ccds-button
CCDSLinks
News & Views  From
Posts We Like
Radical Ideas for Radical Change
November 4, 2011
In This Issue
Full Employment
OWS Transforming
David Harvey on Wall St
Tips for Socialists
OWS in Kentucky
Syria's Upheavals
OWS in Perspective
Depp & Richards Jam!
Film: the Heist
Join Our Mailing List
Ask a Socialist! A New Q&A Blog for the Politically Perplexed from FRSO

Tina at AFL-CIO

Our Archive:  

Here's the link to the

past issues of CCDSLinks

Ongoing: Occupy Freedom Plaza in DC: Stop the War Machine, Block Austerity



Blog of the Week:

 


Tina at AFL-CIO
Lost Writings of SDS..

Revolutionary Youth the the New Working Class: The Praxis Papers, the Port Authority Statement, the RYM Documents and other Lost Writings of SDS

Edited by Carl Davidson




Changemaker, 273pp, $22.50

For the full contents, click the link and view 'Preview' under the cover graphic.
 New Fall Issue of the CCDS Mobilizer is Out!
Fred Shuttlesworth-- Presente!

Tina at AFL-CIO

An Appreciation written by Charlie Orrock   

By Randy Shannon, CCDS


choice "Everyone has the right to work, to free of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment."

- United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, December 10, 1948

I. Introduction

The "Great Recession" that began in 2007 has caused the greatest percent of job losses since the Great Depression of 1929. This crisis is the end of an era of unrestrained 'neo-liberal' capitalism that became public policy during the Reagan administration. The crisis marks a new level of instability with the growth of a global financial elite that targeted US workers and our trade unions after World War II.

Order Our
Full Employment Booklets

Buy Now

Capitalism may well collapse under its own excesses, but what would one propose to replace it? Margaret Thatcher's mantra was TINA...There Is No Alternative. David Schweickart's vision of "Economic Democracy" proposes a serious alternative. Even more fundamentally, it opens the door to thinking about alternatives. His may or may not turn out to be the definitive "successor system," but he is a leader in breaking out of the box.
Quick Links...
CCDS Discussion
Solidarity Economy:
What It's All About


Lenin Rediscovered:
What Is To Be Done in Context




By Lars T. Lih

Haymarket Books
880 Pages
$58.95

Why 'What Is To Be Done' Is a Champion of Democracy. Appendix includes a new translation of the original work.
Tropic of Chaos

 

By Christian Parenti

 

 

Nation Books

$18.95 at Powell's









Planet of Slums

by Mike Davis
Verso
Paperback



List Price:
$19.95
Our Price: $8.00
Buy Now

New Book: Diary of a Heartland Radical

By Harry Targ

Carl Davidson's Latest Book:
New Paths to Socialism



Essays on Mondragon, Marx, Gramsci and the Green and Solidarity Economies
An Invitation to CCDSers and Friends...
Tina at AFL-CIO
OWS Under Fire:
Solidarity Time! 


We're the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism...Do you have friends who should see this? Pass it on...Do you have a blog of your own? Others you love to read every day? Well, this is a place where you can share access to them with the rest of your comrades. Just pick your greatest hits for the week and send them to us at [email protected]!

Most of all, it's urgent that you oppose austerity, make solidarity with the Occupy! movement and end the wars! We're doing more than ever, and have big plans. So pay your dues, make a donation and become a sustainer. Do it Now! Check the link at the bottom...
Radicalizing a New Generation:
OWS is Transforming its Participants

Tina at AFL-CIOA participant in the Liberty Plaza occupation on the way the movement is changing and the people it's touching, from Eliot Spitzer to Baruch college freshmen.

By Manissa McCleave Maharawal
Alternet.org

Oct 31, 2011 - Monday night at a bar in Brooklyn my friend Alex and I looked through pictures on his phone of the "early days" of Occupy Wall Street. He had pictures of the General Assembly from Day 5 and we laughed together about how empty it looked, how ramshackle and tenuous almost, how we could still see the pavement and there was still space between the people. We had just biked back from Occupy Wall Street and we were commenting, again, on how different the space seems every time we are down there. This time I had been surprised to see tents everywhere, something I hadn't seen before and honestly between the tents, the problems with the drumming in the past week and the debate about moving to a spokes-council structure it felt like the movement was in a moment in which it was trying to deal with its own internal dynamics. Growing pains almost.

It makes sense for a movement like Occupy Wall Street to be having growing pains right now. It is still a surprise to most people, those inside the movement and those observing, whether in solidarity or not, that it is still there and that it is growing. It is still a surprise that in places like Occupy Oakland, where their tents were torn down in the middle of the night and they were tear gassed the next evening, they came back the next day in even stronger numbers and called for a general strike. It has become clear in the past month that the political discourse has shifted and it has become clear in the past month that this thing isn't going away. But some mornings I still wake up surprised about it all.

It actually hadn't become clear to me how much the discourse had shifted until I taught urban poverty and inequality this past week to my Anthropology 101 students at Baruch College. I have taught urban poverty and inequality every year for the past 3 years and every year have similar debates in my class: when I start the section off by asking them why people are poor the first response I usually get from students is that, simply put, people are lazy and they don't want to work. I see my job then to be to explain the structural causes of poverty and that simply saying, "People are lazy and don't want to work" is actually a really problematic way of thinking. Explaining all of this has been so much work in my classes that usually I dread the week on poverty and inequality because it is a week where I am tired....(Click title for more)

Rebels on the Street:
The Party of Wall Street Meets its Nemesis


Tina at AFL-CIO

By David Harvey

Verso Books Blog

Oct 28, 2011 - The Party of Wall Street has ruled unchallenged in the United States for far too long. It has totally (as opposed to partially) dominated the policies of Presidents over at least four decades (if not longer), no matter whether individual Presidents have been its willing agents or not. It has legally corrupted Congress via the craven dependency of politicians in both political parties upon its raw money power and upon access to the mainstream media that it controls. Thanks to the appointments made and approved by Presidents and Congress, the Party of Wall Street dominates much of the state apparatus as well as the judiciary, in particular the Supreme Court, whose partisan judgments increasingly favor venal money interests, in spheres as diverse as electoral, labor, environmental and contract law.

The Party of Wall Street has one universal principle of rule: that there shall be no serious challenge to the absolute power of money to rule absolutely. And that power is to be exercised with one objective. Those possessed of money power shall not only be privileged to accumulate wealth endlessly at will, but they shall have the right to inherit the earth, taking either direct or indirect dominion not only of the land and all the resources and productive capacities that reside therein, but also assume absolute command, directly or indirectly, over the labor and creative potentialities of all those others it needs. The rest of humanity shall be deemed disposable.

These principles and practices do not arise out of individual greed, short-sightedness or mere malfeasance (although all of these are plentifully to be found). These principles have been carved into the body politic of our world through the collective will of a capitalist class animated by the coercive laws of competition. If my lobbying group spends less than yours then I will get less in the way of favors. If this jurisdiction spends on people's needs it shall be deemed uncompetitive.

Many decent people are locked into the embrace of a system that is rotten to the core. If they are to earn even a reasonable living they have no other job option except to give the devil his due: they are only "following orders," as Eichmann famously claimed, "doing what the system demands" as others now put it, in acceding to the barbarous and immoral principles and practices of the Party of Wall Street. The coercive laws of competition force us all, to some degree of other, to obey the rules of this ruthless and uncaring system. The problem is systemic not individual.... (Click title for more)
Tips for Socialists for Engaging
with Your Local Occupy Movement

Tina at AFL-CIO

By Jose M.

Freedom Road

Oct. 30 2011 - Here are some great suggestions for ways to directly engage with your local Occupy movement from a comrade who has been participating with Occupy Las Vegas, which is currently a permitted encampment protest with about 20 tents and 40-100 participants at any given time. He's been a part of the group, participating in general assembly meetings and sleeping in a tent, but still going to work during the day.

Here are his ideas for socialist participation:

Make LEFT signs: We used dumpstered cardboard and cheap paint to make about 50 signs for the last march with slogans like "class war/ end capitalism before it ends las vegas", "Occupy Wall St not Palestine", "We can't afford billionaires", "They took our houses, let's take their power", etc. Our signs were the only ones that were explicitly anti-capitalist and they were well received. Many people took them and used them in the march. This is a quick and easy way to shift messaging to the left.

Stock the people's libraries: A common feature of the camps are library booths or tents. We printed off some classics - The Communist Manifesto, The Mass Strike by Rosa Luxemberg, etc.; some resources on anti-oppression strategies, some random radical stuff like the Zapatista declarations and Left Turn articles. The local news reported on the alarming presence of the Communist Manifesto at the camp!

Bridge occupations and organizations for joint protests: This one is harder and takes organizing on both sides, but it looks like many cities have had successful joint actions with unions and community organizations. We are working on that here as well. There are some people pushing back against the idea of "unions co-opting the movement," but most are open to collaboration.

One-on-one political conversations: The occupy protests here have drawn in youth looking for new political ideas. Its a great chance to be out in FRSO/OSCL T shirts making friends and talking politics.

Importantly, he highlights that because of the presence and occasional Occupy participation of with the Ron Paul/libertarian types, among other problematic elements, it is particularly critical for us to be engaging in this emerging political space, and well worth our time to struggle within Occupy spaces with these elements to push them out and win people over.

The threats these backward elements comprise include:

  • Putting 9/11 conspiracy theory messaging into actions;
  • Drawing white youth into right-wing politics;
  • Working against alliance with unions and left orgs;
  • Working against anti-oppression analysis and practice.

We would be interested to hear thoughts about how to counter their influence and deal with the fact that they are participating in these meetings and actions. Have successes, tips or stories to share? Please send them to [email protected] !



8-Minute Video: Occupy Lexington, Kentucky!
Occupy Lexington-Occupy Wall Street-Occupy Worldwide.mov
Occupy Lexington-Occupy Wall Street-Occupy Worldwide.mov

Amidst Syria Protests, Many Remain Loyal

Tina at AFL-CIO

By Reese Erlich

PulitzerCenter.org

Damascus, Syria, Oct 28 2011 - Rana Issa, the owner of an advertising and marketing business in Damascus is struggling. She's had to lay off five of her 20 employees in the seven months of political and economic upheaval since Syria's antigovernment uprising began.

But unlike the street demonstrators, Ms. Issa doesn't blame President Bashar al-Assad's government for her woes. As a Palestinian, Issa expresses strong support for his government, which she says has afforded more rights to Palestinian refugees and their children than either Israel or other Arab countries.

"We feel secure with Dr. Bashar al-Assad as president," she says. "He has achieved a lot of reforms. The opposition hasn't given him enough time."

Some Syrian cities have been persistently roiled by protests; today, at least 30 protesters were reported killed across the country - the highest toll in weeks - with the unrest focused in Homs and Hama. But the two biggest cities, Damascus and Aleppo, have seen much smaller demonstrations because the cities' business communities continue to favor the government, says Nabil Sukkar, a former World Bank economist who now heads an economic consulting firm in Damascus.

Drastic drops in tourism revenue and biting sanctions have taken a toll on the Syrian economy. While Syria's gross domestic product grew by 3 percent last year, the IMF predicts a negative 2 percent this year. However, large- and medium-sized businesses, which the West hopes to turn against the regime with its sanctions, remain largely supportive of the Assad regime.

Syria's big business elite is closely intertwined with the ruling Baath Party through financial and family ties. Disloyalty to the government can mean not only loss of lucrative government contracts, but political isolation and even jail.

Mr. Sukkar says big business leaders are pragmatic. "They expect the unrest to end sooner or later. The regime is well entrenched. The Army is certainly loyal to the government." ...(Click title for more)
What 'Occupy' Signifies, for the
Role of Non-Occupying Supporters

Tina at AFL-CIO

By Peter Marcuse

Thenewsignificance.com

Oct 24, 2011 - Non-occupying supporters of the Occupy Wall Street movement are critical forces in influencing the impact of the movement. Occupiers are themselves a tiny fraction, but their support reaches widely, those many that are discontent, insecure, and/or exploited, dissatisfied with things as they are. Their support reaches into the majority of the population, even into Republican circles, even sharing some roots with some tea partiers. Occupy Wall Street will not bring about a revolution, but it can be a force to bring about a shift from a defensive to an offensive posture, to push from radical reform rather than only amelioration at the edges.

Supportive non-occupiers can play a major role in moving in this direction. They can develop the details occupiers are accused if ignoring, organize around individual the individual concrete issues contributing to the deep discontent with the direction in which society is moving. Linking the broadly-targeting aroused occupiers to the multiple existing groups and organization already struggling for change might provide strength and energy all around.

In more detail:

Non-occupying supporters of the Occupy Wall Street movement need to reflect on just what the Occupy movements (s) are, and what they signify, for the two are not the same. Substantively, those who are occupying space with their bodies, often in the heart of the beast, are brave and largely young discontents, dissatisfied with a society in which human values are subordinate to the search for profit, opportunities for creative work are shrinking and often put in the service of destruction, war is an accepted part of foreign policy, nature is simply raw materials for production, consumption exceeds needs for some and is inadequate for a decent life for many, violence is made attractive and non-conformity punished.[1] In this they reflect what many, many, feel. But they are putting their bodies where their feelings are, and in this they are a small minority. They signify the depth of those feelings, but do not reflect on their actions the breadth with which they are shared.

Numerically, the occupiers, those physically occupying space in protest, today constitute perhaps .05% of the population of the United States.[2] Much more important, however, is that from various polls a good majority of the American people agree with them.[3] One might line things up somewhat like this - for illustrative purposes only :...(Click title for more)
Musical Treat for Blues Fans:
Johnny Depp Jams with Keith Richards
Johnny Depp & Keith Richards playing at Rum Diaries afterparty
Johnny Depp & Keith Richards playing at Rum Diaries afterparty

Documentary Film Review: Heist: Who Stole the American Dream? And How We Can Get It Back

Tina at AFL-CIOBy Dennis Harvey
Variety

A Connecting the Dots production.
Produced by Donald Goldmacher, Frances Causey. Executive producers, Earl Katz, Sally Holst.
Directed by Frances Causey, Donald Goldmacher.
Written by Causey, Hollis Rich.
With: Lou Mattis, Jeff Faux, Leo Gerard, Deepak Ghargava, Donna Edwards, Bernie Sanders, Jakada Imani, Robert Kuttner, Kimber Lanning, Robert Crandall, Nomi Prins, Elizabeth Warren, David Cay Johnston, Michael Lind, David Brock, Drew Westen, David John, Leslie Griffith, Alan Blinder, Kim Berry, Lawrence E. Mitchell, Van Jones, Gar Alperovitz, Jovana Beckles, David Green. Narrator: Thom Hartmann.

Though myriad aspects of its story have already been probed in greater depth elsewhere, Frances Causey and Donald Goldmacher's "Heist" is well timed as a one-stop summary of reasons for ordinary Americans to be furious at our financial systems. Its last third turns from compiling past outrages to encouraging activism, making this snappy, solid docu an ideal candidate for savvy distribs to jump on immediately. With grassroots marketing, pic could ride the wave of burgeoning Occupy Wall Street-related protests as a ready-made primer.

Filmmakers posit the Great Depression as a sort of "good old days," policy-wise, in that government response then to economic collapse brought on by reckless fiscal speculation was to impose strong regulatory measures protecting average citizens from corporate and/or market malfeasance. That led to a postwar era in which America's economic well-being soared, as did the affluence and comfort of its workforce.

Flashforward to 1971, which Causey and Goldmacher point to as the beginning of a "brilliantly executed coup" by conservative business and political kingmakers that gradually dismantled FDR's progressive New Deal policies by buying Congressional votes to implement a corporate makeover of America. ... (Click title for more)
Become a CCDS member today!

The time is long past for 'Lone Rangers'. Being a socialist by your self is no fun and doesn't help much. Join CCDS today--$36 regular, $48 household and $18 youth.

Better yet, beome a sustainer at $20 per month, and we'll send you a copy of Jack O'Dell's new book, 'Climbing Jacobs Ladder,' drawing on the lessons of the movement in the South in the 1950s and 1960s.

Solidarity, Carl Davidson, CCDS