Kevin B. Anderson

Resistance versus Emancipation: Foucault, Marcuse, Marx, and the Present Moment

I. The Changed World of 2011-12

We live in a far different world than just a few short years ago. Not only have we suffered the greatest economic downturn since the 1930s, but we have also witnessed the emergence of new forms of mass struggle. Foremost among these have been the 2011-12 Arab revolutions, still ongoing. Not since 1848 has the world experienced such a wave of revolutions crossing borders in such a short period. Moreover, unlike some of the other democratic upheavals of this century (Iran 2009, Ukraine 2004, Serbia 2000, etc.), the Arab revolutions have articulated not only political but also economic demands. The spread of these revolutions to countries whose governments boasted of their anti-imperialist credentials like Libya and Syria has also tested those on the Left who place opposition to U.S. imperialism ahead of everything else. (For more elaboration of this point see my “Year Two of the Arab Revolutions,” Logos 11:4, Spring-Summer 2012.

Tunis bar labeyeh tiq (Persian translation of Tunisia on Razor’s Edge after Assassination of Chokri Belaid)

This article was translated into Persian by Farzaneh Raj and published on the website Critique of Political Economy. Anderson’s original article, “Tunisia on Razor’s Edge after Assassination of Chokri Belaid,” appeared in English in the International Marxist-Humanist on February 13, 2013.  The Persian translation can be accessed HERE. Doc file can be downloaded HERE.

Tunisia on Razor’s Edge after Assassination of Chokri Belaid

The cowardly assassination of Chokri Belaid has thrown Tunisia into its biggest crisis since the overthrow of the Ben Ali regime in 2011. Gunned down as he left his home on the morning of February 6, apparently by Islamist militants, Belaid was one of the country’s most famous labor lawyers and leftist leaders. Known for having defended the Gafsa phosphate miners against state repression after their 2008 strike under the old regime, Belaid had been a prominent member of the secular left for decades. He was a lifelong Marxist who was a leading figure in the Popular Front, founded last summer as a potentially large grouping of leftist and secular forces. Having already served time under the old regime, Belaid was not intimidated by the death threats he constantly received from Islamists, with some imams openly calling for his assassination in their sermons.

(Persian Translation)

Portuguese Translation of “Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln,’ Karl Marx, and the Second American Revolution”

This article was translated into Portuguese by Sylvia Nerina and published in Vermelho (Brazil). Anderson’s original article, Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” Karl Marx, and the Second American Revolution, appeared in English in the International Marxist-Humanist on December 19, 2012. The Portuguese translation can be accessed HERE.

French Translation of “Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln,’ Karl Marx, and the Second American Revolution”

This article was translated into French by Sylvia Nerina and published in Avanti: Site animé par des marxistes révolutionnaires (Belgium). Anderson’s original article, Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” Karl Marx, and the Second American Revolution, appeared in English in the International Marxist-Humanist on December 19, 2012. The French translation can be accessed in HERE.

Spanish Translation of “Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln,’ Karl Marx, and the Second American Revolution”

This article was translated into Spanish by Gustavo Buster and published in Sinpermiso (Spain).  Anderson’s original article, “Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln,’ Karl Marx, and the Second American Revolution,” appeared in English in the International Marxist-Humanist on December 19, 2012. The Spanish translation can be accessed HERE.

Persian Translation of “Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln,’ Karl Marx, and the Second American Revolution”

Persian translation by Farzane Raji of Kevin Anderson’s article, “Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln,’ Karl Marx, and the Second American Revolution,” which originally appeared in the International Marxist-Humanist on December 19, 2012. لینكلن اسپیلبرگ، كارل ماركس و انقلاب دوم امریكا / كوین آندرسن ترجمه فرزانه راجی

Persian Translation of “U.S Voters Repudiate Far Right, But Still Face Austerity Capitalism Under Obama”

Persian translation by Abtin Derafsh of “U.S Voters Repudiate Far Right, But Still Face Austerity Capitalism Under Obama.” رای‌دهنده‌گان امریكائی دستِ ‌رد به‌سینه‌ی راستِ افراطی می‌زنند،اما هنوز تحت ِدولتِ اوباما با سرمایه‌داری ریاضتی روبه‌‌رو هستند  

Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” Karl Marx, and the Second American Revolution

Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” zeroes in on a single, crucial month of the U.S. Civil War, a conflict that amounted to a second American revolution. In January 1865, as the Union victory over the Confederacy is just months away, President Abraham Lincoln decides to push through the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S Constitution, abolishing slavery unconditionally and without compensation to the slaveowners. This is a far different Lincoln than the candidate of 1860, who refused to campaign as an abolitionist, or the president who delayed issuing the Emancipation Proclamation until almost the third year of the Civil War, in 1863. It is a Lincoln who has grown with the times, whose armies now include 200,000 Black troops, and whose speeches are beginning to hint at citizenship and voting rights for the former slaves.

(French Translation)
(Persian Translation)
(Portuguese Translation)
(Spanish Translation)

U.S. Voters Repudiate Far Right, But Still Face Austerity Capitalism under Obama

Los Angeles, CA — A multiethnic, multicultural electorate has just given a sharp slap in the face to the extreme-right Republican agenda in the November elections in the U.S. Barack Obama achieved a more decisive victory than even sympathetic pollsters had predicted.  Voters rejected right-wing politics not only on economic grounds, but also in terms [...]