Marxism | Jotup

When Marx met Confucius: Xi Jinping's attempt to influence China's intellectual loyalties has met with a mixed reception at home and abroad

Retrieved on:

Thursday, November 9, 2023

The Chinese Communist Party has published regular communiques pushing Xi’s ideological line and When Marx met Confucius is the latest version of this propaganda drive.

Key Points:

The Chinese Communist Party has published regular communiques pushing Xi’s ideological line and When Marx met Confucius is the latest version of this propaganda drive.
Its aim is to reconcile the regime’s official Marxist underpinnings with an appeal to a more specifically Chinese cultural heritage.
This idea was introduced by Xi in July 2021, to mark the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party.
Some analysts view Xi’s propaganda efforts through the lens of his steady encouragement of a cult of personality in China.

Challenges of legitimacy

As Ci observes, the CCP “can have no other publicly avowable source of legitimacy than the one tied to its communist revolutionary past”.
But this legitimacy was significantly weakened after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.
But this performance legitimacy, relying heavily as it does on economic success, contains inherent vulnerabilities that could undermine the regime.

Lukewarm public response

Outside of official endorsements, the film seems to have received few positive comments within China.
Significantly, initial responses from two main ideological camps – the Maoists and the Confucianists – have diverged dramatically.
So this attempt to promote “Xi Jingping thought” to the Chinese public appears to be a hard sell.

Tao Zhang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

From Oppenheimer to Milton Friedman: how the Cold War battle of economic ideas shaped our world

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Is Oppenheimer a movie for our time, reminding us of the tensions, dangers and conflicts of the old Cold War while a new one threatens to break out?

Key Points:

Is Oppenheimer a movie for our time, reminding us of the tensions, dangers and conflicts of the old Cold War while a new one threatens to break out?
But the Cold War did not just rest on the threat of the bomb.
Von Neumann also developed the computer architecture on the EDVAC machine that allowed simulations of these nuclear and economic “games”.

Spies and ideologies

He survived the siege of Leningrad and invented linear programming to help Soviet factories build wartime planes more efficiently.
But he found himself assigned to the ENORMOZ project, the desperate Soviet race to build their own atomic bomb.
But it failed when faced with the more sophisticated civilian demands later in the Cold War.

Academic warfare

But some of the most brutal arguments took place in the hallowed halls of academia.
Fascinated by the possibility of computers helping direct an economy, Oscar Lange wrote just before his death:
So what’s the trouble?
Let us put the simultaneous equations on an electronic computer and we shall obtain the solution in less than a second.

Computers and coups

In Santiago he built a futuristic control centre: a ring of armchairs with controls, monitors and a software system named Cybersyn.
Allende had nationalised 500 businesses and he linked them up to the control centre by fax machine (ironically, using the wired network of the CIA-influenced ITT company).
Each day, the controllers would fax orders to the factories and receive information on shortages and gluts.
Despite all the geopolitical tensions, economists today can at least argue in a far less hostile environment.

Interest rates: the case for cutting them permanently to zero

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Robinson and Keynes were writing during the Great Depression, when spending and investment were moribund and interest rates seemed like a stranglehold on the economy.

Key Points:

Robinson and Keynes were writing during the Great Depression, when spending and investment were moribund and interest rates seemed like a stranglehold on the economy.
Indeed, Robinson’s argument was in response to a Marxist, proposing it would lead to “even better results than the revolutionist theory”.
With interest rates rising steeply in the past couple of years and capitalism deeply unpopular among younger generations, it is worth returning to this idea.

The rationale

This aims to restore equilibrium between supply and demand, and reduces inflationary pressure.
A major problem – setting aside the question of how well it works – is that this distributes the cost of curbing inflation very unevenly.
A recent report by the Royal Bank of Canada said higher interest rates disproportionately hurt poorer and younger people, such as renters and first-time homebuyers.
In general, to quote a recent op-ed, central banks raising interest rates make it harder to fight the climate crisis.

The fiscal alternative

If the interest rate were permanently zero, the government’s fiscal levers of taxation and spending would be the alternative means of controlling inflation.
Likewise, socially desirable forms of spending such as essential infrastructure would be the first to increase during recessions.
This was the main reason independent central banks were given control over interest rates in the first place.
Instead, central banks could openly use these frameworks to guide banks into making low-risk loans for socially and environmentally responsible ventures.

The future of central banks

This could enable central banks to encourage or discourage certain spending in more targeted ways, for example by restricting what can be spent by people in certain areas or income brackets.
If inflation was controlled using only fiscal levers, CBDCs could be used to reinforce this policy.

'Esterno Notte': Marco Bellochio's series grapples with ghost of assassinated Italian prime minister Aldo Moro

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

There lies the bullet-riddled body of Aldo Moro, Italy’s Prime Minister, parked mid-way between the party headquarters of the Christian Democrats and those of the Communist Party.

Key Points:

There lies the bullet-riddled body of Aldo Moro, Italy’s Prime Minister, parked mid-way between the party headquarters of the Christian Democrats and those of the Communist Party.
The scene concludes 55 days of kidnap and sequestration by the Marxist revolutionaries of the Red Brigades.
One of the darkest chapters in Italian history, the Aldo Moro affair continues to be revisited and written up to this day.
Acclaimed film director Marco Bellocchio is the latest to add his take.

The ruthless escalation of terrorist vengeance

Could he have exited the parallel proletarian justice system in which the Red Brigades “tried” him, as Bellocchio suggests when he brings him back to life in the introduction to his work?
And, had the Italian government accepted their terms, could the Red Brigades have compromised by releasing him?
The first communiqué of the Red Brigades, which immediately follows Moro’s kidnapping on 16 March 1978, leaves no doubt as to the abductors’ bloody intentions.

A state dragged into the mud of retribution

Why did the state apparatus refuse to negotiate with Moro’s kidnappers, when he expressly asked the government to release him and when the political elites were divided over the best course of action?
Consumed by their revenge, the Red Brigades systematically rejected any genuine discussion with the authorities, opting instead to send the government a succession of murderous messages.
Thus, no exchange of prisoners took place, while all the political parties ended up rallying behind the certainty that no democratic state in the world could bargain with terrorism.

Terrorism’s unforgivable crimes

Is forgiveness even conceivable as a response to terrorism, a supreme crime in the eyes of all societies?
Symptomatically, when it comes to terrorist acts, forgiveness is often absent and unattainable.
On the one hand, the Italian “Years of Lead” remain subject to controversy and are frequently instrumentalised by competing parties.
According to Demertzis, this ultimately amounts to “[defending][the integral subjectivity of the victim” and “[ethically protesting] against the unjustifiable evils and wrongs” inflicted by terrorism.

How can the CPC sustain the people's support?

Retrieved on:

Thursday, March 9, 2023

In the view of the CPC, which believes in Marxism, the people are the creators of social history.

Key Points:

In the view of the CPC, which believes in Marxism, the people are the creators of social history.
To advance toward their goals, the CPC and the Chinese government often formulate major strategic plans for the next five or ten years.
The CPC believes that any theory comes from practice and must be applied in practice to be tested and verified.
Therefore, committed to a people-centered philosophy, the CPC works to ensure that it is relying on the people.

Catholics for Catholics Urges Transparency of Process in Father Frank Pavone Dismissal

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

PHOENIX, Dec. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Catholics for Catholics has called for transparency of process in Father Frank Pavone's dismissal.

Key Points:

PHOENIX, Dec. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Catholics for Catholics has called for transparency of process in Father Frank Pavone's dismissal.
Pavone said that he only became aware of the decision when asked about it by a reporter on Dec. 17.
Many are especially shocked at the dismissive manner in which it was done," said Father James Altman, spiritual advisor to Catholics for Catholics.
"The defrocking of Father Pavone, again, exposes the infiltration of the Catholic hierarchy by Marxist men who persecute good," said General Michael Flynn, Catholics for Catholics senior advisor.

Global Times: China, Cuba eye deepening BRI cooperation

Retrieved on:

Monday, November 28, 2022

The two leaders witnessed the signing of bilateral documents regarding inter-party exchanges, BRI cooperation and a consultation mechanism between their foreign ministries.

Key Points:

The two leaders witnessed the signing of bilateral documents regarding inter-party exchanges, BRI cooperation and a consultation mechanism between their foreign ministries.
Cuba reiterates its firm position of unconditionally abiding by the one-China principle, stressing that Cuba firmly opposes any attempt to use the Taiwan question to interfere in China's internal affairs.
They stressed that China-Cuba cooperation and China-Latin America cooperation benefit both sides and do not target any third party.
She said improving energy supplies, building power plants and more infrastructure are crucial for Cuba to realize its development goals, and in these fields, China and Cuba could strengthen their win-win cooperation.

What makes a good ruling party in the eyes of the Chinese people

Retrieved on:

Monday, October 31, 2022

For example, the word "country" in Chinese is "guojia," consisting of two characters which literally translate as "country" and "family."

Key Points:

For example, the word "country" in Chinese is "guojia," consisting of two characters which literally translate as "country" and "family."
In ancient Chinese history, there is a vivid metaphor that compares the "ruler" to a "boat" and the "people" to "water."
But we Chinese are unlikely to view the Party only from the perspective of its own history.
And what are the "overall interests" in the eyes of the Chinese people?

Global Times: Chinese diplomacy guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy to carry forward 'fighting spirit'

Retrieved on:

Friday, October 21, 2022

Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy is an important part of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the latest theoretical outcome of the Marxism of contemporary China in foreign-related work.

Key Points:

Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy is an important part of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the latest theoretical outcome of the Marxism of contemporary China in foreign-related work.
It embodies the best of the Chinese culture and ethos in our times.
It is a fundamental philosophy and guide to action for China's diplomacy in the new era, Ma said.
In the past ten years, Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy has guided China's diplomacy to new success.

How did the CPC come into being

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

In contrast, the CPC was born against a unique backdrop.

Key Points:

In contrast, the CPC was born against a unique backdrop.
From 1842 to 1949, successive Chinese governments signed more than 1,000 unequal treaties, which involved giving up land and paying reparations.
Moreover, in the early 20th century, there were also acute problems within Chinese society, which are epitomized by the well-known legend "The White-Haired Girl."
People who received tangible benefits regarded the CPC as family, so many enthusiastically joined the army to support revolution and the war against Japanese aggression.