Charlottesville is a call to action against fascism
We republish a post from the American Socialist Worker on this weekend’s deadly confrontations between the far right and anti-racists in Charlottesville, Virginia . On the spot reports are provided by Katherine Nolde, Richard Capron and Scott McLemee The far-right demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12–probably the largest public gathering of the racist “alt-right” ever–was […]
Video: Jane McAlevey on unions, strikes and strategies for workplace organising
Jane McAlevey interviewed by Ian Allinson at a Manchester rs21 meeting in April 2017, discussing her new book No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age, strategies for workplace organising today, the difference between ‘organising’ and ‘mobilising’, and how to build successful strikes, amongst many other things. We republish this video courtesy of RealMedia. […]
Video: the global rise of the far right
A political discussion hosted by rs21 with David Renton and Jairus Banaji
Convergence on the right
Sometimes distinctions between conservatives, right-wing populists and fascists are easy to make. But increasingly often, argues Dave Renton, there is some overlap – and we have to understand today’s right wing on its own terms, not by assuming it fits the categories of the past. One theme of the last twelve months has been the […]
revolutionary reflections | Climate Change and Migration in the age of Imperialism’s four horsemen
How can we trace the interconnections between war, famine, pestilence and conquest that are being unleashed in a new form as the climate crisis unfolds?
revolutionary reflections | How Trump took the Midwest: Conversations with a worker from Michigan.
During the first few months of 2017, Sebastian Cooke conducted a series of interviews about the US election with David Koch, a labour activist and retired worker from central Michigan. David was involved in the election from start to finish and his experience provides a fascinating insight into the vote and its aftermath. This is a write up of those interviews, […]
A united front against US aggression: difficult but necessary
Rob Owen argues that revolutionaries need to engage with the anti-war movement that exists to build the one we need On Tuesday 4 April two U.S. warships fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Al Shayrat airfield in Syria. The airport was the base from which the Assad regime had carried out the Sarin gas attack […]
revolutionary reflections | Perspectives on the crisis
Today the world is gripped with a sense of crisis to a degree that is as a great as in living memory. In this piece Sebastian Cooke provides a perspective on the nature of the crisis and how we should respond politically. A pdf of this piece can be accessed below: Perspectives on the crisis […]
Why is Donald Trump the president of the United States?
Amy Gilligan and Dominic Jones crunch the numbers to understand what happened in November’s election in the United States To the surprise of most observers, Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election in the United States. It is clear that an important task at the present time is to oppose his policies and the political […]
Video: Anti-Trump voices
Many people protesting and marching against Trump are doing so for the first time. Who are they? What are they saying? What motivates them? What do they want the revolt against Trump and May to look like? What should we all be doing? On the anti-Trump protest on 20 February, Colin Revolting and Tony Aldis […]
What does Trump’s presidency mean for global climate change?
Bettina Trabant argues that Trump’s disregard of climate change is yet another reason to oppose his presidency.
May and Trump: Bringing us back to the streets
Joe Hayns discusses the spate of demonstrations in the UK instigated by Donald Trump taking office and the prospects they open up. Is a proto-protest movement forming? What are its prospects? On Friday 20 January, 1000 protested outside the US embassy; Saturday 21 saw the 100,000-strong Women’s March; on Monday 30, at least 40,000 were […]
#BanTrump – Thousands take to the streets across the UK – photos, reports and videos
Tens of thousands took to the streets around the country this evening to protest against Trump’s vile racist travel ban and Theresa May’s revolting invite to him for an official state visit. More reports as they come in! London Whitehall is standing room only from Trafalgar Square to Parliament. So many people it’s too big even […]
Demonstrate against Trump and May tonight – details of all the demonstrations that we know of
Tonight will see angry protests across Britain against Trump’s vile racist travel ban and Theresa May’s revolting invite to him for an official state visit. We list here all the demonstrations that we know of 10 days ago the Women’s Marches against the newly anointed Trump mobilised millions across the USA and the world. […]
Keep it broad, keep it radical – building a movement to beat Trump
Sarah Levy, a member of the International Socialist Organization in the US, argues we need a broad movement to beat Trump. Those millions of people who took to the streets on Saturday – many chanting “We won’t go away! Welcome to your first day!” – they’re on our side. More importantly we’re going to need […]
Anti-Trump protests “will enrage and frighten our thin-skinned new president”
Sarah Grey, a writer and activist based in Philadelphia, writes on Trump’s inauguration and the protests that have followed As Donald Trump prepared to take the oath of office, the crowd on Washington’s Mall was unusually thin. Protestors sat down at one entrance to the ticketed seating area, blocking Trump supporters’ path. As dignitaries and former […]
Feeling hopeful on angry London march against Trump’s inauguration: report and photos
Amy Downham writes about why she attended the women’s march against Trump’s inauguration in London. Also see the report from Edinburgh by Eileen Cook For me today was about standing up for the rights that have been fought for by our ancestors that Trump has pompously disregarded and disrespected. It was about equality, equality for […]
Trump inauguration: Edinburgh protests
Eileen Cook reports on two demonstrations in Edinburgh in less than twenty-four hours. The first, on Friday evening, was called by Stand Up to Racism, UCU Scotland, Muslim Women’s Association, anti-war and peace groups and others. It was attended by nearly six hundred people. It was very crowded at the assembly point on the narrow […]
How do we push sexism back to the fringe?
Millions of women and men are disgusted by Trump’s casual misogyny, and they make up a not-so-silent majority that can drive a new resistance, writes Elizabeth Schulte. Originally published in the US Socialist Worker It’s the face of bigotry, of sexual assault, of xenophobia and of contempt for women. And it’s also the face of […]
Opening up a debate on black America – Beyoncé’s Lemonade
Monique Alicia Bell considers her favourite album of 2016 – Lemonade from Beyoncé I have been a Beyoncé fan since the days of Destiny’s Child, expressing my teenage moods by blasting ‘Emotions’ on repeat. As I watched women freaking out in excitement over this year’s visual album Lemonade, I decided I had to dedicate one full […]
After fascism, what?
David Renton, author of Fascism: Theory and Practice, discusses whether previous definitions of ‘fascism’ fit with the world we see today. The question of whether Donald’s Trump victory marks a triumph for fascism in the US depends, as always, on which definition of fascism you use. For most of the past fifty years, the principal way […]
#NoDAPL: How the water protectors won at Standing Rock
We republish eyewitness accounts from activists from New York who were at Standing Rock this weekend.
US Election: Why Clinton lost and Trump won
Writing from the US, Bill Crane examines the reasons behind Trump’s victory in the US elections and what the future could hold. “Do not weep, do not laugh, do not condemn, but understand.” – Baruch Spinoza Shock. That’s the only word that came to my mind as I numbly watched the returns come in and […]
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, […]
Understanding the US elections – some things to read
After a period of time that seems as long as a geological eon, today is finally election day in the US. While we wait for the results to come in, Amy Gilligan and Bill Crane have collected together some articles from rs21 and comrades in the States that discuss some of the key debates that […]
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 […]
Review: The Age of Acquiescence
Neil Davidson reviews Steve Fraser’s book The Age of Acquiescence: The Life and Death of American Resistance to Organised Wealth and Power.
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 […]
Review: 13th
Filmmaker Tony Aldis reviews the new Netflix documentary 13th, looking at the civil rights movement, Black Lives Matter and the industrial prison complex. 13th is a new film by Ava DuVernay, the director of the much acclaimed Selma. In this new work she again deals with the issue of black civil rights in the United […]