – and secret in utterly negotiated been have Both Russia. and China and keep weaker countries outofthenetworks countries to the Western networks of trade hegemony (TPP) across the Pacific. Both the TTIP and TPP bind Atlantic and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement the across (TTIP) Partnership Investment Tradeand the Transatlantic – Eurasia of flanks both on West Alongside the TISA is the trade regime pushed by the negative impactonlabourandsociety. a have but capital benefit that gains efficiency make across theplanet,harvestdatafrom thisprovision and provideservices to power (FANGs)the Google – and Netflix Amazon, Facebook, – firms of handful a give What thismeans isthatthedigitalcolonialism will that could bere-distributed viaextreme connectivity’. have thetechnological abilitytoenjoytherelative gains not beatthetablewhen‘rulesofglobal the second largest economy intheworld,must exact samething.China,asovereign country with Trump hassetamuchharshertonebutsays the rival from writingtherulesofglobalorder. isolation of China and the prevention of any economy’. TPP was not the essence. It was the countries like Chinawritetherulesofglobal let can’t ‘We said, Obama Barack President US and accumulation. OnOctober 5,2015,former produce newnetworksforglobalproduction of rivals whocan rewrite thetrade rulesand but ChinaandnotevenChina,theemergence real issue oftheTPPisnottrade rulesitself, emergent states ataWTO meeting inCancun the US desire toextenditswarfare inIraq whilethe questioned UN the in states many 2003, In at the challenge major inter-state leveltothenew imperialismemerged. first the 2000s, the By moan aboutthethreats totheirculture. neoliberal policyplatformevenastheneofascists –so- called globalised institutionsthatfollowa new imperialism the been has then, This, were seen astheonlylogical pathfordevelopment. Private sector led growth forprivate sector gains policies thatwentbythenameofneoliberalism. North argued against any alternative to the set of force. Second, onthe such astheUN, to doitsbidding in termsofuse Global Northsubordinated olderinstitutions, the time, same the At development. and trade of to provide the only forum for discussion of issues pushed aseriesoforganisations, suchastheWTO, First, onthe Imperialism of the new era comes on two axes. of imperialism.Itmustdecide therules. floor underlying the are is This written. economy’ institutional ideological front, theGlobalNorth front, theGlobal 41 Working Document, No. 1 of thebankers. Infact,thenewinstitutionsof against hoarded wealth, and to fight against the power sovereignty ortherighttofood,create decent jobs food defend to BRICS the within argument little is Third There the bloc. of World part once were which countries vulnerable, more often other, in markets citizens is jeopardised, andevenasthey have developed new own their of livelihood the as even North, with therecycled surplusturned overascredit tothe on salesofcommodities, lowwages toworkers along as described be neoliberal characteristics withsouthern can states BRICS policies the domestic by adopted The imperialism. to alternative ascendency in Brazil and in India) – has no ideological classes (andparticularlywiththerightnowin ruling its of nature the given – bloc BRICS the But architecture. a begun conversation toward thecreation ofanewsecurity has BRICS the convincingly, Least trade. talk ofothercurrencies todenominateinter-state also is There Poors. & Standard and Moody’s Fitch, a Southernratings agency against thehegemony of of talk is There Council. Security UN the on states BRICS the for seats permanent for demand the IMF; the against Arrangement Reserve Bank; Contingency World the the against Bank the Development – North New Global the of that beside foundation institutional new a attempted certainly has BRICS major statestocraft amulti-polarworld. merely an institutionalchallenge to‘unipolarity’, amoveby was grouping BRICS The level. ideological to bloc take BRICS on imperialism both at the institutional and the required have would platform anti-imperialist An platform. anti-imperialist an not was It stage? early its in bloc BRICS the project. was What Africa) (Brazil-Russia-China-India-South BRICS the of emergence the for basis the provided – others among – developments two property.These blocked theGlobalNorth’s agenda forintellectual – with a focus a with – ial, h BIS rjc hs o blt to ability no has counter themilitarydominance oftheUS and project BRICS the Finally, policy orientations. needs oftheirownpopulationsdonotdrive immense The states. BRICS the growthagendaof for Western markets continues todominatethe is omnipresent inthesemechanisms. Eagerness dollar The lending. own its measure to way a as to rely uponIMFsurveillance andIMFagreements continue will ArrangementReserve Contingency order.The Northern the from apart development not willingtocreate anew platform fortrade and – dollar the and IMF the yokedto be will BRICS Chinese naval exercises during the 2017 US-North Russian- The confidence. Russian by boost some surpluses and with Chinese caution being given sanctioned Russia seeking shelterintheChinese with aggression, of imperialist against defensiveness signs merely are They imperialism. Western of the creation of an alternative pole to on security andeconomic linesare notsigns Russian andChinesealliances across Eurasia means, atthistime,tochallenge thatpower. few have BRICS power. political into translates war machine.Overwhelmingmilitarypower States’ United the NATOand of presence global peace and conflict-resolution are weakened by the strike Regional almostanywhere. mechanisms for bases oneverycontinent andwiththeabilityto with force global a is US The end. an at not but military uni-polaritymightbeslightlyweakened, 2014 andintoSyriain2015are indications thatUS The Russian military interventions into Crimea in the capacity to operate on such UN resolutions. force. haveThere that are alternatives no regional blanche to the Atlantic world to act with military Resolution 1973onLibya, itessentially givescarte ‘member states touseallnecessary measures’, asitdidin allow to votes UN the When NATO. 43 Working Document, No. 1 imperialism: more complex. Here are sixcontours of21stcentury mid-20th century styleneo-colonialism. Mattersare but it no longer appears as either raw colonialism or as order– world structurethe to continues Imperialism imperialist –conflict shouldnotbeunderestimated. inter- to time, in and – inter-state towards tendency the accelerate rivalries inter-capitalist As outcomes. trade war but an inter-state conflict with confounding winner inatrade war’. Whathemeant isnotmerely a at the2017Davos meeting, ‘Noonewillemerge asa operates. China’s premier XiJinping putitplainly policies is that might appear that would confound the system as it now danger The policy. to rhetoric from translated always not were fantasies those But collapse. from Western order the financial out bailed decade at least, when Chinese – and other – surpluses Western fantasies of Chinesedomination go backa capitalist crisistotake oninter-statedimensions. the capitalist orbit since the 1990s has led the inter- has relied onthevast pools of labour brought into First policyandthepolitical-economic order that America Trump’s between Tensions bloc. economic across share the world and pushingbackaweakened Western market for pushing – China mainly – states BRICS the with conflict, inter-capitalist an is What we have rather than an inter-imperialist conflict around theglobeagainst US imperialistpower. of zone the influence around their territory and – not for sovereignty competition their protect to is for case from 1991tothepresent. Whattheyare jockeying the been has as – domination US complete allow not will they that sign a is China, by backed Asia, West into forces Russian of entry the and standoff Korean and others) as its spokes. At the outer edge of its of edge outer the At spokes. its as others) and (the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan United States asthehubanditssecondary allies (1) To maintain the alliance system, with the its satellites.Since then,theUnited Statesand and Union Soviet the – alliance the to threat Cold War signalled thedemiseofmain the of end The emerge. to allowed is system (2) To ensure thatnochallenge tothealliance Atlantic powers totheirsubsidiaryallies. the from training and equipment and with the open pipeline of military by thefullforce oftheUnited Statesmilitary challenge to the allies will be swiftly put down essential to the global reach of US power. Any India, Israel and Saudi Arabia. These allies are spokes are subsidiaryallies,suchasColombia, This had to be squashed. It was important to important was It squashed. be to had This Iraq wouldheightendoubtsaboutUS power. in imbroglio the that fear a was there – 2003. century’ resounded after the US American war on Iraq ‘another in for Calls adversaries. its act with full spectrum domination against now could US The aside. set be could 1980s of exercising itsfullforce. Proxy wars of the unafraid – stage world the on power major a as act to more once confidence felt now The US quelled. been had syndrome’ ‘Vietnam the that said W.Bush H. G. President US 91, 1990- Gulf of first War the During note. high a at remain confidence US Tothat ensure(3) that disaggregated. soup alphabet other sought analternativepowerbasehadtobe any BRICS, or Brazil). ALBA, in (as coups post-modern fashioned coups (asinHonduras) orthrough to becutdown,whetherthrough theold had emergence America’s South region. Rim Pacific the in forces US of build-up the with NATOof and Europeexpansion Eastern into built up on China and Russia through the squeeze dry anychallenge tothesystem.Pressure has to sure made have confederates its 45 Working Document, No. 1 (6) To secure the financial power of the Global of power financial the secure To (6) inthe dark –outsideitsdirectplace control. takes that harshness the off hands agendas, allowingtheGlobalNorthtowash its upon exportsofraw materialsfortheirgrowth the GlobalNorthandemergent statesrely of partners subsidiary the Both threat. without of war thatallowstheextraction totake place on Terror ortheWar onDrugs orsomekind protests will be fought in the name of the War are hidden away inforests anddeserts, where deleterious andinhumanepractices ofextraction the guardians ofthatwealth. Environmentally below whatmightbepaidtothepeople whoare raw materialsfrom minesandwellsatrates far (5) To guarantee thesafepassage ofextracted work conditions thatrender socialrelations toxic. standards whiletheyrely entirely uponbrutal allow theGlobalNorthtomaintainhighmoral Sub-contracted mechanisms of labour discipline of nationalisation and the intellectual commons. North’s alliance systemisused against policies Diplomatic andmilitarypoweroftheGlobal than workers’ organisations andnation-states. more poweralongthisglobalcommodity chain laws enablethesecorporations tohave much Disaggregated North. nations) andstringent intellectual property Global the production sites(withfactoriesspread across in based whose – benefits production are secured by transnational industrial corporations for basis the is (4) To protect theglobalcommodity chain,which bluster. and North Korea are visible depictions of this Iran against Threats it. put Albright Madeleine the ‘indispensablepower’asUS Secretary ofState equals, amongst first the – pares inter primus as revive anewtheself-image oftheUnited States capable fullyofrebalancing theworldorder let not postures, defensive are these But advantage. the West touseitsforce tofashionaworldits ships are signalsthattheywillnoteasily allow warships intotheMediterranean near Russian coast ofNorthKorea the andthe entryofChinese off manoeuvres naval Russian and modest. Chinese however, remain, – energy of sales the for particularly – ties commercial and economic The agreements. strategic and military as well as Chinese signed economic andcommercial deals for itsinterventioninCrimea, theRussians and and NorthKorea aswell asbysanctionsonRussia manoeuvres and by Western threats against Iran Squeezed on the two flanks of Eurasia by military a modestchallenge toWestern imperialism. produce to – China and Russia – members its of two to left was order.It world the rebalance to – BRICS the of heart economic power. the The BRICS have failed – at for now struck that prices drift in South Africa, and the lowered commodity power in Brazil and India as well as the rightward own internalcontradictions, theriseofrightto its with do to deal great a has This muted. been now largely has BRICS the from challenge The iaca pwr a t be rsoe. That restored. been to had power Financial banks recovered, thatpromise was forgotten. it the After substitute (G20). Twenty of and Group the – with (G7) Seven of the – Group executive its down shut to promised the system.Inexchange, theGlobalNorth to liquidity provide to Indonesia) and India (China, Asia of states large the begged North Global the world, Atlantic the struck crisis financial the When full. in up paid are poor sure that debts taken by the countries of the dollars to the North’s banks or by making petro- of flow the secure to as so family royal Arabia’s Saudi protecting by whether North, was thebottomline. 47 Working Document, No. 1 of Eurasia? prevent regime change inthesetwoborderline states and Chinese aircraft land in Tehran and Pyongyang to in thistimeofneofascism ishard tosay: willRussian they willbeabletosustaintheirdefensiveattempt alone providing analternativetothisorder. Whether

the mainavenues ofresistance tothepowerful. fights to defend the rights to one’s body. These are fights to defend the right to natural resources and struggles, dignity and struggles labour – people are manystrong andpowerfulmovementsofthe there planet, the Across us? beforeremains What It breaks down aforest ahundred andcrushes people. Decomposition of —Bertolt Brecht, General, yourtankisastrong vehicle. But it has one fault:itneeds adriver.But ithasone the Agentof History Part 2:Agency. A GermanWar Primer . 49 Working Document, No. 1 servants did not have the advantage of being in one factories; they were in domestic service. But domestic bulk ofthewageworkers were notemployed inthe the instance, for Britain Great in period, this During work, thentheywouldputcapital underpressure. to thebosses. Itmeant thatiftheworkers could strike them, andanysecond ofwastage wouldproduce losses in invested been had money – capital for traps also were They density. had workers the where places the Factories were the centres of them because these were that the moderntrade union movement developed. dignity. Itisintheseconversations andtheactions and problems their consider howtounderstandthecollapse oftheir about deliberate would They factory allowed themtoconverse witheach other. Having large numbersofworkers consolidated inone The advantage of capital soon became its disadvantage. of capital’. as Marx wrote – ‘beneath the wheels of the Juggernaut – dragged itself found working-class the and factory, the to indebted became workers of life The machine. saw theirskilltaken overbytheassembly lineandthe intellectual demands on the workers fell, as artisans ‘anappendage into of amachine’, asMarxwrote in workers individual commodity. made the This produced – combined – workers commodity. the into No worker madetheentire commodity, butallthe – control their outside – up onsmallerandtasksthatadded their energy in endless linesofproduction, where theyexpended vanished slowly, astheworkers hadtotake theirplace of work The craft business. of out went firms Smaller materials andsaturate themarket withitsvolume. ofproduction commodities, capital could bid downtheprice ofraw The scale of numbers enormous making by – benefitted capital offices. and gargantuan of creating factories advantages the saw profit, of surveillance andproductivity. Capital,hungryfor in drew large numbersofworkers inadenseenvironment offices and factories years, hundred a For Capital 16) The (1867). hegemony oftheworking-class organisations. in thehomesofpropertied, were outsidethe scattered were they because organise to difficult unionism: the majority of the working-class, was reproduced ofindustrial inthestrategy the sexismofpartstrade unionmovement centre ofthesocialistfuture. Italsoreveals how Marxists andsocialistssaw thetrade unionsasthe of thetrade unionmovement,anditiswhythe in a factory. That is why factories became the hub workforce entire an fire to harder was It fired. be If a domestic servant protested, he or she would where theirstrike would put pressure oncapital. factory, where they could organise together and become such a crucial entity – brought in for less for in brought – entity crucial a such become scattered factories thatwomenworkers have disadvantaged have trade unionism.Itisalsointhesenew, smaller, production of techniques new the words, other In zero. is supplier their to Their country. different a in another for supplier one abandoning of nothing think firms to smallcapitalists indistantlands,themonopoly be. Since agreat deal ofproduction isoutsourced investment isnolonger astrapped asitused to Their elsewhere. production move and down you if youstrike inonefactory, thentheywillclose that says now capital because trade difficult, unionism makes of production disarticulation The commodity The chain revokes ofnationalisation. thestrategy chain. production the of part since theywouldonlybeabletonationaliseone factory a nationalise to hard it find people the of governments – nations againstadvantagescapital commodity isbeingbuiltacross nationallines,it kind of worker density that large onesdo. If a production. Smallerfactoriesnolonger have the entered the era – as we have seen – of disarticulated had recourse tonewmethodsofexploitation.We the trade unionmovementanditsgains, capital after years hundred a century, mid-20th the By loyalty

51 Working Document, No. 1 Trade unionism,inthiscontext ismade toseem culture oftheunionandsocialistsocieties. the than quarters many in appealing more become have These faith. around and commodities for desire once heldsway. Communitiesare created around their presence feltwhere unionandsocialist culture made doggedly have on so and China in Christianity different Protestant America, of Latin in preachers Pentecostalism faiths. by promised salvation the bodies andconsciousness isnowredeemed through salves fordisplaced informalworkers, whosebeaten – temples, mosques, churches – halls have become once more religious then malls, not If else. someone as attract people ofmanyclasses toimaginethemselves consumption patterns. Malls and advertisements be to not is seen inrelation toone’s workplace, buttoone’s – neoliberalism of life psychic the worndown by – new identity the is, That consumers. from educational institutions from workers into blast fierce from themedia, from theadvertisingindustryand a by converted been increasingly have beating before the Furthermore, thec in workitself. work. More time is often spent in search of work than alone, butbythestructure ofinsecurity andpart-time as timehasbeen stolenfrom people notbyemployers and thetimeofunion.Sociallifehasbeen frayed the commute has eaten into the time of the community away. of eaten been time has This peasantry and class working- the of bulwarks the build to required time leisure timeisminimalifnotnon-existent,andsothe of theworkingday hasnowbeen elongated suchthat With workers traveling for insecure jobs, the question contemporary capitalism. totheir of productswaste – came they wherefrom back lives rural sent then and floor factory the of up than adecade of their lives,wornoutbythespeed- ulture ofunionism culture of commodities hastaken a . People – anyone who wants to suggest that there are there that suggest to wants who anyone – Students, journalists,workers, peasants, women Crying sedition has become the order of the day. edge ofnationalismrubshard against dissent. sharp The nation. the up make who people not the to lifestyles, be anationalistwithouthaving anycommitment merely becoming meaningful cultural attributes.One can claimto are as They such – eroded. been have – unity patriotism and nationalism of sentiments even since general all, more not is this But advertisements. as reminiscent ofthedays withoutmallsand as yesterday’s culture, withitsslogans depicted anachronistic. Itisportrayed inthemainstream the journeytorevolution, onlytwopaths lay To prevent cure’. the effect can’t you otherwise into that.You mustkeep thepatient alive,because evident self-interest tosee thattheyare notforced desperate, youhave revolutions. It’s inourown are people ‘When exemplary, is America of Bank revolution was clear totheelite.Tom Clausenof and desperation between calculus The security. no problem withanexpanded stateapparatus for that argue forasmallerstate(neoliberalism) have the populationrather thantoitscare. Ideologies more tosecurity than towelfare, tothe policingof tends state the of character The population. the the statewithopportunitytogo towar against provides activities these of existence The barter. whether inthetrade indrugs,sex,weapons oreven streets leads to activity that could be seen as illegal workplace andintothestreets. Survival inthese – informal sector channel grievances out of the Structural unemploymentandthewidened violence andanti-socialactivity. work of buildingsociety, butinstead ispremised on the require not does that cohesion social that ‘nationalism’ The nation. is acceptable is a hateful, unthinking form of the to alien as problems with the national ‘consensus’ is seen 53 Working Document, No. 1 in 1867, ‘itselfaneconomic power’. that break statestocreate chaos.Force is,Marxwrote that wrap around the world and regime change wars intervention’, between theglobalcommodity chains between the force of ‘free trade’ and ‘humanitarian narrows gap The police. riot the in send to namely, – cause common find neofascism and neoliberalism as up opens path one only times our in fact, in But, spirit ofrevolt (whichwas thecharacter offascism). of liberalism) orharshsecurity measures tocrushthe character the was (which policy neoliberal of effects worst the prevent to concessions – elite the to open

economic changes are afootbeneath ourfeet, worker power, notonlyfactorypower. tobuild Great socialand is point The work. they where live ifitisnotalways possible toorganise them – need thereforeworkerbuild to – wherepower workers the and production, of disarticulation union powerwithoutanacknowledgment ofthe of workers trade unionpowerwithoutarevival ofthe full revival no There of be questions. essentialcan state culture ofconsumerism andtheriseof confronted bythe is it as today do movement Left the does What They areThey afraid ofusbecause wearenot afraid of Recomposition of Tee r n es ases bt there are but answers, no easy are There ? Nos tienen miedoNos tienen porque miedo. tenemos no the Agentof . There can be no easy revival of trade of revival easy no be can There . History ­—Berta Cáceres. disarticulation ofproduction them. Security culture , the 55 Working Document, No. 1 dos Trabalhadores See Terra (MSTortheLandless Brazil’sMovement and Dwellers) Shack the or (AbM Africa’sSouth baseMjondolo of Abahlali Experiences rebuild forsurvival intheprotracted strugglesahead. social bondsthattheyneeded toholdfastand andthe privatisation water against fight to needed a tangible fact in their lives, the solidarity that they was community their that knew They privatisation. of workers whoseliveswere beingtornapartby not anabstraction, butitwas theconcrete community trade unionists,defended duringthe‘water wars’ was by organised (Bolivia), Cochabamba of workers the materialist perspective. After all, the ‘community’ that but certainly dosowhenoneapproaches themfrom a that donotonthesurface have aclass connotation of the‘community’ orthe‘neighbourhood’, terms have galvanised – workers andpeasants around notions spaces public over and water over – battles families. Such for their ofsafety spaces produce to fight rising prices foressential items,includingwater, against andasthey survive to fight they as live, workers around the world has happened in the places where example, someofthemostdynamicorganising work means mustbedeployed toorganise workers. For Zones and the home-based Processing work – means that other, Export creative in inthesmall outfits manufacturing –notably sectors in many difficulties the But unions. into workers organise to important remains it that doubt no is There fields. the in and build unionsintheworkplace, notablyinfactories build worker is to power. To buildworker powerdoesnotmean toonly unionism of trade promise The and thepeasantry isoftheessence. that reason, therecomposition oftheworking-class distress lead tothesubjective eruptionofprotest. For waves break out,whentheobjective conditions of preparedbe these to when – parties and unions the – workers. Itistherole ofthesentinelsworkers which willdrivefrustration andanger amongst lack ofclean water, poorsanitationandlittleif shelter, inadequate is there where slums, in live cities oftheGlobalSouth,halfpopulation of theworld’s populationlivesinslums.Insome minimal state support.UNHabitatestimatesthatafourth with areas, congested are These time. are thehomesofworkers andpeasants ofour the areas where workers andpeasants live.Slums in power peasant and worker building of efficacy the show – movement communist Indian the of Women’s Democratic organisations mass (AIDWA)both All-India Association – the as well as Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) Workers Movement)aswellthatofthe (c) theinvisibleheart ofthewomen amongst another aswellofreligious orders andNGOs; the markets produced bygangsters ofonekindor (a) theirowningenuity andself-organisation; (b) upon rely areas these in workers the result a As here. absent largely is state the of side good The Social wealth doesnottrickledowntotheseplaces. are – often – outside the network of trade unions. regulations ofstate-drivenlabourpolicyandthey These workforce). the of working-class populations are outside the social 90% is instance, for totality oftheworkforce (India’s informalsector, the to close measuring countries some in – sector these slumslivepeople whoworkintheinformal (Pakistan), whichhousesover2.5 millionpeople. In in theworldissaidtobeOrangi Town inKarachi (Mexico) houses a million people. The largest slum people, while that of Ciudad Neza in Mexico City somewhere between 1millionand1.5 million number. Dharavi inMumbai(India)houses the actualpopulationisatleast three timesthis although those who work in the slum say that residents, 400,000 have to said is Africa) (South instance, the slum of Khayelitsha in Cape Town For deflated. seem agencies figures international The from facilities. education and health no 57 Working Document, No. 1 these dividesofsocialhierarchy might‘split’ that working- to worry used often Marxists discriminations. of gender, religious andothertypesofhierarchies and againstbeing builtwithgreat thesocial divides energy Furthermore, working-class power, inourperiod,is that have emerged from thispopularenergy. and toexchange thebestexperiences andoutcomes settings different in them share to them about write to bedonebyintellectuals tostudytheseinitiatives, workers andpeasants, andagreat deal ofworkwillneed build the institutionsofsocialreproduction amongstthe to done be to need will work of deal great A the privatised labour ofsocialreproduction largely donebywomen. socialises spaces these into Left the of intervention the time, same the At work. of kind and theNGOs–allofwhomhave great stakes inthis It activity. means underminingthegangs, thereligious groups dangerous is This fashion. autonomous class asitbeginstodelivertheseservices inarelatively but atthesametimeworkingalongsideworking- – healthcare and schools services, street and housing and electricity, water for fights its in working-class are already workingtocreate platformstoassist the organisations Left mafia. the as well as organisations a betteralternativetoreligious andcharitable in thearena ofsocial reproduction that itisindeed work its by prove to have will Left the that us show frontally. Experiences from across theGlobalSouth it willnotgrow merely bychallengingtheseentities that learned has Left the But Left. the of growth the to impediment structural a are – NGOs including – deepworking-classThey tentacles into dig life. own their mafia the and organisations religious that here The working-class. the second isthemostimportantchallenge, since itis for and working-class the formation ofcooperatives andself-helpgroups by the demonstrates possibility of socialism. It ishere that one sees the practice first The social reproduction. of efforts great to them moves families their of integrity the protect to fight whose workers, the questions of social division, including the division because theissues onthetableincluded political so did 2016 September in strike on went movement who union – trade the of flag the under – India in workers million 180 The united. are they Workers andpeasants cannot bepowerfulunless exploitation andredeem usasfullhumanbeings. that wishes to liberate us from oppression and It is precisely the essence of a class politics peasants is not something outside class politics. The distrust. of these issues only exacerbates disunity and already sundered unityandfurthertheneglect class unity; in fact, these divides in society have is that there is a need for a cultural struggle to history,Left reservoirsof the emphasise enrich to struggle cultural a for need a is there that is neither desirable norpossible. Whatthisimplies sentiment that transformative change is perhaps making ofhistoryandwhere there isageneral admit theimportance ofpopularactioninthe discourses, where there isabroad hesitationto academic in ideas and media the in inserted firmly These are individuals. of intervention the to from the collective struggles of the popular classes for thesaleofgoods, andwithhistoryelevated emblems to reduced history with – collectivity advertising, undermines notions of history and by thecorporate media andbytheurgency of of people as consumers. This cultural push, driven culture of commodities that proliferates the idea has been the overwhelming bourgeois-dominated A major constraint to the building of worker power and misogyny. against socialhierarchies, religious sectarianism fight the is power peasant and working-class of These workers showed that central to the building public health andearly childhoodeducation jobs). (many ofthemwomen,suchasthoseworkers in and non-unionised workers intheinformalsector between unionised workers intheformalsector struggle for dignity for struggle byworkers and 59 Working Document, No. 1 intellectuals wouldlearn from themovements,would it was considered straightforward that the socialist social movements of the people? In an earlier era, alongside theworkbeing donebythepolitical and What isthetaskofsocialistintellectual for thetraffic inemancipatoryinformation iscrucial. framework as well astoprovide alternative networks institutional control ofthismedia anditsideological trade policiesasinevitable.To pushbackagainst the regime change wars asacceptable andWestern-driven with saturated is an ideological framework thatsees Western-driven – Globo or International CNN whether – media corporate-driven sclerotic A narrow, another. is present the of representations media narrative ofhistoryisoneproblem, butcontrol over is seen astheresult ofafailed model.Control ofthe as aproblem makes anerror ineconomic policy, it of thelaws ofnature; whenacountry thatistreated effect necessary a as seen is this Mali, in production driven trade policyendsupdestroying cotton character ofthatcountry orcivilisation.IfaWestern- problem kills a civilian, it is seen as essential to the an accident; whenagovernment thatistreated asa as treated is it Somalia, or Afghanistan in civilians in countries. WhentheUnited Statesmilitarykills it pushestrade policiesthatdestroy theagriculture is benevolentwhenitbombscountries andwhen a regime oftruththatpromotes theviewthatWest corporate-driven media, forinstance, operated within A possibility. and hope of movements is a central the for front words, in other ideas, over debate The movements tohelpdrivethisagenda. intellectuals willneed tomake connections topopular Sympathetic strength. Left rebuild to struggle any to intothe and peasants imagination oftheyouthisessential, nottangential, of workers and Left the of Left in a robust way. The fight to introduce the history to theworld.Young people nolonger learn aboutthe and illuminate the worker and peasant contribution values seen tobeungrounded andcontingent. modern era oftakingastrong standinfavour of not possible andtheembarrassment inthepost- adoption oftheidea thatmajorchange issimply the decomposition ofthemovementsand (both themedia intellectuals andtheacademics), ofreasons: host the embourgeoisement oftheintellectual class a for is This movements. from for various reasons – find themselves at a distance – intellectuals socialist Many self-evident. longer no now is intellectual socialist the of stance This movements into a full-fledged theory of the future. proposed andtobuildthesegestures from the see whatkindofalternativesthemovements oeet tesle. t s motn, equally, important, is It themselves. movements political order drawn from theexperience ofthe an alternativesocial,cultural, economic and that wenourishanintellectual platformfor stimulate debates around them. It is important It isuptointellectuals totake theseideas and for housing for all. Here are elements of a future. they want toensure alivelihoodforeveryoneand convert banksfrom private entitiesinto utilities, tax strike ofcorporations andtheelite,theywant attend topopularneeds, theywant tobreak the social wages, they want to build infrastructure to under democratic control, theywant toincrease that theywant tobringmacro-economic policy find will we movements our at closely look we If towards emancipatoryends. association with social and political movements – work their by others tojoininprojects thatare doneinclose – inspire to and boundaries bring theseintellectuals together across national Tricontinental: InstituteforSocialResearch isto roles withthemovements.Oneoftasks ties tomovementsandcontinue toplay vital these developmentsbutcontinue tohave strong around theworldwhohave notbeen impacted by Nonetheless, there are millions ofintellectuals

61 Working Document, No. 1 – new green technologies to liberate us from climate from us liberate to technologies green new – breakthroughs willbe abletosolveoursocialcrises It isimagined inourperiodthat new technological not human character, hasbecome theidea ofthefuture. technology, – technology by seized been has it future. the Ifthere isacommon senseidea ofthefuture, of idea the not is this But outwards. stretching present the as – time sequentialmerely as seen is this year.But next then and month next then and after We knowthattomorrow willcome andthentheday future. the about debate a is there But terms. evident the existence of a past and of a present. These are self- idea of the future. There is no debate amongst us over of suchatransformation isnothingotherthanthe possibility The possible. is transformation a that and we that important recover theveryidea is thatthepresent isnoteternal it intellectuals, socialist As human decision of making tothelogicofdouble-entryaccount book. reduction the against struggle effort already apparent in the mass movements which effort, of deal great requiresa – community human a to revive ideas oftheneed totendthecreation of life’. Such efforts to revive the idea of the human – and ‘the future, thepathofpeople wholookforthegood says, Choquehuanca as a is, owner Being an without owner. person an without person a iyambae, but life, withtheneed tocreate notconsumers andowners, the good the of path the ñan, of Qhapag of speaks (ALBA), secretary Americas Our of Peoples the for executive Alliance Bolivarian the Choquehuanca, is notsubsumed bycapitalist socialnorms.David about humancharacter, ofahumansocietythat their into deeply own traditions and elaborated a vocabulary to talk looked have socialists Bolivian as consumers hasdesiccated theidea ofthehuman. ofpeople idea the and of commodities culture The the humanandoffuture. of ideas socialist – ideology bourgeois of onslaught to recover twoideas thathave been eroded bythe and powertothoseatthetopofinherited and notmerely provide greater and greater wealth breakthroughs can have apositivesocialimpact need to be confronted before these technological inherited hierarchies of wealth and power will itselfwillnotshapehistory.but technology Older, developments will be essential for a better world, and ofthefuture. Certainlysometechnological entirely narrow a technical. history is idea of This people have nosocialorpolitical barriers; theyare problems thatsitathwart thedreams ofbillions Technological determinism has meant that the to liberate usfrom economic stagnation. change, newdigitalandnano-technologies cynicism oftheimpossible. sure oursocialsciences are notdulled intothe make to haveWe horizons. these of indicator an to ourhopesanddreams. Ourmovementsgiveus inadequate is the society our that of – organisation bones social their in – know from who come people will solutions These built. horizons be must new necessary, are problems current Transformations are possible, newsolutionsto that thepresent isnotgoing tobeeternal. imagine to us requires future the of idea rich A hierarchies.

63 Working Document, No. 1 they have notcommitted acrime? deserve theirfate?Whyare theybeingpunished when for a crime that is unknown. What did they do to migration, theworld’s poorexperience punishment Squeezed between the end of livelihood and the refusal to allow war. and fires forest drought, from away and food towards flee to like would They famine. of threshold the on currently are people million Thirty replacement oftheold. What isnotsoclear iswhatbeingbornasthe It isclear tousthatsomethinginourworldisdying. shell ofthepowerfulideas thattheycould become. a fragile often little, so mean They thin. worn been Concepts suchasdemocracy, peace andculture have traditions ofhumanityseem tobeundergreat threat. freedom. produce takes known human to it All effort attitude towards theidea ofhumanity, ofthenecessary blasé a to door the opens This day. the of order the with littlecondemnation. Cynicismandnihilismis nations who have onlyscarce public resources, comes withfood our times, of denied topeople andweapons soldwitheagerness to bestiality organised The

65 Working Document, No. 1 Vijay Prashad is the Executive Director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. He is the author of twenty-five books and the editor of twenty others. Among these books are The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South and The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World. He writes regularly for Frontline and The Hindu (India), Alternet (USA) and BirGün (Turkey). He is the Chief Editor of LeftWord Books (New Delhi). References

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Tricontinental. Instituto de Investigación Social es una institución promovida por los movimientos, dedicada a estimular el debate intelectual al servicio de las aspiraciones del pueblo. the