Benjamin Blumberg, Ian Morrison
In March 2003, millions took to the streets worldwide to protest the impending invasion of Iraq. Despite their numbers, the efforts proved in vain. The war went on; the protests dwindled. But however attenuated, there are still protests. In Minneapolis/St. Paul this August, some 10,000 marched against the Republican National [...]
All Posts Tagged With: "Issue #7"
Violence at the RNC
Reenacting ‘68
Liam Warfield
The crowd assembled in a shady corner of Grant Park in the waning afternoon hours of August 28 might have been mistaken for extras in a poorly-funded period film. With clothes loosely evoking 60’s-era protest, they reclined in the grass, rolling cigarettes, eating peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, listening to speeches and gazing at the sky. It [...]
Five questions to the student Left
Pam C Nogales, Benjamin Shepard
An interview with SDS member Rachel Haut published in the September issue of this publication provoked widespread comment in radical circles. (1) We welcome the discussion but worry that it remains ensconced within the sterile jargon and petty antinomies of the actually-existing- Left. More fundamental questions exist than, say, the position [...]
Finance capital: Why financial capitalism is no more “fictitious” than any other kind
The Platypus Historians Group
With the present financial melt-down in the U.S. throwing the global economy into question, many on the “Left” are wondering again about the nature of capitalism. While many will be tempted to jump on the bandwagon of the “bailout” being floated by the Bush administration and the Congressional Democrats (including Obama), others [...]
Capital in history: The need for a Marxian philosophy of history of the Left
Chris Cutrone
[The following is a talk given at the Marxist-Humanist Committee public forum on The Crisis in Marxist Thought, hosted by the Platypus Affiliated Society in Chicago on Friday, July 25, 2008.]
I want to speak about the meaning of history for any purportedly Marxian Left.
We in Platypus focus on the history of the Left because [...]
A polemic on protest: Reflections on the RNC resistance
Raechel Tiffe
I decided not to participate in any illegal protests at the RNC.
There’s a simple, material reason: Had I been arrested I would have been accountable for bail money (or unhappily relying on legal defense funds that I truly feel have more value elsewhere) and possibly a day’s worth of income. I have been and [...]
Iraq and the election: The fog of “anti-war” politics
Chris Cutrone
Barack Obama had, until recently, made his campaign for President of the United States a referendum on the invasion and occupation of Iraq. In the Democratic Party primaries, Obama attacked Hillary Clinton for her vote in favor of the invasion. Among Republican contenders, John McCain went out of his way to appear as the [...]
