Alexander Cockburn, one of my journalistic and literary heroes passed away yesterday, after a prolonged battle with cancer. Cockburn's acidic criticism, flourishing prose and general contempt for all that was orthodox, safe and banal, made him one of the greatest...
classes
The failed emergence of Egypt, Turkey and Iran | by Samir Amin
These three Middle Eastern states should normally have been found in lists of today’s ‘emerging’ states. They have each attempted, in the past, to modernise as a response to the challenge from Europe. Egypt attempted this under Pacha Mohamed Ali of the nineteenth...
On Economic Globalisation, Neo-liberalism and the Nature of the Period by | Nigel Harris
For long, the term "imperialism" was popular to denote a world political order embodying systemic relations of domination with Washington at the centre. That thesis is no longer considered valid. Washington itself is victim to a global capitalist order and is mired in...
Is an alternative possible? | by Phil Gasper
Phil Gasper reviews what Marx had to say about the transition from capitalism to socialism THE REMARKABLE emergence of the Occupy Wall Street movement in the closing months of 2011 has not only shifted the political debate in the United States, putting issues of...
Reflections on the Current Crisis and Its Effects | by Rémy Herrera
The crisis of capital at the present juncture when capitalism is deeply financialised is extremely difficult to resolve. The main structural problem of the system is the downward pressure on the rate of profit, but further financialisation is no longer a sustainable...
The Arab revolutions: A year after | by Samir Amin
Arab regimes achieved success within a short period but then ran out of steam as a result of their internal limits and contradictions. The ruling circles have given in to neo-liberal globalization, leading to rapid decline in social conditions. That is what caused the...
Arab Left: paying the price for Stalinism | by Marcus Halaby
The Arab Spring of 2011 inspired millions around the world through its acts of heroism. But now the revolutions have stalled. In the spirit of solidarity with these movements and communist internationalism, Marcus Halaby takes a critical look at the far left in these...
Corruption and Class Discontent: The Contours of Bourgeois Political Forms and State-Formation | by Maya John
Early this year a relatively unknown 74-year old Gandhian, Kisan Baburao Hazare (also known as Anna Hazare), shot to fame for raising a campaign against corruption. For days on end, Anna Hazare haunted our television sets, and details of his campaign greeted us every...
An Arab Springtime? | by Samir Amin
The year 2011 began with a series of shattering, wrathful explosions from the Arab peoples. Is this springtime the inception of a second “awakening of the Arab world?” Or will these revolts bog down and finally prove abortive—as was the case with the first episode of...



