Editorial

What are we supposed to think when a head of state makes this kind of statement? Has he not understood that his revolution is supposed to be anti-imperialist and national-democratic first, before moving towards socialism? On the other hand, should we agree with the Guardian that Chavez is a communist revolutionary? Such are the puzzles thrown up by the real movement of history…

 

International

The last three months have been a military and political disaster for the ‘war on terrorism’ in Iraq, and thus for George Bush and to a lesser extent Tony Blair. However, that is not exactly the way they see it. On 11 January 2007, George Bush announced a ‘change in direction’ in Iraq policy - the so-called ‘surge’ - which involves sending an extra 21,000 troops, mainly to Baghdad. In his televised speech to the American people, he once again declared that accepting defeat in Iraq was not an option. Earlier in the week he had also turned up the ‘war on terror’ by sending American planes to repeatedly bomb villages in southern Somalia.

 

Eco-Socialism

Socialist Resistance held its second day school on December 2, 2006 under the title ‘Ecosocialism or Barbarism: Can capitalism solve the ecological crisis?’. The four articles that follow are from the presentations made there. In the first, Jane Kelly compares two existing responses to climate change – the Stern Report and George Monbiot’s new book Heat and suggests that neither resolve the difficulties that capitalism, by its very nature, faces.

 

Eco-Socialism

Human beings are a natural resource too

In his introduction to the Socialist Resistance day school on ecosocialism, Daniel Tanuro, Belgian environmentalist and contributor to International Viewpoint, takes to task revolutionary Marxists of the twentieth century who have been slow to understand the importance of ecology while Marx himself understood the basic contradiction between capitalism’s need for unlimited growth and the limits of material resources.

 

Eco-Socialism

Andy Kilmister looks at how Marxist ideas can develop concrete and radical approaches to tackling climate change.

 

Eco-Socialism

In his presentation to the Socialist Resistance ‘Ecosocialism or Barbarism’ day school Dr. Derek Wall, the Male Principal Speaker of the Green Party of England and Wales argued for a re-reading of Marx to develop ecosocialist principles, for the alternative is literally unthinkable destruction.

 

Debate

How should socialists respond to the politics of the animal rights movement? David Coen looks at some of the issues.

 

History/Theory

The current struggles in the Middle East and in Latin America show that in underdeveloped countries the goals of socialism and national liberation are inseparable. In the first of two articles, James Healy argues that this is also true for the movement for Irish liberation.

 

Review

Tariq Ali, Pirates of the Caribbean: Axis of Hope, London: Verso, 2006 £12.99

Ali’s tongue-in-cheek title is of course inaccurate. His new book surveys the social processes in Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia and everyone knows Bolivia isn’t in the Caribbean. The ironic postmodern references to popular culture are compounded by the addition of a halo to the image of Fidel Castro on the front cover. As Ali has pointed out in a recent interview, Castro is a resolute atheist - and of course the author is (normally) a resolute anti-postmodernist.

 

Review

The State of the Middle East: An Atlas of Conflict and Resolution, by Dan Smith, Earthscan Publications 2006. £12.99.

Texas Congressman Silvestre Reyes, the Democrat nominee for chair of the House Intelligence Committee, was recently exposed by a US journalist as ignorant on some of the most basic issues in Middle East politics. Perhaps he should read the new State of the Middle East Atlas by Dan Smith (co-author, with the late Michael Kidron, of the influential State of the World Atlas). For this book shows why there is still a need for reference books, at a time when we have almost limitless access to the internet. Although small in size and limited in scope, it decisively outscores both Google and Wikipedia on their two weakest points - context and provenance.

 

Review

An Inconvenient Truth, Directed by Davis Guggenheim, 2006, 93 Minutes

Al Gore’s presentation in this documentary film highlights the urgency of the need to address climate change. ‘The moral imperative to make big changes is inescapable’, he argues. This factual, easily comprehensible and watchable film sends out a message that should wake people up and make many feel the need for immediate action.

 

Review

George Monbiot, Heat, published by Allen Lane, 2006

The importance of George Monbiot’s latest book Heat, and the reason why every socialist should read it is that it raises the level of debate on the politics of climate change, as well as on the science and technology. What the book lacks however is a class analysis of the issue.