Links | International Journal of Socialist Renewal

At the crossroads of Blanquism and Leninism

Doug Greene, author of the forthcoming "Specters of Communism: Blanqui and Marx", takes up the accusation that Leninism is "Blanquist". By Douglas Enaa Greene[1] June 1, 2016 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- Rosa Luxemburg once said that Bolshevism is nothing more than the “mechanical transposition of the organizational principles of Blanquism into the mass movement of the socialist working class.”[2] Many leftists, both now and a century ago, share Luxemburg's position that Leninism is elitist and/or Blanquism. Yet all of these judgments are far off the mark. For Lenin, Blanquism was something that the communist movement needed to overcome if they wanted to win a successful socialist revolution. Leninism is not simply Blanquism or Jacobinism adapted to Russian conditions, but the development of a Marxist mode of politics that draws clear revolutionary lessons from the defeat of the Paris Commune. The central operator of the Leninist mode of politics is a revolutionary vanguard party devoted to the emancipation of the oppressed workers and peasants. However, there remains a grain of truth in the accusation that Leninism is Blanquist, since “Blanquism” is a label used by social democrats and revisionists to condemn the revolutionary essence of Marxism

Spain: As Podemos and United Left join forces, is a left government in sight?

United Left (IU) spokesperson Alberto Garzón and Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias. By Dick Nichols May 31, 2016 — Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal a much shorter version of this article was first published at Green Left Weekly — Five months after the December 20 election in Spain failed to produce a government, the country is returning to the polls in the most polarised contest since the end of the Franco dictatorship in 1977. The stakes could not be higher. The “second round” election on June 26 could open the door to the final breakdown of the two-party system and the beginning of a deep-going democratisation of the Spanish state and politics: or it could drive all parties defending the status quo into a last-ditch alliance against the forces for radical change.

Facing the Anthropocene: talk and book launch by Ian Angus

May 30, 2016 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- At the recent Socialist Alliance's "So

Philippine Left facing a Duterte-CPP Coalition Government?, plus Duterte, a socio-political outcome

On coming to power, newly elected Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte (left) originally offered cabinet posts to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), headed by Jose Maria Sison (right). The move only intensified debate on the Left surrounding Duterte's rise and what it means for politics in the Philippines. As part of bring this debates to an international audience Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal is publishing below a May 15 CPP Central Committee resolution outlining its position - "Prospects under a Duterte presidency" -, along with some introductory comments by Reihana Mohideen from the Party of the Labouring Masses (PLM). We are also publishing an update version of article by Sarah Raymundo, vice-chairperson of the Philippine Anti-Imperialist Studies: "Duterte, a socio-political outcome".

Brazil coup shows BRICS powers are no alternative to US imperialism

By Patrick Bond May 29, 2016 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- On May 12, Brazil’s democratic government, led by the Workers’ Party (PT), was the victim of a coup. What will the other BRICS countries (Russia, India, China, and South Africa) do?

Marta Harnecker on strategies for social change: people's power and political instruments

May 28, 2016 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- At the recent Socialist Alliance's Socialism in the

Local politics enters the global contest against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)

Brazil: Joao Pedro Stedile (MST) 'The coup-plotters have made their intentions clear'

Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) leader Joao Pedro Stedile. By Joao Pedro Stedile, translated by Federico Fuentes May 26, 2016 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal translated from Brasil de Fato -- It only took a few hours or days for the provisional government of the coup-plotters to install themselves and demonstrate their intentions through the composition of its cabinet, the plans it has announced and its public declarations.

Party, class, and Marxism: Did Kautsky advocate ‘Leninism’?

Media Wars: the role of the Left when Venezuela's imperfect revolution is under attack

By Tamara Pearson May 25, 2016 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal reposted from Venezuela Analysis -- One of my deepest reasons for respecting Chavez was his way of speaking sin pelos en la lengua – without hairs on his tongue – directly, clearly, unafraid of admitting to problems, challenges, and his own humanity, right down to his toilet needs. He said the hard things, he stood up to the media attacks with sincere and pointed questions rather than abuse. He was known for talking a lot because there was a lot to be done and it had to be discussed in depth, not superficially. That is what we need to do too, especially right now.

Building alternatives to neoliberalism in Latin America today: An interview with Michael Lebowitz

May 24, 2016 — Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal — Leading Marxist author Michael A. Lebowitz has dedicated a big part of his research to the problem of the possibilities of building a socialist alternative. He spent six years (2004-2010) in Venezuela working as a director of the program for Transformative Practice and Human Development at the Miranda International Center (CIM) in Caracas, where he had the opportunity to participate in the building of “socialism for 21st century”. Lebowitz was recently in Australia for the Socialism in the 21st Century conference, which was co-hosted by Links. In the interview published below, Lebowitz covers some of the topics he discussed during his visit regarding the opposition to neoliberalism and the prospects for a socialist alternative in Latin America today.

Behind the political crisis in Brazil

May 23, 2016 -- Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal -- Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff is facing a judicial coup as the country enters its worst political crisis since the military coup of 1964. What is at the heart of this crisis? Has the Workers’ Party project reached its limits? What is the opposition’s agenda? What are the implications for the future of Brazilian democracy? These were the questions addressed at the May 21 public forum "Political Crisis in Brazil"hosted by the Latin America Social Forum, Sydney. The forum included video presentations by Pedro Ivo Carneiro Teixeirense, PhD Candidate in Social History (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil & Ruhr University Bochum, Germany), and Camila Alves da Costa, a researcher at Nationalities' Observatory, Universidade Estadual de Ceará (Fortaleza); and executive editor, Tensões Mundiais journal. Below, Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal has posted their presentations.