The IMF/EU imposed Greek austerity program has and will generate human rights violations in the areas of health, nutrition, education of children and youth, life expectancy, welfare of the elderly and disabled, right to shelter, right to public transport and related social safety nets. Many countries forced to follow IMF discipline experience 5-10 year decreases in adult life expectancy after the imposition of equivalent measures.
Category: Topics
Age of Austerity
Ashley DawsonThe news today carried tidings of another huge setback for working people in the US. The legislature in New Jersey, one of the most heavily Democratic and pro-union states in the country, has passed a bill rolling back benefits such … Continue reading “Age of Austerity”
Which Way Wisconsin? The Meaning of the Madison Movement
Anne McClintockOn arriving in Madison some years ago, I went to the huge farmers’ market that winds round the Capitol. Startled by the slow-moving procession of orderly, white shoppers all pacing in the same direction, I dubbed the market throngs “The … Continue reading “Which Way Wisconsin? The Meaning of the Madison Movement”
Greeks on the Move: Capitalism's Wreckage and the Demand for Real Democracy
Costas PanayotakisThe entire world is watching as the future of Greece, and with it that of the global economy, is hanging in the balance. As journalists and commentators worry over the prospect of a Greek sovereign default triggering a chain reaction … Continue reading “Greeks on the Move: Capitalism's Wreckage and the Demand for Real Democracy”
New Periscope Dossier on Violence
Social Text CollectiveBeginning Monday May 24th, and running serially for a week, a new dossier entitled ‘Thinking Through Violence‘ will be appearing on the Social Text website. Check back for essays by Arvind Rajagopal, Banu Bargu, Allen Feldman, Drucilla Cornell, and Mary Louise Pratt.
On Public Intellectualism in the UK
Tariq JazeelThis feature in today’s The Observer newspaper on Britain’s relationship to ‘public intellectualism’ is at times illuminating, and at times frustrating in the most productive of ways. Indeed, some of my frustration with it connects directly to a theme that … Continue reading “On Public Intellectualism in the UK”
Must We Rebuild the Anthill?: A Letter to/for Japanese Comrades
George CaffentzisDear comrades, We are writing to express our solidarity with you in a time when the pain from the deaths of friends, family and comrades is still raw and the task of shaping a new kind of life out of … Continue reading “Must We Rebuild the Anthill?: A Letter to/for Japanese Comrades”
Democracy in America… and Wisconsin
Russ Castronovo
Full disclosure: I wrote this on my office computer and I sent it to Social Text Online via my university email. To give fair warning, I use “recall,” “protest,” and other words that the Republican Party of Wisconsin latched … Continue reading “Democracy in America… and Wisconsin”
Power in Italy
Andrea CarossoThree days after the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, as news of a possible nuclear leakage in Fukushima was capturing the headlines, the Italian secretary for the environment, Stefania Prestigiacomo, went on record announcing that, despite growing widespread concern, Italy’s … Continue reading “Power in Italy”
Four Questions about the Libyan Bombing Campaign
Omar DahbourWhat is the point of the bombing campaign against Libya? To answer this question, it would be nice if we could reach some certainty about what is going on in Libya itself. But this is not going to be easy, in the absence of specialist knowledge about the parties and players involved in the internal conflict. Certainly, Qaddafi, a world figure of some notoriety, seeks to maintain his power in the face of internal opposition. But who is this opposition?
Diary of a Racist Kid
Livia TenzerLast weekend I had a first encounter with the multimedia juggernaut that is Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Started online by Jeff Kinney as a web comic, with daily entries exploring the world of middle school angst and pranks, the … Continue reading “Diary of a Racist Kid”
New Middle Eastern Uprisings: Gender, Class and Security Politics in Iran
Manijeh MoradianYou know times have changed when the question, “Is Iran next?” no longer refers to whether Iran will be the next target in the US “war on terror,” but whether or not it will be next to succumb to a wave of revolutions. I obviously don’t have the answer but I can say that there is a profound radicalization under way in Iranian society that overruns the boundaries of class and sweeps across the continuum from religious to secular.
Nuclear Woes
Janet NgSeveral times within the last century, Japan came close to national annihilation, or so it must have seemed to many in Japan. The 1923 Kanto Earthquake that devastated Tokyo, Yokohama and a number of surrounding prefectures, killed 140,000 people. The … Continue reading “Nuclear Woes”
Nuclear Power/Knowledge
Ashley DawsonThe ongoing crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power plant intensified today, with worrying news emerging of radioactive iodine in Tokyo’s water supply. The entire infrastructure of one of the world’s most modern and cohesive societies seems to be threatened … Continue reading “Nuclear Power/Knowledge”