Atlantic Sentinel

Tag: Socialism

  • European Fellow Travelers Refuse to Criticize Venezuelan Dictator

    Seventeen Latin American nations, including those run by leftists, agree Venezuela is now a “dictatorship” under Nicolás Maduro.

    For most of his presidency, Maduro has ruled by decree. When the opposition won a majority of the seats in parliament, he replaced it with a Constituent Assembly full of cronies. Critical lawmakers have been arrested. A “truth commission” is being established to investigate thoughtcrimes. Instead of seeing high crime and low growth rates as evidence of the failure of Venezuela’s socialist experiment, the crude and homophobic Maduro entertains anti-American and anticapitalist conspiracy theories.

    Yet left-wing admirers of Hugo Chávez will not see his heirs for the thugs they have become. (more…)

  • Sánchez Makes Good on Promise to Move Spain’s Socialists to the Left

    Pedro Sánchez is making good on his promise to move Spain’s Socialist Party to the left.

    In the clearest sign yet of a new program, the Socialists refused to vote for a European trade pact with Canada in the national legislature last week.

    Their deputies in the European Parliament did endorse the treaty when it came up for a vote there in February.

    The ruling conservatives managed to ratify the treaty anyway with support from smaller parties in the center. But the Socialists’ abstention is a sign of things to come.

    Sánchez has also made overtures to Podemos, prompting the People’s Party’s number three, Fernando Martínez-Maillo, to accuse him of competing with the far-left leader, Pablo Iglesias, “to see who is more extremist.” (more…)

  • Does the British Election Mean Anything for America?

    Theresa May Donald Trump
    British prime minister Theresa May speaks with American president Donald Trump the Oval Office of the White House in Washington DC, January 27 (10 Downing Street/Jay Allen)

    As always, yes and no.

    Yes, because the ideology of austerity-driven neoliberalism, that which is championed by Theresa May’s suddenly flailing government, is a major component of the ruling Republican Party in the United States. It’s what Paul Ryan, the speaker of the House, believes in: cuts to public services to benefit the private market.

    Yes, because Brexit, the alt-right-driven anti-immigrant, anti-globalization geopolitical self-harm project is propelled by the same forces that elected the current head of the Republican Party, Donald Trump.

    But also no.

    No, because the United States has a monotonous two-party system. (Britain essentially does too, but the Liberal Democrats can and have emerged as a powerful enough force to tip the balance, as they did in 2010.)

    No, because the United States can’t call snap elections and so the mood today is certainly not going to be the mood of fall 2018.

    No as well, because America does not face a credible secessionist threat, as the United Kingdom does in Scotland, nor is the United States able to do anything close to the self-harm of Brexit.

    With that said, there’s a few lessons worth looking into. (more…)

  • Jean-Luc Mélenchon Is Not the French Bernie Sanders

    Jean-Luc Mélenchon
    Jean-Luc Mélenchon makes a speech in the European Parliament in Brussels, November 11, 2015 (European Parliament)

    Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s late surge in the French presidential election has invited comparison with the unexpected success of Bernie Sanders in last year’s Democratic primary in the United States.

    The comparison is not altogether off in the sense that Mélenchon’s rise is largely due to the unpopularity of technocratic socialism under the incumbent president, François Hollande. Sanders’ candidacy similarly reflected a disillusionment in the centrist incrementalism of Hillary Clinton.

    But there is no comparing the policies of the French candidate, who is backed by the Communist Party, to those of the senator from Vermont, whose views would be mainstream in France. (more…)

  • Another Anti-EU and Anti-NATO Candidate Rises in France

    Jean-Luc Mélenchon
    Jean-Luc Mélenchon makes a speech in the European Parliament in Brussels, November 11, 2015 (European Parliament)

    Jean-Luc Mélenchon, France’s far-left presidential candidate, has pulled within striking distance of qualifying for the second voting round in May.

    Mélenchon shares third place with the center-right Republican candidate, François Fillon, in recent polls.

    But whereas Fillon’s support has been stable for months, Mélenchon’s has surged from a low of 12 percent a few weeks ago to just under 20 percent today.

    The centrist Emmanuel Macron and the far-left Marine Le Pen are still in the lead with around 23 percent support each. (more…)

  • The Future of the Middle East is Turkey, Iran and Islamic Socialism

    Tehran Iran
    View of Tehran, Iran from the Milad Tower at night (Shutterstock)

    It may not seem it, what with the Islamic State’s suicide bombers lashing out, Israeli soldiers shooting wounded Palestinians and the war in Yemen grinding on, but the Middle East’s broad new outlines are starting to show.

    They appear in front of the Turkish tanks on their way to Raqqa; in the brightly-lit press conferences of the White House; in the ballot printing factories of Tehran and in the banks of Dubai.

    They are both a return to history and step further into it. Nation states founded on the borders of great empires are reasserting themselves and the assault on neoliberal economics will give way to Islamist socialism. (more…)

  • Purists Hurt Left’s Chances in France, Could Do Same in Italy

    It doesn’t look like the two left-wing contenders for the French presidency will be able to do a deal.

    I wrote here a few days ago that Benoît Hamon, the mainstream Socialist Party candidate, and the far left’s Jean-Luc Mélenchon could have bested the French center. A left-wing unity ticket would qualify for the second voting round in May, according to the latest polls. Marine Le Pen of the National Front is expected to qualify as well. Forced to choose between a leftist and a nativist, a majority of French voters would likely opt for the former.

    But neither Hamon nor Mélenchon is willing to play second fiddle, as a result of which the left won’t stand a chance. (more…)

  • Spanish Left Needs to Decide Between Power and Principle

    Spain’s two left-wing parties need to decide if they want to stick to their principles and keep their hands clean — or if they’re willing to make compromises in order to get into power.

    At a party conference this weekend, members of the anti-establishment Podemos movement are asked to endorse one of two visions: either stay the hard-left course under Pablo Iglesias, the current leader, or switch to the more pragmatic policy of his deputy, Iñigo Errejón.

    The mainstream Socialists face a similar choice in their leadership election. Patxi López and Pedro Sánchez advocate opposition to the minority right-wing government of Mariano Rajoy. Susana Díaz, the president of Andalusia, represents the moderate wing of the party, which argues against blowing up an accord that has kept Spain governable since October.

    The outcome of the struggle in Podemos could have an effect on the Socialist Party contest later this year.

    Sánchez in particular, who was the party leader until October — when he was forced out by regional bosses like Díaz — believes the Socialists must take the fight to the right in order to consolidate their left flank. (more…)

  • Corbyn, Sanders, Hamon. Has the Left Given Up?

    The triumph of the relatively unknown Benoît Hamon in the French Socialist presidential primary last weekend has inspired comparisons with fellow leftists Jeremy Corbyn in the United Kingdom and Bernie Sanders in the United States.

    The comparison is imprecise. Hamon’s vanquished primary opponent, Arnaud Montebourg, had more in common with Corbyn. Both are nostalgic for the times when blue-collar jobs paid well, trade unions were powerful and the welfare state was at its most generous.

    Hamon is more forward-looking. His signature policies are a universal basic income funded by a tax on robots. Neither would be implemented overnight — if ever — but he is thinking about novel ways to preserve France’s high living standards at a time when many jobs may be automated or outsourced.

    Low-skilled workers are already struggling to make a living under globalization. What if high-skilled, white-collar professionals are next? The solution is surely not a return to the 1970s.

    All of which is not to say Hamon is more electable than Corbyn or Sanders. If anything, it’s their inability to win elections that really unites the three. (more…)

  • Dutch Socialists Struggle to Claim Mantle of Left-Wing Purists

    The Dutch Socialist Party has ruled out joining a government led by the liberal prime minister, Mark Rutte, after the election in March, saying the differences between them are too great.

    On everything from labor policy to health care to taxes, the two could hardly be further apart.

    But that didn’t stop the Socialists from leaving open the possibility of forming a government with Rutte fours years ago.

    The difference is that their competitor on the left, the Labor Party, formed a coalition with the liberals in 2012 instead. Now the Socialists seek to claim the mantle of left-wing purists. (more…)

  • French Socialists Could Make Same Mistake as Britain’s

    Surveys suggest the French Socialists could make the same mistake as the British Labour Party and lurch to the left next year, taking themselves out of contention for the presidential and parliamentary elections that due in April and May.

    Arnaud Montebourg, a fierce anticapitalist and former economy minister, is neck and neck with Prime Minister Manuel Valls, the center-left candidate, in the polls.

    Ifop and Harris Interactive both give Valls 51 percent support in a hypothetical runoff against 49 percent for Montebourg.

    Two Ipsos surveys conducted earlier this year put Montebourg ahead.

    There is little doubt these two men will prevail in the first voting round. (more…)

  • European Social Democrats Warm to Coalitions with Far Left

    António Costa
    Prime Minister António Costa of Portugal attends a meeting with other European socialist leaders in Brussels, June 28 (PES)

    The formation of an all-left city government in Berlin that includes the once-communist Die Linke follows a pattern: center-left parties across Europe are increasingly willing to team up with their rivals on the far left.

    Germany’s Social Democrats shunned Die Linke for decades. The two parties disagree on EU and industrial policy, NATO membership, relations with Russia and welfare.

    The alliance in Berlin is only the second time in German history the two have shared power. (more…)

  • The Beginning of the End of Chavismo?

    Sixteen years after Chavismo took hold in the country, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) could — for the first time — lose its parliamentary majority. Elections in December will test the party’s ability to withstand growing discontent and support for a united opposition.

    The majority of opinion polls place support for the opposition between 50 and 60 percent with government backing at roughly half that number.

    The PSUV currently has 96 out of 167 seats in the National Assembly against 63 held by their opponents who would need 84 for a majority.

    Ever since the PSUV’s president, Nicolás Maduro, took office following the death of his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, in April 2013, he has faced an uphill struggle. (more…)

  • Schröder’s Legacy Still Relevant to German Left

    The German Social Democrats’ draft election manifesto released last week revealed two things: they are at once haunted by their past and have learned from it.

    Ten years ago, Germany’s Social Democrat chancellor Gerhard Schröder initiated far-reaching economic and social reforms. While there is ongoing academic debate about whether these reforms are solely responsible for the resilient German economy (PDF) and labor market (PDF), there is widespread agreement that they are at least part of the nation’s current success.

    This puts the party’s contender for the chancellorship, Peer Steinbrück, in a delicate position, not least since he was one of the strongest supporters of Schröder’s agenda. Incumbent chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is in the comfortable position of continuing to run with a program that was originally designed by the left yet showed in many parts an ideological affinity with the economic right.

    Steinbrück and the chairman of his party, Sigmar Gabriel, are trying to find the middle ground between maintaining the inheritance of their successful reforms and the necessity of presenting themselves as an alternative to Merkel’s conservatives. (more…)

  • German Ideological Revival Polarizes Western Politics

    “Now Europe speaks German,” declared Volker Kauder, a member of Germany’s ruling conservative party, in late 2011. Despite the scolding he earned for his remarks, he was only slightly off. Not only Europe, indeed the world speaks increasingly with a German voice. Not literally, of course, but philosophically. German ideas are emerging as powerful forces all around the globe, ringing the bell for the end of the Anglo-Saxon moment in history.

    Critics and defenders of contemporary capitalism in the United States both speak the language of German history. Those who seek to emulate the European welfare state regularly invoke the German model while those who condemn these leftist ideas emphasize the necessity of self-reliance and labor as the fundamental glue of society and the indispensable source of individual dignity.

    The irony of this debate is that while the former claim to be ideological descendants of Karl Marx, it is the latter who use his arguments in the truest sense. For Marx, labor was the essence of human existence. Men could only be men through work which enabled him to interact with nature and create a world according to his imagination. (more…)