tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15829412937895611022024-03-13T21:44:41.893-07:00The Longest MarchThe Longest March is the political blog of incorrigible revolutionary socialist, cinephile, cat lover, and librarian Zachary George Najarian-Najafi (that's me). It will explore the political, economic, social, and philosophical origins and directions of life under late capitalism, in attempt to understand the often seemingly incomprehensible world we live in.Zach Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12265742259720921802noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1582941293789561102.post-30089774072671780142018-05-03T12:20:00.004-07:002018-05-03T12:20:46.849-07:00The Fourth Revolution<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The idea of revolution in the United States looks like a long shot to many, even to the communist true believers out there, but what if an American socialist revolution isn't as far-fetched as it sounds, and is even, dare I say it, very likely? There is a line taken by many Marxist historians (popularized mostly by the Spartacist League, who, despite being ultra-left Trots of the worst kind, write decent history), and even some non-Marxist historians such as Eric Foner, that the United States has had three revolutions already. The first revolution was, of course, the War for Independence, which established the first modern bourgeois democratic republic; the second being the Civil War which ended slavery and ushered in a radical attempt at multi-racial democracy during Reconstruction; and the third being the Civil Rights Movement, which ended Jim Crow and segregation, and resulted in the full maturation of bourgeois democracy with equality under the law, and one person one vote.<br />
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If we adhere to this theory, which I do, the United States has more or less had revolutions on a 100 year cycle. The second revolution brought about a near total re-foundation of the American state, while the third brought about, if not quite a re-foundation, a major reconfiguration. While liberals may acknowledge this, they see it as evidence <i>against</i> a fourth revolution; liberals see history as being a straight line deterministic towards progress; when counter-revolution, or periods of reaction do occur, they are treated by liberals as either a hiccup, or a sign that things have gone too far. We can see this line applied often to the first two revolutions; while historian Charles Beard considered the constitution to be an oligarchic reaction to the more democratic Articles of Confederation, liberals treat it as a necessary evil to centralize the state; and Reconstruction is still often spoken of as a "disaster" for giving too much power to "those who weren't ready for it" (your average high school American history textbook repeats this line beloved by Jim Crow ideologues, albeit in more muted terms).<br />
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For many liberals, the Civil Rights Movement was the "last" revolution, and until the election of their <i>bete noir</i> Trump, American society was moving on a straight line towards progress (Nixon, Bush, Clintonite neoliberalism, the invasion of Iraq, etc... being treated, again, as hiccups, or necessary evils) that culminated in the election of Barack Obama as the first black president in 2008. Or, as liberal Saint Obama misquoted Dr. King, while his administration was bombing an unprecedented number of countries at one time, the "arc of the moral universe... bends towards justice". That Donald Trump was elected president is a major crisis for the liberal establishment, because it shatters their narrative of deterministic progress, and once again opens up the mainstream conversation to the possibility of revolutionary change. The Civil Rights Movement was supposed to have "solved" all of America's problems, so what is going on?<br />
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That periods of revolutionary change are usually followed by periods of intense reaction comes as no surprise to Marxists, who, unlike liberals, are able to analyze history in a dialectical and materialist manner. If we treat the election of Trump as the ultimate reaction against the Civil Rights Movement, that only shows the inadequacy and shortcomings of said movement. For all of its major changes, most of them were on paper, and didn't threaten the capitalist state; the latter adapted. In the place of Jim Crow capitalism, we now have "intersectional" capitalism, with an ever expanding rainbow of a ruling class, and an ever more alienated working class turning to either apathy, or outright reaction. This shows the necessity of socialist revolution, and such a revolution can only be led by a communist party armed with Marxist-Leninist theory and practice. The events of the past two years have only vindicated Marxism-Leninism, as an increasingly bold far-right movement stages more audacious campaigns and attacks, and have only been beaten back to some degree through counter-intimidation.<br />
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To sum up the discussion so far, a fourth American revolution looks likely; the bourgeois democratic state has reached the limit to which it can bend. There isn't going to be Nordic style social democracy in the epicenter of global capitalist power, because even such a small concession would be giving up too much power. Look at how the ruling class has fought at every turn against Obamacare, a neoliberal, market-driven form of "universal" health care. Bernie Sanders isn't happening. We need a communist party, there just isn't one yet. The main challenge is that the American left is in its own process of re-foundation, having been eviscerated by neoliberalism, identity politics, and a constant tailing of the Democratic Party. So far, no grouping (they can't really be called parties) has been able to formulate a correct position analyzing American history and its revolutionary prospects.<br />
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The American working class is hardly revolutionary, and is, in many cases, conservative and nationalistic, especially the "White Working Class". The <i>Roseanne </i>revival curled the blood of many liberals, aghast to find the once liberal Conners have become Trump supporters. Except the Conners didn't change, what passes as the "left" changed. Patriotism is a potent force among the American working class, and to ignore it, or to take a knee-jerk anti-Americanism position is political suicide. This is not to suggest leftists should embrace American nationalism, but we also have to be careful to separate the American state from the American nation and the American people. With the exception of Puerto Rico, Guam, and other nations under American colonial occupation, separatism has ceased to play any kind of significant role in American radical politics. However, because the idea of a socialist revolution in the United States appears to be so remote, some leftists have embraced the idea of just destroying the American state altogether without thought of what would come next. Usually the proponents of "let chaos reign" are the ones who would be the least affected by it, i.e. petite bourgeois liberals who like to "play" "revolution". Should such a scenario come to pass, it would be an unmitigated disaster for the "marginalized" they claim to champion.<br />
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For socialism to triumph in the US, revolutionaries must believe in it, and build their organizations with the conviction that they can actually win. America may appear to be invincible to the outside world, but like all empires, the cracks are building up. To believe that things will just stay this way, and that there is no possibility for transformation is a liberal idea, not a Marxist one. While the American state may not have the history of constant re-foundation like, say, France has, its upheavals tend to be far more significant in scope and impact. There is no material reason to indicate that this will not continue to be so. For victory, we must embrace a politics of victory that centers the working class as its revolutionary vanguard.Zach Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12265742259720921802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1582941293789561102.post-35081726877018912602018-04-12T10:00:00.001-07:002018-04-12T10:00:57.151-07:00The Anti-LARPer Manifesto<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This past week, screenshots of a private chat between well-known YouTube Marxist The Finnish Boleshevik, and a 16 year old girl emerged, in which FinBol describes in graphic detail his grotesque fantasy of raping this underage young woman. There is a common thread among these YouTube "Marxists" who have a love for sexual deviance and degeneracy like Jason Unruhe, Matt Florence, Pierre Tru-dank, et all: they are LARPers. For those unfamiliar with the term, LARP stands for Live Action Role Play. It's basically Dungeons and Dragons in real life with foam swords, but it can also be applied to a certain type of bad praxis; i.e. talking a lot and doing little. Given the fractured state of the revolutionary left in the United States (to the extent that a revolutionary left actually exists), and in many cases, the western world in general, it should come as no surprise there has been a proliferation of "Marxist" LARPers; self-proclaimed leftists who (literally) wave the red flag, and make numerous YouTube videos about how Stalin did nothing wrong, but are unable to engage in any meaningful way with workers in their own real world community. For "Marxists" like the aforementioned, Marxism is not a guide to action, but a means to gain an identity (and be an edgelord).<br />
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Other types of LARPers should be familiar to those who have spent any time on the left: Third Worldists like the Red Guards who publish incomprehensible screeds on how first world workers are parasites; Trots who show up at every vaguely progressive event selling newspapers; keyboard cult leaders with authoritarian fantasies who are obsessed with demanding ideological purity and absolute obedience; that one guy who goes everyone with a print-out portrait of Bashar Al-Assad pinned to his shirt, handing out fliers on why we need to "defend" the Taliban; third world petite-bourgeois students who love queer theory and chose kissing the ass of western academia over working with revolutionary movements in their home countries.<br />
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I could go on. Because of the modern capitalist state's extraordinary means and ability to coerce, co-opt, and outright repress any nascent revolutionary movement, we are all to some degree LARPers. This is as much a self-criticism as it is a criticism. It is difficult, if not impossible, to envision a socialist revolution in the west, let alone in the United States, without some kind of major outside support. But this is not an excuse to do nothing, and wallow in nihilism and cynicism. Any amount of education and engagement will help further our goals in the long run, even if immediate tangible results are minimal or non-existent. The following are some guidelines to help avoid the pitfalls of LARPing. Most of these are developed based on my own firsthand experiences and investigations, and should in no way be considered comprehensive or definitive.<br />
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<li>As the great African revolutionary <span class="st">Amílcar Cabral said, "Tell no lies, claim no easy victories." There is a tendency to get over-excited when discussing revolutionary theory and practice, and often it falls into the camp of romanticism. Building a viable revolutionary socialist party is hard work, and will not happen overnight. Potential comrades need to know from the start that victory is neither easy nor imminent; treating it as if it is will only attract flakes. Similarly, success must not be treated as a substitute for victory. For example, Socialist Alternative continued to trumpet Kshama Sawant's election to the Seattle city council as a major victory for socialism in the US, even though in the big picture, it meant very little, and the restraints of using bourgeois institutions as anything other than a bully pulpit emerged quickly. Instead of using her election to illustrate these points, they chose the easy way out of treating a small success as a major victory. To their credit, they have made progress in moving in the opposite direction; the SAlt website home page contains not a single article about Sawant.</span></li>
<li><span class="st">Drop the fixation on political correctness and crude identity politics. Sorry, but "queer liberation" is not the future, and attacking workers for using words like "faggot" isn't going to win you points. Political correctness is a product and tool of the ruling class. The overwhelming majority of workers don't have time to worry about if their language meets the standards of blue-haired campus activists. This is <i>not</i> to suggest that misogyny, homophobia, racism, and other reactionary behaviors should be ignored, but behaviors are different from words, and battles need to be picked carefully. Tone policing the single mother janitor who works all night for minimum wage isn't going to win you a comrade, but it may win you a kick in the ass.</span></li>
<li><span class="st">The Beatles may have been reactionary bourgeois popstars, but they were right when they said "If you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao/</span><span class="st"><span>You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow". Look at the Communist Party of Great Britain-Marxist-Leninist; all they do is show up at rallies with giant Stalin portraits and banners. Save the Stalin and Mao for the initiated. Most people don't care about the Moscow Trials or the Cultural Revolution. They care about making ends meet. By all means, once they've been won over to revolutionary socialism, break out the Little Red Book, but until then, engage with them on their terms, not your terms. When picking material for new recruits, go for the accessible and succinct; for example, Mandel's <i>An Introduction to Marxist Economic Theory</i> over the unabridged edition of <i>Capital</i>, or even short video lectures by David Harvey or Richard Wolff. Material that people can engage with when they have a few minutes of free time. There's a reason reformist organizations like the Democratic Socialists of America are growing while more theoretically robust Marxist-Leninist organizations are ossified and stagnating.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="st"><span>Have a sense of humor. Few things are more alienating than being overly serious and gloomy. There's a tendency among many leftists to look down on humor, and some of that ties in with the fixation on political correctness. Humor isn't politically correct; it's often crude and offensive, but it is an excellent way to present complex ideas in a way that is accessible and engaging (I can't keep emphasizing the need to be engaging enough, it's the foundation of both recruiting and keeping cadre).</span></span></li>
<li><span class="st"><span>Center women. And by women, I mean humans of the female sex (it's sad that needs to be said). Women are not just oppressed, but straight up exploited, and they bear the brunt of capitalism in a very thorough way. Many leftist organizations remain male dominated, using women as tokens, or as gophers. Denounce pornography and prostitution, and exercise vigilance against sexual harassment; transgressors should be dealt with firmly and swiftly. Since most women are mothers, and perform more labor outside their "official" jobs, there needs to be child care at events so that mothers who don't have the means to arrange it themselves aren't shut out from political activity.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="st"><span>Read as much material as possible. Having good practice requires good theory, and reading Wikipedia pages isn't enough. And don't limit yourself to just reading Marxist texts, read bourgeois theorists, too. Mao was an expert on all of the major classics of Chinese literature and philosophy; he was able to attack reactionary traditionalism in such a thorough and pointed manner, because he had researched what it was he was attacking. And remember Marx studied under Hegel, who considered the Prussian Catholic absolute monarchy as the ideal form of state. If this sounds like a defense of the well-rounded classical education, that's because it is.</span></span></li>
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<span class="st"><span>As I've already said, the above suggestions are not meant to be comprehensive or definitive, nor are they listed in any particular order. The main purpose of this piece is to be a conversation starter. If we have any hope of building a socialist future, we need to get serious about how we approach our own practice.</span></span>Zach Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12265742259720921802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1582941293789561102.post-1883013640307657372017-07-13T21:25:00.002-07:002017-07-13T21:31:33.959-07:00The Ayatollah in the Moon: On Class Power and Dynamics in Islamist Iran<!--[if !mso]>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
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mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiID8LyISzgq2LAoP78V93CLA64T8ca9UXgI98HMs1T57_CZbS-1xEWv1xF3z4MIuC3G5QRcHLEKkVl7kmgGEUbLbrrPxbPl7WsxW88f8ByofYBeKJ18r_M0kU9hmKtQVsKHx4p9JegPTwo/s1600/cache.php.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiID8LyISzgq2LAoP78V93CLA64T8ca9UXgI98HMs1T57_CZbS-1xEWv1xF3z4MIuC3G5QRcHLEKkVl7kmgGEUbLbrrPxbPl7WsxW88f8ByofYBeKJ18r_M0kU9hmKtQVsKHx4p9JegPTwo/s320/cache.php.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Iranian Revolution of 1979 was one of the great democratic
events of the twentieth century. In terms of numbers alone, it was one of the
largest revolutions in contemporary history, with about 10% of the population
taking place.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span></span></span>
It put to an end over 2500 years of monarchical rule, and promised the
establishment of a revolutionary democratic republic. But the subsequent
theocratic counterrevolution with its brutal repression, continues to mystify
many, including Iranians themselves. Much of this mystification is deliberate;
both the theocratic regime and the scions of American imperialist foreign
policy derive their legitimacy from the obfuscation of the revolution’s
origins, and the true nature of the regime in Tehran. Those overly focused on
the regime’s theocratic characteristic miss what it aims to conceal; the
brutally exploitative rule of the Iranian bourgeoisie. However, those on the
left who completely dismiss the theocratic element in favor of total class
reductionism are also missing the big picture. The Iranian bourgeoisie did not
“choose” theocracy on a whim; the establishment of the Islamist regime was the
result of Iran’s 20<sup>th</sup> century political and economic development. What
follows is an explanation of how the Iranian bourgeoisie arrived at this point,
as well as its contemporary internal divisions, and what these mean for the
future of the revolutionary left in the country.</div>
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The Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906 was one of the first
great revolutions of the twentieth century. At the time, the Iranian
bourgeoisie was weak, concentrated in the urban centers of the country, and
heavily dependent on the British Empire, which controlled Iran’s oil wealth,
and benefitted from unequal economic treaties. The majority of the country
remained under a moribund feudal rule, mired in corruption and poverty,
supporting a decadent aristocracy. During this period the first political
parties and societies were formed by the embryonic nationalist bourgeoisie,
which, taking inspiration from Europe, aimed to establish a constitutional and
democratic state, and liberation from foreign control over the economy. After
12,000 revolutionaries camped out in the gardens of the British Embassy,
Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar agreed to allow the election of a parliament.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span></span></span> This parliament, elected
by universal male suffrage, declared itself a constituent assembly, and
promulgated a constitution. But the death of the Shah the following year led to
an attempted counter-revolution by the nobility with British and Russian
backing, culminating in the shelling of the parliament in 1908 by the Russian
army. In 1909, the revolutionaries re-took Tehran and re-established the
constitution. </div>
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This first democratic period was undermined by chronic
instability, and the weakness of the national bourgeoisie. Iran remained under
the foot of British imperialism and the collaborationist bourgeoisie. Mirza
Kuchik Khan, a veteran of the 1906 revolution, launched a new uprising in 1914
centered in Gilan Province, which aimed at a complete overthrow of the
monarchy, and the establishment of a secular and democratic republic. Backed by
the Soviets, he established in 1920 the Persian Socialist Soviet Republic. But
Khan’s refusal to enact more radical reforms led to a split between his faction
and the Persian Communist Party. Despite this, the revolutionaries were
prepared to march on Tehran and solidify their rule.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span></span></span></div>
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Before we move on to the rule of Reza Pahlavi, it’s important
to note here the defining weakness of these early revolutionary movements. They
were not mass revolutionary movements. As already noted, Iran was still a
predominately feudal society. The bourgeois democratic revolution remained
impossible to complete in a society with such a small and fractured
bourgeoisie. And the proletariat, the class needed for the socialist
revolution, was even more barely existent. Furthermore, Iran was a highly
decentralized state, with a stratified peasantry. Any unity on that front would
have been difficult to achieve as well. </div>
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The British, frightened by the prospect of a socialist Iran,
convinced the leader of the Persian Cossack Brigade, Reza Pahlavi, to launch a
coup d’état, force the parliament to make him Prime Minister, and crush the
rebellion. Unable to overcome its internal divisions, the Republic’s forces
were crushed.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span></span></span>
Originally, Pahlavi had planned to establish a republic of his own, inspired by
the Turkish Republic of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. A coalition between the
Socialist Party and the Revival Party won the 1923 elections, with the
Socialist Party supporting Pahlavi’s republican program.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[5]</span></span></span></span> However, the clergy and
the British convinced him to drop his plans for a republic and to crown himself
Shah instead.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[6]</span></span></span></span>
The reality was that Reza Pahlavi was a political hack; the new face for the
continued rule of the comprador bourgeoisie. He had no real guiding program and
ideology aside from whatever best served his backers. The Socialist Party which
had initially supported him, moved into opposition and found itself smashed by
his newly-established police state. While not a fascist himself, he did take
some inspiration from Mussolini’s regime; aping his militarism, personality
cult, and single-party rule. Most of his rule rested on a vague program of
modernization, nationalism, and anti-clericalism. What Pahlavi did manage to
accomplish was the modernization and centralization of the Iranian state, and
with this, the emergence of the Iranian working class. But this centralization
also fueled emergent ethnic conflict, and state repression of national
minorities such as Kurds, Azeris, and Arabs intensified under the guise of
Iranian nationalism. His aggressive anti-clericalism also served to alienate
the conservative and devoutly religious peasantry, which, suffering under the
yolk of landlords and feudal remnants, found itself susceptible to nascent
religious fundamentalism. Furthermore, while the national bourgeoisie began to
increase in numbers and strength, the comprador bourgeoisie remained in
control.</div>
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During the 1930s, Pahlavi increasingly allied his regime with
Nazi Germany, and a German political and economic presence was cultivated in
the country. With the outbreak of World War II, Pahlavi remained neutral, but
continued friendly relations with Nazi Germany. The UK and the Soviet Union
looked upon this relationship with concern; at risk were Iran’s oil fields and
allied supply lines. Under the pretext of expelling German nationals from Iran,
the UK and Soviet Union invaded Iran and deposed Reza Shah. They placed on the
throne his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and ostensibly restored constitutional
democracy. The 1940s and early 1950s were marked by an increasing struggle
between the national and comprador bourgeoisie, and the rise of the communist
Tudeh Party. The conflict between the national and comprador bourgeoisie played
itself out in the electoral arena between the pro-British Prime Minister and the
independent nationalist Mohammad Mosaddegh. Around Mosaddegh convened a
coalition that would eventually become known as the National Front, the
political party of the national bourgeoisie; its inception was marked by the
unifying of the bourgeois democratic forces against ballot rigging and
electoral fraud committed by the comprador bourgeoisie. </div>
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The Tudeh, meanwhile, began to establish deep roots among urban
workers, and while it struggled to gain parliamentary representation, it was
able to effectively mobilize the working class. The Tudeh was a strong early
advocate of women’s rights, pushing for universal suffrage, increased social
rights, and paid maternity leave. Additionally, its armed wing, the Tudeh Party
Military Organization, which included military officers, struck fear into the
ruling classes, and after it attempted to assassinate Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in
1949, it was banned, and a widespread crackdown was launched against its
members.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[7]</span></span></span></span> Despite its ban, the Tudeh
continued to be a powerful force within Iranian society of the era. However,
the Tudeh found itself unable to put forward a cohesive and effective program. Its
one consistent goal was for the establishment of a republic, but it vacillated
between a liberal popular front strategy, including making overtures to
religious fundamentalists, and a more militant revolutionary strategy. </div>
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In 1952, the national bourgeoisie was catapulted to power when
the National Front won a landslide victory in elections. The National Front
appointed Mosaddegh as Prime Minister, and it appeared as if a new era of
democracy and prosperity were to be ushered in. Like his contemporaries Nehru
in India, and Nasser in Egypt, Mosaddegh was a staunch nationalist, who favored
a strong social democratic economy, secularism, and anti-imperialism. His
defining policy, and the one that ultimately drove him into direct
confrontation with the forces of imperialism was his nationalization of Iran’s
oil industry. Unlike these other rising nationalists throughout the third
world, Mosaddegh was never able to secure the support of a solid base. The
comprador bourgeoisie resented him, as did much of the royal and military
establishment. Though Mosaddegh was able to convince the parliament to grant
him emergency powers to carry out land reform, curbing the power of the
monarchy, and bringing the military under the control of the elected
government, he was both unwilling and unable to go all the way and smash the comprador
bourgeoisie and the monarchy.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[8]</span></span></span></span> What was needed was the
culmination of the national democratic revolution that had begun in 1906. And one
of the key players in making this happen was the Tudeh. The Tudeh, however,
never took a firm stance in support or against Mosaddegh; sometimes denouncing
him as an agent of imperialism, and at other times providing him with crucial
support. Though their armed wing had suppressed an attempted military coup
against Mosaddegh, he forcefully suppressed a TPMO demonstration demanding he
finally oust the Shah and declare a democratic republic. In response, the Tudeh
dissolved the TPMO; the next day Mosaddegh was overthrown in the British and
CIA-backed coup.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[9]</span></span></span></span>
With the return to power of the Shah, the national democratic bourgeoisie and
the Tudeh were thoroughly repressed, and Iran became a vassal of the United
States, a pawn of Cold War American imperialism.</div>
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What damned Mosaddegh and the Tudeh was the inability of both
to take the decisive steps necessary to secure the completion of the democratic
revolution. The Tudeh alone was not strong enough to take power and establish socialism
in Iran, but at the same time that was not even part of its program. It adhered
to the “Stalinist” conception of two-stage revolution, and was therefore unable
to create a program that could bridge its demands for democratic reform to the
ultimate goal of socialist revolution. Additionally, it denounced Mosaddegh
when it should have thrown its full support behind him until the democratic revolution
had been fully consolidated. Mosaddegh, on the other hand, as already stated,
was too much in thrall of parliamentary procedure and the formalities of
liberal democracy. He had the mass support of the Iranian people, and significant
factions of the military; to complete the revolution, he should have used his
emergency powers to suspend the 1906 constitution, dissolve parliament, oust
the monarchy, and establish a republic. Mosaddegh, the committed democrat,
needed to become a dictator, at least temporarily, in order to defend
democracy. This he did not do. What defined this era of Iranian politics was a
lack of decisiveness on the part of the revolutionary and democratic forces; the
forces of reaction were able to seize upon this infighting and take the
decisive step their enemies were unwilling to.</div>
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The Shah’s dictatorship that followed the overthrow of
Mosaddegh was surely one of the most corrupt, incompetent, and brutally repressive
of the twentieth century. Totally dependent on the United States and the CIA,
the Shah looked down upon the Iranian people with nothing but contempt. Though
he tried to present himself as a modernist and a nationalist, the people were
not fooled. When confronted about this contradiction in 1961, he said “When
Iranians learn to behave like Swedes, I will behave like the King of Sweden.”<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[10]</span></span></span></span> In 1976, Amnesty
International said of the Shah’s Iran that it “highest rate of death penalties
in the world, no valid system of civilian courts and a history of torture which
is beyond belief. No country in the world has a worse record in human rights
than Iran.”<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[11]</span></span></span></span>
His “White Revolution”, a massive plan of modernization was a disaster; seeking
to create a new base among the peasantry by breaking the power of the old feudal
landlords, he enacted sweeping land reform. Instead of winning him support,
this land reform created a mass of impoverished peasants and landless vagabond
workers, unable to secure a livelihood for themselves.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[12]</span></span></span></span> These peasants, devoutly
religious and conservative, continued to resent the attacks upon the religious
establishment and were increasingly becoming radicalized; they loathed the rule
of the corrupt and decadent comprador bourgeoisie. Lacking class consciousness,
and the ability to understand their desperate situation, these peasants continued
to be drawn to the flame of religious fundamentalism, thirsty for justice
against the secular establishment they perceived as being responsible for their
miseries.</div>
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Opposition to the Shah’s rule was diverse, ranging from the old
National Front to the liberal Islamist Freedom Party to the underground Tudeh.
But three new forces emerged in the 1960s that would be decisive players in the
coming revolution. The first were the Organization of Iranian People’s Fedai,
which launched a guerrilla war against the Shah’s regime. Led by the Marxist
revolutionary Bijan Jazani, the Fedai opposed the moribund policies of the
Tudeh, rebuking it for failing to ally with Mosaddegh, and toadying whatever
the current Moscow line was. The Fedai believed that the Iranian people had to
be stirred out of their traditional attitude of passivity, and to this end it
conducted armed attacks upon military and police targets, with the goal of rousing
the people to their feet. It was also against the Tudeh’s passive policy of
survival and reformism, openly calling for a socialist revolution and the
establishment of a workers’ democracy.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[13]</span></span></span></span> The second force was the
People’s Mujahedin of Iran, led by Massoud Rajavi. Inspired by the “red Shiism”
of philosopher Ali Shariati (think an Islamic variety of liberation theology),
they preached Islamic socialism and democratic revolution. The Mujahedin allied
themselves with the Fedai, fighting alongside them in the guerrilla and
propaganda war against the regime. However, the Mujahedin soon split between
its Islamic socialist wing and its Marxist wing, which later became the Maoist
party Peykar (League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class).
The third force was that of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Contrary to apologist
accounts which present Khomeini as a democrat turned tyrant, he never hid his
theocratic ambitions. For Khomeini, the Shah’s sins were his westernization and
secularism. One of the key points of the White Revolution was that it allowed
non-Muslims to hold public office. Khomeini denounced it as an “attack on Islam”,
and openly denounced the Shah. After his arrest, riots broke out in support of
him. From exile in Paris, Khomeini continued to agitate against the Shah, but
in order to broaden his base, he made overtures to leftists and liberals.</div>
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The Iranian Revolution smashed the comprador bourgeoisie.
During and after the overthrow of the Shah, revolutionary workers’ councils
were established.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[14]</span></span></span></span> It appeared as if Iran
were heading towards a situation of dual power, and socialist revolution. But
there was to be no Iranian October. Khomeini, upon his return from France,
proved himself to be a master political manipulator; his anti-imperialist and
anti-capitalist overtures won support from much of the left, including the Tudeh
and elements of the Fedai. The Mujahedin, Peykar, and the Kurdish communist
parties opposed his establishment of the Islamic Republic, but the lack of
leftist unity doomed them to defeat. Initially, Khomeini respected the norms of
liberal democracy; free and fair parliamentary and presidential elections were
held in 1980. His Islamic Republican Party won a majority, but faced a
significant parliamentary opposition. Additionally, the president, Abolhassan
Banisadr, was a veteran human rights activist and democrat, and was opposed to
Khomeini’s moves towards a more religiously conservative system. The battle
lines were drawn in preparation for an ultimate confrontation.</div>
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With the comprador modernist bourgeoisie smashed, and the
revolutionary situation in flux, the national bourgeoisie found itself unable
to directly rule on its own. If the left were not smashed, eventually it would
regroup and finish the revolution. It is for this reason that the bourgeoisie
threw in its lot with Khomeini. Any move towards a genuine democratic system
would have resulted in a victory for the forces of the revolutionary left. In
classic Bonapartist fashion, Khomeini declared himself above class interest,
claiming to represent divine rule. Khomeini was a master politician and
propagandist. The IRP made strong overtures to the workers’ movement, declaring
in propaganda posters that “Islam is the only supporter of the worker”<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[15]</span></span></span></span>, and organizing massive
May Day rallies. That other classic repository of reaction, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lumpenproletariat, </i>also mobilized itself
in support of Khomeini; eager for wealth and power they formed the nucleus of
his Revolutionary Guard. The conservative peasantry finally got its revenge,
too. If the revolution was an urban affair, the counter-revolution was a rural
one. These desperate peasants, uneducated, illiterate, lacking class
consciousness, saw in Khomeini their savior who would deliver divine justice on
earth. At the height of the “revolutionary” religious fervor, Khomeini’s
supporters claimed to see his image in the moon. When Khomeini staged his coup
in 1981, ousting Banisadr, and banning all parties except for the IRP, the left
was mowed down by this coalition of reaction.</div>
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But the bourgeoisie, through its mullah interlocutors, didn’t
stop there. The invasion of Iran by Iraq served as both a rallying point and a
distraction. In order to hold on to power, the regime refused Saddam Hussein’s
initial peace offer, dragging the war out for almost the rest of the 1980s. One
of the most insidious crimes committed against the Iranian people was the
massive use by the regime of child soldiers, drawn from poor and working class
families, and tossed out onto the front lines. Kids as young as twelve, wearing
the “keys to paradise”, were sent into combat or used as minesweepers. It is
estimated that up to 100,000 child soldiers participated in the war, and their
deaths accounted for about 3% of the overall casualties.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[16]</span></span></span></span> What can this be called
other than a form of class genocide? The ruling class will sink to any barbaric
low to secure its rule, including sacrificing the most vulnerable members of
society.</div>
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The degradation of women is one of the most notorious aspects
of the counter-revolution. Iranian women had played a key role in the
revolution, and the left had strongly supported women’s liberation. The ruling
class, to re-establish its control over the means of reproduction, stripped
women of their social rights, and threw them back into the home. Recently,
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei denounced gender equality as a western and Zionist
plot to undermine Islam, but let slip the true motivations behind the
repression of women; to ensure their continued role as housewives and mothers.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[17]</span></span></span></span> In the eyes of the
capitalists, women are nothing more than machines for producing new workers.
The restrictions on travel, employment, and education levied upon Iranian women
come from the same place that any restrictions and repression against women
come from; to ensure their continued reproductive exploitation. The imperialist
“human rights activists” miss this point; then again, imperialism only supports
women when they can be of use to its objectives.</div>
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Islamism was also used as the pretext to continue the repression
of ethnic minorities; in particular the Kurds and the Arabs. Iranian Kurdistan
has long been one of the centers of revolutionary socialism in Iran, and was
one of the main sites of armed resistance to the Islamic Republic in the years
after the revolution. To this day, a leftist insurgency continues there. In the
case of the Arabs of Khuzestan, their repression is more economic; Khuzestan
Province is one of Iran’s biggest oil-producing regions. Yet it remains
impoverished, underdeveloped, and tribal. Paranoid about separatism, the regime
keeps the Arab workers oppressed under the triple yolk of nationalist
chauvinism, theocracy, and capitalism.</div>
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Despite the regime’s anti-capitalist and “revolutionary”
rhetoric, Iran remains a capitalist state. The Islamic Republican Party was
polarized throughout the 1980s between the “left-wing” faction of Prime
Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi, and the pro-capitalist free market faction of
then-President Khamenei. With the end of the war, the bourgeoisie was finally
able to cement its control by 1) the mass execution of Iranian leftists in
1988, and 2) the dissolution of the IRP, and the expulsion of the Mousavi
faction from the government. With the election of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as
President in 1989, neoliberal and free market “reforms” were introduced.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[18]</span></span></span></span> These policies continued
under his successor, Mohammad Khatami. That the west sees Rafsanjani and
Khatami as “reformers” it is because of their economic policies that favored the
market and some level of foreign investment. What separates the Islamic
Republic from previous regimes, though, is that it represents the national
bourgeoisie; Iranian capitalism is a capitalism that benefits Iranian
capitalists, not imperialist capitalists. The opposition of the United States
to the Islamic Republic, and the years it spent decrying and sanctioning Iran
over its alleged nuclear weapons program is a front for the real desire of the
forces of capitalist imperialism; the regaining of supremacy over Iran’s
resources and economy that it lost in 1979.</div>
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The presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad marked a turning point in
the Islamic Republic, because it brought to power that section of the national
bourgeoisie that had come of age in the early years of the Islamic Republic,
and owed its success to the regime, but was also resentful of the regime. Ahmadinejad
was in frequent confrontation with the clerical leadership, and sought to
increase the powers of the elected government, especially the presidency, at
the expense of the clergy. His vice president, Esfandir Rahim Mashaei even
publicly stated that the era of Islamism in Iran was over.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[19]</span></span></span></span> This section of the
national bourgeoisie that supported Ahmadinejad also promoted Iranian
nationalism over Islamism, countering the propaganda spread by the clergy that
Iran’s cultural heritage is one of Satanic decadence. But why then did the
establishment support Ahmadinejad to the point that it rigged the 2009
elections against Mousavi? After two decades in the political wilderness,
Mousavi re-emerged, and turned against the Islamic Republic he had helped to
create. His 2009 platform was a call for sweeping political and economic
reform; the restoration of full political democracy, the dissolution of the “morality
police”, the removal of discriminatory laws against women, social democratic
economic policies including strengthening the welfare state, and a thorough
revision of the constitution. Of course we should not see his newfound love of
democracy and social equality as indicative of any kind of true ideological
conversion, but rather as an expression of opportunism. But it was more than
reformist enough to scare the conservative bourgeoisie. The mass protests that
followed, which culminated in calls for an end to the Islamic Republic were the
closest Iran has come to a revolutionary scenario since 1979. That the
Ahmadinejad camp allied with its clerical rivals should not be seen as a sign
that they are somehow Islamists, but rather as an expression of the class
dynamics at play in contemporary Iran. The alliance was a temporary one to
stave off the formation of a more left-leaning government.</div>
<div class="Style2">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style2">
The election of Hassan Rouhani in 2013 marked the return of
power to the Islamic capitalist camp. With the conclusion of the nuclear deal,
and the opening of foreign investment in Iran, attacks on the Iranian working
class and leftist opposition have intensified. Minimum wage increases are no
longer being chained to inflation as mandated by Iranian law<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[20]</span></span></span></span>, and leftist labor organizers
are facing increased repression, including two of Iran’s most prominent labor
activists Jafar Azimzadeh and Shapour Ehsani-Rad. Teacher’s union leader Esmail
Abadi was also sentenced to six-years in prison, and several of the union’s members
have fled into exile.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[21]</span></span></span></span> Under Rouhani, executions
of political prisoners continue to increase as well. Aside from American
neocons, who still froth at the mouth demanding regime change, the rest of the
western capitalist class has gone silent over Iran now that they’re free to do
business again. This only serves to show that the “concern” expressed over
human rights by imperialist states are nothing more than crocodile tears.</div>
<div class="Style2">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style2">
Finally, then, what is the future of Iran and the Iranian left?
For the former, there are two scenarios. The first is that having secured its
rule, the Iranian bourgeoisie finally consents to a democratic transition,
similar to what happened in Spain after the death of Franco. The second is
another revolution. What is inevitable is that the Islamic Republic’s days are
numbered. It has fulfilled its purpose; soon the Iranian bourgeoisie can rule
openly, without the need to hide beneath turbans. The Iranian left sadly
remains fractured. Until the mid-2000s, the Worker-communist Party of Iran
dominated the underground left, but after the death of its founder Mansoor
Hekmat in 2002, it fractured, and the resulting organizations spend almost as
much time attacking one another as they do the regime. What is desperately
needed is a united front of all of the leftist organizations and labor unions.
Such a united front would need a flexible program, able to respond to the
immediate conditions of Iranian society. In all cases, it would need to be able
to mobilize the masses, and be prepared to seize power when the opportunity
presents itself. Unlike the liberals and reformists, the left needs to unite
the struggle for socialism with the struggle against theocracy and the struggle
for democracy. The demands for political freedom, women’s liberation, minority
rights, and economic justice are inseparable. Additionally, the Iranian left
needs solidarity from the global communist movement. Fearful of aligning with
imperialism, many leftists shy away from criticism of the Islamic Republic, or
engage in bizarre apologetics. One bizarre article by Andre Vltchek even
declares Iran an “Islamic socialist” state!<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[22]</span></span></span></span> Iran is a country with a
rich revolutionary tradition; we must have confidence that our Iranian comrades
will be victorious in the end.</div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Rosenfeld,
Everett (28 June 2011). "Muharram Protests in Iran, 1978". Time. Time
Inc. Retrieved 7 May 2015.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span class="reference-text">Abrahamian, Ervand, <i>Iran Between Two Revolutions</i> by
Ervand Abrahamian, Princeton University Press, 1982, p.84</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
[3] <span class="reference-text"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Abrahamian,
Ervand, <i>Iran Between Two Revolutions</i> by Ervand Abrahamian, Princeton
University Press, 1982, p.116-7.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span class="reference-text">Makki Hossein, <i>The History of Twenty Years</i>, Vol.2, <i>Preparations
For Change of Monarchy</i> (Mohammad-Ali Elmi Press, 1945), pp. 87–90, 358–451.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
[5] <span class="reference-text"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Abrahamian,
Ervand, <i>Iran Between Two Revolutions</i> by Ervand Abrahamian, Princeton
University Press, 1982, p.132.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[6]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <cite>Glenn E.
Curtis, Eric Hooglund (2008). "Iran: A Country Study". Government
Printing Office. p. 27.</cite></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[7]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span class="reference-text">Abrahamian, <i>Tortured Confessions,</i> (1999) p.84</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[8]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span class="reference-text">Abrahamian (1982), p. 268–70.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[9]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span class="reference-text">Behrooz writing in <i>Mohammad Mosaddeq and the 1953 Coup
in Iran</i>, Edited by Mark j. Gasiorowski and Malcolm Byrne, Syracuse
University Press, 2004, p.121</span></span></div>
</div>
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<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[10]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span class="reference-text">America's Mission: The United States and the Worldwide
Struggle for Democracy in the Twentieth Century. Tony Smith. Princeton
Princeton University Press: p. 255</span></span></div>
</div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[11]</span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Blum, William. "Chapter 9: Iran
- 1953: Making It Safe for the King of Kings." <i>Killing Hope: US Military
and CIA Interventions since World War II</i>. London: Zed, 2014. N. pag. Print.</span></div>
</div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[12]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <span class="reference-text">Abrahamian 2008, pp. 139–140</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn13" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
[13] <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Greene, Doug Enaa. "Devotion
and Resistance: Bizhan Jazani and the Iranian Fedaii | Links International
Journal of Socialist Renewal." <i>Links</i>. Links International Journal
of Socialist Renewal's Vision, 30 Apr. 2015. Web. 13 July 2017.</span></div>
</div>
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[14] <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Saber, Mostafa. "The Working
Class in Iran: Some Background - Class Struggles from 1979-1989 - Mostafa
Saber." <i>Libcom.org</i>. N.p., 1990. Web. 13 July 2017.</span></div>
</div>
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[15]<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8EJ4Zj0bbqK0WbVQCoM7DeQ2Dfccsa9OPNR249HArcWk2mg_ZD1UUO7QIvy4CrcHA1d7xfoIWtAanlVB8O7sygR5kUpY136IM3Z3AOqiWW4b8o16Ki1nYFhMxFtNbTXLTN_Dh_3SO_WQZ/s1600/meposters-0002-024-768x1078.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="301" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8EJ4Zj0bbqK0WbVQCoM7DeQ2Dfccsa9OPNR249HArcWk2mg_ZD1UUO7QIvy4CrcHA1d7xfoIWtAanlVB8O7sygR5kUpY136IM3Z3AOqiWW4b8o16Ki1nYFhMxFtNbTXLTN_Dh_3SO_WQZ/s320/meposters-0002-024-768x1078.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[16]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Schmitz, Cathryne
L.; Traver, Elizabeth KimJin; Larson, Desi, eds. (2004). Child Labor: A Global
View. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 120. ISBN 0313322775.</span></div>
</div>
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[17] <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Dearden, Lizzie. "Iran's
Supreme Leader Claims Gender Equality Is 'Zionist Plot' Aiming to Corrupt Role
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<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[18]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Anoushiravan Enteshami
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</div>
Zach Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12265742259720921802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1582941293789561102.post-44850124805312575722017-07-07T06:32:00.000-07:002017-07-07T06:32:48.047-07:00Misogyny is Revisionism Part 3: In Defense of Feminism<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyuAGJL270AcQ9iC7CpcQ6r8xL7Lc1z2hZV6Oc6NuSWiJKM8QaPowWpZAbhdyveS3wsxxakQEhAlY2OKYSe76YMI4slGN5pbjFK4Vzm3E1A-izyUDfDXg4cf1iv4xmY2vhSBTg-TL3YJ1w/s1600/Frauentag_1914_Heraus_mit_dem_Frauenwahlrecht2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="1439" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyuAGJL270AcQ9iC7CpcQ6r8xL7Lc1z2hZV6Oc6NuSWiJKM8QaPowWpZAbhdyveS3wsxxakQEhAlY2OKYSe76YMI4slGN5pbjFK4Vzm3E1A-izyUDfDXg4cf1iv4xmY2vhSBTg-TL3YJ1w/s320/Frauentag_1914_Heraus_mit_dem_Frauenwahlrecht2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="Style2">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style2">
Feminism has become the staple bête noire for many on the left
today. It has become fashionable for many self-proclaimed communists to
denounce feminism as either bourgeois, a form of identity politics, or both.
Many of these assertions rest on deliberate misreadings of the giants of Marxist
feminism, as well as more superficial semantic arguments. And no more strain of
feminism is more thoroughly thrashed and maligned by the so-called “woke” left
than radical feminism, which is denounced on the above assertions to an even
more vicious and ridiculous degree. The reality is that feminism is not only
compatible with Marxism, but is indispensable to Marxism. Without the
liberation of women, there can be no successful socialist revolution. Lenin
famously stated that “There cannot be, nor is there nor will there ever be real
‘freedom’ as long as there is no freedom for women from the privileges which
the law grants to men, as long as there is no freedom for the workers from the
yoke of capital, and no freedom for the toiling peasants from the yoke of the
capitalists, landlords and merchants.”<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span> But for the crude class
reductionists who worship at the altar of workerism this point falls on
intentionally deaf ears. While the first two parts in this series were more
theory-focused, this final chapter is more polemical than theoretical, aiming
to re-affirm the indispensability of feminism to the revolutionary socialist
project.</div>
<div class="Style2">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style2">
The claim that feminism is bourgeois was first popularized by
the International Communist League, more popularly known as the Spartacist
League, famous for their “revolutionary” defense of rapist filmmaker Roman
Polanski, and the sex club NAMBLA.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span> The equally noxious
Socialist Equality Party, also famous for its defense of rapists, as well as
snitch-jacketing against “Stalinist spies”, similarly denounce feminism as
bourgeois. Both organizations claim they support not feminism, but “women’s
liberation”. While these two sects are not very influential in of themselves on
the left as a whole, their anti-feminist, pro-“women’s liberation” line has
been picked up by many so-called leftists, mostly men. To justify these
positions, Alexandra Kollontai’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Social Basis of the Woman Question </i>is cited, but what these arguments miss
is that Kollontai was not denouncing feminism as a whole, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bourgeois</i> feminism. Kollontai, along
with her contemporaries Rosa Luxemburg and Clara Zetkin, pushed for the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">radicalization and evolution </i>of
feminism; just as communism represented the culmination of Enlightenment
radicalism, they sought to create a feminism that would represent the
ideological pinnacle of the struggle for women’s liberation, as well as a guide
to action for working class women. What these revolutionary women made
recognized was that while there are issues that unite <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all </i>women, cross-class collaborationism will ultimately hurt the
feminist cause, not advance it, because the bourgeois feminists will ultimately
side with their economic class. This is very different from a totalistic
denunciation of feminism as an ideology. All this talk of “women’s liberation
not feminism” is just semantic obfuscation; what it really does is disguise the
discomfort many leftist men feel surrounding a revolutionary movement
exclusively for women. These revolutionary women did not theorize, organize,
and agitate to make men feel more comfortable, but liberate international
proletariat, especially the working women of the world. </div>
<div class="Style2">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style2">
The other charge that feminism is a form of identity politics
is another example of this kind of disingenuous semantic and ideological
obfuscation. As discussed in the first part of this series, woman is not an
identity, but a material state of being. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State</i>, Engels explained how
the advent of private property and its concentration in male hands, led to the
domination of women by men for the purpose of exploiting their reproductive
labor so that property could be passed down from the father to the son.
Patriarchy and class exist in a symbiosis with one another, the one impossible
without the other. And capitalism, despite allowing women to make some gains,
still needs to maintain control of women’s reproductive labor to ensure the
continuation of the proletarian class. Patriarchy also serves the function of
giving working class men an “outlet” for their aggression; rather than
directing their rage at the system that exploits them, they are encouraged to
direct their rage at women. But again, this is not because woman is an
“identity”. A large part of this rage men direct at women is sexual
exploitation; prostitution, pornography, sexual slavery. (See Part 2 for a more
detailed exploration of the sexual exploitation of women by patriarchy and
capitalism.) Female biology, the state of being female, and of having a female
body is inseparable from this oppression and exploitation. Thomas Sankara said
of this double oppression of women:</div>
<div class="Style2">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style2">
“Women’s fate is bound up with that of an exploited male.
However, this solidarity must not blind us in looking at the specific situation
faced by womenfolk in our society. It is true that the woman worker and simple
man are exploited economically, but the worker wife is also condemned further
to silence by her worker husband. This is the same method used by men to
dominate other men! The idea was crafted that certain men, by virtue of their
family origin and birth, or by ‘divine rights’, were superior to others.”<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="Style2">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style2">
Being born female is a life sentence to, at “best”, second
class citizenship, and, at worst, a life full of the worst kind of slavery and
exploitation. Women make up not a class, but a caste; it is possible to move
out of the class one belongs to, but caste is something one is born into and
can never escape. Feminism aims at the emancipation of the female caste; it is
not some kind of abstract identitarian movement. We must ask, would those who
denounce feminism as identity politics also say the same thing about black
liberation, or national liberation movements? Certainly some will, but one has
to suspect these would be a minority. If anything, the cult of the ideal
“worker” worshipped by the class reductionist left is an example of actual
identity politics, the way it fetishizes and elevates a kind of archetypal
industrial worker as being the symbol of the working class. This kind of crude
class reductionism poses a far greater danger to the left than feminism ever
can, even if feminism were an example of “identity politics”. Again, these
denunciations serve more to conceal the discomfort of leftist men than anything
else. Working class men, and leftist men are still men, and unless they
actively combat patriarchal-capitalist socialization, they are going to be
doing more to support the status quo than the revolution. If solidarity with
working class women cannot persuade them to support the feminist movement, then
perhaps they ought to support it as it is ultimately in their interest to do
so. Like the racist white worker who thinks himself superior to his black
comrade, capitalism will not hesitate to sacrifice the chauvinist male worker on
the pyre of profit and accumulation.</div>
<div class="Style2">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style2">
Leftist anti-feminism has really reached its peak in recent
years with the rabid attacks on radical feminism and radical feminists. All the
crass arguments hurled against feminism are also hurled against radical
feminism, but the vitriol is taken to a whole higher level of viciousness.
There are also other accusations reserved just for attacking radical feminism
besides the usual ones; that radical feminism is elitist, white supremacist, “transphobic”,
moralist, “whorephobic”, and even fascist! Again, these arguments show a
shocking level of ignorance when it comes to history and theory. Like the
Marxist feminists of the earlier twentieth century, radical feminism emerged
not as an anti-leftist movement, but as a movement to push the left to its
highest level of theoretical and revolutionary potential. Carol Hanisch, the
radical feminist who, among other things, coined the phrase “the personal is
political”, and organized the 1968 Miss America protests, said in a speech that
the radical feminist movement she helped to found and develop was inspired by
Mao and the Cultural Revolution. In the same speech, she said:</div>
<div class="Style2">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style2">
“To me the Cultural Revolution seems a continuation of the
Revolution: a means to make it go deeper so that it didn’t get caught in the
bureaucracy and complacency that sets in once power is won militarily and a new
group of people—including opportunists in the revolutionary movement
itself—have a stake in creating the new status quo. It’s a continuation of the
process by which the masses of working people, including women and minorities,
take total political, economic and social power. It’s the next step to
achieving real communism; that is, a society completely devoid of class, including
that of sex and race. We considered sexism and racism more than just a
tradition of behavior or a bad or ignorant habit. Being materialists (in the
Marxist sense), we asked, ‘Who benefits?’”<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="Style2">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style2">
Other radical feminists like Shulamith Firestone and Andrea
Dworkin sought to apply dialectical materialism exclusively to understanding
the oppression and exploitation faced by women. Rather than giving into
“biological determinism”, or “sexual fascism”, as their critics claimed, and
still claim, they built upon the work of Engels, Kollontai, and others and
deepened it; their analyses did for patriarchy what Marx did for capitalism. We
owe much of the newfound understanding of pre-patriarchal human society, and
“lost” women’s history to their diligent analysis and research. The radical
feminist frustration with much of the left was not, and should not be
considered an expression of anti-leftist sentiment, but understood for what it
really was, a deep-seated frustration with the chauvinism and entitlement
exhibited by many male leftists, as well as the domination of leftist groups by
these men, and the way women in these groups were very often silenced and
abused (something that still happens today, as shown by the rape “scandals” in
the UK Socialist Workers Party, and in the Australian section of the Committee
for a Workers’ International). And just like Marx is constantly subjected to
ridiculous attacks by people who have never read him, so are the radical
feminists (the erroneous claim that Dworkin said “all sex is rape” is one of
the most popular of these distortions). Except radical feminists are not just
being attacked by the right, the way Marx is, but also by the left. What it
really shows is that the more direct an attack on existing power structures is,
the more wildly insane and savage the counter-attack.</div>
<div class="Style2">
<br /></div>
<div class="Style2">
At the end of the day, anti-feminist “leftists” simply betray
an utter lack of understanding of both revolutionary socialist theory and
practice. Every revolutionary socialist has recognized that for the revolution
to succeed, women need to be mass mobilized; even after the socialist republic
has been established, this mobilization must continue and deepen for socialism
to take root and flourish. Women are more than decoration for the socialist revolution,
they must be active participants in every aspect of building the socialist
society. Mao and Castro were especially astute at recognizing this; both China
(at least until the Dengist era) and Cuba have been active proponents of
women’s liberation in all spheres of society. Marx himself said, “Anybody who
knows anything of history knows that great social changes are impossible
without the feminine ferment. Social progress can be measured exactly by the
social position of the fair sex…”<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span> This statement can and
should also be applied to socialist organizations; the most effective socialist
groups are the ones in which women are not just active at every level, but
equal and valued contributors to the organization’s development and practice.
Those “socialists” who disregard, undervalue, or outright reject feminism do so
at their own peril.</div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lenin, VI. "Soviet Power and
the Status of Women." <i>Marxist Internet Archive</i>. Marxist Internet Archive,
2002. Web. 06 July 2017.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Feminism vs. Marxism: Origins
of the Conflict." <i>International Communist League (Fourth International)</i>.
Women and Revolution, 10 June 2011. Web. 06 July 2017. The "Spart's"
key anti-feminist manifesto.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sankara, Thomas. "7 Thomas
Sankara Quotes about Women." <i>MsAfropolitan</i>. N.p., 25 Nov. 2011.
Web. 06 July 2017.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hanisch, Carol. "Impact of the Chinese Cultural
Revolution on the Women's Liberation Movement." <i>Carolhanisch.org</i>.
Carol Hanisch, 1996. Web. 06 July 2017.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <strong>Marx:
Letters to Dr Kugelmann</strong>, Marxist Lib. 17 (NY, International Pub.,
1934), letter of December 12, 1868, p.83.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
Zach Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12265742259720921802noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1582941293789561102.post-47386953651069343152017-07-03T09:33:00.000-07:002017-07-03T09:34:20.473-07:00Misogyny is Revisionism Part 2: The Masque of the "Red" Pimp<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjr7gCVabjQfJsHSDDr7oRVW1zZ9lHtLrQQ-WVjRLvA2X1osC9EzoWe4B_Nm5rNQCsQ_Fymu84ZsKfuE_R1_jGw-D6PbDMafl91cyODoGNxkiRxUzRR7LG8LmIGSVmVG4Yd853HNbPt9s/s1600/1+D2Ox6SAnNbShn_-FDabjMA.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1165" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjr7gCVabjQfJsHSDDr7oRVW1zZ9lHtLrQQ-WVjRLvA2X1osC9EzoWe4B_Nm5rNQCsQ_Fymu84ZsKfuE_R1_jGw-D6PbDMafl91cyODoGNxkiRxUzRR7LG8LmIGSVmVG4Yd853HNbPt9s/s320/1+D2Ox6SAnNbShn_-FDabjMA.jpeg" width="219" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soviet anti-prostitution poster: “After the destruction of
capitalism — the proletariat will abolish prostitution — the great
scourge of humanity!”</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--figure" id="8895" name="8895">
In the first part
of this series, we deconstructed the notion that “transwomen are women”
from a Marxist perspective. In that piece I said that notion is perhaps
the most destructive facing the left today, but I’m going to have to
reconsider that assertion as we tackle the next
anti-feminist/anti-Marxist “big lie” facing the left today, the notion
that “sex work is work”. Marxism has always recognized prostitution as
one of the vilest forms of exploitation; every major Marxist
revolutionary has condemned it in unequivocal terms. <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">The Communist Manifesto </i>openly proclaims that the socialist revolution will do away with “prostitution both public and private.”[1]
In her first major work, Nadezhda Krupskaya, described how
revolutionary workers, during one night of major labor strikes, also
directed their rage at the brothels, destroying eleven of them in a
single night.[2]
And, yet, despite this damning and overwhelming Marxist condemnation of
prostitution, the left has started to drink the “sex-work” Kool-Aid.
This ranges from assertions that prostitution (and pornography, which is
just filmed prostitution) is just a job like any other to outright
proclaiming it liberating for women, a strike against bourgeois
moralism! Pimps have become re-cast as “managers”, and johns as
“clients”. Some so-called “Marxists” have even come out in support of
collectivized brothels under socialism! Unsurprisingly, most of these
declamations are being made by men who, distraught that the revolution
wants to take away “their porn” and “their women”, are now trying to
have their cake and eat it too by twisting the Marxist notion of free
love and the Marxist attacks on bourgeois morality to suit their own
exploitative ends. In this they are assisted by the “PhD Prostitutes”,
well-off bourgeois women, often holding advanced degrees, who engage in
prostitution as a lifestyle “choice”. Joseph Goebbels would be proud.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--figure" id="8895" name="8895">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="eebb" name="eebb">
But
for now, we will leave these reactionary elements to stew where they
are. First, it is incumbent to debunk the central assertion behind all
of this, that “sex work is work”. To tear this apart, we need to first
answer the question, what is labor? In his first major published work, <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">The German Ideology</i>, Marx defines labor as such:</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="eebb" name="eebb">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote graf-after--p" id="7e7f" name="7e7f">
“The
first premise of all human existence and, therefore, of all history,
[is that humans] must be in a position to live in order to be able to
‘make history’. But life involves before everything else eating and
drinking, a habitation, clothing and many other things. The first
historical act is thus the production of the means to satisfy these
needs, the production of material life itself. And indeed this is an
historical act, a fundamental condition of all history, which today, as
thousands of years ago, must daily and hourly be fulfilled merely in
order to sustain human life.”[3]</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote graf-after--p" id="7e7f" name="7e7f">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="2336" name="2336">
To put it in more succinct terms, labor is the process by which human beings create, and facilitate the use, of products of <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">social value</i>.
Does the act of sexual intercourse in of itself have social value? Does
pornographic material have social value? The answer is no. Sexual
intercourse is not a fundamental human need in the way food, water,
clothing, and shelter are. Nor does intercourse in of itself help us
interpret and understand the world in the way that science and art do.
Intercourse does take on social value when its purpose is reproduction,
in that case it becomes reproductive labor. It also holds social value
when it becomes a means of interpersonal communication, such as
intercourse between lovers, but that is not necessarily labor as it does
not produce anything of wider use for a community. In <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">Prostitution and Ways of Fighting It</i>,
Alexandra Kollontai said, “prostitutes are all those who avoid the
necessity of working by giving themselves to a man, either on a
temporary basis or for life.”[4]
She is clearly separating it from labor, rather defining it as the last
act of the most desperate and rejected members of society. What does
prostitution create, then? It creates, and increases, alienation and
exploitation of the worst kind. Kollontai also railed against
prostitution because it “threatens the feeling of solidarity and
comradeship between working men and women, the members of the workers’
republic. And this feeling is the foundation and the basis of the
communist society we are building and making a reality.”[5]</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="2336" name="2336">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="4b4b" name="4b4b">
But
if prostitution is not labor, what is it? The answer is simple. Sexual
slavery; contractual rape. Continuing on her points already made,
Kollontai reasoned that “Prostitution arose with the first states as the
inevitable shadow of the official institution of marriage, which was
designed to preserve the rights of private property and to guarantee
property inheritance through a line of lawful heirs.”[6] This is a summation of what Engels described in <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State</i>;
that prostitution allowed for men to engage in carnal relations outside
of their marriage. In the society that gave birth to prostitution,
women were either the <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">de facto </i>property of men, or their <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">de jure </i>property,
as in the case of wives. The prostitute was essentially a slave, with
no rights or autonomy of her own; her entire existence was devoted to
serving men. This continued in the age of feudalism, where prostitution
was highly organized and ubiquitous, in order to maintain the chastity
and faithfulness of men’s daughters and wives, who remained their
property. But it is capitalism that has brought forth the full horrific
nature of prostitution, where now the whole lot of woman is threatened
with prostitution if they cannot afford to feed themselves and their
families, or pay their bills, afford an education, or any of the other
necessities working people struggle to obtain and secure. Again we see
the separation of prostitution from labor; the prostitute in capitalist
society is the woman who cannot make an existence by labor alone. The
prostitute is not even considered a human being, but rather a commodity.
They are below even the <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">lumpenproletariat</i>,
that great mass that contains both those almost totally squeezed dry by
capitalism, as well as the criminal element of society, which are still
recognized as human. This is the class to which the pimp belongs to.[7]
The pimp is a parody of the parasitical capitalist who profits off the
labor of the working class; in the case of the pimp, he profits off the
dehumanized woman turned commodity.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="4b4b" name="4b4b">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="eb0b" name="eb0b">
The
industrial and technological revolutions that have occurred under
capitalism have only made the prostitute’s life worse. With the advent
of mass pornography, especially in the modern age of mass and instant
communication, the prostitute is no longer the commodity of just one
john, but of millions of johns, who fuck her by proxy; in turn the
pimp’s profits are doubled, tripled, quadrupled beyond anything they
ever were. And not just women now, but also homosexual and gender
non-conforming men, who as “exiles” from the community of men are
increasingly finding themselves subjected to the lot previously reserved
almost exclusively for women. Almost every pornography website has a
section for “transsexual” porn. In prostitution we see the development
of patriarchy and capitalism in microcosm; the mass dehumanization of
human beings aimed at smashing our solidarity with one another, leaving
us increasingly alienated and isolated, viewing one another not as
comrades in a common struggle, but vessels to derive selfish pleasure.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="eb0b" name="eb0b">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="d890" name="d890">
The
pro-“sex work” advocates would have one believe that entering
prostitution is a “choice” freely made on the part of the prostitute,
and to deny this is to deny the prostitute’s “agency”. To illustrate
their point, they trot out the “PhD Prostitutes” mentioned above. But
Marxists should know better than to take such evidence at face value.
The Marxist method looks not at the conditions of individuals isolated
from society as a whole, but at the individual within the larger social
context they exist in. A study conducted by the Soroptimist
International, “an international volunteer organization working to
improve the lives of women and girls, in local communities and
throughout the world” found that most prostitutes “were sexually and
physically abused as children, deprived and pushed into selling sex at
age 14, on average.” It also goes on to say:</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="d890" name="d890">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote graf-after--p" id="17d1" name="17d1">
“In
one study of prostituted women, 90 percent of the women had been
physically battered in childhood; 74 percent were sexually abused in
their families, with 50 percent also having been sexually abused by
someone outside the family. Of 123 survivors at the Council for
Prostitution Alternatives in Portland, Oregon (an agency offering
support, education, shelter and access to health services to clients of
all sex industries), 85 percent reported a history of incest, 90 percent
reported a history of physical abuse, and 98 percent cited a history of
emotional abuse.”</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote graf-after--p" id="17d1" name="17d1">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="7b93" name="7b93">
The
study also notes that women of color, women from the third world, and
indigenous women are even more likely to be forced into prostitution.[8]
Additionally “71 percent reported being physically abused and 63
percent reported being raped by a customer. In a rigorous study of pimps
in seven cities in the United States, 58 percent of prostitutes
reported violence, while 36 reported having abusive clients.” It also
challenges the notion that “high-class” “call-girl” prostitution is
safer than street prostitution, finding that escorts will be abused by
johns at least twice a year. But perhaps the most damning evidence
presented in the study to the “choice” argument, is the evidence that
“more than 90 percent of prostituted women in various surveys want to
leave prostitution, but lack viable options.”[9]</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="7b93" name="7b93">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="801e" name="801e">
Despite
this, the pro-“sex work” crowd insist that prostitution is not
contractual rape, because prostitutes are giving their consent. But how
can “consent” obtained under economic coercion truly be consent? This
sounds like arguments put forward in defense of capitalism as a whole;
for example, that workers who do not like the conditions of their work
or their wages can always “choose” to get a different job. Marxists
rightly recognize this argument as a diversion, because of the external
circumstances that prevent individuals from just easily choosing the job
they want to do. It is the same with the prostitute; her “consent” is
only a passive consent, not the active consent that recognized as being
necessary for a truly consensual sexual relationship. The “PhD
Prostitutes” who are able to freely choose and screen their “clients”
represent an incredibly small minority, and perhaps cannot even be
considered prostitutes, but bourgeois dilettantes “playfully” aping the
suffering of the classes beneath them.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="801e" name="801e">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="da05" name="da05">
Similarly,
abolitionists have come under attack from the “sex work” crowd, being
accused of moralism and puritanism. They argue that criminalization only
worsens the plight of prostitutes, whereas bringing them into the
recognized workforce through legalization and unionization will ease
their suffering. In this first part, they are correct. The
criminalization of the prostitute is an expression of not just
bourgeois, but patriarchal hypocrisy, because the prostitute is
essentially punished for trying to survive, punished for fulfilling the
desires of the ruling class. The second part, however, is dead wrong.
The countries that have legalized prostitution have seen a dramatic
increase in human trafficking, because contrary to the free choice
arguments of the “sex work” hypocrites, there exists nowhere near enough
women who want to commodify themselves to meet the demand.[10] In Australia and New Zealand, legalization has <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">decreased </i>the agency of prostitutes, and <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">increased</i>
the power of pimps, by introducing the “all-inclusive”, a single fee
paid to the pimp instead of directly to the prostitute, essentially
depriving prostituted women of what little power of negotiation they
had.[11]
In Germany, a pregnant prostitute was coerced into having group sex
with a bunch of men who “wanted” a pregnant woman; under German law,
this was perfectly legal. The prostitute in question said she felt like
she had no power to say no, as her agency had been usurped by the
brothel.[12]
Similarly, the “sex worker unions” advocated for by the “sex work”
activists are another vehicle for pimps and their supporters to exercise
their dominance; the Scarlet Alliance, Australia’s largest “sex worker
union” even harassed survivors of the sex industry.[13]
Rosa Luxemburg did advocate for the formation of revolutionary unions
of prostitutes, but not to “regulate” prostitution, but to <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">smash</i>
it. In fact, the advocates of full legalization (with or without
regulation) belong in the company of fascists, not revolutionary
socialists. The Nazis established an extensive and centralized system of
brothels in cities and military camps, as well as in the concentration
camps themselves. When Franco seized power in Spain, he overturned the
abolitionist reforms of the Republic, and re-legalized prostitution so
that men were guaranteed their brides were virgins and not “spoiled
goods”.[14]</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="da05" name="da05">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="177b" name="177b">
The
most effective method of combatting prostitution has been the Nordic
Model, which is made up of two components: 1) The decriminalization of
selling sex, and the criminalization of pimps and johns; and 2) The
creation and strengthening of state resources, such as education,
professional training, counseling, and community support, to help
prostitutes make a safe exit from the industry. Countries that have
adopted the Nordic Model, such as Sweden, Norway, and Iceland have seen
dramatic reductions in prostitution. The Swedish Ministry of Justice
found that since the adoption of the Sex Buyer Law in 1999, prostitution
has fully halved, and continues to decline.[15] Additionally, no evidence has been found that prostitutes are being forced underground as a result of this policy.[16]
And most importantly, not a single prostitute has been murdered by a
john since the law came into effect. What the pimps, johns, and their
apologists cannot stand about the Nordic Model is that it ends their
monopoly on power, and actually punishes their exploitation of women,
all while empowering their former slaves. This is why they always try to
erect obfuscations against the Nordic Model, even outright crying about
how it victimizes the “poor johns”. Some of the more cunning faux
leftists argue against the Nordic Model on the basis that it increases
the power of the bourgeois state and police; or they claim that there is
no use in combatting prostitution since no reform under capitalism will
eliminate it. On the contrary, the Nordic Model represents a perfect
example of a transitional demand. Trotsky defined the transitional
demand as being a bridge between the minimum demands of social democracy
and the maximum demands of revolutionary socialism; demands that would
allow the oppressed to win not just key reforms, but also to increase
their strength and confidence against the capitalist state. Transitional
demands are not just calls for reform, but calls for openly
revolutionary action that will spark reforms and strengthen existing
ones. The Nordic Model is a perfect example precisely because it is a
reform that strikes at the heart of the patriarchal and capitalist
system; it allows the masses to see just who supports and benefits from
prostitution. Eugene Debs, when he was city clerk of Terre Haute,
advocated for a kind of proto-Nordic Model, refusing to assess fines on
prostitutes, because the police took no action against the pimps or the
usually wealthy johns. As for the false concerns about increasing the
power of the bourgeois state and police, the Nordic Model, like any good
transitional reform, forces the state and the police to actually work
for, not against, the people they claim to represent. Would these same
“socialists” so worried about the cops being unleashed on pimps and
johns have cried the same tears when Eisenhower sent in the National
Guard to enforce the desegregation of schools in the Jim Crow south? It
would, at the very least, be amusing to see a socialist cite this as an
example of giving the bourgeois state “too much power”.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="177b" name="177b">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="133c" name="133c">
To
reiterate, every socialist revolution has struck with the full force of
its power against prostitution and the sex industry. Every major
socialist revolutionary has recognized the emancipation of women from
sexual slavery as one of the basic tasks of the revolution. These “sex
work socialists” are more than just hypocrites and revisionists, they
are outright misogynistic reactionaries. The degeneration of the
revolutionary left in the western world, especially in the Anglophone
world is what has allowed these trends to sprout and grow. The
pernicious influence of neoliberalism and postmodernism have infected
the body of the revolutionary left; slowly eating away at it like
gradual poisoning. The Marxist concept of free love aims to eliminate
the current patriarchal system of sexual coercion and exploitation, and
replace it with a humane and open system of actively consensual
intimacy. Those who believe otherwise would best be served by dropping
the act, and joining the Libertarian Party, because that is where their
politics truly lie. The left needs to remember its mission; the
liberation of the oppressed peoples of the world, and take an active
stand against the pimps and johns playing dress-up as communists.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="133c" name="133c">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="69d1" name="69d1">
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
[1] Engels, Karl Marx and Frederick. “Communist Manifesto (Chapter 2).” <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">Marxist Internet Archive</i>. Marxist Internet Archive, n.d. Web. 02 July 2017.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="017a" name="017a">
[2] Krupskaya, Nadezhda. “On the Workers’ Strikes and Attacks on Brothels.” <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">Facebook</i>.
Dmytriy Kovalevich, 05 Dec. 2016. Web. 02 July 2017. This portion is
the only English translation of Krupskaya’s first article available
online.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="3652" name="3652">
[3]
Marx, Karl. “The German Ideology Part I: Feuerbach. Opposition of the
Materialist and Idealist Outlook A. Idealism and Materialism.” <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">Marxist Internet Archive</i>. Marxist Internet Archive, n.d. Web. 02 July 2017.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="e65f" name="e65f">
[4] Kollontai, Alexandra. “Prostitution and Ways of Fighting It.” <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">Marxist Internet Archive</i>. Marxist Internet Archive, n.d. Web. 02 July 2017.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="bafe" name="bafe">
[5] Ibid.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="2e53" name="2e53">
[6] Ibid.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="53ea" name="53ea">
[7] Marx summarizes the membership of the <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">lumpenproletariat </i>in <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte </i>as
follows: “Alongside decayed roués with dubious means of subsistence and
of dubious origin, alongside ruined and adventurous offshoots of the
bourgeoisie, were vagabonds, discharged soldiers, discharged jailbirds,
escaped galley slaves, swindlers, mountebanks, lazzaroni, pickpockets,
tricksters, gamblers, <b class="markup--strong markup--p-strong">maquereaux [pimps]</b>,
brothel keepers, porters, literati, organ grinders, ragpickers, knife
grinders, tinkers, beggars — in short, the whole indefinite,
disintegrated mass, thrown hither and thither, which the French call la
bohème.” (Emphasis added.)</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="2969" name="2969">
[8]
The wide prevalence of racist porn can attest to this. Most porn sites
have their material broken down by race. The “Asian fetish” is probably
the most egregious example of racist fetishization.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="4d85" name="4d85">
[9] “Prostitution Is Not a Choice.” <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">Soroptimist International of the Americas</i> (2014): 2–6. Print.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="75dd" name="75dd">
[10]
Cho, Seo-Young; Dreher, Axel; Neumayer, Eric; “Does Legalized
Prostitution Increase Human Trafficking?” World Development, 2013,
41:67–82.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="8198" name="8198">
[11] Valisce, Sabrinna. “Advocating for the Nordic Model in Australia.” <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">Facebook</i>. Deep Green Resistance Australia, 03 May 2017. Web. 02 July 2017.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="f886" name="f886">
[12] Bindel, Julie. “Pregnant Women Are Being Legally Pimped out for Sex — This Is the Lowest Form of Capitalism.” <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">The Independent</i>. Independent Digital News and Media, 23 Apr. 2017. Web. 02 July 2017.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="aa8d" name="aa8d">
[13] Davoren, Heidi. “Former Sex Workers Claim Harassment by Pro-prostitution Groups after Speaking out.” <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">ABC News</i>. N.p., 12 Oct. 2016. Web. 02 July 2017.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="3524" name="3524">
[14] Morcillo, Aurora G. “Introduction: Gendered Metaphors.” <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">The Seduction of Modern Spain: The Female Body and the Francoist Body Politic</i>. Lewisburg: Bucknell UP, 2010. 19. Print.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="caab" name="caab">
[15] Aleem, Zeeshan. “16 Years After Decriminalizing Prostitution, Here’s What Sweden Has Become.” <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">Mic</i>. Mic Network Inc., 25 Oct. 2015. Web. 02 July 2017.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p graf--trailing" id="623d" name="623d">
[16]
English summary of the Evaluation of the ban on purchase of sexual
services (1999–2008), Swedish Ministry of Justice, 2010. See also: Max
Waltman, “Prohibiting Sex Purchasing and Ending Trafficking: The Swedish
Prostitution Law,” 33 Michigan Journal of International Law 133, 133–57
(2011), pp. 146–148.</div>
</div>
Zach Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12265742259720921802noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1582941293789561102.post-45053939440585952662017-07-03T09:04:00.000-07:002017-07-03T10:04:51.147-07:00Misogyny is Revisionism Part 1: On the Left's "Woman" Problem<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--figure" id="eb05" name="eb05">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkbtKuxN_fOp1gxWYZSF24w-h5WT8lE6PJX9PW-QHyEzgmrtJh20D0VYpj5UM9wS2Rc_24scvE2KIo-oqCnTKanUWL4prgEDDwRh_FwTs6buVClTLJTTziqhBXZUWQkqEXH2pv6JMAJzY/s1600/1+2QHLFuYUsPanPT0dU9GTLw.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="707" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYkbtKuxN_fOp1gxWYZSF24w-h5WT8lE6PJX9PW-QHyEzgmrtJh20D0VYpj5UM9wS2Rc_24scvE2KIo-oqCnTKanUWL4prgEDDwRh_FwTs6buVClTLJTTziqhBXZUWQkqEXH2pv6JMAJzY/s320/1+2QHLFuYUsPanPT0dU9GTLw.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dialectics of idealism masquerading as dialectical materialism.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The
Marxist left finds itself confronted by three insidious big lies that
threaten the revolutionary and emancipatory foundation of the Marxist
project, all related to undermining women’s liberation; they are:</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--figure" id="eb05" name="eb05">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="3a48" name="3a48">
1. Transwomen are women.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="07ff" name="07ff">
2. Sex work is work.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="9bda" name="9bda">
3. Feminism is bourgeois.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="9bda" name="9bda">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="795c" name="795c">
Misogyny
in its many forms has long been a challenge for the left; not just the
misogyny of the reactionary right, but misogyny coming from within the
left itself. But it has not been until recently that this leftist
misogyny has sought to portray itself as being inherently progressive.
By engaging in revisionism of the most blatant kind, reactionary
elements within the left have managed to posit themselves as the agents
of progress. Much has already been written about the harms caused by
these three lies, but no attempt has yet to be made to debunk them from a
solidly Marxist standpoint. That is what we are out to accomplish here;
to demonstrate definitively that these big lies are not just
regressive, but inherently revisionist and anti-Marxist to the core.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="795c" name="795c">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="abcf" name="abcf">
The
first of these three big lies, “Transwomen are women”, might well be
the most damaging, because it directly contradicts the heart of the
Marxist method: dialectical materialism. There are two main definitions
used by proponents of transgenderism to explain their narrative. The
first is that gender is an identity; the state of being a man or a woman
(or any one of the other numerous “gender identities”) stems not from
biological sex (to the extent that transactivists acknowledge the
existence of biological sex), but from an internal identity, i.e.
personal feelings, personal consciousness. The second definition says
that transpeople are not really the sex they physically are, but the sex
they say they are, because they really have “male” or “female” brains.
Both of these definitions are rooted in the personal, not the material.
One of the patron saints of queer theory, Judith Butler, says:</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote graf-after--p" id="f13c" name="f13c">
“It’s
one thing to say that gender is performed and that is a little
different from saying gender is performative. When we say gender is
performed we usually mean that we’ve taken on a role or we’re acting in
some way and that our acting or our role-playing is crucial to the
gender that we are and the gender that we present to the world. To say
that gender is performative is a little different because for something
to be performative means that it produces a series of effects. We act
and walk and speak and talk in ways that consolidate an impression of
being a man or being a woman.”[1]<br />
</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="da61" name="da61">
Though
queer theory is a postmodernist philosophy, its roots go far deeper
than just postmodernism; rather, this statement of Butler’s is an
example of the dialectics of idealism. Marxism, as a philosophy, was
formed in reaction to the idealist dialectics of the Young Hegelians.
The dialects of idealism posit that reality flows from consciousness.
Marx, on the other hand, argued “It is not the consciousness of men that
determines their existence, but their social existence that determines
their consciousness.”[2]
That is, it is not our thoughts that shape material reality, but
material reality that shapes our thoughts. In fact, Marx’s first major
work, <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">The German Ideology</i>, is exclusively dedicated to explaining this.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="da61" name="da61">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="7d99" name="7d99">
So
what is the materialist definition of gender? And how does the embrace
of the idealist definition under the guise of Marxism harm the Marxist
aim of women’s liberation? The foundational Marxist text dealing with
the oppression of women is Engels’ <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State</i>.
According to Engels, while there has always existed a sexual division
of labor in human society, it is not until the rise of private property
that this division becomes hierarchical. Before the rise of private
property, society was organized under what was called “mother right”,
i.e. a person’s family is traced through their mother, given the
difficulty of identifying with certainty the father in primitive
communist society. But because private property grew out of male labor,
and became concentrated in male hands, mother right gave way to “father
right”. In order to bequeath his property to his son, the father needed
to know with certainty who his sons were. This meant controlling the
reproductive labor of the female sex, and its subordination to male
supremacy; thus the advent of patriarchy. In Chapter II of <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">Origin of Family </i>Engels
calls the overthrow of mother-right “…the world historical defeat of
the female sex. The man took command in the home also; the woman was
degraded and reduced to servitude, she became the slave of his lust and a
mere instrument for the production of children.”[3]
Note that Engels here is dealing with sex, with biology. Women are not
oppressed because of some abstract gender identity, but because of their
sex. Class society and patriarchy, the two of which exist in a
symbiosis, need to control women’s reproductive labor to sustain
themselves. To put it more bluntly, they need to control the <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">means of reproduction</i>. Thus, women’s oppression has its origin in <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">material reality</i>.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="7d99" name="7d99">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="68a6" name="68a6">
But
we have not yet dealt with the concept of gender. In the current queer
theory dominated discourse, sex and gender are increasingly become
conflated to the point that they are being used as synonyms for one
another. Engels analysis of patriarchy is in many ways incomplete, but
it forms the basis of future materialist explorations of sex and gender.
The second-wave feminists who developed much of the thought around
gender did not revise these fundamentals, but expanded on them, the
opposite of what today’s revisionists are doing. Gender, according to
the radical feminist Rebecca Reilly-Cooper, is “the <b class="markup--strong markup--p-strong">value system</b> that prescribes and proscribes forms of behaviour and appearance for members of the different sex classes, and that <b class="markup--strong markup--p-strong">assigns superior value</b> to one sex class at the expense of the other.”[4]
Gender is therefore not the same thing as biological sex, but a kind of
parasite grafted on top of biological sex to maintain the current
sexual hierarchy, and ensure continued male control over reproductive
labor. Gender non-conforming, as well as homosexual, men and women are
therefore “exiled” from their gender community not because of some
abstract identity, but because they do not fulfill their proscribed
functions as members of their sex class; they are essentially class
traitors. Intersex people, which form a distinct material category, are
also lumped into this community of “exiles” because they too are unable
to fulfill the goals of the patriarchal sexual hierarchy. Such
communities of exiles have existed throughout history, and continue to
exist to this day in all parts of the world, from the <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">hijra </i>in
India to the two-spirited people of the Native Americans to the
contemporary shunning and violence directed at gender non-conforming
individuals. But to reiterate, none of this has to do with identity, but
with the material structuring of class society.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="68a6" name="68a6">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="d48c" name="d48c">
While
transactivists have started to turn against the biomedical explanation
for transgenderism, it is very much alive and well in the medical and
psychological community. Victorian-era theories about “brain sex” that
would have earned the ire of Marx and Engels are now making a comeback.
At best, these theories are chimerical pseudoscience which have not even
come close to being conclusively proven in any legitimate scientific
study. The standards by which gender dysphoria is diagnosed falls back
on the constructed tropes of masculinity and femininity already
discussed. Such theories risk misconstruing gender roles as being rooted
in nature as opposed to constructions that reinforce ruling class
control. Rather than being seen as the disease, dysphoria should be seen
as the symptom of the sexual hierarchy. The pressures of gendered
socialization are ubiquitous, and begin at birth. Very often we are not
aware of the subtle forms socialization exerts upon us. For those who
reject this socialization, it follows that they would experience levels
of extreme discomfort and anguish. Gendered socialization is not just
some abstract phenomena, but is, again, literally grafted onto us. Under
this system of socialization, the penis becomes more than just the male
sex organ, but the symbol of male aggression and supremacy, in the same
way the vagina becomes the symbol of female inferiority and
subjugation. Sensitive individuals who struggle against this
socialization often hate their bodies, but not because their bodies are
somehow “wrong”, but because of what they are drilled into believing
their bodies are. What they suffer from is the inability to tear away
the curtain that has been placed in front of material reality and to see
reality in an objective manner. The fields of medical and psychological
science are not immune from the influence of the ruling class. This is
especially the case in the world of psychology, where a method of
analysis is employed that isolates the individual from the wider society
around them, preferring to view internal struggle as the result of some
defect as opposed to the result of material and social forces exerted
on the individual.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="f089" name="f089">
While
capitalism has broken down certain elements of patriarchy, and allowed
for women to make some gains, it has not dismantled patriarchy
completely. Capitalism, being a class system, still needs to retain
control of the means of reproduction. For example, laws that restrict
access to abortion and contraceptives, while having negative
repercussions for all women, have the most negative impact on poor,
working-class women. These laws may be cloaked in the terminology of
moralism, but have a far more base logic; they ensure the continued
production of future proletarians for the benefit of the capitalist
machine.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="f089" name="f089">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="e1e4" name="e1e4">
<span class="markup--quote markup--p-quote is-other" data-creator-ids="fbd752a19de6" name="480b757d59cd">By
shifting the definition of “woman” away from a materialist one to an
idealistic one, we lose the ability to define and fight the causes of
women’s oppression.</span> In its most extreme form it erases women as a
class, and makes it impossible to talk about patriarchy as an existing
force. Why, then, are Marxists, who are supposed to be dialectical
materialists embracing a set of ideas the very opposite of dialectical
materialism? To answer this, we need to look at the nature of
patriarchy; it is a system that predates capitalism. As already stated
above, patriarchy and class exist in a symbiosis with one another. The
one cannot be eliminated without the elimination of the other.
Overthrowing capitalism is not the same as overthrowing class. As Mao
pointed out, class dynamics still exist in the socialist society, and
require continuous vigilance and combat on the part of revolutionaries.
This is why many socialist states still restricted women’s rights to
certain degrees, such as the draconian anti-abortion laws of Ceausescu’s
Romania. All males benefit in some way from patriarchy, even males in a
socialist society. It therefore follows that socialist males fighting
capitalism also benefit from patriarchy. While men and women may be in
solidarity with one another as workers, working class men also belong to
the male sex class, a class that predates the existence of the modern
working class. Class allegiances run deep. This is why so many socialist
and “feminist” men are quick to defend and even endorse the violent
language and actions perpetrated by some gender non-conforming men
against the female sex class, regardless of how these gender
non-conforming men identify themselves. This is not to deny that gender
non-conforming men are discriminated against, and face harassment and
violence themselves, but even as exiles from the male sex-class, they
still benefit from some of the privileges awarded to this sex class.
Note that I do not use privilege in the manner it’s currently used by
the regressive left, i.e. as some abstract notion that needs to be
“checked”. Rather, it is an actually existing force that must be <i class="markup--em markup--p-em">combated</i>,
just as white revolutionaries must actively combat white supremacy, and
first world revolutionaries must actively combat “their” state’s
imperialism.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="e1e4" name="e1e4">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="6696" name="6696">
Opportunism
and the “fear” of being on the “wrong side of history” are also driving
forces behind this embrace of revisionism. The Anglophone left,
especially in the United States, given its weakness in the overall
political arena, has long sought to be seen as “acceptable” and
“polite”, and is often eager to jump on any bandwagon it believes can
advance it. This desire to be accepted also drives the fear. It is true
that communists have made serious errors in judgment in the past, but
that is not an excuse to rebel against core philosophies and hastily
embrace ideas and movements without fully analyzing their beliefs and
goals. This is not to say that communists should not be on the forefront
in defending gender non-conforming individuals. A thoroughgoing
socialist revolution requires that these existing oppressive structures
be cast aside. But it is possible to defend gender non-conforming people
<i class="markup--em markup--p-em">without</i> embracing misogynistic pseudoscience and revisionism.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="6696" name="6696">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="ac7d" name="ac7d">
Women
are not just oppressed, but thoroughly exploited. Working class women
make up what is possibly the most thoroughly exploited section of human
society. By embracing philosophies that not only erase their ability to
define and explain their exploitation, but also deny them the agency to
organize as a revolutionary class, these “Marxists” have proven that
they are in direct contradiction to Marxist philosophy and ideas. They
are engaging in revisionism.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="ac7d" name="ac7d">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="e6b7" name="e6b7">
In the next part, we will examine the second big lie plaguing the left today, the notion that “sex work is work”.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="e6b7" name="e6b7">
<br /></div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="bdbf" name="bdbf">
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
[1] “Judith Butler: Your Behavior Creates Your Gender.” YouTube. Big Think, 06 June 2011. Web. 29 June 2017.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="6440" name="6440">
[2]
Marx, Karl. “Economic Manuscripts: Preface to A Contribution to the
Critique of Political Economy.” Marxists Internet Archive. Progress
Publishers, n.d. Web. 29 June 2017.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p" id="a1c5" name="a1c5">
[3] Engels, Frederick. “Origins of the Family — Chapter 2 (III).” Marxists Internet Archive. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 June 2017.</div>
<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--p graf--trailing" id="1ae7" name="1ae7">
[4] Reilly-Cooper, Rebecca. “Gender.” Sex and Gender. N.p., 06 Sept. 2015. Web. 29 June 2017. Emphases present in original text.</div>
</div>
Zach Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12265742259720921802noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1582941293789561102.post-30005323988277330222017-07-03T08:26:00.000-07:002017-07-03T08:52:06.670-07:00Once Upon a Time in the Nepotist Republic of Barzanistan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Mullah Mustafa Barzani, longtime leader of the Kurdish
independence movement in Iraq, and father of the incumbent president of Iraqi
Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani, said back in 1973 that if the United States helped
Kurdistan to gain its independence, they would be “ready to become the 51<sup>st</sup>
state”.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span></span></span> It appears as if the first
part, at least, is about to become reality. One June 7, 2017, Massoud Barzani announced
that an official independence referendum for Iraqi Kurdistan will take place on
September 25, 2017. In April, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he
would respect the results of the referendum. Given its strategic location, the
US has groomed Iraqi Kurdistan as another foothold for its imperialist
ambitions in the region, and with Israel increasingly becoming an international
pariah, and Saudi Arabia under intense scrutiny over its support for Islamic
fundamentalism the world over, the timing of this referendum could not be more
perfect for Washington.<br />
<div class="Style1">
<br />
Iraqi
Kurdistan might be more accurately called Barzanistan, given the near-total
domination of the region’s political and economic system by the Barzani family.
The Barzanis have been power players in the area for centuries; before the
advent of modern capitalism, they were a prominent feudal family. After WWII,
Mullah Mustafa was part of the short-lived Soviet-backed Republic of Kurdistan
that was established in western Iran, and after a brief sojourn in the Soviet Union,
he returned as a staunch anti-communist to his ancestral homeland in Iraq to
lead the movement for independence there. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq,
Barzanistan has sought to present itself as an oasis of democratic development
and economic modernism in a troubled region, but in reality it is a violently
tribal, corrupt, and patriarchal society. Political dissidents, journalists,
and individuals critical of Barzani are regularly jailed or “disappeared”.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span></span></span> When a regional newspaper
accused the Barzani family of being involved in oil smuggling, it was targeted
by the government and threatened with legal action.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span></span></span> Most of the major
businesses in the region are controlled by the Barzani family. Officially
Barzani himself is worth $2 billion, but there is almost no difference between
his personal holdings, and the funds controlled by the government and his Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP). Under his presidency, Barzani has overseen the
transformation of public spaces into personal fiefdoms for himself and his
family members. Even Michael Rubin, in an article for the Middle East Forum, a
conservative think tank whose stated goal is to promote “American interests”,
admitted to the ubiquitous corruption, embezzlement, and nepotism engaged in by
the Barzanis.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span></span></span>
Not that the opposition party, the nominally social-democratic Patriotic Union
of Kurdistan (PUK), the KDP’s bitter rival during the region civil war in the
1990s is much better, but level of wealth it controls pales in comparison to
that of Barzani. The head of the PUK, former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani,
only has a personal fortune of about $400 million, a far cry from the billions
controlled by the Barzanis.</div>
<div class="Style1">
<br />
Though
elections in Barzanistan are considered “free and fair” by international
standards, the reality is something quite different. Given its dominance of the
economy and state institutions, the KDP has enjoyed a comfortable majority in
every post-invasion election. Barzani himself was appointed president in 2005
by the parliament, then directly re-elected in 2009 with 69.6% of the vote. But
when it came time for presidential elections in 2013, the KDP decided
otherwise, citing regional instability and the rise of ISIS as justification
for illegally extending Barzani’s presidential term for another two years. In
2015 Barzani’s term expired, but he has remained in office despite this with
the backing of all the usual suspects. </div>
<div class="Style1">
<br />
Barzanistan
also loves to present itself as a beacon of women’s rights and empowerment.
Propaganda videos featuring women Peshmerga fighters in makeup were devoured by
the western media, as well as western “leftists” eager to fetishize these
“beautiful” and “exotic” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">femme fatales</i>.
Barzani himself frequently proclaims his dedication to women’s rights, even
saying on International Women’s Day that Kurdish women have “made more
sacrifices than men in history”.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[5]</span></span></span></span> And the western
establishment loves it. But as always, the west’s cynical exploitation of
“liberated” Middle Eastern women belies an ugly reality.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>Female genital mutilation and “honor killings” are widespread. A
2010 study found that 72% of women in Iraqi Kurdistan had been subjected to
some kind of FGM.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[6]</span></span></span></span>
In Garmyan and New Kirkuk, the FGM rate exceeds 80%. About 500 honor killings
are reported every year, but the real number is far higher. An investigation
commissioned by the European parliament posited that there is at least one
honor killing per day in Barzanistan capital, Ebril.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[7]</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="Style1">
<br />
The other
irony underlying the progressive image presented by Barzani and the western media
is the rampant anti-leftist policies of the Barzani regime and the KDP. The
major rival to the KDP’s ambitions of hegemony in Greater Kurdistan is the
far-left Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) that was established by the formerly
Marxist-Leninist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its allies. Barzanistan has
worked closely with the Turkish regime in its efforts to crush the PKK,
allowing Turkish warplanes to attack PKK targets in Iraqi Kurdistan, and
maintaining a blockade against the revolutionary experiment in the Federation
of Northern Syria (Rojava), controlled by the Democratic Union Party (PYD), one
of the KCK’s constituent parties, and its armed wings, the People’s Defense
Units (YPG), and the Women’s Defense Units (YPJ). This blockade was even
maintained as ISIS attempted to seize Kobane. When Yezidi militia affiliated
with the YPG and YPJ liberated the Iraqi town of Sinjar from ISIS, Barzani not
only levied another blockade against them, but also denounced them as
“terrorists”, and had Peshmerga forces launch sporadic attacks. And this is in
the aftermath of ISIS’s genocidal campaign against the Yezidi people. The KDP
has sought to opportunistically make itself the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">de facto </i>leader not just of the Kurdish people, but also other ethnic
and religious minorities in the fight against ISIS, even taking advantage of
the unrest to seize control of three towns disputed with the Iraqi central
government, including the “Kurdish Jerusalem”, Kirkuk. While the KDP is against
ISIS, it does not want to see the fight against ISIS take on any kind of
revolutionary character, the way it has under the KCK’s leadership.</div>
<div class="Style1">
<br />
There are also
longstanding links between Israel and the KDP. During the 1960s, Israel armed
and trained KDP fighters, and even had advisers within Mullah Mustafa’s command
center.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[8]</span></span></span></span> Israeli media even
broadcast a photograph from the 1960s of Mullah Mustafa and Moshe Dayan
embracing one another. These close ties have been maintained and nurtured by
the current regime. Israeli media and politicians regularly boast about their
good relations with Barzanistan, and in 2014 Netanyahu came out in support for
the independence of Barzanistan. Barzani himself has publicly lamented that
Iraq’s refusal to recognize Israel has prevented the opening of an Israeli
consulate in Ebril.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[9]</span></span></span></span>
The last thing the Middle East needs is an avowedly pro-Israel state in one of
its most important and strategic geopolitical locations (Iraqi Kurdistan shares
a sizeable border with Israel’s arch-enemy Iran, and there is no doubt that the
apartheid settler state would love to take advantage of this). While Israel has
some measure of support from Egypt and Jordan, and has become increasingly
closer with Saudi Arabia, an independent Barzanistan would offer to Zionism the
unwavering and uncritical regional ally it has never had. Zionism has deep
popular support from among the KDP’s constituency, and even friendly relations
with the PUK. KDP cybertrolls have become a source of free PR for Israel,
winning over both the “sensible centrists” and the hardcore neo-conservatives
by pandering to their anti-Arab and anti-Islamic sentiments. Beyond their
pro-Zionism, the KDP crowd exhibits in general an Uncle Tom mentality towards
the west, seeking to prove themselves as honorary westerners and defenders of
“liberal” values; i.e. going along with whatever the foreign policy of the
United States, and to a lesser extent the EU, is at the moment.</div>
<div class="Style1">
<br />
Israel is not
the only reactionary regional power excited at the possibility of an
independent Barzanistan. In the wake of the fallout between Saudi Arabia and
Qatar, Saudi Arabia made vocal its support for Kurdish independence; the
official Twitter account of the Saudi regime even Tweeting #standwithkurdistan.
Their support comes with a caveat; the KSA and its allies want to be allowed to
build military bases in Barzanistan to “counter” “Iranian influence” in
exchange for supporting its independence. But it is obvious Saudi Arabia would
not stop with just building military bases.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[10]</span></span></span></span> The effects of Saudi soft
power to spread their ultra-fundamentalist brand of Islam is well-documented.
Saudi-funded madrassas and mosques are hotbeds of jihadist recruitment, and
have served as a kind of cultural imperialism, undermining and distorting the
foundations of liberal-minded societies throughout the Third World. Though
Barzanistan is a deeply conservative and reactionary society, Islamism has been
mostly kept at bay. Combined, the two Islamist political parties only have
sixteen seats in the KRG parliament. And for all of the KDP’s faults, it has
maintained a relative level of secularism; religiously motivated terrorist
attacks have been rare in Barzanistan. There should be no doubt that with Saudi
troops and influence, this secularism will soon be on the defensive.</div>
<div class="Style1">
<br />
Barzanistan
independence would also serve to deal the final blow to what’s left of the
Iraqi state. US foreign policy advisers have made no secret of their plans to
partition the Middle East up into sectarian statelets, making the region safer
for imperialism. Though Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi has said he would respect
the results of an independence referendum, he also protested to Barzani’s
unilaterally calling for one, a move which directly contravenes Iraq’s
constitution which stipulates that any territorial changes must be approved by
the Iraqi state as a whole. There is no doubt that Iraqi Kurds have faced grave
injustices in the past by the Iraqi state, but that does not justify unilateral
moves like Barzani’s, nor does it justify his outright annexation of the
disputed territories. Additionally, around 20% of Iraq’s oil reserves are found
in Barzanistan and the areas disputed between the KRG and the Iraqi central
government. The Iraqi people have already had most of their oil wealth
plundered from them by foreign multinationals that swept in when the previously
nationalized oil industry was privatized in the aftermath of the US invasion. If
an independence referendum is inevitable at this point, its parameters should
be negotiated in accordance with the Iraqi constitution. Iraqis have already
faced enough wholesale disenfranchisement from their political system and
resources.</div>
<div class="Style1">
<br />
Besides the
immense benefits for imperialism an independent Barzanistan would provide,
there is also a far more glaring problem with Barzani’s independence plans.
Iraqi Kurdistan is only one of four regions of historic Kurdistan, and in terms
of population, it comes in third, at about 6.5 million. Depending on the
overall number of Kurds, that’s only about 14-21% of the total Kurdish
population. The majority of Kurds are living in Turkish Kurdistan, which is the
historic center of the Kurdish nation. Kurds in Turkey have been subjected to
decades of political and cultural repression, not to mention wholesale ethnic
cleansing. Until recently, even speaking Kurdish in private was illegal in
Turkey. And with the heads of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP)
in prison, and Erdogan’s renewed war against the PKK, the situation is grim.
Kurds have not fared much better in Iran, either, which hosts the
second-largest Kurdish population. During the reactionary terror that delivered
Iran over to theocracy, Khomeini declared “jihad” against Iranian Kurdistan, a
center of revolutionary leftist and communist activity in Iran. Iranian security
services regularly rape, torture, and murder Kurdish leftists, and in the
aftermath of major rioting in Mahabad in 2015, the Kurdish leftists resumed the
armed struggle against the theocratic regime, saying the situation had become
unbearable. And in Syria, from the 1960s until the start of the civil war, most
Syrian Kurds were not even citizens, and subjected to poverty and
discrimination. The Assad government still refuses to negotiate the
establishment of a Kurdish autonomous region despite pressure from Russia to do
so. The establishment of an independent Barzanistan, essentially a rump
Kurdistan, would allow these regimes to escalate the repression against their
Kurdish populations, and more easily justify denying their right to
self-determination. Nowhere would the danger be greater than in Turkey, where
Erdogan’s combination of traditional chauvinist Turkish ultra-nationalism and
Ottoman-era Islamism has taken on frighteningly repressive dimensions with the
backing of the Trump White House. The Kurds themselves would be among the
primary losers of such “independence”.</div>
<div class="Style1">
<br />
Leftists have
long been at odds on how to respond to the “Kurdish question”. The Barzani
regime’s attempts to monopolize the entire discussion has led many leftists to
denounce not just Kurdish self-determination as an imperialist plot, but also
the Kurds themselves as being imperialist stooges. The KCK shoulders a certain
amount of responsibility, too, with its at-times opportunistic behavior and
wavering overtures to American imperialism alienating even their own allies. The
left has a duty to uphold the right of oppressed nations to self-determination,
and there can be little doubt that the Kurds are an oppressed nation, but
uncritically endorsing any independence movement, regardless of its goals and
backers is playing a dangerous game. As Lenin said, those looking for a “pure”
revolution will never find it, and those who outright reject the Kurdish
struggle because there is no “perfect” Kurdish socialist organization are just
as foolish as those taking a completely uncritical stance. It is absolutely
possible to support Kurdish self-determination while also rejecting and
opposing the reactionary and imperialist attempts by Barzani and the KDP, the
US, and Israel to establish an “independent Kurdistan”. Difficult questions
call for critical thinking and nuanced conclusions. At the same time, leftists
outside of the Middle East announcing positions and their “support” for or
against an issue has little to no material effect. Those in the first world who
want to support oppressed nations would best be served by mobilizing against
their own governments first, the source of much of this oppression, instead of
making hollow declarations on Facebook or Twitter.</div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> <span class="citationtext">Pike, Otis.
<i>CIA: The Pike Report</i>. Nottingham: Spokesman, 1977. 212. Print.</span></span></span>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> An exhaustive list of human rights
violations committed by the Kurdistan Regional Government against dissidents
can be found here:
http://ekurd.net/related-articles/freedom-of-expression-and-journalism-in-iraqi-kurdistan</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"Barzani's KDP Targets Paper That Alleged Oil Smuggling."
Barzani’s KDP Targets Paper That Alleged Oil Smuggling. Committee to Protect
Journalists, 05 Aug. 2010. Web. 07 June 2017.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> Rubin, Michael. "Is Iraqi
Kurdistan a Good Ally?" Middle East Forum. AEI Middle Eastern Outlook,
Jan. 2008. Web. 08 June 2017.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[5]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"Kurdish Women Made More Sacrifices than Men in History:
Barzani." Kurdistan24.net. Ed. Karzan Sulaivany. Kurdistan24, n.d. Web. 15
June 2017.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[6]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"Female Genital Mutilation in Iraqi Kurdistan: An Empirical Study
by WADI." (2013): n. pag. 2010. Web. 7 June 2017.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[7]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> Kurdish Human Rights Project.
"The Increase in Kurdish Women Committing Suicide." (n.d.): n. pag.
European Parliament. Directorate for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional
Affairs, June 2007. Web. 8 June 2017.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[8]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> Entessar, Nader. "Chapter 5:
Kurdish Politics in Regional Context." Kurdish Politics in the Middle
East. Lanham: Lexington, 2010. 161. Print.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[9]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"> Baig, Sadi. "A Clean Break
for Israel." Asia Times, 30 June 2004. Web. 08 June 2017.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[10]</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"Source: S. Arabia Intends to Builds Military Bases in Iraq's
Kurdistan in Return for Supporting Independence." Farsnews. Fars News
Agency, 11 June 2017. Web. 15 June 2017.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
Zach Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12265742259720921802noreply@blogger.com0