'Picket and Pot-banger Together': Class Re-composition in Argentina?
Reports on the Argentine movements over the last 12 months have been scattered between the issue of the national debt and the IMF, the struggles of the middle classes, the 'piqueteros' unemployed movement, and the generalised 'rejection of politics'. How do all these aspects fit together - do the various struggles ion Argentina constitute a proletarian attack against capital? Is the 'rejection of 'politics' a radical advance for the movement, or an expression of sectional fragmentation? We suggest that the 'neo-liberal' attack has resulted in a massification of the class in which the middle classes are being absorbed into the proletariat. This is happening in specific conditions of a country on the periphery of capital, where an immediately social mobilization around the neighbourhood is possible. We examine the history of Argentina to explain the origin of the current situation.

Review Article: From Operaismo to 'Autonomist Marxism'
Italy's 'Hot Autumn' of 1969 and 'Movement of 1977' were two of the high points of late 20th century revolutionary struggle. The recent publication of two books on workerism and autonomia testify to the continued interest in the theoretical development surrounding these events. Steve Wright's Storming Heaven presents a critical history of Italian workerism; and Harry Cleaver's Reading 'Capital' Politically has been influential as an account of the 'autonomist' tradition. The review of these two books gives us the opportunity for a critical reappraisal of the contributions of workerism. We suggest that Cleaver reproduces some of autonomia's problems as well as its useful theoretical tools. These problems include the inadequacy of the concept of autonomy for a class analysis; the absence of a critique of leftism; ambiguity over the 'law of value'; and an inability or unwillingness to theorize retreat. We also argue that Cleaver's 'political' reading of Capital lacks the analytical rigour needed to make the connections between the categories of Capital and the class struggle.

Harry Cleaver's Response:

"From Operaismo to 'Autonomist Marxism'": A Response to Aufheben's 'Review' of Steve Wright's Storming Heaven (2002) and Harry Cleaver's Reading 'Capital' Politically (2000)

On Schoolwork and the Struggle Against It

Intakes: Communist Theory - Beyond the Ultra Left?
Last century (a few years ago), the French group Theorie Communiste (TC) translated and published our articles on 'decadence' (from Aufheben 2-4), accompanied by a critique. We publish that critique here, plus a short presentation by TC on their theoretical positions. TC write in quite a difficult style but they deal with important issues. While we are not in full agreement with either TC's overall perspective or all their criticisms, we find what they are saying challenging. If they are on the right track, then they have moved beyond the impasse of revolutionary theory as represented by the 'ultra-left'. Since some of the political tendencies that TC allude to will be quite obscure to many non-French readers, for this issue we have written an introduction, with some thoughts about the relation between communism, the workers' movement and the ultra-left, and the French debates on this from which TC emerge.