David Graeber

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Ancient History Shows How We Can Create a More Equal World

ReflexionesPensamiento, Cultura y Ciencia,

Most of human history is irreparably lost to us. Our species, Homo sapiens, has existed for at least 200,000 years, but we have next to no idea what was happening for the majority of that time. In northern Spain, for instance, at the cave of Altamira, paintings and engravings were created over a period of at least 10,000 years, between around 25,000 and 15,000 B.C. Presumably, a lot of dramatic events occurred during that period. We have no way of knowing what most of them were. This is of little consequence to most people, since most people rarely think about the broad sweep of human history anyway.…  Seguir leyendo »

Extinction Rebellion members during climate protests in London last week. Frank Augstein/Associated Press

ReflexionesNaturalezaEuropaUnión Europea,

On April 15, thousands of activists from a movement called Extinction Rebellion started occupying several sites in central London, shutting down major roads and demanding the country’s politicians take immediate, drastic action in the face of climate change.

For more than a week, the streets were awash with an infectious sort of hope. Beyond the potent symbol of popular power represented by their presence in the heart of the city, activists and passers-by had the chance to experiment with collective politics. Yes, there were camera-worthy stunts and impossible-to-ignore disruptions of business as usual. But people also assembled, broke into discussion groups and returned with proposals.…  Seguir leyendo »

Kobane, Syria, March 2015. A member of the Women’s Protection Unit defends the city. Photograph: Maryam Ashrafi/The Guardian Foundation

EuropaMundoOriente Próximo, ,

Remember those plucky Kurdish forces who so heroically defended the Syrian city of Kobane from Isis? They risk being wiped out by Nato.

The autonomous Kurdish region of Rojava in Northeast Syria, which includes Kobane, faces invasion. A Nato army is amassing on the border, marshaling all the overwhelming firepower and high-tech equipment that only the most advanced military forces can deploy. The commander in chief of those forces says he wants to return Rojava to its “rightful owners” who, he believes, are Arabs, not Kurds.

Last spring, this leader made similar declarations about the westernmost Syrian Kurdish district of Afrin.…  Seguir leyendo »

a Syrian man rests in the northwestern Syrian city of Afrin on March 31, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Nazeer al-Khatib (Photo credit should read NAZEER AL-KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images)

EuropaMundoOriente Próximo, , ,

When Raqqa fell in 2017, after a long siege by the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), it was generally thought that ISIS was defeated, save for some mopping up. But in January of this year, Turkey invaded Afrin—one of three cantons in Rojava, also called the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria. This meant that scores of SDF fighters had to leave the battle against ISIS in order to defend their homes, families, and neighbors in Afrin. After extensive air strikes, the city of Afrin fell on March 18—confronting the already troubled region with yet another humanitarian crisis, as thousands fled to escape the Turkish army and its Syrian National Army allies (which include jihadist rebel groups and some fighters who are either openly aligned with al-Qaeda or even recent members of ISIS).…  Seguir leyendo »

Syrians at a funeral for three Y.P.G. fighters killed in Rojava in 2015. Credit Lynsey Addario/Getty Images

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

“The Kurds have no friends but the mountains” — that’s what Mehmet Aksoy used to say. But Mehmet, who was killed Sept. 26 during an attack by the Islamic State in northern Syria, was my friend, and a tireless advocate of the Kurdish freedom movement.

He was working on an essay that began with those words when he died. He often used that adage to explain the plight of his people, who have long been used or mistreated by the very powers that claim to spread democracy and freedom through the world.

I first met Mehmet at a Kurdish demonstration in London, where he lived.…  Seguir leyendo »

ReflexionesPensamiento, Cultura y Ciencia, , ,

La récente actualité, avec d’une part la révélation des « Panama papers » et d’autre part l’émergence du mouvement Nuit debout, à Paris et dans d’autres villes françaises, traduit la lutte entre deux formes de solidarité, deux cultures mondiales – la première déjà bien trop développée, l’autre encore naissante.

La première est la solidarité des riches et des puissants ou, plus précisément, de ceux dont la richesse est fondée sur la puissance ; la seconde exprime l’apparition de nouvelles formes de démocratie révolutionnaire qui, de plus en plus, prennent une dimension planétaire. L’une et l’autre créent pour survivre des espaces extérieurs à la structure formelle de l’Etat.…  Seguir leyendo »