Opinions – Lanka Socialist Forum

01 Aug

Katunayayake is one of the oldest Free Trade Zones in Sri Lanka.

wisidagamage0 CommentsEnglish, Opinions

Katunayayake is one of the oldest Free Trade Zones in Sri Lanka. Thousands of workers are employed in this zone. And yet the Sathosa there closes at 10 leaving workers unable to purchase essentials when they engage in night work. There is no Government medical center outside the zone. There is a private medical clinic which is set up so workers have to pay for thier health care. There is no post office in Aweriwatta. We are asking these facilities to be set up near the zone for the workers who bring dollars into this country - Swasthika Arulingam -…

30 Jul

There is great disorder under heaven

wisidagamage0 CommentsEnglish, Featured, Opinions, Political

Originally from: https://polity.lk/there-is-great-disorder-under-heaven/ The post-1990 world order—an ensemble of norms, rules, and institutions, informed by economic and political liberalism—is in disarray. The façade of an inter-state system based on rules not power, free trade not protectionism, open not closed societies, multilateralism not unilateralism, and human rights not crimes against humanity, is less legitimate to the worst and less credible to the rest. To those who spun that dreamworld, including in places like Sri Lanka, this is disorienting. Less so for the global majority. They live the nightmare of discrepancy between the rhetoric of liberal values and the reality of deprivation…

02 Dec

Worker participation in the EU

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Worker participation in the EU Meet the experts behind the new and improved worker-participation.eu website 11 December 2024, 14:00-15:30, Zoom Worker participation in the EU Meet the experts behind the new and improved worker-participation.eu website 11 December 2024, 14:00-15:30, Zoom The ETUI is pleased to present its overhauled worker-participation.eu website. A unique resource for practitioners, academics, policymakers and journalists, the website provides accurate and easily accessible information, data and commentary on the different forms of worker participation and industrial relations across Europe. Informing and consulting workers on changes and developments in the workplace is a fundamental right in the EU. With…

02 Dec

Agrarian Crisis in the Age of Inequality

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Critical Agrarian Studies - Seminar 10 (2024): Discussion with Palagummi Sainath As part of the Critical Agrarian Studies seminar series, the Social Scientists' Association (SSA) is pleased to invite you to its tenth seminar for 2024 titled 'Agrarian Crisis in the Age of Inequality'by Palagummi Sainath on Wednesday, 4th December 2024 from 5.00 pm - 6.30 pm at the SSA Office, No. 380/86, Sarana Road, Colombo 7. Palagummi Sainath is the Founder Editor of the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI). He was honoured in 2007 with the Ramon Magsaysay Award, “for his passionate commitment as a journalist to restore the rural poor to India’s consciousness, moving…

09 Nov

Fears and Hopes in a World of Turmoil

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Originally From: https://lsforum.lankanet.org/is-sri-lanka-experiencing-a-passive-revolution/ 4 November 2024 The liberal order supposedly built since World War II and claims of international promotion of human rights now stand fully exposed with the West’s unconditional support for Israel’s wars and heinous crimes in the Middle East Today, I mark my one hundred and fiftieth Red Notes column. As I started writing this column, I reflected on if and how I should continue on this twice-a-month weekend preoccupation. If it were cricket, at a century and a half, I would have to consider if the pitch is changing and the light is fading, and how…

07 Nov

Is Sri Lanka experiencing a “passive revolution”?

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Wilfred Silva Antonio Gramsci’s concept of “passive revolution” refers to a process of social, political, or economic change that is driven from above—by the ruling classes or the state—rather than through active and direct popular movements or revolutionary uprisings. Unlike traditional revolutions where the masses take control and overthrow the existing power structure, passive revolutions are characterized by gradual transformations that maintain the basic structure of power while incorporating some changes to accommodate new social or political realities. Key features of Gramsci’s concept of passive revolution include: Top-down Reform: Changes are initiated by elites or the state to prevent revolutionary…

17 Oct

Capitalism Hits Home: Whole Societies Can Be In Denial, Ours Certainly Is…

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The American Empire is Falling. That truth which is recognized throughout the rest of the world and in U.S. financial circles, is denied across America. However, the evidence cannot be denied. Where the denial expresses itself most is in “Spirit Level Afflictions”. Glaring economic and social inequality, distrust between people, addiction, mental illness, lowered life expectancy, birth rate decline, suicide, homicide, imprisonment rates, and much more. All signs of a society in deep turmoil. List to Dr. Harriet Fraad discuss these issues and more right now here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o03piEvtnN4

11 Oct

They Now Know What Real Bombing Means: The Forty-First Newsletter (2024)

wisidagamage0 CommentsEnglish, Featured, OpinionsEverest

Ayman Baalbaki (Lebanon), Untitled, 2020. Dear friends, Greetings from the desk of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. On 1 October, US Representative Michael McCaul, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee issued a statement urging US President Joe Biden to ‘place maximum pressure on Iran and its proxies, rather than pressure Israel for a ceasefire. We need to expedite arms transfers to Israel that this administration has delayed for months, including 2,000-pound bombs, to ensure Israel has all the tools to deter these threats’. McCaul’s belligerent call came days after Israel used over eighty US-made 2,000-pound bombs and other…

14 Sep

Sri Lanka: AKD’s Double Standards?

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By Redley Silva In recent election rallies in the South, AKD (Anura Kumara Disanayaka) has taken a commendable stance, repeatedly telling his supporters that those working for his opponents or voting for them should not be harmed, as it’s their democratic right to vote for their political parties. This message of tolerance and respect for political freedom is crucial to a healthy democracy. However, his tone took a stark turn during a rally in Jaffna. Speaking to the largely Tamil audience, Anura implied that not supporting the ‘change’ the people (largely Sinhala) were expecting may have negative consequences. A few…

11 Sep

Sri Lanka: 2024 Presidential Election and the way forward for the oppressed people!

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Today, the question that we have been debated among the people of Sri Lanka, is what steps should be taken in the upcoming presidential Election. We, people of Sri Lanka have been witnessed 75 years of dependant political and socio-economic practice by the capitalists elites (Both Right and Left) in Sri Lanka. Now, we are facing two questions in this conjuncture. What force will overthrow the repressive and corrupt regimes in Sri Lanka? And If it is possible, what kind of political economy will emerge in the future? Unfortunately, it is completely irrational to think that, there will be such…