tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43262983935040671402024-03-05T21:33:17.535+00:00Modern DefinitionsBuilding and serving the movement for enlightenment in the modern era. Elaborating on key questions across all fields of human and scientific enquiry. The first duty is to the truth.Oscar Dugganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014714973673128506noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-73138981920337275542021-03-14T02:45:00.060+00:002021-03-27T21:10:58.488+00:00Karl Marx: the Man and the Myths<p>On this day in 1883, "at a quarter to three in the afternoon, the greatest living thinker ceased to think. He had been left alone for scarcely two minutes and when we came back, we found him in his armchair, peacefully gone to sleep – but forever."</p><p>The words of Friedrich Engels, in the funeral oration that he delivered at the graveside of his friend and collaborator, Karl Heinrich Marx, on 17 March 1883. He concluded with the plain yet lofty assertion that "his name will endure through the ages and so also will his work", a prediction that has been vindicated with the passage of time.</p>
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<blockquote><i>For those who knew Marx, no legend is funnier than that which portrays him as a morose, embittered, unbending and unapproachable person, a sort of Jupiter Tonans, ceaselessly hurling his thunderbolts with never a smile on his lips, enthroned alone and aloof in Olympus. Such a description of the merriest, gayest person who ever lived, the man bubbling over with fun, whose laughter irresistibly won one's heart, the most friendly, gentle and sympathetic of all companions, is a constant source of amazement and amusement to all who knew him</i>. – <b>Eleanor Marx</b> (1855-1898), youngest daughter of Karl Marx and Jenny von Westphalen</blockquote>
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<blockquote><i>For Marx was before all else a revolutionist. His real mission in life was to contribute, in one way or another, to the overthrow of capitalist society and of the state institutions which it had brought into being, to contribute to the liberation of the modern proletariat, which he was the first to make conscious of its own position and its needs, conscious of the conditions of its emancipation. Fighting was his element. And he fought with a passion, a tenacity and a success such as few could rival</i>. – <b>Friedrich Engels</b> (from his <i>Speech at the Grave of Karl Marx</i>, Highgate Cemetery, London, 17 March 1883)</blockquote><p></p><div><br /></div>
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<p><br /></p>Modern Definitionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002158166141674545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-13383175331230601862020-11-28T11:15:00.003+00:002020-11-28T11:51:54.506+00:00Friedrich Engels (1820-1895): Born 200 Years Ago Today!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Friedrich_Engels-1840-cropped.jpg#/media/File:Friedrich_Engels-1840-cropped.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Friedrich Engels (1820-1895)"><img alt="Friedrich Engels" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Friedrich_Engels-1840-cropped.jpg" title="Friedrich Engels (1820-1895)" width="228" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Friedrich Engels (1820-1895)</b><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10109538" title="Attribution">Public domain via Wikimedia Commons</a><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Friedrich Engels, German-born author, journalist, philosopher, historian, political activist was born 200 years ago today, in 1820.</p><p>As chief collaborator with Karl Marx, together they made and important and ground-breaking discoveries in both general and particular fields of social science, primarily by pioneering and advancing a materialist conception of history, based on a dialectical understanding of human society, in much the same vein as what Darwinism was accomplishing, around the same time, in the field of natural science.</p><p>Engels both completed and continued Marx's work following his death in 1883, before his own death, twelve years later in 1895. He also made individual contributions, contained in such works as <i>The Condition of the Working Class in England</i> (published in 1845), <i>Dialectics of Nature</i> (1883), <i>The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State</i> (1884).</p><p>As one notable revolutionary and commentator or a later period observed, a key to understanding the motives and disposition of Marx and Engels is that "they both became socialists after being democrats, and the democratic feeling of hatred for political despotism was exceedingly strong in them. This direct political feeling, combined with a profound theoretical understanding of the connection between political despotism and economic oppression, and also their rich experience of life, made Marx and Engels uncommonly responsive politically." – V.I. Lenin, <i><a href="https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1895/misc/engels-bio.htm" target="_blank" title="Full article">Frederick Engels</a></i></p><p>They were "the first to show that the working class and its demands are a necessary outcome of the present economic system … the first to explain that socialism is not the invention of dreamers, but the final aim and necessary result of the development of the productive forces in modern society … the first to say that the proletariat is not only a suffering class; that it is, in fact, the disgraceful economic condition of the proletariat that drives it irresistibly forward and compels it to fight for its ultimate emancipation." – Ibid</p><p>Friedrich Engels was born on 28 November 1820, in Barmen in the Rhine Province of what then constituted Prussia. His life and work took him to many countries of Europe, meeting with revolutionaries and important intellectual figures of the 19th century but also and most importantly, with the downtrodden and oppressed, with whom he was never out of contact.</p>Modern Definitionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002158166141674545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-79830310505423333122019-10-31T07:30:00.001+00:002020-05-07T22:36:43.870+01:00Contributions to the Critique of Political Economy: Joan Robinson (1903-1983)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Joan Robinson (née Maurice), who was born on this day in 1903, in Surrey, England, was a Cambridge-educated economist. Her work in this field has led her to be regarded as a key figure of so-called 'Post-Keynesian school' of thought. However, she is also noted for having devoted considerable time to the study of Karl Marx and his contribution to the development of economic theory – e.g. <i>An Essay on Marxian Economics</i> (1942). Such works are even said to have helped to revive debate on this aspect of Marx's legacy.<br />
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She visited many countries – including the Soviet Union, China, Korea, India – during her lifetime. She expressed particular interest in the experiences of 'the developing world' and those countries emerging from the shackles of colonialism in the period that followed the end of World War II.<br />
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These excerpts from her work and public statements of her views, have been chosen mainly for presentational purposes and their quotability. They are not put forward as representing any kind of summation or broad assessment but, do help to focus on some of key challenges that practitioners of the study of modern-day political economy needs to address.<br />
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<a href="http://www.azquotes.com/quote/604170" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-the-purpose-of-studying-economics-is-not-to-acquire-a-set-of-ready-made-answers-to-economic-joan-robinson-60-41-70.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.azquotes.com/quote/604122" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="The only thing worse than being exploited by capitalism is not being exploited by capitalism. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-the-only-thing-worse-than-being-exploited-by-capitalism-is-not-being-exploited-by-capitalism-joan-robinson-60-41-22.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/786970" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="It's a terrible thing to be a worker exploited in the capitalist system. The only worse thing is to be a worker unable to find anyone to exploit you. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-it-s-a-terrible-thing-to-be-a-worker-exploited-in-the-capitalist-system-the-only-worse-joan-robinson-78-69-70.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.azquotes.com/quote/1173692" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="The first essential for economists ... is to ... combat, not foster, the ideology which pretends that values which can be measured in terms of money are the only ones that ought to count. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-the-first-essential-for-economists-is-to-combat-not-foster-the-ideology-which-pretends-joan-robinson-117-36-92.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.azquotes.com/quote/1025424" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="Ideology is like breath: you never smell your own. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-ideology-is-like-breath-you-never-smell-your-own-joan-robinson-102-54-24.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.azquotes.com/quote/1173698" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="One of the main effects (I will not say purposes) of orthodox traditional economics was ... a plan for explaining to the privileged class that their position was morally right and was necessary for the welfare of society. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-one-of-the-main-effects-i-will-not-say-purposes-of-orthodox-traditional-economics-was-joan-robinson-117-36-98.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.azquotes.com/quote/1173693" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="The very nature of economics is rooted in nationalism. ... It [was] developed ... in the hope of throwing light upon questions of policy. But policy means nothing unless there is an authority to carry it out, and authorities are national. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-the-very-nature-of-economics-is-rooted-in-nationalism-it-was-developed-in-the-hope-of-joan-robinson-117-36-93.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.azquotes.com/quote/1243001" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="Marxism is the opium of the Marxists. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-marxism-is-the-opium-of-the-marxists-joan-robinson-124-30-01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.azquotes.com/quote/1115176" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="The fundamental differences between Marxian and traditional orthodox economics are, first, that the orthodox economists accept the capitalist system as part of the eternal order of Nature, while Marx regards it as a passing phase in the transition from the feudal economy of the past to the socialist economy of the future. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-the-fundamental-differences-between-marxian-and-traditional-orthodox-economics-are-first-joan-robinson-111-51-76.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.azquotes.com/quote/1173702" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="Unemployment is a reproach to a democratic government. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-unemployment-is-a-reproach-to-a-democratic-government-joan-robinson-117-37-02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1115188" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="Even if the crises that are looming up are overcome and a new run of prosperity lies ahead, deeper problems will still remain. Modern capitalism has no purpose except to keep the show going. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-even-if-the-crises-that-are-looming-up-are-overcome-and-a-new-run-of-prosperity-lies-joan-robinson-111-51-88.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1199428" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="I do not regard the Keynesian revolution as a great intellectual triumph. On the contrary, it was a tragedy because it came so late. Hitler had already found out how to cure unemployment before Keynes had finished explaining why it occured. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-i-do-not-regard-the-keynesian-revolution-as-a-great-intellectual-triumph-on-the-contrary-joan-robinson-119-94-28.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/988173" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="It is the business of economists, not to tell us what to do, but show why what we are doing anyway is in accord with proper principles. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-it-is-the-business-of-economists-not-to-tell-us-what-to-do-but-show-why-what-we-are-joan-robinson-98-81-73.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/730615" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="Whatever you can rightly say about India, the opposite is also true. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-whatever-you-can-rightly-say-about-india-the-opposite-is-also-true-joan-robinson-73-6-0615.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1115179" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="If a rise in wages does not raise prices, a fall will not reduce them. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-if-a-rise-in-wages-does-not-raise-prices-a-fall-will-not-reduce-them-joan-robinson-111-51-79.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1173696" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="Unequal distribution of income is an excessively uneconomic method of getting the necessary saving done. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-unequal-distribution-of-income-is-an-excessively-uneconomic-method-of-getting-the-necessary-joan-robinson-117-36-96.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1115193" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="But, as soon as speculators become an important influence in the market, their business is to speculate on each others behaviour. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-but-as-soon-as-speculators-become-an-important-influence-in-the-market-their-business-joan-robinson-111-51-93.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1173701" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="science progresses by trial and error, and when it is forbidden to admit error there can be no progress. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-science-progresses-by-trial-and-error-and-when-it-is-forbidden-to-admit-error-there-joan-robinson-117-37-01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1115185" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="Rosa Luxemburg maintained that the capitalist system can keep up its rate of investment (and therefore its profits) only so long as it is expanding geographically. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-rosa-luxemburg-maintained-that-the-capitalist-system-can-keep-up-its-rate-of-investment-joan-robinson-111-51-85.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1115183" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="A depression is a situation of self-fulfilling pessimism. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-a-depression-is-a-situation-of-self-fulfilling-pessimism-joan-robinson-111-51-83.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1173700" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="we make a great fuss about national conscience, but it consists mainly in insisting upon everyone ascribing our national policy to highly moral motives, rather than in examining what our motives really are. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-we-make-a-great-fuss-about-national-conscience-but-it-consists-mainly-in-insisting-upon-joan-robinson-117-37-00.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1115184" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="Reality is never a golden age. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-reality-is-never-a-golden-age-joan-robinson-111-51-84.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1115198" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="It seems that neither the Keynesian nor the Marxian prognosis of the future of capitalism is being fulfilled and we are left without any particular theory as to what will happen next. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-it-seems-that-neither-the-keynesian-nor-the-marxian-prognosis-of-the-future-of-capitalism-joan-robinson-111-51-98.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/730619" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="I came away from the talk with the perception that the risk of adverse side effects is so much greater than the risk of cervical cancer, I couldn’t help but question why we need the vaccine at all. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-i-came-away-from-the-talk-with-the-perception-that-the-risk-of-adverse-side-effects-joan-robinson-73-6-0619.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1115180" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="Marx, however imperfectly he worked out the details, set himself the task of discovering the law of motion of capitalism, and if there is any hope of progress in economics at all, it must be in using academic methods to solve the problems posed by Marx. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-marx-however-imperfectly-he-worked-out-the-details-set-himself-the-task-of-discovering-joan-robinson-111-51-80.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1173697" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="owning capital is not a productive activity. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-owning-capital-is-not-a-productive-activity-joan-robinson-117-36-97.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1115181" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="The orthodox doctrines of economics which were dominant in the last quarter of the nineteenth century had a clear message. They supported laisser faire, free trade, the gold standard, and the universally advantageous effects of the pursuit of profit by competitive private enterprise. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-the-orthodox-doctrines-of-economics-which-were-dominant-in-the-last-quarter-of-the-nineteenth-joan-robinson-111-51-81.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1182213" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="Not only subjective poverty is never overcome by growth, but absolute poverty is increased by it. ... Absolute misery grows while wealth increases. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-not-only-subjective-poverty-is-never-overcome-by-growth-but-absolute-poverty-is-increased-joan-robinson-118-22-13.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/730616" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="If there is any law governing the distribution of income between classes, it still remains to be discovered. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-if-there-is-any-law-governing-the-distribution-of-income-between-classes-it-still-remains-joan-robinson-73-6-0616.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/730617" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="It is the rate of investment which governs the rate of saving, and not vice versa. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-it-is-the-rate-of-investment-which-governs-the-rate-of-saving-and-not-vice-versa-joan-robinson-73-6-0617.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1173699" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="New ideas are difficult just because they are new. Repetition has somehow plastered over the gaps and inconsistencies in the old ones, and the new cannot penetrate. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-new-ideas-are-difficult-just-because-they-are-new-repetition-has-somehow-plastered-over-joan-robinson-117-36-99.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1115195" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="It is much easier to organize control over one industry serving many markets than over one market served by the products of several industries. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-it-is-much-easier-to-organize-control-over-one-industry-serving-many-markets-than-over-joan-robinson-111-51-95.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1115192" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="It is impossible to add the stock of money to the flow of saving. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-it-is-impossible-to-add-the-stock-of-money-to-the-flow-of-saving-joan-robinson-111-51-92.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1115196" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="Income from property is not the reward of waiting, it is the reward of employing a good stockbroker. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-income-from-property-is-not-the-reward-of-waiting-it-is-the-reward-of-employing-a-good-joan-robinson-111-51-96.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1173703" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="An economy may be in equilibrium from a short-period point of view and yet contain within itself incompatibilities that are soon going to knock it out of equilibrium. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-an-economy-may-be-in-equilibrium-from-a-short-period-point-of-view-and-yet-contain-within-joan-robinson-117-37-03.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1115182" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="In all the talk in the Principles (as opposed to the formal analysis) it is not the saving of rentiers but the energy of entrepreneurs which governs accumulation. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-in-all-the-talk-in-the-principles-as-opposed-to-the-formal-analysis-it-is-not-the-saving-joan-robinson-111-51-82.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1115197" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson quote"><img alt="At any moment there is certainly not balanced trade between the various areas of the habitable globe that happens to be under seperate national governments - there is an ever-changing pattern of deficits and surpluses. - Joan Robinson" height="188" src="//www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-at-any-moment-there-is-certainly-not-balanced-trade-between-the-various-areas-of-the-joan-robinson-111-51-97.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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"Capitalism with near-full employment was an impressive spectacle. But a growth in wealth is not at all the same thing as reducing poverty. A universal paean was raised in praise of growth. Growth was going to solve all problems. No need to bother about poverty. Growth will lift up the bottom and poverty will disappear without any need to pay attention to it. The economists, who should have known better, fell in with the same cry." <b>~ Joan Robinson</b></blockquote>
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"It is a popular error that bureaucracy is less flexible than private enterprise. It may be so in detail, but when large scale adaptations have to be made, central control is far more flexible. It may take two months to get an answer to a letter from a government department, but it takes twenty years for an industry under private enterprise to readjust itself to a fall in demand." <b>~ Joan Robinson</b></blockquote>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
Sources:</h4>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joan_Robinson" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson (quotes)">Wikiquote</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.azquotes.com/author/32076-Joan_Robinson" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson (quotes)">AZ Quotes</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Robinson" target="_blank" title="Joan Robinson">Wikipedia – Joan Robinson</a></li>
</ul>
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Modern Definitionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002158166141674545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-64402658672082173912018-05-05T07:30:00.001+01:002020-05-07T22:37:16.998+01:00On the Occasion of the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx (1818-1883)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Karl_Marx_001.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank" title="[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons"><img alt="Karl Marx 001" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Karl_Marx_001.jpg/256px-Karl_Marx_001.jpg" title="Karl Marx (1818-1883)" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Public domain], <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Karl_Marx_001.jpg" target="_blank">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Karl Heinrich Marx was born 200 years ago today. He was born in the German town of Trier, in what was then the Kingdom of Prussia, in 1818.<br />
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Karl Marx was the most important intellectual figure of the 19th century, whose contributions to various fields of social science – including political theory, philosophy, economics – laid the basis for the immense social transformations, on a world scale, that would follow in the 20th century.<br />
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His work was and remains revolutionary and Marx himself was a committed revolutionary, not in the mere academic sense, as one who hid behind books and borrowed phrases. Rather, Marx actively participated in building the revolutionary movement of the day, that rose to challenge the existing social order at the very moment of its inception.<br />
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He was, first and foremost, a scientific socialist. Along with his followers, they took a stand against both utopian and anarchistic trends that were vying for influence, guiding the nascent working class movement on a path that would give rise to the most consistently revolutionary struggle.<br />
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His theories and ideas are often summarised or encapsulated by the term, dialectical and historical materialism. He was the first to identify the law of motion of society in general and capitalist society in particular. The importance of this contribution cannot be overstated because, although much has changed since Marx's day, the character of the epoch which he identified has not been altered fundamentally.<br />
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It was Marx who set forth the idea that each period of human history is characterised by the ascendancy of a new class but, the emergence of such social classes is itself the outcome of the relations that people enter into in the process of procuring a livelihood. The onset of capitalism had socialised the process of production to a height not seen before. At the same time, the private character of appropriation of the surplus arising out of this socialised production, was a contradiction which the pioneers of capitalism would not and could not resolve in the interests of society as a whole. Such a task fell to the working class – itself the product of the capitalist mode of production but also, its gravediggers – it being in their basic self-interest to secure such an outcome.<br />
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On the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx, it can readily be seen how important and influential a figure he was and is. The thoughts and ideas expressed in his writings represent the high road of human civilisation, the full potential of which is only just being realised.</div>
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Modern Definitionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002158166141674545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-68204712389951214692017-11-07T02:00:00.000+00:002017-11-08T11:00:19.637+00:00The Enduring Legacy of the Great October Socialist Revolution, 100 Years On<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Commemorations being held across the world to mark the 100th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution bear testimony to the important regard that these events are held, not just in the hearts and minds of millions but, indeed, in the history of humankind, representing what, for the time, was a vital stepping stone in stages by which human beings seek to transform their way of life and mode of living. Such celebrations confirm that the transformations given rise to by events of over 100 years ago are now firmly stitched into the very fabric of our social being, at all levels and can only be undone by the tearing of that society asunder – a useless folly that, nevertheless, some still entertain, for reasons of fanatical delusion or cold, calculating, self-serving interest.<br />
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The fact that these events are not being officially commemorated in the country (Russia) that gave rise to them, nor even, the fact that the country (the Union or Soviet Socialist Republics or USSR) that came into being as a result no longer exists, has no bearing on the significance of this legacy to today's context. The Great October Socialist Revolution brought forward the most profound, ongoing social transformations that the world has yet experienced. Its tremors are still being felt; its lessons remain invaluable.<br />
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From the beginning, the transformations that the Great October Socialist Revolution gave rise to were recognised for the worldwide significance and vitally important opportunity that they represented. Their origins lie, not merely in the events that took place on this day in 1917, in Petrograd (St. Petersburg) and other cities of the Russia Empire. Nevertheless, these events represent a certain watershed moment, sending out a call around the world that was answered by millions around the world. They constituted the opening salvo, ushering in of the new era (the era that is still upon us) – that of imperialism and proletarian revolution.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A1917petrogradsoviet_assembly.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank" title="Meeting of the Petrograd Soviet, 1917"><img alt="Assemblée du soviet de Petrograd en 1917" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/1917petrogradsoviet_assembly.jpg/512px-1917petrogradsoviet_assembly.jpg" title="Assemblée du soviet de Petrograd en 1917" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By User Kristallstadt on en.wikipedia [Public domain], <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A1917petrogradsoviet_assembly.jpg" target="_blank" title="Image source">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
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Of course, like all great revolutions (and even some not so great), the October Socialist Revolution also gave rise to counter-currents, enlisting to their side those most entrenched and reactionary forces, opposed (quite violently, in many cases) to the revolutionary current, seeking to halt and even turn back the very necessary process of social transformation now unleashed.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEastern_Phoebe-nest-Brown-headed-Cowbird-egg.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank" title="By Galawebdesign (Own work by uploader http://galawebdesign.com) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons"><img alt="Eastern Phoebe nest / Brown-headed Cowbird egg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/Eastern_Phoebe-nest-Brown-headed-Cowbird-egg.jpg/128px-Eastern_Phoebe-nest-Brown-headed-Cowbird-egg.jpg" title="Eastern Phoebe nest with one Brown-headed Cowbird egg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By Galawebdesign <br />
(Own work by uploader <br />
http://galawebdesign.com)<br />
[<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0" target="_blank" title="Creative Commons license">CC BY 3.0</a>],<br />
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEastern_Phoebe-nest-Brown-headed-Cowbird-egg.jpg" title="Image source">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
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At this juncture in history, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, we can say definitively that it represents the singular event of the 20th century: the event that heeded the demands of the time, allowing for their realisation. Even if the fullest transformation has yet to be achieved, those transformations that have been achieved may now be regarded as complete and irrevocable from an historical perspective. This is evidenced, not least, in the manner that those forces and counter-currents who were and are opposed to these trends, now seek to take credit for the advances and gains that have been made, even so daring as to wallow and luxuriate in them. In this sense, imperialism can be observed in the same light as a brood parasite – the cuckoo that lays its eggs in the nests of the unsuspecting; its offspring waiting for the moment to reveal its true nature, before devouring every thing and one around.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AReed_warbler_cuckoo.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank" title="By Per Harald Olsen (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons"><img alt="Reed warbler cuckoo" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Reed_warbler_cuckoo.jpg/128px-Reed_warbler_cuckoo.jpg" title="Reed Warbler feeding a Common Cuckoo chick in a nest. Brood parasitism." /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By Per Harald Olsen (Own work)<br />
[<a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html" target="_blank" title="GNU Free Documentation License">GFDL</a> or <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/" target="_blank" title="Creative Commons license">CC-BY-SA-3.0</a>], <br />
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AReed_warbler_cuckoo.jpg" target="_blank" title="Image source">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
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The process of social transformation that took its first steps 100 years ago today is far from extinguished. As has been pointed out before, it can only be extinguished through the common ruin of all contending classes and the destruction of all human society. It stands to reason therefore, that now it must continue on its path, towards the full realisation and completion of its goals, in all spheres, culminating in the dawning of an entirely new era, hitherto unknown (unfathomable perhaps, by reference to today's standards) in human history.<br />
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Oscar Dugganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014714973673128506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-30945875313906616622017-04-09T07:30:00.000+01:002017-09-28T19:06:59.889+01:00Whither Britain? The Brexit Debate. What's it all about, Alfie?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
'Brexit means Brexit', as we are now so used to hearing but what does Brexit actually mean?
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The full interview with Roberto Saviano (<i>European Leaders Won't Admit to Mafia</i>) is available from <a href="http://www.euronews.com/2017/04/04/mafia-expert-roberto-saviano-european-leaders-won-t-admit-to-mafia" target="_blank" title="Roberton Saviano on Why European Leaders Won't Admit to Mafia">Euronews Channel</a>.
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Oscar Dugganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014714973673128506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-2547114075372998602017-03-08T09:30:00.000+00:002017-04-21T21:23:23.891+01:00The Revolutionary Legacy – No Coincidence!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
March 8th is the date traditionally celebrated, throughout the world, as International Women's Day. In 2017, it coincides with the 100th anniversary of the February Revolution in Russia: an event that overthrew feudal autocracy in that country but also proved the harbinger of much greater revolutions, that were not just international but worldwide in scope. This coincidence is not entirely coincidental however!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AN%C5%91nap_-_Petrogr%C3%A1d%2C_1917.03.08.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank" title="See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons"><img alt="Nőnap - Petrográd, 1917.03.08" height="267" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/N%C5%91nap_-_Petrogr%C3%A1d%2C_1917.03.08.jpg/512px-N%C5%91nap_-_Petrogr%C3%A1d%2C_1917.03.08.jpg" title="International Womens' Day demonstration. Nőnap - Petrográd, 8 March 1917" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Public domain], <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AN%C5%91nap_-_Petrogr%C3%A1d%2C_1917.03.08.jpg" target="_blank" title="Image source and information">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
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The origins of International Women's Day, as a day of celebration, can be freely researched, though it raises many interesting questions in the process, such that the wider significance might be easily overlooked:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The earliest Women's Day observance was held on February 28, 1909, in New York and organized by the Socialist Party of America. A Women's Day demonstration on March 8, 1917 in Petrograd sparked the Russian Revolution. Declared a national holiday in the Soviet Russia in 1917, it was predominantly celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries until it was adopted in 1977 by the United Nations.</i> – <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women's_Day" target="_blank" title="International Women's Day">Wikipedia</a></blockquote>
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Most accounts of the February Revolution of 1917 describe the key events as those that took place between 8th to 16th March 1917 (23 February to March 3 according to the Julian calendar still in use in Russia at the time, which was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar, first proposed in 1582, that had been adopted elsewhere and most commonly used today):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>On February 18, 1917, a strike broke out at the Putilov Works in Petrograd. On February 22 the workers of most of the big factories were on strike. On International Women's Day, February 23 (March 8), at the call of the Petrograd Bolshevik Committee, working women came out in the streets to demonstrate against starvation, war and tsardom. The Petrograd workers supported the demonstration of the working women by a city-wide strike movement. The political strike began to grow into a general political demonstration against the tsarist system.</i> - from <i><a href="https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1939/x01/ch06.htm#5." target="_blank" title="The February Revolution of 1917 and the fall of Tsardom">History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union 'Bolsheviks' (short course)</a></i>, 1938</blockquote>
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The <i>History...</i> goes further however, recounting events both preceding and following on from the Russian Revolution of February 1917, even if it is only a 'short course'.<br />
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This is a theme that we will be returning too in the course of this 'year of centenaries' that lies ahead – and not just as a historical retrospective.
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A%D0%94%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86_%D0%9F%D1%83%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B0_%D0%B2_%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B2%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%8C_%D0%A4%D0%B5%D0%B2%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8E%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8_1917.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank" title="See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons"><img alt="Демонстрация работниц Путиловского завода в первый день Февральской революции 1917" height="253" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/%D0%94%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86_%D0%9F%D1%83%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B0_%D0%B2_%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B2%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%8C_%D0%A4%D0%B5%D0%B2%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8E%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8_1917.jpg/512px-%D0%94%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86_%D0%9F%D1%83%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B0_%D0%B2_%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B2%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%8C_%D0%A4%D0%B5%D0%B2%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8E%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8_1917.jpg" title="Demonstration of workers from the Putilov plant in Petrograd (modern day St. Peterburg), Russia, during the February Revolution" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Public domain], <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A%D0%94%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86_%D0%9F%D1%83%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B0_%D0%B2_%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B2%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%8C_%D0%A4%D0%B5%D0%B2%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8E%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8_1917.jpg" target="_blank" title="Image source and information">via Wikimedia Commons</a></td></tr>
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Modern Definitionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002158166141674545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-52098893833609042522013-12-08T16:19:00.006+00:002016-04-05T23:23:33.360+01:00Remembering Nelson Mandela<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Great tributes, befitting the man, have been paid to the late Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, who died this week at the age of 95. A towering figure in the struggle for democracy and to overthrow the vestiges of colonialism in his own country - of which he was the first democratically-elected president - as well as an international statesman of considerable stature and renown.<br />
<br />
Not unexpectedly, in the midsts of all the sincere and heartfelt tributes, hypocritical exaltations have attempted to make themselves heard. This can be observed in the manner in which Mandela is being referred to in some quarters, with the 'honorific' title of 'first black president of South Africa'. Are such people really so oblivious to Mandela's key achievements? In which case, let us then re-iterate what they consisted of: the role he played in dismantling the remnants of racial segregation, practised in many colonised parts of Africa and institutionalised in South Africa in 1948, under the name of 'apartheid'?<br />
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As the first democratically-elected president of all South Africans, Mandela was instrumental in ushering in the non-racial era, for a society governed by majority rule, based on universal adult suffrage. To refer to his legacy in any other terms is to attempt to dilute it. Clearly there are those who still wish that the legacy of a revolutionary life might die with the man.<br />
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Of course Mandela's revolutionary legacy was not limited to matters pertaining to his own country, but also to the principled stand he took on the international stage, in support of other peoples fighting against the weight of tyranny, injustice and oppression.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mandela - In His Own Words</span><br />
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<i>No country can claim to be the policeman of the world and no state can dictate to another what it should do. Those that yesterday were friends of our enemies have the gall today to tell me not to visit my brother Gaddafi. They are advising us to be ungrateful and forget our friends of the past.</i> - from a Speech in Tripoli, May 18, 1990<br />
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<i>If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. They don’t care for human beings.</i> - address to International Women’s Forum in Johannesburg, 2003, prior to US-led invasion of Iraq.<br />
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<i>If you look at those matters, you will come to the conclusion that the attitude of the United States of America is a threat to world peace.</i> - <i>Newsweek</i> interview, 2002<br />
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<i>Israel should withdraw from all the areas which it won from the Arabs in 1967, and in particular Israel should withdraw completely from the Golan Heights, from south Lebanon and from the West Bank.</i> - comments reported during a visit to Israel, 1999<br />
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<i>The UN took a strong stand against apartheid; and over the years, an international consensus was built, which helped to bring an end to this iniquitous system. But we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.</i> - Address at The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (4 December 1997)<br />
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<b>Sources used in this post:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela" target="_blank">Wikiquote</a></li>
<li><a href="http://rt.com/news/mandela-sharp-quotes-media-860/" target="_blank">Russia Today</a></li>
<li><a href="http://mathaba.net/news/?x=633843" target="_blank">Mathaba</a></li>
</ul>
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Modern Definitionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10002158166141674545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-41722543934854658402012-06-26T07:30:00.000+01:002016-04-05T23:26:01.238+01:00Anatomies of the World Economies part ii - The Great Malls of the PR of China<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Oscar Dugganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014714973673128506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-42174011720487848932012-06-15T07:30:00.000+01:002016-04-05T23:27:47.914+01:00How Political Power is Exercised in the Anglo-American World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
from <a href="http://peoplesconference.org/queen_of_the_world.htm" target="_blank">IPCO - Queen of the World -</a>:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
As British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth ll is officially the wealthiest, most powerful person on earth. She embodies the 'Crown' and supreme world power.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Presidents of the United States of America are forbidden any nobility and are subservient to the Monarch. The US President is Commander and Chief of the US Armed Forces based at Camp David, which is known to insiders as Camp King David.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Prime Ministers in Commonwealth Nations like Canada, Australia and New Zealand are also subservient to the Queen. The Governor Generals of the Queen's Commonwealth Nations, represent and exercise the Queens power on her behalf. What the general public doesn't realize is that their leaders are only representatives of the monarch and do not posses the power, they only exercise the power. They do not REIGN they RULE. The Monarch on the other hand REIGNS but does not RULE</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
By delegating her powers but not exercising her powers, the Queen is left safely outside and above the conflicts and divisions of the political process, protected from becoming a target of political hostilities. - <i>[you can read rest of this article on the website of the <a href="http://peoplesconference.org/queen_of_the_world.htm" target="_blank">International People's Conference Organisation</a>.]</i></blockquote>
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<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">'via Blog this'</a>
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Oscar Dugganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014714973673128506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-57767393688974310512012-06-13T07:30:00.000+01:002016-04-05T23:28:50.254+01:00Capitalism - the origins and meaning of a phrase<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Capitalism," a term of disparagement coined by socialists in the mid-nineteenth century, is a misnomer for "economic individualism", which Adam Smith earlier called "the obvious and simple system of natural liberty" (<i>Wealth of Nations</i>). Economic individualism's basic premise is that the pursuit of self-interest and the right to own private property are morally defensible and legally legitimate. Its major corollary is that the state exists to protect individual rights. Subject to certain restrictions, individuals (alone or with others) are free to decide where to invest, what to produce or sell, and what prices to charge. There is no natural limit to the range of their efforts in terms of assets, sales, and profits; or the number of customers, employees, and investors; or whether they operate in local, regional, national, or international markets. - from <a href="http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Capitalism.html" target="_blank">Capitalism: The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics | Library of Economics and Liberty</a>:</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">'via Blog this'</a>
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Oscar Dugganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014714973673128506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-14190527935369905762012-06-12T07:30:00.000+01:002016-04-05T23:29:19.687+01:00Anatomies of the World Economies part i - United States of America<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Robert B. Reich is currently Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, USA and was Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. His website is at <a href="http://robertreich.org/" target="_blank">RobertReich.org</a>.<br />
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Oscar Dugganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014714973673128506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-88499710011680304382012-06-10T10:10:00.000+01:002016-04-05T23:30:26.480+01:00The Pyramid of Capitalism, 1911 | Industrial Workers of the World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Oscar Dugganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014714973673128506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-80028569311475663092011-05-04T20:03:00.000+01:002016-04-05T23:32:04.281+01:00Upholding the Rule of Law in the War on Terror: the implications of the bin Laden assassination<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>We are re-posting below a statement by the <b>Muslim Judicial Council</b> of South Africa, on the recent slaying of terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden by US military personnel operating within the sovereign territory of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.</i><br />
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<i>Actions of this nature raise a number of important questions for the rule of international law. There has, as would be expected, a large volume of comment, opinion and analysis since the announcement by US president Barack Obama on the night of Sunday, 1st May. Questions have been raised about the circumstances and motivation behind the attack. There are even disputed questions of fact involved. However it is also important to highlight the underlying assumptions motivating and guiding adventurous acts such as that just witnessed which, among other things has violated the sovereignty of Pakistan. Those who are sponsoring and/or prosecuting the so-called 'global war on terror' are also answerable to the court of world opinion.</i><br />
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<b>The statement reads:</b><br />
<blockquote style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="http://www.mjc.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=334:justice-is-served-through-the-courts-not-through-extra-judicial-killings&catid=15:press-releases&Itemid=13" target="_blank">Justice is served through the Courts not through Extra Judicial killings</a></b></blockquote>
<blockquote>
Verily from God we come and verily to Him is our return.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
The United States has once again destroyed and violated all standards of judicial internationally prescribed laws designed to govern, protect and resolve global disputes and conflicts. Since their "War on Terror" mission coined by George Bush, the reputation of the US has been reduced to nothing more than a violator of the human rights that they claim to uphold.<br />
<br />
The recent lawless cowboy action of the Navy Seals under the command of President Obama has been hailed by the US as justice despite the fact that it has done nothing to advance global peace. If anything, it has advanced violence and terrorism as a means to achieve aims. It cannot therefore be seen as a means to foster good relations or understanding as the world has been plunged into a state of unrest.<br />
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These actions serve to parade the United States as a country unable to maintain human rights and thus cannot claim to be any better than those that they accuse of terrorism. It is therefore rather hypocritical and meaningless to say that the rule of law will bring about peace and then violate the international standards.<br />
<br />
The Muslim Judicial Council condemns the failure of the United States to arrest Osama Bin Laden in order to maintain international global standards of law by affording him the opportunity to present his case through humane and legal avenues. The order to kill is fundamentally not supported by any legal standards and contradicts the standards that American claims to want to maintain and uphold through the war on terror.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
We further condemn the manner in which the body of Osama Bin Laden was disposed of as this is not in accordance with Islamic laws even though the claim has been made that Muslim traditions were followed at sea. It is foreign to Muslims that a person is killed on land and buried at sea. We advise the US that their actions further entrenches views that they do not respect the rights of other nations’ cultures, religions nor traditions. The body should have been handed over to the family and people of Osama Bin Laden for a proper Islamic burial.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
We thus deduce that the US is not equipped with the ability or intention to build global peace as true justice can never be claimed without dignity, integrity, respect and empathy for others.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Maulana Ihsaan Hendricks - PRESIDENT</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Sister Nabeweya Malick - Public Affairs/Media</div>
</blockquote>
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<b>Source:</b> Press statement issued by the Muslim Judicial Council of South Africa - reposted from their <a href="http://www.mjc.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=334:justice-is-served-through-the-courts-not-through-extra-judicial-killings&catid=15:press-releases&Itemid=13" target="_blank">website</a>.<br />
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<b>Related Items:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.indiareport.com/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/1033844/International/2/5/2" target="_blank">S African Islamic body calls Osama sea burial 'disrespectful'</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.vocfm.co.za/index.php?section=news&category=vocnews&article=58693" target="_blank">Justice not done: MJC</a></li>
</ul>
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Oscar Dugganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014714973673128506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-26547175977769280622011-04-14T17:42:00.000+01:002016-04-05T23:33:24.081+01:00More on Democracy vs Dictatorship<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Re-blogged from <a href="http://www.oldholborn.net/2011/04/subverting-democracy.html" target="_blank">Old Holborn</a><br />
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Oscar Dugganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014714973673128506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-16680161080886024092011-04-04T20:39:00.000+01:002016-04-05T23:35:43.633+01:00A Portend of Things Come<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Debates that have raged in recent times (which in many ways are a sign of the times), arising out of what has been dubbed the <i>global war on terror</i>, raise many important questions. Included in this are themes and subject matters that we do propose to raise for discussion at a future date - using this blog as a forum for precisely such a debate.<br />
<br />
What we have in mind generally boils down to notions about <i>Freedom</i>, the terrorism threat, what it means to live in a safe and secure environment, issues of press freedom and the role of the state - all matters and concerns that are crying out for modern definitions.<br />
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For the time being however we will limit our observations to the following illustration (re-blogged from <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/mrbabyman/modern-definitions-b7t" target="_blank">Buzzfeed</a> and <a href="http://fuckyeahalbuquerque.tumblr.com/post/2166179830/via-follow-fuckyeahalbuquerque" target="_blank">FuckYeahAlbuquerque</a>).<br />
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Oscar Dugganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014714973673128506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-71275620065221792402011-03-19T20:59:00.000+00:002016-04-05T23:37:07.354+01:00Democracy, Dictatorship or Merely Rhetoric?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When we talk of modern definitions we also have in mind certain antiquated notions, that are nevertheless bandied around and passed off as new. Listening to the political rhetoric of recent days, from certain leaders of western imperialism one can only be amazed, both at the childishness of their world view, and in the way they conduct themselves.<br />
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With the passing of the recent UN Security Council resolution, authorising the imposition of a 'no-fly zone' over Libya, the person of Muammar Gaddafi has joined the long list of 'dictators' that western imperialists disapprove of. The charge is levelled without any notion, or even discussion about what system of governance is in place in Libya; or what the role of individuals such as Muammar Gaddafi is in relation to that system.<br />
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But that's rather beside the point as far as this discussion is concerned. The charge of 'dictatorship' is levelled all too freely. Still it is clear what western imperialists have in mind, when they speak in such terms. A 'dictator' to them is someone who refuses to do their bidding; someone who stands up, not just for him or herself, but for their collective too.<br />
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According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictator" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> the term actually originated in ancient Rome. It was in fact an official title, an office conferred by the Senate, upon a magistrate who was to rule the republic in times of emergency. In the context of the present emergency facing the Libyan people, Gaddafi might well be considered a dictator. By the same token western imperialism - which in this instance would appear to be Anglo-French led - could be viewed as the <a href="http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/197456.html" target="_blank">Barbarians at the gates</a>.<br />
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As happens all too often, a term that wasn't pejorative in its original context, has become nothing but pejorative today. It sometimes works in the opposite direction. The term 'Tory' for example, as a political label freely accepted by the likes of David Cameron, stems from the Irish word <i>tóraidhe</i>, which again as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tory#History_of_the_term" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> informs us referred in its orginal context to an 'outlaw, robber or brigand'.<br />
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On the outbreak of World War II Charlie Chaplin released <i>The Great Dictator</i>, a comic satire but also a powerful and heartfelt denunciation of fascism. Leaders like Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Salazar (to cite just a few) were stooges of reaction and world imperialism, which at the time was in crisis (facing emergency), but that's really about as far as similarity between them and their ancient Roman counterparts goes. They were defending a class system, not their respective nations.<br />
<br />
In the aftermath of WWII it served a purpose to present these personalities as dictators, autocrats, political leaders ruling by decree. The purpose was to obscure the fact that these individuals were merely cogs in a machine; part of an apparatus with networks and connections that stretched far and wide, and not restricted by national boundaries either.<br />
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Overall it would be largely a positive development the way things have turned out; if it were not for the catcalls of certain influential philistines. To them a dictator is someone who won't do what they're told even when they've been told what to do - which could be anyone, including you and me.<br />
<br />
In the same vein the <i>democracy</i> has come to mean whatever a person (any person) wants it to mean. For imperialists, or those whose agenda is to subvert the world and bend it to their wishes and whims, a <i>democracy</i> is any system that enables them to get what they want. When they don't get what they want they cry 'dictator' and adopt the 'pro-democracy' verbiage.<br />
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What this reflects is that modern society (which includes the whole world and the nations and peoples within it) remains class divided. <a href="http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1852/letters/52_03_05.htm" target="_blank">Karl Marx</a> pointed out that "the existence of classes is merely bound up with certain historical phases in the development of production." Marx and those who followed his trajectory, argued that any system of governance would be more or less democratic, only insofar as this is a reflection of the class composition of the society from which it springs. Democracy, far from being that 'city on the hill' is always and everywhere a battleground.<br />
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One such follower was <a href="http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/staterev/ch04.htm#s6" target="_blank">V.I. Lenin</a>. He admonished his fellow social democrats when he pointed out that:<br />
<blockquote>
<i>... it is constantly forgotten that the abolition of the state means also the abolition of democracy; that the withering away of the state means the withering away of democracy. </i>- from <i>The State and Revolution</i></blockquote>
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At the time of course Lenin and his supporters were still calling themselves social democrats but were also learning to disavow the term. European parties of the Second International had earlier betrayed the decision of the <a href="http://www.marxists.org/history/international/social-democracy/1912/basel-manifesto.htm" target="_blank">Basle Congress of 1912</a> which pledged to oppose plans for imperialist war. Lenin and his party were among those that remained true to the decisions. It was ultimately decided that:<br />
<blockquote>
<i>We must call ourselves the Communist Party—just as Marx and Engels called themselves</i></blockquote>
and further he adds:<br />
<blockquote>
<i>... the name of our Party (Social-Democrats) is also scientifically incorrect. Democracy is a form of state, whereas we Marxists are opposed to every kind of state. </i>- see Lenin, <i><a href="http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/tasks/ch12.htm" target="_blank">What Should be the Name of Our Party etc</a></i></blockquote>
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Oscar Dugganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014714973673128506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4326298393504067140.post-15583793583508013062011-03-19T20:11:00.000+00:002016-04-05T23:40:37.951+01:00Introducing Modern Definitions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Welcome to our website.<br />
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<b>Modern Definitions</b> in concerned with key theoretical issues of our times, across all fields and disciplines of human scientific enquiry. In doing so we stand shoulder to shoulder with those striving to advance the cause of humanity; building on the movement for modern enlightenment by defeating obscurantism, as the only viable path to a world based on peace, prosperity and the well-being of all.<br />
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This website draws its inspiration from the life and work of Hardial Bains, to whom it is also dedicated, in recognition of the debt of honour that is owed to his memory, the programme of work which he instigated and which continues in his wake today:<br />
<blockquote>
<i>Vague notions about what existed in the past; fiery essays against the 'enemy'; the incessant inciting of passions against all one disagrees with - none of the above can be considered a modern way of doing things. However, this is not where controversy either begins or ends.</i></blockquote>
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Oscar Dugganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014714973673128506noreply@blogger.com0