revolutionary reflections | Value, force, many states and other problems: part 3
In the third and final part of his essay on violence and capitalist social relations, Colin Barker insists that capitalist states cannot be theorised without recognising their multiplicity.
revolutionary reflections | Value, force, many states and other problems: part 2
In the second part of his essay on how violence and coercion are written into the core of capitalist social relations, Colin Barker explores how states modify the law of value.
revolutionary reflections | Value, force, many states and other problems: part 1
The first part of Colin Barker’s essay looking at how violence and coercion are written into the core of capitalist social relations
revolutionary reflections | Notes on Capital and the State: part 3
In the concluding part of our serialisation of his 1978 essay on the state in capitalist society, Colin Barker considers the theory of the Permanent Arms Economy.
revolutionary reflections | Notes on Capital and the State: part 2
In the second of a three part series Colin Barker continues his investigation into the relationship between capital and the state.
revolutionary reflections | Notes on Capital and the State: part 1
The relationship between the state and capital is a major problem in Marxist theory. In the first of a three part series Colin Barker investigates how Marxists have addressed this question.
‘It was like a rocket: a fantastic display’: Reflections on May ’68
In a speech to Manchester rs21, Colin Barker reflects on the “madness of May ‘68”, when, for a brief moment, everything seemed possible.
revolutionary reflections | The Roberts-Arundel strike
A never-before-seen pamphlet dating from 1968 tells the fascinating true story of the Stockport Roberts-Arundel textile strike.
Social Reproduction Theory: going beyond Marx’s Capital
Colin Barker of Manchester rs21 spoke on ‘Social Reproduction Theory: Remapping Class, Recentering Oppression’ at the recent Historical Materialism conference in London.
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.
IS in the 60s: two thousand workers with bricks: the Roberts-Arundel strike
Colin Barker recalls a key event for Manchester IS, an engineering strike six miles away in Stockport.
IS in the 60s: linking up with Manchester workers and fighting racism
Colin Barker recalls how IS grew in 1960s Manchester – making links with engineers and building workers, and campaigning against racist police violence.
IS in the 60s: Building a revolutionary group from the ground up
Colin Barker describes how IS grew from tiny beginnings at Oxford University, and what drew people to the group.
The secret of its weakness: racism and the working class movement in Britain
Colin Barker reviews Satnam Virdee’s book Racism, Class and the Racialized Outsider, which is an important contribution to the debates around race and class.
The elephant is political
“Anti-politics” has become a phrase widely used to describe the state of politics today. Here, Colin Barker examines what ‘politics’ meant for Marx and what it means for revolutionaries today.
Hundreds march against fracking in Eccles
Colin Barker, Ewa Barker, and Anne Saxon report from Sunday’s rally and look at the damage that fracking can do.