Against the Law
By organizing based on international law, the struggle for Palestinian liberation has been transformed into a question of rights.
492 Search Result(s) for: “Colonialism ”
On Shōgun
FX’s miniseries Shōgun takes place at the time of first contact between Europeans and the Japanese people.
The Anti-Colonial Marxism of Mahdi Amel
The Lebanese Marxist thinker Mahdi Amel was assassinated on this day in 1987. Amel developed a version of Marxism that was grounded in the experience of colonized societies, showing how class struggle converges with the fight for national liberation.
“All Humans Are Born Equal”
The early German socialists fought for the persecuted at home and abroad — convinced that the liberation of workers in Germany was linked to the liberation of oppressed peoples around the globe.
Indonesia’s Communists Helped Forge Its National Identity
After the bloody repression of the Indonesian left in the 1960s, Suharto’s regime wrote it out of the history books. Indonesian communists played a crucial role in developing national consciousness among workers and peasants against Dutch colonial rule.
It’s Undeniable: Israel Is an Apartheid State
A new Amnesty International report terms Israel an apartheid state. Israel’s defenders have replied by smearing the authors — but there’s no denying that this is a state built on the systematic brutalization of Palestinians.
The Reactionary Jargon of Decoloniality
Cloaked in an impenetrable jargon, “decoloniality” dehistoricizes and culturalizes colonialism. It’s a political and intellectual dead end for socialists.
Catastrophe and Colonialism
Hurricane Maria brutally exposed the crisis of Puerto Rico's colonial status.
How Colonialism and Austerity Are Shaping Africa’s Response to the Coronavirus
African countries have shown impressive ingenuity in dealing with the coronavirus. But the legacies of colonialism and Western-imposed austerity have left them ill-equipped to attack the deadly virus.
We Can Only Go Beyond Communism by Coming to Terms With Its History
Thirty years ago today, the Soviet Union collapsed. Twentieth-century communism should be understood in all its complexity, as revolution and regime, a spur to anti-colonialism and an alternative form of social democracy.
Rich Countries Are Exporting Climate Breakdown to the Global South
From waste to deforestation to drastic flooding, wealthy countries of the Global North are outsourcing the impacts of their resource extraction to poorer countries in the Global South. Call it “carbon colonialism.”
Guinea-Bissau’s Liberation Struggle Transformed the Face of World Politics
A movement led by Amílcar Cabral fought against Portuguese rule in Guinea-Bissau and won independence against seemingly overwhelming odds. It also contributed to the end of white-settler rule in Southern Africa and the democratic revolution in Portugal itself.
Emmanuel Macron’s Africa Policies Are Still Rooted in French Colonialism
Today’s Africa-France summit is a typical show of French president Emmanuel Macron’s imperial grandstanding. But it wouldn’t be possible without business leaders and intellectuals who paint France’s interference in its old colonies in a humanitarian light.
Argentine Filmmaker Lucrecia Martel on Cancel Culture, Colonialism, and Chocobar
Director Lucrecia Martel is famous for her subtle portrayals of class and race relations in Latin America. In Chocobar, she’s turning her lens on how 500 years of colonial history is connected to the contemporary murder of indigenous activist Javier Chocobar.
No, Post-Nazi Germany Isn’t a Model of Atoning for the Past
German public debate is often marked by self-congratulation at “coming to terms” with the country’s past. Yet comparisons between antisemitism and other racisms are increasingly being demonized — and it’s stifling discussion of Germany’s colonial crimes.
Patrice Lumumba (1925–1961)
58 years ago today, Congolese prime minister and anticolonial leader Patrice Lumumba was assassinated.
Frantz Fanon and the Revolution Against Racism
Frantz Fanon was one of the most influential revolutionary thinkers of the last century. His work, produced in the heat of anti-colonial revolution, is full of insights for the struggle against racism and capitalism today.
Tearing Down Statues Doesn’t Erase History, It Makes Us See It More Clearly
The protesters tearing down monuments to slaveholders and perpetrators of genocide are often accused of “erasing the past.” But their actions are bringing closer scrutiny on the figures these monuments celebrate — allowing history to be retold from the viewpoint of their victims.
To Fight Imperialism Abroad, Build Class Struggle at Home
The idea that workers in wealthy countries like the United States are part of a “labor aristocracy” bought off with the fruits of imperialism is nonsense. The best way to build a movement against US imperialism is to build the labor movement domestically.
Colonial Plunder Didn’t Create Capitalism
Despite what you may have heard, colonial plunder didn’t give rise to capitalism. In an interview with Jacobin, Vivek Chibber discusses why the “colonialism-created-capitalism” argument fails, and why Marxism provides a better account of its emergence.