It's not about the specific geopolitics of Ukraine/Russia/China/Israel/anything... it's about the unsustainability of the economic system.

The capitalist countries aren't turning back from immiserating their people. They're all-in on a model of massive wealth inequality, where the few own the houses, land, and other wealth, and the common man is in debt and is squeezed for rent. U.S. consumer confidence is at a 12-year low because the common man cannot afford things.

If people can't afford things but you want them to buy things, there is one capitalist solution: put them into consumer debt like credit-card-debt. But that's also maxed out, it can't be pushed further.

It's heading toward crisis. Pursing an unsustainable path is synonymous with heading towards a catastrophe.

The correct solution to this crisis is a leftist movement. But the left is disorganised and disempowered by oppression&propaganda. There's no left in capitalist countries, not an effective one.

(Same logic applies to the environmental crisis as well as the economic one.)

The welfare state was established by Clement Attlee after WW2 – an example of how a catastophe/worldwar can be the shock required to get the ruling class to come to their senses and change the economic system.

Something's gotta give, simply put. People have been pushed to the brink and it can't go on like this.

That implies some sort of crisis/catastrophic failure of the system. That doesn't have to necessarily be a world war, but it fits the bill, plus all of the pieces are in place with geopolitical tensions and militarisation.

The capitalist rulers can try to take/destroy China and Russia to fight the collapse of their wealth (I'm agnostic on the specific alliances). Destroying fixed capital with bombs is one way of resetting the hoarding of wealth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9ovOwl5Cns

that's the post

Explain the bookclub: We are reading Volumes 1, 2, and 3 in one year and discussing it in weekly threads. (Volume IV, often published under the title Theories of Surplus Value, will not be included in this particular reading club, but comrades are encouraged to do other solo and collaborative reading.) This bookclub will repeat yearly.

I'll post the readings at the start of each week and @mention anybody interested. Let me know if you want to be added or removed.

Just joining us? You can use the archives below to help you reading up to where the group is. There is another reading group on a different schedule at https://lemmygrad.ml/c/genzhou (federated at [email protected] ) which may fit your schedule better. The idea is for the bookclub to repeat annually, so there's always next year.

Archives: Week 1 – Week 2 – Week 3 – Week 4 – Week 5 – Week 6 – Week 7 – Week 8 – Week 9 – Week 10 – Week 11 – Week 12 – Week 13 – Week 14 – Week 15 – Week 16 – Week 17 – Week 18 – Week 19 – Week 20 – Week 21 – Week 22 – Week 23 – Week 24 – Week 25 – Week 26 – Week 27 – Week 28 – Week 29 – Week 30 – Week 31 – Week 32 – Week 33 – Week 34 – Week 35 – Week 36 – Week 37 – Week 38 – Week 39 – Week 40 – Week 41 – Week 42 – Week 43 – Week 44 – Week 45 – Week 46 – Week 47 – Week 48 – Week 49 – Week 50 – Week 51

Week 52 – From Volume III, Chapter 51, Chapter 52, and Engels' supplement

Chapter 51 is called 'Distribution Relations and Production Relations'

Chapter 52 is called 'Classes'

Then Engels' supplement has two parts, called 'The Law of Value and Rate of Profit' and 'The Stock Exchange'

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1894-c3/index.htm

Discuss the week's reading in the comments

They were both undefeated at their first meeting in May: Usyk won.

Undercard

Johnny Fisher vs Dave Allen

Serhii Bohachuk vs Ishmael Davis

Peter McGrail vs Rhys Edwards

Isaac Lowe vs Lee McGregor

Daniel Lapin vs Dylan Colin

Moses Itauma vs Demsey McKean

Andrii Novytskyi vs Edgar Ramirez

Mohammed Alakel vs Joshua Ocampo