Original Message:
Sent: 10/5/2023 4:20:00 PM
From: Mark Hudson
Subject: RE: Current World Events Discussion Series for Library Staff & Community Members
I plan to attend the discussion but don't know how much I'll participate. I'll probably just listen. Rory, I'm sorry about the dismissiveness of my first response. It was unjustified, but it reflects the impatience I and others are experiencing after being charged with 'appeasement' and 'drawing a moral equivalence' every time we call for a consistent anti-imperialism. Yes, there are too many alter-imperialists / campists on both sides, both pro-Russia and pro-NATO, but that's not what the socialist, anti-imperialist left is saying. If you don't believe NATO is imperialist, I don't know what to tell you other than study the history of the 1945-1990 Cold War and the post-Cold War period. I've probably already recommended Gilbert Achcar's The New Cold War: The United States, Russia, and China from Kosovo to Ukraine, but I'll do so again, because it's indispensable in my opinion. https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2053-the-new-cold-war
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Mark Hudson
Monroeville, PA
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Original Message:
Sent: Oct 05, 2023 02:53 PM
From: Rory Litwin
Subject: Current World Events Discussion Series for Library Staff & Community Members
Ok. That sounds like it could end up being the "SRRT position" if one is decided on. I personally find it naive, though, to think that "the actual system of power relations that exists today among the major nation-states" doesn't require being pro-NATO. I don't accept that NATO is imperialist, certainly not in the same way that Russia is. I don't agree with drawing that equivalence. But I don't think I'm going to attend the meeting to try to make that case. In a number of ways, I'm not up to the task. I lack the expertise, and the energy, and the desire to be in a state of conflict at a SRRT discussion, even if I do agree with a lot of what you have to say on this. I'm sorry for this sort of high-key half engagement. I'm having trouble deciding if I want to be in or out. SRRT has meant a great deal to me over the years. I haven't forgotten that it was central to my life for ten years or more. I've changed more than SRRT has since then though. Still a supporter, maybe not a participant. Best wishes for a productive discussion.
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Rory Litwin
President
Library Juice Academy
Original Message:
Sent: Oct 05, 2023 02:01 PM
From: Mark Hudson
Subject: Current World Events Discussion Series for Library Staff & Community Members
Perhaps it is passages such as this one (from Rafael Bernabe's New Politics article) that Rory is referring to when he talks about 'appeasement' and drawing a 'moral equivalence' between the Western liberal democracies and Russia:
'The left is now faced with a major danger. If, in a world of intensified inter-imperialist conflict it clings to the notion of the US and its allies as the sole imperialism, it runs the risk of sliding from anti-imperialism to alter-imperialism: not opposing all imperialist powers and projects but rather opposing one or some, while explicitly or tacitly supporting another.
'In short, we reject NATO imperialism, but not to support the expansionism of the Russian Federation headed by Putin. We do not reject one imperialism to support another. We are anti-imperialists, not alter-imperialists. Therefore, while denouncing Western imperialism, we unequivocally reject the invasion and occupation of areas of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.
'The same is true on the other side of the current inter-imperialist conflict. Our opposition to Russian expansionism cannot lead to any sympathies or illusions regarding NATO imperialism. That too would be a slide from anti to alter-imperialism.'
To see this as 'appeasement' or drawing a 'moral equivalence' is at best a serious misunderstanding of what Bernabe is arguing, and at worst a kind of straw man argument, which intentionally replaces Bernabe's argument with a superficially similar one, in order to more easily knock it down. Bernabe is not discussing morality, but rather the actual system of power relations that exists today among the major nation-states, and how we must understand that system if we want to consistently oppose imperialism in all its manifestations. Russia and NATO are both imperialist powers, and to oppose one without opposing the other is to slide into 'alter-imperialism' (or what is sometimes called 'campism').
The Chatham House report, like most centrist sources deeply embedded in the Western foreign policy establishment, correctly argues that Ukraine is the victim of Russian imperialist aggression, that it is fighting a legitimate war of resistance, that any calls for a diplomatic solution 'that preserves, or partially preserves, the battlefield status quo will buy time for Russian forces to regroup after recent heavy losses and prepare for the next onslaught, while leaving Ukraine enfeebled and less than fully sovereign', and that we should reject current suggestions for a settlement that 'would, if implemented, crystallize Russian territorial gains and encourage further aggression in the future'. But the report is also openly pro-NATO, calling for support for Ukraine's aspirations for NATO membership. Thus it is alter-imperialist, not anti-imperialist.
Of course I'm sure Chatham House would never claim to be 'anti-imperialist' anyway, but we in SRRT should be supporting the progressive alternative: consistent anti-imperialism. In my opinion, framing a discussion of the war in Ukraine on the terms of a Chatham House report (and articles from the New York Times and New Yorker) is simply a formula, intentional or not, for delegitimizing consistently anti-imperialist perspectives and promoting pro-NATO, pro-US imperialist objectives.
-- Mark H., co-chair International Responsibilities Task Force (IRTF)
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Mark Hudson
Monroeville, PA
Original Message:
Sent: Oct 05, 2023 12:07 PM
From: Mark Hudson
Subject: Current World Events Discussion Series for Library Staff & Community Members
No, Rory, the articles I recommended do not draw any kind of "moral equivalence" between the Western liberal democracies and Russia. With all due respect, I would suggest that you have either not read the articles, or you have not understood them.
Original Message:
Sent: 10/5/2023 10:09:00 AM
From: Rory Litwin
Subject: RE: Current World Events Discussion Series for Library Staff & Community Members
As long as we are sharing readings, I'd like to share what I think is an important counterpoint to the argument for appeasement. This report from Chatham House:
https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/06/how-end-russias-war-ukraine
The readings Mark shared draw a moral equivalence between the West's liberal democracies and Russia. I think that's wrong-headed and warrants a response. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to attend the discussion though. So I just hope someone will give attention to the argument of that report during the discussion.
Thanks,
Rory Litwin
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Rory Litwin
President
Library Juice Academy
Original Message:
Sent: Oct 01, 2023 12:54 PM
From: Al Kagan
Subject: Current World Events Discussion Series for Library Staff & Community Members
I think Mark's 3 suggested articles are well worth the read. I particularly like and agree with the 2nd one which is shortest and most concise.
Al
Original Message:
Sent: 9/28/2023 8:41:00 AM
From: Mark Hudson
Subject: RE: Current World Events Discussion Series for Library Staff & Community Members
I agree with Al and Karyn that the Current World Events series is an excellent idea. However, regarding the October 7 discussion on the war in Ukraine, I'm concerned that the recommended readings are both from rather centrist, dare I say 'bourgeois', sources (the New York Times and the New Yorker) and fail to include any left, consistently anti-imperialist perspectives, which I think will severely limit the parameters of the discussion. In the spirit of diversity and inclusion, I would recommended any or all of the following readings, all from serious left-wing journals with an international readership:
The Left and Ukraine: Anti-Imperialism or Alter-Imperialism?
by Rafael Bernabe, New Politics, 20 September 2023
https://newpol.org/the-left-and-ukraine-anti-imperialism-or-alter-imperialism/
Consistent Anti-Imperialism and the Ukraine War
by Gilbert Achcar, Links: International Journal of Socialist Renewal, 17 March 2023
https://links.org.au/consistent-anti-imperialism-and-ukraine-war
After Russia's Invasion of Ukraine
Ashley Smith, Against the Current, July/August 2022
https://againstthecurrent.org/atc219/after-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/
I think these readings would add immeasurably to the breadth and depth of the discussion on October 7.
-- Mark Hudson, co-chair International Responsibilities Task Force (IRTF)
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Mark Hudson
Monroeville, PA
Original Message:
Sent: Sep 27, 2023 04:14 PM
From: Frieda Afary
Subject: Current World Events Discussion Series for Library Staff & Community Members
Current World Events Discussion Series for Library Staff & Community Members
The Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association invites you to an online Current World Events Discussion Series starting Saturday, October 7 from 2 to 3 p.m. E.S.T.
This series will be offered every two weeks on Saturdays from 2 to 3 p.m. EST and will be available via Zoom to library staff and their patrons.
The U.S. and the world are currently facing the challenge of misinformation, disinformation, and fake news in a way that is truly endangering the future of democracies and of humanity itself. As trusted information sources, librarians have a responsibility to confront this challenge. We need to help the public not only with distinguishing between misinformation, disinformation, and facts but also with learning the basic tools and processes of critical thinking to analyze local, national, and international events.
Whether it is climate change or immigration, the war in Ukraine or the protests in Iran, there are current world events that the public is hungry to hear discussed in a coherent, thoughtful, informative, analytical manner, rather than through sound bites or quick tidbits on the news interrupted by commercials.
Guided by PEN America's media literacy guidelines, each session of this series will focus on a particular news topic by discussing two articles from highly reputable and credible sources such as The New York Times, The Economist, and The Guardian as well as smaller news sources such as Truthout and ProPublica. Facts and events will be examined within the historical and global context in which they take place. They will also be examined from the vantage point of diversity, inclusion, and social justice. Sessions will alternate between international and national topics. Our goal is to promote global awareness and to facilitate a truly educational, fruitful, and civil discussion on a regular basis. We are also aiming to discuss creative solutions to problems.
The October 7 session will focus on the current war in the Ukraine. The articles to be discussed are attached as PDF files. If you would like to attend this session and invite your library patrons to join the discussion, please fill out the registration form below:
https://ala-events.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUvfuitqTgjH9DRoeoCdxkzXPtc7eRdkXzR#/registration
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by going to the page below:
https://connect.ala.org/srrt/contactus