I. The American humorist, James Thurber, tells the story of a friend who asked him, “How is your wife?” to which Thurber replied, “Compared to what?” Most judgments in our lives involve comparisons of one sort or another, but comparisons to what? The comparison we choose, and we often do so unconsciously, will decisively affect [...]

Is it advisable for one who is not an expert on economic and social issues to express views on the subject of socialism? I believe for a number of reasons that it is. Let us first consider the question from the point of view of scientific knowledge. It might appear that there are no essential [...]

A meeting that was worth it AT the end of the Globalization and Development event, with the presences of more than 1,500 economists, outstanding scientific figures and representatives of international organizations meeting in Havana, I received a letter and a document from Atilio Boron, a Doctor of Political Science, senior professor of political and social [...]

Amidst the many failings and shortcomings of unions and the labor movement, there have been bright spots too. Not long after the first edition went to press, many unions joined the fight for global justice and against the uncontrolled globalization that had been driving wages and working conditions downward worldwide. The most famous struggle occurred [...]

Michael D. Yates The first edition of Why Unions Matter was published in 1998. In it I argued that unions mattered because they were the one institution that had dramatically improved the lives of the majority of the people and had the potential to radically transform both the economic and political landscape, making both more [...]

T.K. RAJALAKSHMI The ILO’s recent “World of Work Report 2008” has particular relevance given the current global financial and economic crisis. In India, the ILO report says, casual workers earn 45 per cent less than regular workers. THE World of Work Report 2008: Income Inequalities in the Age of Financial Globalization, produced by the International [...]

“First International” [The text of 1867 English edition of the Rules and Administrative Regulations which was approved by Marx and later used by him in subsequent work on these documents.] RULES Considering, That the emancipation of the working classes must be conquered by the working classes themselves; that, the struggle for the emancipation of the [...]

First  International Working Men’s Association [Written: October 21-27, 1864; First Published: Printed as a pamphlet in Inaugural Address and Provisional Rules of the International Working Men’s Association, along with the “General Rules”. London. Workingmen: It is a great fact that the misery of the working masses has not diminished from 1848 to 1864, and yet [...]

by Michael D. Yates A summary Capitalism fails workers in at least three ways. It cannot guarantee that a job will be available to any worker who needs one. It cannot guarantee that a worker who has a job will receive adequate compensation for it. And it cannot guarantee that a worker who has a [...]

by Michael D. Yates The reason why work is so unsatisfying is simple.  Work cannot be fulfilling; it cannot allow us to fully use our uniquely human capacities; it cannot be anything but profoundly alienating because of the nature of capitalism.  This nature can be expressed in a famous phrase of Karl Marx: “Accumulate! Accumulate! [...]