The International Peace Conference, which took place in Rome from 27 to 28 October 2023, was attended by peace organizations from all over the world. The conclusion: humanity is acutely threatened by a Third World War. For this reason, a new, peaceful and just concept of living together is needed. Under the motto “Stop the 3th World War”, the participants of the International Peace Conference in Rome founded an international alliance of anti-imperialist peace organizations on the last weekend of October and set a sign for commitment to peace over ideological differences.
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The Capitalists of the 21st Century
Imbalanced Global Expansion of 21st Century Capitalism and Outward Friendly Cooperation of China:
Book Review of Werner Rügemer’s “The New Capitalism in the 21st Century”
Under this title, a review of the Chinese edition of the book “The Capitalists of the 21st Century” appeared in the ‘Marxistische Blätter’ 5/6-2023. The author is Dr Werner Rügemer, member of the advisory board and executive committee of the German Freethinkers’ Association. It is a commonly understandable outline of the rise of the new financial players. We document this review in English and then in the Chinese original. Compiled by Klaus Hartmann, President of the World Union of Freethinkers.
World Union met in Offenbach am Main
On May 17, 2023, the Executive Office and the International Council of the World Union of Freethinkers met in Offenbach am Main. In addition to organizational issues, the program included final preparations for the conference the following day.
The committees received the application for membership from the Freethinkers’ Group of Hungary, which had submitted its statutes. This is in accordance with the principles of the World Union, after which the Bureau recommended admission, which was then unanimously decided by the International Council.
Since the number of members of the Executive Office is currently below the statutory norm, the International Council unanimously elected Fabienne Cartreaux from the German Freethinkers Association as a new office member.
The new election of the entire office will take place in connection with the 2024 Congress, which will deal thematically with the 25th anniversary of the NATO aggression against Yugoslavia.
50th WUF Congress in Frankfurt: Free Thinking and the New Multipolar World Order
On the occasion of the 50th Congress of the World Union of Freethinkers, more than 100 people gathered in the Saalbau Bornheim in Frankfurt on 18 May to follow the panel on the topic “Free Thinking and the Multipolar World Order”. Speakers illuminated the topic from various aspects. The many requests to speak from the audience showed that the event had touched on a topic that was burning under the nails.
Die Sänger Ernesto Schwarz und …
… Guy Dawson (All photos: K.-R. Landau)
The cultural contributions, which livened up the event, also attracted a lot of attention: Ernesto Schwarz with his songs against war and state of emergency accompanied by guitar, Ekaterina Frank on the piano with Russian classical music and folklore, and Guy Dawson spread a combative mood with his international peace and freedom songs.
Klaus Hartmann: “Turn of the times” between war and peace. The “turn of the times” proclaimed by the German Chancellor Scholz was the starting point of the presentation by Klaus Hartmann, President of the World Union of Freethinkers. The term marked the transition of the decades-long policy of encircling and surrounding Russia by NATO into direct war. In view of the exclusion and defamation of all those who do not follow the NATO line, the Freethinkers have an urgent task: enlightenment, enlightenment, enlightenment: “Let’s approach the people!” → to the presentation by Klaus Hartmann
Vladimir Kršljanin: From the 1999 NATO aggression against Yugoslavia to the war against Russia. We must organise, fight and welcome the new world – a just, multipolar and multilateral world based on international law, equality, cooperation, social justice and true democracy, as the community of destiny of humanity. → to the speech by Vladimir Kršljanin
Jean-Marie Jacoby: The world situation is changing. The EU member states are driving the economy to the wall with anti-Russian sanctions. There is a threat of loss of competitiveness and deindustrialisation. This can only be changed with ‘Yank go home and take your NATO with you’ as the basis for peace and friendship between nations. → to the report on the presentation by Jean-Marie Jacoby
Ekaterina Frank set the mood with Russian classical music and folk songs.
Dr. Corinna Oesch: 1848/2023 – on the historical and contemporary democracy movement. The role of women in the ’48 revolution remains underexposed to this day. All the delegates in the Paulskirche were men; the “ladies’ gallery” had to be expanded for the interested women. On the streets, however, large numbers of women campaigned for democracy. → Report on the presentation by Dr. Corinna Oesch
Peter Berger: Neutrality and multipolar world order. The status of neutrality is currently the subject of controversial debate in both Switzerland and Austria. How credible is the neutrality of the two countries against the background of their history and their actions in the current crisis? What perspectives arise for neutral states from the emergence of a multipolar world order? → to the presentation by Peter Berger
Sebastian Bahlo: The current tasks of the freethinker movement At the end of the conference, the chairman of the German Freethinkers’ Association stated that the historical goal of overcoming the self-alienation of human beings caused by class society remained, subordinated to which were sub-goals such as the propagation of enlightenment, criticism of religion and the fight against the social power of the churches, as well as the fight against economic exploitation and for political freedom. → to the presentation by Sebastian Bahlo.
Media reports:
WUF Executive Bureau met in Luxembourg
At its meeting on 26 November 2022 in Luxembourg, the Executive Bureau of the World Union of Freethinkers mainly dealt with the planning of the 2023 Congress. In terms of content, it will deal with perspectives of the transition to a new world order after the emerging decline of imperialism. How can the transition succeed without being dragged into an apocalypse by the hegemon? What is to be made of Europe’s highly developed nation states surrendering their sovereignty while their former colonies and other emerging economies of the BRICS+ develop a rising self-confidence by virtue of new partnerships? And where do the free thinkers stand in this upheaval?
At the meeting, the long-time treasurer of the WUF Klaus von Raussendorff was bid farewell. Central President Klaus Hartmann paid tribute to the reliable work he had done for the World Union since 2008 and expressed his thanks. Peter Berger (CH) was elected as the new Treasurer. Next, a replacement had to be elected for the General Secretary Jean-François Maréchal, who resigned during his term of office. Jean-Marie Jacoby (LU) was elected as the new Secretary General.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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Migration – ihre Ursachen und Folgen
Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.
Die Belgrader Tageszeitung „Alo!“ befragte in ihrer Ausgabe vom 12. Oktober Klaus Hartmann, Präsident der Weltunion der Freidenker, unter anderem zum Hauptthema der WUF-Konferenz vom 14. September 2019 in Esch-sur-Alzette (L).
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WUF Congress in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
Esch-sur-Alzette was the venue for the 2019 Congress of the World Union of Free Thinkers on 13 and 14 September. The second largest city in the Grand Duchy, a centre of iron ore mining for decades, is also the centre of the Luxembourg labour movement. For more than a century, the wealth of the city, which today has 35,000 inhabitants, has been based on the hard work of the miners (a mural in the centre of Esch next door). During the Nazi occupation from 1940 to 1944, Esch was one of the centres of anti-fascist resistance, as evidenced by the Musée nationale de la résistance in the city centre.
Die Gedankenfreiheit ist ein grundlegender Faktor der persönlichen Entwicklung
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Gilles Poulet *
Es wäre langwierig und zweifellos mühsam, die Geschichte des Freidenkertums (»Libre Pensée«) hier durchzugehen, deshalb werde ich mich darauf beschränken, sie so genau wie möglich zu definieren, damit wir uns alle, wann immer ich sie erwähne, über ihre Bedeutung einig sind, die sie für mich hat.
Erstens die Internationale Erklärung der Weltunion der Freidenker auf ihrem Kongress 1904 in Rom:
»Sie verwirft im Namen der menschlichen Würde das dreifache Joch:
- die missbräuchliche Gewalt der Autorität auf religiösem Gebiet,
- des Privilegs auf politischem Gebiet
- und des Kapitals auf wirtschaftlichem Gebiet.«
Freies Denken und persönliche Entwicklung
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Jean-François Maréchal *
Laizität und Privatsphäre
»Wir bekämpfen die Kirche und das Christentum, weil sie die Verleugnung der Menschenrechte sind und ein Prinzip der menschlichen Versklavung enthalten« (Jaurès).
In meiner Heimatstadt heißt der Hauptplatz Märtyrerplatz: ein Denkmal zur Erinnerung an Chapuis. Dieser praktizierende katholische Arzt, der sich sehr um die sozialen Probleme kümmerte, diente als freiwilliger amtierender Bürgermeister der Stadt, als die offiziellen Behörden vor dem Vormarsch der französischen Revolutionstruppen geflohen waren (das Land Lüttich hatte für den Beitritt zur Republik gestimmt) und heiratete damals ein Paar, das nicht religiös verheiratet war. Als die österreichischen Truppen 1794 zurückkehrten, wurde er wegen dieser „Gotteslästerung“ zum Tode verurteilt und auf einem öffentlichen Platz hingerichtet.
