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Texts :: analysis |
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Notes on NAFTA: "The Masters of Man" |
by Noam Chomsky
Previously published: The Nation, March 1993 |
29 Aug 2005
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"Throughout history, Adam Smith observed, we find the workings of "the vile maxim of the masters of mankind": "All for ourselves, and nothing for other People." He had few illusions about the consequences. The invisible hand, he wrote, will destroy the possibility of a decent human existence "unless government takes pains to prevent" this outcome, as must be assured in "every improved and civilized society." It will destroy community, the environment and human values generally -- and even the masters themselves, which is why the business classes have regularly called for state intervention to protect them from market forces." |
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Texts :: analysis |
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Market Democracy in a Neoliberal Order |
by Noam Chomsky
Previously published: Z Magazine |
29 Aug 2005
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"Freedom without opportunity is a devil's gift, and the refusal to provide such opportunities is criminal. The fate of the more vulnerable offers a sharp measure of the distance from here to something that might be called "civilization." While I am speaking, 1000 children will die from easily preventable disease, and almost twice that many women will die or suffer serious disability in pregnancy or childbirth for lack of simple remedies and care.[1] UNICEF estimates that to overcome such tragedies, and to ensure universal access to basic social services, would require a quarter of the annual military expenditures of the "developing countries," about 10% of U.S. military spending. It is against the background of such realities as these that any serious discussion of human freedom should proceed." |
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Texts :: analysis |
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Dole Autonomy Versus the Re-Imposition of Work |
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by Aufheben |
29 Aug 2005
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"The global advance of 'neo-liberalism' has been given fresh impetus in Britain by the election of the New Labour government. Under Blair's leadership, the Labour Party has abandoned its traditional commitment to social democracy and has fully embraced the neo-liberal project originally pioneered by Margaret Thatcher. However, whereas Thatcher was obliged to attack the social consensus that had been built up on the basis of the post-war social democratic settlement, Blair is seeking to build a new 'one-nation' consensus around the on-going attacks on wages, working conditions and welfare entailed by the neo-liberal agenda." |
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Texts :: analysis |
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Animal Liberation: Devastate to Liberate, or Devastatingly Liberal? |
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by Anonymous |
29 Aug 2005
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"Today, in the striving for a more tolerable society, the individual is misled into giving themselves up for the glorification of an abstraction. Be that animal liberation, socialism, anti-sexism or whatever. People seem to have unconsciously assumed that their life's desires are unattainable so instead of fighting for themselves, they end up fighting for an ideal or a cause, which gives them the illusion of self-activity. So many individuals remain oblivious to the fact that their attempts to change society are permitted and even encouraged, as long as they alter or change nothing fundamental to the maintenance of class society, or worse, realise this, but cynically go along with it for the ride anyway." |
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Texts :: culture |
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Solidarity Forever |
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by Ralph Chaplin |
29 Aug 2005
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Song of the Industrial Workers of the World |
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Texts :: culture |
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Kitchenhand |
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by Steve London |
29 Aug 2005
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Song of the Industrial Workers of the World, Australia |
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Texts :: culture |
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Gladiators |
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by Andy Irvine |
29 Aug 2005
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Song of the Industrial Workers of the World, Australia |
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Texts :: culture |
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Bump Me Into Parliament |
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by Bill Casey |
29 Aug 2005
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Song of the Industrial Workers of the World, Australia |
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Texts :: culture |
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A Las Barriacadas |
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by Confederación Nacional de Trabajo, Spain |
29 Aug 2005
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To the Barricades - a famous revolutionary song of the Spanish CNT. |
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Texts :: culture |
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Anarcho-Syndicalism and the Sexual Reform Movement in the Weimar Republic |
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by Dieter Nelles |
29 Aug 2005
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"All workers' organizations are concerned almost exclusively with economic and political issues. Both the parties and the unions view the issue of sex as being insignificant, irrelevant. There once was a time when it was considered to be unrespectable to publicly address problems concerning sexual relations. And yet it is so tremendously important that the sexual issue be addressed without any trace of reticence, just as is the hunger issue. For hunger and love are the two poles around which all human life and drive revolve. These two issues are so closely entwined that is hardly possible to discuss one without considering the other." |
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