December 09th, 2009
From the “Grundrisse” to “Capital”: Multilinear Themes
In the Grundrisse (1857-58), Marx sketches a multilinear theory of history. This marks an important turn in his thought. These themes are taken up again and developed further in Capital, Vol. I (1872-75), but as a theorization of contemporary possibilities rather than past history.
September 19th, 2009
Review of Marnia Lazreg's Torture and the Twilight of Empire: From Algiers to Baghdad
In this study, Marnia Lazreg gives us a new and original account of torture during the Algerian war of 1954–62. A second notable feature of this book is its theoretically rich discussion of torture at a more general level, which furnishes important insights into political power at both the macro and the micro levels. Finally, […]
September 01st, 2009
Behind the 2009 Upheaval in Iran
The Friday, June 12 election was widely expected to be a somnolent affair in which Ahmadinejad coasted to a second term over some lackluster opponents. Instead, the Moussavi campaign quickly heated up, jarring not only the conservative establishment but also sparking a new and supposedly apathetic generation of youth into action. At a rally at the University of Tabriz, Moussavi appealed to youth alienated by the morality police. Students complained of political and gender repression, including cameras in classrooms to prevent conversation among students of the opposite sex.
July 17th, 2009
French Union Evicts Africans
On Wednesday, June 24, a terrible event took place in Paris: Hundreds of Africans sans papiers (undocumented immigrants) who had occupied the Bourse de Travail for over a year were evicted and pushed onto the street with their belongings. These workers had taken refuge in the Bourse du Travail, a union-run employment service, because they have no work permits and hope to secure legalization.
March 01st, 2009
Israel’s Gaza Invasion and the Barbarism of War
Israel’s invasion and devastation of the Gaza Strip is one more illustration of that nation’s barbaric behavior toward weaker peoples and nations. Far from the small beleaguered land represented in its own propaganda and that of its US supporters, nuclearly-armed Israel’s war machine is unmatched in the region, allowing it to attack its neighbors with impunity.
January 01st, 2008
Contemporary Marxist Problems in the Perspective of Foreign Scholars: An Interview with Kevin Anderson (Chinese)
December 01st, 2007
Kevin B. Anderson. Lenin Und Die Dialektik: Wiederentdeckung und Beharrungskraft in Philosophie und Weltpolitik
October 01st, 2007
Marx’s Late Writings on Russia Re-Examined
This year, we celebrate the 125th anniversary of Marx’s 1882 Preface to the COMMUNIST MANIFESTO, co-authored by Engels, in which he espouses an alternate road toward communism for Russia, one based upon agricultural Russia’s village communes, and different from that outlined in CAPITAL, Vol. I for Western Europe. (Persian translation)
July 16th, 2007
The Iranian Impasse
During a visit to Tehran in the spring of 2005, we were impressed by the degree of intellectual freedom Iranians had carved out within the Islamic Republic. The numerous bookstores on Enqelab Avenue across from Tehran University carried an array of newly translated books by Immanuel Kant, Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Hannah Arendt and Michel Foucault, among others. A lecture on “Foucault and Feminism” at Alzahra Women’s University elicited enthusiastic responses, including one from a high university official clad from head to toe in a black chador. A visit to [...]