My friends, it’s that time of year again. Time once again for you, and me, to make a financial contribution to MRZine. It costs real money to keep this project going and growing. Your financial support is vital if MRZine is to continue carrying the Monthly Review message to the entire world via the internet.
MRZine is free to anyone who has a means to view the constantly evolving lists of articles. The web page receives hundreds of thousands of visits per month, from people all over the world. As an occasional contributor of an article to MRZine myself, I was pleasantly surprised recently when a friend informed me that one of my submissions (“Waste, Fraud, and Abuse: Another Day at the Pentagon”) had apparently been translated into six different languages in Asia, Europe, and South America. I could never have imagined that level of interest in my article, but I was glad to know that folks like us in those far-off places were able to put the article to good use.
Take a moment to scan the listing of current MRZine articles; you will see subjects, reports, histories, research, and commentaries that cover aspects of our movement from one end to the other. It is a global library of left news and views, in the making. But remember; while it might be “free” to look at, it’s not free to produce and maintain. Whether you view MRZine from your computer at home, or at a cyber café someplace, you are spending a bundle on your hardware, software, and internet access fees. And how about those ink cartridges for your printer? They ain’t getting any cheaper. It’s our responsibility to ensure that the internet helps us expand our reach to readers old and new, and does not inadvertently become the coffin nails of our print or internet-based publications. I think I am safe in saying that most likely the smallest stream of revenue generated by the internet phenomenon is that which finds its way to the sponsors of pages like MRZine.
To do my part, I just got out my checkbook and wrote a check for $100 to the Monthly Review Foundation. That’s on top of my Monthly Review Associate membership, which I took out this past summer. I am asking you to do the same thing, to make a contribution to MRZine. Many of you will send a bit less, and some of you are capable of contributing much, much, more. If writing checks is not your style anymore, go on-line and make a contribution using the PayPal feature. But — one way or the other — please make a contribution to MRZine right now.
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Chris Townsend is Political Action Director for the United Electrical Workers Union (UE) in Washington, D.C.
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