Overthrow

  So, there is a misunderstanding here. I am looking at what it means when states guarantee their subjects freedom, rights, and equality in reality. Our claim is that in this society indeed particular forms of freedom and equality are realised, which cannot be brushed aside. This is different than most leftists who insist that these "ideals" simply are not truly realized, and only Socialism would be the real deal, would finally realize the ideals of the bourgeois French revolution. Instead, I'm arguing that these (freedom, equality, democracy, rights) are the forms in which (economic) exploitation and (political) domination happen today. The critique of domination and exploitation must therefore take on and criticize this freedom and equality, not ignore them and posit an ideal outside of them. So, a word of caution on inversion of arguments: if we criticize freedom, equality, humanity, democracy -- it's a bad habit in democracy to immediately assume one must simply w...

  A reader writes: ".... in a recent lecture in.... you framed the fears of fellow citizens for their jobs amid increasing demand from foreigners for work as nationalist. Your 'arguments' were not at all convincing to me. I personally have nothing against foreigners; I just fear for my job. Therefore, I am not a nationalist. I would never vote for the AfD or any other right-wing extremist party. That's why I think it's good when you and others speak out against the AfD. However, I am writing to you so that you reconsider your 'arguments' and refrain from calling harmless fellow citizens nationalists in the future..." Before anything, I'd like to set a few things straight: First, I didn't – directly – oppose the AfD in the aforementioned lecture. More on that in a moment. And second, I didn't call anyone a nationalist. Rather, I tried to criticize the slogan that foreigners are taking "our" jobs, and to point out its flaws and its ...

By Dr. M. Dunn (A) Nationalism  (1) As workers, entrepreneurs, renters, homeowners, retirees, students, teachers, taxpayers, politicians, etc. people differ socially and pursue different and in many cases conflicting interests. The social relation between a worker and capitalist employer in America is characterized by the same class conflict as in Britain, Germany or elsewhere. The social relation between a tenant and the homeowner is the same independent whether they live in America, Britain or Japan. Nationalists declare all these material interests and social conflicts, circumstances of life, their opinions and beliefs to be less significant when they emphasize their affection for their home country, take pride in being an American, German etc.. By doing so, they postulate a commonality of and between all compatriots independent of all personal conflicts and social antagonisms which characterize their daily life.  (2) The fact that nationalists identify themselves with thei...