"ramin mazaheri"

RAMIN MAZAHERI—The continued moral failures of capitalism and imperialism mean that socialism – from an economic and democratic perspective – is the only way forward. Iran, and others, will never give up religion, so that is a non-issue, but understanding historical parallels shows the universality of the human economic-political experience. The ability to appreciate Prophet Mohammad, Ali, Hossain, Jesus, Moses, Mao, Lenin, Trotsky and others as common socio-political liberators draws us all closer together, and closer to the goal of peace and shared prosperity.

RAMIN MAZAHERI—The irony is that Western leftists will openly admire the Committees to Defend the Revolution (who would certainly get physically involved were Cuba ever to actually have protests) or even the Chavista brigades, yet the Basjii who opposed the Green Movement – which most leftists, including the World Socialist Web Site, agree was a mostly upper-middle class phenomenon – receive none of this support but only scorn, fear and condemnation.

RAMIN MAZAHERI—But humanising the literal Hitler-lover Eva Braun? For one thing – that is not feminism at all. It is no more pro-feminist than this week’s absurd article from The New York Times: Was This Powerful Chinese Empress a Feminist Trailblazer? No, Empress Cixi (reign 1861-1908) was not. At all. Empress Cixi was a disaster for China during her 50-year rule. Drugs, foot-binding, colonial domination (for which she was the willing puppet), social disarray – all were rampant under her reign. Not every woman in power is a feminist, nor good to nor good for women…but this is simply not the view of the West in 2018.

RAMIN MAZAHERI—The Basij are also not comparable to Nazi Brownshirts or Italian Blackshirts. The reason for this simple: Iran has a modern, democratic, anti-racist, anti-imperialist & anti-capitalist ideology which is fundamentally different from the fascist, imperialist, war-mongering, racist, faux-socialist ideology of those two European groups. No such comparison is legitimate in the slightest, and it is fear-mongering anti-Iranian propaganda not based on facts.

RAMIN MAZAHERI—Many in Iran are so devoted to “Neither East nor West but the Islamic Republic of Iran” that they don’t accept these (mostly) mutually-beneficial and certainly not “neoliberal” terms of partnership – they want fewer Chinese goods and more Iranian-produced ones. Iran may not be have the population capabilities to be a genuine superpower like China, the US, the EU or Russia – but we’re big enough to stand alone! This strain of defiant patriotism is considered totally absurd in the West – they cannot believe that Iran will not run into China’s arms like a scared child if only China would shelter them…just as they couldn’t believe that Iran ran out of the West’s arms 40 years ago like a child fleeing a pedophile.