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InCapital and Ideology,Thomas Piketty proposes a vision for a fairer economic system grounded in participatory socialism. Thisencyclopaedic, rewarding work merits thoughtful engagement and is essential reading, writesEwan McGaughey.

Capital and Ideology. Thomas Piketty (translated by Arthur Goldhammer). Harvard University Press. 2020.

Thomas Pikettys Capital and Ideology is an encyclopaedic, rewarding work that merits thoughtful engagement. I think this is a much better book than the previous one, said Piketty, referring to Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2014). So if you read only one, please read this one! Personally, I would read both: while Capital in the Twenty-First Century has a positive thesis that with our current laws, the rate of return to capital exceeds the rate of growth (r > g), Capital and Ideology builds a normative thesis, driven by this data, that we should adopt democratic or participatory socialism. Piketty argues all societies use ideology to legitimise inequality; this dominant narrative leads to rules and rules entrench inequality (1). Our era wants to see itself as postideological but is in reality saturated by ideology (961). So, if things are going wrong, we should have a better ideology.

This review engages three key ideas in Capital and Ideology: first, what democratic socialism involves; second, how votes in our economic constitution are even more unequal than wealth inequality; and third, how laws build markets and power sets prices.

With inequality out of control, Pikettys answer is democratic socialism. First, Piketty calls for extending the right to vote to workers in all enterprises. Workers should have half the board seats in all private firms, large or small and we should create true social ownership of capital (972). We must overhaul the labor code and, more generally, the entire legal system to achieve a just wage for everyone and a more equal distribution of economic power (1003).

Second, Piketty calls for fair tax, including progressive taxation of wealth based on ability to pay (996). With this we can create a universal capital endowment, and an ambitious social state (1000-16). This goes to the heart of Pikettys definition of a just society where all members have access to fundamental goods like education, health, the right to vote, so that even the least advantaged can enjoy the highest possible life conditions (678-79). Thus, Piketty emphasises both predistribution to get things right (that is, ensuring law doesnt drive inequality in its construction of the market or the state), and redistribution to undo the wrong.

Third, international trade needs to be balanced by fiscal cooperation, such as pledging at least 1 per cent of GDP for developmental assistance (1022-24). For the climate crisis, Piketty favours carbon taxes at 100 per tonne of carbon. However, fundamentally all reserves of fossil fuels would be better kept in the ground to prevent global warming (654).

Image Credit: Crop of Thomas_Piketty_2086 by LSE in Pictures

The value in Pikettys work is that socialism is well tested, but the democratic part less so. A good contrast is Albert Einsteins Why Socialism? (1949). Einstein argued that capitalism means we are unceasingly striving to deprive each other of the fruits of their collective labor [] in faithful compliance with legally established rules. Law makes productive capacity the private property of individuals, workers dont share fairly in the value they create and private capital becomes concentrated. The crippling of the social consciousness of individuals is the worst evil of capitalism and one from which our whole educational system suffers. But if there were a more socialist economy, asked Einstein, how do we prevent bureaucracy from becoming all-powerful and overweening to protect the rights of the individual? With 70 years of experience, we can now provide a better answer to this question.

With fair tax and trade, Pikettys democratic socialism turns on who has votes in the economy, but this deserves some unpacking (full disclosure: Chapter Eleven draws on my writings on German, British and US law and history). First, most EU and OECD countries have a system for large corporations to have worker representation, typically one-third in large companies. Some of the best universities have majority-elected governing bodies, such as Oxford, Cambridge and Toronto. A growing body of research shows that we are poorer, more unequal and less innovative if we let shareholders and unaccountable managers monopolise enterprise governance. Pikettys work could be valuably extended if we collect more systematic data on voting systems and their effect on economic variables.

Second, Pikettys call for true social ownership of capital leaves much to discuss. Most major corporations are nominally controlled by shareholders, who may fire directors. (The big exception is Delaware, USA, where directors tend to be much harder to remove.) Shareholders, however, are not individuals but overwhelmingly asset managers or banks with other peoples money.

The big 3 in the US are BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard, and combined they would be the largest shareholder in 435 of the 500 biggest companies. The shareholder votes they control come mostly from workers saving for retirement. About 12 people set all the priorities of corporate America including wages, fossil fuel use, political lobbying and production decisions in those asset managers. Much the same goes for Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank,Socit Gnrale and Unicredit: power without responsibility. These middlemen should be strictly tied to the voting preferences of the real investors, who want fair pay, clean air and democratic politics. Similarly, sovereign wealth or national pension funds need to be strictly accountable to the people whose money is at stake. Fair tax, and fair wages, will vastly broaden the equitable distribution of capital.

Third, if competitive markets fail, the public needs a voice too. In education, health, municipal energy and water, and in media organisations, students, patients, residents and users often have voting rights but not in any coherent way. Pikettys thesis could usefully be extended here: votes at work, in capital and in public services.

A third key idea is that the level of wages and profits [] depends on prevailing institutions, rules and bargaining power [] as well as on taxes and regulations (641). This is groundbreaking and deserves discussion. Micro-economics theory has often asserted that prices are set by supply and demand, and in a competitive market they should reflect the marginal value added to production. However, Adam Smith saw that those with more power can hold out longer in negotiations. When the first supply/demand charts were sketched by Fleeming Jenkin for corn, he was adamant that the same logic could not apply to labour, where workers were in a weaker position.

All markets are shaped by inequality of bargaining power, but for workers, tenants, consumers and small investors unequal power is systematic. Unequal bargaining power comes firstly from unequal distribution of resources, protected by our laws of property, contract, corporations, taxes and more. Second, bargaining power is driven by differences in collective organisation. Third, there are differences of information. Supply and demand merely set outer constraints on prices (the lowest a seller will go, the highest a buyer will pay if they can go elsewhere), and the actual place where a deal is struck depends on the actors power. If we chart unequal bargaining power with supply/demand, instead of lines and a single equilibrium point, there are bands and a range of equilibrium outcomes (in the central diamond):

The result is that when rules set prices, such as a minimum wage, an energy cap or drug costs, or when rules require fair taxes, there is no distortion of efficiency compared to rules that allow a stronger party to impose prices on the weak. Very often there is an improvement of welfare if the rule prevents corporations taking an unjust gain by exploiting their unequal bargaining power. This theory is simple, intuitive and established in law, in contrast to complex explanations that markets are monopolistic or monopsonistic (relating to powerful buyers), dating from John Hicks, helpful as many have found them. It explains why most countries use fair wages, rent and price regulation successfully.

Paul Krugmans review of Capital and Ideology stated he was not even sure what the books message is. Yet on reading the book, its crystal clear that Piketty successfully puts forward a superb, data-driven normative defence of democratic socialism. The principles that Piketty proposes fair tax, fair trade, clean air and, above all, a democratic economy have a huge amount to commend them, and make this book an essential read.

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Note: This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of USAPP American Politics and Policy, nor of the London School of Economics.

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Ewan McGaughey Kings College, LondonDr Ewan McGaughey (@ewanmcg) is a Reader at the School of Law, Kings College, London, a research associate at the University of Cambridge, Centre for Business Research, and a volunteer for the Free Representation Unit.

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Book Review: Capital and Ideology by Thomas Piketty - London School of Economics

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The recently recalled District Attorney Chesa Boudin and the successful recall of three socialist-leaning members of the San Francisco elected public-school board show that SF voters realize socialism doesn't work in practice.

I never thought I would say this but I applaud SF voters, who threw out three socialist-leaning school board members weeks ago and a socialist DA this week.

Based on this weeks successful recall vote, SFs voters are saying:

Where did the DA go wrong?

Chesa Boudin's high-profile failure stems from his thought that he could rehabilitate criminally-minded youth by letting them loose after each criminal incident without bail, without jail time, and without a criminal charge. In the process, he frustrated the police, who arrested the law breakers and were faced with arresting them again and again after repeated crimes.

His policies appear to assume that being nice to criminals would change them and end their life of crime. The reality defied his assumptions.

If people are not held accountable for their crimes, why would they change their criminal conduct? A DA is expected to hold people accountable that is the DAs job description. After the DA recall, San Francisco Mayor London Breed was quoted as saying, voters are really frustrated about a lack of accountability for crimes being committed in San Francisco...

But if Boudin's criminal justice policies didn't work, what other options do we have?

The true rehabilitation of the criminally minded

After Boudin was voted out, I spoke to a pastor friend in Philadelphia who was a former police officer. I asked his opinion about San Franciscos recalled DA and his be nice methods to rehabilitate young criminals, which backfired.

The former police officer was clear in his answer, one needs a change of heart before quitting a life of crime. He has seen it as a police officer and as a pastor for decades.

The truth is, to rehabilitate youths who are committing crimes, one must seek a change of hearts and minds.

Faith-based ministries rehabilitate errant youth by conveying the following:

There is no substitute for faith-based solutions for rehabilitating youth engaged in repeated crimes. Cities must seek help and programs from churches and pastors. In addition, cities engaged in true rehabilitation of youths must seek policies that will keep families together and end fatherlessness.

Paul Swamidass, PhD, is Professor Emeritus, Harbert College of Business, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. His newest book is Greater Things: The Qualifications of a Biblical Leader, Vide Press, 2020. He and his wife, Nimmi, worship at Redwood Chapel Community Church, Castro Valley, CA.

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Behind the recall in San Francisco: A failed socialist youth rehabilitation program - The Christian Post

Attend an online meeting in your area, co-sponsored by the International Youth and Students for Social Equality and the Educators Rank-and-File Committees, to discuss the causes of mass violence and what must be done to stop it.

On Saturday, thousands of youth, parents and workers participated in over 450 demonstrations in cities across the US to protest against gun violence in schools. The protests were organized by March for Our Lives (MFOL), originally a student movement that emerged in the aftermath of the 2018 Parkland High School massacre.

Since the birth of the movement in 2018, the Democratic Party has done everything in its power to transform it into a campaigning mechanism for various Democratic Party politicians. By narrowly framing the issue of mass violence as one of gun control, it has sought to convince youth that school shootings will be ended simply by electing Democrats to office.

Four years later, the MFOL movement has lost considerable support among youth. The protests in the aftermath of the horrific Uvalde, Texas elementary school shooting drew significantly smaller crowds in most cases. However, many students and youth who did attend expressed outrage over mass shootings and were eager to discuss the broader social and political issues behind them.

The International Youth and Students for Social Equality spoke to youth, parents, and workers at protests around the country. IYSSE members also distributed copies of the recent statement, The way forward for students and youth in the fight against school shootings.

In Chicago, the IYSSE spoke with students, teachers, and young workers at a rally in Federal Plaza.

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One 9th grade Chicago Public School student spoke on his frustration with politicians and with capitalism, I am tired of not seeing any action from politicians on this issue. Its honestly really scary to see them not care and let this continue. He continued, I think its connected to capitalism. Its getting more and more unequal and more and more barbaric as time goes by. Its like what Rosa Luxemburg said: We are faced with a choice between socialism and barbarism. That could not be more true right now. I think capitalism has to end.

The student also said of the response to the pandemic by the US government, which has produced new levels of hunger and inequality, Its a failure of the capitalist system.

Another Chicago high school student had similar comments. Gun violence is happening every single day in America. It is worrying, you dont know where it is going to happen next. The young man continued, There is bigger inequality in America than during the French Revolution... Billionaires rule America as if they were oligarchs. I think that's definitely one of the big causes [of mass violence].

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Emma, a young office worker said: I hear that phrase, to vote people out at this rally, and I just keep thinking, with a Democratic president, a Democratic Congress voting, I dont think they have the material interest in their minds. For politicians saying that only the military or the police should have access to high caliber weapons or things like that: I dont think that they should even have access to those.

This is how I feel about it: emotionally exhausted, said Brooke, a young legal assistant. I grew up in Denver, Colorado after Columbine, and I remember every time another shooting happened we had to do a drill. And if we didnt take it seriously enough the teacher would have us watch news clippings from Columbine. Its been here forever, and it seems kind of ridiculous that at 25 [years old], growing up in elementary school with these types of drills, living our entire lives post-Columbine, and nothing has changed.

Theres been so much talk, but no action. Its just gotten worse and worse, and so many people have gotten hurt. And its wild to think that its even a question that guns are more important than peoples lives and childrens lives. The government is also like taking away rights to abortion, forcing people to have children, but then they turn around and dont care that those children may get murdered?

A customer service worker named Katie also spoke to the WSWS. She criticized the role of the Democratic Party in exacerbating the social problems that lead to gun violence. I thought there was going to be a lot of change after [the Parkland shootings]. I really, really hoped that maybe that maybe that would spark something. And now, nothings changed at the end of the day.

Rebecca, a librarian, said she does not think that arming and pouring social spending into the police are the answers to the problem of mass shootings. Weve been told so much that like the police are good, the police are protectors. And they did nothing [during the Uvalde school shooting], so that whole argument just came crashing down. And people are still like, We just need more police. We need more security. And that did nothing.

I think you look at most places like most, most budgets, its going to policing and the military-like guise of safety and protection, and were no safer. I think thats why emotionally exhausted as for how I feel. There has to be a shift.

Paige and Anita are elementary school teachers in districts south of the Chicago metropolitan region. Im a kindergarten teacher, Anita said of the gun violence affecting schools. Theyre hard conversations to have. You try not to scare your kids, Oh, itll never happen here. But it could happen. Seeing all that and trying to navigate those waters with your students and letting parents know Its been so difficult. Were frustrated.

I teach first grade, Paige said. Its hard to have conversions with young children who dont understand. I dont want them to feel fear coming to school. Were being trained for things were not ready for. We have to have a lot of hard conversations.

Were still seeing the same problems over and over, Paige added, in schools, grocery stores and movie theaters. Its everywhere.

Both of them expressed frustration with the political system. Its hard to ask our political leaders to do more and theyre still not doing anything, Paige said.

Anita also spoke out about how the social crisis is affecting teachers. Were currently in a teacher shortage, she said. No one wants to be a teacher anymore if youre asked to be the shield or be the social worker.

Its causing a lot of teachers to leave the profession in droves, Paige added.

And its really hard on the teachers that are staying, Anita concurred. Were getting to the breaking point. Ohio just passed a bill to allow teachers to carry [weapons] in the classroom. We were talking, I guess Ill quit and say No more. Teachers continually get stepped on.

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I taught remotely for half the year last year and then we wore masks the other half. This year, the masks started coming off and it was hard with COVID still prevalent. It still is. The restrictions went lax so parents stopped having their kids getting tested. Kids would be out sick. In my district we were having at least 15 cases a building. It was high. Its been frustrating to go from that straight to [more] gun violence

While teachers have faced dangerous conditions throughout the pandemic, Paige and Anita were forced into bad contracts by the teachers unions and the school districts. In our past contract, we have a no strike clause, Anita said. We were stopped from ever speaking. Theres a lot of districts by us that have a no strike clause. Theyre stopping you before you can ever use your voice.

The cost of living and our wage are not equal. Its something we are trying to fight for. Its a constant battle. Its hard. We need jobsthis is what we went to school for.

Paige added, Its what I want to do, but its getting harder and harder every year.

And we end up getting students who are so depressed and sad and they end up taking it out, Anita observed of the effects of the social crisis and the pandemic on students. Our students with low socioeconomic standing, you can see every day in the classroom how difficult it is with a difficult home life.

And schools should be a safe haven, Paige said, and not a place where they should worry about someone coming with a gun. Its a good place for them to be, but when things like the [events in Texas] happen, thats not so much the case

In San Diego, the WSWS spoke with Paul, a survivor of the March 5, 2001 Santana High School shooting during which 15-year-old student Charles Andrew Williams shot 15 people, killing two students.

I am a survivor of the Santana High School mass shooting that happened back in the early 2000s. Its actually difficult to talk about what happened that day. Im sick of this! Every time I see news of another shooting, it brings back PTSD. I will say that these events really affect everyone.

Responding to the indifference to human life at the hands of the ruling elite in response to the pandemic, war and these mass shootings, Paul said: The government, both Democrat and Republican, are ignoring the facts and the rest of us. They just want to support their base at the top. Im here because Im so angry that this keeps happening. The Democrats have capitulated again, and the people continue to be battered. Im actually surprised by how many people showed up to the protests today. People are so fed up!

Milly, a high school student in San Diego, said, These shootings have me terrified and angry. When I was in kindergarten, there was an active shooter on our campus. Luckily no one got hurt, but Ive been terrified of this at school since I was four years old.

Leia, a student at Helix Charter High School, recalled how earlier shootings impacted her political outlook: Sandy Hook was the first one I remember. It happened to kids our age at the time or a year younger, and it has just gotten worse and more frequent. Its little kids, its horrific and disgusting. The way people take money from the NRA and do nothing in Congress, its ridiculous!

Leia also spoke to the US interest in carrying out imperialist violence abroad through endless war while violence runs rampant within the US: The US spends so much time worrying about places like the Middle East and the names that they call them! Such as shithole countries and so on, and are consistently sending troops for war, when we have in our country, a leading cause of death for children is gun violence. They are just not affected by it People in Congress are rich, they have money, they are at the top of the food chain and are not affected like the rest of us. This is why there have not been changes, they care about their own interests. They do not care about ours.

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Alina, a student from Helix Charter High School, said: It's just extremely frustrating. Shootings at schools have happened for years. Even before I was born there was shootings. Regarding the Democratic Party, we like to think of them as better because they are more left, but they are just the same [as the Republicans]. They are not doing anything, they dont care about our lives. They dont understand the fear we have to go through every day. We risk our lives just going to school. Anytime a fire drill goes off, a lockdown drill goes off, there is always that thought in your mind, Oh my god, is this the day that my school gets shot up, that Im going to lose my life or my friends life, they dont care, they dont understand, they just care about their money and their control over us. They do nothing!

The very next day [after the Uvalde massacre] at the elementary school I had to drop my little sister and brother off, and I was going to cry because I could not fathom anything happening to them! They [the government] dont care! They dont care at all!

She went on to say: We are the ones who keep this country running, and also we are going to be the future and will decide what continues to go on. I want to say, Dont lose hope. So many times I have felt a complete feeling of hopelessness that nothing is ever going to change. But you have to stop there and continue working on it. Im determined!

A first grade teacher who wished to remain anonymous said: In my class, one girls parents called me to tell me that she wont go into a room alone anymore. My coworker taught his kids how to play dead. What really made us cry was that we tell our students we will protect them, but we dont know if we can. It is so heartbreaking and we feel so conflicted.

In New York City, several hundred people gathered in Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn.

A group of young people from New York Citys theater industry spoke to the IYSSE at the rally. Ris, a theater technician, explained, I just graduated from college. I have had to experience shooter drills for the last sixteen years. It sucks to grow up this way. In Santa Cruz, California schools, we could not wear blue or red because those were gang colors. Our parents talk about how We had the nuclear threat when we were young. This is worse because of the frequency. We had bomb threats at school and cops banging on the door in active-shooter drills.

A lot of student shootings are a result of mental health problems, and not being noticed. There is so much pressure on young people with social media. They break down easier. I want gun controls but I dont think the politicians are going to listen. I am here because I would rather do something than not, to be able to tell my grandchildren I did something.

Kyleigh, one of Ris friends, became an accountant to supplement her income because of the difficulty in getting acting jobs, especially with pandemic theater closures. I learned the NRA [National Rifle Association] is a nonprofit and does not pay taxes, like a religious organization. If teachers are taxed, they should be, too. There are a lot of guns on the street because there is access to all those excess guns made for the military. I think if the higher politicians are not going to do anything, maybe we have to do a lot more at the local level.

In Detroit, a young student named Gray, 17, told our reporters that he has never felt safe in school: School shootings happen so often. Government officials say that something will change and then it never happens. It is always empty promises and I got sick of it. I shouldn't have to feel like my life is in danger when I am trying to get an education and go somewhere with my life and fear that my life will end at the hands of someone else.

On the question of the impact of thirty years of war, Gray added, I don't believe in war. I shouldn't have to give my life for things to change. My life shouldnt be a number in a rising percentage of violence in this world.

Marcus and Lucas, two students from Oakland Community College who attended the Detroit rally, spoke on the way forward for the movement to end school shootings.

We cant do the vote blue no matter who thing anymore. It does not work. The two-party system is what is killing this country. I think people fail to realize that once the workers come together and join under a common cause things will start happening. And that is what they are scared of because once it happens, they are screwed. It is the workers that put [the rich] in these positions. It is the workers that allow them to make 11,000 times more than their employees. Its the workers that line their pockets.

Lucas added, Once the backs that they walk on walk away, then they are in trouble.

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Students, teachers and workers rally against gun violence in cities across the US - WSWS

There are already a number of left-wing media outlets - OpenLeft, Novo.media, Rabkor, Socialist.news by Socialist Alternative. Why did you decide to create a new left-wing media rather than taking one of these projects as a basis? Is /Posle more of a personal project?

To begin with, the situation for all media, not only left-wing, has changed very dramatically in the last three months. In fact, all media outlets that exist in Russia have to choose between following censorship or speaking openly about the war and exposing themselves to the risks of harsh state restrictions and repression. Our new project is uncensored. We will talk about the war; we will analyze the war, its causes, and its course. We will talk about the position that the left can take against Russian aggression and propaganda.

/Posle is an open platform, it will not only feature the statements of our collective members, but will also feature a variety of voices, such as those of the Ukrainian left, many of whom are now involved in resisting Russian aggression. It is also very important that our site will be bilingual - almost all the material it will contain will be dubbed into English. We are open to an international left-wing audience, which currently feels an acute lack of information about what is happening in Ukraine, and which now needs to hear the position of the Russian and Ukrainian left. At least by these criteria, our publication will be quite different from anything that exists now.

Who else is on the team apart from you? Do you aspire to a unifying role for the whole left?

Besides me, theres Ilya Matveyev, with whom weve been doing the podcast Political Diary for quite a long time - it will now be published as part of /Posle. There are also a whole range of other participants whom I cant name at the moment. We plan to expand our editorial team over time, but I wouldnt say that were claiming a unifying role - were not planning for our media project to develop into a political organisation. But of course, we want to be part of the discussion that is taking place on the left in Russia, Ukraine and the world, and to make sense of the challenges we will face on February 24th.

Just about the challenges: your project has clearly stated an anti-war stance. But some parts of the Russian Left also have this stance: there is a war between two right-wing projects in Ukraine, one western Atlanticist-liberal and the other reactionary Putinist, which means that the Left should be above the fray and wish a plague on both houses. What do you think about this position? And do you think the Russian left should be on the side of Ukraine in this war?

We in /Posle do not believe that this is a war between some projects. It is Russias war against Ukraine in which Russia is the aggressor. Any attempt to move away from this simple statement is a departure from the leftist, internationalist position, for which there has always been a fundamental distinction between the aggressor and its victim, between a large imperialist nation and a small nation defending its right to self-determination. The fundamental right to self-determination is something that the left has always defended, something that was extremely important to, for example, Lenin. It is this right that is now being challenged by Russian aggression and the Putin regime.

If we recall the speech Putin made on the eve of the invasion of Ukraine, in it he said quite clearly that it was Lenins national policy, its principles of self-determination of the nation that led to the mistake that Putin considers the very appearance of Ukraine on the map - and which he intends to correct. Thus, Russian aggression against Ukraine also means aggression against Leninist ideas.

Ukraine is now an example of a nations struggle for self-determination - a struggle which is extremely important to all leftists. This does not mean that we think the Ukrainian regime is leftist or progressive. We understand that it is a right-wing, nationalist regime, and its level of nationalism will only increase as the war drags on and takes more violent forms. But that does not mean that Ukraine, fighting for its independence, should not be supported by progressive forces.

Indeed, Putin has threatened Ukraine with real decommunisation. On the other hand, the symbols and symbolic actions of the Russian side in this war refer back to the USSR. These include the red Soviet flag, the restoration of Lenin monuments demolished by Ukrainians, and the renaming of streets in the occupied territories from the names decommunised by Ukrainians back to the conventional Volodarsky Street. How should the Russian left deal with this dialectic?

It is no secret that the Putin regime has long and actively exploited Soviet nostalgia and Soviet symbols, almost entirely excluding their original socialist content. The red flag in the hands of Russian soldiers is no different from the Russian flag - it is simply a sign of statehood, of state power, a sign of the Russian armed forces, which from the perspective of the Russian regime is a direct continuation of the Soviet army. We believe that this symbolism covers the deep gulf between what Russia is today and what the Red Army was when it was first established by Lenin and Trotsky during the Civil War.

There should be no illusions here - Russian aggression against Ukraine does not turn Russia into a socialist state. The social relations that Russia brings to the occupied territories are not socialist. It is a relationship that exists within Russia itself, only in an even harsher, more perverted form. It is the power of the siloviki, the power of the elites, the power of Russian capital and state corporations over a population deprived of political and social rights. We see that in the occupied territories - in Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and part of Zaporizhzhia regions - there is not even a fictitious expression of popular will to join Russia. This is a direct military occupation - people living on this territory must simply submit to brute force. It has nothing to do with socialism, democracy and the Soviet government of any form.

Perhaps the CPRF party would argue with the latter. Before the war, we saw a desire on the part of the progressive left to cooperate with the party, to integrate with it and to change from within. After the outbreak of war, when the CPRF in its majority supported the aggression and even acted as its instigator by voting for the official recognition of the LPRRs independence by Russia, is there any point in attempting such cooperation? Or should we acknowledge that it is a dead cause - and the CPRF itself has buried itself with it? The huge protest potential that this party certainly had - is there any of it left after the start of the war?

I think that the huge gap between the position of the CPRF leadership and the expectations that exist among its rank-and-file supporters and voters will only increase over time. These people voted for the CPRF not as one of the backbenches of Putins regime, but as an opposition party capable of opposing the governments plans for social policy and the strengthening of authoritarianism in the country. The CPRF was voted for as a force capable of returning basic democratic rights to the people of Russia.

We can see that, despite the aggressive imperialistic statements of the CPRF faction members in the State Duma and the party leadership, on the ground, in the regional and city legislatures, deputies from this party are often almost the only ones capable of voicing an anti-war stance. The most recent such story took place a few days ago in Vladivostok; before that, some Communist deputies in the Moscow city Duma and other regions voiced similar views.

It is possible that these contradictions will, in the foreseeable future, lead to the emergence of a truly independent active socialist force on the wreckage of the current CPRF. And an important part of this force will be the current CPRF members and supporters. In its present form, the CPRF will undoubtedly face a very serious crisis.

Perhaps I am wrong, but in three months we have not seen many forms of peaceful left-wing protest self-organisation in the form of, for example, strikes and other trade union anti-war actions. On the other hand, we see active guerrilla action, perhaps partly carried out by people of left-wing, left-anarchist views. Can we expect the former to develop and what do you think about the latter - which of these is more promising, which of these should left-wing opinion leaders support more?

I dont think there is much choice in the Russian situation, where almost all forms of legal protest are banned. Any form of protest critical of the existing regime is somehow illegal. The only thing that can be done legally now is to stand in solidarity with Putin. The deterioration of the economic situation and the continuation of the war, for which ordinary people are paying with their money, jobs and lives, will all inevitably lead to growing social discontent.

When all political possibilities for expressing discontent have been suppressed, protest takes forms which can hardly be openly promoted by the leftist media. But on the /Posle platform, we will be discussing all kinds of protest and resistance: student initiatives, feminist anti-war movements, and forms of self-organization that we arent currently able to predict.

In principle, in the Russian context, will we be able to see something similar to what happened in Belarus in 2020, when against the backdrop of street protests, massive strikes at state enterprises were an equally important parallel story? Or was this impossible in Russia because of its different economic system?

Russian capitalism is structured differently than the Belarusian one. We do not have so many state enterprises, state corporations prevail. Of course, the authorities are very much afraid that these enterprises will become a source of protest, not only political, but also social. Especially if we face massive wage arrears in the near future and an expansion of the practice of so-called unpaid holidays. This could be something similar to the Belarusian strikes, and to the strikes that took place in Russia in the 1990s - remember at least the rail war of 98.

The war has rolled world politics back badly to the days of the Cold War, or maybe even earlier. The number one issue on the agenda of European states now is literal physical security. It is as if it is a retreat into right-wing conservatism, as has happened before in Poland, in Hungary. Will this process become global and what can the left oppose it? You should agree that in conditions of a clear physical threat, such conservative cohesion makes sense.

Undoubtedly, Russias actions have provoked a dangerous and incipient process of militarisation of Europe. This has presented the Left with a serious contradiction - the Western Left has always consistently maintained an anti-militarist position, while today participation in NATO and its reinforcement is seen by many Eastern European countries as almost the only real guarantee of security. The left in these countries understands this, but it is difficult for them to do anything about it. Obviously, the left should now reassess all the positions it has taken in previous decades, including the position that only NATO and the US were imperialist powers.

What can the left offer in a situation where the whole world risks being divided into opposing imperialist blocs, each with no progressive alternative? During the Cold War it could at least be said that the Soviet bloc, for all its obvious faults, was a bearer of ideas of social liberation and anti-colonial struggle. Today we see the choice between the reactionary NATO bloc and the even more reactionary potential Russia-China bloc. It is not enough for the left today to simply criticise their governments for militarisation. It is necessary to think about the global alternatives they can offer to this world divided into military blocs and sinking into barbarism, which is on the brink of a new deadly global war.

What about those on the left who still refuse to adequately perceive the threat from Russia? For example, we know that [French far-left politician Jean-Luc] Melanchon opposes arms sales to Ukraine; we know about the call of [American left-wing philosopher] Noah Chomsky to sit down with Putin as soon as possible and make concessions to him. Such declarations have left many people disillusioned not only with these figures but also with the leftist idea as such. Some European leftists go further and see Putins Russia as a force that plays on the left side - as it opposes US imperialism. How to explain to them that this force is actually worse and that there is nothing leftist about it?

You are right, this is an important issue for the Western left. Even though they are unequivocally against Russian aggression, both Chomsky and Melanchon cannot welcome the militarisation of their countries and the expansion of NATO. We are talking about the need for a very serious revision of all the foundations of the strategy of the left in Western countries.

None of the sane left is a fan of Putin or believes in his anti-fascist or anti-imperialist rhetoric. Even those Western leftists who still had some illusions about the Russian regime lost them after February 24. This even happened to the German Die Linke, which has always had a strong pro-Russian wing - the party has changed its general position towards Russia and Putin drastically. This process of rethinking in the mainstream left-wing parties is just beginning. Our platform After is going to participate in this rethinking, it is one of our main tasks.

Now more than ever, the European Left needs confirmation or, conversely, non-confirmation of some of its intuitions about Russias role in this war - from, first and foremost, the Russian and Ukrainian left who see the situation from within. Less than a month ago a large delegation of the Western European Left, including MEPs and national MPs, visited Lviv and held a conference there with Ukrainian independent trade unions and left-wing activists. Such actions of solidarity now also play a very important awareness-raising role.

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The right to self-determination is something the left has always defended - International Viewpoint

Monday 13 June is International Albinism Awareness Day. The theme for 2022 is United in making our voice heard.

This theme was chosen as including the voices of persons with albinism is essential to ensuring equality, according to the United Nations (UN) information page on the event. It is important to amplify the visibility of persons with albinism in all areas of life.

People with albinism face multiple forms of discrimination worldwide. Albinism is still profoundly misunderstood, socially and medically, according to the UN.

The physical appearance of persons with albinism is often the object of erroneous beliefs and myths influenced by superstition, which foster their marginalisation and social exclusion. This leads to various forms of stigma and discrimination.

Between Monday 13 June and Thursday 16 June, the Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education, in collaboration with the Walter Rodney Peoples Revolutionary Library, is hosting a series of events marking 50 years since the publication of Walter Rodneys How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.

The series of events is titled, Walter Rodney and anti-imperialist politics today. The first event on 13 June falls on the day of Rodneys assassination, while the last on 16 June falls on Youth Day.

The first event, taking place on Monday at 6pm, will be a film screening of The Past is not our Future and Disturbance 68, followed by a question-and-answer session with historian and film director Matthew Smith.

For more information, contact 021 685 3516 or [emailprotected]

Tuesday 14 June is World Blood Donor Day. For 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on people around the world to give blood as a gesture of solidarity.

Safe blood and blood products and their transfusion are a critical aspect of care and public health. They are key in treating people suffering from a range of diseases and as a result of accidents, natural disasters and armed conflict, according to the WHO information page.

While the need for blood is universal, access is limited, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

Becoming a regular voluntary blood donor is a simple but selfless step that everyone can take to strengthen their communities, support local health systems and save lives.

On Tuesday, 14 June at 10.30am, the Dullah Omar Institute in partnership with the Hanns Seidel Foundation will host a webinar on the prosecution of corruption in municipalities, with contributions from Advocate Barry Madolo of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

The NPA must prosecute corruption at all levels of government, according to the event description. While much of its focus has been on the capture of national government and state-owned enterprises, there has also been widespread corruption at municipal level.

In a recent opinion editorial, Advocate Barry Madolo, director of public prosecutions in the Eastern Cape, has described some successes enjoyed by the NPA in prosecuting corruption in municipalities in the Eastern Cape, reads the event description.

There is highly specific legislation relating to municipalities, and to municipal finances, such as the Municipal Finance Management Act, with which prosecutors must be familiar in order to successfully prosecute offences relating to municipal finances.

The facilitator of the discussion is Dr Jean Redpath of Africa Criminal Justice Reform. Speakers include Madolo and Professor Jaap de Visser of Multi-Level Government.

Register here.

On Tuesday at 1pm, the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (Plaas) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and partners are launching an animation titled African Food Systems During Covid.

The six-minute animation will be followed by a short panel discussion and question-and-answer session.

Plaas conducted a one-year action-oriented research project entitled The Impacts of Covid-19 Responses on the Political Economy of African Food Systems to gather data on the impacts of Covid-19 regulatory and support interventions on the functioning and structure of food systems in Tanzania, Ghana, and South Africa, according to the event description.

These countries represent diverse food systems and Covid-19 responses and provide for comparison and a breadth of lessons.

The animation is a visual representation of this research, produced by Plaas researchers Professor Moenieba Isaacs and Professor Ruth Hall.

Register for the launch here.

On Tuesday at 3pm, Both ENDS and the Land Portal Foundation are hosting a webinar on Empowering civil society and communities through open land data.

The talk will focus on the opportunities and constraints for civil society organisations and local communities in advocating for more open land data and using it for improved land governance.

Open data can enable [civil society organisations] to advocate for better outcomes for public services related to land administration and governance, while promoting transparency, accountability, public debate, and anti-corruption, according to the event description. But there are legitimate concerns around privacy, trust, and first-movers to consider and overcome.

The webinar will take place in English, French, Spanish and Bahasa.

Register here.

On Tuesday at 6pm, the second event in the Tshisimani Centre for Activist Educations series, Walter Rodney and anti-imperialist politics today, will take place.

A seminar on the character of imperialism that shaped Rodneys world will be delivered by Dr Natasha Shivji, director of the Institute of Research in Intellectual Histories of Africa, Tanzania.

Also at 6pm, Daily Maverick is hosting a webinar titled Silent Torment: The Mental Health of South Africas Youth. The discussion is intended to answer the questions of children and young people around mental health.

Maverick Citizen editor Mark Heywood will be speaking with Professor Petrus de Vries, academic head of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Cape Town, and Talitha Counter, RX Radio reporter.

Register here.

Wednesday 15 June is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The theme for 2022 is Combatting Elder Abuse.

The number of persons aged 60 years and over has been projected to grow by 38% between 2019 and 2030, from 1 billion to 1.4 billion, according to the UN information page on the observance.

Elder abuse is a problem that exists in both developing and developed countries yet is typically underreported globally, stated the UN.

Although the extent of elder mistreatment is unknown, its social and moral significance is obvious. As such, it demands a global multifaceted response, one which focuses on protecting the rights of older persons.

Wednesday 15 June is the deadline for applications for a capacity-building workshop geared towards African transexual activists. The workshop will be hosted by the International Trans Fund (ITF), with the support of the European Union.

The workshop aims to provide capacity-building support to trans and gender-diverse persons from around the African continent in order to give them the necessary knowledge to better lead changes in our societies, according to the event description.

The workshop will be hosted by Iranti in South Africa in August 2022. Those wishing to apply can find the criteria and application forms here.

Once the form has been filled out, it should be sent to [emailprotected] with a recommendation letter. The subject line of the email should include the language the applicant used and the country they are from. Example: (Name_CBWorkshop_Arabic_Egypt).

On Wednesday at 1pm, the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) is hosting a Facebook Live discussion titled Webinar Wednesday Youth and Mental Health Think Tank. The roundtable discussion is a celebration of Youth Day.

Among the speakers are Chris Kemp, clinical psychologist; Vuyiswa Matsau, Sadag peer support group facilitator; and Chantelle Booysen, global mental health advocate.

On Wednesday at 2.30pm, the South African Child Gauge 2021/2022 will be launched at the New Lecture Theatre, University Avenue, University of Cape Town. This is a blended event, with both an online and face-to-face programme.

This sixteenth issue of the South African Child Gauge focuses attention on child and adolescent mental health and how early adversity ripples out across the life course and generations at great cost to individuals and society, according to the event description.

It calls for a whole-of-society response to protect children from harm, build their capacity to cope with stress and adversity, and provide them with opportunities to thrive.

Register here.

On Wednesday at 2pm, as part of their series on Walter Rodney and anti-imperialist politics today, the Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education will host a workshop exploring the key claims of Rodneys How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.

On Wednesday at 6pm, the Forge will be hosting a talk on Living Socialism with Lindokuhle Mnguni, chairperson of the eKhanana Commune.

The talk will be the first in a series of events intended to commemorate Youth Month. These events will focus on living socialism, youth unemployment in Africa and youth in the economy.

The talk will take place at 14 Reserve Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Those wishing to attend should RSVP to [emailprotected].

Thursday 16 June is Youth Day. This event commemorates the Soweto youth uprising of 16 June 1976. The uprising began in Soweto, before spreading across the country and profoundly changing the socio-political landscape in South Africa.

The rise of the Black Consciousness Movement and the formation of South African Students Organisation raised the political consciousness of many students, while others joined the wave of anti-Apartheid sentiment within the student community, according to the SA government information page on the event.

When the language of Afrikaans alongside English was made compulsory as a medium of instruction in schools in 1974, black students began mobilising themselves.

Between 3,000 and 10,000 students marched peacefully to protest the governments directive on 16 June 1976. They were met by armed police officers who fired teargas and later live ammunition, at the crowd.

This year is the 46th anniversary of the 1976 student uprising. The event showed the brutality of the apartheid government, with hundreds of young people being killed.

The aftermath of the events had dire consequences for the apartheid government. Images of the police firing on peacefully demonstrating students led an international revulsion against South Africa as its brutality was exposed, stated the SA government.

Following the advent of democracy in 1994, the new democratic government declared 16 June as National Youth Day and June as the Youth Month. The declaration honours the contribution of the youth in the struggle for the liberation of South Africa.

The theme for Youth Month 2022 is, Promoting sustainable livelihood and resilience of young people for a better tomorrow.

On Thursday 16 June at 9am, young people from a wide range of organisations will be meeting at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria, for a Youth Day Parade.

They will march to the Union Buildings, where they will be handing over a memorandum highlighting the major crises of the modern day, including issues around joblessness, gender-based violence and climate change. The memorandum will also put forward young peoples solutions and vision for a better future.

The Youth Day Parade will highlight some of the substantive issues that are facing young people in the country. These include joblessness, gender-based violence, climate change, academic exclusion, and crime. The collective will hand over a memorandum to highlight the major crises of our time and to put forward their solutions and vision for a better society and prosperous future.

The march has been organised by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundations Youth Activism programme and its partners. The initiative has been endorsed by over 80 organisations from various sectors of society.

On Thursday at 2pm, the Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education will host the final event in their series, Walter Rodney and anti-imperialist politics today. It will be a book launch for A Rebels Guide to Walter Rodney by Chinedu Chukwudima.

At 5pm on Thursday, advocacy campaign Youth Capital is hosting a virtual launch of the short documentary, Ive been trying. 8 years without a job.

The film was directed by Eh!wozas Sam Flans, with camera work by Alfa Fipaza. It is narrated by Pearl Thusi, with commentary by Youth Capital.

Ive been trying. 8 years without a job is a short documentary film that uncovers the real challenges young people face on their journey to employment, according to the event description.

The launch will include a panel discussion with Quanita Adams, filmmaker and actor; Dylan Valley of the University of Cape Town; Prof Ariane Delanoy of the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit; and Dimpho Lekgeu of Youth Lab.

Register here.

Friday 17 June is World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. The theme for 2022 is Rising up from drought together.

Droughts are a great threat to sustainable development in both developing and developed countries, with forecasts estimating that by 2050, droughts may affect over three-quarters of the global population.

This year, the theme of the International Day Against Desertification and Drought, Rising up from drought together, emphasises the need for early action to avoid disastrous consequences for humanity and the planetary ecosystems, according to the UN.

On Friday 17 June at 10am, Defend Our Democracy (DOD) is hosting a community meeting at the Soweto Ipelegeng Community Centre.

During the event, representatives of DOD will take residents through the conference paper on democratic renewal and change, as part of preparation for the organisations upcoming Conference for Democratic Renewal and Change.

Those wishing to attend should RSVP to Celiwe Shivambu at 060 457 4668. DM/MC

This week Maverick Citizen will be focusing on youth-centred content to mark the lead-up to Youth Day. Keep an eye out for our stories bringing through the voices of young people on issues ranging from leadership to education, climate justice to gender-based violence.

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CIVIL SOCIETY WATCH 13 17 JUNE: This week: Youth parade to the Union Buildings, launch of the South African Child Gauge and talk on socialism - Daily...