The Iraqi Left Ahead of the 2025 Elections: Between Unity and RenewalIn the context of the transformations taking place within the Iraqi and international left, it is essential to combine traditional forms of leftist struggle with new arenas in the digital space and within official institutions. Political participation in all its forms is one of the essential tools of struggle. The struggle is not limited to the streets, factories, farms, offices, or theoretical critique; rather, it is necessary to engage in all fields, including work within state institutions, parliaments, and local councils, as they are important arenas through which the leftist voice — and the voice of the manual and intellectual workers — can reach the public and broaden its social influence. We are well aware that Iraq’s electoral laws are still incomplete and in need of radical reforms, and that the political environment is filled with structural problems, political money, sectarian and nationalist influence, and the power of militias. However, Iraq remains, despite all this, a country of the Middle East that cannot be compared with stable and advanced democracies. Nevertheless, any limited space of freedom or opportunity for participation must be utilized by leftist and progressive forces to build their presence, influence political and legislative decision-making, and expand the scope of their struggle through the tools of the state itself. Participation in elections is not submission to reality, but rather an attempt to change it from within, and it is one of the multiple arenas of struggle in which political, organizational, social, media, and digital work must be integrated.
https://libcom.org/article/iraqi-left-ahead-2025-elections-between-unity-and-renewalGaza protests show we need union power to hit the system where it hurtsIsrael’s genocide in Gaza - supported directly by the ruling classes in the West, and indirectly by their counterparts in the Arab world - has shone a spotlight on many pre-existing political realities: the crumbling global liberal order, the crisis of US hegemony, the extent of Israeli integration into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-centred Middle East, and the brittleness of civil liberties around the globe. It has also clarified much for previously less-informed people around the world: the genocidal character of Zionism, the cravenness of our own rulers, and the hypocrisy of international law - to name but a few. This unveiling is both terrifying and clarifying. It lays bare the horrors upon which the global order is built - the extraordinary violence it needs to sustain itself, meted out to crush resistance, keep goods and natural resources flowing, and safeguard the accumulation of capital. Palestine is crucial to our rulers because it lies at the crossroads of three continents and the trade routes that connect them. It sits to the east of the Suez Canal - the world’s most important maritime trade thoroughfare - and at the gates of a region rich in oil and gas. To control it, western ruling classes know no bounds. Israel is the expression of that imperative to keep power stable and business going at all costs - even if it means destroying an entire people through war, expulsion and starvation. No price is too high. In doing so, the genocide has clarified - in the unforgiving light of the unspeakable violence that continues to be rained down on Palestinians by Israel - the tasks at hand for all those who want a different world, whether the current ceasefire holds or not, the challenges we will face in taking them on, and the allies (and enemies) we can count on in the process. This demands honesty in assessing the current balance of forces - and the reality is hard to bear.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-shows-why-we-must-rebuild-unions-and-networks-struggle闯 Chuang: Keeping Each Other Afloat, Pt. 3 – The Gig Economy Era: The Saturation of the Employment Reservoir, New Regulations Incite ControversyAccording to a survey by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the number of workers in “new forms of employment” surpassed 84 million in 2024 to compose 21% of the total workforce. The gig economy—which serves as an employment reservoir for rural youth migrating to the cities, for recent graduates, and for those thrown into unemployment—has grown increasingly saturated, intensifying competition among platform-based gig workers. The influx has led to declining pay rates per task and stricter oversight of platform-based gig workers. As income grows more uncertain, accidents and violent incidents occur more frequently. According to official data from Meituan, among the 7.45 million delivery riders who earned income from orders on the platform in 2023, nearly half worked fewer than 30 days, indicating that a significant proportion were using these jobs for part-time or transitional employment. The myth of “earning over 10,000 in a month” has already become an illusion. In reality, pay rates are falling lower and lower. One delivery rider in Shenzhen interviewed by Sanlian Lifeweek stated that he had to ride over 5,000 km per month, complete between 1,000 and 2,000 orders, and work at least 13 hours a day to earn over 10,000 in a single month. Although the 2023 Blue-collar Employment Survey Report noted that the average monthly income of delivery riders in 2023 was 6,803 yuan (higher than the blue-collar average of 6,043 yuan) and that delivery riders, postpartum caregivers, and truck drivers ranked among the top blue-collar earners, the Gig Economy Research Center’s annual survey revealed that, in Guangdong, half of all surveyed delivery riders had earned less than 4,000 yuan per month on average over the previous three months, with fewer than 20% earning more than 6,000 yuan. Among those who did, 69% worked 8 to 12 hours a day.
https://chuangcn.org/2025/09/keeping-each-other-afloat-pt-3-the-gig-economy-era-the-saturation-of-the-employment-reservoir-new-regulations-incite-controversy/