The contradictions of Corbynism
Support to mainstream parties of the left must be made tactically alongside work to organise a mass revolutionary party.
Anti-globalisation or anti-imperialism? A left case for global de-linking
When the right comes out against free trade, the left must persist in its critique of the global capitalist economy.
revolutionary reflections | The Upturn/Downturn Debate: An Introduction
Ian Allinson summarises a debate on the development of capitalism since 1968, and how this has impacted the working class and its struggles, in an attempt to address the question of what revolutionaries should do. This summary was written early in 2015 and is published here for the first time. While pre-dating the failure of […]
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 […]
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”: […]
EU referendum: for an internationalist leave position
Recently rs21 members met to discuss and debate our attitudes towards the EU referendum and related issues, in particular migrant solidarity. Migrant solidarity work is central to rs21. Initiatives like London2Calais have illustrated the possibility of combining organising practical solidarity with migrants with a strong anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist politics, as well as reaching out to new […]
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 […]
EU debate: 38 points on Brexit and the Left
Ian Allinson examines what points the radical left can agree on, and what points remain contentious, concluding that we should not lose sight of the fact that our united campaigning for migrant solidarity, for genuine democracy, against austerity, and against neoliberalism puts in opposition to the establishment in both referendum camps. Now the EU referendum campaign […]
Books
Order books We’ve teamed up with SFB Books to highlight books that you might be interested in. SFBBooks is a radical not-for-profit mobile bookshop. They usually have around 1500 second-hand and 500 new titles in stock. To see the full range of new and second-hand books on offer go to www.sfbbooks.wordpress.com/books Send an email with […]
HM2015: Where is Britain going?
Joe Sabatini summarises three sessions about Britain at Historical Materialism conference. He concludes that there are opportunities for revolutionaries in the rest of Britain to follow those in Scotland, and shape debates about how we fight for reforms. This article is a report based on three sessions at this year’s Historical Materialism conference that covered the […]
HM 2015: How the West Came to Rule
Marxist scholars have long debated the origins of capitalism. Bill Crane reports on a fruitful debate at this year’s Historical Materialism conference about the recent book ‘How the West Came to Rule’. The question of how capitalism emerged and became the basis of the international system has generated a number of incredibly fruitful debates among […]
The GOP train wreck
Lance Selfa, a member of the International Socialist Organization in the US and author of The Democrats: A Critical History, discusses how it came to be that the Republicans, US capital’s preferred political vehicle, is synonymous with government dysfunction and clownish celebrities. Observers of the US political system today could be forgiven for asking themselves just […]
Getting to grips with the levels of strikes
Simon Joyce recently published an article arguing that ‘lack of confidence’ is an inadequate explanation for the sustained low level of strikes in the UK. He suggests that the strike weapon being taken out of the hands of stewards is the key factor. Hazel C and Ian A discussed with Simon some of the issues raised. This is a longer […]
rs21 magazine Spring 2015 launches tomorrow
The Spring 2015 issue of the rs21 magazine will be launching at our event for International Women’s day 50 Shades of Struggle: Women and the New Social Movements taking place at LSE tomorrow (Wednesday 11 March, 7pm, East Building, Room E304) – get your copy at the meeting, from your local rs21 group, by subscribing or […]
Leninism?
Charlie Post, a supporter of Solidarity, a US revolutionary socialist organisation, continues a discussion on what is meant by ‘Leninism’ today Two developments have sparked a renewed debate on revolutionary socialist organisation. On the one hand, the emergence of “new left parties” and the continued crisis of the self-identified revolutionary left, of which the recent […]
Report: rs21 national meeting
On the weekend of 10th-11th January, rs21 held its 4th national meeting, one year after its founding in January 2014. It was attended by over 100 members, and had around 20 observers from other organisations and campaigns. We discussed the political situation in both international and national terms, debated what was possible for the left, and […]
The roots of American racism 2: The Civil War and after sees racism undermined, then reimposed
In the second part of a four-part series, Bill Crane examines the origins of racism in the United States. Here he looks at how in the Civil War of the 1860s and the Reconstruction which followed it racism was fundamentally weakened and then restored. In the US, racism operates in a way that is fundamentally […]
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 – 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 […]
The upturn/downturn debate: an introduction
Ian A summarises a debate on the development of capitalism since 1968, and how this has impacted the working class and its struggles, in a attempt to address the question of what revolutionaries should do.
Mark Steel joins rs21 political weekend
The rs21 political weekend will debate the situation facing revolutionary socialists in the 21st century.
Open statement: Resignation from the SWP
The signatories to this statement can no longer remain members of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) following events at its annual conference on 13-15 December 2013.
“The politics of the SWP crisis” – a response
A response to the ISJ article by Charlie Kimber and Alex Callinicos is now up on the journal’s website. It is signed 18 journal board members.
John Molyneux: Marxist in theory and practice
Two tributes to one of the IS tradition’s most important writers.
Colin Barker (1939-2019)
We are extremely sad to announce the death of our comrade and friend, Colin Barker. Today we republish the first section of an interview with Colin, where he reflected on his experiences in the International Socialists (IS) in the 1960s.
No exit from the Brexit crisis
What does the Brexit crisis mean for British politics and the European Union?
The Labour Party: changing faces, shifting bases
Jon Anderson charts the historic shifts in the demographics of the Labour party, from the PLP to its activist and electoral bases, and the changing relationships between them.