Showing papers in "Monthly Review in 1974"
TL;DR: In this paper, the structure of the working class and the manner in which it had changed in the United States were investigated. But the details of this process, especially its historical turning points and the shape of the new employment that was taking the place of the old, were not clear to me, and since these things had not yet been clarified in any comprehensive fashion, there was a need for a more substantial historical description and analysis of the process of occupational change than had yet been presented in print.
Abstract: This book first took shape in my mind as little more than a study of occupational shifts in the United States. I was interested in the structure of the working class, and the manner in which it had changed. That portion of the population employed in manufacturing and associated industries—the so-called industrial working class—had apparently been shrinking for some time, if not in absolute numbers at any rate in relative terms. Since the details of this process, especially its historical turning points and the shape of the new employment that was taking the place of the old, were not clear to me, I undertook to find out more about them. And since, as I soon discovered, these things had not yet been clarified in any comprehensive fashion, I decided that there was a need for a more substantial historical description and analysis of the process of occupational change than had yet been presented in print.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
4,325 citations
TL;DR: For example, this article pointed out that "with the economy on the brink of crisis and the administration's policies adrift, radicals justifiably feel vindicated in their long-run or secular analysis of the contradictions in modern American capitalism." But there is some confusion about the state and direction of economic activity and the government's probable policy response.
Abstract: With the economy on the brink of crisis and the administration's policies adrift, radicals justifiably feel vindicated in their long-run or secular analysis of the contradictions in modern American capitalism. But there is some confusion about the state and direction of economic activity and the government's probable policy response. We have explanations of the secular functions of Keynesianism and some understanding of its contradictions," but, with the principal exception of the brilliant 30-year-old essay by Kalecki on "The Political Aspects of Full Employment," radical theorists have done little to explain and interpret the political-economic function of short-run macro-policy, i.e., monetary and fiscal policy, and its class implications.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
19 citations
TL;DR: The preface to the second printing of the Greek translation of Monopoly Capital, now in preparation by the Athens publisher Gutenberg, is self-explanatory as mentioned in this paper, and can also be found at the Monthly Review website.
Abstract: The following preface to the second printing of the Greek translation of Monopoly Capital, now in preparation by the Athens publisher Gutenberg, is self-explanatory. -P.M.S.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
15 citations
TL;DR: A recent article by Mario Cogoy contains an interpretation of Marx's theory of capital accumulation which appears to be shared, with variations, by a growing number of Marxist economists as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: A recent article by Mario Cogoy contains an interpretation of Marx's theory of capital accumulation which appears to be shared, with variations, by a growing number of Marxist economists. This is a complicated and difficult problem which I have no intention of trying to treat exhaustively in a brief essay. But there are a number of basic points of view expressed or implied in this literature which seem to me erroneous, potentially seriously misleading, and hence in need of explicit criticism. This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
13 citations
TL;DR: On the Transition to Socialism by Paul M. Sweezy and Charles Bettelheim as mentioned in this paper is a seminal work in the history of the transition to socialism and can be found at the Monthly Review website.
Abstract: Review of On the Transition to Socialism by Paul M. Sweezy and Charles Bettelheim.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
11 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the achievements and failures of the 1960s, try to assess the chances of success of the present strategy, and finally to suggest an alternative strategy of development.
Abstract: After the failure of the development strategies pursued during the 1960s, a complete rethinking of development policies is now taking place all over the world. Pakistan, which was considered a model for developing countries during the 1960s, is again in the forefront with a new strategy. The purpose of this article is to examine the achievements and failures of the 1960s, try to assess the chances of success of the present strategy, and finally to suggest an alternative strategy of development. This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
10 citations
TL;DR: The question has been put to me whether the world is headed toward cultural uniformity or will retain its variety as mentioned in this paper, and I thought my answer to this question was implicit in Unequal Development.
Abstract: The question has been put to me whether the world is headed toward cultural uniformity or will retain its variety. I thought my answer to this question was implicit in Unequal Development. Here is that answer, stated explicitly.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
8 citations
TL;DR: For instance, the authors argues that the recent changes in the structure of the US economy, resulting from extreme concentration of its financial and technological resources and leading to the awesome giantism of the "multinational corporation," have been thoroughly analyzed along Marxist lines by Baran, Sweezy, Frank, and Magdoff.
Abstract: Economic reality often changes rapidly—sometimes, unfortunately, so rapidly that even its most acute observers are left behind the rush of events. This is particularly true of the study of foreign investment. Though Marxist thought has always acknowledged foreign investment to be a bulwark of international capitalism, and though the recent changes in its structure, resulting from extreme concentration of its financial and technological resources and leading to the awesome giantism of the "multinational corporation," have been thoroughly analyzed along Marxist lines by Baran, Sweezy, Frank, and Magdoff, certain aspects of the phenomenon have been relatively neglected, both by most of its critics as well as by its apologists.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
8 citations
TL;DR: The New Socialist Revolution by Michael T. Lerner as mentioned in this paper is an excellent review of the history of the New Left and its relation to the present day. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
Abstract: Review of The New Socialist Revolution by Michael T. Lerner. This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
7 citations
TL;DR: Casey, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, explained to the Business Council meeting in Hot Springs, Virginia, the rationale for what he somewhat carefully entitled "commercial relations with state-controlled economies." (Department of State Bulletin, November 5, 1973) as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: One of the best ways to find out what people in power are thinking is to read the statements they make to their own cadres in which they justify shifts in position. For 25 years, the United States has boycotted and sought to get its friends and allies to boycott trade with the "Communist world." As we all know, this is no longer so. On October 13, 1973, William J. Casey, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, explained to the Business Council meeting in Hot Springs, Virginia, the rationale for what he somewhat carefully entitled "commercial relations with state-controlled economies." (Department of State Bulletin, November 5, 1973).This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
5 citations
TL;DR: As we have argued many times in these pages, the monopoly capitalist economy is always in danger of sinking into a state of deep stagnation, and the basic reason is that capitalists seek to keep the wages and hence the purchasing power of workers at a minimum, while expanding their capital as rapidly as possible.
Abstract: As we have argued many times in these pages, the monopoly capitalist economy is always in danger of sinking into a state of deep stagnation. The basic reason is that capitalists seek to keep the wages and hence the purchasing power of workers at a minimum, while expanding their capital as rapidly as possible.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: Baran was perhaps the first economist to warn of the inflationary danger inherent in Keynesian fiscal and monetary policies as mentioned in this paper, and his main ideas were contained in lectures he gave at Oxford in 1953 and it is probably a justified inference that the following passage from the book expresses a position he had held at least since then and perhaps considerably earlier.
Abstract: This brief note has only one purpose: to point out that, apart from conservative fundamentalists, Paul Baran was perhaps the first economist to warn of the inflationary danger inherent in Keynesian fiscal and monetary policies. The Political Economy of Growth was published in 1957, but the main ideas were contained in lectures he gave at Oxford in 1953 and it is probably a justified inference that the following passage from the book expresses a position he had held at least since then and perhaps considerably earlier.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: The meaning of the expression "political economy" is far from clear as discussed by the authors, and it cannot merely be a question of opposing the term "economics" to the term 'political economy'.
Abstract: The expression "political economy" is becoming increasingly fashionable in English-speaking countries (on the continent of Europe it has always been in use). It is being set up mostly as a standard of revolt against so-called "orthodox" economics. But the meaning being given to the expression is far from clear. Surely it cannot merely be a question of opposing the term "economics" to the term "political economy." What follows is an attempt—admittedly sketchy—to raise some of the issues involved. This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: The story of Columbus and his relation to the origin of syphilis has given the impetus to reconsider the subject for the third time and is being reviewed by Dr. Webster.
Abstract: Dr. Webster's invitation to review the story of Columbus and his relation to the origin of syphilis has given me the impetus to reconsider the subject for the third time. I went over it first nearly forty years ago, in 1934. As a junior instructor in bacteriology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York at that time, I was asked by F.P. Gay, the head of the department, to write the chapter on "Spirochetes and Spirochetal Diseases" in what emerged a year later as the bulky textbook, Agents of Disease and Host Resistance.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
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TL;DR: The claim that "the 700 million Chinese are all critics" still holds five years later, and the claim still holds today as well as discussed by the authors states that workers spend at least six hours a week meeting with colleagues to criticize Lin Piao and Confucius.
Abstract: It was said during the Cultural Revolution that "the 700 million Chinese are all critics." Five years later, the claim still holds. All China is criticizing Lin Piao and Confucius. Workers spend at least six hours a week meeting with fellow-workers to criticize Lin Piao and Confucius. Families—children through grandparents—hold family meetings to criticize Lin Piao and Confucius. Character posters criticizing Lin Piao and Confucius decorate factories, restaurants, schools, and shops. School children sing the popular songs "The Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers are the Motive Force in the Movement to Criticize Lin Piao and Confucius," and "Carry the Criticism of Lin Piao and Confucious Through to the End."This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: For example, the authors asked the editors of this symposium not to categorize me as a "Marxist-Leninist" because, although I am not an "anti- Marxist-Leninists," I see my orientation to the study of the emergent socialist world as distinct enough to avoid such an identification.
Abstract: I asked the editors of this symposium not to categorize me as a "Marxist-Leninist" because, although I am not an "anti- Marxist-Leninist," I see my orientation to the study of the emergent socialist world as distinct enough to avoid such an identification. The orthodox approach to assessments of the indices of "revolutionary" change in the capitalist system has been to conceive of change as developing essentially from an elemental struggle for economic and political power between capital and labor. This outlook has not been restricted to Marxist socialist thinkers. It was—let us consider at random—constantly implied by businessmen, in arguments following the April 1962 steel-price reversal, that the President's "hostility toward business" clearly identified him as pro-labor. This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: The case of Portuguese colonialism is unique in the world today as mentioned in this paper, and Portugal clings to the largest remaining empire and endeavors to consolidate political unity among all parts of the empire under the domination of its metropolitan center in Europe.
Abstract: The case of Portuguese colonialism is unique in the world today. While other Western colonial powers have reluctantly but rationally conceded the right to political independence to their colonies, Portugal clings to the largest remaining empire in the world and endeavors to consolidate political unity among all parts of the empire under the domination of its metropolitan center in Europe. This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: The first volume of Bettelheim's new book as mentioned in this paper is a volume of what promises to be a work of enormous importance for the world revolutionary socialist movement, and two further volumes, dealing respectively with the period 1924-1953 and the years since 1953, are to follow, probably within the next year or two.
Abstract: Charles Bettelheim's new book is the first volume of what promises to be a work of enormous importance for the world revolutionary socialist movement. Two further volumes, dealing respectively with the period 1924-1953 and the years since 1953, are to follow, probably within the next year or two. In this preliminary report, I propose to do three things: (1) summarize parts of the author's 40-page foreword in which he relates how the work came to be undertaken and what its purpose is; (2) indicate some of the major themes analyzed for the years 1917-1923 (from the October Revolution to Lenin's death); and (3) raise some questions of theory and method.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: In this article, a review of Lessons from the Damned: Class Struggle in the Black Community by The Damned is presented, with a discussion of the relationship between race and class.
Abstract: Review of Lessons from the Damned: Class Struggle in the Black Community by The Damned.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: In these articles population growth and particularly the rapid growth now prevailing in the so-called developing countries is often described as a dreadful menace to the future of mankind as discussed by the authors, and to attain a reduced number of births is described as the measure which should be given top priority.
Abstract: Discussions about population growth and family planning have played an important role in recent years, not only in scientific journals but also in popular magazines and daily newspapers. In these articles population growth—and specifically the rapid growth now prevailing in the so-called developing countries—is often described as a dreadful menace to the future of mankind. To attain a reduced number of births is described as a measure which should be given top priority. Neo-Malthusianist arguments of this kind have been heard with great frequency during 1974, designated by the United Nations as World Population Year. This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: Othman as discussed by the authors argued that the task is to change society, not to interpret it, and to those who might concur with the views expressed here, they can only say, in the wise words of President Nyerere, "convince but do not force; argue and do not shout".
Abstract: In submitting the following article, the author wrote to MR's editors: "The conclusions of this article will provoke many into furious comment. But to them we can only say, in the wise words of President Nyerere, "convince but do not force; argue but do not shout. And to those who might concur with the views expressed here, we say that the task is to change society, not to interpret it." Haroub Othman is a member of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Dar es Salaam. The paper is an abridged version of one presented to the Development Studies Staff Seminar on October 23, 1973. The views expressed are those of the author and should not be taken to reflect those of the IDS or the University of Dar es Salaam. - THE EDITORSThis article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: The U.S. empire as it has taken shape in the period since the Second World War is discussed in this article, where the authors define the terms "empire" and "imperialism" as the international aspects of monopoly capitalism in the advanced industrial countries.
Abstract: I shall be talking about the U.S. empire as it has taken shape in the period since the Second World War, and I should explain at the outset that by "empire" I mean not only a mother country and its colonies, nor even only a metropolis and the whole collection of its clients and dependents regardless of their juridical status. I mean a metropolis and the ensemble of its international economic and political interests. As used here, therefore, "empire" and "imperialism" are terms which refer to the international aspects of monopoly capitalism in the advanced industrial countries.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: Ackerman and MacEwan's article on the energy crisis ("Energy and Power: Are We Running Out of Gas?" [ Monthly Review, January 1974]) raises a number of important questions and introduces a variety of valuable insights as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Frank Ackerman and Arthur MacEwan's article on the energy crisis ("Energy and Power: Are We Running Out of Gas?" [ Monthly Review , January 1974]) raises a number of important questions and introduces a variety of valuable insights. Nevertheless, it seems to me that the article errs in attributing the current "crisis" entirely to oil company machinations. While the oil magnates have clearly been involved in a highly profitable shell-game, as Ackerman and MacEwan ably demonstrate, their actions reflect the impact of certain imperatives. Ackerman and MacEwan are correct in rejecting the contention, planted by some environmentalists and carefully cultivated by the oil companies, that a genuine shortage has arrived, spurred by excess demand for a limited supply of oil. That situation may someday arise; but for now, any actual shortfall must be seen as the result of fairly deliberate policies in oil production, refining, and distribution. Still, it would be my guess that in this the oil companies have pursued one of their less-desired policy options in response to circumstances beyond their control. Particularly, these policies represent an attempt to adapt to the general criss of U.S. imperialism, symbolized and accelerated by the U.S. defeat in Vietnam. This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: The Marxism of Che Guevara: Philosophy, Economics, and Revolutionary Warfare by Michael Lowy as discussed by the authors is a classic work on the subject of philosophy, economics, and revolutionary warfare.
Abstract: Review of The Marxism of Che Guevara: Philosophy, Economics, and Revolutionary Warfare by Michael Lowy. This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: For instance, the authors pointed out that the focus is on the evildoings of Nixon and his gang: the abuse of the office of the President for personal and political advantage, and the elaborate, if incompetent, attempts to cover up the skulduggery.
Abstract: When and how the Watergate affair will end is still anyone's guess. Congressional investigations and court trials have generated a momentum of their own, producing a seemingly unending flow of scandal and sensation. On top of this, new rumors of additional revelations crop up almost daily, and various scenarios about impeachment or resignation of the President are afloat. Despite all this confusion and uncertainty, however, the longer Watergate occupies the center of the stage the clearer it becomes that the seemingly ruthless investigations and exposures by Congress, prosecuting attorneys, and the press are further and further removed from what really matters —the foreign and domestic programs and practices of the Nixon administration. Instead, the focus is on the evildoings of Nixon and his gang: the abuse of the office of the President for personal and political advantage, and the elaborate, if incompetent, attempts to cover up the skulduggery.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: The author of the following article spent the past year in Chile working on a survey of 40 randomly selected socialized factories, in collaboration with the Chilean National Labor Organization (now abolished), which published an earlier version in November 1973.
Abstract: The author of the following article spent the past year in Chile working on a survey of 40 randomly selected socialized factories, in collaboration with the Chilean National Labor Organization (now abolished). The article appears here by permission of Science lor the People, which published an earlier version in November 1973. —The EditorsThis article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: A genuine popular uprising took place in Greece on the night of November 16, 1973 as discussed by the authors, which has altered permanently the political trajectory of the country and laid the foundations for the development of a truly massive people's liberation movement.
Abstract: A genuine popular uprising took place in Greece on the night of November 16, 1973. It has altered permanently the political trajectory of the country. Not only did it spell the end of the U.S.-sponsored experiment of Papadopoulos in "limited," "responsible," or "guided" democracy; it also laid the foundations for the development of a truly massive people's liberation movement. This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: The last fifteen years will certainly be counted as important in the history of the development of socialist thought as mentioned in this paper and the extraordinary rebirth of Marxism has indeed been in contrast to the crisis of a dominant ideology stricken with sterility.
Abstract: The last fifteen years will certainly be counted as important in the history of the development of socialist thought. The extraordinary rebirth of Marxism has indeed been in contrast to the crisis of a dominant ideology stricken with sterility. This rebirth follows a long empty period marked by Stalinist dogmatism, tempered by the extraordinary attraction that the technocratic ideology of triumphant "apoliticism" exercised, at first covertly, then openly from 1953 on. The eclectic compromises of the fifties flourished briefly; since at least 1965 a vigorous Marxist thought has begun to leave them far behind.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: In a recent article as mentioned in this paper, the authors describe how guerrillas in Mozambique, together with their counterparts in Angola and the independent Republic of Guinea-Bissau, brought down the Portuguese government.
Abstract: Bourgeois commentators have taken to writing smugly of "the myth of the guerrilla." Yet guerrillas in Mozambique (together with their counterparts in Angola and the independent Republic of Guinea-Bissau) have now brought down the Portuguese government! President Kaunda welcomed Samora Machel, President of the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO), to Zambia (where the latter had come in June to commence talks with Mario Soares, the new Portuguese Foreign Minister) by stating: "Without the FRELIMO fighters led by Comrade Samora on this continent, Portugal herself would still be under a dictatorship. Freedom fighters on this continent have also freed the people of Portugal."This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
TL;DR: For too long I had been hearing and reading that schools were "failing." Books abounded that told me how these terrible places stunted children and teachers and robbed them of their potential and creativity as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: For too long I had been hearing and reading that schools were "failing." Books abounded that told me how these terrible places stunted children (and teachers) and robbed them of their potential and creativity. I was left with an empty feeling of sadness or depression. Friends of mine became so angered by the situation in public education that they began "free" schools—places where their children could grow up and become what they were meant to be (doctors, lawyers, teachers, social workers). These "free" schools, too, however, began to be criticized—for their class bias and elite populations. And the litany of criticism went on and on. As a teacher I read them all—always feeling a sense of frustration and guilt.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.