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Intervention or invasion?

The Currents article on Haiti (NI 547) needs a crucial correction: it portrays ‘international intervention’ as an attempt to ‘establish…stability’ regarding ‘political disasters’, as if all of those disasters are largely of Haiti’s own making. The article refers to 2004 without mentioning that that was the year when ‘international intervention’ intentionally toppled the democratically elected government led by Jean-Bertrand Aristide. This then brought about or exacerbated many of the ensuing ‘political disasters’ of which the article speaks. A synopsis of Haiti Betrayed states that the movie ‘reveals how Canada … conspired with the United States and France in 2003 to topple the democratically elected government … in a United Nations sanctioned coup d’état in 2004 [and had a role in] the bloody aftermath that followed.’

Boyd Reimer Toronto, Canada

Haven’t solved debt yet

Re: ‘The problem is capitalism’ written by Yanis Varoufakis (NI 549).

1 Yes, I agree that the problem is capitalism. But Varoufakis claims that capitalism is dead and has been replaced by something he calls ‘technofeudalism’. This is not the case.

Essentially, capitalism is based on the production and realization of surplus value. This is a cyclical process in which capital goes through definite stages of transformation such as financial capital, productive capital (fixed and variable) and commodity capital. There is no clear beginning or end to this process. Varoufakis confuses two different things: capital investment that produces added value, and debt that may not produce any value at all. Thus Varoufakis spectacularly misunderstands what capitalism is all about.

And what is his solution to the debt problem? First, democratization of corporations so that they sound like worker co-operatives. Fine, but how it could solve the problem of debt is unclear. Second, free bank accounts for all residents. Again fine, but how could this solve the global debt crisis? Contrary to what he says about capitalism being killed, it is very much alive and kicking, and sadly has little to fear from his brand of ultra-leftist twaddle.

Peter Somerville Manchester, UK

2 Yanis Varoufakis claims that the real problem is capitalism, not debt. This would imply that the solution is to do away with capitalism, which involves putting an end to wage labour, production for sale and the division of society into classes. Rather than proposing that, he just suggests making changes to the banking system, which would leave capitalism in place.

Paul Bennett Manchester, UK

Don’t buy, borrow!

I read with interest your Agony Uncle article in May-June’s New Internationalist (NI 549). I was surprised that it did not mention the possibility of borrowing books from a library in the UK – the Public Lending Right payment scheme provides authors with an income of up to £6,600 ($8,390) per year from public library loans of their books. About 30 other countries have similar schemes.

And it also helps keep libraries used and open!

Wendy Martin Durham, England

Love for the Gaza Sunbirds

Our website article on Gaza’s para-cycling team prompted many well-wishers on Instagram, including:

Why I...

...advocate for local leadership.

For decades ‘international development’ has operated according to priorities decided in the Global North. Those most affected by the legacies of colonialism, who are closest to the issues and potential solutions, are seldom consulted. I’m proud to work for an organization campaigning for a fundamental shift in power and resources toward local civil society. Things are starting to change, but there’s still a long way to go. We can all play a role by ensuring that the international NGOs we support are genuinely trying to create a world in which they are no longer required. Or – better yet – we can fund local organizations directly.

Kit Dorey NI Common Council London, UK