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Since its launching in February 1998, the World Socialist Web Site has devoted a great deal of attention to artistic and cultural matters. We have reviewed thousands of worksfilms, concerts, plays, television series, novels, albumsand commented on artistic currents and problems out of a concern, above all, for the development of the social awareness and consciousness of the working class.

Marxists consider that art and culture play an immense role in shaping and broadening the outlook of the working class, sharpening its awareness of the injustices of capitalism, strengthening and refining the workers outrage and willingness to sacrifice and making more ardent their belief and confidence in the possibility of realizing socialism and building a society based on genuine social equality and solidarity. (Introduction to The Sky Between the Leaves, David Walsh)

Our attitude toward present-day cultural life is highly critical. Indeed, as a leading German socialist once explained, contemporary culture is the enemy of culture. Triviality, self-centeredness and social indifference largely prevail. Art, if it is to make a deep impact and endure, needs to turn its attention, by whatever means it chooses, to the great questions and convulsions of our day.

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Arts and Culture - World Socialist Web Site - WSWS

The Socialist Equality Group (New Zealand) will hold a public online meeting, via Zoom, on Saturday October 3 at 4:00 pm NZ time to discuss the upcoming election, the breakdown of capitalism and the socialist and internationalist perspective that the working class must adopt.

The global COVID-19 pandemic, which looms over the election, has the character of a trigger event in world history: it has greatly accelerated the processes of widening social inequality, the drive by the ruling class towards dictatorship and world war. In the United States, Trump is threatening to disregard the November election result, stage a coup dtat and unleash fascist violence against the working class.

The unlivable conditions created by capitalism are driving millions into mass protests and strikes, further fuelled by anger over the criminal negligence of governments that has led to nearly a million coronavirus deaths worldwide.

New Zealand is not in any way an exception. Contrary to the global media adulation for Labour Party Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, she leads a right-wing coalition government with the Greens and the extreme nationalist NZ First, which is overseeing soaring inequality and poverty. Workers have responded with a series of strikes including by teachers, nurses and healthcare workers, and mass protests against inaction on climate change and police killings.

The governments main response to the pandemic and the economic crisis has been an unprecedented transfer of tens of billions of dollars to the rich in the form of quantitative easing, bailouts, tax concessions and wage subsidies for businesses.

Billions continue to flow to the military to upgrade, expand and integrate into US-led war plans against China. Meanwhile, basic services, including hospitals, are being starved of funds, and unemployment is sky-rocketing to levels not seen in generations.

To divert anger over the social crisis, the government has scapegoated immigrants. Cabinet Ministers have spewed racist filth that echoes the manifesto of the fascist terrorist who killed 51 people in Christchurchan atrocity fuelled by decades of demonisation of Muslims and other immigrants and participation by successive governments in the criminal US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The election will resolve nothing. In their campaigns, the Labour Party and the opposition National Party, along with the minor parties, are seeking to cover up their real agenda with fraudulent platitudes about creating jobs and reviving the economy. Whoever wins, the next government will intensify the assault on workers living standards, attack democratic rights and ramp up preparations for war.

Workers and young people will inevitably be driven into revolutionary struggles. But this movement must be guided by a new perspective and leadership, independent from, and opposed to, all the established parties. Its conscious aims must be the establishment of a workers government, abolition of the profit system and the fight for international socialism.

The Socialist Equality Group, the New Zealand supporters of the International Committee of the Fourth International, urges workers, students, young people and readers of the WSWS to register to attend our public meeting to discuss these vitally important issues.

Meeting times:

New Zealand time: 4:00pm Saturday October 3Sydney time: 1:00pm Saturday October 3Britain: 4:00am Saturday 3 OctoberIndia/Sri Lanka: 8:30am Saturday 3 OctoberNew York (EDT): 11:00pm Friday October 2

Liked this article? The Socialist Equality Party is fighting to build a revolutionary leadership of the international working class for socialism. Find out more about the SEP and get involved today.

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Public meeting: New Zealand's COVID election, the breakdown of capitalism and the fight for socialism - WSWS

For better or worse, the 50 states serve as the laboratories of democracy. Sometimes states pass laws that are overwhelmingly beneficial, causing other states to follow suit. Other times, states pass laws that are destructive, causing other states to learn valuable lessons about what not to do.

Over the past few decades, Californias embrace of socialist policies is a classic example of the latter. In other words, Californias adoption of far-left ideology, and the devastating toll it has wrought on the Golden State, should serve as a canary in the coal mine for any state wishing to follow Californias example.

The list of Californias socialist policies is extensive. For starters, California has been ground zero for the radical, socialist environmental movement that seeks to upend Americas energy system.

In California, the renewable movement, which is front-and-center in theGreen New Deal, has caused massive problems. Energy prices are skyrocketing. According to a recentreportby theCenter for Jobs and the Economy at the California Business Roundtable, These outcomes mean that even as many households struggle under the current economic conditions, the states energy policies continue to take an increasing share of household incomes both directly in gasoline and utility bills and indirectly as these costs are incorporated into the prices of every other component of the costs of living.

As if sky-high prices for energy were not bad enough, in California, blackouts have become commonplace because the states energy grid, which is more reliant on wind and solar power than any other state, simply cannot meet energy demand.

California Assemblyman Jim Patterson, vice-chair of the Committee on Utilities and Energy,recently said, I have been warning over and over again that the policies coming out of the Democrat-controlled legislature and governors office are creating the conditions for blackouts and brownouts and here we are seeing the evidence. Patterson is 100 percent correct.

Due to Californias far-lefts Green New Deal-like energy policies, Golden State residents pay extraordinarily high prices to power their homes and fuel their cars. But even worse, these ridiculous policies have led to massive energy shortages for millions of Californians.

But then again, shortages and socialism go together like peanut butter and jelly, so this should not be all that surprising.

Aside from the energy debacle that has harmed Californians, far-left Golden State leaders have also enacted onerous taxes and regulations, which are causing a mass exodus of residents and businesses.

In June, California proposed hiking taxes on the states most productive residents yet again. If enacted, it would increase the top tax rate on millionaires in the Golden State to an unprecedented 54 percent. The tax hikes would be the tipping point for many taxpayers, prompting them to book a one-way trip to one of the 49 states with lower taxes, saidRobert Gutierrez, president of the California Taxpayers Association.

In California, wealth redistribution via super high taxes, a central tenet of socialism, is causing massive turmoil. U.S. Census Bureau data showthat 691,145 residents fled the Golden State in 2018.

Asmultiple reports show, Californias burdensome taxes are the overwhelming reason residents are feeling the state. Unsurprisingly, this has been acommon theme in many socialist countries, as well.

There are several other socialist policies that California has implemented over the past few decades that are causing havoc and economic ruin. Fromoutrageous housing costsandwater shortagesdue to asinine environmental regulations to ahuge increase in homelessnessbecause of Californias generous welfare payments, the list goes on and on.

And, as these problems fester, California is doubling down on even more radical socialist policies. Already there is auniversal basic income pilot program, free college, and all sorts of other failed socialist policies in place or on the docket.

In 1932, liberal Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote, It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.

Amen to that. If Californias decades-long romance with socialism has taught the rest of the country one thing, it is that these policies do not work and should not be implemented anywhere. Maybe one day Californians will realize this as well and reverse course.

ChrisTalgo(ctalgo@heartland.org)is an editor at The Heartland Institute.

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California's embrace of socialism should serve as a warning | TheHill - The Hill

For some strange reason, the Chicken Littles of the world have become terrified by the idea that socialism is just over the hill for the United States. The most frightened even throw in communism as though it was synonymous with socialism.

Under communism, there is no such thing as private property. The country was hysterical over communism after World War II when Stalin was gobbling up the small countries in Europe. In fact, the Viet Name and Korean wars were fought to stop the march of communism in the world. But we should not fear communism because Russia has already proved it doesnt work.

Consensus Needed for Socialism

According to the History, socialism is less rigid but makes changes through democratic practices, which means that a significant majority of the people must support the idea or the politicians wont pass it.

People who live in fear of socialism simply do not understand democracy. They believe that somehow they will wake up some morning and socialism will be everywhere. The governmental system in the United States, with all of its vertical and horizontal checks and balances, requires years of consideration before anything gets adopted.

Case in point: the greatest need in our society is a medical program that will stop all of the illness and death suffered by people who cant afford coverage. This was brought up by President Harry Truman almost 100 years ago and we are still talking, talking and talking about it.

Socialism or Meeting Needs

Most folks in America were around when President Barack Obama threw the Hail Mary that fell way short of providing universal medical care. The plan was full of compromises and in need of repair. So people are still dying.

We already have some significant socialism because it was not considered socialism but responses to pressing needs. The Great Depression of the 1930s told us that we needed Social Security; then we needed medical care for the elderly; then we needed minimal medical aid for the poor. Each as the need became apparent.

The volatility of the agriculture industry brought farmers a safety net which they deny is socialism but socialism by any other name is still socialism. In fact, our farming industry was born when the federal government handed out free land to settlers and the Northern Pacific Railroad.

Socialism Slow & Incremental

If we looked back at our history, the socialism we have adopted has been slow and incremental. Thats the way American democracy works. There will never be a sudden junking of free capitalism so sleep peacefully.

Socialism is no stranger to North Dakota. Many of those now frightened by socialism are the same ones who proudly tell out-of-staters about the state-owned largest mill in the Northern Hemisphere and the most prosperous bank west of Minneapolis.

In the minds of some, any form of socialism is evil. It takes a degree of selfishness to arrive at that conclusion because most of the socialism we have adopted to date has created a sense of community. It shows that we care about the needs and problems of others.

Increasing Care for Others

Actually, this country is so rich that we can afford to increase our care for others by building our national community to include more and better health care, social security, education, infrastructure, retraining, health research and whatever else we think is a pressing need.

Many people in America are in need of more socialism. This is no time to yell that the sky is falling.

In the final analysis, we will be judged more on our compassion for others than the purity of our economic system.

Lloyd Omdahl is a former lieutenant governor of North Dakota and former political science professor at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

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Community and socialism are the same | News, Sports, Jobs - Minot Daily News

Under communism, there is no such thing as private property. The country was hysterical over communism after World War II when Stalin was gobbling up the small countries in Europe. In fact, the Vietnam and Korean wars were fought to stop the march of communism in the world. But we should not fear communism because Russia has already proved it doesnt work.

Consensus needed for socialism

According to history, socialism is less rigid but makes changes through democratic practices, which means that a significant majority of the people must support the idea or the politicians wont pass it.

People who live in fear of socialism simply do not understand democracy. They believe that somehow they will wake up some morning and socialism will be everywhere. The governmental system in the United States, with all of its vertical and horizontal checks and balances, requires years of consideration before anything gets adopted.

Case in point: the greatest need in our society is a medical program that will stop all of the illness and death suffered by people who cant afford coverage. This was brought up by President Harry Truman almost 100 years ago and we are still talking, talking and talking about it.

Socialism or meeting needs

Most folks in America were around when President Barack Obama threw the Hail Mary that fell way short of providing universal medical care. The plan was full of compromises and in need of repair. So people are still dying.

We already have some significant socialism because it was not considered socialism but responses to pressing needs. The Great Depression of the 1930s told us that we needed Social Security; then we needed medical care for the elderly; then we needed minimal medical aid for the poor. Each as the need became apparent.

The volatility of the agriculture industry brought farmers a safety net, which they deny is socialism, but socialism by any other name is still socialism. In fact, our farming industry was born when the federal government handed out free land to settlers and the Northern Pacific Railroad.

Socialism slow and incremental

If we looked back at our history, the socialism we have adopted has been slow and incremental. Thats the way American democracy works. There will never be a sudden junking of free capitalism, so sleep peacefully.

Socialism is no stranger to North Dakota. Many of those now frightened by socialism are the same ones who proudly tell out-of-staters about the state-owned largest mill in the Northern Hemisphere and the most prosperous bank west of Minneapolis.

In the minds of some, any form of socialism is evil. It takes a degree of selfishness to arrive at that conclusion because most of the socialism we have adopted to date has created a sense of community. It shows that we care about the needs and problems of others.

Increasing care for others

Actually, this country is so rich that we can afford to increase our care for others by building our national community to include more and better health care, social security, education, infrastructure, retraining, health research and whatever else we think is a pressing need.

Many people in America are in need of more socialism. This is no time to yell that the sky is falling.

In the final analysis, we will be judged more on our compassion for others than the purity of our economic system.

Lloyd Omdahl is a former professor at UND and state lieutenant governor.

Link:
Lloyd Omdahl: Community, socialism are the same thing - Grand Forks Herald