Paying to work for free
Olivia Arigho Stiles reviews Ross Perlin’s book Intern Nation: How to Earn Nothing and Learn Little in the Brave New Economy (Verso, 2012) “Interns built the pyramids”, The Baffler magazine once pronounced. So why do we know so little about this amorphous phenomenon? Ross Perlin’s eminently readable Intern Nation aims to further understanding of the function […]
Echoes of eugenics in Osborne’s budget
Eugenics is alive and well – in the Tory budget. Nicholas Cimini explains why. Last week we saw the first all-Tory budget in almost two decades and with it the introduction of a “two-child policy” that cuts tax credits and housing benefits for families with more than two children. This means new claimants will not […]
Black leadership: New and old generations
Graham Campbell discusses the crisis of Black leadership, and the new generation that is emerging. After this year’s general election, a record number of Black Labour and Tory MPs will walk down Westminster’s corridors. Black faces have never been more visible in the establishment and in Parliament. Meanwhile Black working class people, who make up […]
Planning the siege on Tory party conference
The Tories are holding their annual conference in Manchester from Sunday 4 until Wednesday 7 October. Rick Lighten reports from a People’s Assembly meeting that took place in Manchester this week to begin planning for a series of protests and events around the conference. Over 100 people attended the meeting to start mobilising and […]
The real effects of racist immigration policy
Kat Burdon-Manley lays out how the current government’s failures around the Mediterranean migrant crisis links to immigration policy at home In the first half of 2015 an unprecedented number of people were killed on the Mediterranean by decisions of our governments. The UK is complicit in the murders of approximately 1750 people travelling from north […]
Solidarity with Greece: round-up
Yesterday there were protests in cities across Europe in solidarity with the people of Greece. Here are reports from some of them. London Around 150 people attended the London demonstration, outside the German Embassy, organised by the Greek Solidarity Campaign. The mood was subdued, with a series of speeches to a static crowd. People were […]
Tear-gas in Syntagma Square
The capitulation of Syriza’s leadership to the demands of the Troika is not the end of Greece’s struggle, but the start of a new phase. Social confrontation and workers’ militancy might still succeed where parliamentarianism failed, write Matt Myers and Barnaby Raine. In Athens last night, Molotov cocktails and tear-gas flowed. The SYRIZA government, which […]
Celebrations on the streets of Tehran
Hanif Leylabi analyses what the nuclear deal means for politics inside Iran. After two years of nuclear negotiations, the US, European powers, Russia, China and Iran have finally reached an agreement. At the heart of the agreement lies a trade-off between limits on Iran’s nuclear programme in return for the abolition of sanctions. Key points […]
The Magpie: Tories attack workers’ right to resist
The Magpie takes on the Tories latest attacks on workers’ rights to organise in their latest column The Tories have now published their much-trailed Trade Union Bill. It goes much further than their manifesto in restricting workers’ rights. Key elements are: All strikes will be unlawful without a 50% ballot turnout Strikes in health, education, […]
Bubbles, bounces and soft landings – China’s stock-market implodes
Charlie Hore discusses the dramatic recent crash on the Chinese stock market Even by Chinese standards, the figures are eye-watering – from a high point in early June, Chinese stock markets have lost over 3.5 trillion dollars to date, almost fifteen times the value of Greece’s GDP, and there is no end in sight to […]
Greece: the fight goes on, and we can all support it
The news from Greece has gone from the inspiring referendum result to the collapse of the government into implementing austerity. Colin Wilson asks how this happened, and looks at the prospects for future struggles. The last ten days have seen historic developments in Greece. First, we saw the unexpected and inspiring “No” vote in the […]
Understanding the Corbyn campaign: an interview with Max Shanly
Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign for Labour leader is in full swing. Max Shanly is a member of Young Labour’s National Committee. We interviewed him about his hopes and expectations for the campaign. Max spoke to us in a personal capacity and is not an official representative of the campaign. Can you start off by explaining what role […]
One man’s terrorist…
Differing reactions to the violence perpetrated by white supremacists and Islamist jihadists reveal how racism is mobilised to advance projects of state domination, writes Duncan Thomas. “You look like a terrorist”, a woman once said to me. Of course, it was just a joke – she didn’t think I actually was a terrorist, but […]
The Labour right: smearing Corbyn, not fighting racism
The Labour right is trying to smear Jeremy Corbyn as an associate of anti-Semites – when they should be looking at their own lousy record on racism and war.
The rise of the GERM: how is education messing with our minds?
With the neoliberal assault on education seemingly unending, Andrew Stone, a teacher and NUT rep in south London, considers the role of education today and how we can fight back “Anorexia is increasing among primary-age children. Self-harm was reported as a direct response to the pressure of SATs [national tests taken at ages 6-7 and 10-11] […]
Cartoon: Not waving but drowning
by Caliban’s Revenge, originally featured in the Summer 2015 issue of the rs21 magazine
Socialism from below
Dan Swain discusses the contested ambitions and leaderships within our movements. This article was originally published in the Summer 2015 issue of the rs21 magazine. Throughout the history of socialist movements and ideas, the fundamental divide is between Socialism-from-Above and Socialism-from-Below So argues Hal Draper’s 1966 pamphlet The Two Souls of Socialism. In it, he […]
The battle of Grosvenor Square
Continuing our series of refections from different types of activism over the years, Mitch Mitchell discusses the battle of Grosvenor Square in 1968, which took place during protests against the Vietnam war.
Women’s lives under austerity
Christine Bird, in an article originally published in the Leeds publication Northern Star, discusses the realities of many women of lives under capitalism and austerity, arguing that things weren’t always this way, and they won’t be like this forever. The Tory – LibDem coalition just gone was hardly at the forefront of the global struggle for […]
EU debate: “the EU is simply conforming to the neoliberal architecture of its DNA”
Brian Parkin continues the debate on the EU, arguing for a vote to leave the EU. This is an edited version of an article that appeared in the lasted issue of the Leeds publication Northern Star. For many socialists the issue of a forthcoming referendum on the EU poses some dilemmas. On the one hand […]
Saying OXI to the bogeymen
In the face of relentless blackmail from international institutions and the Greek establishment, Greece’s NO vote to austerity has sent shock-waves through Europe and the wider world. Vanessa Patta, a member of DEA, a revolutionary socialist group in SYRIZA, writes on fear, defiance, and what comes next. In times of intense struggle, when there […]
Stopping Elbit’s death factory
Outside a small factory in Shepstone, we were acting at one with protestors outside other plants in the UK and in Melbourne, Australia.
EU debate: “Leaving the EU won’t get rid of neoliberalism”
Bettina Trabant, originally from Germany, currently living in London, continues the discussion on which side to support in the vote on EU membership. We will be continuing this debate with another article from Brian Parkin tomorrow. Socialists have been debating the upcoming EU referendum ever since the general election in May and can be […]
Are the machines about to kill us and take over?
Last week many people may have seen a news story about a fatal accident at work in Germany. This one managed to make international news on the basis as that the worker was killed by a robot. The involvement of a robot prompted a flurry of jokes about the coming robot apocalypse – a staple […]
10 years on: Timeline of anti-terror legislation since the July bombings
There has been an almost constant ramping-up of anti-terror legislation in the UK since the 9/11 bombings in 2001. Legislation passed that year set the context for subsequent laws. In the wake of the 7/7 bombings, 10 years ago today, the New Labour government introduced a new wave of legislation. This timeline tells the story […]
Greece says Oxi! Reaction roundup
Dan Swain rounds up initial online reaction to Greece’s momentous vote.
EU debate: “We will have to be making strong and principled arguments against immigration controls and for open borders whichever side we end up on”
Luke Evans discusses some of the term of debates that revolutionary socialist should hold in mind when debating the EU referendum There will be a referendum on EU membership, as a consequence of the Tory majority victory in the UK general election. This referendum is going to be staged as a direct vote between choosing […]
EU debate: “The road to defending the right to migrate cannot go through restricting migration rights”
Charlie Hore kicks off debate and analysis on the rs21 site in advance of the referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, set to take place before the end of 2017. Charlie argues for support for a yes position in the referendum, and tomorrow we will be publishing an article that argues for supporting a […]
Ten Years on From Make Poverty History
Pete Cannell reflects on being involved in the large protests around the Make Poverty History campaign and the G8 Alternatives that took place in Scotland 10 years ago. This is part of a new series in which activists will consider different moments and forms of activity they’ve taken part in over the years. Just […]
Fighting the Prevent agenda
The Prevent agenda is an Islamophobic policy framework that pushes forces racist policing into teachers’ classrooms.