Produce Less – Exploring Degrowth

“The point of the book is to get people to think beyond capitalism. We need a criticism of fossil fuel capitalism and how that has dominated this problem. Replacing fossil fuel capitalism with critical mineral capitalism isn’t going to solve the problem.”

The article examines how the revolutionary left should approach resistance by non-left forces against imperialism. It distinguishes the material anti-imperialist effects of struggles by Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran from the political and class character of those forces. It argues that defending resistance does not require endorsing the movements or states leading it. The article applies this distinction to Palestine, Iran and Venezuela, while warning against both campism and the denial of imperialism. It calls for an independent politics that opposes imperialist domination while maintaining criticism of domestic repression, exploitation and class power. For the author, resistance can weaken imperialism without itself constituting liberation.

“Earthy governance” offers a different understanding of democracy, one in which human communities recognize their place within the wider web of life. Drawing on Indigenous and local communities across the world, Shrishtee Bajpai and Ashish Kothari examine forms of self-governance rooted in ecological relationships, collective decision-making, commons and custodianship. These systems seek to distribute power, strengthen the voice of marginalized groups and recognize rivers, mountains, forests and other more-than-human communities as integral to governance. From Lachung in Sikkim to the Tharaka community in Kenya and the Dongria Kondh of Odisha, the article explores practices that challenge human-centered and centralized models ofdemocracy.

Paul Le Blanc reviews a new book that reveals little known dimensions of Rosa Luxemburg the outstanding thinker and revolutionary, but also the generously gifted human being.

The article by E.A.S. Sarma examines the Union environment ministry’s exemption of standalone green hydrogen and green ammonia plants from prior environmental clearance. Using the proposed 1-million-tonne green ammonia facility at Kakinada as a case study, Sarma highlights concerns over water consumption, desalination waste, pipelines, ecological impacts and the project’s proximity to the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary. He also questions the exclusion of public consultation and the wider implications of treating such projects as environmentally benign merely because they use renewable energy. The letter argues that environmental appraisal must precede industrial operations and calls on the ministry to revisit the exemption in light of Article 48A.

As detentions of Cubans in the United States increase, the voices most critical of Havana remain silent; no politician—and almost none of the so-called influencers—is speaking out to denounce the abuse. Most Cubans detained and deported to third countries did not cross the border illegally; their entry was, at the time, legal and authorized by U.S. authorities.

Raoul Peck’s ‘Lumumba’ offers a restrained and politically significant remembrance of Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Vidyarthy Chatterjee examines Lumumba’s assassination in the context of the struggle over Congo’s mineral wealth, sovereignty and political future. The article discusses the role of Western powers, Belgian colonial interests and Congolese political elites in the events that led to Lumumba’s death. It also considers how Peck’s film revisited this history during the Black Lives Matter movement, bringing renewed attention to colonial violence and the continuing economic and political pressures faced by former African colonies.

India’s constitutional democracy recognizes Adivasi or tribal communities as distinct social formations having special rights over land and forests. Ironically, some of the country’s richest tribal landscapes continue to be viewed as repositories of mineral wealth. Whenever coal, bauxite, iron ore, or other natural resources are discovered beneath forests inhabited by Scheduled Tribes, the language of development takes precedence over the language of constitutional justice.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s target of 10 million medical tourists a year won’t create new capacity in Indian healthcare, it will pull capacity out of a public system that’s already short on it