Part 3: Freedom from Socioeconomic Oppression, by W.R. Zammichiéli

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by W.R. Zammichiéli
Writer, Dandelion Salad
August 7, 2020

(Part Three of an Ongoing Series: The Four Fundamental Freedoms of Libertarian Socialism) [Part 1, Part 2]

Throughout the course of human history, there have been countless individuals inhabiting countless communities who have been directly and indirectly participatory in various movements dedicated to the elimination of specific hierarchical structures present within a given society that exist for the sole purposes of ensuring the systemic oppression of a unique portion of the population. Be it upon the basis of biological factors, or be it upon the basis of cultural characteristics, or be it upon the basis of economic positioning, there have been numerous systems of oppression designated to specifically subjugate an entire portion of the population predicated upon the principle of maintaining the embedded structures of power within a particular society.

Peru’s Corporate-Controlled Health System Crumbling Under Stress Of Covid-19, by Yanis Iqbal

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by Yanis Iqbal
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Aligarh, India
August 4, 2020

On March 11, Peru declared a 90-day national sanitary emergency to deal with the emerging coronavirus crisis. Subsequently, the country announced a total lockdown beginning from March 16. But despite implementing one of the earliest and strictest COVID-19 containment regimes in Latin America, Peru has become trapped in the turmoil of rising COVID-19 cases. With more than 400,000 cases, Peru has become the third-worst hit country in Latin America. It also has one of the highest excess death rates (count of deaths relative to a normal year)—87% more than a normal year for the period from March 16 and May 31.

Behind State Repression Looms A New Wave Of Socialist Revolutions, by Rainer Shea

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by Rainer Shea
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Rainer Shea: Anti-Imperialist Journalist, Aug. 1, 2020
August 3, 2020

The paradigm of capitalism and colonialism has naturally produced a long series of backlashes from those who haven’t benefited from these systems. The first time that the resistance efforts took an entire nationwide territory from these forces of oppression was during the first series of successful anti-colonial revolutions. Starting with overthrows like the 1804 Haitian liberation from the French empire, a period in history started which can be called the First Wave of anti-colonial and anti-capitalist revolutions.

Marx in the House: Episode 3: Rent Gap + Episode 4: Disinvestment

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Dandelion Salad

Space Babies on Jul 23, 2020

Marx in the House is a series that explores gentrification and housing from a Marxist perspective. In this episode we take a look at how the rent gap is the fundamental theoretical component explaining gentrification. We look at how Ruth Glass spotted and theorized the rent gap first and how Neil Smith elaborated on it.

Revolt or Burn, by Eric Schechter

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by Eric Schechter aka LeftyMathProf
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Eric’s Rants and Videos blog
August 1, 2020

leftymathprof on Jul 30, 2020

Global warming is about to speed up abruptly, killing us all. Addressing it will require huge changes that the plutocrats are not making, so we must overthrow them.

Part 2: Freedom From Statism, by W.R. Zammichiéli

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by W.R. Zammichiéli
Writer, Dandelion Salad
July 31, 2020

“Every State is a dictatorship.” — Antonio Gramsci

(Part Two of an Ongoing Series: The Four Fundamental Freedoms of Libertarian Socialism) [Part 1]

Part 1: Freedom From Capitalism, by W.R. Zammichiéli

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by W.R. Zammichiéli
Writer, Dandelion Salad
July 26, 2020

The ideology of capitalism is indistinguishable from the ideology of the cancer cell — unlimited growth for the purposes of infinite expansion within a finite reality.

(Part One of an Ongoing Series: The Four Fundamental Freedoms of Libertarian Socialism)

Crises Can Either Bring Revolution Or Strengthen Capitalism + Moving Towards The Worst-Case Covid-19 Scenario, by Rainer Shea

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by Rainer Shea
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Rainer Shea: Anti-Imperialist Journalist
July 23, 2020

Consider the scenario presented by the TV series Mr. Robot, wherein a group of hackers aims to take down the giant conglomerate E Corp-known by the head hacker Elliot Alderson as Evil Corp. To put an end to Evil Corp’s hegemonic control over finance, the hackers sabotage its ability to keep count of how much debt people owe it. When the first big digital attack happens in the show’s universe in 2015, Evil Corp is struggling, hundreds of billions of dollars have been lost, the public is protesting Evil Corp over its failures to provide for society’s needs, and the capitalist world is falling into a depression.

Marx in the House: Episode 1: Intro: Gentrification and Housing + Episode 2: Exchange Value

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Dandelion Salad

Space Babies on Jul 9, 2020

Marx in the House is a series that explores gentrification and housing from a Marxist perspective. In this episode we take a look at the movement of capital, the ridiculousness of landlords, how it’s necessary to organize and the fundamentals of capitalism and the role of the state.

Alex Vitale: Defunding The Police Is The Future + Anya Parampil and Frank Chapman: What Does Community Control Of Police Look Like?

Image by Renoir Gaither via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

TheRealNews on Jul 8, 2020

Police and police unions have proven incapable of ensuring public safety, argues Alex Vitale, author of The End of Policing.

I’m Sick and Tired of This Thing Called “Patriotism” by William Blum

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by William Blum
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally published July 5, 2010
July 4, 2020

Some thoughts on “patriotism” written on July 4

Most important thought: I’m sick and tired of this thing called “patriotism”.

The Japanese pilots who bombed Pearl Harbor were being patriotic. The German people who supported Hitler and his conquests were being patriotic, fighting for the Fatherland. All the Latin American military dictators who overthrew democratically-elected governments and routinely tortured people were being patriotic — saving their beloved country from “communism”.

Aspects of Russian Communism and Why Communism in the West Would Be Different, by Gaither Stewart

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by Gaither Stewart
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Rome, Italy
June 17, 2020

“A civilization reveals itself as fruitful by its ability to incite others to imitate it: when it no longer dazzles them it is reduced to a mere collection of odds and ends and vestiges of former worldly greatness. The successive attempts of Napoleon and Hitler to create a world empire failed, as the United States of North America has failed in our time because any initial attraction they might have exerted on the conquered transformed into resistance and hate as a result of their genocidal policies or military occupation and/or exploitation of the resources of the conquered lands instead of gradual absorption and acceptance of different peoples and the furthering of local cultures.” (Paraphrased from Cioran’s Histoire et Utopie)

The Memorial Day Massacre by Sharon Smith + Labor History: Chicago Memorial Day Massacre 1937

The Chicago Memorial Day Incident

Dandelion Salad

by Sharon Smith
SocialistWorker.org
Originally posted May 27, 2011, written in May 1989
May 25, 2020

The presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt changed the reputation of the Democratic Party from the party of the Southern slaveholders to that of “friend of the working people”—a reputation that the Democratic Party, undeservedly, continues to enjoy.

Chris Hedges: The Prospect and Need For Ecosocialism

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Dandelion Salad

with Chris Hedges

RT America on May 23, 2020

On the show this week, Chris Hedges talks to writer, teacher and activist Victor Wallis about the prospect and need for Ecosocialism.

Chris Hedges: The Student Uprising in Paris in May 1968

Screenshot by Dandelion Salad via Flickr
Watch the video below

Dandelion Salad

with Chris Hedges

RT America on May 16, 2020

On the show this week, Chris Hedges talks to author and translator, Mitch Abidor about the student uprising in Paris in May 1968.