It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Saturday, December 21, 2024
Amazon expects no disruptions as US strike goes into 2nd day
By AFP December 20, 2024 Amazon Teamsters union workers temporarily block an Amazon delivery truck in San Francsico as they picket outside an Amazon distribution center - Copyright AFP
OSCAR DEL POZO
A US strike targeting Amazon in the peak festive period extended into a second day Friday as the retail behemoth said the labor action would not affect its business.
Amazon has experienced “no disruptions at all,” a company spokeswoman told AFP. “And we aren’t anticipating any either.”
The Teamsters union on Thursday launched a strike targeting seven Amazon facilities spaced around the United States. Union officials said the stoppage continued Friday at the same locales.
“When they (Amazon) come to the table, I guess that’s when we’ll stop,” Tony Rosciglione, treasurer of the Teamsters Local 804 in New York, told AFP in a phone interview from a picket line in New York City.
The union, pointing to headway at Amazon locales from organizing drives, had set a December 15 deadline for Amazon to enter into negotiations on a contract.
Amazon has long fought against labor organizing campaigns, arguing in favor of a direct relationship with employees unimpeded by a third party.
The statement from the Amazon spokeswoman pointed to wage hikes of 20 percent over the last six years to starting warehouse and transport workers, along with health and retirement benefits.
The Teamsters characterization of its status at Amazon is a “false narrative,” the Amazon spokeswoman said.
“The truth is that they were unable to get enough support from our employees and partners and have brought in outsiders to harass and intimidate our team, which is inappropriate and dangerous,” she said.
Meanwhile, a union drive at Starbucks also resulted in stoppages that began Friday.
The group Starbucks Workers United announced “escalating strikes” through Christmas beginning Friday in three markets: Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle.
The labor group, which has unionized more than 500 stores across the United States, argues that Starbucks has “backtracked” on commitments to bargain productively on a contract.
But Starbucks described as “not sustainable” union demands for an immediate 64 percent hike in the minimum wage, with a three-year increase of 77 percent.
“There has been no significant impact to our store operations,” a Starbucks spokesman said Friday. “We are aware of disruption at a small handful of stores, but the overwhelming majority of our US stores remain open and serving customers as normal.”
UK
Fury at Government decision not to compensate Waspi women
The Government’s refusal to compensate has produced strong reactions on social media – not least from Labour MPs.
“The Conservatives with the Liberal Democrats stole this money from those women who were born in the 1950s… Millions of women have been plunged into poverty and don’t just want handouts by social security – they want their money back and quite rightly so… We will right that injustice.” That was Angela Rayner MP, now Deputy Prime Minister, back in 2019. Today the Government is taking a very different line.
Six years after Labour MPs gave a standing ovation to a Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) protest in Parliament, Keir Starmer’s Government has decided to deny compensation to up to 3.8 million women affected by changes in the women’s state pension age.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves defence of the U-turn was that “I didn’t judge that it would be the best use of taxpayers’ money to pay an expensive compensation bill for something most people knew was happening.”
In response the Waspi campaign tweeted: “Pure sophistry on the part of Rachel Reeves MP. The DWP’s own research showed that nearly 70% of #WASPI women did not know about the change to pension age. That is what the Govt’s own watchdog found and what she is choosing to ignore.”
The Government’s decision has provoked a furious reaction. Beth Winter, former Labour MP for Cynon Valley, tweeted: “I was elected to Parliament in 2019 in a Labour Party committed to compensate Waspi women. Today’s decision by UK Labour govt to reject any compensation is a disgrace. The Labour Party has changed. I haven’t.”
Neil Findlay, former Labour MSP said: “What’s a disgrace – utterly shameless betrayal of the WASPI women.” He added: “Why is it ‘difficult decisions’ by Starmer’s Government always leaves the working class poorer?”
“Our message to the Prime Minister: remember the pledge you made when you were so happy to be photographed alongside the WASPI women,” said Jeremy Corbyn MP. “This isn’t over. The WASPI women will have my full support until they receive the compensation and justice they deserve.”
Social media is today awash with photos of senior Labour members, including Keir Starmer MP, Yvette Cooper MP and Lisa Nandy MP, endorsing the legitimate demands for compensation for the Waspi women.
Richard Burgon MP agreed that the fight goes on. “Just last month I joined the Waspi women outside Parliament to again show my solidarity against the gross injustice they have faced,” he said. “And I will continue to stand with @WASPI_Campaign until this terrible wrong is put right.”
Ian Byrne MP tweeted: “I have long stood with the 50s-born women in West Derby fighting for pensions justice and I will continue to do so. Today’s decision not to award compensation for yet another injustice at the hand of the state is wrong. The fight will continue.”
Labour’s Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash has also broken ranks, saying the decision is wrong and “flies in the face of… previous statements of support from the Labour Party.”
Ian Lavery MP said: “The announcement today is quite frankly unacceptable. I will continue to fight for justice for all of the women involved in this injustice.”
Nadia Whittome MP pointed out that the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman had ruled that the women were owed compensation due to the way that the Department for Work and Pensions’ handling of pension changes had left many financially unprepared. “This historic injustice should be recognised and righted,” she said.
The Campaign for Socialism, voice of the Scottish Labour left, said: “What a cruel decision taking away hope to women who have been let down by the state and had their pensions stolen.”
Alloa and Grangemouth MP Brian Leishman said in Parliament that he was “appalled”. He added later: “I stood up in Parliament today and criticised this decision because it’s wrong. Let’s be clear, compensating Waspi women for their state pension is justice. It’s correcting a failure of government that left millions of women blindsided.”
South Shields MP Emma Lewell-Buck expressed shock and disappointment, saying: “When I said I stood with Waspi women, I meant it… I will continue to work with colleagues across Parliament to make the case for Waspi women.”
Former Labour Director of Policy under Jeremy Corbyn Andrew Fisher said the decision “sets a really bad precedent if Government ignores the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman when it recommends compensation for maladministration by the state.”
Rebecca Long-Bailey MP agreed, saying: “The report was clear – ignoring most of its findings is virtually unprecedented, and I fear a very worrying new precedent has now been set for the importance placed upon the Ombudsman as a vehicle for holding Governments of all stripes to account in the public interest. This remains a historic injustice that must be resolved and this must be revisited urgently.”
Lord Prem Sikka agreed, tweeting: “No point of an independent report if recommendations ignored.”
Clive Lewis MP added his voice: “An independent Ombudsman recommended paying just a quarter of the compensation the women have been campaigning for, and the government has ignored even that. I know many women who’ve battled this injustice for years, and I very much doubt they’ll go quietly now. I’ll continue to stand with them.”
Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP warned that the Waspi women “will consider this to be a betrayal and I doubt if they will just go away quietly.”
It’s incomprehensible that a government so recently hammered for cutting Winter Fuel Allowance would reject the Ombudsman’s call for compensation, argues Susan Press.
In March this year the Ombudsman, after a six-year-long inquiry, announced that every WASPI woman should receive between £1,000 and £2,950 in compensation. It wasn’t much – but it was something after nine long years of campaigning and lobbying.
WASPI – Women Against State Pension Inequality – was founded in 2015 to advocate for the 3.6 million women born in the 1950s who were affected by state pension changes bringing women into line with men and adding five years or more to their wait for a state pension.
After nearly ten years of knockbacks from successive Prime Ministers, few believed Rishi Sunak would accept the Ombudsman’s verdict and offer any of the money suggested. But then he called a General Election and Labour won a landslide. Hopes were raised exponentially.
After all, most Labour MPs had at some point since 2015 pledged support for the WASPI women. There had been endless selfies with campaigners at Party Conference, photo ops for leaflets and websites, Tweets and Facebook posts and successful rallies in the House of Commons. New Chancellor Rachel Reeves had even had a photo taken with her WASPI-age Mum and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall was also a keen advocate for the cause.
Her much touted ‘imminent’ announcement about the WASPIs arrived just in time for Christmas . It was an unexpected and horrible twist to the tale.
Nada. Zilch. Nothing at all.
Just a bleak statement to the Chamber announcing that the Minister would not be providing compensation to a single one of the women affected by the state pension age changes, which came into effect decades into their working lives when financial options were already running out.
Though accepting the Ombudsman’s findings, and apologising for the mistakes made in letting women know about the changes, there would be no financial redress. There was evidence, she said, that there was “considerable awareness” of the changes to the pension age, and sending letters earlier would not have made a difference to the women’s ability to make retirement choices.
She also said that there was no evidence of “direct financial loss” resulting from the government’s decision, and that Labour did not believe that paying a flat rate to all women at a cost of up to £10.5bn would be fair or proportionate to taxpayers.
“I know that many 1950s-born women will be disappointed about this specific decision, but we believe it is the right decision and the fair decision,” said Kendall.
The news came as a profound shock to most of us WASPIs – because quite honestly no-one was expecting the full £58 billion belatedly promised in the 2019 Labour manifesto which would have meant payouts of up to £31,000. Nor by this stage did we expect the £10,000 compensation which was WASPI’s original ask. But surely, I thought, no government and certainly not a Labour one, would refuse us the flat £1,000 recommended, which would at least have been a token badge of solidarity. It seemed frankly incomprehensible that a government so recently hammered by the electorate for cutting Winter Fuel Allowance would make anything like the same mistake again. And yet… this is exactly what happened.
WASPI Chair Angela Madden said the decision to ignore the clear recommendations of an independent watchdog which urged Ministers to compensate WASPI women nine months ago was “unprecedented” and a “bizarre and totally unjustified move.” She was of course correct. However, to many of us in the Labour Party, it was much worse than that.
The government’s sheer lack of political nous, inability to learn the lessons of recent policy disasters and follow the most basic political rules of not breaking promises and sticking to core principles have left members angry and bewildered.
In the last couple of days, leaked WhatsApp messages show MPs are equally furious – and not just the usual suspects either. Barrow MP Michelle Scrogham, elected only in July, says: “You have to wonder how did we get here? I was elected under a banner of integrity . I stood shoulder to shoulder with these women and promised to fight for them as did many of us. My integrity is worth more than this.”
As dozens of Labour MPs take to social media to explain why they still support the WASPI women, the organisation has vowed to carry on campaigning. There are calls for a Parliamentary vote on the issue and possibly more legal action, but at this stage it’s hard to see how any of this will result in anything other than more disappointment for the WASPI women.
A template letter with ‘lines to take’ has already been issued by the powers that be and no doubt that is how the majority of MPs will respond to the inevitable backlash of emails and phone calls. But with so much goodwill already squandered since July, I guess very few angry constituents will appreciate the mantra of ‘tough choices’ and ‘black holes’ when for so long they were led to believe that some kind of compensation was actually on the cards.
And, as previous administrations have eventually found out at great cost, voters do not appreciate politicians not being straight with them. The WASPI betrayal – because that’s what it is – is unlikely to be forgotten or forgiven by much of the electorate. Particularly women of a certain age.
Susan Press is a former Labour councillor and member of Calder Valley CLP. She was born in October 1957, so is also a WASPI!
Apple is accused of profiting from war crimes in Congo
The tech giant, whose major suppliers purchase minerals from Rwanda, could face an epic legal battle
By every subjective measure, Apple is one of the most successful public companies in history. Its brand perception is synonymous with innovation and its corporate ethos is to make the world a safer, more equitable place. But lofty credos can often be misleading. In the Great Lakes region of Africa, which is ground zero in the global supply chain for Big Tech, Apple appears to have betrayed its vision. The company stands accused of deceiving consumers, laundering Congolese minerals and profiting from war crimes, according to criminal complaints filed against Apple subsidiaries in France and Belgium. A team of international lawyers representing the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) claims Apple’s computers and phones are tainted by the blood of Congolese people.
The lawyers allege that Apple has commercialized illegally exploited minerals, and that its key suppliers buy minerals laundered by Rwanda, an apex predator in Congo and a preferred international hub for mineral exports. Apple has long claimed it verifies the origin of minerals it uses to manufacture its products, insisting that the tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold (known as 3TG) from its suppliers are conflict-free and do not finance war. But over the course of decades, the biggest international smelters, refiners and electronic component producers have steadily purchased minerals from Rwanda, knowing full well that Rwanda’s illegal exploitation and trafficking of those minerals have been the fuel for a decades-long conflict that has ripped Congo apart and left millions of people dead.
Rwanda’s own mineral production is verifiably poor, yet many of the world’s leading processing companies buy minerals from Rwanda, in particular tantalum, a crucial metal used in aerospace components and weapons systems. Chinese companies, for instance, are big importers of tantalum from Rwanda, having locked in low prices with Rwanda’s regime many years ago. Among the global companies that buy tantalum from Rwanda are Global Advanced Metals, AVX Kyocera, Kemet/Yageo, Mitsui Mining and Smelting, Ningxia Orient Tantalum Industry, Jiujang Tanbre, Jiujiang JinXin Nonferrous Metals, Ximei Resources, Ulba Metallurgical Plant and Taniobis—all of which are listed as Apple’s suppliers on the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The suppliers sourcing from Rwanda are listed by an industry-led certification scheme that Apple has relied on for years, known as ITSCI. The trail of evidence linking international buyers to Rwanda is therefore available for everyone to see.
Earlier this year, Rwandan President Paul Kagame admitted that Rwanda is a transit hub for smuggled Congolese minerals and suggested that the international community was entirely complicit in the global supply chain fraud. He said it’s never been a secret that Congolese minerals go through Rwanda to Brussels, Tel Aviv, Russia and Dubai, among other places.
Congo’s government meanwhile estimates that it’s losing an estimated $1 billion a year in minerals that are being trafficked into Rwanda. At the same time, Rwandan soldiers and its proxy M23 militia have made important territorial gains in Congo’s eastern mineral-rich provinces. Rwanda is now expanding its influence and mining revenues as its proxies displace, rape and kill Congolese civilians with astonishing levels of impunity.
The unsavory subtext to this tragedy is Kagame’s close ties to the West, in particular the US, UK, Canada, and France, whose economies are highly dependent on critical minerals from Central Africa and the Sahel. Rwandan troops are the West’s hired guns in the Sahel so there seems little chance that Rwanda will be slapped with UN or US sanctions for its latest crime spree. In the face of mounting military losses, Congo’s options are dwindling; its embattled President Etienne Tshisekedi appears to have had no choice but to bring in the lawyers.
“Color Apple red, and not green. It is a trillion-dollar company that must be assumed to know the consequences of its actions. Enough with denials of accountability and hiding behind the false narrative of supply chain defenses!” said Robert Amsterdam, whose Washington-based firm has taken up the case, alongside William Bourdon & Associés in Paris, and Christophe Marchand of Jus Cogens in Brussels.
“Apple is also accused of using deceptive commercial practices to assure consumers that the tech giant’s supply chains are clean,” Amsterdam announced this week, warning that the criminal complaints against Apple were “the first salvo” of judicial actions expected from the legal team.
Apple immediately refuted the allegations and said it has told its suppliers to stop buying minerals sourced from Congo and Rwanda. “As conflict in the region escalated earlier this year, we notified our suppliers that their smelters and refiners must suspend sourcing tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold from the DRC and Rwanda,” Apple said.
Congo’s team of lawyers welcomed the announcement but said Apple’s statement would have to be verified on the ground and that in any case, French and Belgian judges would have to rule on the matter. “Apple’s statements do not change the past and the crimes that are alleged to have been committed,” the lawyers said.
The French and Belgian complaints have not been released publicly but were shared with several journalists, including me. The legal filings say that Apple’s director of supplier responsibility, Ashley Orbach, used to work for the US State Department and would have had detailed knowledge of the illicit trade of minerals in Central Africa. In fact, in 2014, Orbach was on the front line of efforts by the State Department to provide guidance to companies on exercising due diligence in the global supply chain. She was among the two most prominent officials working for the US government on conflict minerals.
Orbach, who joined Apple in 2017, has publicly stated: “We care as much about how products are made as the products we make. We have both the responsibility and an opportunity to operate in a responsible manner that not only doesn’t do harm but also does good. Ultimately, if suppliers are unwilling or unable to meet our strict standards they will be removed from the supply chain.”
The lawyers allege that Apple had full knowledge of the breaches in its supply chain and did not denounce these violations or suspend any of its major suppliers. The complaints say the illegal transfer of Congolese minerals to Rwanda has been documented for years by UN investigators and NGOs such as Global Witness.
It’s worth noting that the Congolese government has not sued Apple yet. The French and Belgian legal complaints are a first step in that direction, though, and would need to be approved by judges. The complaints were filed against Apple subsidiaries instead of its head office in California because criminal laws in France and Belgium are more receptive to universal jurisdiction and rulings on war crimes.
Western and Asian companies are rarely found legally accountable for committing human rights violations in Africa, a continent that has endured resource plundering by multinationals since time immemorial. Corporate accountability for international crimes is slowly becoming a matter for the courts, however.
Ultimately, the case against Apple will hinge on whether lawyers can demonstrate that the company has had reasonable grounds to suspect that in purchasing materials from mineral processors doing business with Rwanda, it has in fact acquired, used, possessed and profited from criminal property—and is thus criminally liable. This will likely require a detailed trail of how electronic and component capacitor makers, in addition to smelters and refiners that Apple relies on, have paid Rwanda for illicit goods, which are then sold as ‘clean’ minerals to Apple and other companies.
For more than 25 years, Rwanda has used an international network of elites to help smuggle, sell and profit from Congolese minerals that are transported along militarized, violent trade routes. In 2008, Rwanda was exporting more than 4.6 times than what it produced, according to the US Geological Survey.
Other tech giants such as Intel, Sony, Motorola, and Tesla, in addition to defense manufacturers such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, use suppliers that source from Rwanda. It seems that Apple is being targeted here because of its perceived reputation for corporate responsibility, its consumer appeal and its deep pockets.
In the near term, it’s not clear how Apple and other companies would acquire sufficient quantities of tantalum to manufacture their devices if their suppliers stopped sourcing from Congo. Australia has substantive reserves of tantalum, but due to high extraction costs it has not been a major producer of the mineral for years. Brazil is the world’s second biggest producer but does not have enough capacity to replace quantities that Congo and Rwanda now provide to downstream buyers. Industry insiders know that Central Africa is the go-to source for a cheap, steady supply of strategic minerals that are essential to the global economy.
There is a risk here, as well, that ill-conceived legal moves could lead to a de facto embargo on 3TG minerals from Congo and risk further impoverishing Congolese miners and their families. Instead of punishing the Congolese, the focus should be on ending Rwanda’s chokehold in eastern Congo, once and for all. Governments should declare an embargo on Rwandan mineral exports, and prevent suppliers in the global supply chain from buying laundered goods. At the same time, the United Nations should fully dismantle its expensive, ineffective peacekeeping mission in Congo, known as MONUSCO, and resurrect an intervention brigade to remove Rwandan troops and their militia from Congolese soil, as it did in 2013 when Rwanda’s M23 rebels were chased out of their strongholds. The UN forces could then be used to protect Congo’s most lucrative mines from the endless cycle of exploitation, trafficking and violence associated with the illicit trade.
After nearly 30 years of justifying Rwandan crimes in Congo, the international community must remove Kagame’s incentive to stoke war so that the Congolese can finally work toward achieving political and economic sovereignty. Judi Rever is a journalist from Montréal and is the author of In Praise of Blood: The Crimes of the Rwandan Patriotic Front.
Setting the record straight on Canada’s ‘productivity crisis’
We can’t talk about productivity without talking about distribution
Economists like to fashion themselves as the “adults in the room.” However, their notion that incomes are determined by productivity is incredibly naïve, writes D.T. Cochrane. Photo courtesy Archives of Ontario/Wikimedia Commons.
Earlier this month, Statistics Canada released the latest numbers on productivity. Economists are in a tizzy over a third consecutive quarter of falling productivity, which means we’re getting less output per unit of input. There is plenty of misplaced blame being cast at predictable targets like government spending and regulation.
Desjardins, North America’s largest federation of credit unions, offered a particularly bad take on Canada’s productivity. In its analysis of the latest numbers, the financial institution set its sights squarely on workers. But in doing so, it created a misleading picture of the issue.
The analysis includes this chart:
The chart compares labour productivity with unit labour costs. While labour productivity is the economic output per hour of paid work, unit labour costs are the hourly compensation of workers per unit of output. Whenever productivity increases, the economy generates more per hour. Both series are indexed to equal 100 in 2017.
The chart creates the impression that workers are taking far more than their fair share of the economic pie as productivity plateaus. Despite having over $400 billion in assets under management, Desjardins apparently does not know the difference between nominal and price-adjusted values, which are typically referred to as “real.”
Output for both series is “real” GDP. That means the labour productivity measure removes the impact of inflation. However, workers’ compensation is not adjusted for prices. It is reported in current dollars, also known as nominal values. It doesn’t tell us the actual purchasing power of the workers receiving the compensation.
By using the data this way, Desjardins is trying to revive the notion that greedy workers are to blame for inflation—or will be to blame if inflation returns; this is the dreaded wage-price spiral. The Bank of Canada invoked this same spectre as inflation was picking up despite consumer prices rising before wages and the clear evidence of corporate profiteering in the preceding quarters.
The recent increase in unit labour costs is the result of workers trying to regain their lost purchasing power. But have they gone too far? Are workers actually taking more than their fair share? Labour’s share of output
A better measure to answer this question would be the labour share, which is labour compensation divided by GDP, both in current dollars. That is comparing apples to apples.
And instead of starting in 2014, let’s look at all the data available, which goes back to 1961.
Rather than the misleading picture of runaway wages presented by Desjardins, we see that the share of GDP going to workers has not even returned to its long-term average. We can also see that the share going to workers from the late-1960s until the mid-1990s was markedly higher than it has been over the last three decades.
The slowdown of productivity growth is a problem. However, the focus on productivity turns our attention away from the more serious problem of distribution. It’s the distribution, stupid
“Who gets what? Why and how do they get it? What should they get?”
These questions express long-standing moral and ethical dilemmas at the core of social organization. They lack objective answers. That is, unless you live in the mythical world of orthodox economic theory.
In the world of orthodox economists, competitive markets balance supply and demand among selfish individuals, and allocate income according to productivity. In such a world, distribution is objective and not a matter for ethical debate. According to orthodox theory, the CEO with an income of $10 million is 200 times more productive than a personal support worker (PSW) earning $50,000. In the economists’ world, even though the CEO may spend their days lobbying to eliminate health and safety regulations while the PSW spends their days caring for our elders, the ethics of the situation cannot be questioned because “The Market” has spoken.
Research from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives shows that average CEO pay has increased from about 170 times that of the average worker in the late-2000s and early-2010s, to almost 250 times in 2023. Economists want us to believe that these CEOs are simply more productive and therefore deserve their obscene pay.
But, we do not live in the economists’ fantasy world. In our actual world, there is a very real struggle over distribution. And that struggle is behind many of our current social woes. Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign pithily declared what that election was about: “It’s the economy, stupid.” Distribution is an indelible aspect of the economy, with consequences for every other aspect of people’s lives.
Increased productivity is undeniably a good thing. However, it is not that meaningful for people if they aren’t actually getting a fair share. For better or worse, we are relative beings. If I get $1 while someone else gets $100, I do not necessarily feel better off. That is especially true if I got $1 for working and they got $100 for owning lucrative assets.
An increase in aggregate productivity does not tell us who is benefitting from growth or who might be paying the costs. Who has benefitted from higher productivity?
The Bank of Canada warns that unless productivity increases, rising wages will bring higher inflation. But why is it only now that they insist wages and productivity be linked? Where were they for the past 40 years as productivity climbed while most workers’ purchasing power stagnated? We were producing more. But once we adjust for inflation, most of us weren’t actually receiving more.
This chart is the average market income, adjusted for inflation, of each income group, from the 10 percent of families with the lowest incomes to the 10 percent with the highest incomes.
For the bottom 70 percent, the purchasing power of their market incomes was lower in 2000 than it was in 1980. For the bottom 50 percent, it was still lower in 2022. Meanwhile, the top 10 percent received $54,600 more in 2000 than in 1980. As of 2022, the top decile had gained an additional $66,800.
According to orthodox economists, this means the top 10 percent of families became much more productive while the bottom 50 percent had not increased their productivity at all. However, there is no actual evidence to support the claim that income is distributed according to productivity. It is merely asserted.
Although productivity growth has slowed, it has largely continued to trend upward. But as long as it lags behind the growth of the top incomes, unequal distribution of gains will worsen.
Maldistribution of the social product is part of the growing and widespread sense of insecurity and resentment. Millennials who cannot afford a home are understandably resentful of the wealthy who collect rent by owning multiple houses. People working precarious jobs are understandably resentful of those who can live off idle returns from large asset portfolios. It feels egregiously unfair.
“Life isn’t fair.” What child has not been met with this response when they have called out an injustice? It is true that life is not fair. But that does not mean we should stop trying to make it more fair. Improved distribution of the social product is a necessary step toward fairness. But not only would fairer distribution reduce feelings of social alienation, there is strong evidence that it would also improve productivity.
Economists like to fashion themselves as the “adults in the room.” However, their notion that incomes are determined by productivity is incredibly naïve. It completely ignores the role of power in the actual determination of distribution. The guise of objectivity that orthodox economists give to distribution diverts us from the difficult adult conversation that we must have: who should get what and why?
D.T. Cochrane is senior economist with the Canadian Labour Congress, Canada’s largest labour organization.
Reflections on IGD Mexico, Anarchist Media, and International Solidarity
Social struggles south of the border in so-called Mexico held a somewhat uncomfortable space on IGD. One obvious reason being the language barrier which we sought as a project to overcome, translating voices directly from the ground, collectives, communities, and barrios in resistance in different parts of so-called Mexico. Another factor, one more difficult to face, yet one at the heart of doing international solidarity and media work, is the differing social, political, economic, cultural, and historical contexts throughout so-called North America, and throughout so-called Mexico, which make mutual aid and mutual understanding between spaces and movements more complex.
A quick scan of what we covered on “IGD Mexico” would result in one finding translated statements and communiques from individuals, collectives, and communities in resistance, interviews with frontline organizers and prisoners, calls for solidarity and fundraising, denunciations of repression, etc. The majority of the coverage was focused on Indigenous and campesino communities engaged in struggles for autonomy, self-organization, land and self-defense. This coincides with the overwhelming strength of these communities and movements in so-called Mexico. It also speaks to complex questions of context, communication, and solidarity inherent to transnational organizing and media work.
Mutual understanding and solidarity are further inhibited by privilege, racism, colonization, empire, class, eurocentrism, romanticization, etc. When we look at social struggles in so-called Mexico from the north, we often look at things that fit within our own ideological interpretation of the world and the struggle. We don’t seek to understand movements and struggles on their own self-determined terms, embedded within their complex histories and contexts. The United States is not the center of the world, and the United States experience isn’t the only experience on earth.
One of the primary challenges translating news, statements, and analysis from social struggles in so-called Mexico is also translating the context, trying to develop a deeper understanding of the different actors involved, the historical relations and continuities of resistance and domination. This requires time and commitment. It requires the weaving of relationships of communication, organization, and action with people on the ground. It requires dedication when things aren’t popping off but are at a point of disarticulation or demobilization.
Unfortunately, contemporary movement media is overwhelmingly dominated by social media. Time is reduced and so is deeper analysis and understanding. The masked protestor, the flaming barricade, or the armed actor become a spectacle. The spectacle often clouds a more critical understanding, hindering the possibility for more meaningful communication, organization, and solidarity.
In so-called Mexico, both narco-paramilitary groups and Indigenous communities in resistance can form armed self-defense groups and call themselves as such; both TERFs and anarcho-feminists can mask up and fight police in the streets; both right-wing unions and communities defending their territories can throw down burning road blockades. The relationships, politics, and histories of individuals, collectives, communities, unions, and barrios are complicated. Context matters.
Solidarity has many expressions. One of them is about building long term relationships of mutual aid, support, trust, and confidence. It is about showing up for one another, dedicating time and energy, both when things are at their worst and when things are at their best. It is about carrying out those mundane tasks that nobody wants to do and that often go unnoticed.
Anarchist media can play an important role in all of this. Yet, it can also fall into the logic of the market, seeking quantity over quality, spectacle over meaningful communication, showing up only when things are popping off, using movements to strengthen “the brand” of the media project, and not the media project to strengthen the movements.
Let’s continue asking ourselves: what kind of media do we need in our spaces, in our communities, in our movements? How can our communication projects become integral parts not only of our movements against capitalism, colonialism, patriarchy and the state, but also of the communities, societies, and relationships that we want to embody and cultivate?
The answer to these questions won’t come from this short reflection, nor from a post on an anarchist media project. It will come from the internal organization, discussion, and reflection of the collectives, communities, and barrios in resistance, grounded in their histories, locations, and contexts, derived from their capacity to self-organize, self-reflect, and act.
10 years ago a group of people set out to create a new media platform to document and give voice to autonomous social movements happening across so-called North America. It’s Going Down (IGD) has had an impact and audience beyond what many of us thought was possible, and we’re proud of the work that we’ve done over the past ten years.
In the last year however, we’ve come up against the wall of decreasing capacity to continue running this project on a consistent basis. With the coming to power of another Trump administration, we think its important for us to announce that we are taking a hiatus from working on this platform, with the hopes that other projects can find their footing.
A lot has changed since this project started: anarchist and autonomous anti-capitalist voices are louder and more common, as is the push back from elites against them. Both corporate parties are looking to silence and attack those speaking out against the growing push towards authoritarianism, war, inequality, and ecological destruction. We need vibrant media platforms that can speak to the lived realities and conditions of working-class people while also covering grassroots rank-n-file movements from below.
We know that It’s Going Down has been a project that a lot of people have utilized as a resource over the years and we want to encourage participants in social struggles to develop media infrastructure in the coming period. Think about what you can do, who you can connect with, and how you can get your reporting out into the world.
Going forward, we do have several podcasts that we intend to get out into the world in the next few weeks, and we encourage people to check out a new collaborative podcast project, The Beautiful Idea. Our social media accounts on BlueSky and Mastodon will continue to share and post news, upcoming events, and boost other projects. Our columns In Contempt and This Week in Fascism will also now be appearing on CrimethInc. starting in 2025. Finally, we will be keeping IGD online as an archive to ensure that this information is open, available, and able to be sourced for research, future learning, and ongoing projects.
This is far from the end for us, and what is coming next is still forming, but incredibly exciting. In the mean time, here are some projects that we encourage you to check out:
In a world of influencers, grifters, and algorithms, we hope that we a created space for an alternative and built a platform for movements and struggles that challenge domination and exploitation.
The old Indymedia slogan rings as true today as it ever did: make media, make trouble!
751 years after his death, Rumi’s influence crosses continental and religious divides KONYA, Turkey (RNS) — The 10 days of events that ended Tuesday (Dec. 17) drew hundreds from around the world to this minor provincial capital in central Turkey.
Whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi order perform Sema prayer ceremonies, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, at Konya stadium in Konya, Turkey. (Photo by David I. Klein) David I. Klein December 20, 2024
KONYA, Turkey (RNS) — “Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair.”
These words, belonging to the 12th-century poet and Sufi Muslim mystic Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhi Rūmī, resonated with the pilgrims gathered at his final resting place in Turkey to celebrate the Şeb-i-Arus — Rumi’s union with the divine — on the 751st anniversary of his death.
The 10 days of events that ended Tuesday (Dec. 17) drew hundreds from around the world to this provincial capital in central Anatolia, which in Rumi’s day served as the capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, a precursor to the Ottoman Empire.
Konya is also known as the home of the Mevlevi order, the Sufi sect that follows the teachings of Rumi, often called whirling dervishes, due to their distinctive spinning prayer known as Sema.
Once a more intimate affair confined to members of the Mevlevi order, Şeb-i-Arus has become something of a festival, with 10 days of events, concerts and lectures around Rumi’s tomb, with twice-daily Sema ceremonies.
“People come here from other countries wanting to be near Rumi, to get that thing everybody feels, and everybody feels it,” said Ismail Fenter, an American-born Mevlevi who settled in Konya a few years ago.
Today Rumi’s primary work, the Masnavi, is read in Islamic communities worldwide, but Muslims are hardly the only pilgrims to Konya for Şeb-i-Arus. “People from everywhere get together here, from all parts of life, and they have one thing in common, and that one thing is (Rumi) and his lessons,” Soheila Adelipour, who lives in Los Angeles, told Religion News Service. “They say that (Rumi) requests you, invites you, demands you. If you don’t have that request you aren’t going to end up here.”
Adelipour, an Iranian-born Jew and self-help author, said Rumi’s wisdom had helped her at difficult points in her life, adding that she was hopeful that in Konya she would find inspiration to finish her next book.
Three-quarters of a millenium after his death, Rumi consistently ranks among the bestselling poets in the United States, boosting interest in the anniversary celebrations in Konya.
“Some people see that the music is beautiful. So they come, and then they are influenced by the music. Some others, they come for the Sema. Sema is not a dance, but they see it as a dance. Then they search. And then the others, they come for the poetry,” explained Celal Çelebi, a 23rd-generation descendent of Rumi and member of the family that has led the Mevlevi order in Konya for centuries.
“Rumi’s message is universal,” said Çelebi. “When you look at the stories in the Masnavi, he is actually talking about today — these are still common problems that we are facing on a daily basis.”
Mobeen Dervesh in Konya, Turkey. (Photo by David I. Klein)
Marek Prochazka, who came to Konya from the Czech Republic, called Şeb-i-Arus “a world tour of spirituality and wellness,” comparing it to other spiritual festivals in Hinduism and Indigenous American faiths. “People go to Varanasi for the Ganga, Mexico for the Shamans, and they come to Konya for the Sufis,” he said.
For the many Muslims who come to Konya for Şeb-i-Arus, the widespread interest in the Islamic saint is a point of pride. “If somebody not Muslim is taking any inspiration from the saints like (Rumi), it is. It’s an honor for Islam in itself. It’s an honor and great news for Islam,” said Mobeen Dervesh, who came to Konya from the United Kingdom.
At a time when the media often portrays Muslims as engaged in conflict and extremism, Dervesh said he believes that it is important to showcase Rumi’s message of love and tolerance. “I think it needs to be put to the people that there is a love side of Islam as well,” he said, adding that the faith’s Sufi sect has particular potential to bring people together.
Fenter, who had trained to be both a Catholic priest and, later, a rabbi before adopting Islam, is working on a new English translation of the Masnavi and teaches online classes on Rumi’s work.
“My students that I’m teaching are Jews, Muslims, Christians and Buddhists. They come from all over the world, and they want to learn,” he explained. “You don’t need to be Mevlevi. You don’t need to be a Muslim to understand what Rumi is saying.”
The Mevlevi order in Konya has encouraged interest in Rumi and their traditions, but is also careful that their meanings are not lost behind the fanfare of Şeb-i-Arus. The dervishes, bedecked in white robes, arms raised to the heavens as they pronounce the name of God with each rotation, have become a symbol not only of the Mevlevi but of all of Turkey. Pictures of whirling dervishes are emblazoned on tourist tchotchkes in Istanbul’s bazaars, and dancers mimic the act at Turkish night clubs.
The Çelebi family, center, is escorted through crowds to Rumi’s tomb to offer Şeb-i-Arus prayers in Konya, Turkey, Dec. 17, 2024. (Photo by David I. Klein)
“That’s the only thing that we don’t like as a family,” said Çelebi, whose father, Faruk, is the current leader of the order in Konya and is president of the International Mevlana Foundation. “Sema is not a dance, but a zikrullah — a remembrance of god,” explained Fenter.
Under the secularist policies that dominated modern Turkey for much of the 20th century, the Mevlevi order was repressed, and even outlawed in the 1920s. Sema ceremonies and Şeb-i-Arus celebrations were allowed again in the 1950s to bring in tourism. In Konya, an entire stadium with seating for more than 2,500 was built to host the spectacle.
Pilgrims visit the tomb of Sufi Muslim mystic Jalal al-din Muhammed Balkhi Rumi in Konya, Turkey, Dec. 15, 2024. (Photo by David I. Klein)
“This is not a piece of theater or dance performance. It is a ritual, a religious ceremony, and we want people to see that aspect and respect it,” Çelebi said.
However, he acknowledged that in recent decades, as Rumi’s works have grown more popular in the West — and public religion more prominent in Turkey — people have come to treat Sema more respectfully.
“Compared to 20-30 years ago, people are more respectful to the spiritual part of it,” Çelebi said.
In Idaho, locals meet to discuss Christian nationalist church’s growing influence
Moscow, IDAHO (FaVs) — Nearly 200 residents gathered to hear a podcaster who is investigating the growing influence of Christian nationalist leader Doug Wilson in the community.
Heath Druzin, center with microphone, is applauded by panelists on Dec. 17, 2024, in Moscow, Idaho. (Photo by Tracy Simmons/FāVS News)
MOSCOW, Idaho (FāVS News) — Nearly 200 residents of this northern Idaho town gathered Tuesday night (Dec. 17) to discuss combating Christian nationalism, joined by a podcaster who is investigating the growing influence of Christian nationalist leader Doug Wilson in the community.
In the second season of his podcast “Extremely American,” Heath Druzin has been looking into the activities of Wilson’s Christ Church and its role in the extremist movement. Titled “Onward Christian Soldiers,” the season has already topped 1 million downloads.
Druzin explained to the crowd that Wilson, 71, who runs the Community of Reformed Evangelical Churches, a Calvinist church group, and an education empire that includes 500 “classical” Christian schools, is more influential nationally than locally.
But Christ Church, whose relationship with Moscow dates back to the 1970s, has been growing slowly over the decades. Today the church has between 800-900 members in the 25,000-person town. Those members own about 20% of the city’s downtown buildings, according to the podcast.
The church’s growth has caused a divide in the community, especially as Wilson continues to gain national attention, particularly in Christian nationalist circles.
“The intent of tonight’s presentation is to help educate our community about forms of extremism, its ramifications and the consequences in our community and our roles in dealing with it,” said Dale Gentry, retired dean of the College of Education at the University of Idaho. “One of the goals is to bring people together, and to help perpetuate the welcoming environment that is present in this Moscow community.”
Druzin said the education arm of Wilson’s ministry is perhaps the most powerful.
“He sees them as a munitions factory — students are munitions, and he can change culture through students. It’s effective … and this extends to homeschool materials,” Druzin explained.
Moscow is home to New Saint Andrews College, a private Christian school founded in 1994 by the church. Druzin said Wilson hopes it’s where students from his network of secondary schools end up. His classical Christian schools are part of a larger trend in education in which a Bible-based Christian worldview is taught alongside rhetoric and logic.
Wilson also has a growing media empire called Canon Press, which not only publishes books, but also produces podcasts and streaming shows. Druzin said a “kirker,” as Christ Church members are called, can easily have their educational, spiritual and entertainment needs met entirely through Wilson’s empire.
“What Doug Wilson wants to do, according to Doug Wilson, is change society; create an American theocracy,” Druzin said.
Pastor Doug Wilson of Christ Church. (Video screen grab)
Though that has caused tension in Moscow, Druzin said, Moscow hasn’t let Wilson take over its small town. “That’s partly because Moscow is not a very conservative place, and you’ve been outspoken on that,” he told the audience, noting that Christ Church members have not found success in running for political offices locally. Many residents boycott Christ Church-owned businesses.
The fact that nearly 200 people showed up to an at-capacity event, in the rain, was a hopeful sign, Druzin said, but he added that concerned citizens needed to stay vigilant and remain civically engaged.
“Inevitability happens when people get complacent,” he said. “Extremism is not broadly popular, but they tend to outwork their opposition. They’re more dogged about it, more patient. There’s a motivation gap.”
Joann Muneta, of the Latah County Human Rights Task Force, said it might be time for citizens to take a stronger stand if they want to continue fighting against Christ Church.
“Moscow wants to solve this problem without friction. We believe in pluralism, and we believe in love and we want to stick to that, but … maybe we have to be activists,” she said. RELATED: How big Christian nationalism has come courting in North Idaho
She added that she was surprised to learn people refer to Moscow as “Doug Wilson’s empire.”
“They’re looking to see how successful he’ll be in his takeover and his experiment here,” she said.
Druzin said there’s no denying Wilson is trying to make his Moscow footprint bigger but reminded locals that he hasn’t found success.
“He’s been working to make this a Christian town for 40 years, and it hasn’t happened yet. I think that’s an important fact.”
A version of this story originally appeared in FāVS News,
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