Political Affairs exposes the hypocrisy, racism and class war politics of the ultra-right that led directly to the enormity of the disaster along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. While hundreds of billions were available to pad the pockets of the Republican Party’s corporate donors, for an illegal war in Iraq and for tax cuts for the rich, nothing was available to rebuild or strengthen the levees around New Orleans.
José Cademartori, former minister of the economy under President Salvador Allende of Chile, provides an analysis of the results of the privatization of that country’s social security system. While you may not be surprised to find out that financial services corporations with operations in Chile have profited greatly under the privatization plan, you may be interested to know that those workers who opted not to go into the private plan have earned more in retirement income.
In addition to these hot topics, Gerald Horne examines new developments on the global stage that provide a counter to US imperialism. Scott Marshall takes us through the events of the 2005 AFL-CIO convention and calls for a united labor movement to defeat the Bush/Republican agenda. New PA writer Phil Rockstroh discusses the economic crisis facing the South and the contradiction of its majority support for the political forces on the right that have forced it into its current situation. Other articles give a historical perspective to the labor movement’s current crisis, examine the question of the vanguard role of the Communist Party, the USA Patriot Act, the question of nuclear weapons as part of our culture, and much more.
We also have several fine poems, book reviews, a Marxist quiz, and more still. Enjoy!
36 Race, Class and Katrina
By Political Affairs editors
President Bush sat on his hands while Black and poor people in New Orleans died.
24 Special Report on the AFL-CIO Split
By Scott Marshall
The 2005 AFL-CIO convention was a mixed bad: a strong antiwar position and a fighting spirit was marred by disunity and a splitting labor movement.
28 New Directions in International Labor Solidarity
By Ben Sears
Is labor turning a corner on foreign policy and international solidarity by taking a strong stand against the Iraq war?
30 Go, Bombers, Go! Nuke Um
By Bill Witherup
A high school’s nuclear mascot shows the depths that nuclear warfare has sunk into popular culture.
32 The United States of Dixieland: Corporatism, Jesus, and the Death Genes
By Phil Rockstroh
Why does the South continue to support the right wing, which is wholly responsible for its economic decline and growing poverty?
48 Class Warhorses
By Karin S. Coddon
Class struggle often takes place outside of the workplace and even infiltrates our recreational activities.
50 Is Vanguardism Just Hype? Marxism and the Party of a New Type
By Joel Wendland
The question of the vanguard role of the Communist Party has a long history and needs some updating.
56 4 years under the Patriot Act
By Norman Markowitz
The repressive PATRIOT Act is a tool that undermines democracy and aims to eliminate dissent and political opposition.
66 Las pensiones privatizadas de Chile: No son un modelo para los EEUU
Por José Cademartori
La privatización del Seguro Social en Chile enriqueció a los banqueros y empobreció a los pensionistas.
