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It was something of a coincidence that I began reading Paul Feldman’sUnmasking the State: A Rough Guide to Real Democracy (Lupus Books, 2008) exactly two days after David Cameron became the new British Prime Minister. I say this because Feldman explicitly mentions Cameron’s budding political future just a few sentences into the book’s Introduction:
Is David Cameron ready to become prime minister? Who knows and, frankly, who cares because this is politics as a trivial pursuit. (p. 5)
This very tone and sentiment sets the stage for an extensive and frank analysis of the nature of capitalism and its manifestation through the British state. Indeed, Feldman – Communications Editor for the UK-based organization A World to Win – does not mince any words or pull any punches in his assessment of the current state of affairs in the United Kingdom. Unmasking the State is contemporary Marxist critique at its finest, combining the best attributes of a sourcebook and primer as a means to prepare the rank-and-file, street level activists for a battle that is as much cerebral as it is concrete.
The strength of the text is its tendency to provide historical precedents as context for the situations and crises of today. Consider Feldman’s chapter “The Struggle for Democracy” in which he expounds upon the inherent contradictions between real democracy and capitalism. This section presents and overview of the struggles of groups like the Chartists and the Suffragettes as evidence that democratic social movements, which foster organization and mass action, are most effective in their opposition of the oppression and institutionalized stratification wrought by capitalism. Feldman also provides a methodical account of the lessons of Britain’s most recent history in the epoch of corporate-driven globalization, examining the continual efforts of the ruling class to maintain the status quo of the “proxy state.” It is, in a manner of speaking, reminiscent of the very conclusions reached by V.I. Lenin his major work The State and Revolution in which he described the bourgeois concept of democracy as “democracy that is curtailed, wretched, false, a democracy only for the rich, for the minority.” Such is the present state of affairs in the allegedly “democratic” societies of the West.
Feldman concludes Unmasking the State with his effort to answer the longstanding question: “What is to be done?” In the chapter “A Way Forward,” the author argues that the ultimate defeat of capitalism is contingent upon radical changes in the form and functionality of “the state”. Proposing a broad and bold list of proposals on fundamental democratic, economic and social rights, Feldman – on behalf of A World to Win – elucidates the fundamental tenets of a bold vision for revolutionary change:
A World to Win is confident that by making information technology available to everyone, by bringing the economy under the control of communities, workers and consumers, and by discouraging bureaucratic trends wherever possible, the state as a separate body can eventually be dispensed with. (p. 86)
Because the book is largely written from a British perspective and predominantly in the context of the British experience, Unmasking the State will undoubtedly find its largest and most appreciative audience to the working people and students of the United Kingdom. That is not necessarily to say that Americans would not find the work captivating and inspirational at a number of levels. It would be most advantageous to organizers and proponents of mass action worldwide if they follow the lessons of Feldman’s text by developing comparable “action guides” which spur revolutionary changes at local and regional levels. The strategy, in its most basic form is typified in the maxim, “Think globally, act locally.” The ultimate goal – now as always – remains common: We have a world to win.
It's a nice idea to think that I can add some material of substance to this site more than twice per month but as of late, I've been busy with a host of additional projects and it's proven difficult to write much of anything in the way of new material for greeklish.org.
Last month (or maybe it was the month before), I completed an overhaul of the Erythrós Press and Media site, re-launching the site with a new look and improved listings. Some renewed interest in my Banner of Victory replicas allowed me to fund a new run of them from the flag maker in Australia. The newest batch of flags are made from knitted polyester which is more durable and better looking. We're now selling the new flags on eBay and on our site.
I've also printed a new book using lulu.com. Essential Texts of Marxism-Leninism contains the most important and influential works by Marx and Engels, Lenin, Stalin and Mao in one small volume. We'll likely be adding this to the Erythrós Press catalog in the near future. It is a very simple, "no-frills" presentation of the texts and the book does not include any introductory texts or commentary. I had hoped to use an original photo for the book cover but lulu.com is not entirely intuitive or user-friendly in some respects. At some point, I'll write a little more regarding my experiences with lulu.com.
From time to time, I am contributing work to wrestling and entertainment sites. I've created a couple of new "Action Figure Theater" comic strips for hittheropes.com. One installment features a look at the mythical super powers of John Cena and the other offers a candid look at wrestlers' views on political issues, including the recent changes to Arizona's immigration law. I've also started a series called "Hidden Gems" for the sci-fi and comics blog primaryignition.com. In this series, I'm reviewing obscure back issues that comics enthusiasts might not otherwise have heard about. Thus far, I've profiled issues 1 through 5 of the Eclipse run of Airboy (Eclipse Comics, 1986) as well as Superman #245 (DC Comics, 1971).
Whenever possible, I'm still adding material to the Marxists Internet Archive and my recent focus has been on new transcriptions of speeches and articles by Enver Hoxha. I am also doing some work on the August Bebel Internet Archive.
Somewhere along the way, I've managed to resurrect the archives of a long-absent political website (more on that some other time) and I am also preparing a review of Paul Feldman's new book Unmasking the State: A Rough Guide to Real Democracy at the request of the folks at A World to Win. That review will be posted here at greeklish.org within the next few weeks.
As if all that wasn't enough, I finally seem to have mad a bit of progress on some major personal goals and this certainly is shaping up to be a very exciting time.
Re-presented below is the very first installment of "Kanebert". I made it some months ago after getting the idea from a dream. I actually bought the "Masked Kane" figure from eBay just so I could make this comic strip. The comic was originally posted in early 2010 on another website and since that particular site is now defunct, I figured greeklish.org was a good permanent home for it. Cherish it, folks.
Those of you who are regular visitors to greeklish.org have probably noticed that these days I don’t post articles as frequently as I have in years past. This is certainly not for lack of interest or because things are boring at our end. In fact, things have been pretty busy here, as we have been hard at work launching our new project, Erythrós Press and Media.
One of the few really bright spots in a long and difficult week back at the beginning of this month was my opportunity to spend a little down time reading The Trial of Lucullus, a short work byBertolt Brecht. The version that I read was from Volume Five of the Brecht: Collected Plays series (Vintage Books, 1972). After an extended period of searching for a good collection English translations of Brecht's works, I just happened on this volume at the huge Planned Parenthood book sale in November. Pure serendipity. According to the editor's notes for this particular volume, the Vintage Books version of the The Trial of Lucullus is a hybrid of the original 1939 radio play and the opera libretto version of 1951.
Like all of the other works I've read by Brecht thus far, The Trial of Lucullus is masterful. It is both thought-provoking and introspective, bearing the unmistakable mark of true artistic genius. Then again, I suspect all of Brecht's works could be described with similar language and sentiment.
As I read The Trial of Lucullus, I was struck time and again by the incredible similarities of the Roman General Lucullus and our soon-to-be ex-President George W. Bush. The mainstream press in America is starting to get a little sentimental towards our outgoing American Caesar, collectively musing that "W." might be coming around to realize the errors of his administration through the benefit of hindsight. But the truth of the matter is, the unabashed bravado with which Bush has led the U.S. through an eight-year campaign of rack and ruin is just cleverly tucked away under a thin veil of humility:
"The thing that's important for me is to get home and look in that mirror and say, 'I did not compromise my principles,'" he said. "And I didn't. I made tough calls. And some presidencies have got a lot of tough decisions to make."
Of course, this statement was made after five years of an unjust war which has seen the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians, including workers and activists, women and children, individuals...and entire families. And most of them were slaughtered after Bush's May 1, 2003 address in which he declared an end to major combat operations with the words, "(T)he tyrant has fallen and Iraq is free." If George W. Bush can look in the mirror after all this and still feel as though he has not compromised his principles then I respectfully submit that his mirror is not made of reflecting glass but of thick, opaque stone.
Brought before "The Court of the Dead," Brecht's Lucullus was compelled to defend his life and work before an incorruptible jury:
The stakes were high for the much-celebrated general. Had he proved worthy, Lucullus would spend a glorious afterlife in the Elysian fields. If he did not gain the favor of the jury, he would be condemned to the eternal "nothingness" of Hades. Unable to summon his peers and cohorts as character witnesses, Lucullus argued that his legacy as a benevolent tyrant — a liberator through conquest, one might say — was the powerful and convincing evidence he needed to gain entry into Elysium:
THE JUDGE Unfortunate man! The names of the great Arouse no fear among us below. Here They can no longer threaten. Their utterances Pass for lies. Their deeds Are not recorded. And their glory Is to us like smoke, a sign That a fire has raged. Shade, your bearing indicates That enterprises of some scope Are associated with your name. Those enterprises Are not known here.
LUCULLUS Then I request That the frieze for my tomb be brought On which my triumphal procession is shown.
The jury was unimpressed.
How differently would George W. Bush assert his place in history if given the same opportunity as Lucullus? I think it is reasonable to assume that history will soon judge the Bush presidency with the same measure of scorn that the Jury of the Dead heaped upon Lucullus. Of course, Bertolt Brecht is no longer among us and, as such, he can't help us with a contemporary adaptation of The Trial of Lucullus. But if I get some free time one of these days, I might take a crack at writing one. Recommended Reading George W. Bush on V.I. Lenin greeklish.org 04 Nov 2007 Questions From a Worker Who Reads by Bertolt Brecht, 1935 marxists.org The Conquest of the Unhappy Consciousness: Repressive Desublimation from One-Dimensional Man by Herbert Marcuse, 1964 (contains a short exposition on Brecht’s “V effect.”)
Some time ago, I wrote a bit on what I think is an effective and relatively painless way to speed up dinner when the kids are lagging woefully behind. The trick is to sit at the table and read aloud from any book that the kids might likely find unbearably boring until such time as they have sufficiently cleaned their plates. I received a lot of comments from friends and family over my original post in which I first described what I think of as an innovative parenting tactic. Well, tonight's marathon session at the dinner table presented yet another opportunity to give it a shot.
Angela Davis
While browsing at HPB over the weekend, I picked up a cheap copy of the Beacon Press edition ofOne-Dimensional Man by Herbert Marcuse. Marcuse has been an intriguing figure to me ever since I learned that he was a mentor of sorts to Angela Davis. I have read pieces of the book online at marxists.org and I have always intended to tackle the entire volume at some point in time. And so, tonight -- as K. plodded through her keftedes and potatoes -- I figured it was high time to introduce her to Marcuse's 1964 critique of capitalist society.
K. pretty much knew what was going on when I left the table and came back carrying a book. Now, the initial phase of my dinnertime "intellectual aversion therapy" always features a short period of time in which all eating completely stops and we go through a bit of groaning and whining. It's only when the kids realize that I'm both willing and able to read aloud for an indefinite period of time that the complaining subsides and gives way to focused and orderly dining. (Of course, my "analytical" tone here is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but believe me when I say that there are nights when drastic measures are needed to reign in the dinnertime chaos.)
Z. had already finished her dinner and was playing in the other room, leaving Thomai, K. and me at the table. I showed Thomai the book (I had already shared it with her at least once or twice since Saturday night) and she was kind enough to endure yet another of my digressions on why I was so intrigued with this particular work. Using the notes on the back cover, I explained that Marcuse effectively "argues that members of Western societies, both capitalist and communist, must reassert their individuality and personal freedom against the oppression of the technologized status quo." I also explained that the questions in my mind at this point did not so much have to do with whether or not Marcuse was was fundamentally correct when the book was published in 1964 (I have no doubt that he was) but instead I wondered:
1) Have advances in technology such as cellular phones, personal computers, and the Internet (including the advent of 'net-based alternative media outlets, user-generated content and social networking forums) negated the concept of "oppression of the technologized status quo"?
...and...
2) If the answer to the above question is "yes," than is this because of incremental social-revolutionary change or is it because of simple evolution (with the absence of a class-conscious mass movement)? Maybe my questions were a bit verbose, but I think most folks might still get the gist of what I'm pondering. At any rate, Thomai was relatively attentive, yet silent. But the panic in K.'s voice was evident as she came to the realization that any book which gave rise to these questions must be truly boring. She looked at Thomai and said, "Mama...?" And Thomai quickly replied, "You're on your own!" as she promptly got up and left the room. Well played, my dear.
I started reading from the book and, as expected, there was considerable wailing and gnashing of teeth from K. Unfazed by the familiar and predicable results, I continued and after a bit, K. settled back into eating, doing so with some new vigor and a slight sense of urgency. She voiced a few minor protests now and again, interjecting comments like, "This is really boring" and so on. At one point, she exclaimed, "Just what is this book about, anyway?!" I replied, "Let me tell you what this book is about!" and I read her one of the most notably significant passages from chapter one:
Contemporary industrial civilization demonstrates that it has reached the stage at which "the free society" can no longer be adequately defined in the traditional terms of economic, political, and intellectual liberties, not because these liberties have become insignificant, but because they are too significant to be confined within the traditional forms. New modes of realization are needed, corresponding to the new capabilities of society.
She was quiet...still eating, but not complaining either as I broke down a little about what the sentences actually meant. Even though she's still really young, K. is a lot like I was at her age in that she watches the news and has some level of what's going on in the world. Of course, I am realistic about things; I know she can't grasp the intricacies of the important philosophical concepts in Marcuse, but I'd like to think that a basic awareness of the idea that ideas can be discussed, debated and redefined is preferable to raising a child to simply accept conditions as they are so that he or she can settle for life as nothing more than a small cog in someone else's machine.
I stopped reading for a bit and we had a short chat about the ideas of freedom and change. I enjoyed it and K. was a really good sport about it until she finished her last bite and jumped up from the table. I had to call her back to clean up her spot and put her dishes in the sink and I took advantage of the time to read yet a few more passages out loud while she tidied up.
When I posted my original "parenting tips" article years ago, my friend Anthony joked: "You'll only get an award if you achieve the twin ends of both making her finish eating AND take an interest in the subject." I can't promise that K. is going to go out and set the world on fire with her radical ideas starting tomorrow, but maybe someday she'll remember nights like this and make some good use of the concepts that we have discussed. But at the very least, I hope she'll just appreciate spending a few moments at the dinner table with her silly, silly daddy.
It's been a busy week or so as I've been balancing quite a bit in my "down time." I have been writing a bit on theIranian studentsfor some other sites and at the same time, I have been building a web archive of material related to theGreat Patriotic War(more on that project soon), plus I've devoted a bit of time todefending a blog articleI wrote for our site way back in April 2006. Now, it does tend bother me when I go too long without posting new material and I know we don't have a vast readership here, but now and again folks drop me a line to check on things if I'm too quiet. So, while I don't have anything terribly important to add to greeklish.org tonight, I will take a break from my other projects to post a few pictures...
Here's old Domino, fast asleep:
If you've never had the pleasure of meeting Domino, I will point out here that she is a big dog. She currently weighs about 65 pounds. You might notice that she has crammed her entire body into a dog bed that is actually intended for a 10 to 15 pound dog. The small bed belongs to Stupsi who weighs about 12 pounds or so. Domino's rather large bed is on the floor right next to Stupsi's bed. You can see it in the picture. It is completely empty. Sure, Domino could get up and plant herself on her own bed, which is probably much more comfortable because it is designed for a dog her size. But this is clearly a matter of principle. Stupsi is out of the picture, fast asleep on the cold, hard floor. Domino is still very much in charge of things around here.
Here's my desk after several nights of writing about the Iranian students, the Great Patriotic War and Dr. R.'s lecture:
1. The Teaching Company's Legacies of Great Economists lecture series on audiocassette 2. Marxism: Philosophy and Economics by Thomas Sowell 3. A History of the USSR, Part Three (Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1948) 4. History of the USSR, Part III (Progress Publishers, 1982) 5. Herr Vogt: A Spy in the Workers' Movement by Karl Marx (New Park, 1982) 6. Smokin' Banana Peels CD by The Dead Milkmen 7. Post card featuring the famous quote by Dom Helder Camara: "When I gave food to the poor, they called me a saint. When I asked why the poor were hungry, they called me a communist." 8. Soviet-era museum placard featuring the slogan "Death to the fascist hordes!" (underneath are the books What is Dialectical Materialism? by O. Yakhot and Peace and Greece, Speeches by Dr. Ales Bebler) 9. Bumper sticker: "I'd rather be smashing imperialism" 10. Soviet Calendar: Thirty Years of the Soviet State (Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1948) 11. Rey Mysterio: The Biggest Little Man DVD set
When
I was in fourth grade, a classmate introduced me to a rather bizarre
book that he had found in our school's library. The book was "The Animated Thumbtack Railroad Dollhouse & All-Around Surprise Book (Evening Edition)"
by Louis Phillips and Lynn Braswell" and I had never seen anything
quite like it. The book was basically a hodgepodge of silliness,
irreverent jokes and strange black & white graphics. I absolutely
loved it. Over the course of my next few years at that school, I
checked it out a number of times. When I left the school, I suppose I
forgot about it for a long time although from time to time, I got the
urge to look around for it at libraries and bookstores, but I couldn’t
find another copy.
Several years ago, back when finding used books on the web was a bit more
difficult than it is today, I got the urge to seek out a copy of this
book to see if it was still as cool as I remembered it to be. An
initial search through Amazon.com netted a used copy for somewhere
around $110. I pretty much figured that I would never find an
affordable copy at that point, so I stopped looking for a while.
Imagine my surprise when I looked on Abebooks.com a few weeks ago and
found an ex-library copy for $10!
My copy of the book arrived in the mail a few weeks ago and it is
indeed just as I remembered. The book is quirky, eccentric, and
really, really funny. It starts with a dedication by author Louis
Phillips to " the one person who has stuck with me through thick and
thin and whose faith in my work is not diminished: ME." On the
Library of Congress info page at the beginning of the book, the reader
is advised that he/she is holding a "Deluxe Autographed Edition" of the
book which is signed by none other than William Shakespeare.
The narrator, or "host" of the book, is a character named Peter Gerard,
Esq. Mr. Gerard looks suspiciously like one of the knights from "Monty
Python and the Holy Grail." The illustrations in the book are a lot
like the illustrations in the "For Beginners" series (see "Einstein for
Beginners," "Marx for Beginners," "Darwin for Beginners," etc.),
as they include a fair amount of humorously captioned reproductions of
paintings, advertisements, et cetera. "Animated Thumbtack"
features number puzzles, historical trivia and information about
animals, including a series of pages devoted to ostriches. About
midway through the book, there is a feature called "The Real Life
Retreat Game" which is basically a two-page spread that resembles a
board game in which each space requires the player to go back 2 spaces.
One of my favorite features of the book is "The Peter Stuyvesant Two Heads Are Better Than One Page" which basically
just consists of the page title and several identical portraits of
Peter Stuyvesant. It’s funny because it makes absolutely no sense.
The book’s index includes an acknowledgment of the “Society of
Indexers” for “providing the proper index format and assisting in the
preparation of (the) index.” As for the index itself, here’s a
sample:
It was something of a coincidence that I began reading Paul Feldman’s Unmasking the State: A Rough Guide to Real Democracy (Lupus Books, 2008) exactly two days after David Cameron became the new British Prime Minister. I say this because Feldman explicitly mentions Cameron’s budding political future just a few sentences into the book’s Introduction:
Brought before "The Court of the Dead," Brecht's Lucullus was compelled to defend his life and work before an incorruptible jury:
When
I was in fourth grade, a classmate introduced me to a rather bizarre
book that he had found in our school's library. The book was "
