Revolutionary Socialism in the 21st Century
 
Revolutionary
Socialism in the
21st Century
BY THEME:
Revolutionary strategy Education, healthcare, housing, transport Borders, migration and race Anti-fascism and the far right Imperialism and international politics Climate and environment Feminism and LGBTQ liberation Work, unions and strikes Electoral Politics in Britain Culture
Image shows an internal chamber of the Seimas, the seat of Lithuania's parliament in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Civil partnerships and reproductive rights in Eastern Europe: an interview with Laima Vaige

rs21’s Leslie Cunningham interviews Dr. Laima Vaige, a feminist and LGBTQ activist from Lithuania, on same-sex partnerships in Lithuania, abortion rights in Poland, and LGBTQ people’s experiences across Europe during the Covid crisis.

Bristol police officers moving to suppress an occupation in 2011.

A criminal record: 10 times Bristol police abused local people

Bristol’s police force – presented by the media as the victims of a ‘mob’ – are among the most violent, racist and abusive parts of Britain’s police state.

An image of a cop chasing a silhouetted figure, while a police van burns in the background. Keywords; Bristol riot protesters protest peaceful violent police cops

In defence of the mob

After protesters in Bristol dared to fight back police violence, respectable opinion is rushing to condemn ‘rioters’. But is it really true that riots ‘don’t achieve anything’?

Sylivia Pankhurst addressing a crowd outside the headquarters of the East London Federation of Suffragettes, Old Ford Road, Bow

Review | Sylvia Pankhurst: Natural Born Rebel

Sylvia Pankhurst’s life was full of tireless activism in the cause of women’s rights, anti-imperialism and the emancipation of the working class

Remembering the Paris Commune

On the 150th anniversary of the instigation of the Paris Commune, rs21’s Art Group presents a video project to commemorate the world’s first working-class revolutionary government.

A painting of Parisian National Guard gathered in the open air during the winter of 1870

The Paris Commune: Order Reigns in Paris

A new translation of an article from Le Cri du peuple, the leading newspaper of the Paris Commune

Queen's Road bus garage with pickets and flags

Indefinite bus strike in Manchester against #FireAndRehire

Around 400 Unite members at a bus garage in north Manchester have been on indefinite strike since 28 February against fire and rehire. Ian Allinson explains what is going on and the strike’s wider significance.

What happened at Clapham Common

An eyewitness account of a powerful event marred by shocking and gratuitous acts of violence by the Metropolitan Police.

Flowers and a sign reading 'end violence against women'

We can’t rely on the police to protect women

In the aftermath of Sarah Everard’s murder, politicians immediately called for heavier policing. But more police will not end violence against women.

A photo of feminists in Chile marking International Women's Day.

IWD 2021: Five feminist fights for the year ahead

Reproductive justice, sexual violence and harassment, justice at work: on International Women’s Day, we look at key feminist fights for the year to come.

An image of a pile of women's magazines

Review | Tomorrow Sex Will Be Good Again

Kate Bradley reviews a highly readable intervention into recent debates amongst feminists

A ceramic portrait of Jules Vallès

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.

Image shows a blue placard that reads "USS pension strike. We Earned It. We deserve it. We demand it."

The Tories are robbing our pensions by stealth

The Tories have sneaked through an obscure change to the Retail Price Index (RPI) that means big reductions in many pensions and downward pressure on pay. Unite activist Ian Allinson explains.

Image shows picketing workers at Go North West with a anner that reads Our Key Workers Deserve Better.

Ten strikes that need your solidarity

As strike activity ramps up again, rs21 brings together ten strikes you should know about this month. At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic there was a short period where no strikes happened anywhere in the UK, perhaps for the first time in decades. This was due to several factors: balloting companies were unavailable, there […]

A photo of ships in Istanbul taken in 1854

Review | A Brief History of Commercial Capitalism

Nick Evans reviews a new book that calls for a radical rethinking of the history of capitalism.

Photo from an action against Elbit Systems showing two protesters sitting in a doorway in front of the weapons factory's graffitied door, which reads 'Shut Elbit Down'. Fake blood is poured across the steps in front of them, as well as a sign that reads 'Ouch'.

‘That’s the power of direct action’: an interview with Palestine Action

On Feb 1 2021, Palestine Action and XR North shut down the Elbit Systems factory in Oldham. rs21 spoke with Huda and Richard from Palestine Action about Elbit, Palestine and direct action tactics.

Image shows a row of workers in Ritzy Strikes Back shirts holding bright yellow and red flags and banners on the picket line.

Tactics of resistance: what’s the point of pickets?

In part two of a series looking at differing tactics for winning battles in the workplace, Derek Fraser looks at picketing, and how it can be used successfully in the current context.

An image of two construction workers on a scaffold. Keywords: Covid coronavirus shut the sites unsafe work safety

The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists revisited

Construction workers have been among the hardest-hit by Covid-19, with profit-hungry bosses keeping sites open throughout the pandemic.

Boris Johnson visiting Alexandra Palace Hospital during the 2019 General Election. Keywords: Government Tories NHS privatisation privatization privatising privatizing privatised privatized

Are the Tories really reversing NHS privatisation?

The Tories’ new proposed health reforms grab more power for ministers – but that doesn’t mean an end to health privatisation.

Ash (Nathaniel Curtis, left) and Ritchie (Olly Alexander) in Russell T Davies' It's a Sin.

Review | It’s a sin

It’s a Sin is a compelling account of the human suffering of the AIDS epidemic and homophobia in the 80s, but the show sometimes seems to be dodging the big political questions.

A crowd of protesters standing near to a flame during the mass protest movement in Ecuador in late 2019.

Revolutionary Reflections | Anti-extractivism and radical politics in Ecuador

Melissa Moreano Venegas looks at the forthcoming presidential election in Ecuador through the lens of Thea Riofrancos’ recent analysis of extractivism and its opponents.

Obituary: Danny Phillips

Remembering Danny Phillips, a lifelong socialist and fighter for the working class.

Indian farmers protesting on 11 December 2020

India: mass movement of farmers fights corporate power-grab

Two million farmers are camped outside New Delhi, facing down the far-right government’s bid to grab further land for big agribusiness.

A pro-independence rally in Glasgow, January 2020.

Scotland, the left and independence

If the British state breaks up, will Scottish independence be a serious progressive change, or just a neoliberal reshuffle?

Image shows graffiti in Hong Kong reading "We Shall Never Surrender", both in English and simplified Chinese characters.

Hong Kong’s mass arrests are an assault on grassroots advocacy

In Hong Kong, a further crackdown targets labour organisers and migrant rights activists alongside the traditional pro-democracy camp.

A picture of jailed Russian antifascist Ilya Shakursky

‘Solidarity is a stream of sparks’: interview with an antifascist political prisoner

‘We are not alone, we are together, and we will win’: An interview with Russian antifascist political prisoner Ilya Shakursky.

Can one person change the world?

Jack P writes about the value and limitations of two films, First Reformed and Woman at War, from an emerging genre of environmentalist lone warrior films.

Rubens: View of Het Steen in the early morning. Keywords: art Marxism Marx what is art

Cultural Marxism? A review of The Dialectics of Art

Ian Birchall reviews The Dialectics of Art, a new work by John Molyneux.

A photo of a train moving fast beside a mainly empty London Underground platform. Keywords: Section 44 workplace safety unions

Combatting unsafe workplaces: an interview with Janet Newsham

Every workplace is a Covid frontline, as employers try to force workers into unsafe situations. We interviewed Janet Newsham of the Hazards Campaign, which is fighting back.

Books in a school library. Keywords: school closures closed NEU National Education Union strike

Next steps in the fight for safe schools

The government’s retreat on school closures won’t last forever. Education workers need to go on the offensive.