The Republican Party's Delusional Attachment to
Trump Sets the Stage for the Acceleration
of Neoliberal Proto-Fascism

by  C.J. Polychroniou

The strategic objective of the Republican Party is not simply to engage in obstructionism, but to continue dividing the nation and radicalizing the American public against the democratic system.

Liz Cheney’s removal from House GOP leadership over her rejection of Trump’s election lies and Republican senators' blocking of a bipartisan proposal to create an independent panel that would investigate the Capitol siege reveal in stark terms at least two things: (a) that Republicans have built a cult of personality around Trump, and (b) that they are now at the mercy of the proto-fascist mob that their Dear Leader energized and nurtured during his four-year tenure in the White House.

Either way, the fact of the matter is that, for purposes of political expediency, the GOP has opted to become a dark political force, relying almost entirely on lies and deception—while at the same time waging a coordinated onslaught on voting rights—as its governing techniques. As such, it represents a real threat to the stability of the republic.

La Commune de Paris: un saut de tigre dans le passé

Par Michael Lowy

Toute révolution est, comme l’écrivait Walter Benjamin, « un saut de tigre dans le passé » : ce fut le cas de la Commune de Paris de 1871, qui avait, dans la Commune parisienne de 1793-94 une de ses principales références ; et le même vaut, comme nous verrons plus loin, pour la Révolution russe, par rapport à la Commune de 1871.

La Commune de Paris : un saut de tigre dans le passé

Pour le 150e anniversaire de la Commune

Dans le 18 Brumaire, Marx affirmait que les révolutions prolétariennes, au contraire des bourgeoises, ne tirent par leur poésie du passé, mais de l’avenir. Il avait sans doute raison : les révolutions sociales sont toujours inespérées et innovatrices, elles inventent des nouvelles formes d’organisation et de lutte. Mais en même temps je pense que Marx se trompe : toute révolution tire aussi son inspiration, sa poésie, des révolutions antérieures. Toute révolution est, comme l’écrivait Walter Benjamin, “un saut de tigre dans le passé” : ce fut le cas de la Commune de Paris de 1871, qui avait, dans la Commune parisienne de 1793-94 une de ses principales références; et le même vaut, comme nous verrons plus loin, pour la Révolution russe, par rapport à la Commune de 1871.

CHAOUAT Gérard (Vingtras, Vallès)

Né le 6 mai 1944 à Alger (Algérie), mort le 23 avril 2021 à Paris (XXe arr.) ; militant de l’UEC et du PC, du FUA et de la JCR, de l’International Marxist Group 1974, de la LC/LCR jusqu’en 1980 ; pendant ses études de médecine, militant syndical à l’AGEMP-UNEF, un des dirigeants de la « Mino Médecine » ; chercheur au CNRS, militant du SNCS-FSU, du SNESUP, de la FSU et de l’École Émancipée ; militant du NPA à sa création en 2009, puis Gauche anticapitaliste, Ensemble ; directeur de recherches au CNRS, spécialiste de l’immunologie de l’implantation.

Gérard Chaouat naquit à Alger dans une famille séfarade. Son grand-père paternel, médecin, juif et franc maçon, fut président de la Ligue des Droits de l’Homme à Alger. Engagé à l’extrême gauche, en 1936 il encouragea les occupations d’usines puis milita de manière occulte en faveur du PC à Hussein-Dey. Interné au début de la guerre, il décéda au camp d’internement de Djenien-bou-Rezg (Sud-Oranais). Son grand-père maternel, ingénieur, participa à la construction de barrages en Algérie et à la modernisation du port d’Alger. Il est mort Grand Officier de la Légion d’Honneur. Il était l’ami de Ferhat Abbas et d’Abderrhamane Farès, ancien président de l’Assemblée algérienne. Un jour, en 1962, à Paris, au retour d’une manifestation de l’UNEF contre les attentats de l’OAS, Gérard Chaouat eut la surprise de trouver Ferhat Abbas dans le salon de l’appartement familial. Son père, médecin rhumatologue finit sa carrière comme Médecin chef de la Fondation Rothschild, rue Manin (XIXe arr.). Sa mère fut empêchée de passer son agrégation de Lettres classiques du fait de l’abrogation du décret Crémieux en Algérie par le gouvernement de Vichy. Son frère Didier, aujourd’hui décédé, était lui aussi médecin rhumatologue.

Latin America has once again entered a period of strong social and political turbulence

Interview with Franck Gaudichaud

Franck Gaudichaud recently wrote and coordinated two collective works drawing a critical assessment of “progressive” political attempts to challenge neoliberal hegemony in Latin America. In this interview, he considers the social and political dynamics of the recent period, and also current issues in the region. The interview was conducted by Rosa Moussaoui, journalist and senior reporter for the newspaper L’Humanité.

What is the common political thread to what you call the “progressive experiences” of the early twenty-first century in Latin America?

This characterization is admittedly vague. If we employ it, it is because the people concerned use it themselves, from the Kirchners in Argentina to Alvaro Garcia Linera in Bolivia. These actors, in their diversity, have built a common political space which they have chosen to call “progressive”. This category therefore appears legitimate to us, even if these progressive “left” governments have had very different experiences. On the one hand, there are “national popular” experiences, more or less “radical” in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. And on the other, experiences more oriented towards the centre left, including forms of social-liberalism, like the Frente Amplio in Uruguay (among others, under the terms of office of José “Pepe” Mujica), the Brazil of Lula then of Dilma Rousseff. But beyond the category, there are many points in common during the “golden age” of progresismo: a return of the state, criticism of neoliberalism, developmentalist aims. With very heterogeneous political practices.

Équateur : De Rafael Correa à Guillermo Lasso en passant par Lenin Moreno

par Eric Toussaint

Le 11 avril 2021, lors du deuxième tour des élections présidentielles, Guillermo Lasso (52,4 %), le candidat de la droite, a devancé Andres Arauz (47,6 %), le candidat soutenu par Rafael Correa et une partie de la gauche. Lasso a été élu grâce à la division de la gauche car une partie importante de celle-ci, qui a perdu toute confiance dans Rafael Correa, a appelé à voter nul. Les voix du camp populaire, qui était clairement majoritaire au premier tour des élections de février 2021, se sont divisées et cela a permis à un ancien banquier d’être élu président. La situation est grave car une occasion de rompre avec la politique néo libérale brutale de Lenin Moreno a été perdue. L’ex-banquier Lasso, quoique critique par pur électoralisme des positions de Lenin Moreno, va poursuivre le même type d’orientation néfaste : l’approfondissement de politiques néolibérales, la soumission aux intérêts privés du Grand capital, en particulier du puissant secteur bancaire équatorien, du secteur importateur-exportateur et la soumission à la superpuissance nord-américaine. Comment est-il possible qu’une partie importante des voix du camp populaire ne se soit pas reportée sur Andres Arauz pour éviter l’élection de Guillermo Lasso ? Cela s’explique par le rejet qu’a suscité dans une partie de la gauche, notamment dans la CONAIE, la Confédération des nations indigènes de l’Équateur, la politique de Rafael Correa en particulier à partir de 2011.

The Paris Commune of 1871, banks and debt

by Eric Toussaint

On the occasion of the 150^th anniversary of the extraordinary experience of the Paris Commune, it is fundamental to draw a number of lessons from it. The measures a government takes regarding its Central Bank, the debts of working class people, public debt and private banks are decisive. If a popular government does not implement radical financial measures, it will be responsible for ending in failure, with possibly tragic consequences for the population. The Commune, an extraordinary and dramatic experiment, exemplifies this, and must thus be analyzed from this point of view.

En mémoire de Patrice Lumumba assassiné
le 17 janvier 1961

par Eric Toussaint

Ce 17 janvier 2021, nous commémorons le 60^e anniversaire de l’assassinat de Patrice Lumumba (1925-1961).

Suite à une victoire éclatante aux premières véritables élections auxquelles les Congolais ont participé, Patrice Lumumba est devenu premier ministre du Congo du 24 juin 1960 jusqu’à son renversement et son emprisonnement le 14 septembre de la même année par le militaire Joseph-Désiré Mobutu et ses soutiens. Ce dernier a ensuite dirigé le pays, d’abord en sous-main, puis de manière directe à partir de 1965 jusqu’à son renversement en 1997.

What Trump's Doing Is Crazy and Dangerous—and It Ain't Over Yet

Trump still threatens us, and discussing the election in the past tense is stupid.

by Jeffrey C. Isaac

Ever since November 7, when the election was more or less authoritatively “called” by all major media, a wide range of pundits have spoken as if the election was decided. Some of these pundits have explained away Trump’s consistent and angry refusal of the results as a sign of his narcissism and immaturity; some have focused on the ineptitude of the Rudy Giuliani/Jenna Ellis legal team; and some have focused on the important fact that so many judges and state election officials, even Republican ones, have refused to comply with Trump’s efforts to subvert the election. Most recently, attention has focused on the December 8 “Safe Harbor” date prescribed by federal law. The point: the results have now been certified, and Biden obviously must be selected next week by the Electoral College, and Trump’s latest efforts are beside the point.

Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair

The Rolling Constitutional-Fascist Coup in the World's Most Dangerous Nation

by Paul Street

“We Want to Get Rid of the Ballots”

We are in the middle of a rolling authoritarian and even fascist coup that is working with and through the United States Constitution to no small degree. To be sure, Trump is doing everything in his considerable power to undermine a “normal” bourgeois-constitutional election. He’s working to sabotage mail delivery in an election that will depend on mail-in ballots thanks to the pandemic Trump has fanned. He’s deploying armed right-wing “poll watchers” to intimidate minority and other Biden voters. He’s encouraging terrorist street actions and intimidation by white “tough guys” (bikers, militia members, cops, and soldiers) before, during, and after the election. His party will mess with voting sites and access in majority Democratic jurisdictions.

Will the Military Support a Declaration of Martial Law

Garett Reppenhagen, Veterans for Peace,
Interviewed by Bill Resnick

August 27, 2020

Recently, Veterans for Peace issued a statement condemning the deployment of troops in the U.S.: 

 “Veterans For Peace condemns the inflammatory statements of Donald Trump. His declaration of calling for military troops on US soil to quell people exercising their First Amendment right is inflammatory and incredibly dangerous. We stand unequivocally with the protestors who are in the streets calling for an end to senseless police killings and white supremacy.

In addition to the 200,000 troops already deployed across the world, US cities are being occupied by military force. Thousands of heavily-armed soldiers, military personnel and police have been deployed to the cities across the nation as Trump calls on the military to ‘dominate the streets’ and that he’d override any local control if governors refuse to deploy the National Guard. Threats and intimidation are tactics of terror by this administration. Trump’s statements as well as past statements are incendiary and effectively declare war on our communities…

Veterans For Peace calls on all active duty military leaders and personnel to refuse deployment. We as veterans know the terrible aftermath of participating in actions that are morally wrong against communities in other countries. Now is the time to refuse to participate in orders that are unjust.”  

Ernest Mandel

et l’écosocialisme

par Michael Löwy*

La préoccupation de l'environnement apparaît avec force dans les écrits de Mandel seulement à partir des années 1970. Elle ne figure pratiquement pas, par exemple, dans le Traité d'économie marxiste (1962). Il est vrai qu’on trouve déjà, dans cet ouvrage inaugural , l’idée d’un "arrêt de la croissance" dans le socialisme : " Lorsque la société disposera d’un parc de machines automatiques suffisamment ample pour couvrir tous ses besoins courants (…) il est probable que la croissance économique sera ralentie ou même momentanément arrêtée. L’homme complètement libre de tout souci matériel, économique, sera né. " ⁽¹⁾

A boot is crushing the neck of American democracy

by Cornel West

The fundamental question at this moment is: can the United States be reformed?

Here we go again. Another black person killed by the US police. Another wave of multiracial resistance. Another cycle of race talk on the corporate media. Another display of diversity with neoliberal leaders, and another white backlash soon to come. Yet this time might be a turning point. 

The undeniable barbaric death of George Floyd, the inescapable vicious realities of the unequal misery of the coronavirus, the massive unemployment at Depression levels and the wholesale collapse of the legitimacy of political leadership (in both parties) are bringing down the curtain on the American empire.

COVID-19:

The murderous state!

by SUD Santé

We are publishing this text from the SUD Santé Sociaux federation, because it reflects the reality encountered by staff in this sector in our different countries.

On 17 November 2019, in the city of Wuhan, China, the coronavirus 2019 (COVID 19) appeared. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern. Agnès Buzyn, then Minister of Solidarity and Health, declared that she had informed Edouard Philippe, Prime Minister, of the imminence of the pandemic …

In France, since this government has been in power, Emmanuel Macron has watched with extreme violence all the movements: yellow jackets, pensions, health. He criminalizes demonstrators, equips his forces of law and order with several million euros of war material and munitions to disembowel, injure, kill... And prepare, in general carelessness, with the complicity of the institutionalized political parties, the municipal elections without taking any particular precautions on the movement of goods and people. Normal for an ultra-liberal, capitalist and fascist government.

El activista y expreso político del franquismo Chato Galante fallece por coronavirus

Era miembro de la asociación de presos y represaliados de la dictadura franquista La Comuna y pertenecía a la Liga Comunista Revolucionaria cuando fue detenido y torturado hasta en cuatro ocasiones entre los años 1969 y 1973.

Nunca dejó de luchar. Llevó las marcas de la ignominia franquista en su propia piel y trató, por todos los medios, de que nunca olvidemos lo que ocurrió en nuestro país. El activista y expreso político José María 'Chato' Galante ha fallecido esta noche a consecuencia del coronavirus, según informa su propia cuenta en la red social Twitter.

The Capitalist Pandemic,

Coronavirus and the Economic Crisis (Part 1)

by Eric Toussaint

A public health crisis

The coronavirus pandemic is a serious public health problem and the human suffering caused by the spread of this virus will be enormous. If it massively affects countries of the Global South with very fragile public health systems that have been undermined by 40 years of neo-liberal policies, the death toll will be very high. We must not forget the critical situation of the Iranian population, victim of the blockade imposed by Washington, a blockade that includes medicines and medical equipment.

The mainstream media and governments focus on the differences in mortality rates according to age, but they very carefully avoid any reference to class differences and how mortality, due to the coronavirus pandemic, will affect human beings according to their income and wealth

Under the pretext of necessary fiscal austerity to repay public debt, governments and major multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, the IMF and regional banks such as the African Development Bank have everywhere enforced policies that have deteriorated public health systems: job cuts in the health sector, precarious employment contracts, reduction of hospital beds, closure of local health centres, increase of health care costs and of prices of medicines, under-investment in infrastructure and equipment, privatization of various health sectors, under-investment by the public sector in research and development of treatments for the benefit of the interests of large private pharmaceutical groups...