A History of Cold War One Reissued

 

North Meridian Press

First published in 1986 by Marxist Education Press (MEP) and now re-released by North Meridian Press.

This book is a historical analysis of the roots of a Cold War Il in Cold War I. It examines the critical foreign policy choices made by Washington policy makers after World War Il and seeks to understand them in the context of the broad sweep of the United States' political and economic history.

The goal is to ground an understanding of the foreign policy of the 1980s in the historical context and political struggles of the last several decades.

With ongoing debates in America's progressive coalition about Ukraine, Palestine, and other foreign policy questions this book is as timely as ever.

About the Author: Harry Targ is professor emeritus of Political Science at Purdue University. A leading peace studies scholar, he has written extensively on U.S. foreign policy, peace, and social activism.

https://www.lulu.com/shop/harry-targ/strategy-for-an-empire-in-decline/paperback/product-yv5gn5r.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Let's Mobilize Around a Progressive Agenda For 2026

  Harry Targ

1.A systematic progressive economic and political program that prioritizes the fulfillment of human needs: health care, education, housing, good wages, respect for all people, protecting the environment.

2.A unified political movement that organizes around this program or at least builds an alliance of Left groups that share a common humane peace and justice vision even as groups work on particular issues.

3.A grassroots organizing strategy that in word and deed does not prematurely identify critics with pejorative labels. Certain sectors of the population already embrace a progressive agenda, others are not yet decided, and a smaller percentage have embraced rightwing fascism.

The task of the left should include mobilizing those who agree, convincing the unconvinced, and finally respectfully seeking to change the minds and actions of the minority who are reactionary (including those who believe only violence will protect them).

                                            From the War Resisters League

4.A progressive movement that reaches out to, participates with, and learns from the literally millions of people that are rising all across the globe. At this stage in human history the campaigns of people of color and various nationalities in the Global South matter. And these movements parallel those of the poor and oppressed in the United States as well.

5.Finally prioritizing in this progressive project an anti-militarist, anti-war agenda. It is clear that the “permanent war economy” constructed after World War II robbed the world’s citizens of resources and hopes for a better future. A just world is a disarmed world, a world of peace.

 

Watch the Howard Zinn video this July 4

 Friends,

Sorry for passing along so much but I wanted to share with you a link (see at the bottom of this note) to a very powerful documentary on Howard Zinn and his "people's history." We watched the first half last night, and while not new to us, we found the images breathtaking, the stories of 1886 and 1912 compelling and his class analysis powerful. It is interesting to note that educators and politicians (like the former president of Purdue University), sought to censor the Zinn narrative if US history.

In my view, part of our struggle is still ideological. We need to communicate alternative narratives as we build our movements. It is clear the ruling classes wish to shut down these alternative stories today as they tried to do yesterday.

In solidarity,

Harry Targ 

https://heartlandradical.blogspot.com/2025/01/remembering-howard-zinn-1922-2010-when.html

REMEMBERING HOWARD ZINN (1922-2010) WHEN THE CONTENT OF EDUCATION IS UNDER THREAT - heartlandradical.blogspot.com On July 17, 2013 an Associated Press story was published in several newspapers quoting from 2010 e-mails Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana wrote to “top state educational officials.” The e-mails encouraged the suppression of popular historian Howard Zinn’s book, “A People’s History of the United States” in Indiana public education, including university level teacher training ... heartlandradical.blogspot.com

The video:

https://youtu.be/j53VI17PQig?si=n0bNLeZohcWl3ReI

Warning: There may be a few odious commercials.