Articles

Issue Four

The Soviet Union Versus Socialism

by Noam Chomsky

When the world’s two great propaganda systems agree on some doctrine, it requires some intellectual effort to escape its shackles. One such doctrine is that the society created by Lenin and Trotsky and molded further by Stalin and his successors has some relation to socialism in some meaningful or historically accurate sense of this concept. In fact, if there is a relation, it is the relation of contradiction.

National “Flagophilia”

by Ron Madson

In July of 2007 one hundred words waited anxiously to see if they would be included in the latest edition of the Merriam-Webster dictionary--only twenty were inducted.

Why an Economic Boycott of Israel is Justified

by Norman G. Finkelstein

The recent proposal that Norway boycott Israeli goods has provoked passionate debate. In my view, a rational examination of this issue would pose two questions: 1) Do Israeli human rights violations warrant an economic boycott? and 2) Can such a boycott make a meaningful contribution toward ending these violations? I would argue that both these questions should be answered in the affirmative.

Interview with Stanley Hauerwas

Interviewed by Joshua Madson for The Mormon Worker

Stanley Haurwas is a United Methodist theologian, ethicist, and professor of law. He received a PhD from Yale University and a D.D. from The University of Edinburgh, and has taught at the University of Notre Dame. He is currently the Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke Divinity School with a joint appointment at the Duke University School of Law.

Racism, Violence and the United States, Pt. II: Torture and Lynching

by Spencer Kingman

With emancipation in 1863, millions of black people stepped back from a system that tried to place them “beyond the pale of human sympathy,”1 a system that, by any means necessary, worked them from cradle to grave, a system that mangled their genealogy and hurled it, with so many lives, into a great abyss of loss.

A Letter to the President

by Abdullah Mulhim

Dear President,

As you embark on four years in office, facing major issues, attacking obstacles, and trying to find solutions to domestic and international problems, I would like to offer my help in resolving one of the major problems that has faced us in the past century and which continues to be a puzzle in finding a solution to. I would like to advise you on the Middle East problem.

The Weapon Called the Word, A song of the righteous is a prayer unto me.

by Jeremy Cloward

Greetings. Allow me to introduce myself, My Name is Jeremy Cloward. I am a new member of the Mormon Worker, a devout member of the Mormon Church, and a hardcore anarchist. I owe that to, not just the punk bands the Sex Pistols or The Dead Kennedys, but the actual Kennedys.

What Does It Mean To Follow Jesus Christ Today?

by Cory Bushman

Recently I was given a gift of a small box with the words, “Plans for the Overthrow” wood burned into the top. Inside of the box is a copy of The Sermon on the Mount. These radical words literally tell us exactly what we must do in order to overthrow chains of oppression and follow Christ.

The Resurrection of May Day

by Gregory VanWagenen

For 120 years, May Day has been synonymous with International Worker’s Day. As the name implies, the first day in May is a holiday celebrating the achievements of the world’s working people in their historic struggle for social and economic justice, and a day to organize and network as we continue the long march toward universal equality.

Why Would We Go To War With Iran?

by Stephen Wellington

To understand if there will be a war with Iran we must first understand why we went to war with Iraq. In my view, the petrodollar warfare hypothesis explains one reason for our invasion and occupation of Iraq.

To Towel or Not to Towel?

by Emily Bushman

For years I have been faced with an earnest and sincere question. Are paper towels evil? Are thousands of trees being cut down every year because I want an easy clean-up option to everyday spills and less time wasted letting air blow on my hands in the restroom?

A Brief History of US Efforts to Promote Civil War in Iraq

by William Van Wagenen

Proposals suggesting an immediate US withdrawal from Iraq, or even of setting a timetable for withdrawal, are consistently met with the objection that a sectarian/civil war will immediately erupt between Iraq’s three main ethnic groups, the Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds. Those who object to a US withdrawal contend that the US military is the only obstacle preventing the unleashing of centuries old ethnic and religious hatreds between Iraq’s various peoples.

Book Review: Building the City of God Community and Cooperation among the Mormons, by Leonard Arrington

Review by Jason Brown

If there is one book that every Latter-day Saint should read (besides of course the scriptures) it would be Leonard Arrington’s Building the City of God. In his practically encyclopedic coverage of early Mormon cooperative efforts, Arrington lays out the good, the bad and the ugly of Zion Building in the American West of the 19th Century.