Unearthing hidden histories: an interview with Ian Birchall
An interview with socialist historian Ian Birchall. Ian’s work has has involved researching and reevaluating lesser-known revolutionaries and activists from the Global South.
Between Sartre and Cliff: Ian Birchall, a heterodox Marxist’s trajectory
Selim Nadi conducts a wide-ranging interview with long-standing revolutionary socialist Ian Birchall.
Paul Le Blanc replies to Ian Birchall on Lenin and Leninism
Paul Le Blanc, author of Unfinished Leninism, has replied to Ian Birchall’s discussion article on Leninism over at SocialistWorker.org. In an article titled Leninism, No? Paul sets out “a sense of what I mean by Leninism, as utilised in my own writings”: In his commitment to a fusion of the struggles of the workers and […]
Ian Birchall replies to his critics
Ian Birchall has written a comprehensive reply to the criticisms of his article “What does it mean to be a Leninist?” that appear in the current issue of Socialist Review.
The French far right pushed back – for now
Ian Birchall assesses the results of the second round of France’s parliamentary elections, celebrating a defeat for the far right and assessing the problems and opportunities ahead.
The Popular Front then and now – France and the elections
Ian Birchall looks back at the history of the original Popular Front and outlines what’s at stake in France’s general election.
A breakthrough for the French left?
The second round of France’s parliamentary elections saw the president lose his majority, a new left alliance becoming the second largest force, but also a worrying increase in far-right representation. Ian Birchall explains the background and looks at what may come next.
Prospects for the left after the French election
The results of the first round of the French presidential election make for grim reading. Ian Birchall looks at some of the lessons of the election, and the future prospects for the left.
Review | Léo Frankel, life of a Communard
Ian Birchall reviews a new French biography of Paris Commune member Léo Frankel.
Cultural Marxism? A review of The Dialectics of Art
Ian Birchall reviews The Dialectics of Art, a new work by John Molyneux.
Review: Anti-Nazi Germans
As Boris Johnson and others attempt to invoke the ‘spirit of the Blitz’ in response to COVID-19, Ian Birchall celebrates a recent publication that disrupts the national myths of WWII.
Tony Benn (1925–2014)
Ian Birchall looks back at the life of a genuine socialist who fought to the end: Tony Benn, who died today.
What does it mean to be a Leninist?
Ian Birchall surveys the history of Leninism and critically assesses the SWP’s current approach to questions of democracy and struggle.
An introduction to Lenin and Leninism
We are marking the hundredth anniversary of Lenin’s death by reprinting an essay by American socialist historian Paul Le Blanc, in which he explains the different components of what has come to be called ‘Leninism’.
South Korea: updates from recent struggles
A South Korean socialist talks about union struggles, parliamentary politics and Me Too
John Molyneux: Marxist in theory and practice
Two tributes to one of the IS tradition’s most important writers.
The Paris Commune: the Cry of the People
Over the coming three months rs21 will use articles from the Commune’s leading newspaper, Le Cri du Peuple to draw out the history of the Paris Commune.
Review: Martin Monath, A Jewish Resistance Fighter among Nazi soldiers
Merilyn Moos reviews a fascinating and little-known history of Trotskyist organising during World War Two.
What’s left of Lenin?
150 years after the birth of V.I. Lenin, Leninism offers us urgent and fundamental lessons about what it means to practise politics in capitalist society.
The Importance of Colin Barker
Mike Haynes offers a tribute to revolutionary socialist thinker and organiser Colin Barker
Review: Capitalism and Theory
A collection of the writings of Mike Kidron casts light on the heterodox Marxist economist and the revolutionary socialist organisation he once belonged to, writes Brian Parkin.
Colin Barker (1939-2019)
We are extremely sad to announce the death of our comrade and friend, Colin Barker. Today we republish the first section of an interview with Colin, where he reflected on his experiences in the International Socialists (IS) in the 1960s.
The total Marx and the total theory of literature
A lost gem of Marxist aesthetic theory, out of print for over forty years.
There’s nothing so weird as a revolution
Ian Birchall reviews China Miéville’s October, a new history of the Russian Revolution. It seems an odd pairing: the Russian Revolution and China Miéville, whose reputation is based on fantasy fiction which he himself describes as “weird”. But one only needs to read a few pages to realise that this is not a forced marriage […]
Peter Sedgwick and the British Left
Peter Sedgwick (1934-83) was a lifelong socialist activist and writer. Apart from his work to bring Victor Serge to the English speaking world, and his critical writings on psychiatry, Sedgwick produced a series of political pieces covering the 1950s to the 1980s (many of which are being rediscovered and published). In this piece Ian Birchall demonstrates Peter Sedgwick’s independent approach to handling changing political […]
Choosing or refusing to take sides in an era of right-wing populism
In the decade following the banking crash, the protracted crisis in neoliberal governance is taking a number of striking forms. Neil Davidson sets out the case for ‘rejecting the lesser evil’ option when faced with a choice between the radical right and the neoliberal centre.
Gracchus Babeuf revisited
Historian Doug Enaa Greene reviews The Spectre of Babeuf by Ian Birchall. Often unfairly dismissed by socialists, Gracchus Babeuf represents a break from utopianism towards direct, practical action and all the challenges that implies, and he has much to teach revolutionaries today. Spectre of Babeuf is published by Haymarket Books and is available now.
Social histories of 1917
Estelle Cooch, a history teacher in South London, reflects on an unusual series of history lectures that have drawn a new generation into exploring the Russian Revolution. This article was first published in the summer 2017 edition of the rs21 magazine. ‘The percentage of freaks among people in general is very considerable, but it is […]