Global Depression and Regional Wars

by Petras, James F.

• ISBN13: 9780932863683
• ISBN10: 093286368X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-10-15
• Publisher: Clarity Pr

Summary

Petras provides clear insight into how the depression and regional wars that originated in Washington and on Wall Street are spreading throughout the world, demolishing the ideology of free market neo-liberalism and forcing to the forefront the need for structural changes.

Author Biography

James Petras is a Bartle Professor (Emeritus) of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York. He is the author of 64 books published in 29 languages, and over 560 articles in professional journals, including the American Sociological Review, British Journal of Sociology, Social Research, and Journal of Peasant Studies. He has published over 2000 articles in nonprofessional journals such as the New York Times, the Guardian, the Nation, Christian Science Monitor, Foreign Policy, New Left Review, Temps Moderne, Le Monde Diplomatique, and his commentary is widely carried on the internet. He is winner of a Life Time Career Award of the American Sociology Association, Marxist Section, the Robert Kenny Award for Best Book, 2002, and the Best Dissertation, Western Political Science Association in 1968.

Table of Contents

Global Depression	p. 13
Financial Depression and World Crisis	p. 16
The Demise of the Economic Expert	p. 17
World Depression: A Class Analysis	p. 22
From Over-Accumulation to the Dominance of Finance Capital	p. 22
Indicators of the Onset of Depression	p. 24
Regional Impact of the Global Crisis	p. 26
Latin America	p. 27
Eastern Europe and the Ex-Communist Countries	p. 29
Asia: The End of the Illusion of De-coupling and Autonomous Growth	p. 30
The Middle East: Depression and Regional Wars	p. 31
An Unprecedented Crisis	p. 32
The Failure to Address the Structural Basis of the Crisis	p. 33
What Is Needed for Recovery	p. 36
The Basic Priority of Public Policy: A Better Life for All	p. 37
Twentieth Century Lessons for 21st Century Socialists	p. 38
Bernard Madoff: Wall Street Swindler Strikes Powerful Blows For Social Justice	p. 41
An Introduction to the Mega-Swindle	p. 41
The Big Swindle	p. 42
The Positive Side of the Big Swindle (The Inadvertent Hand of Justice)	p. 43
Conclusion	p. 46
Postscript	p. 48
The Election of The Greatest Con-Man in Recent History	p. 49
The Self-Opiated Progressive Camp Followers	p. 51
Obama's Economic Con Game	p. 52
The Two Faces of Obama	p. 53
Obama, the Militarist, Outdoes His Predecessor	p. 54
Conclusion	p. 56
Lessons From The Collapse of Wall Street	p. 58
Latin America: Perspectives For Socialism in a Time of World Capitalist Recession/Depression	p. 63
Specificities of the Current Recession/Depression	p. 63
The Uniqueness of the 'New Capitalism' in the Contemporary World	p. 64
US Recession/Depression: The Domestic Consequences	p. 66
The World Recession Hits Latin America	p. 69
The New Statism	p. 71
No Reprieve in Sight
The Recession's Potential for the Left: Big Gains or Big Losses?	p. 73
US-Latin American Relations: 1998-2008	p. 74
The Demise of US Dominance: The Popular Uprisings of 2000-2003	p. 75
The Period of Relative Autonomy: 2005-2008	p. 76
From Economic Boom to Bust: 2008	p. 78
Taking Stock of Present Conditions	p. 80
Perspectives on Latin American Relations to the US Empire	p. 83
The Impact of the Capitalist Crisis 2009 on US/Latin American Relations	p. 86
Latin America: What Is To Be Done	p. 88
Obama's Latin American Policy	p. 90
The Export-Driven Model Breaks Down	p. 93
G-20 Adopts Protectionism, Promotes Return of the IMF	p. 97
Facing Up to De-Globalization-or Not	p. 98
Addressing Economic Needs Via Electoral Processes: The Case of Venezuela	p. 100
Electoral Systems and Democracy: Substance and Structure	p. 100
The Role of the Mass Media in Influencing Mass Politics	p. 101
Navigating the Barriers to Change through Democratic Process	p. 107
The Transition to Democracy	p. 108
Vital Steps Towards Deepening Venezuelan Democracy	p. 109
Victories for Venezuelan Socialists in Crucial Elections: November 2008	p. 110
Democratic Socialism and the February 2009 Vote on the Re-election Amendment	p. 111
Continuing Obstacles to Democratization	p. 113
Conclusion	p. 114
Regional Wars
Masters Of Defeat: Retreating Empire And Bellicose Bluster	p. 119
The Geography of Imperial Failures	p. 121
Iraq and Iran	p. 121
Africa	p. 122
South Asia	p. 123
Caucasus	p. 124
Israel and the Arabs	p. 125
The Western Hemisphere
Overseas Consequences of Failed Military Strategies	p. 126
Domestic Consequences of Failed Military Empire Building	p. 126
Conclusion	p. 127
The Obama Regime, The Zionist Power Configuration And Regional Wars	p. 129
Obama Acquiesces to Major Israeli Positions	p. 130
The Israeli Invasion of Gaza	p. 130
Illegal Israeli Activities in Occupied Palestine	p. 131
Israeli Condemnation of the World Conference Against Racism	p. 131
The Appointment of Key Advisers and Policy Makers in the Middle East	p. 131
The Charles Freeman Appointment	p. 132
The Break-Up of the Syria/Iran Alliance	p. 135
The Weakening and Destruction of Iran	p. 136
Ignoring Iranian Concessions and Assistance	p. 136
Punishing and Prohibiting Iranian Development of Nuclear Energy	p. 137
A Wider Campaign Against Arabs, Muslims and Islam	p. 137
Implementing an Illegal Claim to Jerusalem	p. 138
Zionist Control of US Foreign Policy: Some Consequences	p. 139
Now They're Obama's Israel-Fisters	p. 139
Israel Supremacy From Gaza To Tehran: Imperial Overstretch?	p. 144
Gaza Blitz: Dress Rehearsal for an Assault on Iran?	p. 145
Invisible Threats and Visible Impunity	p. 146
Gaza: Testing the Subservience of the US Congress and the White House	p. 147
Promoting Israel's Big Lie	p. 148
Israel's Military Threat to Iran	p. 149
Zionist Penetration of the Obama Administration	p. 151
The Dennis Ross Roadmap for war on Iran	p. 156
Possible External Constraints on Zionist-Israeli-US War on Iran	p. 158
Conclusion	p. 162
Addendum	p. 162
The Politics Of An Israeli Extermination Campaign: Backers, Apologists And Arms Suppliers	p. 165
Overseas Allies: The Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organizations (PMAJO)	p. 176
The ZPC and the Israeli War of Extermination in Gaza	p. 177
Defending Israel's War of Extermination	p. 178
Favored Themes of the Israeli Big Lie	p. 179
The Propaganda Role of Jewish Religious Organizations	p. 182
Where is the Outcry?	p. 183
What is to be Done	p. 185
Appendix: The 51 Member Organizations of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations	p. 188
Iranian Elections: The Stolen Election Hoax	p. 190
The Electoral Fraud Hoax	p. 191
The New Agro-Industrial Neo-Colonialism: Two, Three, Many Mass Revolts	p. 196
Old and New Style Agro-Imperial Exploitation	p. 197
Neo-Liberalism and the Rise of New Agro-Imperialism	p. 198
Target Countries	p. 200
Present and Future Consequences of Agro-Imperialism	p. 201
Regional Wars And Western Progressive Opinion: Commisserate With The Victims, Condemn Those Who Resist!	p. 205
US Progressives and Third World Resistance Movements	p. 206
Obama's Animal Farm: Bigger, Bloodier Wars Equal Peace And Justice	p. 210
Obama's Foreign Policy Failures	p. 215
Failures of Stimulus Proposals at the April 2009 G-20 Summit	p. 216
Summit of the Americans: US Faces Isolation and Divergences	p. 217
NATO Conference: Obama's Military Escalation in Search of Allies	p. 220
Iran: The Zionist Presence and Lost Opportunities	p. 221
North Korea: The Unmasking of a Policy	p. 224
Afghanistan-Pakistan: Extending Warfare and Destabilizing a Client	p. 225
Israel-Palestine Policy	p. 226
Consequences of Obama's Failed Policies	p. 228
Index	p. 231
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