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Biology-as-destiny credo Bosses in Australia revived in Bell Curve now betting on and Moral Animal "free trade" miracle Page 6 PageS ~ Freedom Socialist Wice 1? /2e¥r;/ffil1tll'l 'fd,tiltl";M.

A ril-June 1995 Volume 16, Number 1 ($1.00 outside U.S.) 75q. Bipartisan "Contract on America" takes aim at all labor and civil rights gains

BY LINDA AVERILL from the wages and benefits of public sector employ­ ees to help offset the city's budget deficit. ontract on America" has become the As U.S. corporate giants fight to keep their competi­ II popular description for the Republican tive edge in a world glutted by overproduction, their legislative agenda. And if you look" con- high profits depend on giving less and less compensa­ Ctract" up in the thesaurus, you'll find tion to workers for their labor. Both parties are facili­ the word covenant there as a mate - as in our tating this goal by eradicating the social programs and Democratic president's "New Covenant" with America. legislation that the unions and civil rights movements This is fitting because, nuances aside, both parties spent the last century struggling for. are proposing the same thing: a broadside on poor and working folk. Divided we fall, united we win. The good news To hear Bill Clinton or Newt Gingrich tell it, U.S. is that this bipartisan assault has generated protest. problems aren't economic in nature, but moral. The In Massachusetts, poor mothers stormed the state­ breakdown of "family values" is causing social de­ house in February to oppose the dismantling of wel­ cline, not runaway shops or downsizing corporations. ~ fare. In Washington state, the capitol has become the Their 5capegoating rhetoric against~ngs-:Iike wel-. ~ site of daily rallies as different groups demonstrate fare, immigration,and affirmative action is supposed against everything froth tm destruction of prevailing­ to justify an austerity plan, one like those the Interna­ wage laws in the construction industry to attacks on tional Monetary Fund has force-fed the Third World abortion rights and gay parenting. and Eastern Europe; it is meant to revive capitalist But no one group can single-handedly save itself profits by devastating people. from the twin-party onslaught. The only way to stop ~ 'E them is to join forces in a labor/civil rights united A tsunami of reaction. In 100 days, the 104th =<'" . front that can mobilize everyone at risk - the orga­ Congress has created a poisonous package of pull- t:iiiii!!!!!~~ nized and unorganized, retired and unemployed. yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps tonics. Among them: Boston, May 1994. Targets of proposed welfare Capitalism is well beyond its prime, and the older the dismantlement of "welfare as we know it" (with no cuts In Massachusetts make their voices heard. it gets the more reactionary it becomes. An indepen­ raise in the minimum wage); slashing of social pro­ dent labor party that offers workingclass political grams, like free breakfasts for schoolkids and pOSSibly Meanwhile, California, where the viciously anti­ leadership and solutions is the best protection against social security, in order to payoff the national debt to immigrant PropOSition 187 was just passed, is now the it until a system can be fashioned in which those who bankers; privatization of public services; gutting of launching pad for a grotesquely misnamed "Civil produce the wealth control its distribution. consumer and environmental protection laws; and Rights Initiative." lf approved, it will outlaw affirma­ Building a comprehensive, cohesive movement to construction of more prisons, and maybe orphanages, tive action in employment and education. And in New fight the immediate battles that labor faces will take us to warehouse the poor. York City, Mayor Giuliani plans to cut $600 million closer to that day. [] How to stop anti-abortion terror? Armed self-defense of clinics! might still be on the rampage, except The Democrats, who were supposed Some saviors of the unborn say they that when he shot up Preterm Health to get tough with fetus fetishists, encou­ abhor the violence. If they are sincere, Services, a security guard fired back. rage them by joining Republicans in they should get out of the fetus-rescue As Salvi fled, he dropped a satchel politically bashing "immoral" women. bUSiness and find a new cause - like whose contents - including another On the one hand, the politicians helping to feed those who are already gun and 700 rounds of ammunition may see to it that poor mothers lose born and starving in U.S. ghettoes. - allowed police to identify him. their children to orphanages. But if They need to recognize that their those same women seek an abortion, movement is hopelessly infested with ter_organize State emboldens far right. To they could be shot! The unmistakable Klan types, Nazi skinheads, anti­ ctivists coun organize anned self-defense ... or to bipartisan message: It's open hunting Semites, and racists, and its goal of Minnesota a don Rescue. return to the days of forced moth­ season on women and women's rights. inst opera to next page aga __--~ erhood or coat hangers and back-alley abortions. That is the "choice" that New Freeway Hall anti-choicers offer women. 5018 Rainier Ave. S. BULK RATE ust ask any anti-abortion terrorist. For years, liberal feminists have U.S. POSTAGE They'll tell you that guns and vio­ begged the police, Democrats and fed­ Seattle. WA 98118 PAID lence work. What these brown­ eral marshals to defend women's clin­ SEATTLE, WA PERMIT NO. 1003 shirts won't say is that their ics, with little to show for their efforts. ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED Jgoon tactics only succeed until the Just one of many examples: In 12 years, victim fights back and shows that she the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and too is willing to use guns. Firearms recorded 123 arsons, 37 bomb­ John Salvi murdered two women ings, and 1,500 cases of stalking, as­ and injured five people during a "pro­ sault, sabotage, and burglary against life" shooting spree in Brookline, Mas­ clinics and abortion providers - yet sachusetts on December 30, 1994. He BATF has prosecuted only 49 people. 2 Freedom Socialist April-June 1995 In This Issue First ruling is mixed Vol. 16, No. 1 April-June 1995

Under the axe in Canada 4 in Sandy Nelson lawsuit Spurred by NAFfA, the Liberal Party is slashing Coworkers buoy political-rights case social services and is BY NINA SEVERINI tion is clearly ongoing! signatures in a mall [for an ini­ privatizing everything in Hogan said this question tiative] if their employers can sight. But a student strike eporter/radical Sandy should be sent to trial, but Nel­ fire them for doing it?" He also signals more resistance Nelson started out her son hasn't given up trying to pOinted out exceptions that to come. new year in the court persuade the judge that the Tri­ have been made to the pattern room of judge Vicki bune so clearly lacks any case of exempting private owners Hogan,R who delivered some here that she should find against from safeguardS usually applied good news and some bad news them now. Otherwise, TNTwill only to public employers. to Nelson, her lawyers, and the be able to trample all over the But Hogan was unswayed. The audacious experiment 7 70 fans of free speech who gath­ rights of Nelson, and any other Nelson is preparing to ask an ered to cheer her on at a Janu­ employee whose political be­ appeals court to reinstate her Those people who see the demise ary 3 hearing in Tacoma, Wash. havior they disapprove of, for constitutional claims. of the USSR as the end of so­ Nelson is suing her boss, The another year and a half. cialism should look again, News Tribune, for yanking her Four of Nelson's coworkers Bring back the muck­ says columnist Clara Fraser. from reporting and exiling her have offered sworn declarations rakers! In Nelson's corner are The world's first workers state to a copy-editing job. The daily about how the treatment of an impressive range of support­ was only a dress rehearsal for paper claims that her activism Nelson is causing them to re­ ers internationally, including on behalf of a gay-rights initia­ strict their own involvement in many media colleagues, such great transformations ahead. tive threatened its "appearance the community. as syndicated columnist of objectiVity." Both sides had In one, Kathleen Merryman, Norman Solomon. Her defense asked Hogan, a Pierce County a feature writer and health re­ committee has launched a cam­ Superior Court judge, to find porter, describes the reaction of paign to broaden that support International u.s. on their behalf without having former manager Norm Bell even further. They aim to win Dateline Australia: Contract on America 1 to send the case on to trial. when she once told him she endorsements from celebrities, free trade 5 Abortion rights 1 Instead, Hogan's ruling was would like to donate to an orga'­ high-profile artists, renowned Dateline Canada 4 Sandy Nelson case 2 mixed. She rejected some of nization that provides food and civil rights lawyers and still Cuba conference and Activists of color each side's issues and set a trial shelter to the mentally ill. He more noted journalists. Friendshipment 8 gather 3 date of September 1996 for said it would compromise her The campaign comes at a thrashing out the rest. Nelson ability to report on agencies time when growing numbers of Features will appeal the issues she lost that serve the mentally ill! journalists are seeing through Book reviews 6 Editorials and is asking for the publishers' Letters 7 Mexico 6 reconsideration self-serving myth Clara Fraser 7 Baseball strike 6 of the decision of objectivity, not to summarily forcing the in­ order her return dustry to grudg­ Fund Drive a Smash Success! to reporting. ingly reexamine In seeking re­ its pretence of We thanked our generous readers last issue, consideration, aloof detachment before we had a total for our 1994 fund drive, Nelson is offering from its reader­ but now we are doing it again. You contributed a fresh arguments, ship - a stance whopping $72,500 - $7,500 over our goal! including state­ that is only of ments by cowork­ recent origin, ers who were in­ although they spired by recent would like us to case develop­ believe that it's a ments to explain holy and eternal how manage­ tradition. ment's clamp­ New endorsers down on her is Nelson and her ACLU lawyers with a capacity crowd of will join a group curtailing their supporters at January 3 court hearing. At table, from whose recent ad­ activities, too. left: James Lobsenz, Nelson, William Bender, Paul Chuey. ditions include authorJill Nelson Bosses' ideal: (Volunteer Sla­ robot reporters. Nelson is Making rights on paper very: My Authentic Negro Ex­ represented by William Bend­ real. In addition to the 1992 perience); District 1199 North­ er, Paul Chuey, and James Lob­ state law, Nelson and her ACLU west SEIU; Utah NOW; Tom senz, all of the American Civil team cited the state constitu­ Hansen of Pastors for Peace; the Liberties Union. Their argu­ tion as support for a summary National Campaign for Free­ ments for summary jUdgment judgment. When the TNT took dom of ExpreSSion; and left jour­ in January were based on two Nelson off her education beat, nalists Michael Albert (Z maga­ kinds of claims. it violated protections in the zine) and David Barsamian (Al­ In the first place, they said, Washington constitution for ternative Radio, Colorado). Nelson's transfer violates a state free speech and for participa­ You can put your name on law, passed by popular initia­ tion in the initiative process this illustrious list! Donations tive, that forbids job discrimi­ and general electoral arena. and offers of help can be di­ nation based on a person's po­ On this, Hogan dismissed rected to the Sandy Nelson De­ litical activity. Nelson's claims outright. She fense Committee, P.O. Box TNT also asked Hogan to de­ accepted the Tribune argument 5847, Tacoma, WA 98415, or cide on this point, but in the that previous court rulings have call (206)756-9971. [] other direction. They said that not extended these constitu­ because the law wasn't passed tional guarantees to private-sec­ Nina Severini, 23, is a Staff until 1992, it shouldn't be ap­ tor employees. free-lance writer and col­ plied to Nelson, whom they Attorney Chuey asked, lege student currently Managing Editor Production Business Manager transferred two years earlier - "What's the point of giving in­ working at a Seattle stock Andrea Bauer Manager Wendy McPherson despite the fact that the retribu- dividuals the right to collect brokerage. Kathleen Merrigan Business Assistant Staff Writer Teresa Rhodes Linda Averill Design 61 illustration Camera the job it has abdicated. Work­ To realize these demands, Su Docekal 61 Printing ing women and men can't af­ feminists need to create strong Editors Marcel Hatch Sara Hospador ... Abortion Yolanda Alaniz ford to quit their jobs to patrol new alliances with labor activ­ Advertising Services clinics 24 hours a day. There­ ists and other groups whose Doug Barnes Photo Editor VALCO GraphiCS Clara Fraser Steve Hoffman from the cover fore, federal money should be rights are drawing fire. Guerry Hoddersen ~ denying reproductive rights is forthcoming so that clinic de­ We're in the middle of a war Henry Noble Translator Hitlerian. In short, it's fascist. fenders can: over fundamental liberties, and Janet Sutherland Jorge Gonzalez @ ®~52 • hire, train, and arm civil­ it has escalated into a shooting Fight fire with fire. The ian guards; war. The next time a revolver­ The Freedom Socialist (ISSN 0272-4367) is published quarterly by the gauntlet has been thrown • install metal detectors and waving maniac approaches a Freedom Socialist Party, New Freeway Hall, 5018 Rainier Avenue South, down. It is time for feminists to post guards at clinic entrances; clinic, defenders must be ready Seattle, WA 98118. Phone: 206-722-2453. Subscriptions: I-year $5.00 organize armed patrols to de­ • and convene an indepen­ to use equal force. If these thugs (institutions $10.00), 2-year Supporting Sub $25.00, 3-year Sustaining Sub fend every single abortion dent, grassroots commission to know that's the reception they $50.00, 5-year Sponsoring Sub $100.00. Add $5.00 for overseas airmail. Back copies $.75 each. Checks or money orders to Freedom Socialist at the clinic. investigate the connections can expect, they'll think twice. address above. For Australia and Canada, see facing page. Government must pay the between the anti-abortion Save a woman's life - de­ community the cost of doing movement and the ultraright. mand a gun. [] T

April-June 1995 Freedom Socialist 3

Third national meeting of socialist feminist caucus Radicals of color tackle topics from Native rights to multi-racial unity

BY MOISEs MONTOYA affect the other, Moran asserted that oppressed people the world over have a ust two short weeks after the racist, common enemy, the globally integrated anti-immigrant PropOSition 187 capitalist system. He concluded that in­ was voted in at the California bal­ ternational socialism, a method of pro­ lot box, a group of activists of color duction meeting the needs of the many gathered in Oakland for our third instead of filling the bank accounts of Jnational meeting. the few, is the only answer. The plenum of the National Com­ Chicano labor activist Gil Veyna rades of Color Caucus (NCCC) of the sounded the same theme in a presen­ Freedom Socialist Party and Radical tation on the situation in Cu­ Women, like the ongoing organizing ba and our organizing in de­ against Proposition 187 in the court and fense of the Cuban revolution. in the streets happening at the same U.S. businesses hope that time, showed that people of color are the vicious U.S. embargo tough, determined leaders who are not against the island will lead to about to lettheir rights be stripped away the reintroduction of capitalism and their achievements rolled back. there. But Fidel Castro and the Cubans have said, "jGracias pero Team leadership in action. Black, no!" ("Thanks, but no thanksl"), Latino, ASian, and Native members of FSP and RW converged from across the U.S. for the plenum, held November 25- 27. Guests in attendance included one Center: Yolanda Alaniz, of our Jewish comrades and a special chairperson of the National participant from Australia, Bundjalung Comrades of Color Caucus. Below and to her left: Charles (Aboriginal) elder Charles Moran. Moran, Australian Aboriginal leader and special guest National Caucus Coordinator speaker. From bottom left to top right, participants enter Yolanda Alaniz opened the meeting with Into their work with zest, whether conversing or cooking: a keynote address on effective team­ Emily Woo Yamasaki, MoisesMontoya, DebraO'Gara, Diane building: how to mount a collective Fujlno, Nell Wong, Janice Pono, Merle Woo. effort not to win money or trophies, as more familiar teams do, but in order to make a revolution on U.S. soil. myself, a Chicano - a lutionaries of color, to show the truths Other features included an evalua­ descendant of Mexi­ the capitalists are trying to hide and to tion of our activism in the people of cans of mixed indig­ spearhead multi-racial alliances. color movements; international reports enous and Spanish on the Australian Aboriginal struggle and international opposition to the heritage. Plenty of opportunities to make and on embattled Cuba; a discussion of blockade is on the rise. (Please see back­ We identified strong areas of com­ a difference. In all the movements, the similarities and differences between page article.) monality based on our overlapping FSP and RW members of color have the Chicano and Native American move­ Veyna reviewed the highlights of FSP ethnicity, mutual abuse at the hands of been busy combating the intensified ments; an examination of the caucus' and RW's intensive involvement in anti­ the U.S. ruling class, and shared de­ war on workers and the poor and win­ impact on the party and RW; and a embargo work, which has included par­ mands for justice. The main difference ning people to our sOl=ialist feminist motivational report on recruitment. ticipation in several of the aid Friend­ we discussed was that Chicanos are not politiCS and organizations. As well as Putting on the plenum gave us all a shipments organized by Pastors for a nation, while Native Americans are. being engaged in all the specific people chance to learn or improve skills, some­ Peace. It has also included discussion of We based this conclusion on Lenin's of color movements, we have had a thing I especially gained from as one of what political course the Cuban gov­ definition of a nation as an historically strong presence in campaigns against its organizers. This emphasis on train­ ernment needs to steer so that the revo­ evolved, stable community of people, the Nazis, against U.S. bullying around ing was continued in skills workshops lution survives. We are the foremost forged on the basis of a common lan­ the globe, and for the rights of immi­ held on finances, administration, set­ champions of an internationalist out­ guage, territory, economic life, and psy­ grants, women, and sexual minorities. ting priorities, and writing for the press. look, full workers' democracy, and at­ chological makeup manifested in a com­ We agreed to increase our efforts in A sumptuous Chinese banquet in tention to the needs and ideas of those mon culture. promoting dialogue and solidarity be­ nearby Berkeley rounded out our re­ most affected by the crisis - women, For groups who are not nations, iden­ tween Blacks and Jews, groups who are warding weekend. lesbians and gays, and Afro-Cubans. tifying as such leads to cultural nation­ pitted against each other both by the During the weekend we held our ple­ alism: racial/cultural exceptionalism and ruling establishment and by cultural Getting the global overview. num, these perspectives, plus concrete isolationism coupled with the down­ nationalists. We also agreed to step up Charles Moran, the Bundjalung elder proposals for international support ac­ playing of internal class divisions. Cul­ our organizing on the job, where all from Baryulgil, New South Wales, report­ tions, were being raised in Havana by an tural nationalism leads to cultural chau­ workers of color join together against a ed on Aboriginal workers there, who are FSP representative to the first World vinism, the notion that one's culture is common enemy, the boss. Their mili­ fighting for redress of injuries brought Conference in Solidarity with Cuba. superior to all others. tancy has ignited the labor movement on by over three decades of mining raw Agreement with these points by par­ time and again, and in their hands lies asbestos. Moran showed how Aborigi­ Revolutionary integration vs. ticipants was nearly unanimous. Dis­ the power to turn this system around. nal struggles in Australia for things like cultural nationalism. The similari­ cussion drew out the key pOint that the land rights, cultural preservation, and ties and differences between Native media, politiCians, and big business are One of a kind and growing. It was self-determination are similar to Native Americans and Chicanos were reported trying to mask class divisions in this exciting for us to realize that the Com­ American battles in the U.S. on in a joint presentation by Debra country by provoking race war. It is the rades of Color Caucus had grown about Noting that events in one country O'Gara, who is an Alaskan Native, and job of revolUtionaries, especially revo- 30 percent since our last plenum. The secret to our success is our feminist, Trotskyist program, which speaks to the needs of the most disenfranchised and is the basis on which we have built this FRilDOM$o(lALIST unique multi-racial and multi-issue cau­ cus. We not only represent the diversity -a newspaper for optimistic rebels in FSP and RW, but make policy that politically orients our organizations in the people of color movements. The caucus exists because we believe SUBSCRIBE TODAY! that the leadership of people of color is vitally needed today. The working class Enclosed is $25.00 for a two~year supporting is looking for humane solutions to the subscription - send me a free Malcolm X poster! overwhelming problems it faces, and the people who currently run our lives :! Enclosed is $5.00 for a one-year subscription (four issues). have proven that they don't have any. The answers are going to have to come Name~ ______~~~ ______Phone ______(pl.... print) from the bottom up. International solidarity, support for Address indigenous struggles, and defense of _____ Zip/Postal Code______Country______civil rights, affirmative action, and im­ migrant rights are at the top of our Send checks or money orders to; Freedom SOCialist, 5018 Rainier Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98118, u.s.A. Add $S for O'\lOi!rseas airmail. Australian resident 51 $6.00 (AUD) ~o Freedom 5o<;iolis(. P.O. Box 266, West Brunswick,VIC 3055. caucus agenda. We're serious, we're Canadian residents: $6.00 (CAD) to Freedom $od(llist, 304·1575 Beach Ave.,Vancouver. BC V6G IY5. proud, and we've done our homework. It's forward from here -look for usl D _.. __ m~~~~~=~ .... _.n=~======

4 Freedom SOcialist April-June 1995

Dateline Canada Liberal Party government dismantles social programs to serve NAFTA

BY MARCEL HATCH areas, for private development. comes from an "end the deficit" and enues to use paying for job-creating AND DYLAN KENDRICK The government's 70 percent share "no new taxes" movement led by ultra­ services like free .24-hour childcare, in PetroCanada is already for sale to conservatives connected to big busi­ free transportation, and free educa­ n 1993, Canada's Liberal Party global oil concerns. The national rail­ ness. This so-called revolt benefits cor­ tion for all. swept into office by promising to way, too, is up for auction. porations by harneSSing the raw anger The· other business-driven slogan, create jobs, save social programs, "no new taxes," should become "tax I and renegotiate the unpopular the rich!" According to Canada's Fi­ North American Free Trade Agreement. nance Department, the contribution It has delivered the exact opposite, made by corporations to government and the country is reeling. revenues dropped from 15 percent in Only bankers and brokers celebrated 1980 to seven percent in 1992. During on February 28, as Prime MinisterJean that same time, wage earners' share Chretien's government announced a rose from 40 to 48 percent. 1995-96 budget that will lay off work­ A hefty increase of taxes on big ers, gut services, implement NAFTA, business, whose profits derive from and privatize national resources. their employees' labor, could both fund The Liberal plan fulfills the agenda a tax reduction for those who need it of the Tories, Canada's eqUivalent of and make sure thatfree, quality health­ the U.S. RepUblicans. The moral to care is expanded, not eliminated. draw from their treachery is that the Liberals are no more friends of the For a general strike. Students have working class than their conservative set an exam pIe for building the kind of "opponents" are. Workers worldwide mass mobilization needed to squash have no home in any capitalist party government take-aways. On January - no matter how "liberal" the facade. 25th, 100,000 of them hit the streets for a one-day strike. Their fury was Budget axe benefits business. directed at education cuts, but their The Liberals intend to sell state indus­ demands were broad. They denounced tries, dismember social spending by ~ the planned gutting of unemployment $20 billion, raise workers' taxes, and ~ compensation, welfare, and more. levy huge entry fees on immigrants - :!¥ The militancy and awareness these all in the name of "deficit reduction." students showed should be emulated In fact, their plan was crafted to com­ Vancouver, B.C. On January 25, 100,000 students across the nation by the New Democratic Party. So far, ply with NAFT A rules; they are doing protested Liberal Party cuts in education, jobs, and social programs. the NDP has made itself more a part of their part to ensure that Canada more the problem than the solution by ac­ and more becomes just a vast exploit­ Stockholders and CEOs look for­ of over-taxed workers to the myth that cepting the need for deficit-reduction able market for U.S. multinationals. ward to adding to their fortunes. But social programs are responsible for the programs that entail mass layoffs and Central to the budget is a reduction layoffs, new taxes and fees, and cuts in national debt and that "there is no reductions in services to workers. in federal monies that go to provinces loans, grants, unemployment insur­ alternative" to curtailing them. But If the NDP decided to do right by its for social programs. The resulting ance, and welfare will make life harder there are always alternatives. constituency and organized a national squeeze will force local governments for everybody else: students, immi­ Government red ink is highly prof­ general strike, though, it could bring a to implement user fees and privatize grants, people of color, mothers, small­ itable for banks and investors. It is a swift halt to the anti-labor steamroller. services. The U.S. medical-pharmaceu­ business owners, small farmers, sexual means to transfer income from work­ With strong leadership, the com­ tical-insurance complex is drooling minorities, pensioners, wage earners, ers, who pay most taxes, to banks and bined clout of all those under the bud­ over the prospect of provinces open­ and military personnel. speculators, who hold most govern­ get axe can make a political course ing up major parts of the socialized ment securities. By nationalizing the change using the one weapon the rul­ Medicare system, one of Canada's most The deceit behind deficits. Sup­ banks, the federal government could ing class can't match: the power to potentially lucrative service-delivery port for the slash-the-budget binge refinance its debt, and put bank rev- shut this country down! [J

algunas otras expresiones de solidari­ trabajadores como medio para fomen­ dad que fueron propuestas. tar y organizar el debate acerca de pro­ ... Solidaridad con Cuba Sin embargo, ellos ofrecieron muy gramas y tacticas. Pero hemos reconsi­ poco tiempo para discutir los planes derado esta postura, basados en parte en para acciones especificas futuras 0 para nuestros multiples viajes a Cuba, donde vlene de 10 paglno 8 LQue podra persuadir a los lideres la formacion de comites de trabajo, no vimos personalmente el peligro de en­ parte el internacionalismo completo, cubanos de dar el control a los trabaja­ aprovechando al maximo la conferen­ frentarse a la sociedad, y por nuestras incluyendo el apoyo a las revoluciones dores y de reconocer que tan crucial es la cia como una oportunidad para utilizar conversaciones con la gente de alIi. incipientes y la reagrupacion de izquier­ revolucion mundial para el futuro del el gran apoyo presente. En este tiempo de tanto peligro, los da en el mundo entero y, por otra, la pais? Otra iniciativa fue la partidos multiples po­ democracia de los trabajadores. Los simpatizadores internacionales propuesta a la Federa­ drian abrir la puerta a una La democracia del proletariado signi­ tend ran un papel que jugal. Por ejem­ cion de Mujeres Cuba­ contrarrevolucion finan­ fica el establecimiento de consejos de plo, la delegacion de EEUU que fue a la nas por las Mujeres ciada por los EEUU, aun trabajadores 0 soviets, que tienen el conferencia aporto una propuesta ini­ Radicales (Radical Wo­ si, por ley, el gobierno solo poder de establecer normas tanto para el ciada por el Partido de Libertad Socialis­ men), las cuales espe­ permitiera la existencia de lugar de trabajo como para el pais. El ta para una semana mundial de protes­ ran tomar parte en la los partidos que simpati­ paternalismo impuesto des de arriba, no tas y educacion esta primavera y para la organizacion de una zan con la revolucion. importa que tan bien intencionado sea, internacionalizacion del proximo En­ delegacion especial in­ ~ Tambien las discusiones y no puede reemplazar a la intervencion vio de la Amistad. Los organizadores ternacional de feminis­ ~ cambios en politicas que de los trabajadores cuyos conocimien­ cubanos de la conferencia respaldaron tas para visitar la isla. ~ se necesitan, se pueden tos proviene de la experiencia directa y la idea de la participacion internacional La presidenta de la fe­ ~ dar si se permite operar a cuyo futuro esta de por medio. en el Envio de la Amistad y aprobaron deracion, Vilma Espin, las distintas tendencias se mostro muy conten­ politicas dentro del Parti­ ta con la propuesta y do Comunista. ORDER NOW! exhorto a las mujeres de EEUU a conti­ Grupos populares como los Cubanos nuar su apoyo a la revolucion cubana y en la Lucha contra el SIDA ya estan A groClndbreaking analysis of the sus logros, especialmente en promover influyendo en las politicas del gobierno, explosive force of women in la igualdad de las mujeres. pero indirectamente; ell os necesitan una voz dentro del partido. the workplaces of the 'qOs Vamos a mantener la llama en­ Para sobrevivir, la revolucion debe cendida. Las mujeres cubanas, las les­ volver a encender su llama internacio­ bianas y los homosexuales, Afro-cuba­ nal. Cuba no sera libre hasta que el NAME (please print) nos y los jovenes son los que mas sufren socialismo se consolide en los EEUU y las consecuencias de la crisis y los que en el resto de America. Economica y ADDRESS tienen el mayor incentivo para resolver­ politicamente ningl1n pais puede ser la, pero necesitan foros publicos para una isla. El Envio de la Amistad IV y la CITY STATE/PROVINCE ZIP/POSTAL CODE explorar ideas sobre como realizarlo. Conferencia de La Habana comprueban En nuestro articulo sobre Cuba en el que el poder para acabar con el aisla­ Enclose $4.00 for each document. Add $1.00 shipping for first copy, $.50 each additional. Send check or money order to: Radical Women Publications, 5018 Rainier Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98118.206-722-6057. ejemplar de Junio de 1994, nosotros miento forzado de Cuba es real-y esta recomendamos partidos multiples de creciendo. [J April-June 1995 Freedom Socialist 5

BY DEBBIE BRENNAN Raiding a treasury filled by workers. Behind corporate warfare is or years, Australians have been Dateline Australia the class war. So hand in hand with free exhorted to work harder and "Buy trade comes privatisation, the selling Australian." This, we were told, off of public assets to both international Fwould create jobs for everybody and domestic capital. and "build the nation." The juiciest pieces - big money­ Now the dole queues have length­ spinners like energy utilities, sea and air ened and the language has changed. "Free tradeJl terminals, road and rail infrastructure Today the Australian Labor Party (ALP) - are first off the rank. But anything is government urges us to achieve up for bids: social welfare services, hos­ "world's best practice" and "interna­ pitals, schools, prisons, even national tional competitiveness." parks. In Victoria, for example, 20 per­ gives free rein cent of the workers in full-time posi­ Workers here are being indoctrinated into life in a "free trade" zone, as part of tions in the public sector - nursing, APEC, the Asia-Pacific Economic Coop­ teaching, welfare, and government ad­ eration forum. ministration - lost their jobs in just If anything is going to close the book to exploitation two years. Most of these employees were on the fairy tale that Australia can buffer women. itself against the convulsions of the The government sells its assets at less worldwide profit system, APEC will. launched the Zapatista rebellion in than their value, so it is essentially play­ Chiapas, Mexico, against NAFT A. ing Santa Claus to private companies. The whip of free trade. Free trade Generations of common people worked, pacts are nothing more than tools by Shotgun marriages. International sweated, and died to fill the public purse which the strongest capitalists attempt relations in the area resemble the that the state and federal governments, to wring more out of the weaker ones, writhings of a nest of vipers, and APEC, headed by both conservative and Labor and all of them try to wring more out of formalised in 1992, has really lifted the parties, are now spilling open the global labour force. lid off. for big business. Under cover of" removing unfair trade • The prime ministers of Australia barriers," negotiations are used to strip and MalaYSia, Paul Keating and Mahathir "'\ Organise! Defy the bor­ away anything - labour codes, indig­ bin Mohamad, have quarreled over :) ders! The working classes of enous treaty rights, environmental pro­ Malaysia's mistrust of U.S. mo- ~ "\ all the Asia-Pacific countries tections - that hinders business' ability tives in promoting the pact. must confront our bickering to maximise profits. • A summit last November bosses together, as one fist. Corporate threats of relocation black­ committed APEC' s industrialised Without international mail fearful union leaderships into giv­ members to the implementation solidarity, we will be ing up ever greater concessions. Ford of free trade poliCies by 2010, and picked off one by one to Australia is a case in point. It has warned gave its less-developed members feed the insatiable cor- that it will close two major operations 10 additional years. But dispute porate hunger for profits. unless its workers "produce cars more rages over the key issue: whether With it, we can build a move- cheaply." APEC should be an integrated eco­ ment of unionists, indigenous The United States is spearheading nomic community with no tariff people, environmentalists, and the free trade charge. Workers there can barriers at all, or a looser trade bloc owners of small farms and busi­ no longer afford the goods they pro­ reducing only intra-area restrictions. nesses - all those with good duce, and investors and manufacturers The next APEC summit - scheduled reason to hate "free trade" - to are desperate for new markets. Pacts like for this November in Osaka, Japan­ defeat APEC and its kin. the North American Free Trade Agree­ isn't expected to resolve this deep There's a lot of irony in that ment (NAFT A) and the worldwide Gen­ schism . catchword. We ordinary eral Agreement on Tariffs and Trade • The U.S. and China just backed people want a world (GATT) are designed to enforce policies off from a trade war over com­ where we can be free favourable to Wall Street. puter software, compact disks, of sexism, racism, ho­ But until recently, there has been a and video movies. mophobia, and sys- hole in the net: the Asia-Pacific region. • Australia and the U.S. are tem-generated misery. The fix? A free trade arrangement bring­ constantly at each other's Free trade, meanwhile, ing together eighteen economies on throats about U.S. "dumping" of is just another word for both sides of the Pacific, including gi­ dairy products in lucrative Asian nothing left to lose - but ants like China and Japan - and, of markets that Australia considers our chains. course, the U.S. to be its own. Workers of the world, unite! APEC is poised to deliver here the • A third of the APEC countries ~ This proud slogan isn't wishful same kind of rapid impoverishment that are heading for a showdown with .... ~~1" thinking. It's a necessity. 0

they approved some other proposed ex­ Keeping the beacon lit. Cuban only those sympathetic to the revolu­ pressions of solidarity . women, along with lesbians and gays, tion were legally permitted. And the .. . Solidarity But they provided little time to dis­ Afro-Cubans, and youth, are hit hardest discussions and policy changes that are cuss plans for specific future actions or by the crisis and have the most in­ needed can occur if principled political the formation of working committees, centive to resolve it. But they need pub­ tendencies are allowed to operate within from page 8 and so did not fully capitalize on the lic forums in which to explore ideas the Communist Party. nize the decisiveness of world revolu­ conference as an opportunity to build about how to do so. Grassroots groups like Cubans in the tion to the country's future? on the incredible support present. In our article on Cuba in the June Struggle Against AIDS are already affect­ International sympathizers will play Another initiative was one raised to 1994 issue, we advocated multiple work­ ing government policy, but indirectly; a role. For example, the U.S. delegation the Federation of Cuban Women by ers' parties as a means of spurring and they need a voice inside the party. to the solidarity meeting brought a pro­ Radical Women, which hopes to be part organizing debate about program and To survive, the revolution must rekin­ posal initiated by the Freedom Socialist of organizing a special international tactics. But we've reconsidered this po­ dle its internationalist flame. Until so­ Party for a worldwide week of protest delegation of feminists to visit the is­ sition, based partly on our talks with cialism takes root in the U.S. and across and education this spring and for the land. The federation preSident, Vilma people during our several trips to Cuba, the Americas, Cuba will never be free. internationalization of the next Friend­ Espin, was delighted with the proposal, where we saw firsthand the dangers Economically and politically, no coun­ shipment. and urged women in the U.S. to con­ facing society. try can remain an island. Friendship­ Cuban conference organizers en­ tinue their support for the Cuban revo­ At this time of special peril for Cuba, ment IV and the Havana conference dorsed the idea of international lution and its achievements, especially multiple parties could open the door to prove that the power to end Cuba's participation in the Friendshipment, and in promoting women's equality. U.S.-funded counterrevolution, even if forced isolation is real-and growing. 0 There's a HTorld to learn and to chan~-

SanFrancisco~·· Mondays '7:()()p.rn.-· .. Ltls~ng~Ie~: 'tuesdays 7:00p.m/ - ,,---

6 Freedom SOcialist April-June 1995

Editorials Zapatistas show that emperor has no clothes HOW QUICKLY things change. Only yesterday, Carlos Salinas de Gortari was man of the hour, catapulting Mexico onto the global economic scene by denationalizing industry and embracing foreign investors. He was part of a troika of Midases, stitching together a seemingly unbeatable "free trade" empire of Mexico, the U.S., and Canada with the golden thread of NAFTA. Everything appeared perfect for NAFTA's inauguration on January I, 1994 - until the Zapatistas crashed the ball. The rebels proclaimed the trade agreement to be a death sentence for indigenous people and said they would fight it to the finish. By year's end, the peso had tumbled and the robe of em­ pire was clearly ragged and patched with lies. Salinas' pros­ perous economy turned out to be a sleight-of-hand created by selling short-term bonds to paper over long-term debt. And President Clinton is showing once again that the business of government is bailing out big bUSiness. The $20 billion traveling from U.S. public coffers (Le., workers' pock­ ets) to Mexico, and from there back to ChaseManhattan Book Reviews Bank, is "corporate welfare as we know it."

THE SALINAS "MIRACLE" is a political disaster as well as an economic one. The Institutional Revolutionary Genetic pseudo-scie~ce in the Party (PRI) is paralyzed, and intrigue substitutes for leader­ ship as it tries to maneUver between a rock and a hard place. service ofracism and sexism On one side are the Mexican workers and peasants, who The Bell Curve, Curve is of the blunt-object sees moral breakdown wher­ are increasingly angry about the misery that the PRI's "neo­ by Richard Herrnstein variety; Herrnstein and Murray ever he looks. But his bleak liberal" capitalism is causing them. On the other are the and Charles Murray. Yankee multinationals, who want their junior partners in are grinding a conservative ax. preoccupation is with gender. New York: Free Press, 1994. Their thesis is that intelli­ Wright believes all of hu­ imperialism to impose more austerity and repression in or­ Hardcover, $30.00. gence is heavily influenced by man behavior is driven, basi­ der to revive investor confidence and their empire's facade heredity; some groups have cally, by the self-interested of invincibility. The Moral Animal, more than others; and there's struggle of individuals to en­ U.S. and Canadian workers can speed the unraveling of by Robert Wright. nothing to be done about it. sure the survival oftheir genes. the fabric of empire by pulling on threads north of la fron­ New York: Pantheon Every link in their intellectual For men and women, this tera, the border. Demanding the repeal of NAFT A and with­ Books, 1994. chain is corroded and corrupt. struggle takes different - and of Mexican troops from Chiapas is a good place to drawal Hardcover, $27.50. They postulate that human antagonistic - forms. start. The more cooperatively we undo the handiwork of all Men want to sow lots_ of the Midases, the faster they will fall, and the sooner we can intelligence qm be quantified BY ANDREA BAUER in a single number, which is seed. At heart, they'reall Don­ design a beautiful, borderless, democratic, SOcialist North dubiOUS, and that IQ tests are a ald Trump; they'd take up with America that is made for humanity, not emperors. 0 eviewingThe Moral reasonable measure of this a new, younger, bosomy babe Animal, one report­ quantity, which is ridiculous. every few years if they could. er writes that each They purport to prove that Those babes, though, want to generation seems to Asians are smarter than whites catch and keep the best pro­ Yes, Virginia, millionaire getR the Darwin it deserves. (by a little) while whites are vider for their children. The Darwinism of Moral smarter than Blacks (by a lot). Given our selfish biological ball players can be Animal and The Bell Curve imperatives, akin to a geneti­ may not be what we deserve, cally programmed state of class-struggle heroes but it's the Darwinism the rul­ Every link in original sin, Wright believes ing class needs us to accept. tha t we face an uphill battle to ISN'T IT DIALECTICAL? Because of their visibility These books "scientifically" the chain of be virtuous (monogamous, and militancy, millionaire ball players are the current key to justify the attempt to impose a hard-working, etc.) - but we advancing the class struggle in the United States. new domestic order: orphan­ reasoning in should try. The Major League Baseball Players Association has the ages instead of welfare, pris­ greatest opportunity to rally workers onto the offensive ons instead of equal opportu­ The Bell Curve The golden age is ahead. since Reagan crushed the air traffic controllers union. nityandaffirmativeaction, "fa­ What the authors of these How thrilling it will be on opening day, April 2, if Ken mily values" instead of repro­ is corroded books share is an intense long­ Griffey, Cal Ripken, Jose Canseco, et al., put their feet and ductive rights and equal pay. ing to turn back the clock to seven-digit salaries on the line to force the likes of racist This social devolution has and corrupt. an era when social roles were Marge Schott and obnoxious George Steinbrenner to take nothing to do with survival of rigid; everybody knew who was their scab players and salary cap and stuff them. the fittest and everything to But genetics plays a major inferior and who was superior. do with survival of the richest. role in debunking the idea that Wright speaks wistfully of Vic­ THE STRIKE BEGAN last August as a defense against race, as a valid biological cat­ torian morality; Murray and classic union-busting. Owners demanded that players ac­ Gene crazy. Genetic deter­ egory, even exists. Looking at Herrnstein date our problems cept a limit on their salaries. The union refused, as they cer­ minism is back in vogue. Once chromosomes, scientists find to the egalitarianism of the tainly should have, citing 1993 baseball revenues of $1.8 called sociobiology, that "sci­ more variation among indi­ French Revolution. billion. Owners then chose to lose immense World Series ence" fell out of favor when it viduals within a race than be­ But capitalism, while abus­ receipts and National Labor Relations Board decisions rather was exposed as thoroughly rac­ tween that race and another. ingwomen and people of color than bargain with their players. ist. Now genetic determinism The Bell Curve relies on terribly, has also raised our con­ Owners have conspired to keep players chattel for nearly travels by names like evolu­ research paid for primarily by sciousnesses and expectations. all of baseball's history. Players could not voluntarily leave tionary psychology. the Pioneer Fund, an ultra right Wewon'tgo back. Fortunately, the teams, which could "reserve" them for exclusive service Genetics is an exploding, foundation begun in the 1930s there's another choice. at non-negotiable wages or trade them at will. In 1969, Curt extremely profitable science, to promote eugenics - the idea Geneticist Theodosius Flood, the superb Black outfielder for the St. Louis Cardi­ attracting massive investments that selective breeding can im­ Dobzhansky said this in Man­ nals, sparked the drive that won veteran players the right to by corporations hoping to own prove the human race. kind Evolving (1962): be free agents who can join the highest-bidding team. All the next big breakthrough. Murray has hit the talk­ "The most important point players should have this right. Every day a new gene is" dis­ show trail to deny he's a racist in Darwin's teachings was, Today, fans pay to see professional players compete in covered" for alcoholism, or (Herrnstein died just before strangely enough, overlooked. parks that are publicly funded. The owners are pretty much homosexuality, or criminality. their book was published), but Man has not only evolved, he superfluous, yet they "earned" disclosed profits of $50 mil­ Lost in the hype is the fact that his agenda is clear. A longtime is evolving ... By changing what lion in 1993. And these are the guys whipping up moral genes don't determine behav­ polemicist against welfare, he he knows about the world man outrage over players' salaries! ior. By themselves, they don't has described "fatherless boys" changes the world that he determine anything. Scientists in Black communities as living knows; and by changing the FANS, ORGANIZED LABOR, AND FS readers can help speak of genes "mediating" or in a "Lord of the Flies culture world in which he lives man win this vital strike and promote the interests of all working "contributing to" a person's writ large." Last summer, he changes himself... Evolution people. Boycott and picket scab ball games. Urge the major­ characteristics; they recognize testified in Congress in favor need no longer be a destiny leaguers to hold exhibition games to benefit other strikers, that nurture and nature affect of placing the children of wel­ imposed from without; it may like the intransigent Staley workers in Illinois; this would us by working together in a fare mothers in orphanages. conceivably be controlled by electrify the entire labor movement. marvelOUSly complicated way. man, in accordance with his In the words of Yankee great Yogi Berra, "When you No-win battle of the wisdom and his values." come to a crossroads, take it! II 0 For whom the bell curves. sexes. Robert Wright, author That is the Darwinism we The "science" of The Bell of The Moral Animal, also deserve. 0 April-June 1995 Freedom Socialist 7

Letters to the Editor . I

NICOLE AND 0.). ian, it is presently popular wis­ ordinating national responses, dom that the accused are inno­ ensuring Australia's adherence Media frenzy feeds on cent until found within rea­ to international covenants pro­ Clara distortion of real life sonable doubt to be gUilty. moting abortion rights, and I applaud Clara Fraser's piece 3) Feminism seems to have networking between state­ Fraser ("The Lady Vanishes: Where Is blinded the author. Each time based and international the Nicole Brown Simpson I see a report on the O.J. case, I groups. ARNA's address is PO Story," Vol. 15 No.4), but dis­ see a picture of Nicole, Ronald, BoxE233, St.James, NSW 2000. Hail to the once agree with her on one point. and often even her children. We look forward to further Brown Simpson has not been Moses Fridman coverage of the abortion issue. and future Soviet Union entirely ignored by the media. [email protected] Robyn Mills Children by Choice "Even supposing for a moment that owing to unfavorable She seems to be a frequent circumstances and hostile blows the soviet regime should be tem­ "cover girl" in the tabloid press. Association Inc. WORLD AFFAIRS Windsor, Queensland porarily overthrown, the inexpugnable impress of the October I'd put this coverage into the revolution would nevertheless remain upon the whole future de­ same general category as sen­ Cuban democracy - in velopment of mankind. /I sationalist TV talk shows. what does it consist? -Leon Trotsky, History of the Russian Revolution, 1930 This media plugs into the SEEKING AID The article "Cuba SI, Blo­ fundamentally liberationist Prison Legal News LET US NOW PAY TRIBUTE to 75 years of the Soviet desire of the audience to share queo No," written by Yolanda Alaniz (Vol. 15 No.2) after her needs more subscribers Union. While idiots in academia and the media crow about its stories of struggle from their collapse, I need to express my profound respect and gratitude lives. Then the tabloid media visit to the island as part of the Prison Legal News is a Pastors for Peace Caravan, ex­ monthly newsletter published for its enormous attainments and unquenchable legacy. undercuts this liberating im­ Granted, in Moscow and environs today, all is chaos and pulse by relegating all such sto­ presses a deep solidarity, and is and edited by Washington state very truthful. However, there prisoners. PLN reports on court horror. And why not? Horrendous convulsions are bound to ries, in the end, into the same ensue when an advanced social organism, in which produc­ old reactionary categories of are some ideas that deserve a decisions affecting prisoners more in-depth reflection. Just and contains information de­ tion is based on need and planning rather than profit and "Madonna/whore." chance, is wrenchingly replaced with the outmoded, sadistic, Jamie one example: Is the one-party signed to help prisoners vindi­ New York City system, in itself, contrary to cate their rights in the judicial dog-eat-dog system of capitalism. The convulsions are history's the democratic spirit? Does system. protest; history is telling us that what is happening is wrong, party pluralism in fact guaran­ Two postage rate increases regressive, and out of sync with the. endless upward arc of aver­ In favor of self-defense tee true democracy? What has will be hitting us back-to-back. age people struggling to improve their lives. While I consider myself a the history been in Cuba? Given the current political cli­ Yes, I weep for the Soviet Union's demise. Even more, I de­ radical reactionary conserva­ Carlos Negret Simon mate, it is all the more impor­ test the military enCirclement and CIA/mafia dirty tricks and tive, I agree with you on this: Subdirector, Sierra tant that we present people world market pressures that finally brought it down. Ms. Brown and Mr. Goldman Maestra newspaper with an alternative viewpoint. I also mourn the relative passivity of its dtizens, who were are the victims, not poor de­ Santiago de Cuba We can offset the increased so traumatized by the Stalinist bureaucracy that they could not bilitated superstar 0.]. costs if we can substantially summon the hope and the energy to carry out the desperately While you and I may differ, True workers' democracy raise the number of subscrib­ needed political revolution that would have restored democ­ we agree that women should would allow for more than one ers. The suggested donation for racy, while still retaining the progressive economic forms and fight rather than take abuse. revolutionary party. But because a one-year subscription is social culture. Uncle Vito Cuba is seriously threatened with $12.00, or more if you can af­ Wasilla, Alaska U.S.-engineered counterrevolu- ford it ($35.00 for institutions). BUT SHEDDING TEARS FOR DEFEATS is only part of Please make checks or money the dialectic of evaluating events. In the case of the USSR, the orders payable to Prison Legal triumph and incredibly long tenure of the revolutionary state, News and send to P.O. Box despite overwhelming obstacles, is the other side of the coin. 1684, Lake Worth, FL 33460. How magnificent that this daring, imaginative, and dy­ Paul Wright namic tryout of new and better ways of living together should Co-Editor, PLN have lasted for more than seven decades! Its own founders and theoreticians never believed that an isolated Soviet Union could perSist indefinitely. They acknowledged that socialism in CRITICISM AND KUDOS one country is an absurdity, and that one workers state could survive only with mounting reinforcement from more and Translation into Spanish more like-minded states exploding into being. should be all or nothing Similarly, they scoffed at inane bourgeois critics who I'm sorry to see you folks whined that after 10 or 20 or 70 years the Soviet Union still translating just one article into hadn't reached the productive and living standards of the Spanish. I think that this is most developed capitalist democracies. We never promised to, condescending, not to men­ said Trotsky. We have to break the stranglehold of the dead tion surprising in light of your hand of the past before we can even start to come abreast of, contention (in your document much less surpass, nations that never had to lie fallow under tion, we reconsidered our opinion on the Chicano struggle) that centuries of insane czars, a useless nObility, crushing serfdom, Two people were slain most Chicanos speak English, and a medieval culture. I feel that Ronald Goldman that forming multiple workers' parties would help solve the regardless of whether they also So what the Soviets did produce - in art, culture, industri­ has been left out of the story speak Spanish. alization, agriculture, transportation, SCience, space explora­ even more than Nicole Simp­ country's crisis. For more on this, please see back-page article.-Ed. Martha Koester tion, medicine, and more - is stunning. son. We need to remember that Seattle How did the USSR endure so long and achieve so much in two people are dead. the face of unremitting obsession to annihilate it? Simply be­ Jeffrey Clark ANC deserves uncritical A Clara-fying article cause of the tremendous power inherent in socialism's reason­ [email protected] support during transition Hurrah for Clara Fraser's So­ ableness, naturalness, and capacity to inspire workers and Nelson Mandela and the cialism for Skeptics IV (Vol. 15 rebels the world over with its profound appeal to the ideas of Why ethnidty noted? ANC deserve our understand­ No.3). I live in a small city that justice, ethics, equality, and communalism. The Soviet Union Why does Ms. Fraser men­ ing for walking a fine line to is an Oregon Citizens Alliance was a dress rehearsal, humanity's first real plunge into the un­ tion that Goldman was Jewish avoid a white backlash and its stronghold. Your article makes charted seas of the pursuit of happiness. if she never makes any other horrible consequences. South me realize that an eruption can reference to that? Africans appear to have a far occur here. As for the vanguard INSTEAD OF SUCCUMBING to confusion and melancho­ Bill Michtom better understanding of the party, which I regretfully used lia and despair over the fall of the world's first workers state, we must commemorate it and illuminate its lessons, so that we [email protected] ANC's predicament than you to sneer at in past years, it is do (World Beat, "Strike Wave desperately needed now. can proceed to stage Act Two with a greater wisdom born from Certain groups of people are Challenges Pro-Business ANC Glenn Kirkindall experience. special targets Of violence, Jews Policies," Vol. 15 No.4). Albany, Oregon History never follows a straight path. Socialism will over­ amongthem. Goldman's ethnicity Let's focus on ANC accom­ take the planet when its time comes, just like capitalism did! may have been incidental in his plishments and withhold criti­ Many people think the current profit system is as eternal and Classy class analysis indestructible as matter/energy, but capitalism took more than murder, but in the larger scheme cism until a generous amount This is just a note to say how of things, Jewishness is often de­ of time has passed and the ANC a thousand years, and innumerable false starts, to entrench it­ much I appreciate your excep­ self. And it too shall pass away, when the global majority is cisive to a person's fate. Jews also has failed to deliver. tionally well-written and ar­ tend to be consigned to obscurity; Will Eickholt thoroughly sick and tired of being exploited and brutalized. ticulate articles. Your analYSis We must not allow ourselves to be infected with the moan­ this may help explain why the Des Moines, Washington of international and national media ignores Goldman. -Ed. ing and groaning of doomsayers who were once ready to jus­ events is superb. Thank you. tify Stalinism's wildest violations of Marxism-Leninism and are Australian network Howard Thorn now ready to inter Stalinism and socialism in the same grave. Fraser's views odoriferous defends abortion rights Portland, Oregon We will confidently nourish our radical optimism by revering "The Lady Vanishes" was a There is a national network the memory of Lenin and Trotsky's Bolshevik Party, which crock of shit. Here's why: of groups working for repeal of conceived and executed one helluva revolution in a stultified, 1) Socialism is an economic abortion laws in all Australia's Readers are encouraged to submit backward country, and by continuing to adapt that party's system, not a philosophy, the­ states: the Abortion Rights Net­ letters, news stories, commentary, electrifying principles to the here-and-now. ology, or handbook of triallaw. work of Australia ("Activists cartoons, graphics, photographs, We come not to bury the Union of Soviet Socialist Repub­ 2) Unless the author is a Challenge Laws Against Abor­ and pertinent resource informa­ lics, but to praise its truly liberationist and humanitarian ori­ fascist, communist, monar­ tionandHomosexuality," Vol. tion on world and national affairs. gins and aspirations. Despite the ravages of Stalinism, the good chist, or other kind of totalitar- 15 No.3). Its aims include co- Letters may be edited for length. that this noble experiment accomplished lives long after it. [J ...,.__ -- ... -~- ~~- · __• __ - ...- ... - ... -iiiii- ...... - ...... iiiiioiiiiiiiiiiliiZE_- ...zasa=iiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiOiiOiiiiiiiO== ..... -;;;;;;;;;;o ...... =- __ iOiiiii=-=-=-=-======~======

8 Freedoll SOcialist April-June 1995 Solidarity swells for defiant Cuba Participant reports on Friendshipment IV and Havana World Conference

BY DOUG BARNES load more than 28 cargo containers of aid, which made their way to Cuba by freighter. ast November, Havana was the Weary but elated, we then boarded jets site of two inspiring events that headed for the Caribbean. signaled rising opposition to the u.s. embargo against Cuba. The What road for the economy? We L streamed into Havana's Karl Marx Theatre fourth Pastors for Peace Friendshipment caravan delivered a record 260 tons of aid. for the first session of the solidarity con­ Caravanistas arrived on the eve of the first ference, which opened thrillingly. Thou­ World Conference in Solidarity with Cuba, sands of participants chanted demands to held from November 21-25 and attended end the blockade as dozens of speakers by over 3,000 people from 109 countries. lined up to denounce Yankee aggression f2 and praise Cuba's defense of the down- ~ Busting the blockade. U.S.-Cuba trodden. &l Friendshipment IV was the first to include At the closing session, thunderous ap­ a trip across Canada. From Seattle, I joined plause greeted Fidel Castro's pledge never the 13-day trek eastward from Vancouver to return to capitalism. Island to Montreal. We received enthusi­ The embargo and the demise of trade astic welcomes in more than a dozen cities with the former Soviet bloc have created where we stopped to collect aid, educate, economic crisis on the island. The Cuban demonstrate, raise funds, and talk to the leadership has had to respond by taking media. some drastic measures that they recognize On November 17, as our U.S. contin­ as steps backward. These include entering Canadian caravanlstas at U.S. border. gent attempted to cross into Canada at into more than 180 joint-venture agree­ Los caravanlstas de Canada a la frontera de los Estados Unldos. Buffalo, New York, U.S. Customs agents ments with foreign businesses and legaliz­ impounded some of the Cuba-bound com­ ing the dollar. when limited capitalist practices must be and left regroupment around the globe, puters. Undaunted by threats, caravanistas Some concessions to world capitalism reintroduced. and workers' democracy. carried boxes of aid by hand across the are unquestionably necessary. But the Proletarian democracy means the es­ border. Later, when Customs seized a van, danger is that Cuba, like Russia and East­ Best defense: internationalism tablishment of workers' councils, or sovi­ quick-thinking caravanistas blocked the ern Europe, will end up back in capitalism's and workers' democracy. Castro's ets, tliat have the power to set policy for tow truck with their bodies until Customs pocket. Of immediate concern is the message that Cuba will go it alone if it has both the job site and the country. Top­ agreed to return both the van and the government's partial dismantling of cen­ to is courageous, but not realistic. With down paternalism, however well­ computers. tralized planning, a cornerstone of a work­ the Soviet Union's much vaster resources intentioned, cannot substitute for the In Montreal, dockworkers helped us ers state that becomes all the more crucial to rely on, Stalin announced his intention intervention of the laborers, whose knowl­ of building socialism in one country. It edge about problems and solutions comes Doug Barnes talks with Vilma Espin, proved impossible, just as Lenin, Trotsky, from direct experience and whose future president of the Federation of Cuban and the early Bolsheviks predicted. The is at stake. Women. Doug Barnes conversacon Vilma only hedges against capitalist restoration What will persuade the Cuban leader­ Espin, presldenta de la Federaclon de are thoroughgoing internationalism, in­ ship to give control to workers and recog­ MuJeres Cubanas. cluding support for budding revolutions to page S

La solidaridad aumenta enormemente en pro de una Cuba desafiante Un participante presenta un iliforme sobre el Envio de la Amistad IV y la Conferencia Mundial de La Habana docena de ciudades donde nos detuvimos lQue camino debe tomar la eco­ lista son indudablemente necesarias. Pero para reunir ayuda, instruir, hacer manifes­ nomia? Entramos en grandes multitu­ el peligro es que Cuba, como Rusia y POR DOUG BARNES taciones, reunir fondos y hablar con los des al Teatro Karl Marx de La Habana para Europa Oriental, acabe de nuevo en el medios de comunicacion. la primera sesion de la conferencia de bolsillo del capitalismo. De urgencia inme­ n noviembre pasado, La Habana El 17 de noviembre, al tratar nuestro solidaridad, cuya inauguracion fue muy diata es el desmembramiento parcial por fue la sede de dos eventos que contingente de Estados Unidos de cruzar a emocionante. Miles de participantes can­ parte del gobierno de la planeacion cen­ sefialaron el incremento en la opo­ Canada desde BUtalo, Nueva York, agen­ taban sus exigencias de acabar con el blo­ tral, que es una de las bases de un estado de Esicion al embargo de Estados Uni­ tes de aduanas de EEUU decomisaron al­ queo a la vez que docenas de ponentes se los trabajadores que se vuelve aun mas dos contra Cuba. La cuarta caravana del gunas de las computadoras destinadas a alistaban para denunciar la agresion yan­ necesaria cuando se tiene que reintroducir Envio de la Amistad de los Pastores por la Cuba. Los caravanistas, no conmovidos qui y para elogiar la defensa por parte de practicas capitalistas limitadas. Paz entrego un record de 260 toneladas de por las amenazas, transportaron a mano Cuba de los oprimidos. ayuda. Los caravanistas llegaron la vispera las cajas hasta el otro lado de la frontera. En la sesion de clausura, aplausos ensor­ La democracia de los trabajado­ del dia de la primera Conferencia Mundial Mas tarde, cuando la aduana detuvo una decedores celebraron la promesa de Fidel res y el internacionalismo. El men­ en Solidaridad con Cuba, que se realizo del camioneta, a unos caravanistas se les ocu­ Castro de nunca regresar al capitalismo. saje de Castro de que Cuba 10 realizara sola 21 al25 de noviembre y a la cual asistieron rrio rapidamente bloquear la grua con su El embargo y el fin del comercio con el si asi 10 tiene que hacer, es de mucho valor, mas de 3,000 personas de 109 paises. propio cuerpo hasta que la aduana estuvo antiguo Bloque Sovietico han creado una pero no es realista. Stalin anuncio sus de acuerdo en devolvernos tanto la camio­ crisis economica en la isla. Los lideres intenciones de construir el socialismo en Un golpe al bloqueo. El Envio de la neta como las computadoras. cubanos han tenido que responder con solo un pais, contando con los recursos de Amistad IV entre Estados y Cuba fue el En Montreal, los trabajadores de los medidas drasticas que ellos reconocen que la Union Sovietica que son mucho mas primero en incluir un viaje a traves de muelles nos ayudaron a subir mas de 28 son pasos hacia atras. Estos incluyen el vastos. Fue imposible, exactamente como Canada. Desde Seattle, yo me integre a la contenedores de carga de ayuda, las cuales inicio de mas de 180 acuerdos de co­ Lenin, Trotskyy los Bolcheviques 10 predi­ travesia de 13 dias desde la Isla de lIegaron a Cuba en barco. Despues, cansa­ inversiones con negocios extranjeros y la jeron. Las unicas barreras en contra de la Vancouver hasta Montreal. Nos ofrecie­ dos pero emocionados, abordamos el avion legalizacion del dolar. restauracion del capitalismo son, por una ron calurosas bienvenidas en mas de una con direccion al Caribe. Algunas concesiones al mundo capita- sigue en la pagina 4 Freedom Socialist Party & Radical Women - Look Us Up/ AVSTRAIJA IolEWYORI( .' .' MdbQume:P.O.Box266,West arunswick, VIC 3055. Phone/fAX 03~3$6-5065. Mew YOrk City! 32 Union Square E.Rrn.907, NtvvYofkCity, NY1{)OQ3.Ph. 212-677~7002. FAX 212-491-4634...... "CANAQA, Venc;ouv~;}O+ 1575 Beach Ave)/ahc:ou~, BC VOG' 1Y5.Phpne/FAx 604-6~5195 . • • •

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