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COMMUNALISM C a Social Ecology Journal Migration: Can We Abolish the Borders?

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COMMUNALISM C a Social Ecology Journal Migration: Can We Abolish the Borders? 9 USD | 7 Euro | 70 kr • Issue # 2, Spring/Summer 2010 COMMUNALISM C A Social Ecology Journal Migration: Can we abolish the borders? Town Meeting Democracy | Ethical Consumption | Nazism and Islamism EDITORIAL COMMUNALISM A common future ationalism is corrupting Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. More than anywhere else it is corrupting Europe. Since the 1990s, right wing populists and N radical nationalist parties have gained a solid foothold on the continent, polluting European countries with their simple but menacing solutions. Nationalism constructs artificial borders between human beings on minimal, and A Social Ecology Journal often arbitrary, biological, linguistic and cultural differences. These artificial differences CIssue # 2 (17), Spring / Summer 2010 are eagerly exploited. By making immigrants and refugees the scapegoats of a growing Published by Communalism Press social insecurity, nationalist parties nurture a dormant parochialism and xenophobia. 2010 © Communalism According to their propaganda, the traditions and way of life of “real Hungarians” or “true Norwegians” are threatened by “foreign cultures.” But the very idea that those Editorial Board living in any given country have so much more in common with themselves than with Eirik Eiglad their neighbors and others living elsewhere in the world is ridiculous. The cultural Sveinung Legard division of human beings into different quasi-biological categories – where “we” are Camilla Svendsen Skriung assumed to be fundamentally different from “the others” – is simply reactionary. Design and Layout Nationalism is not only a right-wing phenomenon, but is advanced also by a Eirik Eiglad “national Left.” It is high time that we abandon the deceptive dogmas of “progressive nationalism” – it represents no bulwark against imperialism. Too often, the Left veils how Assistants to this issue the calls for social liberation are substituted by calls for national liberation, and how Peter Munsterman, Jakob Zethelius, the empowerment of the people is substituted by the empowerment of a small and Mat Little, Ingrid Flognfeldt Brubaker, often tyrannical elite. This development is evident in Venezuela, where the president Mark Andrews, Kjetil B. Simonsen Hugo Chavez – presenting himself as the expression of the Venezuelan people – is concentrating ever-greater powers into his own hands. Journal printed by UnitedPress Poligrafija, Riga It is now more important than ever to propose remedies against nationalism. First, we have to nurture the notion that we all belong to a common humanity. Second, Subscriptions available: we have to maintain that there are greater differences between the exploiters and 3 Issues for US$60, €40 or 340 nkr. the exploited, the powerful and the powerless, within the same country, than there Check webpage for details. are between “nations.” Third, we must consistently fight the influence of nationalists, while not shirking from criticizing reactionary tendencies within immigrant milieus. Please do contact us: We need active distributors. Finally, we must seek out practical alternatives to nationalism, the nation-state and its Submission guidelines available. borders. We think the essays we have collected in this issue give a decent overview of Donations are welcome. the challenges we face. As the alternative to nationalism, we propose communalism: a humanist politics Registrer deg som sympatisør: based on democratic participation and social equality. We need tangible alternatives Betal 100 nkr månedlig og motta alle våre utgivelser. to the nation-state and nationalism, and the very essence of communalism is to create Norsk konto: 0540.160.3087 common political arenas where people are included, not on the base of their nationality or “ethnicity,” but as cosmopolitan citizens. www.communalism.net The real challenge is not how to protect “our culture” and “our borders,” but rather Webpage developed by www.visualwebworld.com how we can find new arenas for common education, socialization and enlightenment in Discuss our ideas at the Communalism forums. order to develop our richest humanist traditions. Only through a generous democratic Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. politics can we create a common future, and heal our world from this nationalist disease [email protected] that dulls our minds, poisons our societies, and stunts our children. Grenmarsvegen 12, N-3912 Porsgrunn, Norge 2 COMMUNALISM CONTENTS Never doubt the ability of a small group of dedicated citizens to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has. “ Margaret Mead (1901–1978) Contents: 6 Consumed by ethics Mat Little 10 Can we buy ourselves a new society? Brian Tokar 13 Progressive nationalism Ken Furan 16 Strangers into citizens Interview with Julie Camacho 20 Migration without borders Teresa Hayter 30 The legacy of Enlightenment E Atle Hesmyr 39 National Socialism and Islamism Matthias Küntzel 52 Town meeting advocacy Ben Grosscup 62 Change the world by taking power Sveinung Legard Our movement 73 Conversation with Jakob Zethelius on forestry 78 Meeting De Fabel from Holland 80 Andy Price on Recovering Bookchin 2 Editorial 4 Comment 5 Challenges 17 Past Present Future 71 Reviews 81 Endnotes Photo: LAG Norge COMMUNALISM 3 OUR MOVEMENT Jonathan Korsár is a Swedish social ecologist. COMMENT He is active in Friends of the Earth. E After Copenhagen There are many ways to look at the result rights, European societies are forced to Such a movement indeed has a hard time of COP15, the UN climate summit in make large changes, in their economies and promoting justice of any sort. Copenhagen that many hoped would lead to their usage of resources and energy. These ambitious, international co-operative efforts societies also need to provide the means that A genuine and thoroughly reflected focus on to minimize global warming. A lot of people are needed, so people, who live in areas with justice, rights and duties can hopefully lead Ehave pointed out the disconsolateness of a low income and a with a scarcity of economic us onto a better track. How can we get people situation where the most powerful countries resources, can keep developing their societies and communities actively involved in decision in the world fail to act. Others have also without having to depend on fossil fuels. making processes regarding issues such as pointed out the importance of having a energy sources, technologies, transportation, debate on how we ourselves in the climate Why has the climate movement been unable construction, farming, consumption patterns, movement manage to mobilize people for to win the support of the general public for and so forth? This is the central issue for change. this kind of change? the climate justice movement, besides The perception of the climate challenge ensuing everyone’s right to a supportive In a highly readable reflection on Copenhagen, in rich countries has tended to become natural environment. Indeed, the former Tom Athanasiou from Ecoequity claims individualized and the need for genuinely is a prerequisite for achieving the latter. In that “the northern climate movement” has popular mobilization on a grassroots and retrospect it is not hard to understand that “quite failed to explain the structure of the democratic level is often forgotten when the UN meeting in Copenhagen failed largely global climate justice problem to the broader individual consumption becomes the focal because the climate movement had not yet population.” Athanasiou is one of the people point of “climate action awareness.” There is succeeded in creating the political forms and behind the concept of so-called greenhouse also a tendency to focus too much on what conditions for such participation. development rights – an attempt at analyzing is done on a higher level, like the nation- Thus if we are to create a powerful the rights and obligations of people in state or international institutions. This turns movement for a just and ecologically sound “carbon-constrained world.” climate activism into lobbyism, and the transition in rich countries, we have to Working with this concept Friends of the struggle for climate justice into a very non- assume the responsibility of contributing to a Earth Europe found out that in total, the inclusive project. participatory democracy where broad sectors member states of the European Union are When climate issues becomes a question of of the population are included in taking care indebted to decrease their climate emissions either individual lifestyle or lobbying, climate of a climate friendly social development – a by at least 40 percent in 2020 (compared to justice – or the rights-and-duties-perspective responsibility that politicians or business the level of emissions in 1990). Before 2050 – often get too weakly articulated. Often, leaders evidently do not want to assume the emissions have to be reduced by 90 per it also implies a neglect of a participatory responsibility for today. Only in this way cent or more. At the same time they should process to cope with climate change – that is, can we create the pressure that is needed contribute about 150 to 450 billion Euros a the equal right of everyone to participate in to force the political establishment towards year to sustainable development in so-called a democratic process regarding these issues. some substantial steps during the coming “developing” countries. The climate movement is in other words international summits. And only this way The overall analysis of Friends of the Earth reduced to a movement made for two sorts can we hope to further a popular movement is sound. In order to respect basic human of specialists: Lifestyle activists and lobbyists. for more far-reaching, systemic changes. • 4 COMMUNALISM OUR MOVEMENT CHALLENGES FOR OUR MOVEMENT New Books from Moving Forward Communalism Press: Social ecology is a bold attempt to answer the crises of our time. With a new outlook as well as a new politics it seeks to regenerate society and its Powerful Narrative of Anti-Jewish Riots in Oslo relationship to the natural world. However, the far-reaching ambitions of social ecology seldom correspond to the reality we face.
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