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Radical Scotland and The Fight for Scottish Democracy - book review
Book Reviews September 24, 2020
Two new histories of working-class radicalism in Scotland from the French Revolution to the crisis of 1820 show the relevance of these events to today, finds Ch...
‘And seem a saint, when most I play the devil’: Johnson’s dangerously misleading Covid broadcast
Opinion September 22, 2020
The government is still committed to putting profit before lives. We need to organise to force adequate safety measures argues Katherine Connelly ...
Starmer's 'New Leadership': blame Corbyn, offer nothing - CounterBlast
Opinion September 22, 2020
Starmer's policy-stricken, Corbyn-bashing conference speech confirms that opposition to the Tories is only going to come from outside parliament, argu...
Second time farce, but it will lead to tragedy - weekly briefing
Opinion September 20, 2020
Lindsey German on the spiralling Covid crisis and how class remains our compass point
Safety first - Counterfire statement on schools and coronavirus
Counterfire September 19, 2020
As coronavirus infection rates soar, and hundreds of schools are hit by cases, Counterfire demands government action.
China: a socialist force for good or an imperial superpower in the making? An historical evaluation - long read
Analysis September 13, 2020
Dragan Plavšić considers what China’s modern history tells us about the nature of the Chinese state today
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8 Reasons to reject Sunak’s scheme and keep fighting for the furlough - Counterblast
Sunak’s scheme will mean millions are made jobless and the movement should reject it, argue Susan Newman and Chris Nineham
September 24, 2020 Susan Newman and Chris Nineham
Protecting war criminals and torturers: the Tory bill and Starmer's shame
The passing of the Overseas Operations bill which Labour abstained on is a disservice to victims of torture and undermines international law, argues Lindsey Ger...
September 24, 2020 Lindsey German
US torn by crises as election looms
Ahead of the US elections, John Clarke considers the balance of forces, the dangers of a second Trump term and the intensifying crisis whatever the outcome ...
September 23, 2020 John Clarke
Trump is in charge of the political prosecution of Julian Assange
John Rees debunks one of the prosecution's key arguments in the Assange trial
September 23, 2020 John Rees
Workers are fighting back - news from the frontline
The first of a fortnightly digest rouding up the stories of working people getting organised and fighting back
September 23, 2020 Counterfire
Doncaster reacts to Starmer: 'We don't need another Tony Blair'
Keir Starmer's conference speech in Doncaster isn't convincing anybody, writes John Westmoreland after speaking to people in the area
September 23, 2020 John Westmoreland
Donald Trump is no 'peace president'
Trump is once again claiming he has an anti-war foreign policy in his election campaign, but his record doesn't back it up, argues Chris Nineham
September 22, 2020 Chris Nineham
An organised left is crucial as we move towards a second wave - CounterBlast
The government’s measures to deal with a second wave remain inadequate; it’s crucial the left pushes for serious action that puts safety first, argues Lucy Nich...
September 21, 2020 Lucy Nichols
Engels 200
Engels' contribution to Marxism
As part of our series on the revolutionary Frederick Engels, on the 200th anniversary of his birth, we repost Tony Cliff's 1996 speech on Engels
June 28, 2020 Tony Cliff
Engels was right, class society and women's oppression aren't inevitable or irreversible
As part of our series on the revolutionary Frederick Engels, on the 200th anniversary of his birth, Elaine Graham-Leigh looks at Engels' The Origins of the Fami...
May 17, 2020 Elaine Graham-Leigh
Engels on nature and humanity
In the third of our series on the revolutionary Frederick Engels, on the 200th anniversary of his birth, we repost this excerpt from an upcoming short book on E...
April 4, 2020 Michael Roberts
Theory
What went wrong in Russia? - explainer
In the eighth part of a series of socialist explainers, Vladimir Unkovski-Korica analyses what went wrong in post-revolution Russia
August 18, 2020 Vladimir Unkovski-Korica
Is a society without oppression possible? - explainer
In the seventh part of a series of socialist explainers, Elaine Graham-Leigh analyses where oppression comes from and if it can be overcome
August 11, 2020 Elaine Graham-Leigh
Why class matters - explainer
In the fifth part of a series of socialist explainers, David McAllister explains what the working class is and why it's central to transforming society ...
July 28, 2020 David McAllister
Does a biased media make change impossible? - explainer
In the fourth of a series of socialist explainers, Des Freedman looks at the possibilities for change in the face of a hostile media establishment
July 21, 2020 Des Freedman
Can economic planning work? - explainer
In the third of a series of socialist explainers, Dominic Alexander takes on the idea that a planned economy cannot work
July 14, 2020 Dominic Alexander
Books
Sylvia Pankhurst: Natural Born Rebel - book review
Rachel Holmes’ monumental biography of Sylvia Pankhurst succeeds in capturing her energy and brilliance, and the relevance of her causes for today, finds Kather...
September 17, 2020 Katherine Connelly
The London Dream: Migration and the Mythology of the City - book review
Chris McMillan knows the London Dream all too well, and his book shows how the city exploits labour whatever the form of capitalism it has hosted, finds Morgan ...
September 10, 2020 Morgan Daniels
The Ballot or The Streets or Both? From Marx and Engels to Lenin and the October Revolution - book review
August Nimtz’s study of Lenin’s approach to elections reveals the continuities with Marx and their enduring relevance to revolutionary politics, argues Alex Sno...
September 3, 2020 Alex Snowdon