Who Reads Newspapers and Magazines Anymore?

 Periodical Survey: Newspapers and Magazines 

May Day Books carries an almost complete set of current left-wing newspapers and magazines, from Bust to Jacobin to Z Magazine.  Here is a roundup of a few of them, mostly newspapers, focusing on the news and ideas the mainstream bourgeois press ignore.

Marx and Pigeon Together

Monthly Review – April ’23 - “Marxian Ecology, Dialectics & the Hierarchy of Needs”

J.B. Foster, in a follow-up to several of his books on this subject, describes the great scientific strides in the early and late Soviet Union related to the ‘dialectics of nature’ which initially influenced a group of ‘red scientists’ in England.  The middle Stalin period and purges were a time of scientific regression, especially under Lysenko. Foster argues against Western Marxism’s ignoring the applicability of materialist dialectics to natural processes.  He says that the dialectic is applicable to nature on its own terms.

Marx saw a human link with animals influenced by Darwin, not a dualistic separation - with humanity only being distinguished by labor and higher social organization. Foster points out that Marx explained that humans are “corporeal beings and thus objective, sensuous, material beings insofar as their needs lie outside of themselves."  Although I would phrase it as "needs lie within themselves."  The satisfaction lies without, in nature.  It is a theory of body corporality that leads to a hierarchy of material needs. Foster shows that capital has introduced a ‘corporeal rift’ affecting the human body - relating to epidemics, short life spans, injuries and sicknesses affecting workers, the use of women’s bodies, slavery and incarceration, etc.

Foster argues that science many times becomes an ‘anti-capitalist’ force, just as Marx and Engel’s projects were essentially scientific, though capital works to limit science's usefulness only to the realm of profit.  He lastly discusses environmental strategies like the Green New Deal, degrowth, ecological Leninism and ecological war communism.

The Internationalist - January-May 2023 - “U.S. Imperialism Hurtling Toward World War III”      

This article by the Internationalist Group claims that the U.S. and NATO are planning an “all-out war” and “a nuclear showdown with Moscow and Beijing.”  They call for “militarily defending Russia,” a regional capitalist power; and China, a bureaucratically-deformed workers state.”  Their politics on this issue seems to be a form of overwrought hysteria along with a popular front with the Russian capitalist regime.  The line on China is certainly legitimate.  Not a word on peace or uniting Russian, Bylorussian and Ukrainian workers against both regimes.  They apply formal logic instead of a dialectical understanding, thinking it is purely a matter of taking one side in a military conflict.  The combined nature of this war as both a U.S. / NATO proxy war and a struggle for Ukrainian self-determination has confused many and this is more proof. 

Labor Notes – June 2023 – “Organizing Against the Churn”

Turnover is the subject of this article related to union organizing at Amazon, Starbucks, various colleges, charter schools, in fast food and retail.  Because of the high turnover in these jobs, it is hard to get union organizing drives going or complete.  Supposedly Amazon has a 150% turnover rate, though some workers stay for years.  Yet persistence has shown that turnover can be beaten.  The article calls for building a ‘co-worker culture’ prior to unionization where workers rely on each other and do not snitch to the boss. In Durham, NC a ‘cross-job’ organization named “Union of Southern Service Workers” (USSW) has formed for people who switch between various low-wage jobs to help them advocate at work. Strikes have been shown to be effective in the successful organizing of Chicago charter schools. 

The article talks about unionization of the Smithfield pork plant in open-shop North Carolina in 2008. However, a union that does not orient members, service them or stand up to the boss will become a minority ‘sh*t’ union, stay a minority and perhaps get thrown out.

Workers World - June 2023 – “Cop City Won’t Be Built”

Stop Cop City Solidarity has called for a week of action June 24-July 1 in Atlanta. The assassination of Tortuguita; the filing of ‘terrorism’ charges by the Georgia AG against peaceful protesters; the raid, destruction and arrests of a legal defense team office and the bloc between Democrat and Republican council members have all exposed the reactionary police state plans that Cop City will only amplify.  A referendum on Cop City in Atlanta has been proposed by a broad front of groups who think the public will vote it down.  The petition was delivered by the ‘Union of Southern Service Workers’ -already noted in the Labor Notes article.  Rallies and protests during this week will be directed at proposed contractors, as well as donors and board members of the Atlanta Police Foundation, which is proposing the facility.  Public monies will be part of the deal, propping up the Police Foundation.  The board includes Delta, Chick-fil-A, Home Depot, Coca Cola, Bank of America and AT&T.  This is a picture of the Georgia ruling class and a bit of the national ruling class.

The Militant – July 3, 2023 – “Rail Unions:  ‘Bosses drive for profits cause of derailments’”

Slashing crew sizes, cutting the workforce, imposing 24/7 on-call work schedules and 12 hour shifts all are meant to boost the huge profits of rail companies according to unionists familiar with the issues, while harming safety and damaging workers.  The head of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way (which was once a member of the Labor Party) blames Norfolk Southern and Democratic/Republican politicians for the disaster at East Palestine and many other derailment sites.  Another problem is very little training for newly-hired workers before being sent out, according to the head of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD).  Toxic conditions and effects still exist in East Palestine.  The head of the EPA blamed these on the ‘lifestyle choices’ of East Palestine residents instead.  Demands for “Medicare for All” and declaring East Palestine a FEMA site have been made.  Residents attended an NTSB hearing on the derailment June 21-23 as to the causes of the disaster.  No mention is made in the article of shoddy equipment, too long trains, no sick time or lack of maintenance on the rail lines.

There have been prior reviews about Monthly Review and Labor Notes articles on the blog.

Prior blog reviews of this subject, use blog search box, upper left, to investigate our 16 year archive, using these terms:  “Marx and the Earth – an Anti-Critique,” “The Ecological Revolution,” & “The Robbery of Nature – Capitalism and the Ecological Rift” (3 by Foster); “History and Class Consciousness” (Lukács); “The Structural Crisis of Capital”(Mészáros); “Thoughts on Ukraine,” “War With Russia?” (Cohen); “US/EU Meddling,” “The Russians Are Coming Again,” “Rebuilding Power in Open-Shop America,” “Breaking the Impasse,” “Tell The Bosses We’re Coming,” “Reviving the Strike,” “Notes From Minneapolis,” “Defund, Disband or Abolish the Police?” “Warrior Cops."

And I bought these at May Day Books with Sweat Equity!

Red Frog

June 27, 2023