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The Drain of Wealth: Colonialism before the First World War

The Drain of Wealth: Colonialism before the First World War

by Prabhat Patnaikand Utsa Patnaik

February 1, 2021

The Western European powers appropriated economic surplus from their colonies, materially and substantially aiding their own industrial transition from the eighteenth century onward, as well as the diffusion of capitalism to the regions of new European settlement. In the case of India, the concept of drain is based on the fact that a substantial part of its earnings was never permitted to accrue to the country; it was instead appropriated by the ruling power: Britain.

The Ecological State

The Ecological State

by Erald Kolasi

February 1, 2021

Although natural constraints on supply are important, most economic scarcities that rule our lives are actually social and artificial. Supply and demand are not natural forces drifting through the air; they are contrived realities established by an interactive social environment involving governments, corporations, institutions, and classes. Supply and demand cycles are social constructs designed to answer a basic question: Who gets what?

Manipulations of Freedom: The Dirty Fight for Prop 22 and the Gig Economy

Manipulations of Freedom: The Dirty Fight for Prop 22 and the Gig Economy

by Anonymous

February 1, 2021

On California's November 2020 ballot were some contentious and important issues, including Proposition 22, classifying rideshare drivers and app-based delivery workers as independent contractors. Gig economy giants Uber, Lyft, Doordash, and others spent a whopping $111 million on Prop 22. Of course, the companies had a lot to lose. If they were made to treat their drivers or delivery people as employees and compensate them accordingly, they would be bankrupted, they claimed.

Red Star: Coexistence in Alexander Bogdanov’s Utopia

Red Star: Coexistence in Alexander Bogdanov’s Utopia

by Aleksandra Djurasovicand Milan Djurasovic

February 1, 2021

Alexander Bogdanov's Red Star, published in 1908, was an attempt to reenergize the dejected revolutionaries whose efforts had been crushed during the 1905 Russian Revolution. The protagonist, Leonid, is a Russian revolutionary chosen, in the midst of the revolution, by the Martian expedition to visit their planet and learn about the centuries-old advanced form of communism there. Since the triumph of communism in Russia was the cause to which Leonid had decided to devote his life, he agrees to visit Mars so that he can absorb their ideas and principles.

Preface to the Persian Edition of The Ecological Revolution

Preface to the Persian Edition of The Ecological Revolution

by John Bellamy Foster

February 1, 2021

The Ecological Revolution was first published a little more than ten years ago in April 2009, at a time when climate change had already been recognized as a pressing global issue for over two decades, but when there was still hardly any realistic discussion of its connection to capitalism or of the immense ecological and social revolution that would be required to overcome the Earth System crisis. Let us look back to understand the historical gulf separating that time from our own.

On Creative Destruction, Myths, and Revolution

On Creative Destruction, Myths, and Revolution

by David B. Feldman

February 1, 2021

It is a testament to the clarity and scope of Mark Jay and Philip Conklin's vision that A People's History of Detroit is replete with insights for those trying to make sense of these deeply uncertain and troubling times. In it, Jay and Conklin show that "in order to give a true 'people's history,' one must do more than condemn the malevolence of those in power and celebrate the activists who have struggled for justice; one must also come to terms with the social system in which these people lived. In our case, this means confronting the logic of capital."

The Contagion of Capital: Financialized Capitalism, COVID-19, and the Great Divide

The Contagion of Capital: Financialized Capitalism, COVID-19, and the Great Divide

by Brett Clark, John Bellamy Fosterand R. Jamil Jonna

January 1, 2021

Although the current crisis of production associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has sharpened disparities, the overall problem is much longer and more deep-seated, a manifestation of the inner contradictions of monopoly-finance capital. Comprehending the basic parameters of today's financialized capitalist system is the key to understanding the contemporary contagion of capital, a corrupting and corrosive cash nexus that is spreading to all corners of the U.S. economy, the globe, and every aspect of human existence.

The Continuing Korean War in the Murderous History of Bombing

The Continuing Korean War in the Murderous History of Bombing

by Tim Beal

January 1, 2021

The Korean War, which broke out on June 25, 1950, can be considered the epicenter of bombing as an instrument of war. For one, it was the first—and, so far, the last—time since 1945 that the United States seriously considered using atomic weapons during the course of an imperial war. It was the first war that the United States did not win. It ended in a stalemate—an armistice—that continues until today. Kinetic fighting was suspended, but the war continues (though only by one side) by what is conveniently but simplistically called sanctions.

Disability and Welfare under Monopoly Capitalism

Disability and Welfare under Monopoly Capitalism

by David Matthews

January 1, 2021

A historical-materialist analysis of the relationship between disability, the body, welfare, and capitalism is needed in order to further develop a Marxist understanding of disability. In this framework, we can see how the British welfare state, given recent changes to British disability policy, determines who is able-bodied and who is disabled, with this evaluation made in regard to the needs of monopoly capitalism.

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