Liberation Audio

How the U.S. destroyed Afghanistan

Past and present U.S. officials are blaming each other for their defeat in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the corporate media are portraying the brutal 20-year occupation as a humanitarian mission, an attempt to modernize the country. Learn why the Taliban are themselves the direct result of U.S. intervention in Afghanistan and why this is a failed imperialist project.

Why we need a revolutionary party

In the U.S., we live in a system based on oppression and exploitation. Through struggle, we can make some improvements. But only a revolution can end this oppression. Hear why a revolution is only possible when led by a militant, class-conscious revolutionary party.

All revolutionary processes are educational. From organizing meetings and study groups to writing protest speeches and propaganda before the revolutionary moment to creating new revolutionary educational and cultural institutions and training teachers and specialists after the seizure of power, revolution is educational through and through. Yet exactly what kind of educational operations does revolution entail, and how can we understand and practice them?

It is precisely these questions that Paulo Freire addressed in his classic work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

One hundred years after his birth in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, Freire’s name is widely recognized and, relatively speaking, so too is his canonical text. Yet the book is referenced or discussed more than it is deeply engaged. This is particularly evident when Freire’s work is severed from its revolutionary Marxist orientation [1].

While it’s often taken as an abstract guide-book for how to teach, Pedagogy of the Oppressed is really a theoretical reflection on his own experiences teaching peasants how to read and write, a theory he extends to revolutionary movements, leadership, and organization. After spending 70 days in prison for “treachery” [teaching poor peasants to read and write], he was exiled from Brazil following the military junta in 1964. He eventually settled in Chile, which is where he wrote Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The book has been targeted by the right wing in the U.S. (it is currently banned from public schools in Arizona). It addresses the educational components of revolutionary movements and, as such, it is littered with references to Marx, Lenin, Fanon, and others. Specifically, the book is concerned with how the revolutionary leadership pushes the struggle forward, or how it teaches and learns from the masses in struggle.

Read the full article:

https://liberationschool.org/paulo-freire-and-revolutionary-leadership/

The planet is experiencing multiple environmental crises: biodiversity loss, deforestation, increased rates of pandemics, chemical pollution, soil depletion, water contamination and shortages, runaway non-renewable energy consumption, and climate change. “Degrowth” is an environmental ideology that arose as a political response to these compounding crises. Degrowth was originally termed by André Gorz in 1972. Gorz argued that global environmental balance, which is predicated upon non-growth (or “degrowth”), is not compatible with the capitalist system, which requires “accumulation for the sake of accumulation” [1]. Degrowth, according to Gorz, is thus a challenge to capitalism itself.

Degrowth has become increasingly popular among many environmentalists and leftists. There are some who even call themselves “degrowth communists” [2]. Thus, it’s important to have a clear understanding of exactly what degrowth is and whether it has the potential to advance or hold back the class struggle.

Jason Hickel, a prominent proponent of degrowth, defines it like this: “The objective of degrowth is to scale down the material and energy throughput of the global economy, focusing on high-income nations with high levels of per-capita consumption” [3]. The degrowth perspective asks why society is so obsessed with “growth” (measured by Gross Domestic Product) and seeks to deconstruct the entire “ideology of growth.” The “ideology of growth” is used by the capitalist class to argue that more and more growth is needed to overcome poverty and to create jobs. This is bourgeois ideology in the sense that capitalism relies upon and produces the artificial scarcity to which we’re subjected.

The reality is that, in developed capitalist countries like U.S., there is an overabundance of material wealth and that scarcity is socially produced by the capitalist market and private ownership. Degrowth is correct on the point that if wealth were redistributed then there would indeed be abundance. However, even though proponents of degrowth are well intentioned and truly want to solve environmental crises, the political-economic methods and solutions that degrowth calls for actually work against creating the critical mass necessary to make a socialist revolution here in the U.S. I address each of these below by showing how 1) degrowth reproduces Malthusian ideas about so-called “natural limits;” 2) it’s anti-modern and anti-technological orientation lacks a class perspective; and 3) there are key practical issues with deploying degrowth ideas in the class struggle itself.

Read the full article:

https://liberationschool.org/degrowth-a-politics-for-which-class/

The U.S. war in Afghanistan began not 20, but more than 40 years ago. Except for the towering arrogance of the leaders in Washington, it could have ended in November 2001 when the Taliban offered to surrender.

The earlier phase, which lasted from 1979 to 1989, is excluded from nearly any mention by the mainstream capitalist media today. But without understanding what happened back then, it is impossible to comprehend the current catastrophic situation for the people of that country.

Read the full article here: https://www.liberationnews.org/the-u-s-empire-in-afghanistan-a-40-year-catastrophe/

Originally posted on RedsInEd.org

At the instigation of deep-pocketed conservatives, nine states have adopted bans on Critical Race Theory education, and similar bills are being considered in 26 others. While the language in these bills is often vague, the intent is clear: to silence a truthful presentation of the role of racism in U.S. history and institutions. But teachers are fighting back through their unions.

What is Critical Race Theory?

Critical Race Theory is a practice of asking questions about racism in order to analyze and understand it. One of its main features is the concept that race is a social construct. Today the term “Critical Race Theory” is being used by the right wing as a catch-all for any anti-racist, anti-bigotry, culturally-responsive or ethinic studies-based curricula. In reality, CRT was developed decades ago by legal academics and later by academics in education and other fields to assess and understand structural racism in society and how it manifests in laws, policies and phenomena.

CRT is typically studied at the undergraduate and graduate levels — and is rarely part of K-12 curricula — although it can inform the teaching and practice of educators for whom CRT research was part of their training. Right-wing attempts to censor the study and use of CRT-informed teaching seek to maintain the status quo. These bans would inhibit an educator’s ability to identify, analyze, and implement solutions to deep inequities in education, and would prevent their students’ development of these same skills.

Read the full statement:

https://www.liberationnews.org/reds-in-ed-statement-on-attacks-on-critical-race-theory/

Marxist ideology is one of the most potent weapons the working and oppressed classes have, a weapon that our class can and has used to not only win reforms but to build revolutionary societies where the people, and not profits, are in control. As the PSL identified at our 3rd Party Congress in 2016, one of our primary tasks is to mend the “break in ideological continuity” that emerged after the overthrow of the Soviet Union by reestablishing “the theory of revolutionary Marxism and the entire vision of workers’ power” as a dominant guiding pole in people’s struggles [1].

To correct for the ideological break, it’s helpful to have a concrete understanding of ideology and the different forms it takes. Although the word ideology is used frequently, it’s commonly used in a pejorative sense to refer to something that’s not factual, that’s unscientific, or that’s devoid of substance. It’s also used by those hostile to socialism to present a distorted view of Marxism. What exactly is ideology? What is the difference between bourgeois and Marxist ideology? What significance does this have for organizing today?

To address these questions and help repair the break in the ideological continuity of revolutionary socialism in U.S. social movements, this article outlines Marx’s understanding of ideology. It traces his historical-materialist approach to investigating the relationship between ideas, material reality, and modes of production through several of his works. This allows us to take in the theory’s nuances about life and consciousness, as well as to draw out examples that are still relevant and applicable today. In particular, we focus on the theory of commodity fetishism and the function of the wage in producing the bourgeois ideological conception of the atomized individual. Proposing a move from “true/false” to “correct/incorrect,” the end of the article returns to the importance of popularizing and promoting Marxist ideology to understand and transform the world today, as revolutionaries have done throughout the socialist struggle to break the chains of exploitation and oppression.

Read the full article:

www.liberationschool.org/what-is-ideology

The full story of the struggle to end chattel slavery in the U.S. has yet to be fully told. History books have always minimized the struggle of enslaved people, who from the beginning in 1619 in North America, fought slavery at every turn, rebelling, escaping, fighting for the right to fight. Some 180,000 enlisted in the Union army and suffered among the highest casualties in a war where high casualty rates were considered proof of bravery.

The role of white working-class people in the struggle against slavery has also been left out of history books, buried beneath an avalanche of lies, distortions and slander. The ruling class is terrified of multinational solidarity, particularly in the working class. Their history is meant to show that such solidarity is not today, nor ever, possible. The truth is hidden.

“Labor in the white skin can never free itself as long as labor in the black skin is branded.” — Karl Marx, Capital

Read the full article here: https://liberationschool.org/abolitionist-solidarity-in-the-struggle-against-slavery/

July 26 marked the 68th anniversary of the dawn raid on the Moncada Barracks led by Fidel Castro that sparked the revolutionary movement that would triumph six years later in 1959. Due to COVID-19, mass demonstrations were canceled but the celebrations of the National Day of Rebellion continued nonetheless. Cuban leaders and youth performed voluntary work in the countryside, as a part of a tradition that stretches back to the early days of the revolution. Voluntary work is part of a collective effort by the conscious working class to combat the worst elements of the blockade and set a positive example for society. Trade unions, cultural collectives, women’s movements, and other socialist-led organizations demonstrated and came out with statements in support of the Cuban revolution on this auspicious anniversary.

After the 1952 coup carried out by dictator Fulgencio Batitsta, many young Cubans were ready to take up arms against the hated puppet of the U.S. empire. The assault was foiled and revolutionaries fled into the rugged Sierra Maestra as they were hunted down by the soldiers of Batista, blood dripping from their hands after torturing and murdering captured revolutionaries.

Fidel relates in his autobiography My Life how he survived the slaughter by revealing his identity to a Black officer. Impressed by Fidel’s bravery and resolve, the officer held back his soldiers whispering to them, “You can’t kill ideas.” The ideas of Moncada will never die. The ideas of national self determination, freedom from colonialism and a life with dignity remain firmly anchored in millions of Cubans who have demonstrated in recent weeks to express support for their revolution and sovereignty against a multi-pronged war carried out by the United States.

Read the full article:

https://www.liberationnews.org/cubans-come-out-july-26-defend-revolution-vs-multi-pronged-yanqui-assault/

“In contradistinction to German fascism, which acts under anti-constitutional slogans, American fascism tries to portray itself as the custodian of the constitution and ‘American democracy.’”

– Georgi Dimitrov

Six months ago, on January 6, 2021, a racist mob, incited by outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump, stormed the U.S. Capitol in a chaotic attempt to prevent the congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election results, a necessary step before the inauguration of Joe Biden.

The assault on the Capitol was led by militarized fascist groups composed of many current or former military and police.[1] Some of the leaders of the organizations involved, such as Proud Boys Enrique Tarrio and Joseph Biggs, had direct ties to U.S. intelligence agencies, having served as FBI informants.[2] Only one fifth of Capitol Police were on duty that day, and they were unprepared and underequipped, even though the U.S. national security state had advance knowledge of the plot. A Senate investigation concluded that there was a multi-teared security “failure” on January 6th that involved not only Capitol Police but also the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense, among other agencies: Capitol Police were seen opening barricades and fraternizing with fascists, there were delays in deploying the National Guard, restrictions on reinforcements came from on high (implicating Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, amongst others), DHS agents on standby were not deployed, etc.[3]

Much is still unknown about what was actually going on behind the spectacular scenes of the storming the Capitol. The fact that the bourgeois media ran an expansive faith-in-government campaign in its wake, and Senate Republicans blocked plans for a bipartisan governmental commission to investigate it, has only contributed to the obscurity surrounding this event. Essential questions remain: Although there are clear signs of governmental involvement, how deep and wide was the conspiracy? Which precise factions of the capitalist ruling class backed the organizations behind the assault on the Capitol, and to what extent was it “astroturfed” by them (meaning discretely funded to create the illusion of a grassroots movement from below)?[4] What was the exact ratio and relationship between state agents and the para-state—i.e. vigilante—actors involved?[5] Was this solely an organic conflict between the Trump and Biden camps, or was something more at play? It is important to note in this regard that the PR campaign that ushered Biden into office as the “savior of our democracy” has empowered his administration to break countless campaign promises and use the storming of the Capitol as a pretext for pushing for increased securitization, surveillance and the criminalization of dissent (which have always been used to target the Left).

Whereas serious and rigorous investigations will need to take place in order to resolve these questions, a scantly known fascist plot to seize control of the U.S. government in the 1930s sheds important light on the history of homegrown fascism and the clandestine machinations of the bourgeoisie. Although there are significant differences between these two events, and facile analogies should be avoided in the name of precise materialist analysis, knowledge of the details of the earlier plot can help us better understand the relationship between bourgeois democracy and fascist movements in the U.S. settler colony.

Read the full article:

https://liberationschool.org/fascist-plots-in-the-u-s-contemporary-lessons-from-the-1934-business-plot/

“Hammer and Hoe,” a 1990 book written by historian Robin D.G. Kelley, chronicles the development of a communist movement in Alabama during the Great Depression. It highlights the struggles communists faced in organizing a sharecroppers’ union and building mass campaigns to free people accused of crimes in political frame-ups like the Scottsboro Boys.

Kelley emphasizes how communism was able to synthesize with Southern Black culture. He sheds light on the unique homegrown resistance that granted Southern Blacks the ability to place their fight in the context of the anti-imperialist struggle for the first time. Kelley recounts the rise of Southern youth movements that ultimately gave birth to the student sit-ins and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee.

Read the full article:

https://liberationschool.org/communism-and-black-resistance-in-the-1930s-south/