UAW president Shawn Fain called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza yet endorsed Biden, who has been accused of complicity in Israelās genocidal war. Frank Hammer, a former president and chairman of the United Auto Workers local 909 in Detroit, joins theAnalysis to discuss the role of the UAW and the working class in balancing opposing Bidenās policies and a possible Trump victory.
Renowned social theorist, systems thinker, and organizer, Marjorie Kelly, gives an early look at her new book: Wealth Supremacy. Speaking with Colin Bruce Anthes, she details the entrenched ways our current system is built around myths that make giving more wealth to the already wealthy seem necessaryā even when we try to use our institutions for the common good. Kelly contrasts this with an outnumbered but successful democratic economy with many forms of democratized ownership and participation: public utilities, employee-owned companies, community land trusts, cooperatives, and more. We can create an economy that works for everyone, she argues, but only if we systematically discredit the moral status of wealth supremacy and turn towards a democratic economy paradigm.
William Mitchell exposes the many ideological maneuvers progressives need to confront in disputing the supremacy of profits over employment and peopleās dignity. That goes for disciplining the state to appease foreign exchange markets, the problems with Basic Income proposals, and much more. Lynn Fries interviews William Mitchell on GPEnewsdocs.
In part 2, Patrick Bond broadens out his analysis of the BRICS countries engaging in what he terms “talk left, walk right.” He explains the economic theories of “accumulation by dispossession” and refers back to the aims of the Non-Aligned Movement of 1961 and the spirit of the 1955 Bandung Conference.
Frank Hammer, former President of United Auto Workers (UAW) local 909 in Detroit and retired GM worker, explains how ālegacyā workers are standing up for new hires. This is critical to building working-class solidarity. He also reflects on the history of autoworker strikes in the U.S. and in Mexico, reminding us of the deadly incident at the Ford CuautitlĆ”n plant, in which thugs dressed in Ford uniforms shot dead one of the workers and injured ten others.
Dr. Asoka Bandarage is an adjunct professor at the California Institute for Integral Studies and the author of a new book, Crisis in Sri Lanka and the World. Sri Lanka has had a minuscule carbon footprint, and yet the country is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, coastal erosion, and flooding. She discusses the convergence of existential climate and debt crises in Sri Lanka, the latter resulting from IMF debt restructuring and the lack of a globally coordinated multilateral sovereign debt mechanism that places traditional and private lenders on an equal footing.
Widespread corruption in Lebanon is fostered by the country’s ruling class, whose business interests are enmeshed with those of international finance. Nadim Houry, executive director of the Arab Reform Initiative, explains how Lebanon’s culture of political impunity is tied to the reconstruction agreements put in place in 1990, at the end of the 15-year civil war. The ongoing political deadlock shields the authorities from scrutiny and allows for vulture capitalists such as the former governor of Lebanon’s Central Bank, Riad Salameh, to embezzle the country’s resources. At the same time, ordinary people are faced with crushing inflation.
Jomo K.S. warns U.S. policies are driving the world towards war and depression, leaving developing countries with a strong vested interest to reconvene a new non-aligned movement and strengthen democratic institutions of global governance. Lynn Fries interviews Jomo K.S. on GPEnewsdocs.
One of the few working-class movements scoring victories, democratizing ownership, and gaining momentum is the method of economic development called Community Wealth Building (CWB). Colin Bruce Anthes interviews Neil McInroy of the Democracy Collaborative on how CWB works, what it has accomplished so far, and its potential to lead a “new common sense” movement beyond neoliberal capitalism.
A discussion about independent media and ownership, censorship, self-censorship in media and a discussion about hate speech laws.
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