Category: Discussion

When the inter-imperialist conflict between the USA and China intensifies

A Free Retriever

The following article analyses the background of the inter-imperialist confrontations that shake the world from an internationalist point of view. It has been published two days before the opening up of the Pandora’s box of generalizing imperialist warfare by the joint US-Israeli military attack on Iran under the pretext of conducting “preemptively” a “defensive war” and even of the blatant lie of “assisting” the “Iranian people” to liberate itself from the Mullah regime.

Whereas internationalist analyses and statements of positions on the significance of the current world-wide escalation are forthcoming in separate articles, we recommend the following text published by the Istituto Onorato Damen.

H.C., March 16, 2026.

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US Military Intervention on Venezuela – Apropos of an Acceleration of the Tendency towards a General War

A Free Retriever

Resuming the presentation of statements on and analyses of events of international impact by  groups or individuals from the internationalist communist Left that seem relevant for debate, we (re-)publish the following statements on the background and significance of the US intervention which, at the beginning of the year, culminated in a spectacular military operation on Venezuela’s soil and the abduction of the presidential couple:

  1. The Communique on the US attack on Venezuela by the IGCL (January 4, 2026)

  2. The I.O.D.‘s statement Venezuela Contested by the Predators of Imperialism (January 12, 2026)

  3. R. Victor‘s analysis “VIVA LA MUERTE!” About the US military intervention in Venezuela (January 24, 2026)

H.C., 08 February 2026.

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On the Bookshelves: Jasper Bernes, ‘The Future of Revolution’ (Verso, May 2025)

A Free Retriever

A critical review by H. Lueer

In The Future of Revolution (a), Jasper Bernes acknowledges that the concept of labor-time accounting outlined in the Fundamental Principles of Communist Production and Distribution overcomes value-oriented capitalist production. However, he argues that the Fundamental Principles place too much emphasis on distribution and fail to explain how communism unites production and consumption to bring about comprehensive social change. Bernes emphasizes that communism requires more than merely abolishing value. It also requires overcoming the division of labor left behind by capitalism, reshaping the relationship between urban and rural areas, and preventing subordination to state and global markets. These tasks cannot be accomplished through the labor-time account alone.

From the standpoint of the Fundamental Principles, Bernes’ critique misses the point. Labor-time accounting is not merely a device for distribution but the practical foundation that makes the broader tasks of communism achievable. Enforcing labor-time accounting abolishes wage labor and at the same time creates the basis for social self-administration. Only when producers can see, in transparent and verifiable terms, how much social labor is embodied in every product can they consciously reorganize the division of labor, reshape the relation between town and country, and plan production according to collective priorities. Far from being “trapped in distribution”, labor-time accounting supplies the common material language through which councils can unify production and consumption and prevent their subordination to state or market authority. Without such a foundation, appeals to reorganize society risk collapsing into moral exhortation or authoritarian command.

a) Jasper Bernes, The Future of Revolution: Communist Prospects from the Paris Commune to the George Floyd Uprising; 192 p. Verso hardback & e-book, May 2025 (ISBN: 9781788737531).

Read: Notes on Jasper Bernes’ “The Future of Revolution”

Marx versus Lenin and others on the Decadence of Capitalism

A Free Retriever

“There was a time when Lenin’s work ‘Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism’ had a very bad press within the communist left, with the exception of the Bordigists. The reason for this is simple: it was the theoretical basis that permitted all ultra-left groups to justify their support for national liberation struggles and to legitimize the pursuit of a syndicalist and parliamentary activity analogous to that of the 19th Cen­tury, an activity that seemed all the more up to date as, according to Lenin, “capitalism is growing far more rapidly than before”. 

By contrast, the economical theories of Paul Mattick and Rosa Luxemburg where more fashionable because of their more ‘radical’ outlook, postulating an inevitable end for capitalism! These analyses had the advantage of offering a ‘theoretical stage’ to bet­ter justify the ‘class positions’ of the communist left: the integration of the trades unions into the state; the henceforth imperialist character of every national liberation struggle; political abstentionism; the development of state capitalism…

By an irony of history – capitalism having survived the worst economic predictions evoked by the groups of the communist left and even having prospered considerably since 1914 – Lenin’s theory has regained colours and has found a second youth.

(…)

The Internationalist Communist Tendency (ICT), one of the major components within the communist left, expresses this ‘return to Lenin’ best. After having strongly inter­rogated itself about the concept of decadence, this group has reaffirmed it … but has it henceforth inserted in the theoretical corpus developed by Lenin.

However, such a turn-around does not go without posing enormous contradictions and incoherence. To just give one example: how to render the fidelity to the concepts of a Marx speaking of “relations of production” turning from “forms of development of the productive forces” into “their fetters” compatible with a “capitalism growing far more rapidly than before” that Lenin speaks of? We will now discuss these contra­dictions and the quibbles used to justify or get around them.”

Read C.Mcl.’s Contribution on A ‘Lenin Revival’

Israel’s Attacks on Iran’s Nuclear Facilities, Military Defenses and Key Regime Figures – Is the Tail Wagging the Dog?

A Free Retriever1 Comment

Editorial

At the dawn of Friday 13 June 2025 the Israeli army and intelligence have started a massive military assault on Iran’s nuclear facilities, high echelon military commanders of the Iranian regime, and key nuclear scientists.

According to Israeli sources some 200 military airplanes have been used to bomb over 100 targets on Iranian soil. Next to targeting a considerable number of the geographically dispersed sites related to the Iranian nuclear program, among which the Uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, six nuclear scientists and a number of the highest ranking army and Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders have been eliminated, among which key figures to the presumed negotiations with the USA on controlling the country’s nuclear development in order to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons’ capabilities.

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The Three ‘Historical Missions’ of Capitalism

A Free Retriever

The following article sets out what Marx conceived as the historical missions of the capitalist mode of production, the “last antagonistic form of the social process of production” in human history – the antagonism emanating “from the individuals’ social conditions of existence” (Preface of Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, 1859).

It does so by quoting relevant passages from Marx’s maturing analysis of Capitalism, like the ‘Grundrisse’ (1857 – 1858) and ‘Capital’ Volumes I and III (first published 1867 and 1894 respectively), and his letter to Engels of October 8, 1858.

It is only when capitalism has fulfilled these historical tasks that the premisses have been created for its historical demise and surpassing.

The article aims at contributing to a meaningful exchange on the question of the criteria for determining capitalism’s obsolescence as a historical mode production that, among other places, has been attempted at this site with: Has Capitalism entered its Decadence since 1914? and Discussion Contributions on the Question of Capitalism’s Decadence.

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Germany’s Early-Election Campaign: A Dispute over Competence in Racism and Inhumanity

A Free Retriever

On the same day as the US presidential elections resulted in Trump’s win of a second turn in the White House, the long ailing coalition government of SPD, FDP and the Green party in Germany was finally terminated, giving rise to early parliamentary elections on February 23, and the perspective of a “rightist” turn, notably by strengthening the right-wing extremist AfD at the federal level.

Previously, broad street demonstrations throughout the country against political extremism and racism, in particular against anti-immigration and anti-refugee tendencies “in defence of democracy” had emerged, as a secretive conference on deportation plans of migrants had been publicly revealed – however without preventing significant electoral gains of the AfD in the federal states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia last autumn.

So, the stage for the electoral campaign for the Bundestag had already been prepared as the murderous car attack of December 20 on a Christmas market at Magdeburg, committed by a Saudi immigrant (who appeared to have a notorious track record of harassment and intimidation), fanned the flames of racism and xenophobia and gave rise to an instrumentalisation of the political tribunes of German officialdom and its contesters that is beyond the pale.

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World domination by 2030: Middle Empire and/or US Empire?

A Free Retriever

We publish a first article that treats the stakes of the worldwide imperialist rivalries and confrontations, following the re-inauguration of D.J. Trump as president of the USA: “World Domination by 2030: Middle Empire and/or US Empire”, translated from the Pantopolis website.

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Discussion on ‘Gaza: The Horror and its Lies’

A Free Retriever

At the French language web blog GRAND LARGE CRITIQUES a commentary has appeared on the article Gaza: The Horror and its Lies, whose translation we’re pleased to take up here, followed by the reply of the author:

We welcome this constructive start of a discussion. Readers who want to participate in this discussion are invited to send their appreciations and/or contributions by e-mail to: afreeretriever[at]gmail.com (and to also read the Colophon).

The editor, December 2, 2024.

Capital beats the War Drums… Pro-Revolutionaries gather against it

A Free Retriever

Internationalist Perspective has published its evaluation of three initiatives against capitalism and its wars that have taken place in the course of this year, and in which it has engaged itself very closely: the (notorious) “action week and congress” at Prague in May; the second Internationalist Conference at Arezzo in June and the ‘Beach Communist’ summer-camp at Poznan in July.

In the section International Meetings & Conferences we adopt their informative balance sheet, together with the latest version of the Internationalist Declaration on Capitalism and War. We provide some editorial notes and references.

Internationalist Perspective, November 2024:

An Evaluation of Initiatives against Capitalism and its Wars in 2024