Suchergebnisse

Demonstrates the continued vitality of Marxist theory in a tribute to the 150th anniversary of Friedrich Engels & Karl Marx's The Communist Manifesto (1848). It is suggested that one has only to consider the extension of multinational corporate hegemony, with its inevitable consequences of increased poverty, unemployment, violence, & ecological crisis, to appreciate Marx's conception of capitalism. The continuing outpouring of books devoted to Marxism is also testament to its continued relevance. However, judged by its record of inspiring oppositional struggles, Marxism looks more futile. The disjuncture between its theoretical vibrancy & its inability to inspire concrete movements is taken to be the divided legacy of Marxism in the late 20th century. This disjuncture is explained as a consequence of Engels & Marx's inadequate formulation of class consciousness. It is concluded that Marxism today represents an indispensable critique of global political economy, but one that must be connected to other theoretical currents to create a truly unified post-Marxist radicalism. D. M. Smith

Examines the social, ideological, & political foundations & implications of the spread of civil wars & the erosion of politics following the end of the Cold War. It is argued that ethnic hatred, increases in armed combat, & escalating terrorism are products of a number of forces: growing economic polarity, environmental decay, decline of the nation-state, & a lack of Left political alternatives. Within this context of decreased political legitimacy & spread of civil warfare, the potential emergence of reactionary, authoritarian, & fascist governments becomes increasingly likely. Further, the popularity of extreme Right politics has blossomed in the absence of coherent & visible Left movements. The proliferation of forms of antipolitics, eg, terrorism, has occurred as a result of widespread withdrawal from the political realm, a product of government bodies that refuse to engage in valid public dialogue or civic participation. It is concluded that forms of violent expression are bound to increase as governments & individuals are subjected to a new world order characterized by unregulated & unquestioned corporate control over natural resources, labor, technology, & money. T. Sevier

The impact of the US war economy on the shape of social movements is discussed. The concentration of corporate & state power within the military-industrial complex has promoted the development of friendly fascism characterized by: (1) alleged national interests perceived as moral imperatives; (2) routinization of bureaucratic power & conformity & glorification of the cult of technology; (3) the moral superiority of the security state; & (4) alienation of the people, flight from politics, & consequent pursuit of power & identity. These developments have created a new context for strategic thinking of the role of modern social movements. The new social movement strategy should emphasize linkage of peace, anti-intervention, & other popular movements, confrontation of state power, unified counterhegemony, reappraisal of the value of economic growth & patterns of consumption in light of increasingly scarce world resources, & transition of movements to political party formation. 11 References. D. Generoli