Today*, in an even more meaningless exercise then normal, a minority of the population of Ireland will choose between two almost identical options as to who will implement the ECB / IMF austerity plans for southern Ireland. Outside of this plan the wealthiest 1% will continue to set economic policy tomorrow as they did yesterday and have throughout the last decades. The electoral circus we are now going through provides the rest of us with the illusion of control even though deep down almost everyone acknowledges the ritual as having no real impact on what policies are actually implemented. (written 25 Feb 2011)
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Anarchism and the Big Society
In the Independent (16/02/11), Brian Lincoln from Edinburgh wrote a letter discussing David Cameron’s “Big Society” and anarchism:
Friday was declared ‘Departure Friday’ by democracy protesters in Egypt as a second Friday of mass protest was been called to drive president Mubarak from his 30 year reign. Huge numbers took part in these protests.
Recent days have seen intense street fighting as protesters had to defend themselves from mobs mobilised in a desperate bid by Mubarak to hold onto power. Meanwhile there are dozens of disturbing reports of secret police arresting protesters at their homes and workplaces. There has also been a sustained violent campaign against journalists which has forced the majority of them off the streets and onto balconies around the square. On Friday morning Aj Jazeera had its Cairo offices trashed.
Statism and Anarchy is the first complete English translation of the last work by the Russian anarchist Michael Bakunin. Given his influence, it is surprising that this 1873 work was his only book and even this is technically incomplete (referring as it does to a second part which was never written). It aimed to influence Russian populism and the “to the people” movement although most of it is an account of European history in the 19th century.
Originally published in 1988 a few years before the crisis in Stalinism, Pat Devine’s model of a planned economy has been republished with a new preface during the crisis in neo-liberalism. He comprehensively discusses capitalist planning, central planning and market socialism before sketching his own economic vision.
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The battle of Cairo – Feb2 2011
Following the refusal of Mubarak to resign a mob of his supporters attempted to fight their way into Tahir square in Cairo on February 2nd where anti-Mubarak protests demanding democracy have rallied over the last week. Some of the mob who have been captured were carrying police ID’s. The intention appears to be to either drive the democracy protesters off the streets and/or create an excuse for army intervention to ‘restore stability,’ something the official opposition is now calling for. The UN has issued a statement fearing that 300 have been killed and 500 injured, its unclear if this refers just to today’s events.
After a week of popular revolt two million people are demonstrating in Cairo today demanding that president Mubarak and his son leave the country and that the regime be changed. An indefinite general strike has also been called by organisers of the movement.
The revolt which started last Tuesday with small groups in their hundreds marching and meeting up has now engulfed all of Egyptian society, resulting in the collapse of the police force and the deployment of the army. Ordinary Egyptians formed Neighboorhood Defence Committees to patrol their streets and a new Federation of Unions has been declared. In the streets today the mass of people are debating what the next steps are as opposition groups struggle to be seen as the leadership of this essentially leaderless movement.
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Snow way to run an economy
Surprise! Austerity is kicking in and, as predicted, the economy is continuing its downward trend. If anything, the speed is increasing with growth in 2010 falling from 1.2% in the second quarter, to 0.8% in the third quarter until, finally, negative 0.5% in the last quarter. Rest assured, though, there is a culprit at hand to explain the last set-back. To paraphrase Michael Jackson:
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Markets, Marx and Mutualism
A review of Socialism After Hayek by Theodore A. Burczak
Chris Gray’s review of Bakunin’s Statism and Anarchy is, in general, good. It covers the weaknesses of Bakunin’s ideas (namely his personal prejudices against Germans and Jews and for Slavs) and indicates its underlying strengths. As part of his review, Gray raises some serious political points which, I feel, need answering. We should thank Chris for allowing us to bring into clear light some of the key differences between anarchism and Marxism.