Search results for ""author henry veltmeyer""

Capitalism is a system in crisis. In the context of an urgent need for an alternative system, Cuba provides valuable lessons. The Cuban Revolution's unique features have allowed it to survive both the conditions that brought about the collapse of the Soviet model of socialism and the renewed assault of US imperialism. The Revolution also serves as an inspiration for developing countries seeking to escape the clutches of global capitalism. Henry Veltmeyer examines the Cuban Revolution from the perspective of socialist human development, critiquing the notion of human development used by the United Nations Development Programme to rescue capitalism from its fundamental contradictions and give a human face to an exploitative and destructive development process. Veltmeyer's analysis shows the necessity to jettison a process designed to benefit the rich and powerful at an enormous social and environmental cost, one disproportionately borne by the working classes and the impoverished masses of the developing world.

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Globalization has changed the context for, and the organizational forms of, politics, unleashing forces in support of, and in opposition to, the globalization dynamic. Investigating the dynamics of change and development in two regions of the world economy, Latin America and Asia, this book evaluates these forces, their political dynamics, and the responses of governments and citizens.

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The growing polarization between the rich and powerful and the poor and powerless, the yawning social and developmental divide and the multidimensional systemic crisis of capitalism have given rise to a fundamental problem of our times: barbarism or socialism? Will we continue on the path of capitalist barbarism or move to a more just socialist system? Bringing together a group of passionate socialists, 21st Century Socialism participates in the emerging and critical debate concerned with reinventing and rebuilding socialism. Revisiting concepts of class and capital, reinventing Marx, problematizing party politics, re-examining alternative forms of socialist politics and learning lessons from Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution, 21st Century Socialism explores how socialism needs to be re-imagined to make it relevant to 21st-century.

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The 2003 electoral victory of Lucio Gutiérrez in Ecuador was met with the same sense of optimism that greeted the election of Ignacio 'Lula' da Silva in Brazil, and Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Gutierrez's victory was viewed as a major advance for the country in its 500 year-long struggle for freedom and democracy. In Bolivia, Evo Morales similarly came within an electoral whisker of achieving state power in 2002, and in 2003 Nestor Kirchner became President of Argentina. Many journalists , academics and politicians speak of a "left-turn" in Latin America, characterizing these regimes as "center -left". They came to power on the promise of delivering a fundamental change of direction that would steer their countries away from neo-liberal economic policies, and towards greater social equity. Their success awakened major hopes on the Left for a new dawn in Latin American politics. This book challenges these assumptions. It critically examines their agreements with the IMF, their social and economic policies, and the economic ties of leading policy makers, as well as the beneficiaries and losers under these regimes. Latin America is unique in that it has experienced two decades of popular resistance to neo-liberal policies: each of the four countries examined here has a rich history of diverse indigenous and working class movements coming together to promote radical political change. The authors examine the political dynamics between the state and its agenda, and the strategy of mass mobilisation taken by the mass movements. They explore the intensifying conflicts between the movements and their former allies in the state.

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This book concerns the form taken today by US imperialism in Latin America, with reference to the projection of US state power as a means of both advancing the economic interests of the US capitalist class in the region and maintaining its hegemony over the world capitalist system.

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The Answer Is Still No is an important, urgent book that compiles interviews with people who live along the route of the proposed Enbridge pipeline in Northern British Columbia. The oil pipeline and supertankers - linking the tar sands of Alberta to the demand of the growing Asian market - are a key component of Canada's strategy of natural resource extraction. But for the people living along the proposed pipeline route, Enbridge poses a massive environmental risk, which threatens their way of life. This edited collection takes the passionate words and voices of twelve citizens and activists and results in one powerful position when it comes to blind economic development at the expense of our environment and communities: The answer is still "no." "The oil and gas industry has wanted into the west coast for decades. This is an ongoing struggle between the people who live here and have access to the marine resources now, the fish, and the industry, which wants in either for tanker traffic or offshore drilling. The government is on the oil industry side and they implement policies to weaken us." - Luanne Roth, Prince Rupert "[There is] is a great saying: 'If we don't speak for the animals, the fish and the birds, who will?' Simple, very simple, very to the point. And how could we give up something that our great-great-grandchildren will ask us one day 'Why don't we have this anymore? Why didn't you stop this then?' We don't have a right to let that happen." - John Ridsdale, Hereditary Chief Na'Moks, Office of the Wet'suwet'en

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