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.
Video: Climate, coronavirus and capitalism
A video of a discussion on Andreas Malm’s forthcoming book ‘Corona, Climate, Chronic Emergency: War Communism in the Twenty-First Century’, introduced by Gareth Dale.
Review: Who the hell is… Karl Marx?
Manus McGrogan’s new introduction to Marx and Marxism combines theory with a vision of a world free of exploitation and oppression.
revolutionary reflections | Which side are you on? Work, class and the 99%
Confusion is rife about what we mean by working class or middle class. Bob Carter argues that a focus on exploitative workplace relationships is far more illuminating than arbitrary hierarchies of inequality.
Climate, insurgency and Marxism at Endgames? Capitalism and the climate emergency
How is climate crisis re-shaping Marxism and insurgent movements across the world?
The Importance of Colin Barker
Mike Haynes offers a tribute to revolutionary socialist thinker and organiser Colin Barker
revolutionary reflections | Value, force, many states and other problems: part 3
In the third and final part of his essay on violence and capitalist social relations, Colin Barker insists that capitalist states cannot be theorised without recognising their multiplicity.
Review: Capitalism and Theory
A collection of the writings of Mike Kidron casts light on the heterodox Marxist economist and the revolutionary socialist organisation he once belonged to, writes Brian Parkin.
Between Sartre and Cliff: Ian Birchall, a heterodox Marxist’s trajectory
Selim Nadi conducts a wide-ranging interview with long-standing revolutionary socialist Ian Birchall.
revolutionary reflections | Value, force, many states and other problems: part 2
In the second part of his essay on how violence and coercion are written into the core of capitalist social relations, Colin Barker explores how states modify the law of value.
revolutionary reflections | Value, force, many states and other problems: part 1
The first part of Colin Barker’s essay looking at how violence and coercion are written into the core of capitalist social relations
Review: What’s Wrong With Rights?
Radha D’Souza’s investigation into the international liberal rights regime is a welcome intervention that should make us question the framework of ‘rights’.
revolutionary reflections | Invisible threads: on value and valorization
Charlie Jarsve goes back to the theory of value and exploitation in Marx’s Capital to explore how exploitation relates to different forms of oppression.
revolutionary reflections | Notes on Capital and the State: part 3
In the concluding part of our serialisation of his 1978 essay on the state in capitalist society, Colin Barker considers the theory of the Permanent Arms Economy.
revolutionary reflections | Notes on Capital and the State: part 2
In the second of a three part series Colin Barker continues his investigation into the relationship between capital and the state.
revolutionary reflections | Notes on Capital and the State: part 1
The relationship between the state and capital is a major problem in Marxist theory. In the first of a three part series Colin Barker investigates how Marxists have addressed this question.
Favourites of 2018: rs21 reviewers recommend…
Our reviewers recommend the music, films, books, exhibitions and TV they discovered in 2018.
A Marxist theory of music: it’s all in the groove
Kate Bradley interview Mark Abel, author of Groove: An Aesthetic of Measured Time
Review: The Young Karl Marx
How far is it possible for a film to bring to life the ideas, energy and humanity of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels? Mark Winter enjoys Raoul Peck’s new film. Raoul Peck, the director, studied Marx for four years as a student of economics, and says that the purpose of the film is as follows: “How do […]
Syria is not exceptional: interview with Joseph Daher | Part 1
Syrian socialist author Joseph Daher discusses the nature of the Assad regime and the social basis of the uprising against it which began in 2011
Marx and historical materialism
Abstract concepts are vital, but we also need to think through how we apply them in practice.
How capital is reshaping the battleground of class war
Kim Moody’s new book seeks to rethink our understanding of capitalism today, and how workers can respond.
The total Marx and the total theory of literature
A lost gem of Marxist aesthetic theory, out of print for over forty years.
Review: Young Marx
The new play Young Marx is an affectionate and funny account of Karl Marx’s early life as an impoverished émigré in Victorian London, says Keith McKenna. The revolution will be fun, at least if playwrights Richard Bean and Clive Coleman have anything to do with it. Their Young Marx, which inaugurates the new Bridge Theatre on London’s South Bank, […]
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.
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.
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.
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.
Rethinking the Concept of Revolution Part 1
The centenary of the Russian Revolution provides an opportunity to reflect on what we mean by revolution, and reconsider its relevance today. In the first of a two-part exchange Chris Wright makes the case for a gradualist theory of revolution based on the emerging ‘solidarity economy’ and a repudiation of theories that focus on rupture and the taking of state […]