Our cover story assesses the history of the struggle for equality for persons with disabilities. It examines the fight for new laws mandating equal access, and puts forward some criticism of their shortcomings. Annie Fox and Phil E. Benjamin analyze the global health crisis as brought on by war, epidemic, and the failure of rich countries to deliver promised aid. Wadi’h Halabi gives a concise snapshot of the global economic picture and the contradictions of capitalism it represents.
On the international scene, Owen Williamson provides detailed analysis of the uprising in Bolivia and the various social movements struggling for democracy there. Remy Herrera analyzes the meaning of the vote in France against the EU Constitution treaty in the context of the struggle against neo-liberalism in Europe.
Turning to matters of ideology, Thomas Riggins reevaluates the concept of the “general crisis of capitalism,” and Erwin Marquit proposes a reexamination of Marx’s thoughts on the organization of a socialist society.
This issue also launches our first with a Spanish language article with a translation of a feature by Sam Webb on socialism. We will feature a Spanish language article in each issue from now on.
In Struggle,
PA Editors
Departments:
04 Letters
08 Commentary
The Battle for Congress 2006
By Joelle Fishman
1676: The Dark Shadow of America’s Creation Myth
By Steven Laffoley
Religion and Progress
By Anna Bates
09 Marxist IQ
11 Nobody Asked Me But…
16 Book Reviews
Hawk’s Nest
Reviewed by Michael Shepler
Sisters of the Yam: Black Women and Self-Recovery
Reviewed by Sheltreese McCoy
Three Billion New Capitalists: The Great Shift of Wealth and Power to the East
Reviewed by Gerald Horne
The Stone of Language: Poetry By Anya Achtenberg
Reviewed by Michael Shepler
20 Poetry
Wartime Kitchen
By Janine Pommy Vega
Dubbya’s 2nd term
By Leonardo Rivet
The Ghost of Mother Jones
By Kel Munger
Stalingrad
By Luis L. Tijerina
61 Fiction
One Thousand Dollars: A Thin Slice of My Life
By Karl Dennis
Features:
32 Able to Fight: The Struggle for Civil Rights for the Disabled
By Lawrence Albright
Long on the periphery of US politics, the movement for civil rights for the disabled is coming into its own.
24 World economy
By Wadi’h Halabi
PA tells the truth about how figures lie and why liars figure.
36 Globalization is Bad for Your Family’s Health?
By Annie Fox and Phil E. Benjamin
One of Latin America's poorest countries undergoes a social upheaval rich in experience.
40 David and Goliath: NGOs take on Bush Agenda
By Mike Tolochko
The Bush agenda encounters growing opposition from the world's non-governmental organizations.
42 Uprising: Bolivian Workers Topple President
By Owen Williamson
46 No Way! French Workers Reject EU Constitution
By Remy Herrera
French workers lead the way in rejecting the European constitution.
48 Luxembourg Vote
By Ali Ruckert
A small landlocked country casts a yes vote for European integration in a poll sharply divided along class lines.
52 Marx and the Model T: How the Theory of Capitalism's General Crisis Became Obsolete
By Thomas Riggins
56 Mixed Markets or Mixed Message: Marx, Lenin and the Market v. Planning Debate
By Erwin Marquit
Did Lenin misstate or overemphasize aspects of Marx thinking on the transition to a new society?
