Roland Boer's Blog, page 39

Xi Jinping Thought

What a time to be in China! What a time indeed.

Happenstance would have it that I was in Beijing for the nineteenth congress of the Communist Party of China. Usually, such events barely raise interest outside China, except perhaps for the rare Marxist actually interested in the place or – that ambivalent term – a ‘China hand’. And if some foreign commentator happens to notice, they will trot out some rusty formulae concerning arcane language, obtuse signals and look for signs of a ‘totalitari...

New CPC Politburo takes oath of admission at site of first meeting in 1921

The new politburo of the most powerful communist party in human history recently restated the oath of admission to the CPC. This was at the site of the first meeting of the CPC back in 1921.

The English version of the oath:

It is my will to join the Communist Party of China, uphold the Party’s program, observe the provisions of the Party Constitution, fulfill a Party member’s duties, carry out the Party’s decisions, strictly observe Party discipline, guard Party secrets, be loyal to the Party...

Marx: A Workers’ State, or a State not in the Present Political Sense

Following the abridged draft of an article on Marx and the state (I have now revised the first section), I have been able to do further work on what Marx says about the form of the state after a communist revolution. Fascinating stuff, which usually does not get much exposure. So here is the final section (with references and footnotes removed):

In light of Marx’s proposals for the dictatorship of the proletariat and the commune (which are tension), what happens to the state?

Many would be te...

Marx on the State, Proletarian Dictatorship and the Commune

This engagement with Marx is part of a much longer study of what happens to the state under socialism in power. Initially, I did not give so much attention to Marx’s observations on the state, for I had been told that Marx does not have a systematic theory of the state. To some extent this is true, especially if one focuses on the forms of the bourgeois (capitalist) or even absolutist state. However, once I began to examine what Marx did say about states, I found much more than might be expec...

We had more freedom then: Yugoslav artists on socialism

A fascinating post over at Propaganda called ‘We had more freedom then‘.

The following are interviews with two Yugoslav artists, Goroslav Keller and Bata Knežević, discussing what it was like to work as a graphic designer during socialism. The videos were part of the “Design for a New World” exhibition at the Museum of Yugoslav History in Belgrade, Serbia.

(ht ak)

Contradiction analysis: an explainer

A useful piece for those interested in the central function of Marxist contradiction analysis in a Chinese situation. Xi Jinping recently announced that the primary contradiction has now changed, ushering in a new era. And if you are still interested, it is worth reading (again) Mao’s two pieces, ‘On Contradiction‘ and ‘On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People‘. Crucial here is managing contradictions so that they remain non-antagonistic.

Interview with Yukon Huang: Understanding a Socialist Market Economy

An insightful interview with Yukon Huang in the Global Times, who has recently published Cracking the China Conundrum: Why Conventional Economic Wisdom is Wrong (2017). Crucial here is that neo-classical economic theory is unable to make sense of China’s socialist market economy. So read the interview and then the book. Some excellent points, but also could go further.

Xi Jinping’s speech: Infographics

The following infographics of Xi Jinping’s speech is borrowed from the website dedicated to the CPC’s 19th congress.

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Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era

In what is clearly his most important speech yet, Xi Jinping spoke for three hours at the opening of the CPC’s 19th congress yesterday morning (18 October).

You can view the full video of the opening and Xi’s speech here (with English translation). Rather stunning in its relative simplicity, especially if you keep in mind that this is not only the congress of the largest political party in the world, but the most powerful communist party in human history.

In the next post, I will provide an i...

Wang Zhongmei: welder at the CPC 19th congress

Great video about Wang Zhongmei (also here). She is now a ‘chief welder’ at the China Railway Science and Industry Group, CPC member and now a grass-roots delegate at the 19th congress.