GST Original Articles
By Stan Cox and Priti Gulati Cox / 23 March 2020
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An embroidery work illustrating the early course of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States—images of which are posted here at the Sidewalk Museum of Congress—follows the exponential growth in number of confirmed cases. The cumulative number rose very slowly through February, reached 100 on March 2, then leaped to 1,000 by March 11 and blew past 10,000 a week later, on March 18. It took just three more days more to surpass 25,000.
By March 14, it had already become impossible to embroider... Read more
By Charles Posa McFadden and Karen Howell McFadden / 22 March 2020
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This article continues an argument we began in Learning from history, previously published on www.greensocialthought.org. Evidently, socialist movements arose historically under circumstances that were not necessarily favorable to the enduring achievement of a socialist alternative. Under these circumstances some socialist movements set their sights no higher than the achievement of modest reforms of capitalism. Others declared their revolutionary successes to be the beginning... Read more
By Charles Posa McFadden and Karen Howell McFadden / 10 March 2020
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In our previous articles published in Green Social Thought, we have identified the existential crisis we now face as a systemic one. We have argued that the now globally dominant capitalist socio-economic relationships and their cultural attributes are not only associated with the emergence of an existential crisis, but also causal. To achieve an ecologically sustainable future for humanity requires the building of an alternative socio-economic system, one historically and... Read more
By Stan Cox / 04 March 2020
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In a Washington Post opinion piece last month, Robert Frank sought to instruct us in how peer pressure can “help stop climate change.” He wasn’t very convincing on that point; he did help, however, to inadvertently make the case that collective efforts, ones much more sweeping than individual role-modeling, are necessary to staving off climate catastrophe.
Franks argued that “social contagion” can trigger a proliferation of climate-friendly actions, writing, “It’s when we consider the... Read more
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More Reading Recommended by GST
By Paul Le Blanc / 22 April 2020
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I have decided to support eco-socialist Howie Hawkins, Green Party candidate, so that I will be able to campaign for something I believe in during the upcoming electoral season. Others may think other choices make sense. But for me, this divergence is not the “bottom-line.”
By Kris De Decker / 17 April 2020
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Citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, mandarins, tangerines, grapefruits, limes, pomeloes) are the highest-value fruit crop in terms of international trade. Citrus plants are not frost-hardy and can only be grown in tropical and subtropical climates – unless they are cultivated in fossil fuel heated glasshouses.
However, during the first half of the twentieth century, citrus fruits came to be grown a... Read more
By Jonathan Matthews / 15 April 2020
Are risks from emerging technologies the highest existential threats we face? Suddenly, the question is getting more attention. It is overdue. By mixing and matching pathogens in labs with poor biosecurity records, says Matthews, we are playing Russian roulette.
By Vijay Kolinjivadi / 14 April 2020
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Could response strategies to suppress COVID-19 be the impetus to actually respond to climate change, rather than as stop-gap measures to get back to “business-as-usual” as quickly as possible? The answer remains to be seen, but some measures have already been proposed that have been otherwise considered at worst anathema to capitalism, including the nationalization of private enterprise in France... Read more
By Susana Hurlich / 13 April 2020
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Medical Student going door to door. Photo: Abel Padrón Padilla
Hola from Havana. This morning at 7am, I took the first dose of the homeopathic medication ProvengHo-Vir that the Cuban health system is distributing. Late yesterday afternoon, atabout 5pm, Dr. Yaisen, one of the three doctors working at our local family doctor clinic located some two blocks from my home, came by the house to give... Read more
By Luke Savage / 01 April 2020
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The coronavirus pandemic may be global in scale, but its material impact on ordinary workers thus far has varied widely from one country to another — as has the relief offered by national governments when it comes to the lost wages and potential layoffs.
By Media Lens / 01 April 2020
Governments are now channelling money into the economy in amounts that have not been seen since the Second World War. However, there have been calls to ensure that public rescue packages should only be agreed if major changes are made to the economy, including significant public ownership of business. There should also be legal and financial consequences for socially irresponsible or criminal... Read more