tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24401176837368606322024-03-09T18:46:28.165-08:00London Green Left BlogThe views published here are of an ecosocialist nature and from the broad red, green and black political spectrum. The opinions expressed are the personal opinions of the writers and are not necessarily the view of any political parties or groupings that they belong to. Please feel free to comment on the posts here. If you would like to contact us directly, you can email us at mike.shaughnessy@btinternet.com. Follow the blog on Twitter @MikeShaughMike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.comBlogger1056125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-33470405924751580112023-08-29T08:09:00.000-07:002023-08-29T08:09:57.786-07:00On New Municipalism<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrAtmBJDliwZOiPnc_s00EntbJ9WGe8syWvKvG40LLaQ9RmE7J6_RGKZqXLFQoqS5e62XgE1zIuobscPTitnLDGKecJVGC99dIj5B24DO7_R1OsWjAJX1gy5koELSlS4Bf3LJmnZT89Wm4gfqVVGedMuYV4_yM6LRMMWE8GNPy25O3gfRs7Z6aiK_p8U/s1200/Municipalism.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="1200" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrAtmBJDliwZOiPnc_s00EntbJ9WGe8syWvKvG40LLaQ9RmE7J6_RGKZqXLFQoqS5e62XgE1zIuobscPTitnLDGKecJVGC99dIj5B24DO7_R1OsWjAJX1gy5koELSlS4Bf3LJmnZT89Wm4gfqVVGedMuYV4_yM6LRMMWE8GNPy25O3gfRs7Z6aiK_p8U/w400-h265/Municipalism.jpeg" width="400" /></a><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="Default" style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt 364.0pt 392.0pt 420.0pt 448.0pt 476.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Dr Paul Overend</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="Default" style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt 364.0pt 392.0pt 420.0pt 448.0pt 476.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Across the
world there has been a growing interest in the possibilities of New
Municipalism in the 21st century, with a growing network of progressive </span><span class="Hyperlink0"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="https://fearlesscities.com/"><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #38761d;">‘Fearless Cities’</span></span></a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> (founded in
Barcelona En Comú in 2017).</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="Default" style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt 364.0pt 392.0pt 420.0pt 448.0pt 476.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">This
interest in New Municipalism emerges from reflections on how the city can
evolve from being a place of protest and resistance against neoliberal
capitalism, as was seen in the </span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>‘</span><span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Occupy</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">movement
that followed the 2007-8 economic crash, to develop greater self-organization
and resilience to market vulnerabilities. (See David Harvey, </span><span class="Hyperlink0"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="https://abahlali.org/files/Harvey_Rebel_cities.pdf"><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution</span></span></a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> (2012); </span><span lang="NL" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: NL;">Steve Rushton (Ed)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">, </span><span class="Hyperlink0"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/steve-rushton-rebel-cities"><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Rebel Cities: Radical Municipalism</span></span></a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> (2018).) Informed
and influenced by the work of a range of political and social theorists from
Peter Kropotkin (Mutual Aid, 1902) to Murray Bookchin (</span><span class="Hyperlink0"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/murray-bookchin-libertarian-municipalism-an-overview"><span lang="EN-GB" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Libertarian Municipalism</span></span></a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">, 1991), New
Municipalism explores feminising politics, participatory democracy and
participatory budgeting, while incorporating other progressive </span><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;">concerns</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">,
such as employment practices and environmentalism.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="Default" style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt 364.0pt 392.0pt 420.0pt 448.0pt 476.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">In the UK
there has been a desire to shift power from an overly-centralised state. In
1997, the UK government signed the, <span class="Hyperlink1"><a href="https://coe.int/en/web/congress/the-charter-how-it-works"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #38761d;">European Charter of Local Self
Government</span></span></a></span> (adopted by the Council of Europe in 1985, and in
force from 1988) and the <span class="Hyperlink1"><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Government_Act_2000"><span style="color: #38761d;">Local
Government Act 2000</span> </a></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>gave
powers to local authorities to promote economic, social and environmental
well-being within their boundaries, while extending the possibility of locally
elected mayors.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="Default" style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt 364.0pt 392.0pt 420.0pt 448.0pt 476.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">In Scotland,
Green MSP Andy Wightman's 2014 report ‘<span class="Hyperlink1"><a href="http://archive2021.parliament.scot/S4_LocalGovernmentandRegenerationCommittee/lg_AndyWightman.pdf"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Renewing Local Democracy</span></span></a></span>’
explored revitalising local government in Scotland. And in 2022, a Labour
Commission on the UK Future, chaired by Gordon Brown, produced a report <span style="color: #38761d;">A</span></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">‘ </span><span class="Hyperlink1"><span dir="RTL" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://labour.org.uk/page/a-new-britain/"><span dir="LTR" lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #38761d;">New Britain: Renewing our
Democracy and Rebuilding</span> <span style="color: #38761d;">our Economy</span></span></a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">’ which commends
further devolution in the UK (among other reforms, such as the House of Lords)
incorporating a democratic principal of subsidiarity. If adopted by the next
government, this will offer further opportunities for local politics.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="Default" style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt 364.0pt 392.0pt 420.0pt 448.0pt 476.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Municipal
socialism is not new in the UK: It was variously seen in the Sheffield City
Council led by David Blunkett in the 1980s, and the Greater London Council
(GLC). (The treasurer of the GLC at one time was John McDonnell, later the
Labour shadow chancellor of Jeremy Corbyn-led Labour). New Municipalism
differs, in seeking greater democratic participation, for example, but with a
wider range of community ownership explored, though not excluding in-house
Council ownership.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="Default" style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt 364.0pt 392.0pt 420.0pt 448.0pt 476.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">A good
example of what can be achieved can be seen from the so called </span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>‘</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Preston
Model</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’ </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">of Community Wealth Building. (See Matthew Brown and Rhian
E. Jones, <span class="None"><i>Paint Your Town Red</i></span></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> (2021)
and <span class="Hyperlink1"><a href="https://www.preston.gov.uk/communitywealthbuilding"><span style="color: #38761d;">https://www.preston.gov.uk/communitywealthbuilding</span></a></span>)
Preston council draws on work on Community Wealth Building by <span class="Hyperlink1"><a href="https://cles.org.uk/the-community-wealth-building-centre-of-excellence/"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #38761d;">The Centre for Local Economic
Strategies (CLES)</span>.</span></a></span> Community Wealth Building involves ideas
of local and progressive procurement policies, including fair employment,
support of co-operatives and social enterprises, and insourcing (with council
ownership), for example, initially led by existing local Anchor Institutions</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">procurement
policies.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="Default" style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt 364.0pt 392.0pt 420.0pt 448.0pt 476.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">The success
in reinvesting into the local economy and improving employment opportunities
and pay, and bringing about social benefits, shows what can be done by
refiguring the local economy, rather than being dependent on inward investment,
by economically </span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>‘</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">extractive</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’ </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">companies.
Wales and Scotland have incorporated some ideas of community wealth building in
national politics. And Jamie Driscoll, for example, seeks to incorporate such a
model for his mayoral candidacy manifesto.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="Default" style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt 364.0pt 392.0pt 420.0pt 448.0pt 476.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">The renewal
of local government and increasing subsidiarity give cause for hope for a Green
Left municipalist movement renewing politics and local economics from the grass
roots. It is likely that the current Parliamentary Labour Party will still seek
to retain centralised party control (so Jamie Driscoll has been blocked from
being the Labour mayoral </span><span lang="DA" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DA;">candidate, for example).</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"> The Green
Party has been more successful in local politics, with the election of
councillors more likely than the election of MPs, given the given current FPTP
electoral system.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="Default" style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt 364.0pt 392.0pt 420.0pt 448.0pt 476.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">But New
Municipalism works by building consensual politics across the political
parties, and with local institutions and social enterprises, and the local
public and community interest groups. The Green Party might be well placed to
leaverage political opinion in municipal councils and communities, working with
other seeking to advance a green left approach.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="Default" style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 0cm; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 252.0pt 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt 364.0pt 392.0pt 420.0pt 448.0pt 476.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><b>Dr Paul Overend has been a priest and
educator, most recently working in Lincoln. He is a member of the Green Party
of England and Wales, and a new supporter of Green Left, as well as being a member
of the Faithworkers Branch of Unite. Having moved to Norwich, he is currently
seeking secular work.</b></span></p></div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-80216244711743425462023-07-10T07:11:00.002-07:002023-07-10T07:38:34.158-07:00The Labour Party’s clean energy mission: greenwashing a high-carbon future<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifC6uRixmlFLmrXE6b4B_m2yML5VWllQ6Doa1WwQLbF6hUxTZug5N9DjQmEcD_Y0HgMPPoFfYVEhFkVPit4rQuz2RjkT0mAXpbLYrMOsatGJLD_27BnPD9_PtCtWIt8E4rzZK2F5fmOXDzR_59WDSQc9wgHoos-8lhYkpIztdKObJLrQzXADPag7xGCTM/s5784/Green%20Labour.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3808" data-original-width="5784" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifC6uRixmlFLmrXE6b4B_m2yML5VWllQ6Doa1WwQLbF6hUxTZug5N9DjQmEcD_Y0HgMPPoFfYVEhFkVPit4rQuz2RjkT0mAXpbLYrMOsatGJLD_27BnPD9_PtCtWIt8E4rzZK2F5fmOXDzR_59WDSQc9wgHoos-8lhYkpIztdKObJLrQzXADPag7xGCTM/w400-h264/Green%20Labour.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Written by Les
Levidow</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="A0"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="line-height: 106%; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Hopes
for decarbonising Britain have recently focused on the Labour Party’s plan for
its next government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In May it </span></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/may/28/labour-confirms-plans-to-block-all-new-north-sea-oil-and-gas-projects"><span style="color: #38761d;">promised</span></a><span class="A0"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="line-height: 106%; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> to issue no new licences for
oil or gas exploration in the North Sea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In June the Labour Party set out its ‘</span></span><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Mission-Climate.pdf"><span style="color: #38761d;">clean
energy missio</span></a>n</span><span class="A0"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="line-height: 106%; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">’ for
the UK to expand renewable energy,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span>with
‘a clear road map to decarbonisation’, so that the entire economy can ‘accelerate
to net zero’<span class="A0"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="line-height: 106%; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it really such a plan? <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Its
claims have several grounds for doubt, in particular: that the plan perpetuates
fossil sources for the foreseeable future, depends on dubious techno-fixes, perpetuates
obstacles to renewable energy substitution, greenwashes a high-carbon future, subordinates
the labour movement to high-carbon capital, and so pre-empts a socially just,
low-carbon transition.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">These roles are
played in several ways, as outlined here.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Perpetuating
fossil fuels alongside renewable energy</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">After the
Labour Party announcement, r<span class="A0"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="line-height: 106%; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">elevant
trade unions criticised its plan for ‘betraying workers’, especially for
lacking a credible plan to provide substitute jobs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although this criticism is valid, it made the
</span></span>Labour Party <span class="A0"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="line-height: 106%; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">promise
look greener than in reality.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0P0klHpwaT-e03cG3GdeAurx2ILSI-ASMjmW0x8RKjrrIbqDLlLYOUCGHArlsc2OfIYhtWI-G68ET5Yth1WjQXrTvb25ooAKsspNBi5LO5pjxw5bnOXDAzOnBLQikQJ-2GmEeavgn8FoBbUFqCl4TsKH-rfim7Be9VZ46BNQzH9gcqD8vdlqr5GKQAh4/s212/Green%20Labour1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="212" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0P0klHpwaT-e03cG3GdeAurx2ILSI-ASMjmW0x8RKjrrIbqDLlLYOUCGHArlsc2OfIYhtWI-G68ET5Yth1WjQXrTvb25ooAKsspNBi5LO5pjxw5bnOXDAzOnBLQikQJ-2GmEeavgn8FoBbUFqCl4TsKH-rfim7Be9VZ46BNQzH9gcqD8vdlqr5GKQAh4/w400-h303/Green%20Labour1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="dcr-1y4fm6e">Campaigners protesting against the
new oilfield in Dundee.</span><span class="dcr-1bn3p0w"> Photograph: Murdo
MacLeod/<i>The Guardian</i>, 29.06.2023</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">As eventually
became clear, ‘no new gas or oil’ means no extra licences after the general
election; this plan would <a href="https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/north-sea/509410/equinor-given-assurances-labour-wont-block-rosebank-project-according-to-reports/"><span style="color: #38761d;">allow</span></a>
the Rosebank and Cambo oil fields to go ahead. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As <a href="https://theconversation.com/keir-starmer-hasnt-really-called-time-on-north-sea-oil-and-gas-heres-why-207091"><span style="color: #38761d;">academics
have written</span></a>, large reserves of oil and gas are already covered by existing
licenses; companies are deciding which ones to develop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once a company starts using a licence, it
takes three decades to produce new fossil fuels, which may continue for several
decades more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fossil fuel producers
already have enough licences to generate enormous GHG emissions for the next
half-century and beyond.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The big energy
producers may extend a high-carbon future for several reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The current regime has a basic objective to
maximise the economic recovery of oil and gas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fossil fuels continue to enjoy state subsidy, and gas prices set the
overall energy price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So cheaper renewable
sources accrue super-profits rather than undermine fossil fuels, especially
within a profit-driven system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Moreover, total
energy usage will predictably continue to rise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This trend will be reinforced by the Labour Party’s promise for measures
to increase ‘economic growth’, which generally entails more energy usage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By default, renewable energy may largely
continue to supplement fossil fuels rather than replace them, thus doing little
to reduce GHG emissions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Alternatively, for
a true decarbonisation plan, a government could limit some fossil fuel source which
are already licensed, alongside new policies to reduce overall energy usage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likewise it could direct any economic growth
at low-energy forms which incur lighter environmental burdens and bring greater
societal benefit (probably with lower corporate profits).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such alternatives have been promoted under
various concepts such as a ‘well-being economy’ or ‘post-growth economy’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This potential future is pre-empted by the
Labour Party’s plan. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Accepting profit-driven
energy distribution<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Last year Keir Starmer
undertook that the next Labour government would create Great British Energy
(GBE), a publicly owned energy company. According to the Party’s <a href="https://labour.org.uk/missions/"><span style="color: #38761d;">energy mission</span></a>, GBE would be ‘a new,
publicly-owned clean generation company, that will harness the power of
Britain’s sun, wind, and waves to cut energy bills and deliver energy security
for our country’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">In early 2023 Ed Miliband floated a proposal for
the government to establish its own assets for generating renewable energy and
so </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/local-news/ed-miliband-says-local-energy-8106155"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #38761d;">supplying</span></span></a></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> local energy distributors</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Yet simply
producing more renewable energy would be inadequate, for several reasons. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The national grid has lacked adequate
investment to promptly incorporate new sources of renewable energy, so
connections face delays of 15 years or more (according to a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65500339"><span style="color: #38761d;">BBC report</span></a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even as such sources are connected, profit-maximising
firms keep the super-profits from renewable energy rather than pass on the
lower cost to consumers. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">To
realize all the societal benefits, it would be necessary to impose<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>an energy price cap geared to renewable
energy, as well as to establish public-interest distribution companies, as advocated
by a <a href="https://www.common-wealth.co.uk/publications/wholesale-transformation-evaluating-electricity-market-reform"><span style="color: #38761d;">CommonWealth</span></a>
report.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likewise <a href="https://www.labourgnd.uk/public-power-now"><span style="color: #38761d;">Labour for a Green New Dea</span>l</a>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>promotes a <a href="https://greenerjobsalliance.co.uk/model-motions-for-labour-party-conference/"><span style="color: #38761d;">conference
motion</span></a> which advocates ‘</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Democratic public ownership of the whole energy
system, including: Nationalisation of energy transmission and distribution;
energy supply; the UK operations and infrastructure of fossil fuel companies…</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">’</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Such a policy
would depend on mobilising mass support against capitalist interests in the
energy sector.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Otherwise a profit-driven
high-carbon system will continue, as in the current Labour Party policy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-n6w1lc"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">Relying
on dubious technofixes </span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="dcr-n6w1lc"></p><p class="dcr-n6w1lc"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">When
the Labour Party undertook to issue no more licences for gas or oil, there was
a <a href="https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Mission-Climate.pdf"><span style="color: #38761d;">reassurance</span></a>: “But Labour would continue to use existing
oil and gas wells over the coming decades and manage them sustainably as we
transform the UK into a clean energy superpower.”<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="dcr-n6w1lc" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi85Zrq70izVczUBVI9aXyeFbRLKoJeFh2hjkUxltuBBI-q0YFGsmv57CyMm3RCuoZ2upPkny5FLthtTlJocRoMd_BX698LdeDGhM39IeV6bZQGaw1XgmP6WsRjtf0OBIvHUOARd7O_mNQIZpFKM5zGUToZZDT6cxlnhmXZFPjHQVyxV4E5d2WU3v_r7qU/s321/Green%20Labour2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="321" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi85Zrq70izVczUBVI9aXyeFbRLKoJeFh2hjkUxltuBBI-q0YFGsmv57CyMm3RCuoZ2upPkny5FLthtTlJocRoMd_BX698LdeDGhM39IeV6bZQGaw1XgmP6WsRjtf0OBIvHUOARd7O_mNQIZpFKM5zGUToZZDT6cxlnhmXZFPjHQVyxV4E5d2WU3v_r7qU/w400-h274/Green%20Labour2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Credit: Cathy Wilcox<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">How could such
a role be compatible with long-term fossil fuels? It could not be, unless clean energy merely
supplements fossil fuels (as explained above).
Or unless we indulge techno-optimistic fantasies for <a href="http://cacctu.org.uk/greenwash"><span style="color: #38761d;">greenwashing fossil fuels</span></a> (see <a href="http://cacctu.org.uk/greenwash"><span style="color: #38761d;">CACCTU briefing</span></a>). Along those lines, the Labour Party mission
would “Invest in carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen, and long-term
energy storage to ensure that there is sufficient zero-emission back-up power
and storage for extended periods without wind or sun, while maintaining a
strategic reserve of backup gas power stations to guarantee security of supply.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">This grandiose mission
implies that CCS eventually would decarbonise natural gas into hydrogen and so provide
a ‘zero-emission’ fuel. The hydrogen
per se might be so at the point of use.
But the promotional language conceals routine methane leakages at the
extraction stage, alongside energy inputs and other difficulties in capturing
the carbon, in order to produce so-called ‘zero-carbon hydrogen’. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Most CCS
projects have <a href="https://peopleandnature.wordpress.com/2023/04/13/stop-spending-public-funds-on-carbon-capture-failure-researchers/"><span style="color: #38761d;">failed</span></a>,
removing no carbon from the atmosphere. They have been most viable as <em>CO</em></span><em><span style="font-family: "Cambria Math",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">₂</span></em><em><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">-</span></em><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Enhanced Oil Recovery, i.e. injecting CO</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria Math",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">₂</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> into partially depleted oilfields to
force out more oil, thus undermining the climate objective. Relative to CCS, biological methods are a <a href="https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000124"><span style="color: #38761d;">more
effective</span></a> means to sequester carbon but are commercially less attractive, offering
no pretext for perpetuating fossil fuels. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The Labour Party
mission also promises ambitious targets for ‘green hydrogen’, i.e.
electrolysing water into its hydrogen and oxygen components. As an energy medium, this lacks credibility
for at least two reasons: The conversion would be much more expensive and energy-intensive
than directly using the renewable electricity necessary to produce it. And the available renewable electricity will have
competing priorities within an overall electrification of energy usage. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="dcr-n6w1lc">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">All those
technologies remain <span class="A0"><span style="line-height: 106%;">unproven
at scale. They provide a deceptive basis
to reconcile fossil fuels with decarbonisation and thus to justify delay in real
climate action. Nevertheless such
technofixes have been promoted by a</span></span> long-time <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10455752.2022.2062675"><span style="color: #38761d;">cross-class alliance</span></a>
between the ‘Energy Unions’ and <span class="A0"><span style="line-height: 106%;">the
fossil fuel industry. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span class="A0"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicSwFxziS9XT9Coz3_fPoti0Ea1jBjEuowPoYCODDn1gDYjOc0rYnHl4z288LWMChceFFH-36RGhPP_9samohCxWVMQ93uWNMxQNtqkVs7MTAJzIhkY3bPWWO8og-IR9TeA_Z-KRMqlxHbtbmgzuxMfNzeV0g_kUY8i7FDo_besL0petnt5rVOvl3Y8LA/s865/Green%20Labour3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="865" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicSwFxziS9XT9Coz3_fPoti0Ea1jBjEuowPoYCODDn1gDYjOc0rYnHl4z288LWMChceFFH-36RGhPP_9samohCxWVMQ93uWNMxQNtqkVs7MTAJzIhkY3bPWWO8og-IR9TeA_Z-KRMqlxHbtbmgzuxMfNzeV0g_kUY8i7FDo_besL0petnt5rVOvl3Y8LA/w400-h253/Green%20Labour3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.h2-view.com/story/trade-unions-bosses-back-uk-hydrogen-jobs-boom"><span style="color: #38761d;">Credit</span></a>:
‘Trade unions bosses back UK hydrogen jobs boom’, 2020, <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">The Hydrogen Strategy Now campaign flies the Union Jack,
patriotically allying the ‘Energy Unions’ with energy bosses <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="A0"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="line-height: 106%; mso-ansi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Many
workers in the industry remain unconvinced that such fixes can address their
employment needs, according to a 2023 </span></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://foe.scot/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Our-Power-Report.pdf"><span style="color: #38761d;">report</span></a><span class="A0"><span style="line-height: 106%;"> by Platform and FoE Scotland.
This scepticism indicates the potential for political alliances to organize
around truly low-carbon alternative futures. </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Reinforcing energy
bosses’ leadership</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The Labour
Party mission invokes an imperative for the UK to compete more effectively in a
global race towards decarbonisation. Keir
Starmer has warned that some nation…”is going to lead the world”, that
“competition is fierce”, that it’s “a race we have to win”. Trade union leaders have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/16/uk-lagging-behind-in-global-race-to-decarbonise-says-tuc-leader"><span style="color: #38761d;">reinforced</span></a>
this narrative in fossil fuel sectors. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">As the Greener
Jobs Alliance has <a href="https://greenerjobsalliance.co.uk/raw-power-considering-the-pros-and-cons-of-labours-clean-energy-plans/"><span style="color: #38761d;">cautioned</span></a>
us, this nationalistic narrative sets up an </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">‘us vs them’ rivalry with other countries. It </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">obscures
the need for international cooperation to share, improve and supply renewable
energy, especially to replace fossil fuels.
Likewise the narrative pre-empts workers’ solidarity across countries.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The
nationalistic narrative is worse than simply a mistake. Fossil energy companies and trade union
leaders have been jointly promoting dubious decarbonisation technologies, subordinating
workers to their bosses. The Labour
Party reinforces this cross-class political alliance. The Party’s mission
undertakes to stimulate private investment, perhaps through public-private
partnerships, thus extending the neoliberal model. In parallel the Starmer regime has silenced
or eliminated Left-wing voices in the Labour Party, thus demonstrating its
loyalty to capitalist interests. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">As a
superficial reassurance, the Labour Party mission undertakes to facilitate ‘a
green just transition’. It aims to
‘Ensure a just transition that addresses regional imbalances and ensures that
no workers or communities are left behind’.
It claims to draw on the “vast experience from across the labour movement
and beyond”. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Yet the Labour
Party mission pre-empts<span style="color: #272727;"> means for the labour
movement to shape its own future. Such
alternatives have been promoted globally by</span> Trade Unions for Energy
Democracy (<a href="https://www.tuedglobal.org/"><span style="color: #38761d;">TUED</span></a>), such as its <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cNoOqfAsmFTYlt-dmVbsbiK0oiWY5kk0WJk2cXA8J0Q/edit"><span style="color: #38761d;">programme</span></a>
for a public-interest, low-carbon energy future. The Labour Party has promised ‘a green just
transition’, yet this accommodates high-carbon capital. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Analogous
inconsistencies have arisen around the Labour Party’s London Mayor Sadiq Khan,
as shown by <a href="https://theecologist.org/2023/jun/12/corporate-pressure-versus-climate-action"><span style="color: #38761d;">Simon
Pirani</span></a>. The Mayor describes himself
as a ‘climate activist’, setting targets to reduce London’s GHG emissions, yet
his actions have accommodated high-carbon business interests. His last election manifesto promised to
establish “a not-for-profit company providing a comprehensive range of energy
services”, which could have displaced fossil fuels; yet this promise became
reduced to a partnership with Octopus Energy. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">He has abandoned the congestion
charge for evening travel. He has accepted high-carbon developments such
as the Silvertown Tunnel. Moreover, his
surveillance agents have spied on environmental activists and excluded them
from public consultation events, thus demonstrating his true role as a climate anti-activist.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Tory
politicians and Right-wing newspapers have derided the Labour Party policy as
‘a Just Stop Oil plan’, again making it look greener than the reality. As shown here, its ‘clean energy mission’ <span class="A0"><span style="line-height: 106%;">is deceptive in several ways:
it perpetuates fossil sources for the foreseeable future, depends on dubious
techno-fixes, perpetuates obstacles to renewable energy substitution,
greenwashes a high-carbon future, subordinates the labour movement to high-carbon
capital, and so pre-empts a socially just, low-carbon transition. </span></span>Among other policies, these
will generate mass opposition to the next Labour government. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmE6XOkCcNM1assh-ms7OZ2peldkufUPdVWdM1CzuwdLRCqTc0fYyZccA7cJzKDzx9dbtChvn7CsWgVeyf3Ipdp1VFAH1bUNosKhXSVKib99qmbm8Hm_BRnnqwQkRhFwqxpifXro2swAsPyQk0HrX3g-Z2Ax9hpRgL0mj2Ds7TEmfciwwGFLZ3iYYAac/s687/Green%20Labour4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="687" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmE6XOkCcNM1assh-ms7OZ2peldkufUPdVWdM1CzuwdLRCqTc0fYyZccA7cJzKDzx9dbtChvn7CsWgVeyf3Ipdp1VFAH1bUNosKhXSVKib99qmbm8Hm_BRnnqwQkRhFwqxpifXro2swAsPyQk0HrX3g-Z2Ax9hpRgL0mj2Ds7TEmfciwwGFLZ3iYYAac/w400-h225/Green%20Labour4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">'We need a green deal right now', demand climate
protesters as they disrupt </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">a major education speech by Sir Keir Starmer,
Credit: ITV News, 6 July 2023</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">No worries: The
Labour Party leadership has denounced climate protests that might be effective
and has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/24/keir-starmer-backs-stiff-sentences-for-climate-protesters-who-block-roads"><span style="color: #38761d;">endorsed</span></a>
strong criminal penalties. Its next government will retain the Tories’
legislative powers for deterring, repressing and criminalizing protest. No surprise there: Keir Starmer has been
loyally serving the UK security state since long before he became Labour Party
leader. He has been justifiably called ‘<a href="https://libcom.org/article/keir-starmer-marxist-cop-expensive-suit-mark-kosman"><span style="color: #38761d;">a
cop in an expensive suit</span></a>’, thus an elite role model for his Shadow Cabinet
members and London’s Mayor. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Alongside significant
differences between the main political parties, they share a long-term
commitment to perpetuate fossil fuels and to protect them through political
repression. With this realistic account of
the Labour Party, we can better discredit
its ‘clean energy’ plan, prepare protest against its next government, and
create alliances for an alternative future.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Biographical
note</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">: Les Levidow is a member of the Green Left
within the Green Party of England and Wales. This article draws on general
points from his new book, <i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Beyond Climate Fixes: From
Public Controversy to System Change</span></i><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">, </span></b><a href="https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/beyond-climate-fixes"><span style="color: #38761d;">https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/beyond-climate-fixes</span></a></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Some points
from the book are summarized in this short article:<br />
<span class="field">“Technofixes or solidaristic commoning<b>? </b></span>Our
climate strategy must combat the 'technofixes-plus-markets' fraud”, <span class="field"><i>The Ecologist</i>, March 2023,</span><b> <br />
</b><a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheecologist.org%2F2023%2Fmar%2F20%2Ftechno-fixs-or-solidaristic-commoning&data=05%7C01%7Cles.levidow%40open.ac.uk%7C4912524bfae0445061aa08db29240be7%7C0e2ed45596af4100bed3a8e5fd981685%7C0%7C0%7C638149006981388622%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=43c8ex6GhCpl5sWg2iAt05zL4YePWoGco5d32D4snr4%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" title="Original URL: https://theecologist.org/2023/mar/20/techno-fixs-or-solidaristic-commoning. Click or tap if you trust this link."><span style="background: white; border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><span style="color: #38761d;">https://theecologist.org/2023/mar/20/techno-fixs-or-solidaristic-commoning</span></span></a></span></p><p></p></div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-37197241451872486592023-06-23T07:00:00.000-07:002023-06-23T07:00:30.430-07:00Nuclear Fusion: Eternal Energy = Eternal Damnation<p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqDhBY3ROcmaiWPiReev9FHrXmImziTCSlktewkWSCbMMftN67bSm7y7bb0UlOfIDeTBM0xa0Hf7MPCnZ86XkL-8cD5dhM0tU-EIC_SaYyyA7lAlrxZGBaWjR96q90PvBtfiHjU7iMwZ79c7NkJuD4M8N3J2jjOFQqObCCavPx8gF5HbmQGu9wCOdcAis/s716/Fusion.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="716" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqDhBY3ROcmaiWPiReev9FHrXmImziTCSlktewkWSCbMMftN67bSm7y7bb0UlOfIDeTBM0xa0Hf7MPCnZ86XkL-8cD5dhM0tU-EIC_SaYyyA7lAlrxZGBaWjR96q90PvBtfiHjU7iMwZ79c7NkJuD4M8N3J2jjOFQqObCCavPx8gF5HbmQGu9wCOdcAis/w400-h288/Fusion.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="author" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Written by Don Fitz and Stan Cox<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Like a third
rate zombie movie on Netflix, delusions of nuclear fusion repeatedly rise from
the dead. The cover story in the June
2023 issue of <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-future-of-fusion-energy/"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Scientific
American</span></i></a> by Philip Ball, “Star Power: Does Fusion Have a Future After
All?” recycles the corporate line which was broadcast on December 13,
2022. The US Department of
Energy (DOE) announced that the National Ignition
Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory had
reached a “breakthrough” in developing an alternative to fission.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As Joshua Frank described the <a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/01/27/nuclear-fusion-wont-save-the-climate-but-it-might-blow-up-the-world/"><span style="color: #38761d;">hype</span></a>
over nuclear fusion …<br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“… there’s no toxic mining involved, nor do
thousands of gallons of cold water have to be pumped in to cool overheated
reactors, nor will there be radioactive waste byproducts lasting hundreds of
thousands of years. And not a risk of a nuclear meltdown in sight! Fusion, so
the cheery news went, is safe, effective, and efficient!”<br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After six months of the announcement’s being
debunked, the <i>Scientific American </i>article admitted some of the inherent
faults with fusion, repeated some of the original misstatements, and went on
with detailed descriptions of technical tweaks necessary to make the technology
viable in the second half of the century. Unfortunately, most of those who criticized fusion missed one
of its most serious dangers – that discovering a source of limitless cheap
energy would doom humanity’s future rather than enhance it.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Terror</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In order to interpret the spin of the
military-industrial-pseudo-scientific (MIPS) complex, we need to appreciate the
primary obstacle to expanding nuclear power.
MIPS must overcome the intense terror of nukes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The terror began with images of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in August 1945. Photos of burnt
bodies are burned into the minds of their viewers. MIPS seeks to discount the images with the myth
that Japan had to be nuked, even though it was ready to surrender. The mythology continued with the “Atoms for
Peace” false pretense that there could be a disconnect between nuclear power
and nuclear bombs. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A few decades went by and on March 28, 1979
Three-Mile Island melted down. A good
part of its infamy stemmed from repeated government lies that the event was not
so serious and would have few long-lasting effects. Americans would never be convinced that nukes
would only be dangerous if the Soviets or Japanese built them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Then there was Chernobyl on April 26,
1986. In 2009 the New York Academy of
Science published a detailed analysis estimating the total death count to be
around 900,000 and the MIPS spewed forth venomous claims that it was not
actually so bad, but was merely the worst human-caused catastrophe in history.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This was followed on March 11, 2011 with the <span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://janataweekly.org/amidst-dismal-performance-of-n-power-fears-of-indian-fukushima-keep-haunting/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Fukushima
Daiichi</span></a> </span>apocalypse when 3 of 6 nuclear reactors melted down, spreading
radioactivity into the neighboring Pacific Ocean and poisoning unknown
quantities of aquatic life. So, each
generation from World War II through today, has memories of horrendous nuclear
events which MIPS has been totally unsuccessful at erasing. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But credit should be given where it is due, and
there is an area where MIPS has done quite well in its plugola efforts. Those efforts have been to keep everyday
leakage of nuclear material and “smaller” catastrophes either out of or reduced
to short paragraphs in the corporate press.
Few know that “100 <a href="https://janataweekly.org/amidst-dismal-performance-of-n-power-fears-of-indian-fukushima-keep-haunting/"><span style="color: #38761d;">significant
accidents</span></a> happened in world’s nuclear power plants from mid-1950s to
2010.” The world’s press has given scant
attention to how people were used as guinea pigs in testing sites such as the
Marshall Islands. Souma Dutta notes such
<a href="https://janataweekly.org/amidst-dismal-performance-of-n-power-fears-of-indian-fukushima-keep-haunting/"><span style="color: #38761d;">events</span></a>:<br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“… in the Soviet nuclear test sites of
Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan, Novaya Zemlya and others, the French nuclear test
sites of Reggane & Akker in Algeria and the Mururoa Atoll in the Pacific,
the British test sites in the Australian territories of Monte Bello, Maralinga,
Emu Field, and the Chinese test site of Lop Nur."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Denial Non-Stop</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The <i>Scientific American</i> article lets us
know which dangers of nuclear fusion that MIPS continues to deny six months
after the NIF “breakthrough.” Despite a
good amount of evidence to contrary the article claims that nuclear fusion
would (a) produce “near zero carbon emissions” but (b) “without creating the
dangerous radioactive waste.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Though significant carbon emissions may not be
produced during the immediate process of creating energy either through fission
or fusion, considerable emissions are associated with producing and transporting
the very large amount of equipment used in the life cycle of nukes. Additionally, Stan carefully documents that,
despite the myth that increases in solar, wind and nuclear power results in a
decrease of <a href="https://countercurrents.org/2023/05/the-old-future-is-gone-and-technology-wont-bring-it-back/"><span style="color: #38761d;">fossil
fuel use</span></a>, “History and research tell us that a buildup of new energy
capacity won’t flush oil and fossil gas out of the system.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">That is hardly likely to change because solar
power is nowhere close to “<a href="https://countercurrents.org/2023/05/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-and-the-energy-transition-hoax-i-solar-energy/"><span style="color: #38761d;">reproducing
itself</span></a>.” According to T. Vijayendra
…<br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“… the first ton of coal was extracted using
human and animal muscle power. But soon, machines driven by coal energy were
producing the capital equipment necessary to extract coal. This is not the case
with solar energy. All the necessary equipment, including solar collectors, are
produced through processes based on sources of energy other than the sun (coal,
oil, uranium etc.).” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Please remember that the goal of corporations
is profit. That requires expanding
production by increasing the amount of energy used to the maximum. If fusion were added to the energy mix, there
would continue be little to no decrease in fossil fuel use. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Equally fallacious is the claim that nuclear
fusion would not result in deadly waste.
Essential for the fusion process is <a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/01/27/nuclear-fusion-wont-save-the-climate-but-it-might-blow-up-the-world/"><span style="color: #38761d;">tritium</span></a>,
a radioactive form of hydrogen. Its
isotopes can permeate metals and pass through the tiniest spaces in enclosures. Since tritium can enter virtually any part of
the human body, it can lead to a variety of <a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/01/27/nuclear-fusion-wont-save-the-climate-but-it-might-blow-up-the-world/"><span style="color: #38761d;">cancers</span></a>. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Nuclear fusion would be even more inefficient
at water use than would fission reactors. Though not exactly a “waste product,” this wastage
would seriously <a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/12/16/fusion-really/"><span style="color: #38761d;">drain
water supplies</span></a> at a time when they are increasingly being exhausted.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Dirty Little Secrets Creep into the Open</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Philip Ball’s article slyly <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-future-of-fusion-energy/"><span style="color: #38761d;">admits</span></a>
the accuracy of several of the most frequent criticisms of the December 2022
“breakthrough” announcement. They appear
as a hint to the MIPS complex that, in order to manufacture consent on the
grandeur of nuclear fusion, its acolytes should modify some of their more
outlandish claims if they are to be taken seriously. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">First, nuclear fusion is far, far too expensive
to provide energy “too cheap to meter” during upcoming decades. Not only is tritium (costing <a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/01/27/nuclear-fusion-wont-save-the-climate-but-it-might-blow-up-the-world/"><span style="color: #38761d;">$30,000
per gram</span></a>) necessary to start the initial reaction, reactors must be lined
with expensive lithium. Equipment to
make the tiny event happen is enormous, requiring space equal to <a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/01/27/nuclear-fusion-wont-save-the-climate-but-it-might-blow-up-the-world/"><span style="color: #38761d;">three
football field</span>s</a>. The complexity of
the system requires twice as many <a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/12/16/fusion-really/"><span style="color: #38761d;">employees</span></a> –
1000 for fusion vs. 500 for a fission reactor.
This helps explain why original cost projections of $6.3 billion
mushroomed to DOE’s current estimate of <a href="https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2023/04/10/16-million-a-second-and-no-electricity/"><span style="color: #38761d;">$65
billion</span></a>. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Second, closely linked to cost is the contrast
between the minuscule amount of electricity squeezed out with the use of 192
lasers in December 2022 and the gargantuan amount that would be needed to feed
the grid. According to Brian Tokar, the Livermore blast lasted for one
ten-billionth of a <a href="https://www.resilience.org/stories/2023-01-03/nuclear-fusion-dont-believe-the-hype/"><span style="color: #38761d;">second</span></a>. Nowhere close to powering a major city for a
year, or a month or even an hour.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Third, the cost for such a frivolous amount of
energy means that no one seriously suggests that fusion reactors will power
homes in the foreseeable future. Many
proponents now openly admit that claiming that the technology will be used to
improve people’s lives is a hoax. Ball quotes
an industry spokesperson <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-future-of-fusion-energy/"><span style="color: #38761d;">bluntly
stating</span></a> that “There is not today a single project underway to build a
fusion power plant that will produce energy.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Fourth, the real reason for the race to fusion
is actually to allow the stockpiling of nuclear weapons that are even more dreadful
than present ones. Currently, a major
difficulty in manufacturing nuclear bombs is “the need for highly enriched <a href="https://science.thewire.in/the-sciences/clean-energy-weapons-breakthrough-nuclear-fusion-explained/"><span style="color: #38761d;">uranium
or plutonium</span></a>” to initiate the reaction.
Research with nuclear fusion could provide an alternative path to
accomplish the ignition. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Dr. M.V Ramana explains the search for
“neutrons with the very short pulse widths characteristic of low-yield nuclear
intercepts that can be used to establish <a href="https://science.thewire.in/the-sciences/clean-energy-weapons-breakthrough-nuclear-fusion-explained/"><span style="color: #38761d;">lethal
criteria</span></a> for chemical/biological agents and nuclear warhead targets.” Thus, if experimentation with nuclear fusion
were to be successful, it could further shorten the Doomsday Clock, increasing
the probability of human annihilation.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">To Dream the Impossible Dream</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Critiquing fusion on the basis that “It won’t
work” has the subtle but ominous implication that, it might be okay if it did
work. This logic comes perilously close
to <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-future-of-fusion-energy/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Ball’s
view</span></a> that “The world is increasingly desperate for an abundant source of
clean energy that can mitigate the climate crisis.” The view that we must replace “bad” energy
with “good” energy is omnipresent.
Placing limits on energy growth does not even fit into the corporate
equation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Let’s strip away the “bads” from nuclear fusion
for a moment and ask “What would it be like to have alternative energy that was
not excessively costly, did not damage the health of humans or other species,
had zero carbon emissions throughout its production life cycle, could produce
as much energy as we would ever want, and was not a con game for nuclear war?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Such a quest for limitless energy is a journey
into oblivion. To dream the impossible
energy dream is to hallucinate the most hideous nightmare. Richard Heinberg warns of the dangers of
ignoring limits, noting that if nuke fusion were to remove limits on energy
production, corporations would expand production to endlessly deplete soil and <a href="https://countercurrents.org/2023/01/why-understanding-limits-is-the-key-to-humanitys-future/?swcfpc=1"><span style="color: #38761d;">destroy
species habitat</span></a>. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Searching for infinite energy other than fossil
fuels would present dangers as ominous as nuclear war. Christopher Ketcham summarizes:<br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“mainstream environmentalists have siloed climate
change as a phenomenon apart from the broad human ecological footprint,
separate from deforestation, overgrazing of livestock, megafauna kill-off,
collapsing fisheries, desertification, depleted freshwater, soil degradation,
oceanic garbage gyres, toxification of rainfall with microplastics, and on and
on — the myriad biospheric effects of <a href="https://theintercept.com/2022/12/03/climate-biodiversity-green-energy/"><span style="color: #38761d;">breakneck
growth</span></a>.” <br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The attitude that “nothing is as threatening as
climate change” has lured many into the abyss of ignoring (or minimizing) the
humongous dangers of “alternative” energy (AltE). Stan explains how <a href="https://countercurrents.org/2023/05/the-old-future-is-gone-and-technology-wont-bring-it-back/"><span style="color: #38761d;">AltE
contributes</span></a> to ongoing threats, writing that the total quantity of
“human-made mass” – which is everything made by people – has now exceeded the
“the total weight of all living plant, animal, and microbial biomass on Earth.” This material mass is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-3010-5"><span style="color: #38761d;">doubling</span></a> every 20
years, it contributing to the “breakdown of of entire ecosystems” as well as
climate change. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Just a few examples. Each wind turbine requires more than 60
pounds of metal – and their numbers are growing exponentially. <a href="https://countercurrents.org/2023/05/the-old-future-is-gone-and-technology-wont-bring-it-back/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Electric
vehicles</span></a> swallow “hundreds of millions of tons of lithium-ion batteries for
power storage.” If the world economy is
to continue growing, while it converts to run fully on electricity from AltE
sources later this century, the quantity of metals that will have to be
extracted and processed during the next 15 years will <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/15/4508"><span style="color: #38761d;">exceed</span></a> the amount produced
for the last 5,000 years. This will
ignite an explosion in the number of mines and devastate entire
ecosystems. It is an open question of
whether uncontrolled economic growth, climate change or nuclear war will
trigger the demise of human civilization.
The quest for eternal energy is the basis of eternal growth which becomes
the alter of eternal damnation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The good news is that it does not have to be
like this. We now have the knowledge and
ability to provide good lives for people throughout the world if we have the
sense to distinguish what humanity needs vs. what corporations are greedy for.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Do we really need to build rocket ships to
Mars? Is the quality of our lives
improved by having products that fall apart sooner and sooner? Must there be a car for every adult on Earth
instead of having communities where people get 80% of what they use by walking
or cycling? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Are Americans really safer by having over 700
military bases and the ability to exterminate every human many times over. Don’s book on <a href="https://monthlyreview.org/product/cuban-health-care/"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Cuban Health
Care</span></i></a> documents how that country’s medical system produces less infant
mortality and a longer life expectancy than the US while spending less than 10%
of what the US spends per person annually.
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 17.3pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Contrary to widespread propaganda, humanity
does not desperately need more energy.
We desperately need to live better with less energy.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p><div style="border: none black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: normal; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm; tab-stops: 14.4pt; text-indent: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Don Fitz (fitzdon@aol.com) is on the
Editorial Board of <a href="http://www.greensocialthought.org/"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Green Social
Thought</span></i></a><i>, </i>where a version of this article <a href="http://www.greensocialthought.org/content/nuclear-fusion-eternal-energy-eternal-damnation"><span style="color: #38761d;">originally
appeared</span>.</a> He was the 2016 candidate
of the Missouri Green Party for Governor.
His book, <a href="https://monthlyreview.org/product/cuban-health-care/"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Cuban
Health Care: The Ongoing Revolution</span></i></a>, has been available since June
2020. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: normal; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm; tab-stops: 14.4pt; text-indent: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Stan Cox (@CoxStan) is the author of <a href="https://citylights.com/city-lights-published/path-to-a-livable-future/"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">The Path to a Livable Future</span></i></a> and <a href="https://citylights.com/open-media-series/green-new-deal-beyond/"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">The Green New Deal & Beyond</span></i></a>,
both published by City Lights Books. He is starting the second year of writing
the ‘<span style="color: #38761d;">I<a href="https://citylights.com/tag/stan-cox/"><span style="color: #38761d;">n Real Time</span></a></span>’ series
for City Lights.</span></p></div>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-12502718195016948992023-03-12T15:46:00.000-07:002023-03-13T11:16:08.097-07:00Ecosocialist Alliance - Gearing Up For ‘THE BIG ONE’!<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihuG0VEIPuwlvz2tUIgszqpDhh9P6jXiGz4DeYDd4rgPmIFOizAmP5zDvi_rGj0yG8WhkNUdgsTHwOm0l-aOIOIxUFtBP5A9NzdvtTaRe1RJpk3xQ4V6Uf3mkIWrZSfriQ0E3z5n7lHXcffocyStJbG54dI_gypM2giggnqzwjDTRwcI7aN4_09oXI/s1280/Ecosocialist%20Alliance%20Banner.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="1280" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihuG0VEIPuwlvz2tUIgszqpDhh9P6jXiGz4DeYDd4rgPmIFOizAmP5zDvi_rGj0yG8WhkNUdgsTHwOm0l-aOIOIxUFtBP5A9NzdvtTaRe1RJpk3xQ4V6Uf3mkIWrZSfriQ0E3z5n7lHXcffocyStJbG54dI_gypM2giggnqzwjDTRwcI7aN4_09oXI/w400-h155/Ecosocialist%20Alliance%20Banner.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="xx193iq5w"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background: white; border: 1pt none windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; padding: 0cm;">Ecosocialist Alliance has released a statement, reproduced below. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="xx193iq5w"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background: white; border: 1pt none windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; padding: 0cm;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="xx193iq5w"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background: white; border: 1pt none windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; padding: 0cm;">The <b>Ecosocialist Alliance</b>
is a campaigning group which promotes ecosocialist and ecofeminist solutions to
our ecological and social ills. We are internationalist and stand </span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background: white; border: 1pt none windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; padding: 0cm;">firmly with the global south
in seeking ecological and social justice. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background: white; border: 1pt none windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; padding: 0cm;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background: white; border: 1pt none windowtext; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; padding: 0cm;">We reject ‘green'
capitalist ‘solutions' which - because of capitalism's constant drive for infinite
growth and accumulation - are incompatible with creating an ecologically sustainable
planet and a socially-just world. Thus, we support climate movements and
actions which help move us to an ecosocialist future.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">The <b>Ecosocialist Alliance
in England and Wales</b> supports <b>Extinction Rebellion</b>’s call for a mass
protest in London beginning 21<sup>st</sup> April.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #4F6228; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent3; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 128;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://extinctionrebellion.uk/the-big-one/"><span style="color: #38761d; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #4F6228; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=50000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent3; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 128;">https://extinctionrebellion.uk/the-big-one/</span></a> </span><span style="color: #4f6228;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Currently, the award-winning
film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘Finite: The Climate of Change’</i>
is touring the country.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">After each showing of the
film, there will be a Q & A panel discussion - with representatives from
local XR groups, as well as the film’s director. This has become part of a
nationwide tour to build numbers for XR’s April protest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">In addition, local XR groups
are carrying out various outreach events - on the streets and in meetings - in
order to sign-up people for going down to London.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">As a result, <b>Extinction
Rebellion</b> are planning for at least 100,000 people to arrive outside
Parliament on Friday 21 April - and/or on the following three days - in what’s
being called a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“multi-day show of
strength of citizens which will be impossible to ignore.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">This protest has one central demand: for
the government to end all new fossil fuel licences and funding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition, </span><span class="thecontent"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">XR is also calling </span></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">for
those who deliberately hid and/or undermined climate science - simply to
continuing making profits - to be made to pay reparations.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: left;"><span class="thecontent"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Taken with XR’s recent actions in
reaching out to the trade union movement and joining picket lines, and the
formation of the <b>Just Stop Oil Coalition</b>, the signs are there that the
UK’s climate movement is moving in a more radical direction as regards ‘System
Change.’</span></span><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: left;"><span class="thecontent"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is something ecosocialists
should welcome, support and help develop.</span></b></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">With XR having temporarily paused
disruptive protests, the April climate event will be one where there is no risk
of arrest, which - given that climate protesters have recently experienced
unfair trials and draconian punishments - should encourage a big turnout for
that weekend.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As XR says: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Everyone is needed. Groups and movements must unite to survive, to
transform together, address inequality and restore the living world.”</i></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<div style="border-bottom: double windowtext 2.25pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: 115%; padding: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">So…now’s
the time to #ChooseYourFuture: Will you be there?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: 115%; padding: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Ecosocialist Alliance is organised by Green Left, Left Unity and Anti-Capitalist Resistance, in England and Wales. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: 115%; padding: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="font-size: medium;">Contact Ecosocialist Alliance: <a href="mailto:eco-socialist-action@protonmail.com"><span style="color: #38761d;">eco-socialist-action@protonmail.com</span></a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; line-height: 115%; padding: 0cm; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUBlrE8fMzVG7WIVqNH3xt5ays59fH1kiNWhDkSoV614Dsrfmfwhi0s2DMzDNctLPTMmAG46Q56KqrRHMxwYmoUvIHYJqJTZCwzxa2okOG1re3-XtcFBE5Dm51vAr6NLOwSUFDsd3Fwymwf03M3on5hlz1_KPoiBcWRXnV-AQ_bOQHjQ5JKTkq-Nk/s416/Ecosocialist%20Alliance%203%20party%20logo%202.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="416" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUBlrE8fMzVG7WIVqNH3xt5ays59fH1kiNWhDkSoV614Dsrfmfwhi0s2DMzDNctLPTMmAG46Q56KqrRHMxwYmoUvIHYJqJTZCwzxa2okOG1re3-XtcFBE5Dm51vAr6NLOwSUFDsd3Fwymwf03M3on5hlz1_KPoiBcWRXnV-AQ_bOQHjQ5JKTkq-Nk/w400-h193/Ecosocialist%20Alliance%203%20party%20logo%202.png" width="400" /></a></div><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p>
</div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-87834612099524893882023-02-18T06:22:00.001-08:002023-02-19T16:12:04.934-08:00Is it time for the Labour Left to Support the Greens?<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANLL_M_WSU7vhgJgtBvvCHdmgLYAU0J9Zb18Q51sas4ZN88PoS7FJkRTydftmpaZEjbsADLKQqTq5fHsYEreJbR-6NZoZqZhXVqisJtQPa6I7DOca-r6TeAjq6mREJd3IIHX5OM6X0vf9QEUk-ZQyLLs1Qqx1H2-ygnW6eXdzRDqtBfqH80UWDx8I/s2400/Starmer.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="2400" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANLL_M_WSU7vhgJgtBvvCHdmgLYAU0J9Zb18Q51sas4ZN88PoS7FJkRTydftmpaZEjbsADLKQqTq5fHsYEreJbR-6NZoZqZhXVqisJtQPa6I7DOca-r6TeAjq6mREJd3IIHX5OM6X0vf9QEUk-ZQyLLs1Qqx1H2-ygnW6eXdzRDqtBfqH80UWDx8I/w400-h266/Starmer.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Written by James
Dickins<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The Labour
Party has returned to the politics of blaming the victims and rewarding the bankers
and super-rich who have got Britain into its current catastrophe. In his speech
on Wednesday this week, Keir Starmer, the <a href="https://labour.org.uk/press/keir-starmer-responds-to-ehrc-announcement/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Labour
party leader’s message to the Labour left was</span></a>, “If you don’t like the
changes we’ve made,” “the door is open, and you can leave.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Maybe for these
honourable people, it’s time to embrace a new kind of politics which
prioritises ordinary people and common decency instead. Despite maybe it being
imperfect, should left Labour voters send a message to Labour, and back the Greens
at the next General Election?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Rachel
Reeves, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor – 'dog whistle’ politics<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">In 2013, Reeves
said that Labour would be “tougher than the Tories” in slashing benefit payments.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">In 2020, Reeves
led a campaign to erect a statue of notorious Nazi sympathiser, Lady Astor, who
once described Hitler as a potential “solution” to the “world problems” of Jews
and communism, and said “there must be something of the Jews themselves which
had brought them persecution throughout all the ages. Was it not therefore, in
the final analysis, their responsibility?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">In 2022, Reeves
falsely claimed that “the Government are not deporting people today even when
their [asylum] claims have failed.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The Green
guarantee: <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We will never
engage in ‘dog whistle’ politics – which targets the vulnerable and minorities in
search of cheap votes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Rachel is a
banker<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Between 2006
and 2010, Reeves worked for Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), which was
centrally involved in the 2008 financial crash. In 2017, two former senior HBOS
officials were sentenced to 11 and 4 years respectively in prison for fraud in
the period leading up to the financial crisis. Reeves is currently Labour’s
Shadow Chancellor. The bankers got Britain into its financial crisis. Now
Labour is now proposing to use them to get us out of it!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The Green
guarantee: <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We will never
allow special interest groups to make national policy – particularly when these
groups have themselves caused our problems in the first place.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">And Starmer
is a liar<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">In 2019, Keir
Starmer made 10 pledges to Labour members to get himself elected Party leader –
all of which he has now broken. The Green Party supports all the policies
abandoned by Starmer in an attempt to appease powerful interests. We will work
tirelessly to carry them through.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://keirstarmer.com/plans/10-pledges/"><span style="color: #38761d;">What Starmer Promised</span> </a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 1</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - Economic Justice: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">“Increase
income tax for the top 5% of earners, reverse the Tories’ cuts in corporation
tax and clamp down on tax avoidance, particularly of large corporations.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 2</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - Social Justice:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">“… Stand up for
universal services and defend our NHS. Support the abolition of tuition fees
...”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 3</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - Climate Justice:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">“Put the Green
New Deal at the heart of everything we do …”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 4</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - Promote peace and human rights<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">No more illegal
wars. Introduce a Prevention of Military Intervention Act and put human rights
at the heart of foreign policy. Review all UK arms sales and make us a force
for international peace and justice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 5</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - Common ownership<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Public services
should be in public hands, not making profits for shareholders. Support common
ownership of rail, mail, energy and water; end outsourcing in our NHS, local
government and justice system.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 6</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - Defend migrants’ rights<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">“Full voting
rights for EU nationals. Defend free movement as we leave the EU. An
immigration system based on compassion and dignity. End indefinite detention
and call for the closure of centres such as Yarl’s Wood.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 7</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - Strengthen workers’ rights and trade
unions<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Work shoulder
to shoulder with trade unions to stand up for working people, tackle insecure
work and low pay. Repeal the Trade Union Act. Oppose Tory attacks on the right
to take industrial action and the weakening of workplace rights.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 8</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - Radical devolution of power, wealth
and opportunity<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Push power,
wealth and opportunity away from Whitehall. A federal system to devolve powers
– including through regional investment banks and control over regional
industrial strategy. Abolish the House of Lords – replace it with an elected
chamber of regions and nations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 9 -
Equality<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pull down
obstacles that limit opportunities and talent. We are the party of the Equal
Pay Act, Sure Start, BAME representation and the abolition of Section 28 – we
must build on that for a new decade.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 10</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - Effective opposition to the Tories <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Forensic,
effective opposition to the Tories in Parliament – linked up to our mass
membership and a professional election operation. Never lose sight of the votes
‘lent’ to the Tories in 2019. Unite our party, promote pluralism and improve
our culture. Robust action to eradicate the scourge of antisemitism. Maintain
our collective links with the unions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">What Starmer
Did<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 1</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - Starmer has abandoned all of these
policies. He also took £50,000 (only declared after he was elected) to fund his
Labour leadership bid from wealthy businessman Trevor Chinn, who has defended
low income-tax rates and the loopholes <a href="https://citywire.com/new-model-adviser/news/call-not-to-hammer-the-super-rich-with-taxes/a315788"><span style="color: #38761d;">used
by the wealthy to avoid paying tax</span></a>. Chinn is also a major donor to Rachel
Reeves.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 2</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - Labour has now abandoned universal
services, in favour a contributions-based system – <a href="https://citywire.com/new-model-adviser/news/call-not-to-hammer-the-super-rich-with-taxes/a315788"><span style="color: #38761d;">meaning
the poorest and most vulnerable will get less under Labour</span></a>. Labour’s Health
Minister Wes Streeting has said Labour will further privatise NHS services. <a href="https://skwawkbox.org/2022/06/14/shadow-health-sec-streeting-takes-large-sum-from-tory-donor-with-huge-private-health-interests/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Streeting
has taken £15,000 from John Armitage (who has also donated over £3 million to
the Tories) who has huge investments in private health-care firms</span></a>. Armitage
will no doubt be expecting a ‘return’ from his ‘investment’ in Starmer’s Labour
Party. Labour no longer supports the abolition of tuition fees.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 3</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - Starmer has abandoned the Green New
Deal, now saying that Labour will only match the Tories’ commitment to go
‘carbon-neutral’ by 2050. By then, it will be too late to avoid catastrophic
climate change.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 4</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> – This remains to be seen, if Labour
wins the next General Election, but Blair’s Labour said the same thing, and
look where that led. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 5</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - Starmer has abandoned the public
ownership of mail, energy and water. Labour now supports further outsourcing
(privatisation) of the NHS. When Reeves was asked in 2021 if she supports
renationalising the railways, <a href="https://voxpoliticalonline.com/2021/11/21/labour-pains-someone-tell-rachel-reeves-that-her-party-was-always-pro-business/"><span style="color: #38761d;">she
just laughed</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 6</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - Instead of ‘compassion and dignity’,
we get Rachel Reeves’ dogwhistle lie, “the <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/10-broken-pledges"><span style="color: #38761d;">Government are not
deporting people today</span></a>.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 7</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - <a href="https://labourlist.org/2022/06/labour-accused-of-new-low-as-lammy-says-he-does-not-support-ba-strikers/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Starmer’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Labour Party has time and again refused to
back striking workers</span></a>, even those on the lowest wages. Asked whether he
supported the strike by British Airways check-in over management’s refusal to
reverse a 10% pay cut, Shadow Cabinet member, David Lammy said: “No, I don’t.
It’s a no. It’s a categorical no.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Lammy was paid
£140,000 over three years as a Labour MP, for after-dinner speeches he gave to
international banks, and other corporations, like Citicorps, Deloitte and
Novartits – firms that will certainly be wanting to see a ‘return’ on their
investment should Labour ever get into power. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 8</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - Starmer’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Labour has no intention of redistributing
wealth from the rich to ordinary people; it is too tucked up in bed with the
banks and powerful commercial interests. Under New Labour, the rich actually
got richer and the poor poorer, as the meticulous research of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prof. Danny Dorling (University of Oxford)
has shown.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 9</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - While<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Labour may be “the party of the Equal Pay Act, Sure Start, BAME
representation and the abolition of Section 28”, they are also the party, which
under Blair and Brown made Britain more unequal by 2010 than it had been when
Blair was first elected in 1997.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Under Keir
Starmer, racism has been allowed to flourish in the Labour Party. “They don’t
value us,” one Black councillor told me. “As a community, we are politically
lost” (Independent, Mar. 1, 2021).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 10</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - Far from offering ‘forensic
opposition’ to the Tories, Starmer’s Labour Party hardly offers any opposition
at all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Former Tory mega-donor,
Gareth Quarry, who recently defected to Labour, giving it £100,000, commented “<a href="https://skwawkbox.org/2022/10/06/video-millionaire-tory-donor-defects-to-labour-under-starmer-its-not-a-dramatic-change/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Under
Starmer, it is not a dramatic change</span></a>.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">What The Greens
Will Do<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 1</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - We will do all this – and more – to
build a genuinely fair Britain, where the rich, who have benefitted massively
from the ‘neoliberal’ Tory and Labour policies of the past 40 years, are made
to pay more to support hardworking ordinary people.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 2</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - The Greens absolutely support
universal services, and oppose the further privatisation of the NHS. We will
abolish student tuition fees.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 3</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - The Greens will implement Labour’s
abandoned Green New Deal – and more – by 2030. Unlike Labour, we believe in
giving our children, our children’s children – and the world, a viable future
in a world not destroyed by climate change.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 4</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - The Greens will continue to be a
force for global peace. This is why, in the Middle East, we oppose Israel’s
apartheid against the Palestinians (through the peaceful civil-rights-based
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movements, we oppose Saudi Arabia and
the UAE’s war on Yemen (through a ban on weapons sales to both these
countries), we oppose the Iranian regime’s suppression of its ethnic and
religious minorities. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We similarly
oppose Russia’s war on Ukraine, China’s oppression of the Uyghurs<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and Tibetans, and Modi’s anti-Muslim
Hinduvista. Unlike Labour and the Tories, Greens know that peace has to be
built through international solidarity, rather than waiting until a war breaks
out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 5</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - The Greens absolutely support
renationalisation of rail, mail, energy and water, and a fully public NHS –
public services for the public good.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 6</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - The Greens recognise that immigrants
– from doctors and nurses, to agricultural workers, IT specialists and
professional carers – have made, and continue to make, a massive contribution
to Britain’s economy and society. We absolutely reject Labour’s anti-immigrant
dog-whistle politics.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 7</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - The Greens support a national ‘social
contract’, under which all workers will get fairly and decently rewarded for
the work they do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 8</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - The Greens are committed to a fairer,
more equal, as well as greener society. Unlike Labour, we do not take funding
from powerful business interests, and we will not bow to these interests at the
expense of ordinary people.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 9</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - The Greens stand for genuine equality
and social justice – unlike the empty rhetoric of Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Pledge 10</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> - The Greens offer real, principled
opposition to the Tory policy of making the rich richer, and the poor poorer –
and to Labour’s feeble, watered-down version of this. Britain deserves better
than Keir Starmer, and his corporate-backed Labour Party.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Keir Starmer
lied to get himself elected as Labour leader. How could we possibly trust him
to do what he said he will, if he was leader of the country?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The Green
guarantee: <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Unlike Labour,
we will stick by our commitments. We will never allow wealthy and powerful
interest groups to dictate national policy – particularly when these groups
have themselves caused our problems in the first place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">James
Dickins is a member of Leeds Green Party and a Green Left supporter.</span></b></p></div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-19645446387307395542023-02-08T07:28:00.001-08:002023-02-08T10:33:02.893-08:00Video - How To Combat The Cumbria Coalmine and Other Retrograde Energy Projects<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKiVGUBgCtvs8Ceiac3VU9kMDl1DZFVVB3x5anbk8TQ3q96cMoklcd-24FlLl_8Ap1421H7RFM4xxZUiGDxgMZM00LQACdn_Y5Bk-L5eGA4qbKzGenzSlHUrxavLFYL4N2wbVyA-qyHzjkruS1bdHaxsem6pcOgxywBcdUQexSnGkaBND6YLeBTyej/s3713/Green%20Left%20Banner%20.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1604" data-original-width="3713" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKiVGUBgCtvs8Ceiac3VU9kMDl1DZFVVB3x5anbk8TQ3q96cMoklcd-24FlLl_8Ap1421H7RFM4xxZUiGDxgMZM00LQACdn_Y5Bk-L5eGA4qbKzGenzSlHUrxavLFYL4N2wbVyA-qyHzjkruS1bdHaxsem6pcOgxywBcdUQexSnGkaBND6YLeBTyej/w400-h173/Green%20Left%20Banner%20.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Hosted by UK
Green Left, the ecosocialist group in the Green Party of England and Wales.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">An interesting Zoom
meeting on actions to combat fossil fuel extraction projects, and debunks the efficacy
of Carbon Capture and Storage.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><b>SPEAKERS</b></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">ELLEN ROBOTTOM</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The carbon
capture-hydrogen-biomass complex: not too big to challenge!</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">TINA ROTHERY</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">'Pulling
Ourselves Together' informing, engaging and activating within our communities.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">ALLAN TODD</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Opposing new
coal: from courts to 'Blockadia’</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="282" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_cj5F5_hnGI" width="343" youtube-src-id="_cj5F5_hnGI"></iframe></div><br /><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><br /></span><p></p></div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-32794729322977787632023-01-26T07:28:00.000-08:002023-01-27T07:00:30.264-08:00Two Barrels Aim at African People's Socialist Party <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ4TGs2EJbEUBljgm-dVFvW4N7FlukYul8KICSAX-M2FX5CYT2JvlgeInNXC4zz6YSqRiR6ZqywdVdOMVz-z9eTJhXDP88ry_QOQCH-j0lxJRH0gsBvOUvaGXk4DYlSZjoa9eT2B9I3Ibjeaqyn410-DpU5obumskFiUKENSDm8cobzRRnwiwdqdXx/s300/APSP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ4TGs2EJbEUBljgm-dVFvW4N7FlukYul8KICSAX-M2FX5CYT2JvlgeInNXC4zz6YSqRiR6ZqywdVdOMVz-z9eTJhXDP88ry_QOQCH-j0lxJRH0gsBvOUvaGXk4DYlSZjoa9eT2B9I3Ibjeaqyn410-DpU5obumskFiUKENSDm8cobzRRnwiwdqdXx/w400-h224/APSP.jpg" width="400" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p class="titlenew" style="mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Written by Don Fitz</span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">With new FBI and Department of “Justice” (DOJ)
attacks expected in early January, a defense, mobilization and information
session attracted hundreds of allies of the African People's Socialist Party
(APSP).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On Friday, December 23 they
zoomed into the “Emergency Mass Meeting: Hands Off Uhuru! Hands Off Africa!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The APSP told its supporters that it expects
indictments in early January 2023 and possibly sooner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Indictments
could include many more than the four names listed as “unindicted
co-conspirators” during raids of July 29, 2022: Chairman Omali Yeshitela, Party
Director of Agitation and Propaganda Akilé Anai, African People’s Solidarity
Committee Chair Penny Hess and Uhuru Solidarity Movement Chair Jesse
Nevel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">At
5 am that morning, <a href="https://popularresistance.org/condemn-the-fbi-raids-in-st-louis-mo-and-st-petersburg-fl/"><span style="color: #38761d;">the
FBI invaded</span></a> multiple St. Louis locations, including the private residence
of Omali Yeshitela and his wife and APSP Deputy Chair Ona Zené Yeshitela and
the Uhuru Solidarity Center, as well as the Uhuru House in St. Petersburg
FL.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">During
the December 23 webinar, Yeshitela vividly recalled that flashbang grenades
were set off and laser points were directed at his chest when he opened the
door of their home, and a drone almost hit Ona when she came down the
stairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both of them were handcuffed and
the entire Black working-class St. Louis neighborhood was under siege for
hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The federal agents seized all of
their devices, such as computers and phones, thereby seriously hampering their
political work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As
reported by <a href="https://towardfreedom.org/story/archives/americas/tools-of-russia-fbi-raid-on-black-political-party-seen-as-part-of-black-scare-red-scare-in-united-states/"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Toward
Freedom</span></i></a>, in St. Petersburg FBI agents lured Akilé Anai “outside her
home, saying her car had been broken into. Upon opening her car, they forced
her to hand over her devices.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
FBI and DOJ claimed that the raids were sparked by Yeshitela’s having conversations
with Aleksandr Ionov, a Russian they accused of spreading “Russian
propaganda.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the webinar
Yeshitela described how insulting and demeaning it was to insinuate that the
APSP is unable to analyze African people’s state of oppression and make
decisions for itself but can only reach conclusions after Russians tell it what
to think.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
is particularly chilling for those who do solidarity work with Latin America,
Africa and Asia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to the
precedent set by the July 29 raids and indictments, anyone who meets with any
representative of another country could face criminal charges under the Foreign
Agent Registration Act, which the APSP expects to be used to justify their bullying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actions against the APSP could lay the
foundation for indicting me for interviewing and writing about Cuban doctors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Legal
abuse could be leveled against everyone else who has visited the island and
explained what the revolution has accomplished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The FBI/DOJ could indict <i>Monthly Review</i> for publishing my book on
<a href="https://monthlyreview.org/product/cuban-health-care/"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Cuban Health
Care</span></i></a> along with every other publisher who releases books on Cuba,
Venezuela, Colombia and other countries that have resisted US imperialism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
noticeable exception would be citizens and lawmakers who meet with and are
influenced by agents of Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have
no reason to fear harassment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course,
it might be quite different for those having the temerity to meet with
Palestinians.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">After
the raids, the <a href="https://blackallianceforpeace.com/bapstatements/bapsolidaritywithapsp"><span style="color: #38761d;">Black
Alliance for Peace</span></a> announced that it would “concentrate its efforts on not
only opposing the U.S. war agenda globally but the war and repression being
waged on Black and Brown communities within U.S. borders.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
major purpose of the December 23 webinar was to build nationwide and
international support for the July 29 victims so people are prepared to respond
when the indictments come down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In light
of this, the Green Party of St. Louis issued a statement which appears
below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Following it are the APSP’s
“Principles of Unity” which it asks organizations to endorse. You can
communicate your support at the website <a href="http://handsoffuhuru.org/"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">HANDSOFFUHURU.ORG</span></b></a>.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKIEIMrThIpWJ_WsdqNajbFMPQdHjODlOL1xz2tQT-0jV9u-LOWKI6VDqwfOpbqgbDGiy35Mc3F7JQ-5UVKSObaPGJz45kJoElthTJIWEcjEdf4g0tzkwR93IoWKeUdOXYk9nkw3-xC4-42yCMimXTSbXsbQnPqpLYuKMGo9PZ0kITrC7sf7SMCIe6/s699/APSP1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="699" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKIEIMrThIpWJ_WsdqNajbFMPQdHjODlOL1xz2tQT-0jV9u-LOWKI6VDqwfOpbqgbDGiy35Mc3F7JQ-5UVKSObaPGJz45kJoElthTJIWEcjEdf4g0tzkwR93IoWKeUdOXYk9nkw3-xC4-42yCMimXTSbXsbQnPqpLYuKMGo9PZ0kITrC7sf7SMCIe6/w400-h293/APSP1.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-indent: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Other Barrel</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What is written above only describes one barrel
of the corporate state’s shotgun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
other barrel consists of efforts to shut down the many projects under the APSP
umbrella.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They simultaneously offer
meaningful life-changing needs for those in poor Black US communities and
provide examples of what a socialist society could look like. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
projects are part of what the APSP calls its “<a href="http://blackpowerblueprint.org/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Black Power Blueprint</span></a>” (BPB) and
what socialist theorists might call “concretization” of its ideas which
“prefigure” a post-capitalist society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
BPB’s efforts may be the most extensive integration of theory and practice
occurring in the US today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Perhaps
the prime example is <i>Uhuru Wa Kulea</i> (<a href="https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/MTUzNDAx"><span style="color: #38761d;">African Women's
Health Center</span></a>) which has a vision “to provide health and self-care programs
that reinforce our traditional African culture, and invest in the future of our
community with doula and childbirth educator certification programs along with
opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Concepts for the Center rely heavily on the
health care system of Cuba, which now has <a href="http://www.greensocialthought.org/content/life-expectancy-us-and-cuba-time-covid"><span style="color: #38761d;">life
expectancy</span></a> greater than the US, due to its focus on women and children. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">APSP-related
efforts also include<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">• The <a href="https://blackpowerblueprint.org/projects/uhuru-house-community-center/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Uhuru
House Community Center</span></a> which transformed a condemned building into a
three-story community event and program space named <a href="https://apedf.org/akwaaba-hall/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Akwaaba Hall</span></a>;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">• A <a href="https://blackpowerblueprint.org/projects/community-basketball-court/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Community
Basketball Court</span></a> to allow for “spirited youth programs” and tournaments; <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">• Murals at the Gary
Brooks <a href="https://blackpowerblueprint.org/projects/mural/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Community
Garden</span></a> that has been in operation for two years and at the recently
completed Community Basketball Court which depict “Black families controlling
our own culture and food economy by planting, growing and harvesting food from
the garden;”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">• Completed renovation
of a 4-plex apartment building devoted to housing for the African Independence <a href="https://blackpowerblueprint.org/projects/workforce-program-housing/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Workforce
Program</span></a> which creates jobs for those re-entering the Black community from
the prison system;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">• The <a href="https://apedf.org/commercial-kitchen/"><span style="color: #38761d;"><i>Uhuru Jiko</i> Kitchen and
Bakery/Café</span></a> which, once the refurbishing of an existing commercial
structure is completed, will bring African economic and cultural life to a
depressed commercial area and will help stop gentrification; <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">• A planned program for
the <a href="https://blackpowerblueprint.org/projects/future-programs/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Black
Power Square</span></a> where condemned buildings have been removed to make way for
retail opportunities by utilizing shipping containers to house community-based
small businesses and create jobs. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
above are in St. Louis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>APSP also runs <a href="http://uhurupies.org/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Uhuru Foods and Pies</span></a> in Oakland CA and St.
Petersburg FL, a community garden/farm in Huntsville AL, <a href="https://uhurufurniture.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">furniture stores</span></a> in Oakland CA
and Philadelphia PA, a <a href="https://blackpower96.org/"><span style="color: #38761d;">radio station</span></a> in
St. Petersburg FL and the <a href="https://www.theburningspear.com/"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Burning Spear</span></span></a> newspaper.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
goal of attacking the APSP leaders is to exterminate every project and every
component of the BPB which Omali Yeshitela speaks of as “building duel and
contending power,” funded to a significant degree through reparations raised by
the Uhuru Solidarity Movement (USM).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
government, of course, has virtually unlimited police and legal resources at
its disposal to drown out dissent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it
can force the APSP to divert its energies and limited budget to its legal
defense, the FBI/DOJ can undermine projects and terrorize solidarity activists
even if it imprisons very few.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
is the message from one barrel of the snarling state: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Don’t
hope for a new life …<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“don’t
imagine a new world…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“and
certainly don’t try to build one … <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">“because
capitalism is all you can look forward to.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
other barrel of the shotgun screams that efforts by US citizens to build
solidarity with victims of global oppression will be met with the most vicious
attacks the corporate state can muster.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -21.6pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Statement by Don Fitz on behalf of the <b>Green
Party of St. Louis</b>, December 23, 2022.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The Green Party of St. Louis fully agrees with
the right of African people to advocate and organize for the unification,
liberation and self-determination of Africa and African People as laid out in
the “Principles of Unity.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The FBI raid of July 29 was not just against
the APSP.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was an attack on all
working for social justice and liberation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> As has happened many times before, governmental
violence was unleashed first against Black/African victims to serve as an
example.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The Biden administration is fully responsible
for opening one of the most repressive eras in US history.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> We would have to go back to the racist
president Woodrow Wilson and his imprisonment of Eugene Debs to find a case of
people being arrested so blatantly for their political beliefs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Even during the US war against Viet Nam, people
were not arrested merely for listening to Vietnamese views or visiting North
Viet Nam.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The current actions of the Biden administration
are a message that no one can question his proxy war against Russia –<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a message that Americans have lost the right
to make their own decisions. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The events of July 29, 2022 are meant to
intimidate any who stand in solidarity with movements and countries who are
struggling for their liberation, such as Cuba.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> They are warning that the same could happen to
supporters of revolutionary Venezuela.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The FBI raids are a threat to those who defend
the right of Nicaragua to chart its own course.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Indictment of Uhuru members aids and abets
those criminals who overthrew the democratically elected government in Peru on
Dec 7, 2022.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Biden’s proxy war against Russia gives lie to
his supposed opposition to climate change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One of the real reasons for Biden’s “Hate Russia!” campaign is to allow
US corporations to corner the market of fossil fuels in Ukraine and force
Europe to buy US natural gas at absurdly high prices.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Under Evo Morales, Bolivia sought to control
its own lithium, a critical element for “alternative” energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he was violently overthrown, the
Trump/Biden supporter Elon Musk (of Tesla fame) proclaimed “We will coup
whoever we want!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The great majority of the world’s cobalt, also
essential for “alternative” energy, lies in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (home to many other essential minerals).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Efforts of the Biden administration to destroy the APSP reveals his plan
for anyone who advocates self-determination for Africa.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Principles of Unity</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We
unite with the right of African people to advocate and organize for the
unification, liberation and self-determination of Africa and African People.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 18.0pt list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We denounce
the FBI and US government's attacks on the African Liberation Movement
historically and currently<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 18.0pt list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We demand
that the US government drop the charges against any member of the African
People's Socialist Party, the Uhuru Movement and those named and implied in the
indictment and warrants<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 18.0pt list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We demand
the return of all confiscated property to the Uhuru Movement and compensation
for damages and payment of reparations for the attacks<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 18.0pt list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We demand an
end to FBI surveillance and infiltration of the Uhuru Movement and release of
all documents on the Uhuru Movement since the 1960s<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 18.0pt list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We denounce
the assault on the anti-colonial activity and programs of the African People's
Socialist Party/Uhuru Movement such as the Black Power Blueprint and other
economic institutions and projects.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p><div style="border: none black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: normal; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm; tab-stops: 14.4pt; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Find out more about the repression!</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At 6 pm CT, January 9, 2023 join the APSP
update on the indictments and defense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Click on </span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: #00FF; mso-bidi-language: #00FF; mso-fareast-language: #00FF;"><a href="https://handsoffuhuru.org/">https://handsoffuhuru.org/</a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> and scroll
to “Hands Off Uhuru! Hands Off Africa!” to register.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At 7:30 pm CT, January 11, 2023 the Missouri
Green Party will have a webinar on “The Long Story of Repression in the
US.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Email <a href="mailto:outreach@missou">outreach@missou</a><a href="mailto:outreach@missourigreenparty.org">rigreenparty.org</a> to get
information and to register.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: normal; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm; tab-stops: 14.4pt; text-indent: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Don Fitz (fitzdon@aol.com) is on the Editorial
Board of <a href="http://www.greensocialthought.org/"><i>Green Social Thought</i></a><i>,
</i>where a version of this article <a href="http://www.greensocialthought.org/content/two-barrels-aim-african-peoples-socialist-party">originally
appeared. </a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was the 2016 candidate
of the Missouri Green Party for Governor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His book, <a href="https://monthlyreview.org/product/cuban-health-care/"><i>Cuban
Health Care: The Ongoing Revolution</i></a>, has been available since June
2020.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p></div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-82154176344151460532022-11-09T07:23:00.000-08:002022-11-09T07:23:10.150-08:00Extract From: Ecosocialism Not Extinction <p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOnGFu2WFN8j2gycS06HZ75nEWFUt9D1NBDq-lEWGmFZc0ehRT64ddPVWfVUqWM0wlx6h9catM047Q3HlFivr_j7zniynnGXzXUkbNwsYs89KkQDEdsv803SwGwXV7sU8ubdbFNIo7LZwYyldmPBXiisfqqouBt4GcVM1rQMbf-gWB1F7iYKac9jVB/s2173/ECOSOCIALISM.NOTEXTINCTION%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2173" data-original-width="1341" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOnGFu2WFN8j2gycS06HZ75nEWFUt9D1NBDq-lEWGmFZc0ehRT64ddPVWfVUqWM0wlx6h9catM047Q3HlFivr_j7zniynnGXzXUkbNwsYs89KkQDEdsv803SwGwXV7sU8ubdbFNIo7LZwYyldmPBXiisfqqouBt4GcVM1rQMbf-gWB1F7iYKac9jVB/w246-h400/ECOSOCIALISM.NOTEXTINCTION%20(1).jpg" width="246" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Written by Allan Todd (2022)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The
central preomise of ecosocialism, already suggested by the term itself, is that
non-ecological socialism is a dead end, and a non-socialist ecology cannot
confront the present ecological crisis.”</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[Michael Löwy, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Ecosocialism: a Radical Alternative to Capitalist Catastrophe</u></i>,
2015, p.xi]</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a clear and concise explanation
of the nature of ecosocialism, the above quotation from Michael Löwy would be
difficult to better.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Essentially, ecosocialists recognise
that, because of the profound crises currently facing humanity and the rest of
the planet’s species, <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">both the
socialist and the</span> ‘green’ projects need to be redefined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These multiple and interlinked crises -
climate, ecological, economic, social and political - mean that, in the
twenty-first century, it is no longer simply a question of either trying to
‘green’ parts of capitalism, or even replacing capitalism with
twentieth-century conceptions of socialism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We need to have an ecologically-sustainable planet, because, quite
simply, there can be no viable life, let alone socialism, on a
dangerously-degraded planet. Given the failures and part-failures of the COP
process, it is now absolutely clear that capitalism cannot deliver that
ecologically-sustainable planet…</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Climate
Crisis<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">For
ecosocialists, it is now abundantly clear that capitalism is creating dangerous
- and possibly fatal - ruptures in the Earth System. Yet, even today, many
activists in social movements and centre-left parties are failing to grasp just
what is likely to be coming round the corner if serious climate action is not
taken in the next few years. To put it
starkly, we are currently living through the greatest crisis in human history:
a crisis consisting of several unprecedented but linked crises. If these crises
are not radically and quickly addressed, the result will almost certainly be
the collapse of human civilisation as we know it. Or, at the most extreme, the extinction of
huge numbers of most of the species on this planet, including humans…</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ecological/Biodiversity
Crisis<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">One
rapidly accelerating, impact of global heating is the loss of species - so much
so, that it is now generally accepted by experts that we are living through the
sixth mass extinction of animal and plant species in Earth’s history, with an
extinction rate 1000 times higher than the normal rate. And this is what is
happening now, when the increase in the average global temperature is around
1.3<sup>o</sup>c. Yet, in 2012, the World Bank had reported that scientists
were almost unanimously predicting that, if no significant policy changes were
undertaken, then the average global temperature would have risen by 4<sup>o</sup>c
by the end of this century - and possibly by as early as 2060.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A
study in 2018 predicted that such a rise in average global temperature would
see up to half of animal and plant species becoming extinct by the end of the
century. While, in 2019, a UN study predicted that some one million species are
facing extinction in the near future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Such a collapse in biodiversity would put human communities at risk, as
a result of loss of food sources, pollution of fresh water systems and the
oceans, and erosion of natural defences against extreme weather events. Yet, so
far, most pledges made at the various COP meetings have yet to be fully
implemented.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of particular concern is
the fact that earlier predictions regarding the timing and intensity of the
impacts of global heating have proved to be too optimistic….</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Origins
of ecosocialism<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">As a
succession of modern ecosocialist writers, including John Bellamy Foster and
Paul Burkett, have convincingly established, there has long been a close
connection between socialism and ecology. This connection goes back to Karl
Marx who, in the second half of the nineteenth century, developed several key
ecological ideas on the relationship between human activity - more precisely, <b><i>capitalist</i>
</b>activity - and nature.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As
early as the 1850s, Marx drew attention to what he called the dangerous
‘metabolic rift’ - or unsustainable ecological dislocation - that capitalism,
because of its built-in drive for continuously-increasing production and
ever-rising profits, inevitably creates between humans and the rest of the
natural world. Essentially, the capitalist mode of production and accumulation
treats nature as capital to be exploited, and ignores the Earth’s planetary
boundaries to growth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the early
1860s, Marx also became interested in the concept of the atmospheric
‘greenhouse effect’, which was just being raised by the Irish physicist, John
Tyndall. Marx made the point that neither human societies in general, nor
private companies in particular, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">own</i> </b>the natural world, and that
therefore they should not degrade it. Instead, Marx argued that each generation
had a duty to pass it down to succeeding generations <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“in an improved condition.”</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Engels,
too, also produced ecological writings, commenting on capitalism’s increasingly
destructive impact on nature, of which we are a part, and on which our survival
as a species ultimately depends. As early as the 1840s, he wrote of the
environmental and industrial pollution associated with capitalist manufacture
and urbanisation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, some of Engels’
work on ecological matters - as with some of Marx’s writings - were not widely
disseminated at the time, indeed some were not published until decades after
they were written. Thus they were largely unknown to those who nonetheless saw
themselves as socialists or Marxists.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Engels,
for instance, in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Dialectics of Nature</i>
(an unfinished work from 1883, not published until 1925), warned about the
possible consequences of our interference with nature, and commented that
humans should not be fooled by apparent ‘victories’ over nature, because of
unforeseen effects: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“For each such
victory nature takes its revenge on us.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>[…], it is possible to see the emergence of Covid-19 as an example of
nature taking its revenge on us…</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Why we
need it</span></u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">The
various COPs - even those of COP21 in Paris in 2015, and COP26 in 2021 in
Glasgow - have mostly been problematic, in that the majority of the pledges
made have rarely been implemented in any meaningful way. This is, in part,
because they are not legally binding. To a large extent this is down to the
relentless lobbying of politicians by those corporations most likely to be
impacted by the pledges made by the countries involved in the COP process…</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Internationalism<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">As well as taking action within
Britain, it is also vital to make international connections and to co-operate
with like-minded organisations across the world. The reach of capitalism is
global and so should be our response. Ecosocialists attempt to develop
practical solutions at all levels: local, regional, national, continental and
global. Ultimately, if we are to mitigate and then end today’s multiple crises
across the globe, we need an international ecosocialist coalition of radicals -
rather like the Zimmerwald Movement which developed in 1915-16 during the
crisis of WW1. The formation of the Global Ecosocialist Network in 2020 - to
raise awareness of ecosocialist arguments - was a really useful step in the right
direction…</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Join us in this vital struggle. Help
us to bring together environmental and social justice campaigns with trade
union struggles and begin to build a movement capable of winning.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As is increasingly clear to many,
with corporations, governments and mainstream parties refusing to put climate
protection before capitalist profits, the choice facing us and most of the
other species on this heating-up planet is, quite simply: ‘either ecosocialism
- or capitalist barbarism and extinction!’ Whilst it is necessary to fight hard
for all the reforms, mitigations and policies we can force from governments,
ultimately we will have to make a decisive break with the logic of capitalism
itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Marx would (probably!) have
said if he were alive today:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“People
of the world unite, rise up, and ACT!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You have a planet to save!” <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 262.25pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The full
booklet is available from: <a href="https://resistancebooks.org/product/ecosocialism-not-extinction"><span style="color: #38761d;">Resistance
Books</span></a></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Allan Todd is a climate and anti-fascist activist, and a member of Left
Unity’s National Council and of Anti-Capitalist Resistance. He is the author of
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Revolutions 1789-1917</u></i> (CUP)
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Trotsky: The Passionate
Revolutionary</u></i> (Pen & Sword). His next book is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Che Guevara: The Romantic Revolutionary</u></i>.</span></p></div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-61457286744599312102022-11-04T16:39:00.007-07:002022-11-09T03:20:14.668-08:00COP27- Still Fiddling While the World Burns - Ecosocialist Alliance Statement<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77eM3GIylTA1wO63n3uRvPXIvfiVjfzUKpPDrVJxKAdFJ3b5K9YtQhvzDs5YKt0kif19r1hFwiYMSnl5LTdOS3MRCPKEkaQbHktSllVgEjKcqqV1p_LIe75I4Nt5fOgCaTLlwlAGKkPXScDf9S0jsVGC-oVTlA_Ks0AVYp7SMILPPh2-nll7JC45z/s1280/Ecosocialist%20Alliance%20Banner.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="1280" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77eM3GIylTA1wO63n3uRvPXIvfiVjfzUKpPDrVJxKAdFJ3b5K9YtQhvzDs5YKt0kif19r1hFwiYMSnl5LTdOS3MRCPKEkaQbHktSllVgEjKcqqV1p_LIe75I4Nt5fOgCaTLlwlAGKkPXScDf9S0jsVGC-oVTlA_Ks0AVYp7SMILPPh2-nll7JC45z/w400-h155/Ecosocialist%20Alliance%20Banner.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Ecosocialist
Alliance has released a statement ahead of the COP27 meeting at the heavily
fortified Sharm El-Sheikh resort, in Egypt. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">In England on 5 November, people celebrate the averting of an attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament, known as the ‘Gunpowder
Plot’ of 1605. It is sometimes named after one of the plotters as ‘Guy Fawkes
Night,’ but also as ‘Bonfire Night.’ From 1606 when the authorities encouraged people
to light bonfires on the anniversary, the night has seen fireworks and bonfires across the country. An effigy of Guy Fawkes is often burnt, but
these days, in some places, current political leaders and others are used as the effigies. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">So, it is appropriate
that this date is chosen on the eve of COP27, for Ecosocialist Alliance to release
this statement. The whole planet is in danger of becoming a bonfire, with the
United Nations warning we are on track for at least 2.5C to 2.8C increases in
temperature, which will be devastating. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_Hlk118408802">
</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">These COP
meetings are largely a photo opportunity for world leaders, but nothing solid
ever comes out of them. We need to adopt a programme something like this statement,
before it is too late, and the planet burns. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_Hlk118408802"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">COP27-
Still Fiddling While the World Burns<o:p></o:p></span></b></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">COP 27,
which will meet from the 6th - 18th November 2022</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">, unfolds against a backdrop of growing
climate chaos and ecological degradation. As this latest COP approaches,
economic recession, increased poverty and war run alongside the multiple
interlinked and inseparable crises of climate, environment, extinction and
zoonotic diseases. We now face a global economic recession likely to be deeper
even than that of 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The economic
spiral into recession will make addressing environmental crisis even more
difficult</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">, as states
and corporations rush to increase fossil fuel production to offset the
deepening energy crisis. They will try to make working people pay with their
living standards and their lives, for the crisis of their rotten system.
Resources which should be directed at adaptation and amelioration of the
climate crisis will be diverted to war and fossil fuel production including
dangerous Fracking and Underground Coal Gasification (UCG).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We face
increasingly destructive wars</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">,
most notably in Ukraine which is destabilising world food supplies, and which
has the potential for the use of nuclear weapons. War causes huge physical and
social damage to people and societies
and the military industrial processes produce 6% of all greenhouse gasses. The
impact of wars in Ukraine, Yemen, Palestine and other places in terms of human
and environmental cost, and on food production and energy costs, will continue
to exacerbate the crises facing the environment and the global economy.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine must not be the pretext for a rush to fossil
fuels, new coal and gas and the resumption of fracking. Quite the opposite- it
should be a spur to shift more rapidly towards renewables.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">As
Ecosocialists, we say another world is possible</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">. A massive social and political
transformation is needed, requiring the mobilisation of the mass of working
people, women and men, across the globe. Only the end of capitalism’s
relentless pursuit of private profit, endless waste, and rapacious drive for
growth, can provide the basis for a solution not only to climate change,
environmental degradation, and mass extinction, but to global poverty, hunger,
and hyper exploitation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The COP 27
conference will take place in an isolated, heavily policed tourist resort</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">, with only one major road in and out,
and hotels charging rates that will likely push the entire COP beyond the means
of many grassroots organisations, especially those from poorer countries in the
Global South. The Egyptian government say there will be room for opposition,
but what they mean, is that activists will be offered fake protests
opportunities where state-affiliated NGOs demonstrate around the convention
giving the impression of an independent local civil society. No real Egyptian
or other opposition will be allowed near <a name="_Hlk118407633">Sharm
El-Sheikh</a>. We send solidarity to Egypt’s climate campaigners, women’s
organisations, Trade Unionists and workers fighting for democracy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">2022 has
seen floods in Pakistan</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">,
directly affecting thirty-three million people, Australia and elsewhere. We
have seen wildfires, extreme heat, ice melt, drought, and extreme weather
events on many continents, yet governments pursue still more fossil fuel
production. 2022’s summer of disasters broke records worldwide. In 2021, global
sea level set a new record high and is projected to continue to rise. The
United Nations reports that research shows that women and children are up to
fourteen times more likely than men to die during climate disasters.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The big
issues of climate change will be debated in Egypt</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> but whatever is agreed, capitalism left
to itself can at best mitigate, not end them. Environmental destruction is
woven into the very fabric of the system itself. However, much big business
resists, we will have to force it to act on a global scale. Ultimately, only
the ending of capitalism itself and its replacement by democratic Ecosocialist
planned production for need and not private profit can guarantee the necessary
action.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Genuine climate
solutions cannot be based on the very market system that created the problem.
Only the organised working class, and the rural oppressed of the global south
-women and men have the power to end capitalism, because their labour produces
all wealth and they have no great fortune to lose if the system changes, no
vested interests in inequality, exploitation, and private profit.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Sustainability
and global justice<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The long-term
global crisis and the immediate effects of catastrophic events impact more
severely on women, children, elders, LGBTQIA+, disabled people and the people
of First Nations. An eco-socialist strategy puts social justice and liberation
struggles of the oppressed at its core. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Migration is,
and will increasingly be, driven by climate change and conflicts and resource
wars resulting from it. Accommodating and supporting free movement of people
must be a core policy and necessary part of planning for the future.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Action now
to halt climate change! <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We demand</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• All new<span style="color: #00b050;"> </span>fossil
fuels must stay in the ground – no new gas, coal, or oil! No to Fracking and
UCG!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• A rapid move to renewable energy for
transport, infrastructure, industry, agriculture, and homes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• A massive global programme of public
works investing in green jobs, and replacing employment in unsustainable
industries.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• The retrofitting of homes and public
buildings with insulation and other energy saving measures to reduce fuel use
and to address fuel poverty.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• A globally funded just transition for
the global south to develop the necessary sustainable technologies and
infrastructure.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• A major cut in greenhouse gas
emissions of at least 70% by 2030, from a 1990 baseline. This must be
comprehensive - including all military, aviation, and shipping emissions – and
include mechanisms for transparent accounting, measurement, and popular
oversight. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• The end of emissions trading schemes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• No to ‘offsetting’ of carbon
emissions- we need a real zero not net-zero.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We call for</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• Immediate cancellation of the
international debt of the global south.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• A rapid shift from massive factory
farms and large-scale monoculture agribusiness towards eco-friendly farming
methods and investment in green agricultural technology to reduce synthetic
fertiliser and pesticide use in agriculture and replace these with organic
methods and support for small farmers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• A massive reduction in meat and dairy
production and consumption, with a view to its phasing out, through education
and provision and promotion of high- quality, affordable plant-based
alternatives. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• The promotion of agricultural systems
based on the right to food and food sovereignty, human rights, and with local
control over natural resources, seeds, land, water, forests, knowledge, and
technology to end food and nutrition insecurity in the global south.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• The end of deforestation in the
tropical and boreal forests by reduction of demand for imported food, timber,
and biofuels.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• A massive increase in protected areas
for biodiversity conservation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• End fuel poverty through retrofitting
energy existing homes and buildings with energy efficient sustainable
technologies.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We demand a
just transition</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• Re-skilling of workers in
environmentally damaging industries with well-paid alternative jobs in the new
economy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• Full and democratic involvement of
workers to harness the energy and creativity of the working people to design
and implement new sustainable technologies and decommission old unsustainable
ones. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• Resources for popular education and
involvement in implementing and enhancing a just transition, with environmental
education embedded at all levels within the curriculum.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• Urgent development of sustainable,
affordable, and high-quality public transport with a comprehensive integrated
plan which meets peoples’ needs and reduces the requirement for private car
use.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• A planned eco-socialist economy which
eliminates waste, duplication and environmentally harmful practices, reduction
in the working week and a corresponding increase in leisure time. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• Work practices reorganised with the
emphasis on fair flexibility and working closer to home, using a free and fast
broadband infrastructure. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• An end to ecologically and socially
destructive extractivism, especially in the territories of Indigenous peoples
and First Nations .<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">• Respect for the economic, cultural,
political and land rights of Indigenous peoples and First Nations.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">As
eco-socialists we put forward a vision of a just and sustainable world and
fight with every ounce of our energy for every change, however small, which
makes such a world possible. We will organise and assist wherever worker’s and
community organisations internationally, raising demands on governments and
challenging corporations. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">If you would
like to support the statement or contact Ecosocialist Alliance please email <a href="mailto:eco-socialist-action@protonmail.com"><span style="color: #38761d;">eco-socialist-action@protonmail.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Ecosocialist
Alliance, October 2022<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Groups<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://leftunity.org/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Left Unity</span></a>, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://anticapitalistresistance.org/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Anti-Capitalist Resistance</span></a>, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://greenleftblog.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Green Left</span></a>, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="http://www.globalecosocialistnetwork.net/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Global Ecosocialist Network</span></a>, International<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://www.letusrise.ie/"><span style="color: #38761d;">RISE</span></a>, Ireland<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Parti-de-Gauche-Marseille-Nord-1691726814391255/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Parti
de Gauche Marseille Nord</span></a>, France<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://socialistproject.ca/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Socialist Project</span></a>, Canada<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://breakthroughparty.org.uk/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Breakthrough Party</span></a>, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://www.pbp.ie/"><span style="color: #38761d;">People Before Profit</span></a>, Ireland<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://climateandcapitalism.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Climate and Capitalism</span></a>, International<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://rebellion.global/groups/gb-camden/"><span style="color: #38761d;">XR Camden</span></a>, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://twitter.com/uk_nanas?lang=en"><span style="color: #38761d;">Anti-Fracking Nanas</span></a>, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">West Cumbria Friends
of the Earth, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Save Euston
Trees, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/ecosocalgroup"><span style="color: #38761d;">Ecosocialist Alliance UK Facebook
Group</span></a>, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Individuals<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Beatrix
Campbell, OBE, Writer, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">George Monbiot,
Environmental Writer & Activist, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Ken Loach, Film
maker, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Julia
Steinberger, Professor of Ecological Economics, Lausanne University, Switzerland<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Victor Wallis, author
of Red Green Revolution, USA<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Professor
Krista Cowman ,Historian, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Marina
Prentoulis, Associate Professor in Politics & Media, UEA; author of Left
Populism in Europe, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Romayne Phoenix,
Ecosocialist Campaigner, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Dr Jay Ginn, (retired
academic researcher, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Alistair
Sinclair Green Eco-Socialist Councillor, Lancaster City Council, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Clara Paillard,
Unite the Union & Tipping Point UK, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Felicity
Dowling, Left Unity Principal Speaker, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Derek Wall,
Former GPEW Principal Speaker; Political Economy Lecturer, Goldsmiths; Author
of Climate Strike,UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Rob Marsden,
Red Green Labour editorial board- personal capacity, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Jo Alberti,
veteran left activist, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Doug Thorpe,
Left Unity National Secretary, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Kevin Frea, Deputy
Leader, Lancaster City Council, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Dee Searle, One
Vote for the Planet activist, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Jim Hollinshead,
Left Unity, UCU, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Ed Bober, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Patrick
Fitzgerald, Artist, Vizcaya, Spain<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Allan Todd,
Climate & Anti-Fascist Activist; member of Left Unity’s NC, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Gordon Peters,
Ecosocialist activist, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Tim Dawes, Former
Chair Green Party of England and Wales; Rtrd. Senior Local Govt.
Officer/Consultant, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Joe Human. climate
activist, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Fiona Prior, Climate
activist, grandmother, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Peter Murry, Ecosocialist
activist, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Lucy Moy-Thomas,
Climate Emergency Camden, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Tina Rothery, Climate
Campaigner, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Dr. Richard
Nicholson, Haywards Heath Town Councillor, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Sally Lansbury,
Labour Party Cllr., Allerdale Borough Council, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Deanna
Austin-Crowe, Health Worker, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Chris Bluemel,
Musician & Activist, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Lucy Early,
Ecosocialist Alliance member, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Joseph Healy,
International Officer of Left Unity & UNITE Regional Officer, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Al Barnes, Paramedic
& XR Activist, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Steve Masters,
Climate activist and Green party councillor, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Alice Brown, One
Vote for the Planet, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Jane Walby,
Global Justice Now, Camden Fairtrade Network, Debt Justice, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Dorothea
Hackman, Save Euston Trees, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Penelope Read, Eco-Warrior,
Actor & Musician, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Samantha Barnes,
Solicitor, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bookmark: _Hlk118408802;"></span>
</p><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Charlotte
Christensen, Mum & Anarchist, UK</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Howard Coakley,
University Mental Health Mentor, and Activist, UK </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Joe Hill,
Germany</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Bob Whitehead,
Secretary of the West Midlands Climate Coalition, UK<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-61776602738784048282022-09-28T06:06:00.005-07:002022-09-28T16:22:55.974-07:00The Socialist Green New Deal<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidWaivX_N-1jr_l4k__oZUKMOaGrWWNV_nGlt-8JsAXMgSCtJT7WyDJJkvvcSLe6gd0BB4X5RvcDtsv7ZWm0ZG_0Oor5O3m3HN3jpbNH5sbjzLtk7lJtifx7JiPowM8Me4h8WZe4zqQ8C0O6oSmBN5yetgp1LwnTZXgugcx9ZmwzaxqWsIRR3A21bm/s612/Green%20Left10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="612" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidWaivX_N-1jr_l4k__oZUKMOaGrWWNV_nGlt-8JsAXMgSCtJT7WyDJJkvvcSLe6gd0BB4X5RvcDtsv7ZWm0ZG_0Oor5O3m3HN3jpbNH5sbjzLtk7lJtifx7JiPowM8Me4h8WZe4zqQ8C0O6oSmBN5yetgp1LwnTZXgugcx9ZmwzaxqWsIRR3A21bm/w400-h156/Green%20Left10.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">From Green Left</div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Introduction<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 347.3pt 13.0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">In this document, we trace the development of a Green Socialist
New Deal (GSND) from its origins in the ‘New Deal’ of the 1930s, to the more
recent Green New Deal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We believe that
the latter can only be effective in tackling the multiple crises of finance,
climate change, environmental degradation, social and global justice and peace
through an eco-socialist alliance of workers and trade unions that challenges
the current capitalist order.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We outline a
set of interim policies in our GSND, concluding that these medium-term changes
would reduce climate change and also enhance our democracy and human welfare.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">History of
New Deals<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The ‘New Deal’
was a package of regulations, financial reforms and public works in the USA
introduced by President Roosevelt in response to the depression after 1929. It
was designed to deliver “the three Rs” – Relief from poverty, economic Recovery
and financial Reforms.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Whilst full
employment was not restored until after the USA joined World War II in 1941,
when public expenditure for the war effort doubled GDP, the New Deal led to
significant economic recovery, major improvements in health and growth in
employment. Some programmes continue today and the concept of a New Deal
remains a powerful symbol of what governments can achieve when free market
mechanisms fail.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">In 2008 a group
of prominent individuals in Britain (Economist Ann Pettifor, Caroline Lucas MP,
the Guardian’s Larry Elliott and Tony Juniper published a set of proposals
under the title 'Green New Deal' (GND) in response to the ‘triple crunch’
facing the world: the financial crisis in 2007-8, accelerating climate change and
soaring energy prices. This concept of a GND has enthused radical movements
across the world and versions have proliferated on both sides of the Atlantic.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Most of these
are confined to technical measures for addressing climate change but few
address the root causes of climate change; environmental degradation, loss of
biodiversity, poverty, inequality and injustice. For eco-socialists, a GND must
involve restructuring societies and economies, through democratic discussion
across all of society, including workers, unemployed people, pensioners, carers
and their organisations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">By 2019, after
ten years of Tory austerity, both Labour and the Green Party included versions
of the GND in their General Election manifestos. Both featured imaginative
proposals to rejuvenate Britain’s infrastructure, energy systems, housing,
transport, environment, health and welfare. These were significant policy
advances to build on but have been insufficiently radical to address our
problems and their causes successfully.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Transition
to an eco-socialist future<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The survival of
many species, including human, requires a transition to a post</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria Math",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Cambria Math";">‑</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">capitalist, democratic, green socialist
future, to be achieved by a new alliance of workers and eco-socialists. Our
Green Socialist New Deal is properly understood as a stepping stone on the journey
to that destination. The policies outlined here can be implemented swiftly in the
context of Britain’s current institutions and economic framework. They begin
the process of delivering radical change at local, regional and </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">national level.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">REDUCED
ENERGY DEMAND AND EXPANSION OF RENEWABLES<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Our GSND
requires immediate government action to reduce the use of coal, oil and gas,
consistent with Carbon Net Zero, by 2030. This objective will require a range
of measures including:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Carbon accounting by companies: a requirement to measure and report the carbon
emissions for which they are responsible<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Carbon tax on industry and commerce, starting at £100 per ton and rising
annually.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Carbon budgeting and rationing at national, community and household levels and
the introduction of Personal Carbon Allowances starting at around ½ ton per
month and reducing each year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Reductions in energy demand through home insulation, energy conservation and
modal shifts to electric mass transport.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Major investments in renewable energy sources -solar, wind, wave, geothermal,
hydro and tidal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Massive growth in material re-use and recycling of manufactured goods,
clothing, commodities, metals, building materials and more, creating a near
Zero Waste system and eliminating toxic landfill.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">TWO MILLION
PLUS CLIMATE AND GREEN JOBS<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Studies
indicate that moving to a carbon-free future can generate many good jobs,
providing a Just Transition for those whose jobs are currently in carbon
intensive industries. Under GSND we will:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Rapidly deploy workers to the fast-expanding renewable energy sectors (see
above).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Create thousands of new jobs in construction and engineering as we shift from
gas and oil to electricity with the attendant requirement to upgrade the
national grid.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Employ builders, electricians and fitters in large numbers in insulating
millions of homes to new energy standards and installing carbon-free heating.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Expand jobs in the care sector and in organic agriculture/agro-forestry as we
transition from a profitdriven to a needs-based, sustainable economy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Launch a National Climate Service to co-ordinate regional and local action on
climate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">A JUST
TRANSITION - PLANNED WORK TRANSFER<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The process of
decarbonisation will be disruptive, resulting in major and rapid shifts in
economic activity, rendering millions of jobs obsolete and creating a correlative
requirement to create new, well-paid and socially useful ones. We would create
national and regional plans to guarantee the creation of well-paid replacement
jobs, with training and skills development in new low carbon sectors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">It is vital
that trade unions, workers and communities can design, lead and cooperate in
these plans, as well as at all levels of government. We would ensure that new jobs
provided safe and healthy working conditions in environmentally sustainable
workplaces, as well as rights of workers to information on the environmental
impacts of their work and whistleblower protection.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We would
implement distributive measures to ensure that other social groups besides
workers, including unpaidcarers, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the
disabled, pensioners and students, share fairly in the ecological and social
benefits of the transition. The working week would allow more flexibility </span>for workers and
their families, in terms of timing and number of hours/days at the workplace
and at home.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">GREEN
TRANSPORT REVOLUTION REDUCE-LOCALISE-DE-CARBONISE-ELECTRIFYINTEGRATE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Transport
creates over 20% of carbon emissions. This must be reduced by over 90% by 2030.
To achieve this we shall reduce the need for transport by localising work, commerce
and services to each community. We shall ensure that essential services, like
health, are available within 20 minutes of most people. We shall accelerate a comprehensive
rollout of digital broadband technology, supporting the trend to hybrid working
and achieving a major reduction in long-distance commuting.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We shall effect
a major localising of public and private services in urban areas and villages.
This will help repopulate rural areas and further reduce wasteful commuting.
Further measures to make communities sustainable and food resilient will include:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Ensuring a rapid shift from fossil fuel vehicles to electric, battery, flywheel
and hydrogen power over the next ten years, withdrawing all fossil fuel motors by
2032.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Developing an electric bus and coach network across Britain, connecting most
towns and villages on an hourly timetable.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Integrating different public transport modes (bus/train) and ensuring that all
are fully accessible.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Phasing in free bus travel, starting in inner-city areas.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Re-opening and electrifying many closed rail-lines to connect districts across
regions and introducing a regional Travel Card.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We would
complete electrification of railways alongside new urban tram networks by 2035
and phase out heavy lorries over 10 tonnes whilst transferring freight to rail.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We would permit
only electric vans and lorries after 2030.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We would build
new walkways (pavements) and continuous cycle lanes linking most towns and
villages across the countryside (up to 10 miles).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We would
incentivise electric car pooling and local car clubs and penalise private
vehicle ownership through a series of measures including road pricing for
private motor transport in cities (£1/mile). We would implement a carbon tax on
all air travel and shipping (£100 per tonne).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The target for
our GSND in the area of transport is to establish a clean, integrated,
accessible public transport system covering the whole of Britain by 2035… for
the first time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">LAND, AGRICULTURE
and FOOD<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Land ownership
is currently highly unequal and many large estates are unavailable for growing
organic food, for public recreation or for re-wilding that benefits the environment,
climate and biodiversity. We would break up estates over 10,000 and introduce a
Land Value Tax.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Britain is a
fertile, temperate country which can feed itself easily. We would achieve a
phased reduction of the 50% of food that is currently imported by restoring
food self-sufficiency and replacing intensive or industrialised farming with
smaller mixed farms.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We would ensure
a policy mix of education, incentives and rationing of high carbon products to
accelerate the shift in consumption habits towards a healthier, more affordable
and predominantly vegetarian/vegan diet culture. Our target is 80% plant-based
consumption by 2032. In addition, we shall ensure further improvements in
animal rights and welfare.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Less developed
countries that currently export food to Britain will be able to use their land
and water resources to meet the needs of their own populations and we shall drive
global initiatives to ensure that compensation is paid by rich countries to
help in the transition to local farming by indigenous people. We shall
legislate to ensure that commercial fishing uses only sustainable practices
which benefit local small-scale fishing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">HOUSING FOR
ALL<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">There are
millions of poorly-housed and homeless people in Britain. To deal with this,
our GSND will:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Protect public housing from sell-off or privatisation, by abolishing 'Right to
buy’ and setting a target to build 1 million new homes for social rent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Enable Local Authorities to identify, acquire and refurbish suitable empty
buildings for local housing and to implement a new Vacancy Tax on private properties
empty for over 6 months. This new tax to be related to the new Land Value Tax.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Make funds available to local authorities for building new social, affordable,
‘passivhaus’ homes (mainly on brownfield sites) and to refurbish existing ones.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We shall build
100,000 compact Eco-flats in the first 6 months to meet urgent housing need and
create non-profit district co-operatives for Housing and for Energy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">NATIONAL
SOCIAL CARE SERVICE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We shall ensure
major public investment in free or affordable social care, generating many new
low carbon jobs in which care workers are well-trained and well-paid.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The shift from
a profit-driven to a needs-driven approach will improve the welfare of care
workers, family carers and those needing care.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">FAIR TAX
REVOLUTION<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The necessary
changes will require investment of funds, partly from taxation and partly by
other means. Our Green Socialist New Deal will involve:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Nationalisation of some banks and the creation of a new People’s Bank.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Widespread implementation of non-profit community credit schemes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Capital controls to protect against harmful, speculative capital movements.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Introduction of a Robin Hood tax on financial transactions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Closure of tax loopholes, such as transferring profits to low tax zones, hiding
profits etc.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Increased corporation tax inheritance tax and capital gains tax<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
New taxes on high incomes, wealth, land value and pollution, including carbon.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">➡</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">
Cancellation of the expensive Public Finance Initiative (PFI) debts held mainly
by hospitals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">UNIVERSAL
BASIC SERVICES<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">There is a
widespread perception in the west that public services are somehow predatory,
financed as they are by taxes levied on “legitimate” private economic activity.
This perception is expensively manufactured and sustained, and there is an
implicit suggestion that the public sector is somehow less morally deserving
than the private sector. Successive governments have promoted this misrepresentation
in order to starve public services, especially the NHS and welfare services, of
the funding they require to meet community needs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">In truth the
community ultimately owns public sector assets - the commons that we inherit
from our forbears - and should make the decisions about the level of economic
resources invested in universal public services.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We shall ensure
that universal services including housing, employment, health and social care,
public transport, education and training, energy and water, receiving an
adequate share of investment from the Treasury.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We shall
provide a Universal Basic Income (UBI) for adults over 16, (with a child income
managed by a parent), together with an enhanced National Minimum Wage. Taken
together, these initiatives will greatly reduce absolute poverty especially
among families with young children.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We shall ensure
much stronger measures to limit air and water pollution, conserve biodiversity,
and prevent soil degradation. We shall equip the Environment Agency with much
greater powers of enforcement.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">REPUBLICAN
DEMOCRACY<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We shall take
rapid steps towards a republican model of government, with increased devolution
to the regions and local authorities and proportional representation at national,
regional and local levels in order to revive democratic participation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Local and
regional Citizens Assemblies will be used in developing public policy. We shall
transform the House of Lords into a set of elected Scrutiny Committees or a
Senate of Regions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Conclusions<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The medium term
policies set out in this Green Socialist New Deal would be a major shift
towards a truly democratic, equal and fair society based on human and environmental
needs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Implementing an
ambitious agenda for change such as this will require co-operative action
involving all Labour, Socialist and Green movements.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Acknowledgments:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Green House
Think Tank </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Zero Carbon B<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Campaign
against Climate Change (CACC) Trade Union Group: 'Climate Jobs’ (2021) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Greener Jobs
Alliance Green Party Manifesto 2021(US)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">'Fight the Fire’ by Jonathan Neale <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">'What we need
to do now' by Chris Goodall. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">'Why we need a
Green New Deal’ by Ann Pettifor. Monthly Review, US Eco-Socialist Journal. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Green Left
London </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">New Economics Foundation Think Tank. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">'Climate Strike-Practical Politics
of the Climate Crisis’ by Derek Wall <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">'How to save
our Planet’ by Professor Mark Maslin <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">With thanks to
Contributors: Danny McNamara, Jay Ginn, Peter Murry, Anne Gray, Les Levidow,
Mike Shaughnessy and several others; <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Design: Lois
Davis <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Published by
Green Left, c/o 151 Queens Drive, London N4 2AR. Editor: Mark Douglas.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Please send
comments to the editor and to request hard </span>copies, email: <a href="mailto:mdouglas@gn.apc.org"><span style="color: #38761d;">mdouglas@gn.apc.org</span></a></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Green Left is part
of the ECO-SOCIALIST ALLIANCE along with Anti-Capitalist Resistance and Left
Unity. </span><a href="mailto:eco-socialist-action@protonmail.com" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">eco-socialist-action@protonmail.com</span></a></p></div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-33116813793876900512022-09-21T06:15:00.005-07:002022-09-21T08:55:45.168-07:00Britain’s model of monarchy can never be green<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNfnYsT6_6GHv4JwKwArW9nTmqbzz0FdVq5s8Fmz5KLUPJuwqEFeaCO_0tKvSBWO1gFYgDqJYAodYI8GDbIAkVxWJFlSixPFduxlFNmqFBoXS56v8QvFcVNohU17Euls4DJkr2aGWk25pTKzr4D31McUlYr_9pCKVnW_H3A6kEmqxf-CuZhe7HbwdC/s2048/Charles.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2048" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNfnYsT6_6GHv4JwKwArW9nTmqbzz0FdVq5s8Fmz5KLUPJuwqEFeaCO_0tKvSBWO1gFYgDqJYAodYI8GDbIAkVxWJFlSixPFduxlFNmqFBoXS56v8QvFcVNohU17Euls4DJkr2aGWk25pTKzr4D31McUlYr_9pCKVnW_H3A6kEmqxf-CuZhe7HbwdC/w400-h250/Charles.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal">Written by Dee Searle </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">People speculating about whether Charles III will continue
his apparent soft spot for the environment into his reign as king are missing
the point. The UK’s secretive, massively wealthy, constitutional monarchy, with
its huge influence and leadership of an established church, is the opposite of
the equality, equity, sharing and openness on which green politics is based. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While it’s true that the monarchy was modernised during the
70-year reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II, most of its power is still beyond
public scrutiny. The UK Parliament cannot hold the royal family to account and
the Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, has blocked discussions about them on more
than one occasion. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This means that we will never know why Queen Elizabeth II,
our constitutional monarch, failed to uphold the constitution when she agreed
to Boris Johnson unlawfully proroguing parliament in autumn 2019, when surely
her advisers would have spotted the illegality. Similarly, on another major
recent constitutional issue, there appears to have been no attempt by the Crown
to point out that the Brexit referendum in 2016 was supposed to be advisory
rather than a firm commitment. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Meanwhile there is the routine monarch’s job of
rubber-stamping even the most damaging of government policies during the state
opening of parliament. Stand by for Charles III announcing that ‘his
government’ under new Prime Minister Liz Truss will soon be opening up more North
Sea oil and gas fields and encouraging fracking across the UK. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Even if Charles’s environmental sentiments might lead him to
question the wisdom of such policies, his position as head of the British
Establishment means he will publicly support our top-down, hierarchical system
however suicidal their actions might be. There is no scope in such a system for
exploring the radical changes to our economy, politics and society that are
needed if we are to effectively tackle the escalating climate and ecological emergency. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Several media commentators are suggesting that Charles III
aims to slim down the monarchy and make it more informal. He might well try,
but that doesn’t necessarily mean an increase in openness or democracy, going
by the way the Duchy of Cornwall is run. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Duchy, which is worth more than £1 billion and owns huge
large chunks of Cornwall, Dartmoor, Herefordshire, Somerset and almost all of
the Isles of Scilly, plus a portfolio of financial investments, has generated
millions of pounds a year for Charles and will do so for William, the incoming
Prince of Wales. It benefits from a wide range of rights, powers and
privileges, including the right to veto legislation that affects it, public
immunity (including from Freedom of Information requests), exemption from
leasehold rights, exemption from prosecution under several laws and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Bona Vacantia” (which means where property
within Cornwall becomes ownerless, it belongs to the Duke of Cornwall instead
of the government). </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some of these rights, powers and privileges are historic but
many have been introduced or updated in recent times. Several locals have tried
to challenge the Duchy, such as the owner of a mine made famous in the Poldark
television series. But they are almost always unsuccessful and hushed up. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Green Party has for many years called for the UK to
introduce proportional representation to provide a fairer number of green MPs
in parliament. However, this won’t lead to more open, accountable governance
unless we also tackle the unelected, embedded power of Britain’s constitutional
monarchy. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The widespread public mourning of the death of Queen
Elizabeth II and (mostly) warm welcome for the new King Charles III and William
as Prince of Wales demonstrate that the UK is not about to become a republic
any time soon. However, there could be an opportunity to build a case for
adopting a more ceremonial, apolitical status for the royals along the lines of
most other European monarchies. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This could be a practical way to help Charles and William
implement their public declarations of support for tackling climate change and
protecting the environment. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Dee Searle is an ecosocialist activist based in London</b></p></div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-29609264346518980782022-09-15T02:55:00.000-07:002022-09-19T07:00:20.164-07:00Life Expectancy: The US and Cuba in the Time of Covid<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNE5jh3WwxlNG95puvgYubfMYG5C8qRXe-GLs6l8iyDiHs_YEQFsycXDjAJ5mIzSA2aQM2yRYO96hk-1CyXjZSoW51WfjHnuv6lnllMyUkzKFlbkSxzC1VFw9-4x8-i-QUj0CPMDxZTfrOym4dzqL3bvSuF5ry_2oTIQ-MTJZ6RUaVWPQHBuPHwKLB/s300/Cuba2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNE5jh3WwxlNG95puvgYubfMYG5C8qRXe-GLs6l8iyDiHs_YEQFsycXDjAJ5mIzSA2aQM2yRYO96hk-1CyXjZSoW51WfjHnuv6lnllMyUkzKFlbkSxzC1VFw9-4x8-i-QUj0CPMDxZTfrOym4dzqL3bvSuF5ry_2oTIQ-MTJZ6RUaVWPQHBuPHwKLB/w400-h224/Cuba2.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="author" style="line-height: 18.7pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Written by
Don Fitz<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="author" style="line-height: 18.7pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Recent
data shows that between 2019 and 2021, life expectancy (LE) in the US plunged
almost three years while for <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?FORM=AFSCWH&PC=AFSC&q=life+expectancy+in+Cuba+by+year"><span style="color: #38761d;">Cuba</span></a>
it edged up 0.2 years. Yet, in 1960, the
year after its revolution, Cuba had a LE of 64.2 years, lower by 5.6 years than that in
the US (69.8 years). As I document in <a href="https://monthlyreview.org/product/cuban-health-care/"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Cuban Health
Care</span></i></a>, the island quickly caught up to the US and, from 1970 through
2016, the two countries were nip and tuck, with some years Cuba and other years
the US, having a longer LE. But neither country was ever as much as one year of
LE ahead of the other. </span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><b style="text-indent: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Life
Expectancy (LE) in US and Cuba, 2017-2021</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Year</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">LE US </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">LE
Cuba US -</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Cuba</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2021 76.1 79.0 - 2.9<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2020 78.8 78.9 -0.1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2019 79.0 78.8 +0.2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2018 78.7 78.7 0.0<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2017 78.6 78.6
0.0<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This
continued through the beginning of Covid, which sharply changed the
pattern. LE in the US suddenly dropped
behind that in Cuba. Bernd Debusmann
Jr.of <i>BBC News</i> <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62740249.amp"><span style="color: #38761d;">wrote</span></a>, LE in
the US fell “to the lowest level seen since 1996. Government data showed LE at birth now stands
at 76.1 compared to 79 in 2019. That is the steepest two-year decline in a
century.” From 2019 to <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/life-expectancy-dropped-2020-us-state-due-covid/story?id=88698742"><span style="color: #38761d;">2020</span></a>,
“LE declined in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">How
could a country with all the problems of Cuba, actually have LE almost three
years greater than the US? There were
enormous differences between the way the countries responded to Covid. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: -14.4pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
Covid Contrast</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data confirmed that “<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/life-expectancy-dropped-2020-us-state-due-covid/story?id=88698742"><span style="color: #38761d;">Covid-19</span></a>
was the main contributing factor [to changes in LE]. The statistics show that Covid-19 accounted for
50% of the decline between 2020 and 2021. Between 2019 and 2020, the pandemic
contributed to 74% of the decline.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A
critical divergence between the two countries is that Cuba guarantees health
care to all as a human right while the US system is based on profit and
political grandstanding. When Covid hit,
the US dawdled for months as Cuba mobilized for medical action.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
Ministry of Health developed a national strategy before the island’s first
victim had succumbed to the disease.
Cuban TV carried daily press conferences with detailed info on the
status of new patients, results of cabinet meetings on Covid, and announcing
the best way for citizens to protect themselves and others. Social distancing, masks and contact tracing
were universally accepted. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Each
day Cuban medical students knocked on doors to ask citizens how they were. Students’ tasks included obtaining survey
data from residents and making extra visits to the elderly, infants and those
with respiratory problems. Clinic staff
dealt with issues that doctors were unable to cope with and sent patients they
could not care for to hospitals. Medical
data was used by those in the highest decision-making positions of the
country. In this way, every Cuban
citizen and every health care worker, from those at neighborhood doctor offices
through those at the most esteemed research institutes, had a part in
determining health policy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This
inclusive approach resulted in Cuba’s having 87 Covid deaths by July 21, 2020,
when the US had experienced 140,300.
While the US population is 30 times that of Cuba, it had 1613 times as
many deaths.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Two
aspects of Cuba’s response to Covid stand out.
First, Cuba does NOT have more money to spend on health care. It actually spends less than a <a href="https://monthlyreview.org/product/cuban-health-care/"><span style="color: #38761d;">tenth</span></a> as much
per person per year than does the US, but it spends that wisely on a holistic
system. Second, Cuba’s health care is
global – it continued its practice of sending thousands of medical staff to other
countries during Covid. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Over
the past <a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/04/10/cuban-medical-science-in-the-service-of-humanity/"><span style="color: #38761d;">six
decades</span></a> more than 400,000 Cuban medical professionals have worked in 164
countries and improved the lives of hundreds of millions of people. In addition to providing Cuban doctors with
experience coping with diseases and medical issues they do not see at home, this
action is positive global diplomacy. US
diplomacy, on the other hand, seems to focus on threatening to harm people and/or
actually harming them.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In
Addition to Covid</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62740249.amp"><span style="color: #38761d;">News stories</span></a>
also mentioned other factors associated with the shorter LE in the US: drug
overdoses, heart disease, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis and
suicides. The corporate press also
acknowledged racial disparities.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There
had been progress in reducing LE differences between Black and white
Americans. This was <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34162598/"><span style="color: #38761d;">reversed</span></a> during 2018 –
2020 when LE went down 1.36 years for whites, 3.25 years for Hispanics, and
3.88 years for Blacks. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
fall in US life expectancy was even more pronounced among Native Americans and
Alaska Natives. Since 2019, it “dropped
by <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62740249.amp"><span style="color: #38761d;">6.6 years</span></a>,
more than twice that of the wider US population.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
US has multiple groups who reject government attempts to vaccinate or wear
masks. Most loud-mouthed, of course, are
the right wingers who lividly despise the very idea of public health
campaigns. While their thought processes
are hallucination-based, people of color have reality-based fears of being
ignored, lied to, and used for government experimentation, such as the Tuskegee
Syphilis Study. There is a strong
connection between vaccination hesitation and racism.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: -14.4pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">What
They Did Not Look At</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Among
factors with increasing US Covid rates ignored by corporate media in the US are
poverty, an acute rise in misinformation, abortion, the embargo against Cuba
and preparation for climate change. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Poverty</span></u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">. The first task of the Cuban revolution was to
simultaneously address poverty, food, sanitation, literacy, education, racism
and housing, which the rebels saw as parts of unitary whole. During the Covid crisis, many US corporations
were determined to force low wage workers to stay at their jobs, spreading the
disease. Cuba told those with Covid to
stay home.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Misinformation</span></u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">. Discussions of Covid deaths must not ignore
the deadly role of science denial. At
the same time Trump was foolishly downplaying mounting dangers of Covid, Cuba
was far along developing its “Novel Coronavirus Plan for Prevention and
Control.” Trump was not and is not an
isolated individual – he manifests a life-threatening movement toward
lunacy. Cuba has no significant group
which confronts Covid with a bottle of Clorox or expects a cure brought by Q
Anon on a flying saucer.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Abortion</span></u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">. Cuba also does not have a “Women’s Lives
Don’t Matter!” movement seeking to eliminate abortion rights. Those who do not want an abortion do not get
one and people do not seek to impose their religious and spiritual beliefs on
others. The Supreme Court’s allowing
states to criminalize abortion will cause many women to die, due both from
self-attempts at abortion and lack of its availability. LE averages are impacted more by deaths of
young than elderly; so, we can expect many abortion-induced deaths in US will
be among teenagers and young women, which will affect LE. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Embargo</span></u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">. The “trade sanctions” or “blockade” or
“embargo” have a special relationship with LE in Cuba: one might expect it to
decrease LE; but it has not done so.
When Cuba was reeling from the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, the US
passed laws intending to punish those who continued to trade with it. This raised prices in the already
impoverished country and has prevented or slowed the arrival of much
life-saving medical equipment. Yet, due
to its prioritizing health care during the 1990s, Cuba’s infant mortality
decreased while its LE showed a slight increase.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">International
solidarity movements have stepped in to help Cuba overcome many embargo
effects. Lack of essential material prevented Cuba from performing <a href="https://www.resumen-english.org/2022/05/love-overcomes-hate-as-cuba-receives-critical-aid-for-children-liver-transplants/"><span style="color: #38761d;">liver
transplants</span></a> in children. But, during
May 2022, <a href="https://www.resumen-english.org/2022/05/love-overcomes-hate-as-cuba-receives-critical-aid-for-children-liver-transplants/"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Puentes
de Amor</span></i></a> (Bridges of Love) delivered the vital chemical compound to the
William Soler Pediatric Hospital. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Resilience</span></u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">. Avoiding the use of fossil fuels and enormous
hydro-, solar- and wind-projects, as Cuba does, will cut down on global
destructiveness but have very little effect on reducing climate change on the
island. However, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Disaster-Preparedness-Climate-Change-Cuba/dp/1793651310?asin=1793651310&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1"><span style="color: #38761d;">preparing
for resilience</span></a> in the face of climate change can hugely affect its quality
of life. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In
March 2022 (p. 8) <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/magazine/sa/2022/03-01/"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Scientific
American</span></i></a> editors wrote that most important in preparing for the next
pandemic is “building new systems.” Unfortunately, this is what the US is
avoiding as it becomes absorbed in making minor tweaks to outmoded, inadequate
systems of environmental protection. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Cuba
has been holding <i>Bastión</i> (bulwark) events involving as many as four
million citizens who carry out food production, disease control, sanitation and
safeguarding medical supplies. When a
policy change is introduced, government representatives go to each community,
including the most remote rural ones, to make sure that everyone knows the
threats that climate change poses to their lives and how they can alter
behaviors to minimize them. They include
such <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Disaster-Preparedness-Climate-Change-Cuba/dp/1793651310?asin=1793651310&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1"><span style="color: #38761d;">diverse
actions</span></a> as conservation with energy use, saving water, preventing fires and
using medical products sparingly. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="border: none black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: normal; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Another
energy positive being expanded in Cuba is farms being run entirely on agroecology
principles. Such farms can produce 12
times the energy they consume.
Biodigesters break down manure and other biomass to create biogas (very
different in Cuba than the US) which is used for tractors or
transportation. Vegetable and herb
production in Cuba exploded from 4000 tons in 1994 to over four million tons by
2006. This is why Jason Hickel’s “<a href="https://www.sustainabledevelopmentindex.org/about"><span style="color: #38761d;">Sustainable
Development Index</span></a>” rated Cuba’s ecological efficiency as the best in the
world in 2019.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: -14.4pt;"> </span></p></div><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Where
Are We Headed?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: normal; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
connection between LE and climate change is becoming increasingly evident. US media stories typically focus on a given
disaster such as a flood and mention how aging infrastructure is being
neglected. The implication is that if
infrastructure were updated to its status of 50 or 100 years ago, that would be
adequate. It would not be adequate
because climate change means that storms will be more frequent, more intense
and more deadly in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="border: none black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: normal; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">By
2017, Cuba had become the only country with a government-led plan (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Disaster-Preparedness-Climate-Change-Cuba/dp/1793651310?asin=1793651310&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1"><span style="color: #38761d;">Project
Life</span></a>, or <i>Tarea Vida</i>) to combat climate change which includes a 100
year projection. While Cuba is looking
ahead and planning how to protect people from increasingly devastating storms,
US politicians feverishly bury their heads in the sand in subservience to
corporate interests, subjecting future generations to ever greater
catastrophes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: normal; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This
causes LE in the US to plunge down while LE in Cuba climbs slowly upward. Covid did not create the LE divide between
the US and Cuba. Covid exacerbated
trends which have become increasingly intertwined for decades. The best guess is that these trends will
continue well into the future.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: -21.6pt;"> </span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><div style="border: none black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: normal; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm; tab-stops: 14.4pt; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Don Fitz (fitzdon@aol.com) is on the
Editorial Board of <a href="http://www.greensocialthought.org/"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Green Social
Thought</span></i></a><i>, </i>where a version of this article <a href="http://www.greensocialthought.org/content/life-expectancy-us-and-cuba-time-covid"><span style="color: #38761d;">originally
appeared</span>.</a> He was the 2016 candidate
of the Missouri Green Party for Governor.
His book, <a href="https://monthlyreview.org/product/cuban-health-care/"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Cuban
Health Care: The Ongoing Revolution</span></i></a>, has been available since June
2020. </span></b></p></div></div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-71557794017569188412022-09-12T04:42:00.005-07:002022-09-13T12:54:03.829-07:00How Identity Politics is destroying the Green Party <p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSeaRflZkrDv8Y66Av6NJnASawUYCgEzS-ZaPV4Ej-iSXRyB-VGfb9sJxAzQCi8WGHbOo1DhGYhWlADEKyTsCaqILraUnf8dg5W5fMY4bZW1u1ootmPIjO2ObjKKF8N-p8j6hMQTh_p6D2fK1HJvOrX7LBTFa7F-RzFC4oYuYsKqj7kER8lvPmQrs1/s968/Green%20Party1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="968" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSeaRflZkrDv8Y66Av6NJnASawUYCgEzS-ZaPV4Ej-iSXRyB-VGfb9sJxAzQCi8WGHbOo1DhGYhWlADEKyTsCaqILraUnf8dg5W5fMY4bZW1u1ootmPIjO2ObjKKF8N-p8j6hMQTh_p6D2fK1HJvOrX7LBTFa7F-RzFC4oYuYsKqj7kER8lvPmQrs1/w400-h281/Green%20Party1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Written by
Nicole Haydock<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">As reflected in
the 26<sup>th</sup> UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 26) held
in Glasgow the Autumn of 2021, Green Parties internationally have seen a surge
in their popularity over the past decade with record numbers of elected members
at local, regional and national levels. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The
latest and greatest evidence of such popularity and significance is Germany’s
Greens co-leader Robert Habeck called upon to serve as Vice Chancellor and
Federal minister for climate, energy and the economy since 2021 and now tipped
to become Germany’s Finance Minister.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">When 7% of UK voters
in the United Kingdom translates into just a single Elected Member in the House
of Commons because of the unfair first-past-the-post voting system, one would
have thought that campaigning for a system where every vote counts would have
always been a top priority for the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW). Instead<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Glenister,%20Ext.Ian%20(Voorburg)" datetime="2022-09-11T10:24">,</ins></span> it somewhat oddly, opted to entrust
or “discharge” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the implementation of its
own policy for Proportional Representation to ‘Make Vote Matters’, a neutral or
non-party political quango. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The GPEW has manifestly
also failed to position itself as a leader in the much wider climate change and
environmental protest movement in the UK, whilst a substantial number of its more
active members joined the ranks of anti-fracking local groups and/or the high-profile
Extinction Rebellion. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Doubts have
therefore been raised more recently both within the party and from sympathetic voters
or organisations as to the GPEW’s capacity to offer a credible alternative to existing
parties and the status quo. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Looking beyond
personalities, the calibre of its “leadership team” and elected MP, surely the
cause of such lack of credibility can be traced to the fundamental democratic
deficit at the core of a constitution adopted half a
century ago when its membership was less than one tenth of its present 50,000. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">But as incapable
of addressing its democratic deficit with a mere 12% turn-out for the
leadership election, the fact is that the GPEW is more akin to a bicycle club than
a regular political party. Like the branches of a club, local parties are
autonomous. Participants to its<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Glenister,%20Ext.Ian%20(Voorburg)" datetime="2022-09-11T10:43"> </ins></span>Conference,
( AGM more like ) remain firmly self-appointed and therefore unaccountable to
anyone else but themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">By being neither
an incorporated entity nor a co-operative, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and stuck with a constitution that is unfit-for-purpose
where the vested interests of seven single issue Identity Politics inspired Designated
groups - or factions - have systematically blocked all attempts to instigate democratic
reforms, the GPEW is a seriously dysfunctional organisation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">To all intent
and purposes, and with Caroline Lucas, its charismatic MP whose re-election in
Parliament depends entirely on the continued support from Brighton’s LTGBIQA+ <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>community and its “transgender women are
women” activists, the GPEW is nothing more than a large, multi-facetted,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“intersectional “ sect with local electoral
ambitions. <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:Glenister,%20Ext.Ian%20(Voorburg)" datetime="2022-09-11T10:56"><o:p></o:p></ins></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">It is certainly
not in any sense a fully functional and modern political party. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Whether, in the
state it finds itself in at present, after 6 years of internal disruption and
diversion from its vision, values and purpose, the Green Party of England and
Wales will ever be able to benefit from the proportional voting system trade
unions have now delivered and when legislated for by a Labour government is in
doubt.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Whether it can
somehow extricate itself in the foreseeable future from the deadly grip of its self-inflected
and alien “cancel culture” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ideology and
thus free its potential to achieve political power in the UK on a par with its
sister <span class="msoDel"><del cite="mailto:Glenister,%20Ext.Ian%20(Voorburg)" datetime="2022-09-11T10:52"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></del></span>European
parties is, sadly, unlikely. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">If the GPEW is
to have a future, any future, its members must ditch its dogmatic and authoritarian
Identity Politics leadership, clean up their act and finally adopt a fit-for-purpose
constitution where power and decision making is firmly anchored in its hundreds
of thriving local parties.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Nicole
Haydock is a member of North East Wales Green Party and the Green Party Women’s
Committee, in a personal capacity.</span></b></p></div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-22170969867744730262022-08-29T13:46:00.001-07:002022-09-01T07:23:19.180-07:00Maintain Green Party policy on withdrawal from NATO. It cannot be ‘reformed’ into a peace-building organization.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYhEWIUTegEB8u2ErcKq-P1Pic0pk7anK0iqCfhWuP7B0V4jUkyaWYhvJKejCcAN5roG0RiQuKf2lkjIUKfDauQaxmaz1ZkAzcTzZpRqmeLLcOGxo267xNwPyci1nhHSsE0fHU71c6Jq6AOnpXltrxrIDtP0_iK24_us4GPZaZNGfmMdDPVDFIjsoM/s1400/NATO1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="1400" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYhEWIUTegEB8u2ErcKq-P1Pic0pk7anK0iqCfhWuP7B0V4jUkyaWYhvJKejCcAN5roG0RiQuKf2lkjIUKfDauQaxmaz1ZkAzcTzZpRqmeLLcOGxo267xNwPyci1nhHSsE0fHU71c6Jq6AOnpXltrxrIDtP0_iK24_us4GPZaZNGfmMdDPVDFIjsoM/w400-h208/NATO1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NATO’s official remit has been a defensive alliance for
European peace & security, yet it has been </span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">a military aggressor for rich Northern nations against
weaker nations, increasingly on a global scale.
For those aims, NATO uses the ‘special relationship’ with UK - a
euphemism for its complicity with US military aggression. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NATO has become an ever-greater
threat to world peace, especially given its policy on first use of nuclear
weapons. Let’s maintain </span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">the Green Party’s policy for withdrawal
from NATO.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">NATO exploiting
the Russia-Ukraine conflict</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">For all those
reasons, many Green and Left-wing parties around Europe have opposed their own
countries’ membership in NATO. The
pro-NATO lobby has recently softened such opposition by exploiting Russia’s
unjust invasion of Ukraine and the necessary armaments for its self-defence. This has become a pretext for a Europe-wide
military expansion greatly increasing investment, production and trade in
weapons. This is driven by NATO’s
increasingly global aggression, which also conveniently finances the arms
industry.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Moreover, NATO
has played a part in worsening the Russia-Ukraine conflict. </span><span class="hgkelc"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN;">At the June 2021 Brussels summit, NATO leaders reiterated their earlier
decision (at the 2008 Bucharest Summit) that Ukraine would eventually become a
member. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In March 2022 President Zelensky
indicated his willingness for Ukraine to be a militarily neutral country. But the US government has preferred to
antagonise Russia by continuing the prospect that Ukraine might join NATO and
by expanding military installations near its borders.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">NATO aggression
masquerading as defence</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Contrary to its
official rationale as a ‘defence’ alliance, NATO has regularly used violence
for political-economic objectives, especially against regimes resisting subordination
to the US. Since 1989, NATO supporters
have sought its permanence by exaggerating ‘security threats’, while NATO has
expanded its remit far beyond Europe. It
has used or threatened military attack for the USA’s political objectives. (See Annex below for details.)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Such
intimidation includes nuclear weapons:
In NATO’s Charter, Article 5 maintains the option for the first use of
nuclear weapons. It has ‘nuclear-weapons
sharing’ arrangements on the territory of five member states. NATO poses a major threat to a peaceful world
and global nuclear disarmament.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Maintain the
Green Party’s policy for withdrawal</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">According to
the Green Party’s<b> </b></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Peace & Defence</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> policy<i>: ‘</i>Much international conflict today arises directly or indirectly
from the abuse of power by rich Northern nations.’ Indeed. It advocates UK withdrawal from NATO:</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">According to
the Green Party’s<b> </b></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Peace & Defence</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> policy<i>: ‘</i>Much international conflict today arises directly or indirectly
from the abuse of power by rich Northern nations.’ Indeed. It advocates UK withdrawal from NATO:</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‘The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is a
military-oriented body, which imposes conflict cessation rather than
encouraging peace building. As such, it is not a sustainable mechanism for
maintaining peace in the world. In the long term, we would take the UK out of
NATO. We would also end the so-called "special relationship" between
the UK and the US.’<br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Green Party, Peace & Defence policies, PD513, </span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><a href="https://policy.greenparty.org.uk/pd.html">https://policy.greenparty.org.uk/pd.html</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">This stance is contradicted
by the spring 2022 conference Motion F02, sections PSD 317-319. They sanitise NATO's role as supposedly peace-building
and security for weaker nations – the opposite of its real role. The Motion
implies Green Party support for the UK staying in NATO, pending imaginary efforts
at 'reforms'.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Question for Green Party members:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Do you want to sanitise
NATO’s military aggression, weapons expansion and further militarisation of
society? If you do not, then maintain the
current policy for withdrawal from NATO.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Oppose the NATO
sections of Motion F02, as in the amendment being proposed.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Article written
by some members of the Green Party of England and Wales and Green Left: Martin Francis, Jay Ginn, Les
Levidow.</span><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Annex:
NATO’s military aggression for
US global political domination</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Since its
inception in 1949, NATO’s claim for a defence role has been repeatedly contradicted
by its military aggression and political domination. Its official pretence has facilitated the abuse of military power for
rich Northern nations. Consider these
examples:</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Secret militias</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">: After World War II, Operation Gladio was
supposedly a defensive measure against a Soviet invasion of Western European
countries. Gladio established secret
militias there, using far Right and neo-Nazi individuals. Some carried out terrorist attacks. The original set-up involved NATO, MI5 and
the CIA.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">1961 Turkey:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> US nuclear-armed missiles, capable of
reaching Moscow, were placed in Turkey. They were removed in 1963 as part of
the deal for US to renounce any invasion of Cuba and for the USSR to remove its
missiles there.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Post-1989</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">:
The Warsaw Pact was a key rationale for establishing NATO. Although the Pact was disbanded in 1989, NATO
continued. It used the opportunity to expand
the membership and militarise countries bordering Russia.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">1999 Strategic Concept</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">:
NATO expanded its remit to justify military operations anywhere in the
Eurasian land mass.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2001 Afghanistan</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">:
Led by NATO-member forces, the 2001 Western invasion devastated
Afghanistan on the pretext of fighting back against the 9-11 culprits. Of
course, they had come from Saudi Arabia, which conveniently wasn’t
mentioned. NATO took control of the
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in 2003, as a
means to increase US government control.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2003-11 Iraq</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">: Invasion and occupation by US-UK coalition, extending
the Bush ‘War on Terror’ following the 9-11 attack. Led to protracted internal conflict that
continues today.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2010 ‘Active Engagement, Modern Defence’
policy</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">: NATO expanded
its remit to encompass ‘counterterrorism, cyber-security, and the proliferation
of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons’.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2011 Libya</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">: NATO members (US, UK, France and Canada)
intervened in a civil war through naval and air bombing. This left the country
in turmoil and division, which continues today.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2014</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">: NATO agreed that a
cyber-attack on any member state could warrant a collective response, including
military action. It can be difficult to identify
the source of cyber-attacks. So this NATO
agreement provides a flexible pretext to attack any insubordinate country.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2021 Outer space</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">:
At its 2001 summit, NATO extended the Article 5 collective defence
clause to include military attacks in or from outer space.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2021 Iraq
again</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">: NATO decided to expand its anti-ISIS training
mission in Iraq. This defied the
country’s Parliament, which in 2020 had demanded that foreign troops leave the
country.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2022
Kurdistan</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">: For several decades, NATO member Turkey has
sought to delegitimise and destroy the Kurdish freedom movement as a ‘terrorist’
force. This year the Turkish military
has intensified its illegal attacks in predominantly Kurdish areas across the
Iraqi border, with tacit support from NATO.
It sees the movement as a threat to Western domination of the region.</span> </p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-86630056337662356742022-06-18T11:41:00.003-07:002022-06-18T15:32:20.310-07:00TUC Cost of Living Demo - Photos and Report<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZwUiRBYt2fRB3RDonpb2xz61rhAD9kgoUOUwRZl7j7bkqZLYjbnFIM6l7rF8Ri1yflxnw9RL6dtU3Z8bK0buXz4v1Nko3Nlvr0d51BCQ4WYrnjGrl8eKdg356V2g4YH1kXOsNLeazepYwbpaVsefnKk3Yk5a2j_PAmTlYcnEXp5GURpDEkbKvFmS/s4032/TUC%20Cost%20of%20Living%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZwUiRBYt2fRB3RDonpb2xz61rhAD9kgoUOUwRZl7j7bkqZLYjbnFIM6l7rF8Ri1yflxnw9RL6dtU3Z8bK0buXz4v1Nko3Nlvr0d51BCQ4WYrnjGrl8eKdg356V2g4YH1kXOsNLeazepYwbpaVsefnKk3Yk5a2j_PAmTlYcnEXp5GURpDEkbKvFmS/w400-h300/TUC%20Cost%20of%20Living%202.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Thousands of people
turned out for the Trade Union Congress (TUC) demonstration today in central
London. The protesters assembled at Portland Place and marched to Parliament
Square, where many trade union leaders spoke to the rally. I estimate about 25,000 to 30,000 attended.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ft9liBdqnq1vZu053kScqxCS5acpjab4mPw8znJ9mNX5cibp-r2VPxXlVfgy0iwQ3dY46FzesxROSPFlCAUjdZNv4Tf-rDEy86oIWlEc_VRQSOYq4UngAggbv7KxIMXsQO4g8C7cUmsbhnLn68k_c7M-GmdpsQVI9KYW26Q9nLSRnNJCfWeaZmmj/s4032/TUC%20Cost%20of%20Living%204.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ft9liBdqnq1vZu053kScqxCS5acpjab4mPw8znJ9mNX5cibp-r2VPxXlVfgy0iwQ3dY46FzesxROSPFlCAUjdZNv4Tf-rDEy86oIWlEc_VRQSOYq4UngAggbv7KxIMXsQO4g8C7cUmsbhnLn68k_c7M-GmdpsQVI9KYW26Q9nLSRnNJCfWeaZmmj/w400-h300/TUC%20Cost%20of%20Living%204.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvgzw5sNmirshB-ArA5tFhXj3JBWegRD8Yaoftp6yuZ52UlryY4PyCBi3nKaRyACDdEKgqnW_A1ditKVu1XOOrXnTZr8azPyuqmr7Wa3uHWi0tDbTEHJFKlRpk0RtOlhd-rjI93HN4UByI-mRPuAz9F-ektMmDkshOrDlA3xJpl3UXFyT7VZ44PQXX/s4032/TUC%20Cost%20of%20Living%205.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvgzw5sNmirshB-ArA5tFhXj3JBWegRD8Yaoftp6yuZ52UlryY4PyCBi3nKaRyACDdEKgqnW_A1ditKVu1XOOrXnTZr8azPyuqmr7Wa3uHWi0tDbTEHJFKlRpk0RtOlhd-rjI93HN4UByI-mRPuAz9F-ektMmDkshOrDlA3xJpl3UXFyT7VZ44PQXX/w400-h300/TUC%20Cost%20of%20Living%205.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidL230vM0DzoLk4c5nNAG_Fjf6-mL3S7Juz1R2DSmVdX5GR_A8CmpRTAsSJVqPgMXipT9mAcW--wV8wOnQj5QHhxGR7k1YJJAqccIkv2i7PPLFFuFV1RRYK42cLBB-bjaT1bhq5KQBiTiy9Kyb5N753_GZsV_Z1BiB0bEslN0Tqavgx8uP-vebrIVd/s4032/TUC%20Cost%20of%20Living%206.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidL230vM0DzoLk4c5nNAG_Fjf6-mL3S7Juz1R2DSmVdX5GR_A8CmpRTAsSJVqPgMXipT9mAcW--wV8wOnQj5QHhxGR7k1YJJAqccIkv2i7PPLFFuFV1RRYK42cLBB-bjaT1bhq5KQBiTiy9Kyb5N753_GZsV_Z1BiB0bEslN0Tqavgx8uP-vebrIVd/w400-h300/TUC%20Cost%20of%20Living%206.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">All of the
unions were well represented, with each union forming colourful blocs of inflatables,
flags and banners. Music featured too, with sound systems, brass bands and drummers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTITuJ66_fN0C5YMU21LXfJHpnQkbyEWre4OLvWwBUNhMSAVjpv8Ru7PKyJccMzUoM35aGZVnENLAiVOXpgLLETU3qChKevX_ycvQFDYSuMUm16w_7DWTBP4OvzYgBXIk8s2JlgCEfmcPRJcajNPWwIUypAKS7a5fTZCNX99VJuNHDArDktBtK9R4/s4032/TUC%20Cost%20of%20Living%208.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTITuJ66_fN0C5YMU21LXfJHpnQkbyEWre4OLvWwBUNhMSAVjpv8Ru7PKyJccMzUoM35aGZVnENLAiVOXpgLLETU3qChKevX_ycvQFDYSuMUm16w_7DWTBP4OvzYgBXIk8s2JlgCEfmcPRJcajNPWwIUypAKS7a5fTZCNX99VJuNHDArDktBtK9R4/w400-h300/TUC%20Cost%20of%20Living%208.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggF6QAyPhrZb6ADx0le2uPYJz5jDILqwvGJiFpxgg4UKH8MkLfflK7I0XrtZDrpNXdo1iz10cbEoRMWfwJC6m9ZeCFIU4l26vd1Zk8YDMGJxf5sFD4_naQBi-JKQgpI04xuD56ErjtdDdKA2sQM04CWBWS2VO7cZ66TiY7OYne6XnwlsHp2yRx3tKw/s4032/TUC%20Cost%20of%20Living%209.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggF6QAyPhrZb6ADx0le2uPYJz5jDILqwvGJiFpxgg4UKH8MkLfflK7I0XrtZDrpNXdo1iz10cbEoRMWfwJC6m9ZeCFIU4l26vd1Zk8YDMGJxf5sFD4_naQBi-JKQgpI04xuD56ErjtdDdKA2sQM04CWBWS2VO7cZ66TiY7OYne6XnwlsHp2yRx3tKw/w400-h300/TUC%20Cost%20of%20Living%209.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Union leaders gave
speeches in Parliament Square to a crowd of thousands, calling for higher
wages, increased taxes for the rich, better working conditions and in support
of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union strikes next week.</span></p></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Frances
O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC was met with applause and cheers as she
gave a speech criticising the Transport Secretary and the Prime Minister.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">She said: “I
have seen the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has threatened rail workers that
they will strike themselves out of a job.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">“Well you are
wrong Mr Shapps: if you keep stirring, come the next election, you will be out
of a job.”</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Ms O’Grady added:
“Let me say this to Boris Johnson, don’t you dare shift the blame for inflation
onto working people. <o:p></o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Ms O’Grady added: </span></p><p class="MsoNormal">“Don’t you
dare, not after a decade of austerity, privatisation and pay cuts. Don’t you
dare tell working families we have to put up with more pain.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">“What about
bankers’ bonuses? What about the boardroom raking it in? What about corporate
profits?</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">“It is time to
raise taxes on wealth not workers.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7TuKBBiPOmVm1Zg7LhwkfX0lKGMzRV2Ad2ca50xxDNj-YKQuCLQpju5s1zF7_PLlwEGhm5O5Yo2VHNvT7DrNy7O53Trid5gpyPf5nQGeGCYh7LR3YuGWKDhZETpu2MreYJhKLE3khfPUSHl8BMEmehGPDb7O5jiQw9-IqoAu-63P3o0McUt2EjeQH/s4032/TUC%20Cost%20of%20Living%2010.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7TuKBBiPOmVm1Zg7LhwkfX0lKGMzRV2Ad2ca50xxDNj-YKQuCLQpju5s1zF7_PLlwEGhm5O5Yo2VHNvT7DrNy7O53Trid5gpyPf5nQGeGCYh7LR3YuGWKDhZETpu2MreYJhKLE3khfPUSHl8BMEmehGPDb7O5jiQw9-IqoAu-63P3o0McUt2EjeQH/w400-h300/TUC%20Cost%20of%20Living%2010.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Unfortunately,
we didn’t have the numbers to leaflet and carry the Ecosocialist Alliance
banner on the march. The text of <a href="https://londongreenleft.blogspot.com/2022/06/tuc-cost-of-living-demo-nationalise-to.html"><span style="color: #38761d;">the
leaflet is here</span></a>. But here is a photo of our Ecosocialist Alliance comrades,
Anti-Capitalist Resistance’s banner. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqmBfgeoGxlhPsVd3QPwth6OlZO2yZ-QYvyagAaOUBrQRwgo4GBXAWUQAhhJo58a7TxC0FlQB3AtjuT5hKsjSACMrZtEp_Fxih0slSFROiNEXqiq3TvL8J4Q4jlyI9ozHvpiAA0LegbnM_gI5GXwLYYEkZCuUnLqXLsI-kJY_frDuGPpWxF-GfyRL9/s4032/TUC%20Cost%20of%20Living%203.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqmBfgeoGxlhPsVd3QPwth6OlZO2yZ-QYvyagAaOUBrQRwgo4GBXAWUQAhhJo58a7TxC0FlQB3AtjuT5hKsjSACMrZtEp_Fxih0slSFROiNEXqiq3TvL8J4Q4jlyI9ozHvpiAA0LegbnM_gI5GXwLYYEkZCuUnLqXLsI-kJY_frDuGPpWxF-GfyRL9/w400-h300/TUC%20Cost%20of%20Living%203.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p></div>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-66162671280568533312022-06-10T07:02:00.004-07:002022-06-10T13:53:24.365-07:00TUC Cost of Living Demo - Nationalise to De-Carbonise Energy & Transport <p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuvvya6EYCT9WBXIk437KnCk8HL8uCc6I5HYgpipKawHvAOV-KxX9QSymOzLRy55rSXiU37taLkXyg3vyQSgZ9jRPmWvGO8Ir3B3Pq3RgIMM8HxU8BVB-poDM3e-qAo93_O67AwCZhmaO5Q05VYoR4cjiCEjk8-W7NPJrfn_2uxp9kDWN58XG97mOG/s1280/Ecosocialist%20Alliance%20Banner.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="1280" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuvvya6EYCT9WBXIk437KnCk8HL8uCc6I5HYgpipKawHvAOV-KxX9QSymOzLRy55rSXiU37taLkXyg3vyQSgZ9jRPmWvGO8Ir3B3Pq3RgIMM8HxU8BVB-poDM3e-qAo93_O67AwCZhmaO5Q05VYoR4cjiCEjk8-W7NPJrfn_2uxp9kDWN58XG97mOG/w400-h155/Ecosocialist%20Alliance%20Banner.png" width="400" /></a><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">This is the
text of Ecosocialist Alliance leaflet which will be circulated on the TUC demo on
Saturday18 June, 11am start, Portland Place, London, W1. Come along and support
us if you can, look out for the banner pictured above. Ecosocialism not
Extinction!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The media is
full of headlines about crises: cost of living, energy prices, health and
social care, pandemics - and, less frequently, climate collapse. Mainstream
politicians see these as separate crises, while ecosocialists recognise these
are interrelated crises of the capitalist system itself. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Insulate
Britain activists have been jailed for trying to get the Westminster government
to begin a massive programme to insulate homes and Just Stop Oil activists also
face jail for their protests outside the Kingsbury oil depot. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Simple measures
like insulation and renewable energy would take millions of people out of fuel
poverty and would greatly reduce the numbers dying each year because they
cannot afford to heat their homes. Britain has the worst record in Europe for
this: in 2020, fuel poverty charities estimated such deaths as around 10,000 a
year. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Government
funded insulation programmes, combined with putting taxpayers' money into
renewable energy, would greatly reduce our carbon emissions as well as create
thousands of good green jobs.. In addition, our reliance on the profiteering
and polluting fossilfuel giants – posting record profits, while continuing to
drive the climate and ecological crises – would be massively reduced.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The Tories'
record is appalling with millions of working families living below the poverty
line. The hike in energy prices will see well over 25% of UK households – 15m
people – in fuel poverty. Johnson and Sunak’s subsidies and rebates barely
touch the sides.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The British
government gives the fossil fuel industry <b>£10 billion a year in tax breaks</b>
and subsidies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The Tories
finally bowed to pressure for a windfall tax on dirty fuel producers but we
would go much further. All subsidies to oil and gas companies must end now and
be switched to renewables. We must take energy companies and road and rail
infrastructure into public ownership and rapidly de-carbonise the whole
economy. We stand for a rapid ecosocialist transition led by, and in the
interests of, working people.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #548235; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #548235; mso-style-textfill-fill-colortransforms: lumm=75000; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;">Ecosocialist</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> <span style="color: #c00000;">Alliance</span>
is a network of organisations and individuals. We campaign for ecosocialist and
ecofeminist solutions to the multiple crises of the system. We are
internationalist: the climate crisis will not be solved by any one country, but
by collective global action. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We stand firmly
with the global south in seeking ecological and social justice. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We reject green
capitalist “solutions”, which are unworkable under a capitalist system of
infinite growth and accumulation. The planet will only be saved by disposing of
this system and replacing it with ecosocialism.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">This leaflet is
sponsored by:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Left Unity</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="leftunity.org"><span style="color: #38761d;">leftunity.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Green Left</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="greenleftblog.blogspot.com"><span style="color: #38761d;">greenleftblog.blogspot.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Anti-Capitalist
Resistance</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="anticapitalistresistance.org"><span style="color: #38761d;">anticapitalistresistance.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Red-Green
Labour</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="redgreenlabour.org"><span style="color: #38761d;">redgreenlabour.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Breakthrough
Party</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="breakthroughparty.org.uk"><span style="color: #38761d;">breakthroughparty.org.uk</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">RS21</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">: <a href="rs21.org.uk"><span style="color: #38761d;">rs21.org.uk</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><b>EcosocialistAllianceUK</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/ecosocalgroup"><span style="color: #38761d;">ecosocalgroup</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Contact
Ecosocialist Alliance: eco-socialist-action@protonmail.com</span></b></p></div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-14472831751742840152022-05-21T07:44:00.000-07:002022-05-21T07:44:52.991-07:00Green New Deal agendas in tension: what decarbonisation, for what societal future?<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuawCxzQPUAkXm5b5gvsuzEJw_QhxIl4sdbA3BJFeYJRbjqxq6pmO15UG-R5HGIyKtmrX9RXIQeryZa1bwYfYLldSsEyF7WTyaiHq3JiZKt1g1es_1tcVOZ6SwEOiZg5_CRCKX42U-g3Ms-U1b_uRaoV02-_-S_atmUo5pZu6uLAArTAvU7sXudIk_/s750/Green%20New%20Deal11.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="750" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuawCxzQPUAkXm5b5gvsuzEJw_QhxIl4sdbA3BJFeYJRbjqxq6pmO15UG-R5HGIyKtmrX9RXIQeryZa1bwYfYLldSsEyF7WTyaiHq3JiZKt1g1es_1tcVOZ6SwEOiZg5_CRCKX42U-g3Ms-U1b_uRaoV02-_-S_atmUo5pZu6uLAArTAvU7sXudIk_/w400-h266/Green%20New%20Deal11.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">Written by Les
Levidow<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">Green New Deal
(GND) agendas have gained significant support as means to reconcile
environmental sustainability and a net-zero economy with socio-economic equity.
Their transformative vision has attracted proposals such as more public goods,
workers’ cooperatives and caring activities. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such proposals stimulate people’s imaginations
around pilot schemes prefiguring alternatives to a profit-driven, inequitable
high-carbon economy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">Green Parties
have elaborated a Green New Deal as an ideal wish-list of such measures, variously
called truly green, greener or green-socialist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Green Parties initially have done so with little regard to significant allies,
which hopefully would be attracted. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">By contrast, multi-stakeholder
alliances became a difficult matter in 2019, when GND agendas were
promoted within major political parties such as the US Democratic Party and UK
Labour Party. They have undergone internal conflicts over decarbonisation
pathways, partly expressing conflicts within the labour movement. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">Fossil fuel
industries have sought system continuity through decarbonisation technofixes,
with political support from their sector’s trade unions, thus associating
workers’ secure livelihoods with fossil energy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This agenda complements capitalist frameworks
of Green Keynesianism and Green Growth, seeking to reconcile perpetual economic
growth with environmental sustainability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This false promise helps to soften or defer societal conflicts over an
economically disruptive transition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">By contrast, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>some public-sector trade unions and
environmentalist allies have sought a socio-economic transformation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This would go beyond the fossil fuel industry
and GDP-driven growth, towards an economy of sufficiency. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such alliances have been coordinated
internationally by Trade Unions for Energy Democracy. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-zfTilFbPTVuFh3kuenHLd_HdPgQSjH3con-I08MBiGeArQVwnMpIl9D6hzIVhiA2BI9WW9HdLZh1s0b5qDF6iggR4bM_NABYsnY7asc06D_uwwzzCKojR7efdL2g8Tgi380Ij-TEKUywvlYE3S-thXzZrhqASXpkGNEN6pdc1AaQZxK-VqxrW7h/s240/Les1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="101" data-original-width="240" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-zfTilFbPTVuFh3kuenHLd_HdPgQSjH3con-I08MBiGeArQVwnMpIl9D6hzIVhiA2BI9WW9HdLZh1s0b5qDF6iggR4bM_NABYsnY7asc06D_uwwzzCKojR7efdL2g8Tgi380Ij-TEKUywvlYE3S-thXzZrhqASXpkGNEN6pdc1AaQZxK-VqxrW7h/w400-h168/Les1.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">Those divergent
agendas have conflicted over decarbonisation technofixes. Their false promises
have provided an investment imperative for dubious low-carbon remedies, or an
alibi to await their feasibility before abandoning fossil fuels, or both at
once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This dominant agenda imagines the
nation as a unitary economic space needing technoscientific advance for a
global competitive advantage. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh39eQO3Ns88cDVl_aMms3QClZhs0SSlj8xgx-ifwciFy7fCqtyedlIVUVZMyqhTFvmzT0sKEKHV8YMvLTsilMhNyxheS1CHo_0ZsVb1vvlN27SwiCKttR9siEaC-Er-W-NpK6IsKZ2fmgjxjWqQEhwWHnZwzyahJbBZVvfiBDW1qbHhmUPTdURqDP2/s426/Les2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="292" data-original-width="426" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh39eQO3Ns88cDVl_aMms3QClZhs0SSlj8xgx-ifwciFy7fCqtyedlIVUVZMyqhTFvmzT0sKEKHV8YMvLTsilMhNyxheS1CHo_0ZsVb1vvlN27SwiCKttR9siEaC-Er-W-NpK6IsKZ2fmgjxjWqQEhwWHnZwzyahJbBZVvfiBDW1qbHhmUPTdURqDP2/w400-h274/Les2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p align="center" style="text-align: center;">Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS), Credit:
Cathy Wilcox,<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/cathywilcox1/status/1263601201179836416"><span style="color: #38761d;">https://twitter.com/cathywilcox1/status/1263601201179836416</span></a><o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p></p><div>
<p><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">Disputes over
such technofixes express rival societal visions of a low-carbon future. This
conflictual process has shaped what counts as Green and Deal, with somewhat different
outcomes for a GND in the US and UK. In
its 2019 election manifesto, the UK Labour Party’s GND accommodated the
technofix agenda of the natural gas industry. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">Similar
tensions will arise around any decarbonisation process, regardless of whether
it is called a Just Transition or Green New Deal. To go beyond false promises will depend on
political struggles to disrupt the hegemonic cross-class alliance, to create
different alliances and to gain state support for their agendas. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">Labour
movement groups have been leading GND local alliances along those lines,
sometimes for decarbonisation retrofits of houses (as in Leeds and
Glasgow). Such alliances test strategies
to confront dominant neoliberal agendas, while also developing eco-localisation
alternatives. These seek means to
localise production-consumption circuits, increase public goods, enhance
socio-economic equity, and minimise resource burdens. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">What practical implications for Green Parties? To be politically effective, their GND agendas
need an early engagement with activists seeking to undermine false
techno-solutions for high-carbon sectors.
At the same time, this effort needs to develop and test alternatives
bases for livelihoods. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 25.5pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 25.5pt; text-indent: -21.55pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0cm;">Read the full article: </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0cm; text-indent: -21.55pt;">“Green New Deals: what shapes Green and Deal?, <i>Capitalism
NatureSocialism</i> (<i>CNS</i>), </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="text-indent: -21.55pt;"><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10455752.2022.2062675"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #38761d; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; padding: 0cm;">https://doi.org/10.1080/10455752.2022.2062675</span></a></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0cm; text-indent: -21.55pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -21.55pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">Les Levidow is a Senior
Research Fellow at the Open University.
He is a supporter of the Green Left.
Contentious fixes and practical alternatives will be analysed in his
forthcoming book, <i>Beyond Climate Fixes: From Public Controversy to System
Change</i>.</span></b></p></div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-31465299299320217912022-05-17T07:46:00.003-07:002022-05-18T07:00:08.479-07:00Decriminalized Marijuana Reinvents Racism and Poisoning<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsQy03WfTg63eYgejagx3D2D5QEscTida2BFajhUfAzvq1GOdDaSmLWC_dZAVi25d1ScxPHVLoyO8SWjONN1yicpErBtNzUlzYN61jCVcznk_uX4DPrV71vr-adrsPtVpEi2Py959BYyKL2h9S2ypzwt_7i1ypCD14bnc_x0cQYKeC6CQ-uaua4pW/s694/Cannabis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="694" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsQy03WfTg63eYgejagx3D2D5QEscTida2BFajhUfAzvq1GOdDaSmLWC_dZAVi25d1ScxPHVLoyO8SWjONN1yicpErBtNzUlzYN61jCVcznk_uX4DPrV71vr-adrsPtVpEi2Py959BYyKL2h9S2ypzwt_7i1ypCD14bnc_x0cQYKeC6CQ-uaua4pW/w400-h258/Cannabis.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p class="author" style="line-height: 18.7pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Written </span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">by Don Fitz and Susan Armstrong</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-weight: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> and first published at <a href="http://www.greensocialthought.org/"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: X-NONE;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Green Social Thought</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">An Attack on Black and Brown Cultures</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p><div style="border: none black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-highlight: white;">Spanish-speaking people, who have lived in the US since it
stole half of Mexico’s land, have a tradition of smoking marijuana. Amid a growing fear of Mexican immigrants in
the early twentieth century, hysterical claims about the drug became
widespread, such as allegations that it caused a “lust for blood.” The term <em>cannabis</em> was largely replaced by the </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/05/09/in-the-beginning-was-the-weed/"><span style="background: white; color: #1a1a1a; mso-highlight: white;">Anglicized </span><i><span style="background: white; color: #1a1a1a; mso-highlight: white;">marijuana</span></i></a><span style="background: white; color: #1a1a1a; mso-highlight: white;">, perhaps to suggest
the foreignness of the drug. Around this
time many states began passing laws to ban pot.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-highlight: white;">In “Why Is Marijuana Illegal in the US?” </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/story/why-is-marijuana-illegal-in-the-us"><span style="background: white; color: #1a1a1a; mso-highlight: white;">Amy Tikkanen</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #1a1a1a; mso-highlight: white;"> wrote </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;">that in the 1930s, Harry J. Anslinger, head of the
Federal Bureau of Narcotics, turned the battle against marijuana into an
all-out war. He could have been
motivated less by safety concerns—the vast majority of scientists he surveyed
claimed that the drug was not dangerous—and more by a desire to promote his
newly created department. Anslinger
sought a federal ban on the drug, and initiated a high-profile campaign that
relied heavily on racism. Anslinger claimed that the majority of pot smokers
were minorities, including African Americans, and that marijuana had a negative
effect on these “degenerate races,” such as inducing violence or causing
insanity. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Furthermore, he noted, “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/story/why-is-marijuana-illegal-in-the-us"><span style="color: #1a1a1a;">Reefer</span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"> makes darkies
think they’re as good as white men.”
Anslinger oversaw the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.<span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"> Although that particular law was
declared unconstitutional in 1969, it was augmented by the Controlled
Substances Act the following year. That legislation classified marijuana—as
well as </span></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/heroin"><span style="background: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;">heroin</span></span></a><span style="background: white; color: #1a1a1a; mso-highlight: white;"> and </span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/LSD"><span style="background: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;">LSD</span></span></a><span style="background: white; color: #1a1a1a; mso-highlight: white;">, among others—as a Schedule I drug.
Racism was also evident in the enforcement of the law. African Americans in the early 21st century
were nearly four times more likely than whites to be </span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/story/why-is-marijuana-illegal-in-the-us"><span style="background: white; color: #1a1a1a; mso-highlight: white;">arrested</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #1a1a1a; mso-highlight: white;"> on marijuana-related
charges—despite both groups having similar usage rates. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="author" style="line-height: 18.7pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;">
</p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-highlight: white;">In her 2016 film, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krfcq5pF8u8"><span style="background: white; color: #1a1a1a; mso-highlight: white;">13th Amendment</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #1a1a1a; mso-highlight: white;">, producer, Ava
Duvernay documented drug laws and policies which increased incarceration rates
of Black and brown people over the last six decades.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: -21.6pt;"> </span></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 196.8pt; text-align: center;">
<tbody><tr>
<td style="background: #BFBFBF; border-right: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 36.75pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Year</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="background: #BFBFBF; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 79.0pt;" valign="top" width="105">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">US
Prison Population</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 36.75pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">1970</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 79.0pt;" valign="top" width="105">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-align: right; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">300,000</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 36.75pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">1980</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 79.0pt;" valign="top" width="105">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-align: right; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">513,900</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 36.75pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">1985</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 79.0pt;" valign="top" width="105">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-align: right; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">759,100</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 36.75pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">1990</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 79.0pt;" valign="top" width="105">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-align: right; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">1,179,200</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 36.75pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2000</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 79.0pt;" valign="top" width="105">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-align: right; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2,015,300</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt; border-left: solid black 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 36.75pt;" valign="top" width="49">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2022.html"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">2020</span></b></a><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid black .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid black .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 79.0pt;" valign="top" width="105">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-align: right; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2,300,000</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">President Nixon’s “War on Crime” of the 1970s
targeted protests by the anti-war movement as well as liberation movements by
gays, women, and Blacks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Crime” became
a code word for race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nixon’s Adviser,
John Ehrlichman, admitted that the “War on Drugs” was all about throwing Black
people into jail to disrupt those communities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These efforts were to gain southern voters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In the 1980’s, President Reagan’s “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krfcq5pF8u8"><span style="color: #38761d;">War on Drugs</span></a>” portrayed
drugs as an “inner city problem,” allowed for mandatory sentencing for crack
cocaine, and tripled the federal spending on law enforcement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The War on Drugs became a war against Black
and Latino communities, with huge chunks of Black and brown men disappearing
into prison for a “really long” time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The exploding mass incarceration rates felt genocidal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was again pandering to racist voters. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In his effort to appear “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krfcq5pF8u8"><span style="color: #38761d;">tough on crime</span></a>” during
the 1990’s, President Bill Clinton pushed the $30 billion Federal Crime Bill
which expanded prison sentences, incentivized law enforcement to do things we
now consider abusive, and militarized local police forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Increased incarceration rates due to the
Clinton administration included introduction of the terms “super predators,”
Mandatory Minimum Sentences, “Truth in Sentencing” (which eliminated parole),
and “three strikes and you’re out” laws whereby those convicted of three
felonies were mandated to prison for life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Such a criminal justice system needs constant feeding of young men and
women of color.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Racism during Marijuana
Criminalization<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Poverty plays a central role in mass incarceration
– people put in prison and jail are disproportionately poor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The criminal justice system punishes poverty,
beginning with the high price of money bail. The median felony bail bond amount
($10,000) is the equivalent of eight months’ income for the typical<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>defendant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Those with low incomes are more likely to face the </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/aer.20161503"><span style="color: #38761d;">harms of pretrial detention</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Poverty is not only </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2018/03/22/brookingsreport_2018/"><span style="color: #38761d;">a predictor</span></a></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">of
incarceration – it is also frequently the outcome, as a criminal record and
time spent in prison </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2016/04/26/wealth/"><span style="color: #38761d;">destroys wealth</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">, creates
debt, and </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/outofwork.html#figure2"><span style="color: #38761d;">decimates job opportunities</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">It’s no surprise that people of color — who face
much greater rates of poverty — are dramatically overrepresented in the
nation’s prisons and jails. These racial disparities are particularly stark for
Black Americans, who make up 38% of the </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2022.html"><span style="color: #38761d;">incarcerated population</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> despite
representing only 12% of US residents. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-highlight: white;">Police,
prosecutors, and judges continue to punish people harshly for nothing more than
drug possession. Drug offenses still account for the incarceration of almost
400,000 people, and drug convictions remain a defining feature of the </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://apps.urban.org/features/reducing-federal-mass-incarceration/"><i><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;">federal</span></span></i></a><a href="http://apps.urban.org/features/reducing-federal-mass-incarceration/"><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;"> prison</span> <span style="color: #38761d;">system</span></span></a></span><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">. Police still make over one
million drug possession arrests each year, many of which lead to prison
sentences. Drug arrests continue to give residents of over-policed
communities </span><a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/just-facts-many-americans-have-criminal-records-college-diplomas"><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;">criminal records</span></span></a><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">, hurting their employment
prospects and increasing the likelihood of longer sentences for any future
offenses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The enormous churn in and out
of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>correctional facilities is 600,000
persons per year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are another
822,000 people on parole and a staggering 2.9 million people on probation – 79
million people have a criminal record; and </span><a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2022.html"><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;">113 million</span></span></a><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"> adults have immediate family
members who have been to prison. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-highlight: white;">One in
five incarcerated people is locked up for a </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2022.html"><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;">drug offense</span></span></a><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">. Four out of five people in
prison or jail are locked up for something other than a drug offense — either a
more serious offense or a <i>less</i> serious one. The terms “<b>violent</b>”
and “<b>nonviolent</b>” crime are so widely misused that they are generally
unhelpful in a policy context.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People
typically use “violent” and “nonviolent” as substitutes for <i>serious </i>versus <i>nonserious </i>criminal
acts. That alone </span><a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/04/01/opinion/fallacy-behind-tougher-penalties-violent-crime/"><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;">is a fallacy</span></span></a><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">, but worse, these terms are also
used as coded (<b>often racialized</b>) language to </span><a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2022.html"><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;">label individuals</span></span></a><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"> as inherently <i>dangerous </i>versus <i>non-dangerous</i>.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Decriminalization
Reinvents Marijuana Racism</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The decriminalization which is sweeping across
the US carries with it the obvious facts that (a) pot is not and never has been
a dangerous drug, and (b) criminalizing drugs has never brought anything
positive. This suggests that those who have been victimized were done so
wrongfully and therefore should be compensated for the wrongs done to
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, victims have been
predominantly people of color and American racism reappears during the
decriminalization phase in the form of trivializing harms done and offering
restitution that barely scratch the surface of what is needed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Prior to addressing the shortcomings for
wrongful damages for marijuana laws, the US should publicly apologize for the
wrongheaded and thoroughly racist “War on Drugs” and pledge to compensate those
who have suffered from it in ways that are comparable to cannabis-related
issues below.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Victims should be compensated for time spent in
jail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prisoners might receive
compensation for labor performed in prison; but it can be as low as <a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2022.html"><span style="color: #38761d;">$0.86 to $3.45 per day</span></a>
for most common prison jobs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least
five states pay nothing at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>P<span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">rivate companies using prison
labor are not the source of most prison jobs. Only about 5,000 people in
prison — fewer than 1% — are employed by private companies through the
federal </span><a href="https://www.nationalcia.org/_files/ugd/569cf7_ef27cb77182443a69a2de109c9175110.pdf"><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;">PIECP</span></span></a><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"> (Prison Industry Enhancement
Certification Program), which requires them to pay at least minimum wage before
deductions. (A larger portion work for state-owned “correctional industries,”
which pay much less.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this still only
represents about 6% of people incarcerated in state prisons.) </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-highlight: white;">There
cannot be a serious discussion of compensating victims if many continue to rot
in jail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They must be release
immediately, regardless of what state they are in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of those released have not had records
of their arrests, convictions and sentencing cleared (“expunged”).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://www.eatchicago.org/"><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Equity and Transformation Chicago</span></span></a><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">, there is a 5-8 year wait for expunging
records.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Records must be expunged as
rapidly as would be done if it really affected people’s lives (because it
does).</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="border: none black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-highlight: white;">A
core component of repairing harm done to those imprisoned would be prioritizing
them (according to amount of jail time served) to receive licenses for growing,
processing, transporting and dispensing marijuana.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Various states have taken baby steps in the
right direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, Chicago’s </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/03/18/chicagoans-arrested-for-marijuana-possession-are-getting-crash-course-in-the-legal-weed-business/?utm_source=Pico&utm_campaign=1dbdc028e5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_03_18_05_23&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b6b84a5cee-1dbdc028e5-126890934&mc_cid=1dbdc028e5&mc_eid=1faada21d1"><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Olive Harvey College</span></span></a><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"> is offering training in cannabis
studies to those with past marijuana arrests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Participants receive “free tuition, a $1,000 monthly stipend, academic
support and help with child care, transportation and case management.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As of March, 2022 there were 47 studying for
jobs as growers, lab directors and lab or quality control technicians. <b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-highlight: white;">Another
effort pointing forward is </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/nyregion/marijuana-sellers-licenses-hochul.html"><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;">New York’s program</span></span></a><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"> to grant licenses for marijuana
storefronts for individual or family members who have been imprisoned for a
marijuana-related offense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An executive
for the program expects 100-200 licenses to go to such victims.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-highlight: white;">Let’s put
these model programs in perspective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nice as they are, 47 students receiving study grants in Chicago and
100-200 retail licenses in New York do not even make a dent in the over 867,000
who have been arrested.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="border: none black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; padding: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-highlight: white;">While current programs are
infinitesimally small, barriers to legal victims are enormous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://health.mo.gov/safety/medical-marijuana/pdf/worksheets/worksheet-15.pdf"><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Missouri grants</span></span></a><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"> licenses only to those “having
legal marijuana experience” (such as handling legal medical cannabis) to apply
for licensing for growing, dispensing, and processing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://cf84fce6-8756-40c5-92ef-cd97cbc441f3.filesusr.com/ugd/9c611a_e7455f06dfb04bfe84e3efaa1bbc5cbe.pdf"><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Illinois denies</span></span></a><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"> licenses and loans to felons,
even though 1 in 3 Chicago adults have a criminal record.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Illinois also prevents those with
cannabis-related convictions from entering the cannabis industry by its high
application fees. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-highlight: white;">Financial
barriers for marijuana victims to receive licenses seem insurmountable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">People and communities negatively
impacted by the War on Drugs have high incarceration rates and low <span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;">average salaries due to limited
job opportunities by ex-felons. Therefore, they lack the financial resources
for high non-refundable application fees ($10,000 to $50,000) awarded in
lotteries to match the state-designated number of growers, dispensaries,
processors, and transporters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In </span><a href="https://www2.illinois.gov/IISNews/20242-Summary_of_HB_1438__The_Cannabis_Regulation_and_Tax_Act.pdf"><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Illinois</span>, <span style="color: #38761d;">access</span></span></a><span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"> to credit and small business
loans are difficult for persons with criminal records to obtain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each dispensing organization applicant must
have at least $400,000 in liquid assets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is why people of color cannot participate as owners of legalized
marijuana businesses in Illinois.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p></div>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Industrial Agriculture Poisons Marijuana
Cultivation.</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-highlight: white;">Unfortunately,
even if all these barriers were to be overcome, there would be serious health
issues throughout the marijuana industry, whether legal or illegal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If people of color receive priority in all
phases of the industry, then a new form of environmental racism will
emerge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People in that industry will
become part of the environmental destruction <span style="color: black;">to</span>
their communities while they experience damage to their own health from
pesticide poisoning.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">An excellent review of concerns with
cultivation of cannabis by a <a href="https://jcannabisresearch.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s42238-021-00090-0.pdf"><span style="color: #38761d;">team</span></a>
working with Zhonghua Zheng finds it heavily associated with environmental and
health concerns whether it is grown <a href="https://www.beyondpesticides.org/assets/media/documents/watchdog/documents/%5D%20PesticideUseCannabisProduction.pdf"><span style="color: #38761d;">outdoors
or indoors</span></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Needing considerable
water, cannabis requires twice as much <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26955083/"><span style="color: #38761d;">water</span></a> as wheat, soybeans
and maize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Diverting water to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25785849/"><span style="color: #38761d;">irrigate</span></a> cannabis crops
often results in dewatered streams affecting other vegetation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Water quality is also <a href="https://doi.org/10.3733/ca.2019a0015"><span style="color: #38761d;">worsened</span></a> (especially by illegal
growers) by use of herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides, fungucides and
nematodes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Human health problems which can be linked to chronic
<span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://archive.attn.com/stories/9977/pesticide-use-in-marijuana-production"><span style="color: #38761d;">pesticide</span>
</a><a href="https://archive.attn.com/stories/9977/pesticide-use-in-marijuana-production"><span style="color: #38761d;">exposure</span></a></span>
include memory and respiratory issues as well as birth defects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other <a href="https://merryjane.com/health/5-pesticides-wrongfully-used-in-cannabis-cultivation"><span style="color: #38761d;">health
effects</span></a> are weakened muscle functioning, cancer and liver damage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The organization <a href="https://www.beyondpesticides.org/assets/media/documents/watchdog/documents/PesticideUseCannabisProduction.pdf"><span style="color: #38761d;">Beyond
Pesticides</span></a> documents serious threats due to two factors: (a) “Pesticide
residues in cannabis that has been dried and is inhaled have a direct pathway
into the bloodstream;” and, (2) up to “69.5% of pesticide residues can remain
in smoked marijuana.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Perhaps the most overlooked source of pesticide
poisoning is due to the synthetic piperonyl butoxide (PBO), which is a
synergist, used to boost the effectiveness of active ingredients in
pesticides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>PBO can itself <a href="https://www.beyondpesticides.org/assets/media/documents/watchdog/documents/PesticideUseCannabisProduction.pdf"><span style="color: #38761d;">damage
health</span></a> due to neurotoxicity, cancer and liver problems.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Fertilizers and pesticides make their way into <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article-abstract/32/7/595/397478?redirectedFrom=fulltext"><span style="color: #38761d;">surface
water</span></a>, groundwater and soil, where they threaten the food supply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The high demand for weed affects watersheds,
having damaging effects at least for endangered <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aaeade"><span style="color: #38761d;">salmonid
fish</span></a> species and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25785849/"><span style="color: #38761d;">amphibians</span></a>
including the southern torrent salamander and coastal tailed frog. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Outdoor cannabis farms disturb <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26955083/"><span style="color: #38761d;">fine-sediment</span></a> adjacent to
streams, thereby threatening other rare and endangered species.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its cultivation can contribute to <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.1634"><span style="color: #38761d;">deforestation</span></a>
and forest fragmentation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fertilizers
used for cannabis hurt <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168192317300394?via%3Dihub"><span style="color: #38761d;">air
quality</span></a> due to the release of nitrogen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Excess nitrogen increases soil acidification and well as <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/53/4/341/250178"><span style="color: #38761d;">water
eutrophication</span></a>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Growing cannabis indoors raises its own issues,
most notably health risks from exposure to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24116667/"><span style="color: #38761d;">mold</span> </a>and pesticides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mold in <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789289041683?msclkid=93081ccfcf0111ec8e5dcbca7d9e6319"><span style="color: #38761d;">damp
indoor environments</span></a> is associated with wheeze, cough, respiratory
infections, and <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789289041683?msclkid=93081ccfcf0111ec8e5dcbca7d9e6319"><span style="color: #38761d;">asthma</span></a>
symptoms in sensitized persons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVr2CRaavJ3nOpV7SfVdpyiTqSdHsJJWaq6eZ77iDE3ZEEbDbcr4hA8__uAq3cSUzODzJ2Cs_KChqY0tfxzKV28v1B66jp6CWqHzKkO1cF5AVKVOQY_1KFd00yDLndhYUuDxGtGnaeSY5yLkRXdUmj7seWkpwlBTSYVRiw8Lx-UwR1wLFN03jhc2Yo/s1165/Cannabis%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="649" data-original-width="1165" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVr2CRaavJ3nOpV7SfVdpyiTqSdHsJJWaq6eZ77iDE3ZEEbDbcr4hA8__uAq3cSUzODzJ2Cs_KChqY0tfxzKV28v1B66jp6CWqHzKkO1cF5AVKVOQY_1KFd00yDLndhYUuDxGtGnaeSY5yLkRXdUmj7seWkpwlBTSYVRiw8Lx-UwR1wLFN03jhc2Yo/w400-h223/Cannabis%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Perhaps the most surprising problems with
indoor cultivation of cannabis is its effects on climate change via
electricity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is due to its annual <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421512002285?via%3Dihub"><span style="color: #38761d;">$6
billion energy costs</span></a> in the US, making it responsible for at least 1% of
total electricity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Inevitably,
decriminalization will lead to increased use of energy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The major sources of energy usage are lighting
and microclimate control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>High-intensity
lighting alone accounts for 86% of electricity use for <a href="https://archives.evergreen.edu/masterstheses/Accession86-10MES/Sweet_SMESthesis2016.pdf?msclkid=2e3e4b4bcf0211ec9d8414b4c4c6bcfd"><span style="color: #38761d;">indoor
cannabis</span></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dehumidification systems
are used to create air exchanges, temperature, ventilation and humidity control
24 hours per day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Due to the complexity
of indoor requirements, growing one kilogram of processed marijuana can result
in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421512002285?via%3Dihub"><span style="color: #38761d;">4600
kilograms of CO2</span></a> emissions! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="border: none black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Environmental and health problems with
growing marijuana will intensify greatly if decriminalization allows control by
corporate agriculture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The so-called
“Green Revolution” emphasizes use of enormous monocultures which maximize
ecological destruction from extreme use of irrigation and fertilizers. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As of early 2022, at least 36 US states have
adopted some form of decrimalization of marijuana, adding to the explosion of
businesses in every phase of its production.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In 2018, Bloomberg reported “<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-17/coca-cola-eyes-cannabis-market-in-push-beyond-sluggish-sodas"><span style="color: #38761d;">Corona
beer brewer</span></a> Constellation Brands Inc. announced it will spend $3.8 billion
to increase its stake in Canopy Growth Corp., the Canadian marijuana producer
with a value that exceeds C$13 billion ($10 billion).” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-17/coca-cola-eyes-cannabis-market-in-push-beyond-sluggish-sodas"><span style="color: #38761d;">Coca-Cola</span></a>
has been eyeing the market for drinks containing CBD which eases pain without
getting the user high.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pepsi may have
jumped the gun on Coke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A New Jersey
hemp and marijuana producer, Hillview, has an agreement with <a href="https://hempindustrydaily.com/cbd-beverage-maker-teams-with-pepsi-ny-to-tackle-nyc-market/?cn-reloaded=1"><span style="color: #38761d;">Pepsi-Cola</span></a>
Bottling Co. of New York to makes CBD-infused seltzers which would sell for $40
per eight-pack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The deal aims to cover
Long Island, Westchester and all five New York boroughs. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">With industrial giants like Coke and Pepsi
jumping into the cannabis market, it is a sure bet that they will not be buying
marijuana from thousands of mom-and-pop growers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look for big soft drink to seek contracts
with big ag.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The commercial growth of crops based on
monoculture (a single or very few crops grown) becomes a breeding ground for
pests, creating an artificial need for control via chemical poisons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A fundamental principle of organic
agriculture is that growing 10, 15 more more plant species together reduces any
need for chemicals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the corporate ag
model, if the single species grown is invaded by pests, then the entire crop
can be lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the organic model the
farmer anticipates that 1, 2 or 3 may be hurt by pests, but the majority will
survive.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="border: none black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">According to farmer <a href="https://www.leafly.com/news/growing/growing-organic-cannabis"><span style="color: #38761d;">Patrick
Bennett</span></a>, “for a fraction of the cost of a single bottle of synthetic liquid
fertilizer, you can get the same, if not better yield, flavor, and cannabinoid
content in your crop at home by simply using organic farming practices.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marijuana has been grown for centuries (or
millennia) without pesticides. Current organic growers have found five <a href="https://www.riococo-mmj.com/5-organic-pesticides-for-professional-cannabis-growers/"><span style="color: #38761d;">plant-based
insecticides</span></a> that protect their crops well: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm; tab-stops: 18.0pt list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b>Neem oil</b> is “extracted from the seeds
and fruit of the tropical neem tree, [and] controls many insects, including
mites, and prevents fungal infections, like powdery mildew.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm; tab-stops: 18.0pt list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Azadirachtin</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">
controls “control over many insects, including mites, aphids, and thrips” but
does not provide fungal protection.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm; tab-stops: 18.0pt list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Pyrethrums</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">
kills insects that attack cannabis plants, including thrips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pyrethrins, however, the synthetic version of
pyrethrums, should not be used due to their environmental persistence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm; tab-stops: 18.0pt list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Bacillus
Thurengensis</span></i></b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> (BT)</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> is very
effective in controlling larval insects and fungus gnats.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm; tab-stops: 18.0pt list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Beneficial
Nematodes</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> are microscopic organisms occurring naturally
in soil, keeping it healthy while controlling soil-born pests such as fungus
gnats.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: -21.6pt;"> </span></p></div>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Techniques such as these have proven
effective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mike Benziger told
interviewer Nate Seltenrich that he grows <a href="https://www.ehn.org/as-legal-cannabis-spreads-growers-go-organic-and-beyond-2638712724.html"><span style="color: #38761d;">fruits</span>,
<span style="color: #38761d;">vegetables and medicinal herbs</span></a> along with cannabis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He includes multiple plants that attract
insects like ladybugs and lacewings that gobble up harmful mites and
aphids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Organic growers often rely on
mulching and crop rotation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such methods
are especially critical for protecting workers growing the plants, neighboring
wildlife, farm owners, distributors and, of course, marijuana users.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As of 2015, Maine was prohibiting use of any
pesticides. Yet, its is important to remember that legislation can be <a href="https://www.beyondpesticides.org/assets/media/documents/watchdog/documents/PesticideUseCannabisProduction.pdf"><span style="color: #38761d;">weakened
or repealed</span></a> by subsequent laws, making it critical to have enduring
guidelines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such guidelines should include
practices like those in Washington DC and Maine which require producers to
demonstrate knowledge of organic growing methods.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Moving Forward</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Since federal law classifies marijuana as a
narcotic there are no federal guidelines for growing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This makes it tempting to demand that it be
declassified and brought under the auspices of bodies like the Environmental
Protection Agency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a worthwhile
goal, but the problem is that federal and state bodies are controlled by
corporate powers seeking the weakest standards possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Goals such as the following should be stated
to counter racism and have genuine environmental protection with real (not
fake) organic standards:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">1. Restitution
must begin with an apology which acknowledges that criminalization of marijuana
included an attack on those cultures using it; was a part of a greater attack
which used drugs as one of many weapons to destroy communities; and caused
suffering for an enormous number of individuals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2. All
communities affected by criminalization of marijuana and the larger attack upon
them should decide what financial and cultural restitution they should receive.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">3. Individuals
harmed by marijuana criminalization should receive financial compensation for
any arrest, trial, incarceration and post-incarceration damages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Funds for growing, preparing and dispensing
legalized marijuana should be made in direct proportion to the harm that
individuals have suffered – those who have been harmed the most should receive
the greatest compensation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
particular, the greater the harm an individual has suffered, the higher
priority that individual should have for receiving a license related to
dispensing marijuana.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-left: 21.6pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none; text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">4. Organic
growing must be a core component of protecting the health of marijuana workers,
producers and users.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All who grow
marijuana must receive free education on how to do so without the use of
chemical poisons (“pesticides”).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
must include how to intersperse marijuana with other crops so that pests are
not as threatening as they are with monocultures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All who grow, process and disperse marijuana
must obtain certification that their product is free of chemical
contaminants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There should be no limitations
on the number of marijuana plants an individual may grow, as long as those
plants are grown with genuine organic principles.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: 0cm;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Prior to decriminalization, health and
environmental damages of growing and using marijuana were more or less similar
for all ethnic and cultural groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
that will not continue to be the case if restitution for damages from
criminalization are put into place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
those hurt most by harassment and incarceration for marijuana receive priority
for licenses to produce and distribute cannabis, they will receive the most
pesticide poisoning if organic methods are not required.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only way to avoid continued harm to those
previously victimized is to employ organic cultivation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="line-height: 18.0pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-pagination: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Abolition of exploitation of all agricultural
workers requires similar restrictions on chemical use when growing all herbs,
fruits and vegetables.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Organic growing
of cannabis should become a model for transferring production via corporate
megafarms using mono cropping, chemicals, and exploited labor to organic
methods based on small farms, chemical-free growing for local communities and
good treatment for workers encouraged to form strong unions for collective
self-protection.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-indent: -21.6pt;"> </span></p>
<div style="border: none black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm; tab-stops: 14.4pt; text-indent: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">[The Green Party of St. Louis adopted a
marijuana perspective that synthesizes anti-racism with organic growing
principles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can read it at: <a href="https://gateway-greens.org/content/decriminalization-marijuana-platform"><span style="color: #38761d;">https://gateway-greens.org/content/decriminalization-marijuana-platform</span></a>]</span></p></div>
<div style="border: none black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: normal; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm; tab-stops: 14.4pt; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Don Fitz (fitzdon@aol.com) is on the
Editorial Board of <a href="http://www.greensocialthought.org/"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Green Social
Thought</span></i></a><i>, </i>where a version of this article <a href="http://www.greensocialthought.org/content/decriminalized-marijuana-reinvents-racism-and-poisoning"><span style="color: #38761d;">originally
appeared</span></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was the 2016 candidate
of the Missouri Green Party for Governor. His articles on politics and the
environment have appeared in <i>Monthly Review, Z Magazine, and Green Social
Thought</i>, as well as several online publications. His book, <a href="https://monthlyreview.org/product/cuban-health-care/"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Cuban Health
Care: The Ongoing Revolution</span></i></a>, has been available since June 2020.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><b style="text-indent: -21.6pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p></div>
<div style="border: none black 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;">
<p class="MsoPlainText" style="border: none; line-height: normal; mso-border-alt: none black 0cm; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm; mso-pagination: none; padding: 0cm; tab-stops: 14.4pt; text-indent: 0cm;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Susan Armstrong, PE, LEED-AP
(susan@susansnaturalspringwaters.com) is a licensed Civil Engineer, whose
specialty is Health Safety and Environmental Engineering (HSE).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her life’s work is healthy sustainable
systems in communities, workplaces, and environment – through science,
engineering, policy, and activism.</span></b></p></div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-42988264712694089302022-05-13T06:27:00.005-07:002022-05-13T07:00:03.462-07:00Consumerism and Degrowth<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWzVXopW9wG1AZdZLYYyBPfuYu2359TQsnnsnsaGnSRgDonCyUXycECw0-zIkQdLgsNg5INH9Hq4XGFCNb8uSzEt0DaBy1qC1m7KDRn5UsD-lMseGekkAK2LU5VIwvMDJIUcWKuUlA6UMi97LkM8XS2APonja0rFm2DGRm-TWilTJd-5mXjqA_RGx/s800/buy-more-stuff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWzVXopW9wG1AZdZLYYyBPfuYu2359TQsnnsnsaGnSRgDonCyUXycECw0-zIkQdLgsNg5INH9Hq4XGFCNb8uSzEt0DaBy1qC1m7KDRn5UsD-lMseGekkAK2LU5VIwvMDJIUcWKuUlA6UMi97LkM8XS2APonja0rFm2DGRm-TWilTJd-5mXjqA_RGx/w400-h225/buy-more-stuff.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Written by
Paul-Martin Fearon-Hernandez and first published at <a href="https://www.inournaturemag.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">In Our Nature</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Our Actions
Do Not Exist In a Vacuum</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Between every
blink of an eye, a <a href="https://querysprout.com/how-many-orders-does-amazon-get-every-second-minute-hour/#:~:text=1.8%20Conclusion-,How%20Many%20Orders%20Does%20Amazon%20Get%20In%202022%3F,every%20day%20around%201.6%20million."><span style="color: #38761d;">hundred
Amazon packages</span></a> are shipped in a constant, ever growing barrage of internet
consumerism. The past 20 years have been dominated by Amazon’s unwavering
growth and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/23/17970466/amazon-prime-shopping-behavior-streaming-alexa-minimum-wage"><span style="color: #38761d;">revolution</span>
</a>of the world’s shopping scene in never before seen ways. Their success
thrives off capitalism's incessant gluttony for infinite growth, exploiting our
<a href="https://www.elle.com/fashion/shopping/a41845/shopping-dopamine/"><span style="color: #38761d;">biological
hardwiring</span></a> (by abusing our dopamine triggers to create a literal addiction
to shopping) to draw dollar after dollar from our pockets. Capitalism’s
reliance on <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23600344?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents"><span style="color: #38761d;">continuous
growth</span></a> (to power the cycle of surplus to reinvestment) creates a need for
constantly increasing consumption, even when the basic needs of a society are
already met. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">As a result,
modern <a href="https://midnightmediamusings.wordpress.com/2015/12/12/advertising-the-art-of-capitalism/"><span style="color: #38761d;">ad
campaigns</span></a> aim to convert wants into needs by directly associating
fulfillment with material goods (like a man finding love after wearing a
certain cologne or a loving family exchanging gifts as a sign of affection) and
solidifying this culture of consumption. Nowadays, companies don’t just sell
you a product. By marketing certain aesthetics in fashion, music, lifestyles,
advertising <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmMDikbHgTc&t=394s&ab_channel=AliceCappelle"><span style="color: #38761d;">sells
you</span></a> an identity. Instead of saying what you could have with this product,
it’s what you can <i>be </i>with that product. It’s gotten to a point where
just <i>watching </i><a href="https://archive.ph/X1yyE"><span style="color: #38761d;">people buy stuff</span></a>
has become a market in itself. Shouldn’t that alone raise some alarms?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">What most
consumers fail to realize, however, is the environmental price tag of their
consumption habits. While it’s true that the individual carbon footprint was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/23/big-oil-coined-carbon-footprints-to-blame-us-for-their-greed-keep-them-on-the-hook"><span style="color: #38761d;">created
to distract the public</span></a> from the fact that 70% of greenhouse emissions are
caused by just <a href="https://indigenouspeoples-sdg.org/index.php/english/all-global-news/874-just-100-companies-responsible-for-71-of-global-emissions-study-says"><span style="color: #38761d;">100
companies</span></a>, this isn’t to say consumers can shrug off all responsibility.
The money spent on a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=shein+haul"><span style="color: #38761d;">Shein haul</span></a>
(a popular website where consumers can buy a variety of items, primarily
clothing, for dirt cheap) still directly supports their <a href="https://www.greenmatters.com/p/is-shein-bad#:~:text=Nothing%20about%20Shein%20is%20ethical,Matters%20in%20a%20recent%20email."><span style="color: #38761d;">unethical
business practices</span></a> and the larger system of <a href="https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/fashion-clothing/what-fast-fashion-why-it-problem"><span style="color: #38761d;">fast
fashion</span></a>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Ultimately,
these industries survive on the wallets of consumers who dump their dollars
into their unsustainable consumption habits. It’s a tricky relationship. Take
fast fashion, for example. Recent years have shown an absurd increase in
textile consumption and more importantly, textile waste. The U.S.’s textile
waste has <a href="https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/textiles-material-specific-data#TextilesTableandGraph"><span style="color: #38761d;">quintupled
since 1980</span></a> despite the population only having increased 40%. To make it
worse, current data shows over <a href="https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-018-0433-7"><span style="color: #38761d;">80%
of American clothing consumption</span> </a>ends up in <a href="https://communityactionworks.org/issues/waste/#:~:text=Landfills%20are%20bad%20for%20our%20health%20and%20environment.&text=landfills%2C%20carrying%20with%20it%20toxic,A%20major%20source%20of%20methane."><span style="color: #38761d;">landfills</span></a>,
which produce methane, toxic runoffs, and take up land. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Fast fashion is
just one industry, too. In even worse business practices, like <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/oceans/issues/overfishing-destructive-fishing/#:~:text=Overfishing%20is%20threatening%20food%20security,even%20sell%20everything%20it%20catches."><span style="color: #38761d;">overfishing</span></a>,
40% of sea creatures caught aren’t even loaded off the boat, they’re just
thrown back into the ocean after they’ve already died. After discarding <a href="https://www.fishforward.eu/en/project/by-catch/"><span style="color: #38761d;">38 million tonnes</span></a> of
dead sea creatures a year, the industry then goes on to dump <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/06/dumped-fishing-gear-is-biggest-plastic-polluter-in-ocean-finds-report"><span style="color: #38761d;">record-breaking</span></a>
levels of plastic into the ocean. Reckless, wasteful <a href="https://www.fishforward.eu/en/project/by-catch/"><span style="color: #38761d;">practices</span> </a>like these
are what lead to the<a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.33.010802.150515">
<span style="color: #38761d;">collapses of entire ecosystems</span></a> at rates never before seen. Waste statistics
like these—40%, 60%, <a href="https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-018-0433-7"><span style="color: #38761d;">80%</span></a>—should
be a clear sign that we are producing <i>far </i>more than we could possibly
need, and the <a href="https://www.inournaturemag.com/all/capitalismcantsaveenvironment"><span style="color: #38761d;">environment
and global proletariat</span></a> are <a href="https://netimpact.org/blog/overproduction-overconsumption-consequences"><span style="color: #38761d;">paying
the price</span></a>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Capitalism
Isn’t the Answer (again)</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">What’s
capitalism’s proposed solution to these problems? More consumption (but this
time it's “<a href="https://isreview.org/issue/70/greening-capitalism/index.html"><span style="color: #38761d;">green</span></a>”)!
The rise of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/greenwashing-guide-2655331542.html"><span style="color: #38761d;">greenwashing</span></a>,
a new marketing trend where products are advertised as more sustainable than
they actually are, is a perfect example of capitalism proposing itself as a
solution to the problems it created. Preying on consumers’ environmental concerns,
companies advertise their products as more environmentally friendly in order to
increase sales, despite their new production practices having <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/nov/20/fossilfuels-energy"><span style="color: #38761d;">similar
environmental impacts as before</span></a>. They tell us they can do this whole
capitalism thing sustainably, we just have to <a href="https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2020/09/21/walmart-sets-goal-to-become-a-regenerative-company"><span style="color: #38761d;">give
them</span> <span style="color: #38761d;">enough</span></a> time that <a href="https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/ga12131.doc.htm"><span style="color: #38761d;">we don’t have</span></a>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Though they
continue to promise green capitalism through <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-scientists-concept-of-net-zero-is-a-dangerous-trap-157368"><span style="color: #38761d;">endless</span>,
<span style="color: #38761d;">dangerous pledges</span></a> of net-zero emissions by 20XX, the current state of
things has shown that we <a href="https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/ga12131.doc.htm"><span style="color: #38761d;">don’t have time</span></a> to
pray for capitalism to solve the problem. Some propose divorcing carbon
emissions from economic growth often known as “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5065220/"><span style="color: #38761d;">decoupling</span></a>,”
which focuses on breaking the link between economic growth and environmental
degradation through recycling, pollution standards, and “green” investment.
While these policies may be beneficial, any attempt at decoupling is just
putting a bandage on a bullet hole. In fact, decoupling attempts often make
things worse, such as in <a href="https://ndcpartnership.org/case-study/national-green-growth-strategy-south-korea"><span style="color: #38761d;">South
Korea’s 2009</span></a> green growth initiative that tried to revitalize the economy
while reducing carbon emissions. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">While the plan
did stimulate the economy, it also <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions"><span style="color: #38761d;">spiked emissions</span></a>,
completely defeating the initial purpose. Needless to say, we are beyond the
days of experimenting new ways to make capitalism work for us. It’s time we
take steps to move beyond the system that destroys the environment in search of
another dollar.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Degrowth <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Those next
steps are nothing other than the process of <a href="https://degrowth.info/degrowth"><span style="color: #38761d;">degrowth</span></a>. The days are over of Amazon
reaching <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/266288/annual-et-income-of-amazoncom/#:~:text=The%20annual%20revenue%20of%20the,of%20the%20third%20quarter%202021%2C&text=Due%20to%20the%20company's%20financial,online%20and%20offline%20grocery%20sales"><span style="color: #38761d;">record
breaking profits</span></a> by perpetuating mass, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/consumerism-earth-suffers"><span style="color: #38761d;">environmentally
destructive consumerism</span></a> while <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2021/10/25/a-hard-hitting-investigative-report-into-amazon-shows-that-workers-needs-were-neglected-in-favor-of-getting-goods-delivered-quickly/?sh=16f5f30951f5"><span style="color: #38761d;">neglecting
worker’s needs and wages</span></a>. Degrowth may sound intimidating, especially since
we are conditioned as a society to a capitalist idea of progress. Isn’t growth
what we should strive for? No. It’s clear that the positive growth of the
modern economy is <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/co2-emissions-vs-gdp?yScale=log"><span style="color: #38761d;">directly
related</span></a> to growth of global carbon emissions and barely <a href="https://hbr.org/2019/10/gdp-is-not-a-measure-of-human-well-being"><span style="color: #38761d;">linked</span></a>
to the average citizen’s wellbeing (caveat: economic prosperity barely touches
the working class, but recessions decimate them. Funny how that works, huh?). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In fact, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/science/earth/17emit.html"><span style="color: #38761d;">only years
in the past two decades</span></a> we have noticeably reduced global carbon emissions
has been during economic recessions, such as the 2008 financial crisis. That
should tell you something. If we want to seriously reduce our global emissions,
we have to be willing to prioritize it over economic profits. The only way we
can do that without collapsing our entire society is if we deconstruct the
capitalist framework focused on eternal growth of private profits and allow for
a system that prioritizes social and ecological sustainability: <a href="https://greattransition.org/publication/why-ecosocialism-red-green-future"><span style="color: #38761d;">ecosocialism</span></a>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">First, however,
let’s talk more about <a href="https://degrowth.info/degrowth"><span style="color: #38761d;">degrowth</span></a>
itself. Ultimately, <a href="https://degrowth.org/"><span style="color: #38761d;">degrowth</span> </a>serves as an
antithesis to the capitalist system that pursues infinite growth in spite of
its ecological and social consequences. It calls for a descaling of production
and consumption, enabling societies to live within their ecological means as
determined by strong efforts in research and organization as opposed to private
interests. Rather than organize societies efforts towards material accumulation
and deal with the repercussions later, degrowth focuses on addressing real
needs like resource equity. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">As a society,
we prioritize turning resources into profits and waste. Degrowth aims to change
that, focusing on the deprivatization of industry and reprioritizing necessary
work over excessive work meant to derive a profit. It also aims to fix the <a href="https://www.forworkingfamilies.org/resources/policy-tools-challenging-privatization"><span style="color: #38761d;">fundamental
issues</span></a> with privatized resources, such as scarcity and upcharging.
Oftentimes, communal resources are privatized and resold to the community with
incredible upcharges. When these resources are essential to life, such as <a href="https://www.thebillfold.com/2013/07/the-280000-percent-markup-on-bottled-water/"><span style="color: #38761d;">water</span></a>
or <a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/comparing-insulin-prices-us-other-countries"><span style="color: #38761d;">medicine</span></a>,
these upcharges can ruin—<a href="https://rightcarealliance.org/activities/insulin/#:~:text=Rationing%20is%20extremely%20dangerous%20and,Five%20died%20in%202019."><span style="color: #38761d;">or
even end</span></a>—lives. However, this is amazing<i> </i>for business. Why? <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gdp-is-the-wrong-tool-for-measuring-what-matters/"><span style="color: #38761d;">GDP</span></a>
is a measure of <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/expenditure-method.asp"><span style="color: #38761d;">costs</span></a>,
not benefits. In our current economic structure, however, we can’t just <i>not </i>have
growth. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Without growth,
our economy would collapse, and the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/heres-whos-being-hit-hardest-by-the-economic-downturn#:~:text=Communities%20of%20color%20are%20also,black%20workers%20was%2016%20percent."><span style="color: #38761d;">consequences</span></a>
of capitalist recessions always fall on the working class and the marginalized.
Degrowth proposes a new economic structure. Rather than prioritize private profits,
degrowth embraces local ownership of resources, often managed by a well
researched agenda based on equitable distribution of resources. Not only that,
but by prioritizing local needs over profits, only as much work as is needed to
<a href="https://www.inc.com/rebecca-hinds/new-research-says-workers-are-wasting-60-percent-of-their-time-heres-what-to-do-about-it.html#:~:text=And%20it%20seems%20that%20work,meetings%20are%20a%20major%20contributor."><span style="color: #38761d;">sustain
society would be necessary</span></a>, theoretically freeing much more <a href="https://jacobinmag.com/2018/02/workweek-free-time-precarity-daylight-savings-time"><span style="color: #38761d;">time</span>
</a>for the average worker.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Degrowth is not
just a Western solution. Scholars are very aware of the global disparity in
resources, and believe that by reducing consumption levels across Northern
countries, we can improve material conditions in poorer countries. In fact, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378020307512"><span style="color: #38761d;">a
new study</span></a> models that by 2050, a global population of 10 billion could live
comfortably at the consumption levels of the 1960s. That means citizens living
in currently impoverished countries around the world who barely have enough to
eat right now could live in the well-being of a post-WWII Europe. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">However, the
cost is there. Citizens of the Global North would have to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378020307512#s0070"><span style="color: #38761d;">accomodate</span>
</a>to no more second homes, no more red meat 7 nights a week, and a generally
resource-conscious lifestyle. However, the key is this would require the
adamant rollout of new technologies in a planned,<i> non-profit driven </i>method.
We cannot fall back into the trap of infinite growth, infinite consumption, and
definite collapse. We need an economy where we no longer strive for material
excess, but rather on the simple needs of ourselves and our neighbors. It would
require a restructuring of the entire global system of resource allocation. If
we can get used to living within our means, it can happen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">“The final
energy requirements for providing decent living standards to the global
population in 2050 could be over 60% lower than consumption today. In countries
that are today’s highest per-capita consumers, cuts of ~95% appear possible
while still providing decent living standards to all.” - </span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378020307512"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Hopkins,
Steinberger, Rao & Oswald</span> </i></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Hope for the
future</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Ultimately,
degrowth does not mean returning to the Middle Ages. It does, however, mean a
drastic reduction in the Global North’s resource consumption and a
restructuring of our entire economic system. It means a planned, equitable
economic overhaul of the world’s wealthiest nations and a constant check on our
resource consumption as a whole. Degrowth means prioritizing environmental and
social well-being over profits by producing and consuming less — permanently.
However, life within this system <a href="https://theconversation.com/life-in-a-degrowth-economy-and-why-you-might-actually-enjoy-it-32224"><span style="color: #38761d;">would
still be comfortable</span></a>. Wealthy countries could slash their energy
consumption <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378020307512"><span style="color: #38761d;">by
over 90%</span></a> and still provide a comfortable living to all their citizens. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In fact, it may
be <i>more </i><a href="https://jacobinmag.com/2020/10/capitalism-work-hours-worked-over-american-dream"><span style="color: #38761d;">fulfilling</span></a>
because work would revolve around social needs, not alienated profits. Rather
than working to keep up with demand, we would only have to <a href="https://monthlyreview.org/2006/10/01/the-meaning-of-work-a-marxist-perspective/"><span style="color: #38761d;">work</span></a>
to upkeep a low-consumption society. Even gruelling resource collection jobs,
like coal-miners and field workers, would be drastically reduced due to lower
demand, and those workers would be properly compensated for their labor rather
than have it stripped of them and sent to the top.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Degrowth
creates an economy based on mutual care, <a href="https://esrc.ukri.org/about-us/50-years-of-esrc/50-achievements/the-easterlin-paradox/#:~:text=The%20'Easterlin%20Paradox'%20states%20that,as%20income%20continues%20to%20grow."><span style="color: #38761d;">not
material goods</span></a> for fulfillment. However, it is crucial to remember degrowth
cannot exist within capitalism. Without continuous growth, capitalism fails. If
we tried, it would only resemble <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/what-have-we-learned-about-austerity-since-the-great-recession/"><span style="color: #38761d;">austerity</span></a>
measures (removing money from the economy, the consequences of which often fall
on the working class). Now more than ever, we are faced with the dire evisceration
of our planet's natural ecology as well as the boundless exploitation of our
rights as workers. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Degrowth is
only a pillar of ecosocialism, a greater system that aims to protect
environmental and popular welfare beyond the capitalist agenda. In order to
install this system, it must bubble up through democratic means, first by
reclaiming control of the government and economy by the public. Now more than
ever we are faced with the impending evisceration of our natural ecology as
well as the boundless exploitation of our bodies and natural resources. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">However, not
all hope is lost. As a species, it is still well within our means to crawl out
of this hole we’ve dug for ourselves and create a better world for those who
come after us. Any moments of hesitation will be looked back upon with
tremendous remorse as future generations ask why we didn’t do something while
we had the chance. It’s for them that we organize, restructure, and free
ourselves from the endless pursuit of profit.</span></p></div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-88621813558093004772022-05-10T05:22:00.000-07:002022-05-10T08:05:40.775-07:00Eco-Socialism: Should Socialists Argue for Degrowth?<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9nJ9lKNRH3I4bSpJIZEWyYY0AO2pzgMv3qXmN0XuCXV2UmW9CChqccAALTVDHaCLZg96snzoB3keuNhbbkQ7-bdiwMk9O6gjtfz_RVtFtmDfuANLb6K4Xt4giG6Z4YWnw9cJahTRS7nil20nr86bEJIuC973j4d23eay2JvuDUw9_STzI-jpNo20T/s650/Degrowth-Venn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="650" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9nJ9lKNRH3I4bSpJIZEWyYY0AO2pzgMv3qXmN0XuCXV2UmW9CChqccAALTVDHaCLZg96snzoB3keuNhbbkQ7-bdiwMk9O6gjtfz_RVtFtmDfuANLb6K4Xt4giG6Z4YWnw9cJahTRS7nil20nr86bEJIuC973j4d23eay2JvuDUw9_STzI-jpNo20T/w400-h225/Degrowth-Venn.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;">Written by Stephan
Kimmerle, Jess Spear and Paul Murphy and first published at </span><a href="https://reformandrevolution.org/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Reform and Revolution</span></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/"><span style="color: #38761d;">latest IPCC report</span></a> outlined
again that stabilizing the climate will require rapid and dramatic
action. Emissions of greenhouse gases must peak by 2025 to have a chance of
preventing global temperatures from rising more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial
averages and to avoid the climate crisis from spiraling out of control. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">However, the
facts that call for phasing out fossil fuels have been clear for decades — and
still emissions continue to increase, not decrease. Capitalist governments lack
any urgency beyond lip service about climate change. Corporations defend their
profits based on fossil fuel infrastructure. The future of humanity depends on
building a strong environmental movement to force the changes needed against
the capitalists’ interests so we can put the planet over profits. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">How can
eco-socialists contribute to this movement and what should we argue for? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">There is a
debate among eco-socialists about whether we should use the term “degrowth” to
describe (at least within the socialist movement) what we are fighting for.
Here are two opposing viewpoints in this debate. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Yes!<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The
Necessity of Eco-Socialist Degrowth<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">By Paul
Murphy and Jess Spear<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Capitalist
growth is destroying our life support systems. Every single year the material
taken from the Earth to feed the insatiable capitalist appetite for profits
grows larger and larger and the waste spewing into the atmosphere, land,
rivers, and sea grows bigger and bigger. Out of the nine planetary boundaries
identified – which together delineate the “safe operating space for humanity” –
four have been crossed.(1) Never has it been more clear that we face a choice between
socialism and barbarism.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">However, what
socialists mean by “socialism” is not settled. It ranges from the
“ecomodernists” and “fully automated luxury”(2) communists, who place an
emphasis on technological solutions to the climate emergency, to the eco-socialists
and “eco-socialist degrowthers”(3) focused on urgently reducing emissions and
ecosystem destruction. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">We want to make
the case for eco-socialist degrowth, which is “a planned downscaling of energy
and resource use to bring the economy back into balance with the living world
in a safe, just and equitable way.”(4) As a guiding concept for the
revolutionary left today, eco-socialist degrowth can help illuminate the
ecologically-sustainable path forward. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">But don’t
we need both degrowth and growth?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Yes. We need
degrowth in industries ranging from armaments and advertising to fast fashion
and fossil fuels, together with a dramatic reduction in consumption of the
richest 1% who are responsible for 15% of emissions.(5) We need growth in
public services like healthcare, education, public transit, renewable energy,
childcare, etc. (the list could go on), particularly in developing
countries. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In our view,
though, this question is a red herring. It sidesteps the bigger question
degrowth is seeking to address: does humanity need to reduce energy consumption
and material throughput overall? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">We answer
unambiguously – yes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Of course, that
is not enough. The blame for climate change and environmental destruction is
all too often placed on the shoulders of “humanity” as a whole, whether you’re
a private jet-owning billionaire or a Ugandan subsistence farmer. This framing
repels working-class people who, even in the wealthiest countries, struggle to
secure even the basic necessities. So, as socialists we must go further and
highlight all the wasteful production capitalism depends on, from which we
don’t benefit (e.g. advertisement), and the class divide in consumption, within
rich countries, but also between the global North and global South.(6) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">We have to
immediately add that degrowth can and must be done in a way that improves the
quality of life for almost everybody on the planet, but only on the basis of a
rational and democratic plan of production. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Won’t
this turn off working-class people?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">As a slogan, we
agree that “degrowth” is too abstract, and it jars too sharply with the ‘common
sense’ ideology of growth. We’re not advocating you show up with giant
“DEGROWTH” banners at the next rally. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">As a concept,
however, degrowth refocuses our attention on the growth imperative inherent to
capitalism and its ever expanding energy requirements. It challenges us to
reconsider how to build a powerful socialist movement on a solid ecological
footing. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">An imprecise
parallel would be Lenin’s concept of “smashing the state.” In <i>State
& Revolution</i>, Lenin drew the conclusion, in line with what Marx already
wrote in the wake of the Paris Commune of 1871, that the working class “cannot
take possession of the capitalist state apparatus and put it to work at their
service.”(7) They must smash it and build a radically different one that serves
their interests.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">“Smash the
state” was not and is not a slogan to mobilize large numbers of working-class
people. But it assists socialists in developing demands and slogans that point
in the right direction and which have the potential to reach, and in certain
circumstances, mobilize masses. For example, that essential concept informed
the popular Bolshevik slogan “all power to the Soviets.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">It might be
challenging to win car factory workers to degrow their industry, but we have to
start from the needs of the working class as a whole. We cannot base ourselves
on replacing combustion engine cars with electric cars. We must make the case
for converting private car factories into producing public transport
infrastructure, and for a democratic and just transition. The same is true for
a whole suite of industries. Workers in armaments, fossil fuels, big
agribusiness, air travel, etc. will understandably resist the loss of their
existing jobs. Instead of just echoing that, we have to struggle within the
trade union movement for a programme which challenges the hegemonic ideology of
growth and outlines how these industries can be converted to socially useful
production, with guaranteed jobs and improved conditions for all
workers.(8) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">No more
sacrifice zones<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Degrowth also
forces us to seriously consider the existing plans to replace fossil fuels with
clean energy technology. Where will you get the material necessary to build all
those solar panels, wind turbines, electric buses, trains, and batteries? What
communities will be displaced and harmed by unearthing those minerals? How much
do we need to ensure everyone has a good living standard? Socialists in the
global North have a responsibility to raise awareness of the ecological crises,
including not only the existence of technological solutions that the ruling
elite have refused to deploy, but also the impact of such solutions on other
peoples. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The way out is
not increased mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chile, and South
Africa to build solar panels and wind turbines for cities in the global North,
destroying local environments and communities. The bridge we build from here to
an eco-socialist future cannot be built by stepping on the backs of workers,
women, and peasants in the global South. Therefore, we must make the case for
ramping up renewable energy production while simultaneously reducing overall
energy needs, starting with the luxury consumption of the 1% and unnecessary
production (ie, planned obsolescence). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">What does
it mean for us?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Utilizing the
concept of degrowth means breaking free from the ideology of growth which has
wrapped its tentacles around not only the reformists, but also the
revolutionaries. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Instead of
advocating for ‘sustainable’ growth, we should describe our aim as delivering a
good life for every person on the planet. As part of that, we should reject the
aim of a superabundance of material private goods. On a finite planet, there
cannot be infinite goods. Instead, socialists should advocate the provision of
high-quality public goods, the decommodification of the commons and all aspects
of life, and the healing of the rift between humanity and nature.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Adopting
degrowth as a concept means emphasizing slogans, demands, and potential
struggles which help to mobilize working-class and oppressed people in a
struggle against capital’s destruction of life, but which point towards a
better life. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Some demands to
raise include:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">A four-day or 30-hour week without
loss of pay, which would result in a significant decrease in energy
consumption and give workers more leisure time.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Mass retrofitting of people’s
homes, slashing energy consumption while cutting bills for families and
creating millions of green jobs.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">An expansion of ‘care jobs’ – in
childcare, education, and healthcare. These are high impact jobs in terms
of quality of life for all, while adding very few carbon emissions.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Free, green, and frequent public
transit so that people can move away from individual cars.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Break the cycle of consumption and
waste of consumer goods by banning advertisement, implementing mandatory
extended warranties, outlawing planned obsolescence, and introducing a
‘right to repair,’ ensuring that they are repairable at low cost.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">These positive
demands need to be combined with negative demands to eliminate the emissions of
the capitalist class and the personal luxury consumption of the rich. For
example, in Ireland we in People Before Profit put forward a bill to ban the
future development of data centers and fossil fuel infrastructure. These data centers
are projected to use nearly 30% of our electricity by 2028.(9) By and large,
they are not performing useful work from the point of view of the majority.
Instead, they are running algorithms to target people with advertising (which
we all hate!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Fossil fuels
should be expropriated from the oil companies and left in the ground. The
armaments industry and the military industrial complex must be put out of
business. Private jets should be banned, as should the production of SUVs,
which should be banned from cities immediately. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In addition,
our demands for progressive taxation on the rich have a vital position in a
programme inspired by degrowth. Taking wealth out of the hands of the energy
and resource wasting ultra-rich and investing in public services is the
simplest way to reduce carbon emissions. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The crowning
demands of an eco-socialist programme informed by degrowth has to be the
nationalization and democratic public ownership of the key sections of the
economy in order to allow a rapid and just reduction in energy usage and shift
to renewable energy. Only on the basis of a globally planned system will it be
possible to rationally reduce the overall envelope of energy and material
usage, while ensuring big leaps forward in the quality of life for everyone. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">This article
is a shortened and edited version of a much longer piece which appeared in
Rupture (the eco-socialist quarterly) Issue 7. It’s available online at </span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.rupture.ie/"><i>www.rupture.ie</i></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Jess Spear
is National Organizer for RISE, a revolutionary Marxist network of the Irish
eco-socialist party People Before Profit. Paul Murphy is a TD (Member of
Parliament) in Ireland for the eco-socialist party People Before Profit and a
member of the revolutionary socialist network, RISE.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">No!<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">For a
Socialist Green New Deal<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">By
Stephan Kimmerle<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The climate
catastrophe, pollution of the oceans, microplastics in animal and human bodies,
the threat of pandemics, and many more large and small disasters threaten human
existence. The environmental movement feels the urgency to act but has many
different political trends within it. It’s essential that we work together and
unite wherever possible. However, the different strategies, demands, and
proposals deserve an open, democratic debate in solidarity and respect for each
other. Reform & Revolution sees itself as part of the eco-socialist
movement. The degrowth movement, coming from a tradition from the 1960s and
especially in the early 2000s, is a different trend. In my view, it’s better
not to confuse the two trends; we should respect our differences in order to
fully clarify the best way forward for the movement.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">So, what is
eco-socialism, and what is the idea of the degrowth movement? What do we have
in common, and what are the differences?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The Two
Inseparable Parts of Eco-Socialism<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The Green New
Deal summarizes many of the aspirations of left-wing environmental activists.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey might not have
had abolishing capitalism in mind; however, the Green New Deal they presented
included:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> A carbon
neutral economy in ten years<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> Medicare
for All<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> Food
security for all<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> Affordable
housing for all<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> Guaranteed
jobs for all — a just transition for workers in polluting industries<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> Expanding
workers and union rights<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> A focus on
marginalized communities within a just transition<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Mass struggles
for such a program will win reforms. This will buy us time (but not much)
to achieve our overarching goal. Such struggles will also expose the limits of
what capitalism can offer and create opportunities to win people over to a
program for socialism. People engaged in struggle will see very clearly that
it’s much easier to achieve all these reforms by abolishing capitalism than
trying to implement them within the framework of capitalism. This is the task
of eco-socialists — mobilize working-class people into these struggles and link
them to the need to abolish capitalism.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Eco-socialism
is a political trend within the environmental movement with two major features:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">a) Within the<i> <b>socialist</b></i> movement,
eco-socialism is unique in emphasizing the environmental crisis within the
fight against capitalism.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">b) Within
the <b><i>environmental</i></b> movement, eco-socialism is unique in
emphasizing the power of the working class and the need for a socialist
transformation of society . Mobilizing the working class to take power to save
the planet for human existence is key for eco-socialists. The key force for
change, the source of power to fundamentally change the way production and
consumption is organized, is the global, multiracial working class.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">An
eco-socialist program of a Green New Deal — linked to taking the top 500
corporations under democratic, public ownership and developing a plan to
reorganize society and production — has, in our view, a fighting chance to
inspire working-class people to take the necessary action to solve the
environmental crisis.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">We can win over
the working class to fight for a sustainable future, even if workers are
currently working in polluting industries, because we can make the case that we
actually need them, their skills and their contributions to change society. Car
factory workers know that their jobs are not secure. The question is whether we
offer to fight alongside them for a future where they will still have highly
skilled jobs, where union rights will be defended and expanded, where living
wages will be guaranteed. We do not want to drive them into the arms of their
bosses and managers where they continue working in the destructive industries
that capitalism created.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">A
Socialist Transition under the Lens of Degrowth<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The first thing
that workers will understand if you talk about growth and degrowth is whether
the economy is expanding or contracting. This is often measured by the
GDP, a monetary expression of all goods and services produced in a specific
time period.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Measuring the
GDP is a tool that capitalists like. The endless need to accumulate capital,
AKA growth, is built into the current mode of production, capitalism.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">However, I believe
that the GDP is scientifically useless to describe the change we need to put
people over profit and defend the ability for humans to live on this planet.
This becomes apparent, when we ask: Will a program like the Green New Deal,
linked to a socialist transformation of society, lead to growth or to degrowth?
In a transition to a society based on economic, gender, and racial justice
internationally, there is a need for a massive investment program:
reforestation, dismantling nuclear power plants as safely as possible, building
affordable green housing, massively expanding public transit and reducing
transit needs through redesigning how we work and live in cities,
expanding healthcare, providing clean water (think of cities like Flint,
Michigan) and healthy sewage systems, massively improving education, nursing,
and elderly care, retooling and reorganizing production, etc. Why would we call
this “degrowth”?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">An
eco-socialist transformation of society will also need to center marginalized
communities and peoples oppressed by racism and nationalism for centuries. This
requires mobilizing resources to overcome these historic injustices. Such a
transformation will also reorganize social reproduction (care for children, the
sick, and the elderly, the material and psychological reproduction of the
workforce) which is currently based on gender inequality. Basically, we need to
radically reconfigure how humans live on this planet. Calling for degrowth does
not help us explain the massive expansion of resources that will be required to
uproot the legacies of racism and patriarchy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">On the other
hand, we need dramatically less military spending, advertising, individualized
transportation, and production of cheap goods that are designed to break in
order to sell more stuff. We can reduce a lot of this waste immediately.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">On balance, it
still looks like a socialist society will increase the factors with which
economic activity is measured, the GDP. However, growth or degrowth of the GDP
tells us nothing about the changes we are fighting for.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">For this
reason, instead of using GDP, some in the degrowth movement want to use the
material “throughput” to measure growth and degrowth. “Throughput refers to the
materials and energy a society extracts, processes, transports and distributes,
to consume and return back to the environment as waste,” writes Giorgos Kallis,
one of the principal advocates of degrowth. Following this advice — will a
Green New Deal reduce the material throughput, energy consumption, and use of
raw materials? Most likely not immediately, but definitely and significantly in
the medium term. However, the “throughput” is not a great way to measure the
environmental movement’s success either. It does not tell us if “throughput”
was used to build long lasting, affordable green housing (which is needed
around the globe) or to build another highway. In addition, “throughput” is not
what people understand when socialists talk about “growth” or “degrowth.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Socialists need
to talk about quality, not quantity. A socialist Green New Deal will
dramatically improve the living standards of the overwhelming majority in the
Global South <i>and</i> in the advanced capitalist countries. The
socialist Green New Deal is not a program to reduce global production measured
in money or in a quantity of “throughput.” It’s a program for a democratic,
eco-socialist transformation of society, a program for a completely different
way of producing and consuming goods and services.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Some
acknowledge that degrowth is not a good slogan to use in public. But they
maintain that it is a useful term to use internally among fellow socialists.
Does this term help clarify what we are fighting for? If you can freely choose
what words you want to use, why would you use “degrowth” to describe a
qualitative rather than a quantitative change? In reality, some socialists try
to use the word degrowth because it has a certain amount of support and a
certain meaning among environmental activists. However, the meaning of that
word – especially if you want to use it in a scientific context – is then
coined by those who use it in a certain field of science and activism.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Degrowth
in the Eyes of the Degrowth Movement<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The degrowth
movement centers on the reduction of either production and consumption in
general or at least the reduction of “throughput” — defined as the mass of
energy and material used in the economy — in order to achieve a sustainable way
of human life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The movement
for degrowth has its roots in the student movements of the 1960s. Even then,
far-sighted eco-socialists like André Gorz were more influenced by
anti-consumerism (a critique of the artificial needs created by capitalism and
commodity fetishism) and arguments for a simpler life than on mobilizing the
working class.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Nicholas
Georgescu-Roegen heavily influenced the degrowth movement that formed in France
and Italy in the early 2000s . He argued that there is a finite limit of
resources on the planet and every use of material resources downgrades them.
From that perspective he argued that endless growth is impossible. Given the
ongoing lack of resources, Georgescu-Roegen was convinced that social conflict
would develop under any human system, whether it was capitalist or socialist.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">That is why at
least a significant part of the degrowth movement is deeply pessimistic about
the possibility of a future without capitalism, oppression, and exploitation.
When the degrowth movement refers to the growth-driven capitalist society, the
alternative is not a socialist transformation based on environmentally
sustainable struggles of the working class, but either a voluntary individual
reduction or a state regulated decrease measured in quantitative throughput.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">There is
obviously some overlap of the ideas of the political trend of the degrowth
movement and the vast majority of the environmental movement. Most trends
within the environmental movement acknowledge the need to reduce energy
production and consumption and to end the predatory use of raw materials
including the brutal working conditions of extraction of those materials out of
the environment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">However, the
response to a capitalist society based on the need for endless growth of
capital, is a) in the eyes of the degrowth movement to abolish growth and b) in
the eyes of the eco-socialist movement to abolish capital. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Michael Löwy, a
French-Brazilian Marxist professor and activist, writes carefully: “What could
be the relations between eco-socialists and the degrowth movement? In spite of
the disagreements, can there be an active alliance around common objectives?”
Löwy wants to “achieve, without hiding the inevitable disagreements, a
‘political composition’ of all those who have understood that the survival of
life on the planet and of humanity in particular are contradictory to
capitalism and productivism, and therefore look for the way out of this
destructive and inhumane system.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I agree. Let’s
work together, but let’s not hide our differences.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Endnotes<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">(1) These are
climate change, biodiversity loss, nitrogen removed from the atmosphere, and
chemical pollution (see The Tipping Point in the latest issue of Rupture).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">(2) Aaron
Bastani, Fully Automated Luxury Communism (Verso Books, 2018).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">(3) Michael
Löwy, Benji Akbulut, Sabrina Fernandes, and Giorgos Kallis, ‘For an
Ecosocialist Degrowth’, Globalecosocialistnetwork.net, April 8, 2022.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">(4) Jason
Hickel, Less Is More: How Degrowth Will Save The World (Random House, 2020) p.
29.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">(5) Oxfam,
‘Confronting Carbon Inequality’ (September 2020)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">(6) “Global
North” is the “IMF’s ‘advanced economies’ grouping (as of 2015), which includes
the USA, Canada, Western and Northern Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Israel
and Japan, plus South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, and a number of
small island territories” from Jason Hickel et al., ‘Imperialist appropriation
in the world economy: Drain from the global South through unequal exchange,
1990–2015’, Global Environmental Change, Volume 73, March 2022.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">(7) Lenin, ‘The
State and Revolution’ (1917) quoting Marx’s 1872 preface to The Communist
Manifesto.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">(8) The Lucas
Plan developed by workers at Lucas Aerospace in Britain 1976 gives a glimpse of
how this could be done.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">(9) Eirgrid Report,
‘All-Island Generation Capacity Statement 2019-2028’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Stephan
Kimmerle is a Seattle DSA activist and a Co-convener of its District 2 group.
He's been involved in the labor and socialist movement internationally—from
being a shop steward in the public sector in Germany to organizing Marxists on
an international level. He is working part-time jobs while being a stay-at-home
dad of two wonderful children.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-13086023904480145242022-05-03T06:32:00.003-07:002022-05-03T09:01:43.748-07:00Toward building a “New World”<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzEJnXieDnAZIzMEvuhznamyxdmXcbkC8K_2dgKecJa0zQzdevUO1Djqt-EMSi0O8wCtRfAkaaT912oP1TZd9fpoPpd7qh67KSYxHi94t8YuZavZf5SGvkscEzFwz81I2Z4OqyaJoVFNyGdvyXdzam0SjIMsLgUbSxphJJVPS7JPy-mYP9A_ExGn9O/s495/Green%20Activists.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="495" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzEJnXieDnAZIzMEvuhznamyxdmXcbkC8K_2dgKecJa0zQzdevUO1Djqt-EMSi0O8wCtRfAkaaT912oP1TZd9fpoPpd7qh67KSYxHi94t8YuZavZf5SGvkscEzFwz81I2Z4OqyaJoVFNyGdvyXdzam0SjIMsLgUbSxphJJVPS7JPy-mYP9A_ExGn9O/w400-h266/Green%20Activists.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Written by
Victor Wallis and published at <a href="https://green-horizon.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Green-Horizon-Issue-44.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Green Horizon</span></a> and <a href="https://mronline.org/"><span style="color: #38761d;">MR Online</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The aspiration
to “build a new world within the shell of the old” has a long history. It is
typically associated with the traditions of cooperativism and anarchism. But it
is also part of the socialist/communist tradition, as articulated by Marx
himself. Marx characterized communist society, in <i>Capital</i>, as the
society of “associated producers.” Although he did not delineate this vision in
detail, he explicitly situated its embryo in the cooperative movements of his
time. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Viewing
producer cooperatives as a dimension of the labor movement, he argued that
their role in ultimately empowering the “associated producers” depended on
their embracing, along with their workplace practices, the wider class struggle
against the power of capital.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The tension
between the tasks of transforming one’s immediate surroundings and
restructuring the larger society has never abated. It reflects a duality that
is present in all living creatures. We are at once separate beings and units of
a collectivity. In the case of humans, especially, the collectivity exists at
multiple levels, with links of reciprocity not only between individuals and
their immediate communities, but also between any such local entities (as well
as individuals) and wider regional/national/global structures. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">This
observation draws us back to recent arguments in <i>Green Horizon</i>,
where a certain impatience if not exasperation is expressed in regard to
socialist agendas, and it is suggested that our movement might more fruitfully focus
on transforming our immediate surroundings rather than aiming at state power.
More broadly, it is argued that socialism shares with capitalism a top-down and
productivist orientation that we should firmly reject, in favor of a supposed
Third Way that is neither capitalist nor socialist, but Green. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The
inspirational model for this non- and even anti-socialist approach lies
principally in the beliefs and practices of Indigenous peoples. I share the
appreciation of Indigenous societies, as I explain in a whole section of my
book on ecosocialism, in which I discuss the conditions under which the
priorities of those societies might come to gain wider acceptance. The view
that socialism or Marxism necessarily clashes with such an approach derives
from particular 20th-century experiences of revolution as interpreted through a
capitalist ideological prism. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The stereotype
of Marxism as inherently developmentalist, however, has been thoroughly
refuted, over the last three decades, in the writings of Richard Levins, John
Bellamy Foster, Paul Burkett, Kohei Saito, and Michael Lebowitz. The common
thread in their arguments is that the anti-Marxists attribute to Marx a
perspective–as with the labor theory of value–that Marx treats as belonging (on
the contrary) to the dynamics of capital, which he seeks to undercut. As he
puts it (contrary to widespread misconceptions about his position), <o:p></o:p></span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">"</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Labor is </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">not the source</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px;"> of all wealth. </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">Nature</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px;"> is just as much the source of use values… as is labor.</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">"</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Marx’s approach,
in its refusal to view Nature through the eyes of capital, i.e., as a resource
which, like workers, can be used up and cast off at will, clashes frontally
with capital’s developmentalist stance. Thinkers who fail to see this then fall
easily into the “plague on both your houses” attitude expressed in many <i>Green
Horizon</i> articles that touch on capitalism and socialism. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">These articles
consider capitalism and socialism side-by-side as if we were simply shopping
for our preferred system (including “neither of the above”). But there’s a
problem here, in that, without our having had any say in the matter, we are
actually <i>living under capitalism</i>. This is so obvious that one
easily forgets it. What it means, however, is that if we want to adopt any
other way of organizing our lives, the alternative does not just offer itself
to us on an even playing field with capitalism. In order to attain it, we must
first get out from capitalist domination; we must strip away the power of
capital!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">No matter what
our ultimate goal might look like, this is the sine qua non. We can have
endless discussions about the precise contours of the society we want to
achieve, and I share with <i>Green Horizon</i> writers a preference
for as biodiverse, decentralized, and democratic an arrangement as possible.
But the framework for whatever arrangement we seek will be set by the process
through which we initially escape the claws of capital.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Given, then,
that our starting point is the rejection of capitalism, what we face is not an
either/or between socialism and a “green economy.” Our task instead is to
envisage the general contours of what we want and then assess the various
possible ways of getting there. While certain elements of a green or localized
economy can be introduced directly, the complete liberation it envisages cannot
be reached without dissolving the core institutions of capitalist power,
including its aggressive/competitive/exhibitionistic culture. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">This has been,
and remains, the historic task of socialism. After all, what can replace the
power of a minuscule profit-driven propertied class if not the power of the
organized majority (whatever precise form this power might take)? And what is
it that can weld this majority into a political force, if not a common class
interest?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The reason so
many Green writers seem to balk at this conclusion is that, echoing the
surrounding capitalist consensus, they identify socialism by definition with
the harshest of its first-epoch manifestations (e.g., the Soviet Union under
Stalin), thereby refusing to challenge the negative impression of socialism
that they encounter in workers socialized by corporate media. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Lifting actual
socialist revolutions out of their historical context, they turn the outcomes
of particular mixes of national and conjunctural traits into ironclad axioms as
to what socialism entails. They see socialism as being inherently bureaucratic
and top-down, whereas in fact the revolutionary process brings numerous
impulses and tendencies to the fore, making for a range of possible outcomes. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">What drives the
frequent negative or repressive traits is a mix of factors, which vary in
character and importance from one country or set of conditions to the next.
Some aspects of the prerevolutionary culture–e.g., patterns of hierarchy–may be
difficult to shake, especially under conditions of scarcity. Probably the
biggest adverse factor, however, is the drive of capitalist interests–whether
internal or external–to disrupt and destroy the revolution, even (or
especially) if it has wide popular support and could serve as an inspiration to
others. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">To the extent
that a revolutionary process begins on a note of hope (for example with an
election victory by a socialist-oriented party or coalition), globally imposed
U.S. sanctions can be counted on to bring it grief, compromising its
achievements and giving corporate media and politicians a pretext to call its
leadership dictatorial (as in the present case of Venezuela).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Those with
“green” goals who seek to avoid such unpleasantness tout the scenario of local
grassroots organizing, including a multiplicity of diverse institutions. I do
not reject any of this; it plays a necessary role in drawing people into
activism and also in eventually running the society that we aspire to. The
problem, however, is that it does not address the current persistence of the
monster in the room, namely, overarching capitalist power. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Political
action to confront that power requires a unified movement. The view that such
unity precludes concern for the diversity of popular needs reflects precisely
the negative stereotype of socialism–and of revolution–that the capitalist
ruling class invokes to preserve its own legitimacy. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The point is
not to deny instances where revolutionary parties or regimes have done the
wrong thing; the point is to understand those moments and to recognize that
socialist movements and socialist-oriented governments are “works in progress,”
with conscious protagonists who have every reason to try to avoid the
consequent disappointments in the future. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">If you really
want changes requiring the dismantling of capitalism–and this does include the
changes necessary to the imagined “green economy,”–then you will join in these
efforts rather than condemning the project that inspires them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: center;">
</p><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Victor Wallis
is a former associate professor of political science, Indiana University-Purdue
University at Indianapolis and a former director of study programs in Peru and
five European countries. He is the author of numerous articles, book chapters,
and books, including Red-Green Revolution: The Politics and Technology of
Ecosocialism (Political Animal Press, 2018), Democracy Denied: Five Lectures on
U.S. Politics (Africa World Press, 2019), and Socialist Practice: Histories and
Theories (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020)</span></b> </div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-9565930271087401122022-04-29T06:29:00.001-07:002022-04-29T07:05:26.786-07:00Review - The Critique of Commodification: Moving towards a use-value society?<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ThQRs6KyFoPukdnFz65S8hzBfHuMaRFfjTYgB_O-s_CWwk5NRm8MRWsPnbwpntxQniuwfrYItbxyByCwMKYXDNN95ykZBQnGLrvJv9ACMyD9rbxaLSOf9UetlJGAPTs0Lu3PYdqt5oeg9mdIYnjJGaBc3gfTDgpxrT4AzNzJG1yoONBuX0jAKaZK/s500/Critique%20of%20Commodification.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ThQRs6KyFoPukdnFz65S8hzBfHuMaRFfjTYgB_O-s_CWwk5NRm8MRWsPnbwpntxQniuwfrYItbxyByCwMKYXDNN95ykZBQnGLrvJv9ACMyD9rbxaLSOf9UetlJGAPTs0Lu3PYdqt5oeg9mdIYnjJGaBc3gfTDgpxrT4AzNzJG1yoONBuX0jAKaZK/w265-h400/Critique%20of%20Commodification.jpg" width="265" /></a><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Written by Andreas
Bieler and first published at <a href="https://andreasbieler.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Trade
unions and global restructuring</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In his new book <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-critique-of-commodification-9780197576762?lang=en&cc=gb"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">The
Critique of Commodification – Contours of a Postcapitalist Society</span></i></a> (OUP,
2021) Christoph Hermann critical investigates the concept of commodification
and relates the associated dynamics to current political economy developments.
Importantly, he demonstrates how production for profit instead of human needs
results in enormously harmful consequences for humanity and nature alike. In
this blog post, I will discuss some of the key contributions of this highly
important book.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="more"></a><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Hermann’s
first major contribution is that he clarifies the concept of commodification.
While often used and referred to in academic literature, to date there has been
no systematic analysis and outline of it. Importantly, rather than adopting a
moral or pragmatic critique of commodification, he firmly adopts a Marxist,
historical materialist position acknowledging the problems resulting from all
forms of commodification. ‘While the exchange of labor for money may be morally
questionable, for materialists it is the capitalist application of labor power
to increase surplus value that makes it most objectionable’ (P.12).</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">By drawing
directly on the work of Karl Marx, he distinguishes between use value, the
satisfaction of needs on one hand, and exchange value or market value on the
other, which is geared towards the maximization of profit. ‘Usually it is
competition and the profit motive that makes sure that market value comes to
dominate use value’ (P.28). Sub-categories of commodification include formal,
real and fictitious commodification, further clarifying our understanding about
processes of commodification as a whole.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Production for
maximising profits, i.e. the production of commodities, comes however with a
heavy price. ‘The main threat,’ Hermann argues, ‘is the transformation of our
livelihoods, including the destruction of the ecological base of human life and
flourishing’ (P.XI). By relegating human needs to a secondary role, ‘commodity
production has become an obstacle to urgently needed social and ecological
transformation – including, for example, a more sustainable transportation
system’ (P.38). In other words, commodification is deeply harmful to human
beings and nature alike.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Hermann’s
second major contribution is that he unravels in detail the various
political-economic processes, through which commodification takes place,
including privatization, liberalization, marketization, New Public Management
and austerity. New Public Management is an interesting example of fictitious
commodification. Rather than relying on markets and the profit motive, here
‘commodification is based on the introduction of quasi-markets, forcing
different parts of the same organization to compete with each other’ (P.38). </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Constant performance measurement and turning citizens into consumers are key
strategies in this respect (P.54). Working in Higher Education in the UK, I can
confirm that this has become part of our daily working practices due to
restructuring over recent years.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The
consequences of commodification are dire. Needs which are not backed by
purchasing power are being neglected. In many countries, if you cannot pay,
your water will be turned off for example. There is a focus on producing those
commodities, which secure the highest profits and short-term profits are
generally prioritised over long-term sustainability. The quality of services is
sacrificed for profitability and products become standardised and homogenised. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Essential goods have been turned into items of speculation with at times
disastrous consequences for people. As a result of the financialisation of
agricultural production, for example, ‘world food prices rose by 83 per cent
between 2005 and 2008, with corn prices nearly tripling. Rice prices increased
by 70 percent, and wheat prices by 127 percent. Growing food prices, in turn
drove at least 40 million more people in the developing world into hunger’
(P.87). As commodification reaches its social, political, systemic and
ecological limits, human beings’ very survival is endangered.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Hermann,
however, does not stop at defining processes of commodification and highlighting
their disastrous consequences. By turning to ‘use value’, he also points to
potential, <i>collective</i> ways out of existential crises. The role
of nature is key, when illustrating the move from market value to use value.
‘While nature has little if any (marginal) utility, it has an enormous use
value. At the same time, nature’s use value is inherently collective: it
provides the collective basis of life and human flourishing’ (P.119). </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Hence, a
use-value society can provide the basis of moving from production for profit to
production focused on the satisfaction of human needs. ‘A use-value society is
a collective project, driven by the development of collective capacities and
open to innovation and technological progress with technology serving human needs
rather than profit maximization’ (P.152).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Hermann
identifies three elements that ‘are crucial for the promotion of use value:
democratization, sustainability, and solidarity’ (P.135). In order to ensure a
shift towards production for the satisfaction of needs, the economy must be
democratised including two key elements. ‘On the one hand, the shift toward
self-managed enterprises, and on the other hand, the introduction of democratic
planning’ (P.141). When it comes to sustainability, Hermann mirrors to some
extent arguments from the degrowth literature, when he suggests that ‘what is
needed is an economic contraction in the Global North, making space for some
material improvement in the South (P.147). </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Solidarity, in turn, is crucial as
the opposite of (capitalist) competition. Solidarity prioritises the collective
good over individual gains. Ultimately, ‘putting common goals before individual
interests is not only important for winning concessions from capital; it is
also crucial for tackling the ecological crisis’ (P.151).</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Importantly,
this use-value society is not something, which could only be established after
a full-scale transformation of our current capitalist political economy
sometime in the distant future. The transformation can start here and now
building up incrementally over time. As Hermann concludes his book, ‘positive
experience with growing islands of use-value orientation in the sea of profit
maximization can, hopefully, pave the way for systemic change, ending
capitalism and commodification – and tackling the ecological crisis. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In this
sense, a use-value society can also be seen as a first step, or transitory
phase, in the long journey to an ecologically sustainable socialism’
(P.157). </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">This is clearly
a major intervention in critical scholarship, linking up well theoretical
reflections with concrete suggestions for activism. A <b>must-read</b> for
everyone interested in progressive ways out of crisis.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Andreas
Bieler is Professor of Political Economy at University of Nottingham/UK<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Andreas.Bieler@nottingham.ac.uk<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Personal
website: <a href="http://andreasbieler.net/">http://andreasbieler.net</a></span></b></p></div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-9819845355371071602022-04-26T05:48:00.004-07:002022-04-26T07:02:20.010-07:00Learning to Grow Movements Out of Organizations<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF0O8awj77JcjDuyiBtLEw8Nl18MZAPNd0bBD7HCAhQwJfTVJb84o56SG-qQ3hBeKb5s8cDail8w0vUDbB7NZ05KwInx3fRbtWXydbYzgT3iEblna8BWNnOY2X_wjDvnIeXt-gdIrYlmOtTLtQK9SGBxVreNk5uv8nJD4UKU-PAbLVobnIHJgaAF90/s1200/Environmental%20activists.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF0O8awj77JcjDuyiBtLEw8Nl18MZAPNd0bBD7HCAhQwJfTVJb84o56SG-qQ3hBeKb5s8cDail8w0vUDbB7NZ05KwInx3fRbtWXydbYzgT3iEblna8BWNnOY2X_wjDvnIeXt-gdIrYlmOtTLtQK9SGBxVreNk5uv8nJD4UKU-PAbLVobnIHJgaAF90/w400-h225/Environmental%20activists.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Written by Laurence
Cox and first published at <a href="https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/blog/"><span style="color: #38761d;">ICNC</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">If activists
are resisting an incinerator in one town and the neighboring town is resisting
a megadump, how can they get beyond just fighting their own battles in
isolation? How can they link up those different struggles and push for
environmental justice? And how can they work together with other groups to
challenge the underlying economics and incentives that produce waste in the
first place?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">When activists
talk about issues like climate collapse or the rise of the far right, global
inequalities or femicide, they don’t expect the issues to solve themselves. But
the kind of agency that activists need to tackle these kinds of problems is far
bigger than any individual organization or campaign.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">If we share
each other’s outrage or critiques of the status quo, we might feel like part of
a movement, but without shared action and strategy towards systemic change,
there isn’t a movement. Learning to work together across difference is a major
milestone. The skills to make this happen are part of what I call the “ABC of
activism” in my book <a href="https://whysocialmovementsmatter.com/" target="_blank"><b><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Why Social Movements Matter</span></i></b></a> (Rowman
& Littlefield, 2018).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The ABC
includes connecting up campaigns in different places and countries. It embraces
intersectional work tackling inequalities of class, gender, sexuality, race,
ethnicity, ability/disability, etc. within our organizations. It also comprises
forging both immediate coalitions and strategic alliances between movements
around different issues and between different communities in struggle. This
means thinking more deeply, about the structural and systemic problems we are
facing, and more strategically, about how to build the power we need for the
change we want.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Beyond
organizational patriotism<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In order to go
from an organization to a movement, activists have to overcome what German
speakers call “organizational patriotism” (<i>Organisationspatriotismus</i>, a
generic term that has been applied to everything from strategic planning to
business theory). Organizational patriotism includes narrowly prioritizing your
own organization’s interests over all others. It means siloed social media work
(not signal-boosting related organizations) and training programs that fail to
mention other organizations working on the same issues. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Organizational
patriotism happens when organizations neglect networking and alliance-building.
There are many other organizational forms and practices that keep us acting and
thinking in separate boxes—as if our organization alone could do it all.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">If we are
serious about <i>overcoming</i> the problems we face, what we
ultimately need—as frameworks running from intersectionality to climate justice
acknowledge—is very broad alliances of movements, or far larger, more diverse
and internally complex movements. Becoming able to act as “the peace movement”,
“the Black community”, “the climate movement”, “labor” and so on is a huge
achievement, but not a resting point.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">What can we
do?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Some movements
have long-standing cultures of alliance-building and networking across
organizations, social groups and countries. Organizations may start with
experienced activists with good connections to other movements, communities and
civil society actors, or stand in a tradition that values making connections.
Yet many organizations don’t start from such an ideal place, and the forces of
entropy and fragmentation are very powerful.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">It is easy
enough today to learn the technical skills of mobilizing for a campaign,
building an organization, carrying out nonviolent direct action or using social
media effectively. But there are fewer spaces to address the problems of
organizational patriotism. And of course, organizations that aren’t having
conversations about this problem are less likely to see the need to address it.
So what can we do?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In <a href="http://www.movements.manchester.ac.uk/what-do-activists-need/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">earlier research</span></b></a> about movement development, my
colleagues and I asked activists how movements can build the strategic capacity
to think about large-scale change over time. Two strategies that came up were:<o:p></o:p></span></p><ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Building alliances across
organizations, communities and movements;<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Creating the spaces and skills for
movements to become learning agents.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">A manageable
way to start alliance-building is simply to hold a 90-minute meeting with a
small group of people involved in your organization, your movement or your
community. Name other communities, movements or organizations that are near
enough—geographically, in terms of issues—that you could easily reach out to
them; identify the benefits and challenges of doing so; and think about the
wider basis for an alliance (geographical, thematic, in terms of which social
groups are involved, etc.) And then set a realistic goal—concrete and
doable—that could mark a first step towards a more strategic alliance.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Learning
from and for movements<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">How do
movements become learning agents? Three activist training networks already run
pan-European projects geared to supporting activists learning to grow the
movements we need for a better world. The <a href="https://ulexproject.org/courses_events/the-ecology-of-social-movements-2-2/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Ulex Project’s Ecology of Social Movements</span></b></a> course;
the European Community Organizing Network’s <a href="https://organizeeurope.org/our-programs/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Citizen
Participation University</span></b></a> and European Alternatives’ <a href="https://transnationalactivism.eu/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">School of
Transnational Activism</span></b></a> already tackle this fragmentation in
different ways.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Together with
two researchers who helped run the National University of Ireland
Maynooth’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fbKNjPmFcA" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">masters in activism course</span></b></a> (2009-2015) we are
working on a year-long training program for activists and adult educators
across the continent. The program includes two-week residentials framing an
online course and local support networks. It is geared to supporting
“transnational and transversal (across social groups and movement issues)
active citizenship” and highlighting the skills and knowledge needed for this.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Like the
various trainings mentioned above, the idea is to make this financially
accessible on a solidarity economy basis and to ensure the workload is
manageable. At the same time we expect that participants will welcome the
opportunity to create some space in their work to go beyond “fire-fighting” and
reflect on questions of strategic effectiveness. There is a time cost for doing
this—but it is nothing compared to the costs of being permanently trapped in
the endless cycle of simply reacting to crises.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Editor’s
note: In addition to the above, organizations like <a href="https://www.rhize.org/global-coaching-fellowship" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Rhize</span></b></a> and <a href="https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/online-courses/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">ICNC</span></b></a> offer
activist learning and leadership development opportunities throughout the year.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Laurence Cox is
co-author of <a href="https://dhammalokaproject.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><b><i><span style="color: #38761d;">The Irish Buddhist: the Forgotten Monk who Faced Down the
British Empire</span></i></b></a> (Oxford University Press, 2020) and co-editor
of the activist/academic journal <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Finterfacejournal.net%2F&data=04%7C01%7CLaurence.Cox%40mu.ie%7Cf5422dd292f240456e4d08da17d197bf%7C1454f5ccbb354685bbd98621fd8055c9%7C0%7C0%7C637848487383283246%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=XH1B12XDIvChQLncqXSD9uOPk%2FU3teSzlSU0Xv16UCE%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank"><b><i><span style="color: #38761d;">Interface</span></i></b></a>. He is Associate Professor of
Sociology at the National University of Ireland Maynooth and has been involved
in many different movements since the 1980s.</span> </p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-44987162473229397042022-04-20T08:07:00.002-07:002022-04-20T08:40:42.254-07:00Digital Ecosocialism – Breaking the Power of Big Tech<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Jur6fvo0_ZRKYnxxodM0d-kuYhvkpAOPtC1Ln3tDOd-RMQ1tDuJIYwsvju5hqfAy0sjN8PupsUlgVQKn8HkEx9rmk6HQ6nPJnXAaAYf97N_ctvuXzo6siB-D4fETYrelVW9wVHSgy6EA0ERuJcNL6nfgQnSwjFieG5KxwSHqlHt_o7p1Op8O6084/s687/Ecosocialist%20Alliance1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Jur6fvo0_ZRKYnxxodM0d-kuYhvkpAOPtC1Ln3tDOd-RMQ1tDuJIYwsvju5hqfAy0sjN8PupsUlgVQKn8HkEx9rmk6HQ6nPJnXAaAYf97N_ctvuXzo6siB-D4fETYrelVW9wVHSgy6EA0ERuJcNL6nfgQnSwjFieG5KxwSHqlHt_o7p1Op8O6084/w280-h400/Ecosocialist%20Alliance1.png" width="280" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Written by Michael
Kwet, and first published at <a href="https://roarmag.org/"><span style="color: #38761d;">ROAR Magazine</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We Can No
Longer Ignore The Role Of Big Tech In Entrenching Global Inequality.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">To curtail
the forces of digital capitalism, we need an ecosocialist Digital Tech Deal.</span></b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">In the space of
a few years, the debate on how to rein in Big Tech has become mainstream,
discussed across the political spectrum. Yet, so far the proposals to regulate
largely fail to address the capitalist, imperialist and environmental
dimensions of digital power, which together are deepening global inequality and
pushing the planet closer to collapse. We urgently need to build a ecosocialist
digital ecosystem, but what would that look like and how can we get there?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">This essay aims
to highlight some of the core elements of a digital socialist agenda — a
Digital Tech Deal (DTD) — centered on principles of anti-imperialism, class
abolition, reparations and degrowth that can transition us to a 21st century
socialist economy. It draws on proposals for transformation as well as existing
models that can be scaled up, and seeks to integrate those with other movements
pushing for alternatives to capitalism, in particular the degrowth movement. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The scale of
needed transformation is massive, but we hope this attempt at outlining a
socialist Digital Tech Deal provokes further brainstorming and debate over how
an egalitarian digital ecosystem would look and the steps we might take to get
there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><b>Digital
Capitalism And The Problems Of Antitrust</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Progressive
criticisms of the tech sector are often drawn from a mainstream capitalist
framework centered around antitrust, human rights and worker well-being.
Formulated by elite scholars, journalists, think tanks and policymakers in the
Global North, they advance a US-Eurocentric reformist agenda that assumes the
continuation of capitalism, Western imperialism and economic growth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Antitrust
reformism is particularly problematic because it assumes the problem of the
digital economy is merely the size and “unfair practices” of big companies
rather than digital capitalism itself. Antitrust laws were created in the
United States to promote competition and restrain the abusive practices of
monopolies (then called “trusts”) in the late 19th century. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Thanks to the
sheer scale and power of contemporary Big Tech, these laws are back on the
agenda, with their advocates pointing to how big companies not only undermine
consumers, workers and small businesses, but even challenge the foundations of
democracy itself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Antitrust
advocates argue that monopolies distort an otherwise ideal capitalist
system and that what is needed is a level playing field for everyone to
compete. Yet, competition is only good for those with resources to compete
with. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">More than half
the global population lives on less than $7.40 per day, and nobody stops to ask
how they will “compete” in the “competitive marketplace” envisioned by Western
antitrust advocates. This is all the more daunting for low and middle-income
countries considering the largely borderless nature of the internet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">At a broader
level, as I argued in a previous <a href="https://roarmag.org/essays/digital-colonialism-the-evolution-of-american-empire"><span style="color: #38761d;">article</span></a>,
published at ROAR, antitrust advocates ignore the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350522864_Plunder_in_the_Post-Colonial_Era_Quantifying_Drain_from_the_Global_South_Through_Unequal_Exchange_1960-2018"><span style="color: #38761d;">globally
unequal</span></a> division of labor and exchange of goods and services that has
been deepened by the digitalization of the global economy. The likes of Google,
Amazon, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, Intel, AMD and many other
firms are so big because they own the intellectual property and means of
computation that is used across the world. Antitrust thinkers, especially
those in the US, end up systematically erasing American empire and the Global
South from the picture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">European
antitrust initiatives are <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3965128"><span style="color: #38761d;">no better</span></a>.
There, policymakers who huff and puff about the ills of Big Tech are quietly
trying to build their own tech giants. The UK <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2020/09/11/cummings-plan-create-uk-trillionaire-tech-giant-admirable"><span style="color: #38761d;">aims</span></a> to
produce its own trillion-dollar behemoth. President Emanuel Macron will
be <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/macron-secures-5-billion-investment-to-boost-french-tech-startups-11568749343"><span style="color: #38761d;">pumping</span></a> €5
billion into tech startups in the hope that France will have at least 25
so-called “unicorns” — companies valued at $1 billion or more — by 2025. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Germany
is <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/germanys-plan-to-become-an-ai-powerhouse"><span style="color: #38761d;">spending</span></a> €3
billion to become a global AI powerhouse and a world leader (i.e. market
colonizer) in digital industrialization. For its part, the Netherlands <a href="https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2019/06/dutch-invest-e65m-in-making-the-netherlands-a-unicorn-nation"><span style="color: #38761d;">aims</span></a> to
become a “unicorn nation.” And in 2021, the widely-lauded European Union’s
competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH_21_1092"><span style="color: #38761d;">said</span></a> that
Europe needs to build its own European tech giants. As part of the EU’s digital
targets for 2030, Vestager said the EU aims to “double the number of European
unicorns from 122 today.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Instead of
opposing Big Tech corporations in principle, European policymakers are
opportunists seeking to expand their own portion of the pie.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Other proposed
reformist capitalist measures, such as progressive taxation, the development of
new technology as a public option, and worker protections still fail to address
root causes and core problems. Progressive digital capitalism is better than
neoliberalism. But it is nationalist in orientation, cannot prevent digital
colonialism, and it retains a commitment to private property, profit,
accumulation and growth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The
Environmental Emergency And Tech<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Other major
blindspots for digital reformists are the twin crises of climate change and
ecological destruction that imperil life on Earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">A growing <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332500379_Is_Green_Growth_Possible" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">body
of evidence</span></a> shows that the environmental crises cannot be fixed within a
capitalist framework predicated on growth, which is not only increasing energy
use and resulting carbon emissions but also putting enormous stress on
ecological systems.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">UNEP <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/cut-global-emissions-76-percent-every-year-next-decade-meet-15degc"><span style="color: #38761d;">estimates</span></a> emissions
must fall by 7.6 percent every year between 2020 and 2030 to meet the goal of
keeping temperature increases under 1.5 degrees. <span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/3/3/488"><span style="color: #38761d;">Scholarl</span></a>y <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/4/1/25"><span style="color: #38761d;">assessments</span></a></span> estimate the
sustainable worldwide material extraction limit at about 50 billion tons of
resources a year, yet at present, we are extracting <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/digest/world-consumes-100-billion-tons-of-materials-every-year-report-finds"><span style="color: #38761d;">100
billion tons a year</span></a>, largely benefiting the rich and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0962629821000640"><span style="color: #38761d;">Global
North</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Degrowth must
be implemented in the immediate future. Slight reforms to capitalism touted by
progressives will still destroy the environment. Applying the precautioonary
principle, we cannot afford to risk a permanent ecological catastrophe. The
tech sector is not a bystander here, but now one of the leading drivers of
these trends.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">According to a
recent <a href="https://theshiftproject.org/en/article/lean-ict-our-new-report/"><span style="color: #38761d;">report</span></a>,
in 2019, digital technologies — defined as telecommunications networks, data
centers, terminals (personal devices) and IoT (internet of things) sensors
— <a href="https://theshiftproject.org/en/article/unsustainable-use-online-video"><span style="color: #38761d;">contributed</span></a> 4
percent of greenhouse gas emissions, and its energy use has increased by 9
percent per year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">And as high as
that may seem, it likely understates the use of energy by the digital
sector. A 2022 <a href="https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/ccrm_2022"><span style="color: #38761d;">report</span></a> found
that Big Tech giants are not committed to reducing their full value-chain
emissions. Companies like Apple <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/3/5/why-do-corporations-greenwash"><span style="color: #38761d;">claim</span></a> to
be “carbon-neutral” by 2030, but this “currently includes only direct
operations, which account for a microscopic 1.5 percent of its carbon
footprint.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">In addition to
overheating the planet, mining for minerals used in electronics — such as
cobalt, nickel and lithium — in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Chile, Argentina and China is often <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lithium-batteries-environment-impact"><span style="color: #38761d;">ecologically
destructive</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">And then there
is the pivotal role of digital companies in supporting other forms of
unsustainable extraction. Tech giants <a href="https://gizmodo.com/how-google-microsoft-and-big-tech-are-automating-the-1832790799"><span style="color: #38761d;">help</span></a> corporations
explore and exploit new sources of fossil fuels and <a href="https://grain.org/en/article/6595-digital-control-how-big-tech-moves-into-food-and-farming-and-what-it-means"><span style="color: #38761d;">digitize
industrial agriculture</span></a>. Digital capitalism’s business model revolves around
pushing ads to promote mass-consumption, a key driver of the environmental
crisis. Meanwhile many of its billionaire executives have a carbon footprint
thousands of times <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/carbon-footprint-billionaires-2650552617.html"><span style="color: #38761d;">higher</span></a> than
average consumers in the Global North.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Digital
reformists <a href="https://cepr.net/saving-the-environment-is-degrowthing-the-answer"><span style="color: #38761d;">assume</span></a> that
Big Tech can be decoupled from carbon emissions and resource-overuse and as a
result they focus their attention on each corporation’s particular activities
and emissions. Yet the notion of “decoupling” growth from material resource use
has been <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dpr.12584"><span style="color: #38761d;">challenged</span></a> by
scholars, who note that resource use tracks tightly to GDP growth across
history. Researchers recently <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab7f63"><span style="color: #38761d;">found</span></a> that
shifting economic activity to services, including knowledge-intensive
industries, has limited potential to reduce global environmental impacts due to
the increase in levels of household consumption by service workers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">In sum, the
limits to growth changes everything. If capitalism is ecologically
unsustainable, then digital policies must accommodate this stark and
challenging reality.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><b>Digital
Socialism And Its Building Blocks</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">In a socialist
system, property is held in common. The means of production are directly
controlled by the workers themselves through worker coops, and production is
for use and need rather than exchange, profit and accumulation. The role of the
state is <a href="https://blackrosefed.org/anarchopac-critique-of-seizing-state-power/"><span style="color: #38761d;">contested</span></a> among
socialists, with some arguing that governance and economic production should be
as decentralized as possible, while others argue for a greater degree of state
planning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">These same
principles, strategies and tactics apply to the digital economy. A system of
digital socialism would phase out intellectual property, socialize the means of
computation, democratize data and digital intelligence and place the development
and maintenance of the digital ecosystem into the hands of communities in the
public domain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Many of the
building blocks for a socialist digital economy already exist. Free and Open
Source Software (FOSS) and Creative Commons licenses, for example, provide the
software and licensing for a socialist mode of production. As James Muldoon
notes in <a href="https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745346977/platform-socialism"><span style="color: #38761d;">Platform
Socialism</span></a>, city projects like <a href="https://decodeproject.eu/pilots.html"><span style="color: #38761d;">DECODE</span></a> (DEcentralised
Citizen-owned Data Ecosystems) provide open source public interest tools for
community activities where citizens can access and contribute data, from air
pollution levels to online petitions and neighborhood social networks, while
retaining control over data shared. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><a href="https://platform.coop/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Platform coops</span></a>, such as the Wings food
delivery platform in London, provide a prominent workplace model whereby
workers organize their labor through open source platforms collectively owned
and controlled by the workers themselves. There is also a <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3695356"><span style="color: #38761d;">socialist
social media</span></a> alternative in the Fediverse, a set of social networks
that interoperate using shared protocols, that facilitate a decentralization of
online social communications.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">But these
building blocks would need policy change to thrive. Projects like the
Fediverse, for example, are not able to integrate with closed systems or
compete with the massive concentrated resources of the likes of Facebook. A set
of radical <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3695356"><span style="color: #38761d;">policy
changes</span></a> would therefore be needed to force big social media networks
to interoperate, decentralize internally, open up their intellectual property
(e.g. proprietary software), end forced advertising (advertising people are
subjected to in exchange for “free” services), subsidize data hosting so that
individuals and communities — not the state or private companies — can own and
control the networks and perform content moderation. This would effectively
strangle tech giants out of existence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The
socialization of infrastructure would also need to be balanced with robust
privacy controls, restrictions on state surveillance and the roll-back of the
carceral security state. Currently the state exploits digital technology for
the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/12/21/microsofts-iron-cage-prison-surveillance-and-e-carceral-state"><span style="color: #38761d;">means
of coercion</span></a>, often in partnership with the private sector. Immigrant
populations and people on the move are heavily <a href="https://www.tni.org/en/morethanawall"><span style="color: #38761d;">targeted</span></a> by a mix of
cameras, aircraft, motion sensors, drones, video surveillance and biometrics. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Records and
sensor data are increasingly centralized by the state into fusion centers and
real-time crime centers to surveil, predict and control communities.
Marginalized and racialized communities and activists are disproportionately
targeted by the high-tech surveillance state. These practices should be banned
as activists work to take down and abolish these institutions of organized
violence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The Digital Tech
Deal<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Big Tech
corporations, intellectual property and private ownership of the means of
computation are deeply embedded into the digital society, and cannot be turned
off overnight. Thus, to replace digital capitalism with a socialist model, we
need a planned transition to digital socialism.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Environmentalists
have proposed new “deals” outlining the transition to a green economy.
Reformist proposals like the US Green New Deal and European Green Deal operate
within a capitalist framework that retains the harms of capitalism, such as
terminal growth, imperialism and structural inequality. In contrast,
ecosocialist models, such as the Red Nation’s <a href="https://www.commonnotions.org/the-red-deal"><span style="color: #38761d;">Red Deal</span></a>, the <a href="https://pwccc.wordpress.com/2010/04/24/peoples-agreement/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Cochabamaba
Agreement</span></a> and South Africa’s <a href="https://cjcm.org.za/the-charter/en"><span style="color: #38761d;">Climate Justice Charter</span></a>, offer
better alternatives. These proposals acknowledge the limits of growth and
incorporate the egalitarian principles need for a just transition to a truly
sustainable economy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">However,
neither these red nor green deals incorporate plans for the digital ecosystem,
despite its central relevance to the modern economy and environmental
sustainability. In turn, the digital justice movement has almost entirely
ignored degrowth proposals and the need to integrate their assessment of the
digital economy into an ecosocialist framework. Environmental justice and
digital justice go hand-in-hand, and the two movements must link up to achieve
their goals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">To this effect,
I propose an ecosocialist <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3965128"><span style="color: #38761d;">Digital Tech
Deal</span></a> which embodies the intersecting values of anti-imperialism,
environmental sustainability, social justice for marginalized communities,
worker empowerment, democratic control and class abolition. Here are ten
principles to guide such a program:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">1. Ensure
The Digital Economy Falls Within Social And Planetary Boundaries<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We face a
reality that the richest countries in the North have already emitted more of
their <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(20)30196-0/fulltext"><span style="color: #38761d;">fair
share</span></a> of the carbon budget — and this is also true of the Big Tech-led
digital economy that is disproportionately profiting the richest countries. It
is therefore imperative to ensure the digital economy falls within <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15487733.2021.1940754"><span style="color: #38761d;">social
and planetary boundaries</span></a>. We would need to establish a <a href="https://www.boell.de/en/content/green-economies-around-world-implications-resource-use-development-and-environment"><span style="color: #38761d;">scientifically-informed</span></a> limit
on the amount and types of materials that can be used and decisions could be
made about which material resources (e.g. biomass, minerals, fossil energy
carriers, metal ores) should be devoted to which use (e.g. new buildings,
roads, electronics, etc.) in which amounts for which people. Ecological debts
could be established which mandate redistributive policies from North to South,
rich to poor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">2. Phase Out
Intellectual Property<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Intellectual
property, especially in the form of copyrights and patents, give corporations
control over knowledge, culture and the code that determines how apps and
services work, allowing them to maximize user engagement, privatize innovation
and extract data and rents. Economist Dean Baker <a href="https://cepr.net/report/is-intellectual-property-the-root-of-all-evil-patents-copyrights-and-inequality"><span style="color: #38761d;">estimates</span></a> that
intellectual property rents cost consumers an additional $1 trillion per year
compared to what could be obtained on a “free market” without patents or
copyright monopolies. Phasing out intellectual property in favor of a
commons-based model of sharing knowledge would reduce prices, widen access to
and enhance education for all and function as a form of wealth redistribution
and reparations to the Global South.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">3. Socialize
Physical Infrastructure<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Physical
infrastructure such as cloud server farms, wireless cell towers, fiber optic
networks and transoceanic submarine cables benefit those who own it. There are
initiatives for community-run internet service providers and wireless mesh
networks which can help place these services into the hands of communities.
Some infrastructure, such as submarine cables, could be maintained by an
international consortium that builds and maintains it at cost for the public
good rather than profit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">4. Replace
Private Investment Of Production With Public Subsidies And Production.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Dan
Hind’s <a href="https://thenextsystem.org/bdc"><span style="color: #38761d;">British Digital Cooperative</span></a> is
perhaps the most detailed proposal for how a socialist model of production
could work in the present context. Under the plan, “public sector institutions,
including local, regional and national government, will provide venues where
citizens and more or less cohesive groups can assemble and secure a claim on
the political.” Enhanced by open data, transparent algorithms, open-source
software and platforms and enacted through <a href="https://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviews/19662_no-bosses-a-new-economy-for-a-better-world-by-michael-albert-reviewed-by-thomas-klikauer"><span style="color: #38761d;">democratic
participatory planning</span></a>, such a transformation would facilitate investment,
development and maintenance of the digital ecosystem and broader economy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">While Hind
envisions rolling this out as a public option within a single country —
competing with the private sector — it could instead provide a preliminary
basis for the complete socialization of tech. In addition, it could be expanded
to include a global justice framework that provides infrastructure as
reparations to the Global South, similar to the way climate justice initiatives
pressure rich countries to help the Global South replace fossil fuels with
green energy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">5.
Decentralize The Internet<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Socialists have
long pushed for decentralizing wealth, power and governance into the hands of
workers and communities. Projects like <a href="https://freedombox.org/"><span style="color: #38761d;">FreedomBox</span></a> offer
free and open source software to power inexpensive personal servers that can
collectively host and route data for services like email, calendaring, chat
apps, social networking and more. Other projects like <a href="https://solid.mit.edu/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Solid</span></a> allow people to host their data in
“pods” they control. App providers, social media networks and other services
can then access the data on terms acceptable to users, who retain control over
their data. These models could be scaled up to help decentralize the internet
on a socialist basis.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">6. Socialize
The Platforms<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Internet
platforms like Uber, Amazon and Facebook centralize ownership and control as
private intermediaries that stand between users of their platforms. Projects
like the Fediverse and LibreSocial provide a blueprint for interoperability
that could potentially extend beyond social networking. Services that cannot
simply interoperate could be socialized and operated at cost for the public
good rather than for profit and growth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">7. Socialize
Digital Intelligence And Data<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Data and the
digital intelligence derived from it are a major source of economic wealth and
power. Socialization of data would instead embed values and practices of
privacy, security, transparency and democratic decision-making in how data is
collected, stored and used. It could build on models such as Project DECODE in
Barcelona and Amsterdam.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">8. Ban
Forced Advertising And Platform Consumerism<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Digital
advertising pushes a constant stream of corporate propaganda designed to
manipulate the public and stimulate consumption. Many “free” services are
powered by ads, further stimulating consumerism precisely at the time that it
imperils the planet. Platforms like Google Search and Amazon are built to
maximize consumption, ignoring ecological limits. Instead of forced
advertising, information about products and services could be hosted in
directories and accessed on a voluntary basis.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">9. Replace
Military, Police, Prisons And National Security Apparatuses With
Community-Driven Safety And Security Services<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Digital
technology has increased the power of police, military, prisons and
intelligence agencies. Some technologies, such as autonomous weapons, should be
banned, as they have no practical use beyond violence. Other AI-driven
technologies, that arguably have socially beneficial applications, would need to
be tightly regulated, taking a conservative approach to limit their presence in
society. Activists pushing to curtail mass state surveillance should join hands
with those pushing for abolition of police, prison, national security and
militarism, in addition to people targeted by those institutions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">10. End The
Digital Divide<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The digital
divide typically refers to unequal individual access to digital resources like
computer devices and data, but it should also encompass the way digital
infrastructure, such as cloud server farms and high-tech research facilities,
are owned and dominated by wealthy countries and their corporations. As a form
of wealth redistribution, capital could be redistributed through taxation and a
process of reparations to subsidize personal devices and internet connectivity
to the global poor and to provide infrastructure, such as cloud infrastructure
and high-tech research facilities to populations that cannot afford them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">How To Make
Digital Socialism Reality<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Radical changes
are needed, but there is wide gap between what must be done and where we are
today. Nevertheless, there are some critical steps we can and must take.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">First, it is
essential to raise awareness, promote education and exchange ideas within and
across communities so together we can co-create a new framework for the digital
economy. In order to do this, a clear critique of digital capitalism and
colonialism is needed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Such a change
will be difficult to bring about if concentrated knowledge production is left
intact. Elite universities, media corporations, think tanks, NGOs and Big Tech
researchers in the Global North dominate the conversation and set the agenda
around fixing capitalism, limiting and constraining the parameters of that
conversation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">We need steps
to strip their power, such as abolishing the university ranking system,
democratizing the classroom and terminating funding from corporations,
philanthropists and Big Foundations. Initiatives to decolonize education — such
as the recent <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2016/11/3/feesmustfall-decolonising-education"><span style="color: #38761d;">#FeesMustFall</span></a> student
protest movement in South Africa and <a href="https://www.yaleendowmentjustice.org/"><span style="color: #38761d;">Endowment Justice Coalition</span></a> at
Yale University — provide examples of the movements that will be needed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Second, we need
to connect digital justice movements with other social, racial and
environmental justice movements. Digital rights activists should be working
with environmentalists, abolitionists, food justice advocates, feminists and
others. Some of this work is already being done — for example, the
#NoTechForIce campaign spearheaded by Mijente, a grassroots migrant-led network,
is challenging the supply of technology to police immigration in the United
States — but more work is required still, especially in relation to the
environment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Third, we need
to ramp up direct action and agitation against Big Tech and the US empire.
Sometimes it is hard to mobilize support behind seemingly esoteric topics, such
as the opening of a cloud center in the Global South (e.g. in <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-to-launch-first-data-centre-region-in-malaysia"><span style="color: #38761d;">Malaysia</span></a>)
or the imposition of Big Tech software into the schools (e.g. in <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3496049"><span style="color: #38761d;">South Africa</span></a>).
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">This is
especially difficult in the South, where people must prioritize access to food,
water, shelter, electricity, health care and jobs. However, successful
resistance to developments like Facebook’s Free Basics in <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/facebook-free-basics-india-shut-down"><span style="color: #38761d;">India</span></a> and
the construction of Amazon’s headquarters on sacred Indigenous land in <a href="https://mg.co.za/opinion/2022-01-26-amazons-colonial-hq-in-cape-town-must-be-stopped"><span style="color: #38761d;">Cape
Town, South Africa</span></a> show the possibility and potential of civic
opposition.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">These activist
energies could go further and embrace the tactics of boycotts, divestment and
sanctions (BDS), which anti-apartheid activists used to target computer
corporations selling equipment to the apartheid government in South Africa.
Activists could build a #BigTechBDS movement, this time targeting the existence
of giant tech corporations. Boycotts could cancel public sector contracts with
tech giants and replace them with socialist People’s Tech solutions. Divestment
campaigns could force institutions like universities to divest from the worst
tech companies. And activists could pressure states to apply targeted sanctions
to US, Chinese and other countries’ tech corporations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Fourth, we must
work to build tech worker cooperatives that can be the building blocks for a
new digital socialist economy. There is a movement to unionize Big Tech, which
can help protect tech workers along the way. But unionizing Big Tech is like
unionizing the East India companies, arms manufacturer Raytheon, Goldman Sachs
or Shell — it is not social justice and is likely to deliver only mild reforms.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Just as South
African anti-apartheid activists rejected the Sullivan Principles — a set of
rules and reforms for corporate social responsibility that allowed American
companies to keep profits flowing from business in apartheid South Africa — and
other mild reforms, in favor of strangling the apartheid system, we should aim
to abolish Big Tech and the system of digital capitalism altogether.
And this will require building alternatives, engaging with tech workers, not to
reform the unreformable, but to help work out a just transition for the
industry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Finally, people
from all walks of life should work collaboratively with tech professionals to
develop the concrete plan that would make up a Digital Tech Deal. This needs to
be taken as seriously as current green “deals” for the environment. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">With a Digital
Tech Deal, some workers — such as those in the advertisement industry — would
lose their jobs, so there would have to be a just transition for workers in
these industries. Workers, scientists, engineers, sociologists, lawyers,
educators, activists and the general public could collectively brainstorm how
to make such a transition practical.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Today,
progressive capitalism is widely seen as the most practical solution to the
rise of Big Tech. Yet these same progressives have failed to acknowledge the
structural harms of capitalism, US-led tech colonization and the imperative of
degrowth. We cannot burn down the walls of our house to keep ourselves warm. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The only
practical solution is to do what is necessary to prevent us from destroying our
one and only home — and this must integrate the digital economy. Digital
socialism, made reality by a Digital Tech Deal, offers the best hope within the
short time frame we have for drastic change, but will need to be discussed,
debated and built. It is my hope that this article might invite readers and
others to build collaboratively in this direction.</span></p></div>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2440117683736860632.post-3080043919817014632022-04-15T09:08:00.004-07:002022-04-15T13:55:08.480-07:00Partygate – Tory MPs Bottle it, so now it is down to the British Public to remove Boris Johnson<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxCF5lUCzEMyGxXh_lZOKWtfXonL7lVdo913uYxkwiqxz8d7ZizrnW7C9Rt7AYjFvpa9mS25ojgt9_QXT3urROKqX2MXLak64YN3rF5qm2HfpgyrF48hw3-GNN6dpnj-obhaowx8feIamJGK4NbH8DMN1yJe1JDgSGV3NRMnwQw9xon2MHtGLrM_Vs/s2048/Polling%20Station.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxCF5lUCzEMyGxXh_lZOKWtfXonL7lVdo913uYxkwiqxz8d7ZizrnW7C9Rt7AYjFvpa9mS25ojgt9_QXT3urROKqX2MXLak64YN3rF5qm2HfpgyrF48hw3-GNN6dpnj-obhaowx8feIamJGK4NbH8DMN1yJe1JDgSGV3NRMnwQw9xon2MHtGLrM_Vs/w400-h225/Polling%20Station.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The Prime Minister,
Boris Johnson, appears to be riding out the scandal of holding lockdown parties
in 10 Downing Street, in contravention of the laws in place at the time.
Johnson, along with his next door neighbour, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, have received
fines for one breach, with more expected to follow. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">This is the
first time that a serving prime minister (and Chancellor) have been found
guilty of breaking the law, and I think that previous prime minister’s would
have felt that they had to resign their post, but not Boris Johnson. As one of his
former housemasters at Eton school reported, Johnson doesn’t think that rules
apply to him. Indeed, he has pretty much made a career in politics on this
basis. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">In these circumstances,
one might expect Tory MPs, who are well aware of how badly this whole saga has
gone down with voters in their constituencies, to remove him by calling for a
vote of no confidence in him, but very few have done so. I think some of them do
see the importance of honesty and integrity, of which Johnson is completely
lacking, but they appear to be nervous about bringing him down.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">The most common
reason that many are citing for their inaction, is that whilst there is the
ongoing war in Ukraine, no change of leader can be contemplated. This view
ignores history, where prime ministers have been changed, most notably Herbert
Asquith, during in World War I, and Neville Chamberlain during in World War II.
These were wars that Britain was actually fighting too, which is not the case
with current conflict in Ukraine. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">What real
difference would it make if Johnson was replaced? None, I think. Somebody else
can go around making breezy speeches, with no difference one way or the other,
but many Tory MPs are taking refuge in this thinking. But this might change,
and a look at previous Tory prime ministers who have been removed in recent
times by their MPs, is instructive.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Margaret
Thatcher, was brought down in 1990, a prime minister much more powerful and respected
than Johnson, mainly over the unpopular Poll Tax policy. This led to defeat
for the Tories in a byelection in Eastbourne in September 1990, normally a rock solid Tory
constituency. She resigned in November of same the same year, having lost the
confidence of her ministers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Theresa May, was
forced to resign in 2019, after it became clear that she would face a no
confidence vote from her MPs. The Tories recorded only 8.8% of the vote in the
European Parliamentary elections earlier that year. Her premiership was dogged
by a failure of MPs to agree with her attempts to get a post Brexit deal from
the European Union. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">So, we can see
that the commonest factor in Tory MPs removing their sitting prime minister, is
how well they see their prospects of retaining their seats in a future general
election. Tory MPs were always well aware of Johnson’ shortcomings, but recognised
that he was popular with the voters, and so this trumped all else.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Which brings us
to the current situation. Is Johnson still a winner? Opinion polls suggest not,
with 75% of those surveyed saying that they believe the prime minister to be a
liar. The breaching of lockdown rules touches the public in a way that perhaps
other issues do not. Most people followed the rules, and many have memories of not
being able see loved ones, in some cases before these people died from Covid.
They expected the people making these rules to follow them, like they did.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">On 5 May local
elections throughout the UK will take place. If voters reject the Tory party in
huge numbers, over their outrage of the breaches of the lockdown rules, this
will put pressure on Tory MPs to act, out of self-interest, if nothing else. There
is also a Parliamentary byelection coming in Wakefield, a seat the Tories
gained in 2019. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">A harbinger of
what may happen can be seen in recent local byelections. The Green party has gained
two seats from the Tories over recent weeks. In Storrington and Washington and
Lyme and Charmouth, they made impressive gains from the Tories. Will
something similar happen in the upcoming local council elections? It may well
be so.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: center;">
</p><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The only way
that Johnson will be forced out of office, is if the voters make it clear they
are unhappy with him. At the end of the day, it is not about the integrity of
the office of prime minister for Tory MPs, rather whether they think they have
more chance of retaining their seats, with Johnson as prime minister.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">For most people, somebody who breaks their own laws, and lies about it, is not a fit and proper person to hold the office of prime minister. It's over to you the voters, to remove this person. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span> </div><p></p>Mike Shaughnessyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16796480031110991460noreply@blogger.com0