Antony Anghie’s “Imperialism, Sovereignty, and the Making of International Law” is a seminal work that delves into the colonial origins of international law. His research uncovers the historical evolution of international law and illuminates its present-day implications, particularly its role in perpetuating colonial and neo-colonial relations with the Third World. Anghie’s analysis, tracing back toContinueContinue reading “Review: “Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law” – Antony Anghie”
Tag Archives: Capitalism
Review: “Trotskyism: Counter-Revolution in Disguise” – M. J. Olgin
As an unrepentant working class, self-taught Marxist-Leninist, and a staunch follower of the anti-revisionist line of Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin, I find myself in profound disagreement with Trotsky’s ‘theories’ and his contemporary adherents. Despite having previously delved into M. J. Olgin’s 1935 book, ‘Trotskyism: Counter-Revolution in Disguise, I felt compelled to revisit it, seeking a deeper understanding ofContinueContinue reading “Review: “Trotskyism: Counter-Revolution in Disguise” – M. J. Olgin”
Review: “And the Poor Get Children: Radical Perspectives on Population Dynamics” – ed. Karen Michaelson
And the Poor Get Children: Radical Perspectives on Population Dynamics, edited by Karen Michaelson and published by Monthly Review, offers a radical critique of orthodox economics and overpopulation theories. The essays in this book confront neo-Malthusianism head-on, similar to what the famous Brazilian doctor and scientist Josué de Castro did in his brilliant book TheContinueContinue reading “Review: “And the Poor Get Children: Radical Perspectives on Population Dynamics” – ed. Karen Michaelson”
Roll back Prices! Raise Wages!
Review: “South Africa’s Transkei: The Political Economy of an ‘Independent’ Bantustan’ – Roger Southall
Roger Southall’s “South Africa’s Transkei: The Political Economy of an ‘Independent’ Bantustan” (Monthly Review, 1983) is a technical book that examines the emergence of ‘independent’ bantustans in South Africa from the 1970s to the end of apartheid in 1994. Using Marxian political economy, Southall unravels the economic and material basis of the bantustans, focusing onContinueContinue reading “Review: “South Africa’s Transkei: The Political Economy of an ‘Independent’ Bantustan’ – Roger Southall”
Review: “Sweatshops on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation” – Michael H. Belzer
Before obtaining his Ph.D. in economics from Cornel University, Michael H. Belzer logged over 750,000 over-the-road miles as a Teamster tank-truck driver. Thus, along with his academic background, Belzer has firsthand experience working in the trucking industry. Like Belzer, I, too, am an academic with experience working in the trucking industry, increasing the appeal ofContinueContinue reading “Review: “Sweatshops on Wheels: Winners and Losers in Trucking Deregulation” – Michael H. Belzer”
Review: “Ethnocultural Processes and National Problems in the Modern World” – ed. I. R. Grigulevich
“Ethnocultural Processes and National Problems in the Modern World” is a collection of essays by Soviet ethnologists edited by I. R. Grigulevich about ethnic, racial, and national issues in both the USSR and other countries. This is an impressively comprehensive book. Part 1 of the book examines ethnocultural processes in the USSR and is dividedContinueContinue reading “Review: “Ethnocultural Processes and National Problems in the Modern World” – ed. I. R. Grigulevich”
Review: “The Autobiography of Big Bill Haywood” – William D. Haywood
The one-eyed William D. “Big Bill” Haywood (1869-1923) was a founding member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), a member of the Communist Party of the USA, and a revolutionary fighter against capitalism and exploitation. His autobiography is a riveting working-class history of the USA. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1869,ContinueContinue reading “Review: “The Autobiography of Big Bill Haywood” – William D. Haywood”
Review: “The History of Democracy: A Marxist Interpretation” – Brian S. Roper
What are the origins of ‘democracy’? Are countries like the US, Canada, Britain, etc., democratic? In “The History of Democracy: A Marxist Interpretation,” Brian S. Roper examines liberal assumptions about the origins and essence of democracy using Marxist historical materialism. Roper begins by examining the system of participatory democracy in Athens and Rome and itsContinueContinue reading “Review: “The History of Democracy: A Marxist Interpretation” – Brian S. Roper”
Review: “The Balkans, 1804-1999: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers” – Misha Glenny
At more than 700 pages long, Misha Glenny’s “The Balkans, 1804-1999: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers” is a powerful and impressively comprehensive history of the Balkans. Beginning with the First Serbian Uprising against Ottoman rule in 1804, Glenny chronologically examines the historical origins of nationalism and the various nation-states in the Balkans, including Serbia,ContinueContinue reading “Review: “The Balkans, 1804-1999: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers” – Misha Glenny”
Review: “State-Monopoly Capitalism and Labour Law” – Igor Kiselyov
You’ll have to forgive me for the brevity of this review. I have been working tirelessly to get my manuscript ready for publication with my editor, which has consequently occupied most of my time, thoughts, and energy. Also, I read this book weeks ago, so might have forgotten some of it by now. “State-Monopoly CapitalismContinueContinue reading “Review: “State-Monopoly Capitalism and Labour Law” – Igor Kiselyov”
Review: “Recent History of the Labor Movement in the United States: 1918-1939” – ed. B. Y. Mikhailov
This is the first volume in a three-volume series by Progress Publishers examining the US labour movement from 1918 to 1980. Although the title of the book and of the series is the “Recent History of the Labor Movement in the United States,” there was actually very little history in the book. The book isContinueContinue reading “Review: “Recent History of the Labor Movement in the United States: 1918-1939” – ed. B. Y. Mikhailov”
Review: “A History of the Tajiks: Iranians of the East” – Richard Foltz
Tajikistan is a country I am very interested in; I own and have read many books about Tajikistan. If I can save enough money, I plan to drive the Pamir Highway from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in a year or two, subject to COVID restrictions. I didn’t have very high expectations when I beganContinueContinue reading “Review: “A History of the Tajiks: Iranians of the East” – Richard Foltz”
Review: “Beyond the Arab Cold War: The International Politics of the Yemen Civil War, 1962-68” – Asher Orkaby
Asher Orkaby’s “Beyond the Arab Cold War: The International Politics of the Yemen Civil War, 1962-68” is a comprehensive analysis of the international politics and significance of the (North) Yemeni Civil War. The Yemeni Civil War began on September 26th, 1962, when the military forces of Abdullah al-Sallal shelled Muhammad al-Badr’s royal palace in Sana’aContinueContinue reading “Review: “Beyond the Arab Cold War: The International Politics of the Yemen Civil War, 1962-68” – Asher Orkaby”
Review: “‘Human Relations’ Doctrine: Ideological Weapon of the Monopolies” – Nina Bogomolova
Before I read Nina Bogomolova’s book “‘Human Relations’ Doctrine: Ideological Weapon of the Monopolies” I had no idea what “human relations” doctrine was. A few pages into the book, however, I soon realized I knew exactly what “human relations” doctrine was and that I have personally experienced it — and I knew I was goingContinueContinue reading “Review: “‘Human Relations’ Doctrine: Ideological Weapon of the Monopolies” – Nina Bogomolova”
Review: “Danger: NATO” – Anatoly Grishchenko, Vladimir Semenov, and Leonid Teplinsky
“Danger NATO” by Anatoly Grishchenko, Vladimir Semenov, and Leonid Teplinsky is a short Marxist-Leninist analysis of NATO published in the USSR. The book examines the history, establishment, and ideology of NATO, how the U.S. uses NATO to pressure Western European states to act as junior and subservient partners of U.S. imperialism against their own nationalContinueContinue reading “Review: “Danger: NATO” – Anatoly Grishchenko, Vladimir Semenov, and Leonid Teplinsky”
“General De Gaulle: His Life and Work” – Nikolai Molchanov
“General de Gaulle: His Life and Work” by Nikolai Molchanov is one of the BEST biographies I have ever read. Molchanov, a Soviet scholar, offers a Marxist-Leninist analysis of one of France’s most important leaders, General Charles de Gaulle, the leader of the Free France forces against Vichy France and Nazi Germany in WWII, ChairmanContinueContinue reading ““General De Gaulle: His Life and Work” – Nikolai Molchanov”
Review: “The Red Feds: Revolutionary Industrial Unionism and the New Zealand Federation of Labour, 1908-1914” – Erik Olssen
“The Red Feds: Revolutionary Industrial Unionism and the New Zealand Federation of Labour, 1908-1914” by Erik Olssen chronicles the momentous changes in the New Zealand working-class in the period prior to WWI. The main focus of this book are the changes and struggles within the working-class as opposed to between workers and employers typical ofContinueContinue reading “Review: “The Red Feds: Revolutionary Industrial Unionism and the New Zealand Federation of Labour, 1908-1914” – Erik Olssen”
Random Interesting Book from My Library: “The Geography of Hunger” – Josue de Castro
I discovered both “The Geography of Hunger” and its later revised edition “The Geopolitics of Hunger” at my favourite used bookstore in Manitoba, A La Page in Winnipeg’s St. Boniface. At first I was very skeptical about this book; the title of the book and the subject struck me as very bourgeois and neo-Malthusian. True,ContinueContinue reading “Random Interesting Book from My Library: “The Geography of Hunger” – Josue de Castro”
Review: “Soviet Nationalities Policy and Bourgeois Historians: The Formation of the Soviet Multinational State (1917-1922) in Contemporary American Historiography” – L. Zenushkina
When I first started reading L. Zenushkina’s “Soviet Nationalities Policy and Bourgeois Historians: The Formation of the Soviet Multinational State (1917-1922) in Contemporary American Historiography,” I must admit I didn’t have very high expectations. True, Soviet nationalities policy is an area I specialize in, but since I have already read multiple books published in theContinueContinue reading “Review: “Soviet Nationalities Policy and Bourgeois Historians: The Formation of the Soviet Multinational State (1917-1922) in Contemporary American Historiography” – L. Zenushkina”
T. J. Petrowski 