Category: Critique
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Report reveals “Fair Trade” labels as a form of business self-regulation, not international solidarity
Critics of ethical certifications like Fair Trade USA and EFI mostly decry them as just more corporate PR. But our research shows the standards are worse than useless—they’re creating a parallel realm of corporate-friendly private regulation. Instead of democratic union elections, farmworkers on certified farms are offered a spot on a committee with management. And…
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George Jackson’s insightful analysis of America’s systemic fascism, and how to beat it
During his time in prison, Jackson developed and refined thoughtful analysis through voracious reading that informed his experience as a Black man growing up in a white-supremacist society. While he became known more for the violent incidents that were destined along his revolutionary path, Jackson was a prolific writer and theorist, particularly on the topics…
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How Conspiracy Theories Corrode Social Movements — and What to Do About it
Experiencing a crisis does not immediately grant someone special insight into the causes of their conditions, and there is a long history of communities turning their anger on marginalized people rather than the powerful. This is endemic to fascism’s rise.
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For US Cable News, a Palestinian Life is Not the Same as an Israeli Life
For cable news, however, determining the precise number of Palestinian dead may not be all that relevant. Because for them, an important principle comes first: Some numbers don’t count as much as others. Whereas around seven times as many Palestinians died as Israelis during October, Palestinian victims appear to have received significantly less coverage on…
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Digital Capitalism is a Mine not a Cloud
Big Tech seeks through abstractions of the ‘cloud’ to hide the depletion of nature and the exploitation and surveillance of labour that lies at the heart of its project to commodify data.
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The Nature of Militancy
In this article we will attempt to clear up some of this confusion by providing a working definition of the term militancy, and an answer to the related question of what it means to be a militant.
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Lessons from Gramsci for social movements today
He has been called one of the most original political thinkers of the 20th century. Historians point out that “If academic citations and internet references are any guide, he is more influential than Machiavelli.” And his impact on the way we think about the processes of social change has been described as “little short of electrifying.”
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Building International Solidarity
In this brief article, I hope to outline some basic organizational networks, communications methods, and essential skills needed to build deeper relations with fellow anarchic people in struggle against colonialism, capitalism, and domination. Remember, this is only the suggestions of one person. Building relations is a deeply complex and often personal affair (when done well).…
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Ten Demands to Break the Power of Big Tech and Establish Digital Ecosocialism
Today, progressive capitalism is widely seen as the most practical solution to the rise of Big Tech. Yet these same progressives have failed to acknowledge the structural harms of capitalism, US-led tech colonization and the imperative of degrowth. We cannot burn down the walls of our house to keep ourselves warm. The only practical solution…
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How Planting Trees Can Be Good or Bad
By Karen D. Holl, University of California, Santa Cruz and Pedro Brancalion, Universidade de São Paulo originally published on theconversation.com For 151 years, Americans have marked Arbor Day on the last Friday in April by planting trees. Now business leaders, politicians, YouTubers and celebrities are calling for the planting of millions, billions or even trillions…
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