The Right to be Lazy: Essays by Paul LaFargue

New from AK Press:


At once a masterpiece of critical theory and rip-roaring radical humor, this is one of the most spirited attacks on the notion of the "work ethic" ever to be published! Featuring a revised edition of the original English translation by Charles Hope Kerr, this collection also includes four of Paul Lafargue's lesser-known critique (including the "Cathecism for Investors"), as well as a biographical sketch by longtime Wobbly organizer Fred Thompson, a new introduction by Bay Area print activist Bernard Marszalek. Released in collaboration with Kerr Company to celebrate their 125th anniversary year, and including a tribute to Kerr by labor journalist Kari Lydersen.

Paul Lafargue (1842–1911) was a Cuban-born socialist revolutionary, perhaps most well-known as the charismatic son-in-law of Karl Marx.

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Minneapolis Grocery Store Cleaners Launch Hunger Strike

Four retail cleaning workers and four community allies will begin an open–ended hunger strike Saturday to ratchet up pressure on the Supervalu grocery chain. The workers, members of a Minneapolis worker center, want the company to negotiate a code of conduct that guarantees fair wages and conditions for the workers who clean its stores late into the night.

The group, led by immigrant workers from Mexico and Central America, also seeks the reinstatement of an illegally fired workplace leader.

Read more here.

Sartre and Superman

Stephen Hawking: 'There is no heaven, it's a fairy story'

In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, the cosmologist shares his thoughts on death, M-theory, human purpose and our chance existence.

Read it here.