Tom Behan looks at the growing working class struggle in Italy.
'The message to the government from the streets is clear: we've got you surrounded--come out with your hands up.' You could hardly criticise the bravado of Francesco Caruso, leader of the 'disobedient' wing of the Italian Social Forum movement. Just a year ago pessimism dominated the Italian left following the election of Silvio Berlusconi. Then came Genoa.
A revolution throughout the Middle East is key to solving the problems of the Palestinians, argued John Rose in 1986. We reprint an extract from his pamphlet.
Israel's left wing supporters in the west continue to insist that all Israel wants is peace and recognition by its Arab neighbours. They might agree that something called Palestinian 'national rights' does exist, and even that a Palestinian state on the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the Jordan is 'acceptable'--though under some form of 'Israeli-Jordanian' supervision. However, in this they are woefully out of date and out of touch. The Israeli leadership has not the slightest intention of conceding even this inadequate 'compromise'.
There was nothing generous in Israel's last offer to the Palestinians.
The second Intifada began in September 2000 following Sharon's provocative visit to the holy Muslim site of Harim-Al Sharif. This can only be understood because of the complete failure of the 'peace process' to deliver any reforms to the Palestinian people, let alone a state.
Israeli peace activist Neve Gordon is shocked at the actions of a former fellow student.
To Colonel Aviv Kohavi, brigade commander of the Israeli paratroopers
I presume you remember me. In any event, I remember you. We first met in the paratrooper brigade. I was a platoon sergeant in the corporals' company--you were a young platoon officer. Even then, friends of mine who were serving with you in the same post in Lebanon related that you were a sensible, serious and, above all, decent officer.
The Birmingham Defend Council Housing Campaign recall how they inflicted a serious defeat on New Labour.
Last year John Prescott announced the 'death of council housing'. Last month 40,000 Birmingham tenants stuck two fingers up to him. Birmingham City Council spent two years and over £36 million (of tenants' rents) on their slick 'vote yes' campaign. Birmingham has the largest number of council homes in the country and despite the council's one-sided propaganda campaign over two thirds of tenants voted against them.
Report from a Marxist Forum in Tower Hamlets, East London.
Brick Lane is not the place it used to be. The hot bagel shops are still there but its proximity to the City of London and spiralling house prices have led to a proliferation of yuppie wine bars and the like. But how pleasant to come in from the cold to a trendy and neon-lit cafe to debate with an assorted company of some 50 people on whether women today have equality with men. This is the regular meeting place for the Tower Hamlets SWP Marxist forum.
New Labour can no longer take the trade unions' money for granted.
For over 100 years the trade union movement has supported the Labour Party both politically and financially. Last year alone trade unions donated £10 million to Labour's coffers. But, as last month's Socialist Alliance trade union conference showed, New Labour can no longer take that support for granted. With over 1,000 trade unionists attending, it was the biggest unofficial trade union gathering in over two decades. The key debate was the question of opening up the unions' political funds to parties that oppose privatisation, defend union rights and protect jobs.
Attacks on Labour and trade union leaders, as well as the occasional anecdote, makes 'In the Thick of Workers' Struggle', Tony Cliff's second volume of selected writings, essential reading.
Before 1960 Tony Cliff established himself as a theoretician with books on state capitalism in Russia, China and Eastern Europe. But as a revolutionary Cliff could not be satisfied by this. To show that Stalinism had nothing to do with socialism was merely a negative statement. Cliff now wanted to negate this negation, to look forward to the rebuilding of an authentic socialist movement.
The movement against neoliberalism and war must be built, but so too must the revolutionary Marxist current within it.
The 2000s are proving to be a new era of mass movements. This is most spectacularly reflected in the international campaigns against global capitalism and against the 'war on terrorism'. Of necessity, these movements unite a wide range of political forces in common action. The anti-capitalist movement prides itself on its unity in diversity. The second World Social Forum in Porto Alegre brought together a very wide spectrum that extended from French and Brazilian social democrats to revolutionary socialists and autonomists.
The anti-capitalist movement is back with a vengeance. Socialist politics are crucial to its success.
The anti-capitalist movement has taken a decisive step forward. In Rome last month three million people called onto the streets by the CGIL union federation formed the biggest demonstration in postwar Italian history. A one-day general strike is planned for April. In Barcelona half a million people poured onto the streets, including a substantial number of organised workers. This was ten times more than the organisers expected. The continuing uprising in Argentina has shown how unstable governments wedded to the neoliberal economic model can become.
