Learning and unlearning: how does the radical left build its understanding?
How does the radical left build its understanding? Who are the theorists? Sølvi Qorda makes the case for Vygotskian pedagogy as a way of understanding our problems and also of finding better cultures to replace them. For many of us, school is a humiliating experience made worse by testing. Upon leaving compulsory education, this experience […]
revolutionary reflections | You can’t stop Wapping by marching past it: An Interview with Sherrl Yanowitz
Sherrl Yanowitz, who sadly died in June last year – Obituary Sherrl Yanowitz 1942-2016 – played an active role in the dispute at Wapping in 1986-87 when workers fought against Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to smash the print unions. As part of a research project, rs21 interviewed Sherrl a few months before she died about her […]
revolutionary reflections | The Crisis in German Politics and the Rise of the Radical Right
2016 has been a year in which right – wing and authoritarian agendas have been in the ascendant. With the French and German elections next year we will see if this trend continues. By focusing on the case of Germany, Adam Blanden puts forward an argument for the left to counter-pose the right with a […]
Building a socialist bookshop
Pete Cannell describes how a socialist bookshop was built up through a period of social and political struggle in Scotland. These struggles may have abated for the time being but in the shape of sfbbooks they leave a permanent resource for the radical left which feeds a continued hunger for ideas and provides inspiration for future battles. […]
revolutionary reflections | A Hot Winter in South Korea – an historic opportunity in the face of the impeachment of Park Geun-hye
South Korea is being racked by arguably one of the biggest protest movements in the country’s history which has culminated in today’s impeachment of the president. Jeon Ji-yun from the South Korean anti-capitalist group Solidarity for Another World sets out the background to the crisis and an update on the rapidly changing situation. Introduction to the […]
revolutionary reflections | For Another Europe (Part 2) The European Social Model (ESM), Social Partnership and the ETUC
With Brexit the EU has never been a more controversial and critical issue for left political strategy. In the second of a two part piece, a Unite activist looks at the incorporation of the leadership of the labour movement within the EU project and draws conclusions for left strategy. Introduction In part 2 we will move […]
revolutionary reflections | For Another Europe (Part 1)
With Brexit the EU has never been a more controversial and critical issue for left political strategy. In the first of a two part piece A Unite Rep reviews Guglielmo Carchedi’s classic Marxist analysis of the EU. The second part looking at the incorporation of the labour movement within the EU project will appear in […]
revolutionary reflections | Rank and File Organising – Lessons from America Part 2
The International Socialist tradition has always believed in socialism from below – which means that socialism can only come about by the self-activity of the working class. In this interview Anindya Bhattacharyya and a Unite rep spoke to labour organiser Kim Moody about his experience of rank and file organising in the US since the 1960s, […]
revolutionary reflections | Rank and File Organising – Lessons from America 1
The International Socialist tradition has always believed in socialism from below – which means that socialism can only come about by the self-activity of the working class. In this interview Rob Owen spoke to labour organiser Jane McAlevey about her experience of rank and file organising in the US since the 1960s, and their views […]
Occupy Poughkeepsie: “mass politics will never be limited to New York City and the Bay Area”
Five years ago, in autumn 2011, Occupy camps sprung up across the US and internationally. American socialist Bill Crane took part in Occupy Poughkeepsie in New York State. rs21 spoke to Bill about is experiences in the Occupy camp and his thoughts on how Occupy has influenced politics in the US since How did the […]
Revolutionary portrait: Claudia Jones (1915–1964)
An early proponent of intersectionality, Claudia Jones’ life and legacy deserves recognition and another look argues Samir Kinks. “I was deported from the USA because, as a Negro woman Communist of West Indian descent, I was a thorn in their side,” Claudia Jones told a 1956 Caribbean News interview after her deportation to Britain. As […]
revolutionary reflections | From the War on Drugs to Black Lives Matter: exposing the discourse on drugs in the history of US racism
The war on drugs has played a significant part in the creation of the prison-industrial complex that has condemned the lives of millions of Black Americans. In this article for Black History Month Laura Clark explores the history of the discourse around drugs in the creation and maintenance of racism in the US. You can […]
Budapest 1956: The Central Workers’ Council
The Hungarian uprising against Stalinist domination began sixty years ago, on 23 October 1956. Here we reprint a description of those days written by Hungarian Marxist Balázs Nagy and translated by Olivia McMahon and Colin Barker for the eighth anniversary. Translators’ Introduction Eight years ago, on 23 October 1956, the Hungarian revolution, the most important event in international […]
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.
revolutionary reflections | Venezuela: for sale to the highest bidder?
The theory of state capitalism has played a critical role in the International Socialist tradition’s critique of regimes claiming to be socialist. In the first of the new Revolutionary Reflections articles, Mike Gonzalez presents an account of the latest developments in Venezuela which draw on that tradition to make sense of changes that are taking […]
Welcome to Revolutionary Reflections – a new site for the publication of longer pieces
We are pleased to announce that from October we will be launching a new section of the website called Revolutionary Reflections. The site will be dedicated to longer more in-depth articles, and we are putting a call out for people to send us contributions. An outlet for revolutionary ideas Revolutionary Reflections aims primarily to develop […]
Reclaiming the future
Sølvi Qorda argues the “millennial” generation needs to shoot up a flare and embrace the idea of human liberation if we are not to abandon the future to fear. My most enduring memory of the student movement was of the power and the creativity that it brought. At Millbank, on Day X, in the university […]
A flawed revolutionary icon – a review of The Politics of Che Guevara
Mike Gonzalez reviews Samuel Farber’s recent book, The politics of Che Guevara, published by Haymarket Books. For two generations of activists, Ernesto Che Guevara has symbolized a kind of selfless heroism. His relative youth at his death in 1967 (he was 38) conserved his air of rebelliousness and the image of a man interested only in the […]
Revolutionaries and the Labour Party: “fostering struggle from below is key”
Roddy Usher argues revolutionaries should concentrate on forging links between a new generation of Labour activists and real, concrete, struggles.
Revolutionaries and Labourism
Jonas Liston discusse the relationship between revolutionaries and the Labour Party.
What would a British revolution look like – and how would it happen?
Neil Davidson discusses the prospects for revolution in Britain in an article originally published on The Conversation.
The democratic wager: why the Left must support the Syrian Revolution
Nick Evans Reviews Jules Alford and Andy Wilson (eds.) Khiyana. Daesh, the Left and the Unmaking of the Syrian Revolution. Essays by Muhhamad Idrees Ahmad, Javaad Alipoor, Leila Al-Shami, Mark Boothroyd, Joseph Daher and Shiar Neyo, Sam Charles Hamad, Bodour Hassan, Michael Karadjis, Louis Proyect, Eyal Zisser. London: Unkant, 2016. 278 pp. £9.99. The title of this book means “betrayal”: […]
The Rise of Donald Trump, ‘Anti-Politics’ and the Left
Bill Crane argues that while Trump is a clear threat, this must be understood within the history of American politics. Donald Trump’s race for President of the United States has shocked the mainstream political establishment. Trump, a billionaire real estate mogul most famous as a TV star with his successful long-running reality series The Apprentice, […]
Long read: The Sanders Campaign – Could the Democratic Party split?
Shawn Whitney, Canadian writer, filmmaker, and socialist, continues our discussion of the US elections. He argues that Marxists should be playing an active role in Sanders’ campaign because of its potential to raise the general level of class-conciousness. Read previous contributions to the debate here. Presidential primary season is drawing to a close in the United […]
US elections: “Bernie has suddenly given all of us a national stage”
Continuing our series of interviews with socialists in the US discussing the upcoming elections, we spoke to Nivedita Majumdar, Sanders supporter and secretary of the Professional Staff Congress, the faculty and Staff union of the City University of New York. This interview represents her personal views. Where now for the Sander’s campaign – will it […]
More radical than reality: A letter to a comrade of an earlier era
Jonas Liston writes about becoming a young revolutionary in the 21st century. Dear comrade, You asked me to talk you through how my generation of militants was radicalised, through what routes we came into struggle and why we found ourselves amongst that minuscule section of society that believed in what were, supposed to be, […]
Join the French resistance! Resist the right and take on the Tories
Today thousands of people will be marching in London for Health, Homes, Jobs and Education in a demonstration called by the People’s Assembly Against Austerity. If you’re on the demo look out for the rs21 stall and pick up a copy of our leaflet, which can also be downloaded here. The Panama papers show us […]
The Panama Papers – From revelations to revolt and beyond
Joe Sabatini discusses how the Panama Papers have confirmed what we knew about the ruling class and looks at how they provide an opportunity to re-engage the public discussion over how our economies are being run, by whom and for whom. The leak of 11.5 million documents from Panamanian law firm Mosseck Fonseca is the […]
The First Workers’ Government
145 years ago today a disastrous war among European capitalists produced the first workers’ government in Paris. James B introduces Marx’s analysis on the Commune. Today marks the 145th anniversary of the foundation of the Paris Commune. In 1870 Emperor Napoleon III led France into a disastrous war with Prussia. Paris, defended by the citizens’ militia of […]
James Connolly: ‘Socialism and Irish Nationalism’
Connolly’s 1897 article from an issue of L’Irlande Libre addresses socialism versus the chauvinist conception of Irish nationalism. Marking the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, we are republishing this from the Marxist Internet Archive. It was transcribed by the James Connolly Society in 1997. The public life of Ireland has been generally so much identified with the struggle for political […]