apr/may 2008 red pepper04

Editors Oscar Reyes, Hilary Wainwright

dEputy Editor Tamanna Kalhar

production Steve Platt dEsign & production Tom Lynton www.tomlynton.com

political corrEspondEnt Alex Nunns

arts Editor Lena de Casparis

sports corrEspondEnts Anne Coddington, Mark Perryman latin amErica Editor Pablo Navarrete sub Editor Sarah Benton

WritErs Naima Bouteldja, Nick Buxton, Matthew Carr, Katie Coyne, Mihail Dafydd Evans, Gemma Galdon Clavell, Jan Goodey, Ben Hayes, Keith Hayman, Stuart Hodkinson, Solomon Hughes, Cassandra Harwood, Mathew Little, Vittorio Longhi, Melanie McFadyen, Enzo Mangini, James O’Nions, Roz Paterson, Angela Saini, David Sambrook, Chris Sands, Sally Tallant, Graham Usher, Derek Wall, Jonathan Wright translators Ilaria Perlini rEsEarchEr Jaimie Grant

picturE rEsEarch Dan Tierney

Visuals Martin Rowson, Ros Asquith, Andrzej Krauze, Matt Murphy, Tim Saunders, Sioux Bradshaw publishEr Fiona Osler fiona@redpepper.org.uk

officE managEr Dan Tierney

subscription salEs Pack Post 01296 489550

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thanks to Sally Birch, Andrea D’Cruz, Luis Coral and Esperanza Martinez, Stefano Decicco, Darrell Joyce, Efren at CONAIE, Osvaldo Leon, Micaela Mazzei, Mario Pianta, Donatella della Porta, Deborah Sterescu

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“Is the atomic weight of Cobalt 58.9?” Egon Spengler

contents

regulars

03 Editorial Dog whistles and guard dogs 06 lEttErs agony subcomandauntiE 08 plattitudEs The world according to STEVE PLATT 19 dEmocracy noW! Can democracy be exported?

40 knoW your EnEmy Richard Branson 42 pictorial Cultural taboo 66 booktopia Peter Tatchell 67 rEarViEW Alfredo Jaar: Politics of the Image

culture

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60 rEpElling bordErs Melanie Friend’s ‘Border Country’ exhibition gives a voice to the voiceless. AMANDA SEBESTYEN reports 62 it’s thE climatE, stupid LENA DE CASPARIS spoke to Franny Armstrong and Lizzy Gillett, director and producer respectively of the Age of Stupid 64 rEViEW roundup rEd pEppEr rEcommEnds

ART + POLITICS SPECIAL 54 lifE in thE art World JOHN SLYCE and PETER KENNARD debate the relationship between art and social change

Red Pepper is a member of INK, the independent News Collective, trade association of the UK alternative press www.ink.uk.com

Red Pepper is published by Socialist Newspaper (Publications) Ltd (Reg. No. 02644973, VAT No. 507 5026 20) and printed by Cambrian Printers Ltd, Aberystwyth. Distribution: COMAG Specialist Division, Central Way, Feltham, Middx TW14 0RX (020 8844 1000) and Central Books, 99 Wallis Road, London E9 5LN (020 8986 4854). Red Pepper accepts no responsibility for unsolicited material. Only submissions with SAEs will be returned. © Socialist Newspaper (Publications) Ltd 2008. All rights reserved ISSN 1353-7024.

Red Pepper cover is FSC certified stock and paper stock comes from sustainable forestry. All inks are soya oil based and print cartridges recycled features

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cover story

1968: thE mystErious chEmistry of social changE MIKE MARQUSEE questions the nostalgic legacy of ‘68

16 othEr amErica: rEdraWing thE map of us politics Could Barack Obama’s campaign for the US presidency neutralise the racist ‘southern strategy?’ FRANCES FOX PIVEN and LORRAINE C MINNITE investigate

apr/may 2008 red pepper 05

The Long Hot Summer Party 13 June 2008 Join us in celebrating the new Red Pepper at our Culture of 1968 party For details see www.redpepper.org.uk

20 Ecuador’s rEd tidE NICK BUXTON visits a constituent assembly debating a model of ecological sustainability and indigenous rights

24 a rEd guidE to italian politics The Italians face a crisis that could mean the return of Berlusconi. HILARY WAINWRIGHT reports as they prepare for the April elections

28 hopE in dark timEs EWA JASIEWICZ talks to the Kenyans trying to make peace in the wake of the agreement between Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga

31 Eu spotlight: turning up thE hEat on hEalthcarE The threat of healthcare privatisation stalking Europe by WESTBY SWIFT

34 undEr thE knifE STEWART PLAYER and COLIN LEYS investigate the proponents of marketisation undermining the NHS

36 grEEns on trial The Greens often meet with suspicion from the left. Are they given a fair hearing? ALEX NUNNS weighs the evidence

41 Earning from lEarning ANDY BOWMAN introduces Manchester University’s self-styled ‘president’, professor Alan Gilbert

44 up for a fight Reforms to the abortion law are needed that extend women’s reproductive freedoms argues LAURIE PENNY

47 thE nEW racE for thE polEs The UK government is claiming an area of ocean the size of Egypt in the race to secure new oil and gas supplies JAX JACOBSEN investigates

50 Essay: thE troublEs With food RAJ PATEL explains why the world’s poorest farmers and farm workers are the only ones not to benefit from the recent soaring food prices

coVEr dEsign TOM LYNTON www.tomlynton.com