The legacy of the junior doctors’ strike
Interview with Emma Runswick, a key organiser around the dispute in Manchester and a medical student active in the BMA and Doctors in Unite.
Capitalism’s life source: the domestic and social basis for exploitation
US-based socialist Tithi Bhattacharya responds to questions from rs21 on her new book about social reproduction theory.
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 […]
If not Corbyn, then what?
Barnaby Raine offers a viewpoint on left-wing Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.
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.
The nuclear crisis and North Korea
Owen Miller offers a historical and geopolitical analysis of the situation on the Korean peninsula So far 2017 has been one of the most dangerous periods in northeast Asia since the end of the Korean War in 1953. While there have been a number of acute crises on the Korean peninsula since 2010, including a ‘war panic’ in 2013, this is the most […]
Interview: Annie Cohen, Union of Jewish Students presidential candidate
Annie Cohen has been called the ‘anti-Zionist candidate’ for leadership of the Union of Jewish Students (UJS). rs21 interviewed her about why she’s standing. Annie Cohen, tell us a bit about why you decided to stand for UJS President. I’m very involved in Jewish left wing activism with Jewdas*, which has grown incredibly over the […]
Why the Tories live in fear of a new election
Seb Cooke looks at what we can expect if a new election is held in the near future.
On productivity, living standards and the British economic model – thoughts and reflections
In the wake of the Budget Statement, Joe Sabatini ponders Britain’s productivity puzzle.
Five estate agent euphemisms that can go to hell
Welcome to the ever-worsening Housing Crisis! Want to rent a room that’s relatively comfortable with working appliances for a price that you can actually afford? Don’t be ridiculous. Kate Bradley reports from her recent house hunting. The former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne recently introduced laws to help new home-buyers get their ‘foot on […]
What is Transgender Day of Remembrance, and why does it matter?
Charlie Powell and Taisie Tsikas write on the significance of Transgender Day of Remembrance in the ongoing struggle against the oppression of transgender people.
Mugabe’s fall creates a chance for real change in Zimbabwe
We should celebrate the fall of Robert Mugabe. But hypocritical governments like Britain’s that are now attacking him supported him for years, writes Leo Zeilig. Real democracy has to be rooted in popular struggles inside Zimbabwe – and such movements have a powerful history. A moment came on Saturday 18 November which thousands of Zimbabweans […]
How memories of Soviet repression turn Eastern Europe against the left
Hanna Gal offers some personal thoughts on anti-communist political culture in Eastern Europe and how to bridge the divide between Eastern European workers and Western Marxists.
Diversify or Die: a new pamphlet from rs21
UK manufacturing workers must reject a continued dependency on defence contracts in favour of a re-dedication of industry to environmentally and socially beneficial production.
How class struggle can bridge the Brexit divide
Seb Cooke argues that only a sense of shared struggle can unite different sections of working class which were divided over last year’s referendum vote.
50 years on from 1967 Abortion Act
Throughout the fifty years that the Act has been on the statute book pro-choice activists have had to repel repeated attempts to curtail its provisions.
A statement on the centenary of the October Revolution
rs21 celebrates the Revolution as a high-water mark in human history.
Six Red Months in Russia: Louise Bryant’s view of the revolution
Louise Bryant’s Six Red Months in Russia, with its nuanced and enlightening discussion of women’s lives, is a vital eyewitness account of the Russian Revolution.
The Tories, sexual violence and institutional cover-ups
Reflecting on allegations towards 36 Conservative MPs, Kate Bradley argues that we should look past the big scandals and dodgy politics of the list itself – it’s the violence and the cover-ups which should concern us most. Reports of inappropriate sexual behaviour in the Conservative Party have dominated headlines for the past few days, the […]
Moving the centre: The Marxist squatters and the populist mayor
Joe Hayns interviews the organisers of a ‘House of the People’ who are facing similar questions in Naples.
Half a millennium away: Martin Luther’s 95 theses 500 years on
On the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, Andrew Stone looks at the context in which Protestantism arose and the global impact it had. On 31 October 1517 an Augustinian monk nailed a list of complaints – known to posterity as the 95 Theses – to a church door in Wittenberg. This austere professor of theology […]
Harvey Weinstein: when male entitlement meets corporate power
Annie Lord looks at the Harvey Weinstein case as an example of how workplace authoritarianism lets abusive men off the hook The much-publicised Harvey Weinstein case is a perfect example of the ever-present exploitative relationships that emerge in hierarchical institutions. Praised as the darling of indie film-making for his work on The Crying Game, Pulp […]
3 perspectives on rs21’s A Day Without Men
The day of discussion included sessions on Corbyn and ‘Corbynomics’, social reproduction and struggles for healthcare and housing, and repression and resistance in Catalonia.
Atlas Shrugged: the world’s most boring cult novel
On 10 October 1957 Random House published Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, a book now regarded by many as the ultimate expression of capitalist greed, as well as perhaps the worst novel ever written.
Catalonia: crisis puts the working class centre-stage
Seb Cooke argues that the level of ongoing mass struggle will determine the result of the current stand-off in Catalonia. ‘It was the red vision of the revolution, which, inevitably, would one day carry them all away, on some bloody evening at the century’s approaching end.’ This is how Emile Zola describes a march of […]
Exposing the far-right in Austria’s Freedom Party
Austria prepares for elections on 15 October which are likely to result in the far-right Freedom Party helping to form the next government. Nick Evans reviews a new book documenting the extremist groups that now dominate the party. Review of: Hans-Henning Scharsach (with Christa Eveline Spitzbart), Stille Machtergreifung: Hofer, Strache und die Burschenschaften [Silent Coup: […]
New rs21 magazine focuses on Korea, social reproduction, the defeat of 1917
The autumn edition of rs21 magazine, out now, includes pieces on Trump’s foreign policy and the legacy of the junior doctors’ strike, while Owen Miller writes on the nuclear crisis and North Korea. Tithi Bhattacharya provides an in-depth look into social reproduction theory, while Gareth Dale charts how the revolutionary forces of the Russian revolution […]
Islamophobia in Europe: fuel for the far right
As the encroachment of far right parties grows throughout Europe, with the deployment of overtly racist rhetoric creating those who are deemed ‘real’ Europeans and those deemed a threat, Seb Cooke argues an authentic movement against fascism can only come from working class resistance. The far right and fascists of Europe were celebrating on Sunday […]
Spanish state out to smash Catalan independence referendum
Andy Durgan writes from Catalonia On 1 October the people of Catalonia go to the polls to decide if their country will become an independent republic or not. The Spanish government insists that the referendum is illegal and have unleashed a wave of repression unprecedented since the end of Franco’s dictatorship 40 years ago, meaning […]
Reflections of a reluctant transsexual
Evren Filgate gives their perspective on the reform of the Gender Recognition Act and the struggle that trans people face in their daily lives. We heard news a few weeks ago that the Gender Recognition Act is being reformed. Hooray! Surely that is a good thing. We have Made It; it is just like 2013, […]