Monthly Review Press

Opinion: From crisis to catastrophe (Horne on Ukraine, in ‘Black Agenda Report’)

Opinion: From crisis to catastrophe (Horne on Ukraine, in ‘Black Agenda Report’)

With Germany pledging to re-arm, we also witness the shortsightedness of world imperialism, which refuses to learn the lessons of the 20th century, especially the catastrophe of world war ending with the uncovering of industrial funeral pyres in 1945. Not only Washington but London, Brussels and Paris should be shuddering right now....

NEW! Radek: A Novel, by Stefan Heym (EXCERPTS)

NEW! Radek: A Novel, by Stefan Heym (EXCERPTS)

...Stalin asked, "So you think my truth needs improvement?"
"The truth," Radek replied, "can’t be improved. The truth is true, or it is not. But a line of evidence can gain a great deal by new and better evidence..."

“In Seattle, for a time, they did things differently…” (HISR reviews Cal Winslow)

“In Seattle, for a time, they did things differently…” (HISR reviews Cal Winslow)

Winslow studied at Warwick University under E. P. Thompson, the undisputed pioneer in this approach, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In his Introduction he cites another founder of the new labor history, Herbert Gutman, to the effect that ‘Studying a single event cannot answer the basic questions, not even the general strike ... We need the background, of the discontent of working people in the Pacific Northwest as well as of the Seattle social and economic structure.’ This Winslow provides in considerable detail...

A 300-year excursion through the history of the global economy (‘International Affairs’ reviews the Patnaiks)

A 300-year excursion through the history of the global economy (‘International Affairs’ reviews the Patnaiks)

Patnaik and Patnaik unpick the realities of capitalism: First, as thriving on exogenous rather than endogenous stimuli––namely colonialism followed by state intervention after the Second World War––thus negating its capacity to be self-contained and perpetual; and second, leading to high unemployment through deindustrialization and land grabs for export crops and property accumulation which push petty producers and peasants into joblessness.

And as always, the Dems demobilize (Counterpunch discusses “A Left Green New Deal”)

And as always, the Dems demobilize (Counterpunch discusses “A Left Green New Deal”)

Just two years ago, the sky was the limit for progressives: Medicare for All, a Green New Deal and a Sanders’ candidacy for president. There was serious talk of forgiving student debt, of free community college, paid parental leave, finally lowering the costs of essential medicines and more. Now, the best progressives can muster is primarying the treacherous, corporate, bought-and-paid for Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema. What a difference a couple of years make! This was all entirely predictable. The Democratic party has mainly functioned since the 1930s to demobilize left movements, and these latest weren’t even movements...