revolutionary reflections | Rank and File Organising – Lessons from America Part 2
The International Socialist tradition has always believed in socialism from below – which means that socialism can only come about by the self-activity of the working class. In this interview Anindya Bhattacharyya and a Unite rep spoke to labour organiser Kim Moody about his experience of rank and file organising in the US since the 1960s, […]
Uber tribunal: Building unions and collective action among casualised workers
Nilu discusses why the ruling that Uber drivers are ‘workers’, rather than being ‘self-employed’ is a cause for celebration for all workers, especially others in the gig economy. Workers and trade unionists in sectors renowned for low pay and insecurity have been celebrating a recent landmark court ruling that has effectively changed the status […]
Understanding the US elections – some things to read
After a period of time that seems as long as a geological eon, today is finally election day in the US. While we wait for the results to come in, Amy Gilligan and Bill Crane have collected together some articles from rs21 and comrades in the States that discuss some of the key debates that […]
Is a People’s Brexit possible?
How do we respond to the right wing chorus over Brexit and the threat of Farage to organise a 100,000 strong march? Should we line up with the pro-EU centre of British politics that would like to overturn the referendum result? Seb Cooke argues here that we can only undermine Theresa May’s ‘Brexit for the […]
South African students resume their fight – and face repression
The last few months have seen protests erupt in universities across South Africa. Ashley Fataar, from the South African organisation Keep Left, reports. In September students at universities across South Africa began demonstrating for the complete removal of university fees for poor students. The protests erupted when the minister responsible for higher education announced that […]
Derailing neoliberalism
As Southern Rail workers once again go on strike, we republish this interview with Tom Haines-Doran, a researcher on rail privatisation at Manchester University.
revolutionary reflections | Rank and File Organising – Lessons from America 1
The International Socialist tradition has always believed in socialism from below – which means that socialism can only come about by the self-activity of the working class. In this interview Rob Owen spoke to labour organiser Jane McAlevey about her experience of rank and file organising in the US since the 1960s, and their views […]
Racism renewed
Anindya Bhattacharyya traces the roots of the current anti-migrant racism back to the contradiction at the heart of New Labour’s immigration policy. Here he argues that changed circumstances necessitate a radical popular movement against racism. Everyone Who Is Here Is From Here, a one-day organising forum against racism and for migrant justice is taking place this Saturday (5 […]
Occupy Poughkeepsie: “mass politics will never be limited to New York City and the Bay Area”
Five years ago, in autumn 2011, Occupy camps sprung up across the US and internationally. American socialist Bill Crane took part in Occupy Poughkeepsie in New York State. rs21 spoke to Bill about is experiences in the Occupy camp and his thoughts on how Occupy has influenced politics in the US since How did the […]
Orgreave June 1984: police conspiracy and repression swept under the rug
After 32 years the miners at Orgreave are being denied an inquiry by Home Secretary Amber Rudd. Brian Parkin finds that his hatred of the Tories and their police and ‘justice’ system just improves with age. Home secretary Amber Rudd, following an initial consultation in September with members of the Orgreave Truth and Justice campaign, has decided that […]
Review: The Age of Acquiescence
Neil Davidson reviews Steve Fraser’s book The Age of Acquiescence: The Life and Death of American Resistance to Organised Wealth and Power.
Revolutionary portrait: Claudia Jones (1915–1964)
An early proponent of intersectionality, Claudia Jones’ life and legacy deserves recognition and another look argues Samir Kinks. “I was deported from the USA because, as a Negro woman Communist of West Indian descent, I was a thorn in their side,” Claudia Jones told a 1956 Caribbean News interview after her deportation to Britain. As […]
revolutionary reflections | From the War on Drugs to Black Lives Matter: exposing the discourse on drugs in the history of US racism
The war on drugs has played a significant part in the creation of the prison-industrial complex that has condemned the lives of millions of Black Americans. In this article for Black History Month Laura Clark explores the history of the discourse around drugs in the creation and maintenance of racism in the US. You can […]
Winston Churchill: the man, the myth, the murderer
Despite his reputation as “the man who beat Hitler”, Churchill’s own record was one of murderous racism and colonial violence
Review: 13th
Filmmaker Tony Aldis reviews the new Netflix documentary 13th, looking at the civil rights movement, Black Lives Matter and the industrial prison complex. 13th is a new film by Ava DuVernay, the director of the much acclaimed Selma. In this new work she again deals with the issue of black civil rights in the United […]
Notes on women, men, trans and intersex: “the gender binary does not fit the facts”
Colin Wilson discusses why the gender binary’s imposition is something to be opposed. One of the most widely accepted “common sense” ideas about society is that human beings – apart from a tiny number of exceptions, none of whom you are ever likely to meet – can be simply divided into two groups, men and […]
Review: America’s Hate Preachers
William C reviews America’s Hate Preachers, Hannah Livingston’s documentary on the homophobia and Islamophobia of the Christian far-right in the United States. “To me, LGBT stands for Let God Burn Them.” The churchgoers laugh as if they’re listening to a cute anecdote about a child learning to walk. This scene, shocking yet typical, sets the mood of America’s […]
Budapest 1956: The Central Workers’ Council
The Hungarian uprising against Stalinist domination began sixty years ago, on 23 October 1956. Here we reprint a description of those days written by Hungarian Marxist Balázs Nagy and translated by Olivia McMahon and Colin Barker for the eighth anniversary. Translators’ Introduction Eight years ago, on 23 October 1956, the Hungarian revolution, the most important event in international […]
revolutionary reflections | ‘The movement as a whole’ – Waves and Crisis of The Social Movement
Colin Barker provides a framework for revolutionaries to think about their engagement in the politics of social movements.
Building an anti-war movement
Pete Cannell reflects on the debates surrounding Syria and suggests how we move forward.
Ched Evans and rape
Hazel Croft responds to the disgraceful final verdict in the Ched Evans case, which cleared the footballer of all charges of rape I am still feeling angry and nauseated by the response to the Ched Evans verdict. There is the vile abuse on twitter and other social media, which I can’t bring myself to look […]
“I Daniel Blake” – Dissecting the DWP
Adam DC reviews Ken Loach’s latest film. Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or award winning film “I Daniel Blake” exposes the reality of ‘Benefits Britain’. Written by his long time collaborator Paul Laverty, the film is a dignified and sharp polemic about the injustices that occur in our benefits system, and the solidarity and courage of the […]
Dario Fo: playwright, performer and revolutionary
Colin Revolting and friends pay tribute to Dario Fo who died this week at the age of 90. Dario Fo was a great playwright of the years of unrest and rebellion in the 1960s and ’70s. His plays such as Accidental Death of an Anarchist and Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay! were hilariously cutting critiques of life under […]
revolutionary reflections | Venezuela: for sale to the highest bidder?
The theory of state capitalism has played a critical role in the International Socialist tradition’s critique of regimes claiming to be socialist. In the first of the new Revolutionary Reflections articles, Mike Gonzalez presents an account of the latest developments in Venezuela which draw on that tradition to make sense of changes that are taking […]
Review: The Ministry of Nostalgia
Amy Gilligan reviews Owen Hatherley’s book The Ministry of Nostalgia: Consuming Austerity (Verso, 2015) The Ministry of Nostalgia is an exploration of the way a particular version of the past, particularly the austerity of the 1940s and 1950s, continues to be used under neoliberalism. This “austerity nostalgia” is typified in the ubiquitous “Keep Calm and […]
Letters from an anti-fascist fighter in Spain
Following the Battle of Cable Street, Scottish communist Jim ‘Jock’ McKissock travelled to Spain to fight against fascism 80 years ago. He wrote letters to his comrades in back in London. They were passed by one of those long-standing communists in the 1970s to Colin Revolting’s father and he found them among his father’s piles of […]
Everyone Who Is Here Is From Here
Saturday 5 November 2016, 10.00 – 16:30, Capstan House, 1 Clove Crescent, London E14 – near East India DLR The EU referendum campaign and its aftermath have brought to the surface the constant scapegoating of migrants and immigration by both the far right and ‘respectable’ politicians from all parties. Migrants and minorities are blamed for […]
15 October could be a dark day for refugees in Calais
It has been strongly rumoured that the threatened closure and demolition of the refugee camp in Calais, often referred to as “The Jungle” will commence on 15 October at 5am.
Cable Street and its aftermath
This week sees the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street in London. Gary McNally argues against a recent trend among historians to dismiss the antifascist demonstration as counterproductive.
Tory conference: donning a Trumpian mask
Seb Cooke assesses the changes and continuities in Tory policy following Theresa May’s first conference as leader, and what this means for the left.