The Global Perspective: Reflections on Imperialism and Resistance

by Torkil Lauesen, Gabriel Kuhn (Translator), Zak Cope (Introduction)

In the 1970s and 80s, Torkil Lauesen was a member of a clandestine communist cell which carried out a series of robberies in Denmark, netting very large sums which were then sent on to various national liberation movements in the Third World. Following their capture in 1989, Torkil would spend six years in prison. In 2016, Lauesen’s book Det Globale Perspektiv was released in Denmark. In it, he explains how he sees the world political situation today, and his thoughts about the future. In 2018, Kersplebedeb Publishing is pleased to release the English language edition of this book, translated by Gabriel Kuhn, and with a Preface by Dr. Zak Cope.As Lauesen details, we today live in a world of massive and unprecedented inequality. Never before has humanity been so starkly divided between the “haves” and the “have nots”. Never before has the global situation been accelerating so quickly. The Third World national liberation movements of the 20th century very much triggered the liberatory movements that did manage to emerge in the First World, and seemed for an all-too-brief moment to point to an escape hatch from history’s downward spiral ... but for many today that all seems like ancient history.The Global Perspective bridges the gap between Third Worldist theory, and the question of “What Is To Be Done?” in a First World context. It is an important contribution towards developing an effective political practice based on the realities of the global situation, avoiding the pitfalls of sugarcoating the situation with the First World populations, or of falling into pessimistic quietism. It bridges the gap not only between generations, but also between theory and practice. As Lauesen says, “It is a book written by an activist, for activists. Global capitalism is heading into a deep structural crisis in the coming decades, so the objective conditions for radical change will be present, for better or for worse. The outcome will depend on us, the subjective forces.”

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Theory

544 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Andy P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lauesen is the real deal. He lived, talked, and walked anti-imperialist struggles all the way to prison and back. Whatever he has to say, I want to know.

It is difficult to classify Lauesen's book. It is a work of political theory, history, economics, autobiography, strategy and prediction. One of the advantages of writing in such a general fashion is that the subject matters are not treated as remote pieces of reality, but represented as unified and contradictory. The Global Perspective helped fill in a lot of "holes" in my understanding of world-system's analysis, the relationship of Maoism to the European left in the 60s and 70s, and some insight into what happened to western anti-imperialist struggles after the 1970s.

The most compelling chapters explained convincingly why the global south's role in any communist project of the 21st century will be central. Lauesen offers a strong discussion of labor's current situation around the world, differences between anti-imperialisms of the past and those of today, and how those of us in the global north can struggle for a better, more substantive internationalism.

Unfortunately, a lot of pressing issues are raised in the latter half of the Global Perspective. It is a "long" book, so a part of me feels it would have been better to divide it into separate publications, but I can totally see why everything contained in it was released together.

There's a bonus discussion of Marx's theory of value and Foucault's "technologies of power" at the end of the book. It's in the chapter on power (Foucault and Marxism) where I find Lauesen to be surprisingly ambivalent about the possibility of revolutionary struggles in the 21st century, preferring instead a kind of piecemeal movementism from the 90s and early aughts. After elaborating the protracted people's war in China in earlier sections, he ends with a celebration of the Zapatisas as an example of viable change in the modern era.

I look forward to reading the author's most recent publication, the Principle Contradiction.

[Eren Buğlalılar · Rating 4 out of 5]

1970'lerde Danimarka'da da silahlı devrimci hareketlerin olduğunu, banka soyup yeni-sömürgelerdeki devrimci hareketleri fonladıklarını bilmiyordum. Yazar Lauesen de 70-90 arasında böyle bir Danimarkalı örgütün üyesi olmuş, yakalandıktan sonra da uzun yıllar hapishanede kalmış bir militan. Devrimci mücadeleye olan inancını da kaybetmemiş Lauesen, ancak devrimci ideolojinin güncellenmesi gerektiğini düşünüyor.

Kitap Leninist emperyalizm teorisini 1970-2017 yılları arasında emperyalizm ve küresel eşitsizlik üzerine yazılmış kitaplar ve makaleler (en başta da Wallerstein, Emmanuel ve Amin'in "dünya sistemleri teorisi") ile güncellemeyi deniyor. Kitabın ilk yarısı oldukça güzel bir özet niteliğinde. Emperyalizmin dünyayı merkez ve çevre ülkeler olarak böldüğünü (bunu Kuzey ve Güney ülkeleri olarak ifade ediyor), çevrenin kaynaklarını sömürerek merkezde büyük bir birikim yaratıldığını savunuyor. Lauesen'e göre özellikle 19. yüzyılın ortasından sonra Avrupa'da, 1930'dan sonra da ABD'de var edilen bu birikim merkez ülkelerde işçi sınıfını işbirlikçileştirmiş ve görece istikrarlı rejimler oluşturmuşken, sömürülen çevre ülkelerde açlık, sefalet, isyan, baskıcı rejimler ortaya çıkarmış.

Yazar kitabın ilk yarısında bu küresel bölünmenin tarihini temel köşetaşlarıyla oldukça güzel ve ikna edici bir şekilde anlatıyor. Lauesen toplumları birbirinden yalıtık, dışa kapalı ulusal birimler halinde düşünmenin devrimci mücadele açısından yanıltıcı olduğunu öne sürüyor. Ona göre dünyada küresel bir ekonominin biçimlendirdiği birbiriyle eşitsiz ilişkiler kuran toplumlar var ve her analiz bu gerçek akılda tutularak yapılmalı.

Kitabın ikinci yarısı ise çağdaş dünyanın, özellikle de Çin ekonomisinin bir tasvirine değinip, devrimcilerin önünde ne gibi imkanlar olduğunu araştırıyor. Bu kısım biraz daha eklektik, çıkarımlar çok ikna edici değil, devrimci mücadelenin geleceğine ilişkin önerilerini ise fazla genelgeçer, soyut buldum.

[Comrade Zupa Ogórkowa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Torkil Lauesen is a master at writing books explaining complicated imperialist history and leftist theory in an accessible manner, probably due to him being not an establishment Marxist but someone who’s dedicated his whole life, including time in prison, to communist struggles. Would suggest this to anyone starting their journey into theory.

[Aric Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely important text, I cannot recommend this book enough.

I have struggled for awhile with understanding my relationship to the global struggle and this is a great overview and where Torkil may lack in depth of analysis he makes up for in practicality and action (a focus on action that makes the overall theory presented feel less hopeless and more driven towards progress)

Nonviolence revolution does not mean legal

[ernst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Umfassender Versuch, den heutigen Kapitalismus, seinen Ursprung, seine Entwicklung und die Möglichkeiten seiner Überwindung zu denken. So einen ambitionierten Wurf, mit einer derart breiten Anlage gibt es selten. Schon deswegen ist das Buch unbedingt lesenswert. Zuträglich zum Wert des Buches ist die starke politökonomische Analyse, die nicht vor den Konsequenzen des Imperialismus für die Beschaffenheit der Arbeiter:innenklasse zurückschreckt. Auch die Offenheit gegenüber nichtmarxistischen Forschungen und Ansätzen ist gut, wenn Lauesen auch nach eigenem Eingeständnis eklektisch vorgeht (dabei allerdings nicht immer unkritisch ist).

Schwächen kann man einige benennen. Etwa dass die Analysen insgesamt durch die breite Anlage des Buches vergleichsweise oberflächlich bleiben, dass die aufgeworfenen Ideen nicht gedanklich gründlich durchgearbeitet werden, dass beispielsweise die Entwicklung der Subjektivität der Klassen durch die Umwälzungen in den Produktionsverhältnissen unterbelichtet bleiben, usw. Eine politische Schwäche folgt aus Lauesens meines Erachtens seltsamen Begriffen von Klassenkampf und Staat. Der Staat wird ihm tendentiell eher zu einem Kampffeld der Klassen als zum Klassenstaat, zugleich betont er, durchaus richtig, dass die revolutionäre Tradition bisher zu wenig auf die gesellschaftlichen Verhältnisse, die die bürgerliche Produktionsweise jenseits des Staates absichern, geschaut hat (eine Kritik, die ihn meines Erachtens auch selbst noch trifft). Er betont auch stets die Bedeutung des Klassenkampfes, aber hier bleibt er auffällig schwammig, allgemein (das mag daran liegen, dass seine eigenen politischen Erfahrungen wenig mit den konkreten Klassenkämpfen in seinem Land vermittelt waren – einfach aufgrund der drittwelttistischen Position seiner Organisationen). Beide Schwächen verbinden sich in der Analyse Chinas. Hier macht er sich Hoffnungen, dass das Land noch nicht kapitalistisch wäre (staatskapitalistisch sagt er) und noch durch eine linke Linie in der Partei und die chinesische Arbeiter:innenklasse auf den Weg des Sozialismus zurückgeführt werden könnte. Zugleich zeichnet er selbst nach, wie die KPC nach Maos Tod die Arbeiter:innenklasse desorganisiert, ihr Bündnis mit den Bäuer:innen zerschlagen und sie der brutalen Ausbeutung durch das imperialistische Kapital preisgegeben hat, während sich die Parteimitglieder zu Kapitalist:innen durch Raub am Volkseigentum entwickelt haben. Das ist inkonsequent und letztlich idealistisch. In den Jahren nach dem Buch hat er sich dann auch konsequent dieser Inkonsequenz folgend zum Dengisten entwickelt.

Es bleibt aber trotz dieser und weiterer Schwächen dabei, dass Lauesen einer der wenigen gegenwärtigen Marxist:innen ist, die versuchen, sich den Herausforderungen des Kapitalismus vom revolutionären, kreativen Standpunkt zu stellen. Ein denkender Mensch, wie wir nicht viele haben,

[Jay Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the historical overview and history of the KAK, basically the first 1/3 of the book. Really good look at some failures of social movements. But his fact checking is sloppy, has some pretty elementary errors, and overall his economic sections felt disjointed and inconsistent.

[Janus · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's ok but the ending seems outdated because it doesn't address Israel or Ukraine and the optimism he feels seems unjustified.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not much to say about this one other than that Torkil is a beast. Such a good book and highly recommend.

[Amid · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a fascinating book in which theory, history and the narrative of personal struggle are intertwined. The debates on imperialism that are nourished by Arghiri Emmanuel's work are always very enlightening for understanding, interpreting and changing today's world. Even though we had some disagreements, I enjoyed reading it and learnt a lot. Lauesen weaves words with a clarity so pure.

[Uğur Şen]

Really detailed and explanatory history of imperialism/anti-colonial struggles