Network for an Alternative Quest (ed.) Challenging Capitalist Modernity Alternative Concepts and the Kurdish Quest Documentation of the 2012 Conference Challenging Capitalist Modernity Alternative Concepts and the Kurdish Quest Network for an Alternative Quest (editor) http://networkaq.net Copyright © by International Initiative Edition International Initiative “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan—Peace in Kurdistan” P. O. Box 100 511 50445 Cologne, Germany [email protected] Copyright © of this edition by Pahl-Rugenstein Verlag Nf. GmbH Breite Str. 47 53111 Bonn, Germany [email protected] Typesetting: Holger Deilke Cover design: Annett Bender Photo of Wolf-Dieter Narr (p. 18) by arbeiterfotografie.com ISBN 978-3-89144-472-6 Printed in EU CONTENT Editorial Note 6 CHALLENGING CAPITALIST MODERNITY ALTERNATIVE CONCEPTS AND THE KURDISH QUEST 0.1 Norman Paech 8 Welcoming Address 0.2 Havin Guneser 12 Bridges, Spirals and Alternatives. Overview of the Conference 0.3 Antonio Negri 17 Message of Greeting 0.4 Immanuel Wallerstein 18 Remarks on Challenging Capitalist Modernity 0.5 Wolf-Dieter Narr 20 Message of Greeting 0.6 Abdullah Öcalan 21 Seeker of Truth SESSION 1: THE QUEST FOR A NEW SOCIAL SCIENCE 1.1. Ann-Kristin Kowarsch 32 Alternatives to the Established Social Sciences 1.2 Ahmet Alış 44 No Theory for the Kurds? The Kurds and Theories of Nationalism 1.3 Kariane Westrheim 49 The Quest for a New Social Science 6 Challenging Capitalist Modernity—Alternative Concepts and the Kurdish Quest SESSION 2: CAPITALISM AS THE CRISIS OF CIVILIZATION 2.1 Antonio Negri 56 In Search of the Commonwealth 2.2 Fadile Yıldırım 67 The Unchanging Character of State-based Civilisation: Sexism 2.3 Achin Vanaik 76 Capitalist Industrialization and the Nation State 2.4 Felix Padel 86 Capitalism as the Arch-enemy of Ecological Societies 2.5 Solly Mapaila 94 The South African Revolution 2.6 Reimar Heider 101 Capitalism and the Kurdish Freedom Movement SESSION 3: THE MIDDLE EAST BEYOND NATION-STATES 3.1 Ayhan Bilgen 112 Opportunities for Democracy in the Middle East 3.2 Muzaffer Ayata 120 The Kurds and New Ideas for a Changing Middle East 3.3 Sadik Hassan Itaimish 135 Understanding Political Islam 3.4 Ferda Çetin 142 Is Moderate Islam Only a Mask? 7 SESSION 4: TOWARDS A NEW PARADIGM DEMOCRATIC MODERNITY 4.1 Eirik Eiglad 148 The Communalist Alternative to Capitalist Modernity 4.2 Gönül Kaya 156 Founders of Radical Democracy: Experiences of Women Liberation Movements 4.3 Janet Biehl 164 Bookchin, Öcalan, and the Dialectics of Democracy 4.4 John Cronan Jr. 178 A New Democracy is Possible: Evisioning a Participatory Economy 4.5 Ana Mezo 189 Building Democracy in the Basque Country: Experiences and Challenges 4.6 Gülbahar Örmek 195 Women’s Cooperatives as an Alternative Model 4.7 Tom Waibel 200 No Aspirin As Big As The Sun 4.8 Gültan Kışanak 205 Democratic Politics as an Alternative in Turkey 8 Challenging Capitalist Modernity—Alternative Concepts and the Kurdish Quest Editorial Note We are happy to present the reader of the conference “Challenging Capitalist Modernity—Alternative Concepts and the Kurdish Quest” which took place in Hamburg, Germany from 3-5 February 2012. The conference, the first of its kind, had three big aims: To inform the international public of the new paradigm and vision of the Kurdish freedom movement, to strengthen and further discussions within the Kurdish com- munity at large, and most importantly to establish a platform for alternative movements to come together and share theoretical and practical results. To this end, several Kurdish-related, Germany-based groups formed the “Network for an Alternative Quest” and prepared the conference, which from the start targeted a wider audience. The conference was a great success and created a lot of motivation in ev- erybody who attended. To share some of the original atmosphere, we decided to document the conference in the best way possible. With this reader that we publish in English, German and Turkish we can only transmit the content of the speeches; some of the things that made this conference special was the spirit of the speakers. From Felix Padel’s violin to Solly Mapaila’s call for a minute of silence, from Janet Biehl’s emotional speech to Gültan Kışanak’s humor in the face of brutal repression―all this you can still experience in the video recordings on the website http://networkaq.net. Many volunteers have contributed to the realization of the conference and the production of this book. It is impossible to name them one by one, but without their work, solidarity and support neither the conference nor this book would have been possible. Thank you all! We hope you enjoy reading the conference speeches as much as we en- joyed listening to them. International Initiative “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan–Peace in Kurdistan” Network for an Alternative Quest: International Initiative “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan–Peace in Kurdistan” • KURD-AKAD Network of Kurdish Academics • YXK – Association of Students from Kurdistan • Kurdistan Report • ISKU – Information- sstelle Kurdistan e.V. • Cenî – Kurdish Women’s Office for Peace • Civaka Azad— Kurdish Center for Public Relations Challenging Capitalist Modernity Alternative Concepts and the Kurdish Quest 10 Challenging Capitalist Modernity—Alternative Concepts and the Kurdish Quest 0.1 Norman Paech Welcoming Address Ladies and gentlemen, honoured colleagues, and guests of the conference “Challenging Neo-liberal Capitalism — Al- ternative Concepts — and Supporting the Kurdish Upris- ing”. I’m not on the governing body of this university, but for almost 40 years I have been teaching and was also a research fellow here. I welcome you to the university and to this conference, which is of the highest relevance. It is about the crisis of the capitalist system — an old topic; it is about the search for al- ternative concepts — and this too is an old theme; and it’s about the Kurdish uprising — and that’s a task for you, which is certainly not new, though we must find an answer to this direct threat of existential danger. For you, ladies and gentlemen, the general economic and political crisis is combined with the momentum of police and military attacks, and both demand more than just economic alternatives and political concepts. It requires courage, wisdom and patience. The wailing of the politicians, the cries for help of the bankers and the Cassandra calls of billionaires have for months been broadcast loudly through all media outlets. The costs of the crisis are no longer able just to be passed on to the general public, but are also now negatively affect- ing their own portfolios. In addition, resistance is forming, although this remains largely un-organised and anarchic, as demonstrated by the “Oc- cupy Movement”, and is easily put under control by the use of the police. But when those who profit from being placed at the centre of the modern global capitalist system — such as the speculator George Soros — warn (at the World Economic Forum in Davos) that the world is positioned in the most dangerous period ever in modern history, in a period of “Evil forces” where the possibility of a descent into the abyss of chaos and conflict faces Europe (as in the USA, where serious protesting in the streets is met with brutal attacks by security agencies and accompanied by excessive inroads into the civil rights of citizens) then it can be seen that the future prospects 11 of the system appear to be dire. Those at Davos and St Moritz will only be truly disturbed by the dramatic- ally widening gap between rich and poor and take the matter in earnest when they are themselves directly drawn into bankruptcy, fraud, riots and violence in the maelstrom of the “going under” of the world. In contrast, the rise of hunger in the world, the growing number of dying children and the disasters of climate change are currently so far from their own palaces and casinos that they can concentrate on the conference topics and formulate non-binding Millennium Development Goals. According to the FAO, 37,000 people die of hunger every day. Nearly a billion are perman- ently and severely malnourished, while agriculture around the world today could feed twice the existing world population. The USA and the countries of the EU have put up only one-third of the €180m necessary for an immediate humanitarian emergency programme. Instead, they put many thousand of billions of tax money into their casino banks. According to World Bank data, 1.2 billion people worldwide currently languish in poverty with an income of only $1.25 per day. If one accepts the new concept of multidimensional poverty then this constitutes a third of the world population living under this level. Four years of crisis have, worldwide, destroyed the jobs of over 200 million people. Not only are the collapse of the banks and the crash in the stock markets a scandal, but so is the billions of taxpayers’ money provided to rescue the banking Mafia and their casino system. This money served not for the eradication of hunger and poverty, but to rescue the financial and neo-liberal capitalist system (hence the telling phrase of “system relevant” banks): this is what is responsible for the hunger and poverty, and indeed thrives on it. It is not the case that the political class have capitulated to the power of financial insti- tutions, whether hedge funds, mutual funds, banks or the IMF, as reported earlier this week once again in the FAZ (D. Schümer, “Europe abolishes it- self”, January 30th 2012, p.25). The political class, as represented by governments and parliaments, is itself part of this system, has made an active contribution to ensuring that it has grown to such enormous dimensions, and has benefited from it.