Michael D. Yates on Labor: Organization, Negotiation, and Education (interview parts 3 & 4)

By Farooque Chowdhury, Michael D. Yates 

MRonline

These are the last two parts of a four-part interview with Michael D. Yates by Farooque Chowdhury. You can find the first two parts of the interview here.

part 3

Begin by asking questions about one’s own life circumstances

Farooque Chowdhury: What advice in terms of studying can you give to someone committed to the cause of the exploited?

Michael Yates: The first thing is to begin to ask questions about your own life circumstances. Let’s consider some examples. Suppose you are unemployed, marginally employed, or what is called an “own account” worker, a person trying to make a living by being a street vendor or something similar. Why do you think this is the case? Try to get beyond blaming yourself. Even during the Great Depression in the United States people tended to blame themselves. However, as it became apparent that there were millions of people like themselves, it became clear that other forces must be at work. What might these forces be? If possible, try to find others like you and begin to discuss what has happened to you or why you are living the way you are. From there, perhaps try to find things to read or listen to (online lectures, talks, and so on.) If you don’t have immediate access to such things, maybe visit a library and see what you can find. One of my first books provides some material on unemployment, as well as employment. It is titled Longer Hours, Fewer Jobs: Employment and Unemployment in the United States, published by Monthly Review Press.

UKRAINE WAR FRONT: The Guardian Reports: Top Ukrainian Officials Do Not Believe Zelensky’s Statements

A Journal of People report

The Guardian reported on Friday: High-ranking Ukrainian officials privately consider Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky’s statements about returning to the country’s 1991 borders to be unrealistic, and only hope for the country’s survival.

According to the Guardian, there is growing criticism towards Zelensky in Ukraine for maintaining “unrealistic hopes of total victory,” including the return of all former Ukrainian territories.

Zelensky’s roadmap to resolve the crisis, which he has been promoting since 2022, calls for a complete and unconditional withdrawal of Russian forces from all territories within Ukraine’s 1991 borders, for Moscow to pay reparations, and for a war crimes tribunal to be held.

Moscow has described Zelensky’s ‘peace formula’ as an “absolutely hollow” ultimatum that is “divorced from reality.”