Radical Independence Conference – hopeful, energetic, impressive
Three thousand people took part on Saturday in the Radical Independence Conference in Glasgow. Christine Bird reports from an inspiring event, part of the renewal of the left in Scotland.
Scotland: the Social Movement for Independence and the Crisis of the British State
During the last week we’ve published a major analysis of Scottish politics after the independence referendum by historian and activist Neil Davidson in five parts. Now here it is all in one place.
Understanding Podemos: Radical populism
In the second of three articles about Podemos, Luke Stobart makes a critical examination of the political ideas behind the group who are now Podemos’ formal leadership. The “secret” of Podemos according to Pablo Iglesias: I have defeat tattooed on my DNA. My great-uncle was shot dead. My grandfather was given the death sentence and spent 5 […]
Scotland – what next?
In the fifth and final part of his analysis of Scottish politics after the referendum, written in late September, Scottish historian and activist Neil Davidson looks at events since the vote.
Scotland – Understanding the result
In the fourth part of his analysis of Scottish politics after the referendum, Scottish historian and activist Neil Davidson looks at the detail of the referendum results.
A critical engagement with the young Bensaïd
This piece was first presented by Jonas Liston at the recent Historical Materialism Conference in London. On first reading Daniel Bensaïd’s memoirs, An Impatient Life, two things stood out to me: a heterodox politics with an absolute confidence in the key tenets of revolutionary Marxism, combined with a willingness to engage with new and old ideas and modes […]
Scotland – project fear and the ruling class panic
In the third part of his analysis of Scottish politics after the referendum, Scottish historian and activist Neil Davidson looks at the No campaign. Occasionally, writers have to resort to what might be called historically-informed speculation about the collective attitude of political actors. For the British ruling class in the referendum crisis, however, no speculation is necessary since its […]
Scotland – the Yes campaign as a social movement
In the second part of his analysis of Scottish politics after the referendum, Scottish historian and activist Neil Davidson examines the Yes campaign.
Scotland – the reality behind the referendum
Part one of a major five-part analysis of Scottish politics after the referendum, by Scottish historian and activist Neil Davidson.
How can we change the world if we can’t change ourselves?
In a piece presented at the recent Historical Materialism Conference in London, Panagiotis Sotiris addresses the challenges facing the anti-capitalist left in Europe. The anticapitalist Left in Europe is in crisis. From the crisis of the International Socialist Tendency, to the political implosion of the New Anticapitalist Party in France, and from the fragmentation of the […]
Historical Materialism 2014: Getting somewhere better?
The winners of the 2013 Isaac and Tamara Deutscher Prize, Sam Gindin and Leo Panitch, gave their award lecture on 7 November, as part of the Historical Materialism conference. They had been awarded the prize for their book The Making of Global Capitalism and the title of their lecture was ‘Marxist theory and strategy: getting […]
Understanding Podemos: 15-M and counter-politics
The rise of the radical Podemos movement in Spain has been both inspiring and meteoric. In the first of three articles, Luke Stobart examines how a party created only in January has become the main political opposition. Here we publish the start of his article – you can read the conclusion on the Australian socialist website Left […]
East Germany, 1989: when power was in the street
Within a few weeks in the autumn of 1989 a regime fell which had seemed invulnerable. While Reagan and Thatcher seek to take credit for these events, the truth is that millions of East German people took their destiny into their own hands.
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.
How to learn from Lenin
Barnaby Raine examines the relevance of one of Lenin’s key works ‘The State and Revolution’. Originally published in the Autumn 2014 issue of the rs21 magazine. Just months before stunning the world with its first socialist revolution on a national scale, a rebel leader returned from exile in Switzerland to the upheavals of Russia in […]
Is Leninism dead?
Phil Gasper member of the editorial board of the International Socialist Review and is editor of The Communist Manifesto: A Road Map to History’s Most Important Political Document continues a discussion on Leninism, responding to a recent article from Ian Birchall. What, if anything, do revolutionary socialists today have to learn from the experience and […]
Egypt: from revolution to repression
Anne Alexander, from the MENA Solidarity Network, is the co-author, with Mostafa Bassiouny, of the forthcoming book Bread, Freedom, Social Justice. She spoke to Amy Gilligan about workers’ movements and revolution in Egypt. Originally published in the Autumn 2014 issue of the rs21 magazine. The book begins with a detailed look at the workers’ movement […]
Independence referendum is transforming Scotland’s political landscape
Scotland goes to the polls a week today. The independence referendum has helped to transform the political landscape in Scotland. Leading activists in the Radical Independence Campaign, Suki Sangha and David Jamieson, explain the significance of RIC to rebuilding the left. First published in the autumn 2014 issue of the rs21 magazine. Just three years ago the […]
The changing face of imperialism
Ukraine and Syria have put imperialism back at the top of the political agenda. Rob Owen traces the theory of imperialism and charts the trajectory of US imperialism in recent years.
What’s to be done now? A review of Paul Le Blanc’s Unfinished Leninism
Jonas Liston reviews an essential collection of essays on Lenin and Leninism today (photo of Paul Le Blanc by Alex Bainbridge) The difficult experiences of the revolutionary left recently have led many to question core aspects of Marxist politics – in particular the legacy of the Russian revolutionary Lenin and the organisation he played a key […]
Paul Le Blanc replies to Ian Birchall on Lenin and Leninism
Paul Le Blanc, author of Unfinished Leninism, has replied to Ian Birchall’s discussion article on Leninism over at SocialistWorker.org. In an article titled Leninism, No? Paul sets out “a sense of what I mean by Leninism, as utilised in my own writings”: In his commitment to a fusion of the struggles of the workers and […]
Lenin: Yes! Leninism: No?
A discussion article by Ian Birchall, historian and author of Tony Cliff: a Marxist for his time It is currently a commonplace on the left and not-so-left to announce that Leninism is dead. Indeed, one might wonder why it is necessary to keep repeating the point. Nobody is writing articles to explain that alchemy or social […]
World War One: The main enemy was at home
Karl Liebknecht’s burning words of opposition to the imperialist slaughter of World War One.
Lambeth College strike: Stage One ends, but prepare for Stage Two
by Matthew Cookson, UCU lead negotiator, EHWLC (personal capacity) Strikers at Lambeth College in south London marched back together to work today (Wednesday 9 July) after five and a half weeks of all-out action. The college lecturers have pledged to resume their strikes in the autumn term if the dispute is not resolved. The UCU […]
Marx’s Ecology
This article is an edited version of John Cowsill‘s presentation at the Ecosocialism: Fracking, Climate and Revolution conference. He also published an early draft in his blog notes. Introduction We’ve had report after report from the IPCC, the UN, and leading scientists about the fact that human activity is causing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to rise […]
What capital won, and how we can win it back
[extended edit of a review in the launch issue of rs21 magazine] A Unite rep examines arguments put forward by labour researcher Kim Moody – and how they shed light on how bosses have reorganised the workplace to our detriment. For 30 years now the left has faced tremendous difficulties in coming to terms with changes that […]
NUT election: Why we should vote for the radical left
With one week left in the National Union of Teachers General Secretary election, NUT activist Rob Owen, asks how those on the radical left ought to vote The NUT has been one of the few unions to hold the line in the pensions dispute. Almost alone we have continued to strike and organised impressive demonstrations and public […]
What can the British left learn from Podemos?
Adria Porta Caballe asks how a change in language and approach took the fledgling Spanish party Podemos to be a surprise of the European elections In the Spanish left we had been saying for a long time that Podemos was going to be the surprise of the European elections. And, finally, on Sunday 25 May it became […]
25 de Abril, Sempre! Portugal 40 years after the Revolution
Mark Bergfeld speaks on the legacy of Portugal’s revolution of 1974, and its relevance to today’s struggles against austerity.
Capitalism and Crisis: Why vampires shouldn’t feed on themselves
Amy Gilligan explains how the contradictions at the heart of capitalism that mean that it is an inherently unstable system, prone to crises.