The 2008 Persian edition of Marx’s ‘Capital,’ Vol. I, translated by Hassan Mortazavi with Kaveh Boveiri, is a an important achievement because it has incorporated alternate texts from Marx’s 1872-75 French edition that were ignored by Engels and in most later editions. This interview with Mohsen Hakimi, the translator of Lukács’s ‘The Young Hegel,’ originally appeared on the website Akbar-Rooz.
1. It is evident that Obama will not work for the global abolition of capitalism. But did or do you though pin hopes on his foreign policy?
Peter Hudis:
I did not pin much hope on Obama’s foreign policy, since it is important to remember that since becoming a professional politician he has not identified with progressive [...]
In the Grundrisse (1857-58), Marx sketches a multilinear theory of history. This marks an important turn in his thought. These themes are taken up again and developed further in Capital, Vol. I (1872-75), but as a theorization of contemporary possibilities rather than past history.
In this study, Marnia Lazreg gives us a new and original account of torture during the Algerian war of 1954–62. A second notable feature of this book is its theoretically rich discussion of torture at a more general level, which furnishes important insights into political power at both the macro and the micro levels. Finally, [...]
The Friday, June 12 election was widely expected to be a somnolent affair in which Ahmadinejad coasted to a second term over some lackluster opponents. Instead, the Moussavi campaign quickly heated up, jarring not only the conservative establishment but also sparking a new and supposedly apathetic generation of youth into action. At a rally at the University of Tabriz, Moussavi appealed to youth alienated by the morality police. Students complained of political and gender repression, including cameras in classrooms to prevent conversation among students of the opposite sex.
On Wednesday, June 24, a terrible event took place in Paris: Hundreds of Africans sans papiers (undocumented immigrants) who had occupied the Bourse de Travail for over a year were evicted and pushed onto the street with their belongings. These workers had taken refuge in the Bourse du Travail, a union-run employment service, because they have no work permits and hope to secure legalization.
Israel’s invasion and devastation of the Gaza Strip is one more illustration of that nation’s barbaric behavior toward weaker peoples and nations. Far from the small beleaguered land represented in its own propaganda and that of its US supporters, nuclearly-armed Israel’s war machine is unmatched in the region, allowing it to attack its neighbors with impunity.