Summary of Ten Readings - Essay Example

Summarizing Ten Readings What legacy from the Radical Internationalism of 1968? By Max Elbaum Those who want to delve into revolutionary journey can learn a lot from the long march of the Third World Marxists over thirty years ago. Marxists Civil societies consider protest their right to tell the world that they disagree with something. Seattle became the home ground of protests in the US, before that, it was Chicago, the capital of protests against the Vietnam War. It is equally important to understand why Third World Marxism failed to fan the flames of revolutionary change in the years after the 60s. What needs to be understood in clear form is the changes brought by the protests in the 60s, be it against racial discrimination or against sending troops to Vietnam, they took a lot of years in their making. The root causes went deeper and resonated with people. One simply cannot manipulate the Marxism, the agenda needs to speak to the people. Third world Marxism paved the way for a multiracial movement from what developed as a deeply segregated U.S. left. In all aspects, it was Third World Marxism proved to be the best framework for converting ideologies of greats like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King into an ideological revolution. The successful examples such as the civil rights and antiwar movements also proved that the world is in desperate need of internationalism and antiracism. Without taking into consideration the global South and without realizing the needs of the colored community, there isn’t much hope for building durable social relationships.. Frantz Fanon: “Concerning Violence” Maximilian Forte There is a misconception that the third world is looking for vengeance against Europe when in fact they are in need of their help. Europe feels threatened by the rising third world bloc. The fear is that the less developed countries are looking for vengeance against Europe. The Europe in response, won’t divide reformist forces leading the mankind to delight by flaunting the threat of a Third World. The threat that rises like a tide to engulf the whole of Europe. This notion is false! The third world country is looking to make the world a better place. They don’t want to see Europe to starve. They want cooperation from them, so they can help rehabilitate the regions they kept in slavery for centuries. So even if they consider it a  repudiation to amend what they had done previously  keeping colonies of the area which are the third world the third world countries, it will help them in many ways.  Probably the so called threats will be gone. This does not mean that world will be a better place but it is small step towards it. However, the Europeans need to take the initiative. Hegemony and Antisystemic movements By Giovanni Arrighi The next rising force of the world won’t be a country or a single ideology, it will be a union of ideologies and cooperation among a few Far Eastern countries. Opposition to oppression is a constant aspect of the modern world. In earlier years (before the nineteenth century) these oppressions were short-lived and hence did not affect the system very much. But later, they turned into everlasting agony for the oppressed. The movements against oppression can be categorized into two classes; replacing capitalism with socialism and replacing ethno-nationalist agenda with self-determination. However, both these movements saw state power as a crucial part of the overall agenda. Egalitarian and inegalitrian tendencies have found their protection in the arms of Chinese other Far East Asian countries. The future of these tendencies cannot be predicted with certainty. The outcome is dependent on the regional conflicts, social inequalities. State Piedmontese function will probably be used to deal with this conflict. The oppression will not be conventional. In fact the state will take sides with a social force depending on their agenda. It is hard to predict that an East Asian state can turn hegemonic globally. In isolation it is not possible but in unison, these countries will shape the new world order. Message to the Tricontinental "Now is the time of the furnaces, and only light should be seen." Jose Marti War is inevitable; a soldier must always remain prepared. It has been many years since the last world war. Despite so many conflicts occurring the world, there has not been a Third World War, the reason is more than just coincidence. The formation of the UN (even though controversial) is one of the biggest factors. So now when a conflict arrives, a unanimous action is taken like the one against Vietnam. It proved a weapon testing ground for the US. But it was the resilience of the Vietnamese fueled by patriotism that defeated the US forces but the French and the Japanese before them. It is the duty of ever human to be prepared to fight for the soil. This effort is a battle cry inspired by the great Cuban leaders who fought against the imperialism and defeated the enemy of mankind, the US. Every man should be prepared to die for his country. No death should frighten a soldier. If a surprise death comes, it will only come after the war cry has reached its apex, giving birth to new stories of vigor and glory. Cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitanisms? The Universal Races Congress of 1911 ROBERT JOHN HOLTON The plurality of cosmopolitans is the tool that explains many conflicts occurring in the world. The current discussions of cosmopolitanism have gone past the moral philosophy of Western liberal-democratic universalism for a different sociology. This social ideology emphasizes plurality and embraces the world further than Europe. New cosmopolitanisms are also converging towards a dialect between general orientations toward humanity and the particular chronological and spatial circumstances surrounding them. There exists a connection between cosmopolitanism, with ideas of universalism and globalization. The multiple rooted cosmopolitanisms of the Universal Races Congress of 1911 challenges the Euro-centricity of older unitary ideas of Western cosmopolitanism. It also challenges overemphasizing the theories of imperial dominance on system of broad incorporation. The toil with this new cosmopolitanism is the trouble of differentiating between diversities of transnational identity and inclusivity. The whole debate can be summed up in one sentence, the plurality of cosmopolitans is the ‘hook’ that explains various conflicts occurring in the world. Through this debate the concept of empire gets redefined as an entity that establishes relations on a wider base with humanity dealing with them as colonies. The idea of new cosmopolitan has its limits. Its rootedness is its own worst enemy; the urge of substituting boundaries with bridges and the nationalist resurgence renders the power vulnerable. The Economics of Empire Notes on the Washington Consensus  William Finnegan To ignore the workings and cognition of an administrative system is another way of supporting it. President Bush’s justification for the Iraq war or the whole program against terrorist is justified less with words and ideologies than by brute force. When the president is asked about clarifications, the answer is completely irrelevant. The problem is not due to an individual, the whole system has a perverted orientation; the notion ‘the government for the people by the people’ doesn’t apply anymore. Even the organizations like UNO, IMF and the World Bank are only puppets in the hands of giant corporates. It would be really helpful if people elect the heads of these organizations, instead of the corporate heads selecting their favorite person who can craft policies to strengthen personal agendas of money. If the election process becomes meaningful, these elected heads of powerful organizations will be accountable to the people. They won’t be able to make decisions based on dictation from powerful companies. One of the reasons why such practice goes unnoticed in the West is carelessness. People have more important things to care about than worrying about election process at IMF. Neoliberal Globalization The cold war strategies, Dixie capitalism and Wall Street wizardry are nothing but main tools of the casino capitalism, introduced by the neoliberalism. In recent times, most of the protests against globalization are focused on neoliberal globalization. There is a huge difference between conventional and neoliberal globalization. After the 1980s, neoliberal globalization has taken the world by storm; deregulation, marketization, securitization, financialization, followed by an idea of a lean government. Neoliberalism is the convergence of policies of Margaret Thatcher, Ronal Reagan and the economics of Chicago school. For instance Reagan’s solution for 1970s financial crisis was “Dixiefication of America” which weakened environmental and workplace regulations and reduced public service spending. Organizations such as WTO have become so powerful that they go beyond than just serving the US; they control and oversee the US policies. This form of neoliberalism has found its way into the economic culture. The Habitus of neoliberalism has been created. The western culture has its orientation set to “meanings of the market” where the world consists only of free individuals (buyers and sellers) who are rational in their choices. It is the practice of neoliberalism that introduced casino capitalism that considers the world and “occidental cargo cult”. The New Developmentalism: Political Liberalism and the Washington Consensus Kate Manzo The use of language for political effectiveness is by no means a synonym of a participatory democracy. The term Washington Consensus was created to further agendas of powerful organizations such as USAID and IMF; a tool of structural adjustments. The Washington consensus is nothing but political. The result of such politicization of political terminologies is that The World Bank makes developmental policies and deals with the debate about them as ‘pro or anti’. The Washington consensus is not a novel concept. In fact, it is the repackaged form of the American ideals established in the twentieth century. The way The World Bank and IMF ranks other countries is not based on neutral observations it is based on the perspective of “from collapsed to the miraculous”. The modernization theory is considered essential for the American development assistance programs and doctrines until the early 1960s, later, the modernization theory went unquestioned regarding liberal tradition. The World Bank is akin to modernization theorists in the sense that they uphold the notion of supporting private enterprises and initiatives while exercising the state capacity. Che Guevara’s Enduring Legacy Not the Foco But the Theory of Social Construction Helen Yaffe Che Guevara’s ideology will live on in the world especially in Latin America where the radical governments impose their version of developmental strategies cloaking them as noncapitalist strategies. Guevara’s contribution for Cuba mainly comprises of unforgettable inputs to socialist political economy and the holistic economic management. In his transition to socialism, Guevara set up a budgetary financial system proving that it was imperative and possible to inject a consciousness into the governance system. It serves as an alternative economic management system to the one operating in the Soviet bloc. The competition with the Soviet system pushed him to develop, establish and implement his version of governance and economic system without getting any help from capitalist mechanisms His reason for staying away from capitalistic tools was to keep collective consciousness and new social relations intact. For these reasons, his ideology and his approach to resolving economic problems are still implemented in Cuba. This form of governance is termed as the Cuban socialism. Contemporary reforms, debates and other developments are still debated in Cuba with the pretext of Guevara’s theory of social construction. As long as there is any urge to develop or implement revolutionary system of government, Guevara’s radical political economy will be used for reference. Satyagraha: The Practical Application of Non-violence The only way to realizing and spreading the truth is by non-violent means. Gandhi’s life and his non-violent struggle for freedom is an example that to defeat the opposition fair and square one has to use the sine qua non; the practice of non-violence. Gandhi’s Satyagraha is not only about using non-violence as a political tactic to reach certain goals, it is a spiritual practice achieved through practice. His struggle against the British colonial system was not just a political practice, it was a religious ritual. From this context, it can stated that Gandhi was not actually seeking freedom, he had spiritual motives behind his struggle. The struggle towards the ultimate realization. It was not the attainment of knowledge but self-awareness through spiritual means. His thoughts on the “sixth sense” which he called the faith and he practiced his life activities to harbor this reality. Gandhi called this reality “God” as it is the all-pervading, vital more instinctive than anything else. Gandhi’s ideology was not his self-creation, his activities and his philosophies were based in Bhagavad Gita and the Upanisads. Gandhi believed that spiritual realization is a natural urge of man. Read More