You cannot easily decouple individuals, especially colonized individuals, from the forces that pushed them into economically incentivized conscription. A dialectical idealist in Marxist clothing will—in a bid to censure anti-imperialist veterans—sound like a libertarian in their condemnations. They will say things like, “there is always a choice” and “there are plenty of jobs in the marketplace.” When it comes to economically incentivized conscription, some so-called Marxists possess more faith in the free market’s ability to provide other forms of employment than Milton Friedman in his heyday. While dialectical materialists, a.k.a. Marxists, never excuse participating in an imperialist institution, they certainly understand the forces that drive people into its employ. . . .
Poverty Draft
Freedom Rider: Losers, Suckers and War
Article originally posted on Black Agenda Report Democrats are up in arms over Trump’s latest mouth-burst, but the truth is that both corporate parties have made the people suckers for endless, “bipartisan” wars. Americans certainly love war. Most will deny having those feelings, they will instead talk about warfare as a means of protecting freedom, spreading democracy or fighting tyrants. The end result of course is mass death, mostly of people in far away and non-white lands, but also of significant numbers of Americans. The carnage is usually downplayed in favor of worshipping those who go to kill and perhaps . . .
I Mind Dying
After about two months of deadly delays and denials, followed by an insulting (bipartisan) stimulus package, Donald Trump decided that it was time to get back to the business of profit. The Times has claimed, “If the coronavirus lockdown leads to a fall in GDP of more than 6.4% more years of life will be lost due to recession than will be gained through beating the virus.” There is a narrative being pushed where folks are more worried that emphasis on social distancing, to counter the pandemic and save lives, coupled with state measures to ensure that, has significantly hurt . . .