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As the plight of the Palestinians, many of them refugees in their native lands, dominates world headlines, a look at the ways that international policy, though entities like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, has not been driven by altruistic motives. Instead, as historian Laura Robson argues, much of what takes place under the guise of humanitarian assistance has served to keep a lid on displaced populations, while profiting from their captive labor.
Resources:
Laura Robson, Human Capital: A History of Putting Refugees to Work Verso, 2023
Photo credit: Ken & Visakha Kawasaki
The post Exploiting Refugees appeared first on KPFA.

Degrowthers, Half Earthers, advocates of green growth – what distinguishes the ecological left’s various camps? Does it matter if an approach appears impracticable? Is only a post-capitalist future a sustainable one? And which thinkers are driving the debate, or trying to? Benjamin Kunkel considers a range of strategies advanced by contributors to New Left Review.
Benjamin Kunkel and Lola Seaton, eds., Who Will Build the Ark? Debates on Climate Strategy from New Left Review Verso, 2023
The post Left Climate Strategies appeared first on KPFA.

U.S. higher education is in the grips of a new McCarthyism over criticisms of Israel. Sociologist William Robinson, himself the target of an unsuccessful campaign by the Anti-Defamation League, considers reports that the Israeli state is directly intervening to stoke repression on U.S. campuses and in U.S. society. He also discusses the political economic conjuncture and why the Palestinians have come to be regarded by elites as a dispensable population.
Resources:
William I. Robinson, “Israel Has Formed a Task Force to Carry Out Covert Campaigns at US Universities,” Truthout, March 23, 2024
Photo: Jersey Noah via AROC Bay Area
The post Repressing Opposition to Israel appeared first on KPFA.

Of what use is utopian thinking? Is hope something we need to cultivate, or rediscover? Jon Greenaway looks at how the German philosopher Ernst Bloch (1885-1977) thought about history, human consciousness, revolution, Marxism, religion, and fascism.
Jon Greenaway, A Primer on Utopian Philosophy: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Ernst Bloch ZerO Books, 2024
Mat Callahan and Yvonne Moore, Working-Class Heroes PM Press/Free Dirt, 2019
The post Ernst Bloch’s Utopianism appeared first on KPFA.

Radio is a medium with extraordinary propagandistic power — seductively transmitting ideas into the quotidian intimacy of one’s home and life. That power and potential was recognized early on by the state following the First World World. It was also appreciated by opponents of war, including the anarchist pacifists who founded KPFA Radio and the Pacifica network. As KPFA Radio celebrates its 75th anniversary, historians Matthew Lasar and Iain Boal reflect upon the origins of the legendary station, the mother of listener-sponsored radio.
The post Fund Drive Special: War, Peace, and KPFA Radio appeared first on KPFA.

What does bold and militant action in the face of climate calamity look like? What sorts of individual and collective actions should the movement encompass, embrace, or at least tolerate? Chuck Collins explores these questions in a provocative novel packed with information about real-life activists and iconic campaigns. (Encore presentation.)
Chuck Collins, Altar to an Erupting Sun Green Writers Press, 2023
Inequality.org
DivestInvest
The post Fueling Change appeared first on KPFA.