Revolutionary Socialism in the 21st Century
 
Revolutionary
Socialism in the
21st Century

Articles >

Revolutionary strategy

Cover image of Revolutionary Rehearsals

Extracts from Revolutionary Rehearsals in the Neoliberal Age

On the possibility of socialist revolution and the tragedy of the Egyptian revolution.

Ethiopian dried river bed

Lessons from the IPCC report for socialists

Gus Woody looks at the new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and discusses just how thoroughly it vindicates the basic principles revolutionary socialists have been arguing for years.

Colombian police officers. Keywords: Colombia police violence

Review | Revolutionary Rehearsals in the Neoliberal Age

Andy N reviews Revolutionary Rehearsals in the Neoliberal Age, a new collection discussing political upheavals since 1989. He finds a wide ranging and insightful work, which will deepen both the theory and practice of the modern left. Colin Barker, Gareth Dale, and Neil Davidson, Revolutionary Rehearsals in the Neoliberal Age (Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2021) 410 […]

Marx, the Paris Commune & socialism’s two souls: What liberation are we fighting for?

At the heart of the Communist Manifesto of 1848, recalled Engels, was the idea that “the emancipation of the workers must be the act of the working class itself.”

A black and white photograph of Angela Davis (right hand side) speaking to a large, assembled crowd into a microphone.

Reading Women, Race & Class 40 years on

Rose Whitehorn reflects on some of the key themes conveyed in Angela Davis’ Women, Race & Class, and this work’s significance during the resurgences in anti-racist and feminist organising.  

An image of scrap metal on a wasteland, an ex-industrial area in Sered, Slovakia

Review | Hope Against Hope: Cyborg thinking in disaster zones

Hope Against Hope contains some of the finest work of thinkers at the intersection of abolitionism, cyborg natures, and ecological revolutionary socialism

Image of Kill the Bill protesters in Parliament Square

#KillTheBill – where it came from, where it’s going

Th Police Bill is an assault on us all and an attack on us all must be met by resistance from us all. Unity and solidarity must be the clarion call of this movement.

Sketch of a raised fist.

Alba is a dead end

None of the main pro-independence parliamentary parties are capable of delivering an independent Scotland that puts the needs of working-class people first.

An image of a cop chasing a silhouetted figure, while a police van burns in the background. Keywords; Bristol riot protesters protest peaceful violent police cops

In defence of the mob

After protesters in Bristol dared to fight back police violence, respectable opinion is rushing to condemn ‘rioters’. But is it really true that riots ‘don’t achieve anything’?

A painting of Parisian National Guard gathered in the open air during the winter of 1870

The Paris Commune: Order Reigns in Paris

A new translation of an article from Le Cri du peuple, the leading newspaper of the Paris Commune

A photo of feminists in Chile marking International Women's Day.

IWD 2021: Five feminist fights for the year ahead

Reproductive justice, sexual violence and harassment, justice at work: on International Women’s Day, we look at key feminist fights for the year to come.

A ceramic portrait of Jules Vallès

The Paris Commune: the Cry of the People

Over the coming three months rs21 will use articles from the Commune’s leading newspaper, Le Cri du Peuple to draw out the history of the Paris Commune.

Photo from an action against Elbit Systems showing two protesters sitting in a doorway in front of the weapons factory's graffitied door, which reads 'Shut Elbit Down'. Fake blood is poured across the steps in front of them, as well as a sign that reads 'Ouch'.

‘That’s the power of direct action’: an interview with Palestine Action

On Feb 1 2021, Palestine Action and XR North shut down the Elbit Systems factory in Oldham. rs21 spoke with Huda and Richard from Palestine Action about Elbit, Palestine and direct action tactics.

A pro-independence rally in Glasgow, January 2020.

Scotland, the left and independence

If the British state breaks up, will Scottish independence be a serious progressive change, or just a neoliberal reshuffle?

Lighting a spark: How to Blow Up a Pipeline

How to Blow Up a Pipeline gives a balanced assessment of the conditions which make strategic direct action necessary in a warming world.

Ende Geleande march in November 2019.

Revolutionary Reflections | Moving towards an ecological Leninism

The urgency of the climate crisis has led some on the left to turn towards ‘ecological Leninism’ – but we need greater clarity on what this means.

Keywords: fascism far right wing nationalism Brexit

Video: Confronting the British state

Three activists speak on the Scottish independence movement, the Tory Party’s right-wing populist strategy, and the political role of migrant solidarity.

An image of Ian Birchall, by Colin Fancy. Keywords: Ian Birchall Algeria France Marxism socialism IS International Socialists

Unearthing hidden histories: an interview with Ian Birchall

An interview with socialist historian Ian Birchall. Ian’s work has has involved researching and reevaluating lesser-known revolutionaries and activists from the Global South.

The exception as the rule: Toronto’s social reproduction organising

In Toronto, community organisers are battling Covid in the shadow of colonial racial capitalism.

‘When you have a hammer’: state repression and the pandemic

Facing a fraying of its ideological hegemony, the government increasingly relies on state repression. But this intensified violence could yet backfire.

Keir Starmer and Jeremy Corbyn. Keywords: Starmer Corbyn antisemitism anti-Semitism EHRC report suspended suspension

Stop playing Starmer’s game

To defeat the right-wing politics that Keir Starmer exemplifies, socialists need to take their fight outside of Labour’s rigged internal structures.

Protestors wave flags at a socially distanced May Day protest in Athens

Zero Covid is possible

Through serious nationwide action that puts public health above profits, the infection rate can be brought down to zero. So why is demand for a Zero Covid strategy so low?

A squad of riot police march past the National Gallery in London.

What does abolition mean in modern Britain?

The Black Lives Matter movement has sown seeds of hope worldwide for the abolition of police. But policing in the UK goes far beyond the bodies of armed men in uniform.

Police on horses facing poll tax protesters, March 1990.

Revolutionary reflections | The moral economy of the anti-poll tax movement

The anti-poll tax movement took on and defeated a Tory government at the height of its powers. Andrew Stone explores the ways that protestors developed political justifications for resistance. 

NHS workers demonstrating over pay

Video: Fighting back and building power during the Covid crisis

Three separate activists draw lessons from fights to defend working-class lives and livelihoods inside and outside the workplace.

The BLM Summer and the US elections

Amidst an ongoing anti-racist uprising of unprecedented size and militancy, the US presidential election is approaching.

Tate protesters opposing redundancies

Class struggle against Covid

We are facing a second wave of Covid-19 due to the reckless drive for profit of the capitalist class. Mass action from below is the key to stopping the virus – and remaking society in the interests of the majority.

Wildfires in California in 2015

Global fever

The Covid-19 pandemic is a foretaste of the approaching climate catastrophe. Andreas Malm’s electrifying new book looks at both these crises and asks what we’ll need to do to face them down.

Police Trafalgar square

Resist the crackdown on demonstrations

The lockdown has ended but the crackdown on protests goes on and on. We need to share skills and solidarity to resist police repression.

From Stonewall to Black Lives Matter

Thinking about rebellion: Keegan O’Brien reflects on the threads that connect the Stonewall Riots to the contemporary Black Lives Matter movement.