Monthly Review Press

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)

February 20, 2024

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.

Mészáros reading groups

Mészáros reading groups

February 20, 2024

March is the month to dig in to Mészáros. Join "Essential Discussions" with Irv Kurki, or The Marxist Education Project's "Capital Studies Group" respectively focusing on 'Beyond Leviathan' and 'The Necessity of Social Control.'

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

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

February 20, 2024

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....

WATCH MR Classics: Nkrumah’s ‘Consciencism,’ with Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly and Dr. Layla Brown (Plus excerpts)

WATCH MR Classics: Nkrumah’s ‘Consciencism,’ with Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly and Dr. Layla Brown (Plus excerpts)

February 20, 2024

Announcing a new series charting movement memory, titled "MR Classics," starting with Kwame Nkrumah's thought, the philosophy he called 'Consciencism." We are honored that Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly and Dr. Layla Brown will be here to guide us through this seminal work, its contemporary relevance, the issues that it raises that remain unresolved and the questions it continues to inspire.

EXCERPTS: INEQUALITY, CLASS AND ECONOMICS, by Eric Schutz

EXCERPTS: INEQUALITY, CLASS AND ECONOMICS, by Eric Schutz

February 20, 2024

The economic expansion just prior to the pandemic seemed to justify optimism about inequality. But Covid-19 showed just how little grounds there were for optimism. The pandemic demonstrated how poorly prepared for such a crisis a society could be that fails to provide universal, high-quality health care to a significant proportion of its population, as the case and death rates in the United States have demonstrated...

Some ways forward after the devastating decline in union membership (Shaun Richman reviewed for Organizing Upgrade)

Some ways forward after the devastating decline in union membership (Shaun Richman reviewed for Organizing Upgrade)

February 20, 2024

The ongoing debate about reviving the U.S. labor movement tries to grapple with the devastating decline in the union membership rate from one-third of the workforce in the 1950s to less than 11% today. In this discussion, occasionally a book comes along that is a great combination of labor history, thoughtful analysis of union organizing, and suggestions for ways forward. Shaun Richman’s "Tell the Bosses We’re Coming: A New Action Plan for Workers in the Twenty-First Century" is such a book.

Cuba’s defiant contributions to the fight against racism and white supremacy (Works by Horne and Fitz cited by ‘Latin America in Movement’)

Cuba’s defiant contributions to the fight against racism and white supremacy (Works by Horne and Fitz cited by ‘Latin America in Movement’)

February 20, 2024

Anti-American, anti-Jim Crow sentiment and against the white supremacist domination project were already present on the island well before the revolution....generating a revolt that was not only against foreign domination, but against a deeply racist domination that tried to impose the same 'Jim Crow' system on Cuba, trying to transform a society with racism into a racist society according to the model of white supremacy...

The Local Journalism Initiative (LJI): A proposal from MR author Robert W. McChesney

The Local Journalism Initiative (LJI): A proposal from MR author Robert W. McChesney

February 20, 2024

"In short, the principle is that journalistic organizations will be paid in advance, and what they produce primarily with public monies will be instantly put in the public domain and made available to all for free. The best check on abuses will be popular voting to determine the recipients. The process will be overseen by the U.S. Postal Service, with elections taking place online and with print ballots available at or through the Postal Service. This is a renewal of the Postal Service’s historic mission of sustaining independent and competitive journalism..."

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