Socialism

Socialism

• The energy for Labour in Bristol has been projected across the South West - campaign report

  

  In the last election, Bristol saw a massive swing to Labour, so this time Bristolians have led an energetic campaign in nearby seats, reports Nathan Street

• Lindsey German: don't underestimate how far we've come - video

  

  Speaking at a public meeting, Lindsey German discusses some of the issues that have come up in the election and says whatever the outcome, extra-parliamentary organisation will be key

• Who needs enemies, with friends like Jon Ashworth?

  

  Labour can still win, but in spite of Labour MPs like Jon Ashworth, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• Jewish activists speak out: why we’re campaigning for Corbyn

  

  Counterfire’s Kate O’Neil caught up with three Jewish activists campaigning for Jeremy Corbyn this week to hear what they had to say

• How to read an election

  

  Philosophy Football’s Mark Perryman provides a handy reading guide for the 12^th December General Election

• The Coming Revolution: Capitalism in the 21st Century - book review

  

  The Coming Revolution is an impressive guide for Marxists looking for a way to approach contemporary capitalism, argues Josh Newman

• The impact of the manifesto: canvassing for Labour in Glasgow North

  

  Labour’s radical policies are visibly popular on the doorstep, reports Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• The Corbyn effect in Scotland - campaign report

  

  Jeremy Corbyn's Labour is offering hope in Scotland, reports Mark Porciani from the campaign trail in Glasgow North East

• Bolivia: call it a coup, support the resistance

  

  International solidarity is vital - the left must unite in condemning the coup against Morales, argues David Bush

• Get organised, and get out there - campaign report

  

  We can get Corbyn elected, but it will take sustained effort, writes Isabel Carr

• How Labour can win the election

  

  Mobilising the labour movement behind a radical anti-austerity programme is Corbyn's best bet to win, writes David McAllister

• Election 2019: the chance for a green industrial revolution

  

  Electing a Corbyn government that can implement a green industrial revolution is the essential next step to taking on climate change, argues Alex Snowdon

• It's going to be a tough battle, but Labour can win

  

  There is only one way to get a government which wants to improve working people's lives - and that's by voting for Corbyn, argues Lindsey German

• Lessons from the remarkable life of Paul Robeson – part 2

  

  Paul Robeson's extraordinary life is a lesson to us today, writes Tayo Aluko

• 7 black heroes that changed the world

  

  For Black History Month, Counterfire asked activists today to tell us about their black hero and how they provide inspiration in our struggles today

• The British State: A Warning

  

  As the left prepares for the possibility of taking power, Chris Nineham's timely new book analyses the British state and what the left can expect

• Lessons from the remarkable life of Paul Robeson - part 1 

  

  Paul Robeson's extraordinary life holds many lessons for the present day, writes Tayo Aluko

• US workers strike back: General Motors and Chicago teachers

  

  A surge in strike action in the US shows a labour movement that’s fighting back, argues Kate O’Neil

• Bosses put the screws on the newly elected Portuguese government to avoid changes to employment laws

  

  At the meeting between the PS [Socialist Party] leader and the president of the CIP, the employer confederation argued that the next government should be supported by "agreements during each budget", which may include the PSD 

• A Socialist Defector: From Harvard to Karl-Marx-Allee - book review

  

  An American socialist’s memoir of his life in East Germany overturns many standard assumptions about the contrasts of West and East, finds Dominic Alexander

• Kick out the crooks - Counterfire freesheet October 2019

  

  Tory crisis, Corbynism, drive to war with Iran, austerity, climate strikes and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

• Why join Counterfire?

  

  We need a bigger, stronger extra-parliamentary left.

• Pensions: the system isn't working

  

  We need a radically different system based on needs that works for pensioners and young people alike, argues Reuben Bard-Rosenberg

• Class, Party, Revolution: A Socialist Register Reader - book review

  

  A collection of classic Socialist Register articles raise vital questions about Marx, Lenin, Gramsci and revolutionary organisation, argues Alex Snowdon

• Steer left to beat Johnson's phoney populism

  

  To get rid of the Tories, Labour must fight the status quo with radical class politics, argues Alex Snowdon

• Why we can win: the left and Boris Johnson's crisis

  

  The way out of this crisis is to keep left, fight for Corbyn and stay on the streets, argues Chris Nineham

• William Morris: father of socialist ecology

  

  William Morris is one of the greatest environmentalists of the socialist tradition and his work becomes more relevant by the day, writes Gabriel Polley

• The outlaw government must go!

  

  John Rees on the next step to elect a socialist government

• Why we all have to support the climate strike

  

  On 20 September, it is essential that socialists and trade unionists support the climate strike, writes Richard Allday

• Power to the People

  

  Democratic rights don’t fall from the sky, they are fought for and won, insists Alex Snowdon

• Labour’s Brexit slide

  

  Labour must distance themselves from the status quo and instead fight for radical change in the interests of working people, argues Martin Hall

• Labour and a ‘national government’: how to dash the hopes of millions

  

  Looking back at the last time Labour joined a national government, John Westmoreland argues it would be a mistake for Labour to consider it now

• The Corbyn Project: Dreams and Dangers

  

  In this new timely book, John Rees analyses the Corbyn project from the moment Corbyn became Leader of the Labour Party in 2015 till today

• “Life-long member of the non-pretty working classes” - All Woman review

  

  In All Woman, Kathy Burke has tackled ‘beauty’ and ‘motherhood’ and next up is that big messy hot potato of ‘relationships’, writes Sofie Mason

• How socialists should commemorate Peterloo

  

  Peterloo presents us with unfinished business, argues John Westmoreland 

• Can the Working Class Change the World? - book review

  

  If the working class is to change the world, it needs serious strategies to find unity and overcome divisions, not woolly moralism, argues Richard Allday

• The Coming of the American Behemoth - book review

  

  Roberto’s The Coming of the American Behemoth argues that fascist-like processes arose from the essential workings of monopoly capitalism in 1930s America, finds Martin Hall

• Dirty tricks: the British State and the left

  

  Recent attacks on Corbyn are part of the British state's long history of undemining the left, writes Chris Nineham

• From Commune to Capitalism - book review

  

  A valuable analysis of China’s turn to neoliberalism since the late 1970s needs to be put in the longer context of Chinese state capitalism, argues Sean Ledwith

• Trump hates the Squad’s politics as much as their colour

  

  Trump's appalling racist attacks on the four Congresswomen is just as much about their radical left wing politics, argues Kate O'Neil

• Socialists should be trying to unite working people, not divide them - a reply to Paul Mason

  

  Responding to Paul Mason's latest article, Shabbir Lakha argues that the left needs to be trying to unite working people against austerity, not divide them over Brexit

• The problem with citizens’ assemblies

  

  As a citizens' assembly to deal with climate change is announced, Elaine Graham-Leigh looks at the idea’s limitations

• Labour Country: Political Radicalism and Social Democracy in South Wales 1831-1985, and Stories of Solidarity - book review

  

  Two books on the working-class history of Wales provide valuable accounts of a rich tradition, but neglect some radical aspects, argues Chris Bambery

• A Suffragette in America: Reflections on Prisoners, Pickets and Political Change - book review

  

  Katherine Connelly’s edition of previously unpublished writing by Sylvia Pankhurst shows her deepening socialist politics, finds Lindsey German

• Take the fight to the Tories: they are unfit to govern - Counterfire freesheet June 2019

  

  Tory meltdown, the crisis in British Steel, how we should remember D-Day, a Marxist analysis of Game of Thrones and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

• Marxism made easy

  

  Despite the nonsense that gets talked about it, Marxism is a clear, powerful, and relevant philosophy, argues Morgan Daniels

• Marxism in 30 minutes with John Rees - video

  

  John Rees gives a presentation explaining what Marxism is and why it's still relevant at a London Counterfire public meeting

• Dump Trump: Protest the State Visit, June 3/4/5 - Counterfire freesheet May 2019

  

  Protest against Trump's state visit, austerity and record levels of inequality, Algeria in revolt, Marxism made easy, Palestine, eco-demands and more in this month's Counterfire Freesheet

• We need the labour movement to win the fight against climate change

  

  The fight for workers' rights and jobs goes hand in hand with the fight against climate change, so we need the environmental movement and trade unionists to work together, writes Richard Allday

• Limerick 1919: all power to the Irish soviets

  

  Marking the centenary of its emergence, Sean Ledwith looks at the history of the Limerick soviet 

• Bernie Sanders 2020: what difference can he make this time?

  

  Bernie Sanders is running for the Democratic nomination for the 2020 presidential election, what difference can he make this time?

• Creggan and the death of Lyra McKee

  

  The republican movement must not revert to futile militarism but build an alternative mass class-based politics fighting for a socialist Ireland, argues Vincent Doherty

• Capitalism and climate change - can we avert disaster? - video

  

  At a London public meeting, Elaine Graham-Leigh explains why climate change is a product of capitalism and the solution has to be one that confronts the system

• World in Crisis: A Global Analysis of Marx’s Law of Profitability - book review

  

  Marx’s law of profitability is shown in World in Crisis to explain today’s long depression, but ending capitalism requires a political strategy, argues Dominic Alexander

• Keywords: The New Language of Capitalism - book review

  

  Leary’s Keywords insightfully updates a classic critique of the use of language by power, to understand the vocabulary of neoliberal capitalism, finds Oliver Eagleton

• Tony Benn: socialist, comrade, friend

  

  An obituary written at the time of Tony Benn's passing by John Rees on a life well lived

• Marx and the meaning of private property

  

  Marx's stance on private property is far from the horror we're told it is, writes John Westmoreland 

• Climate Leviathan and A Foodie's Guide to Capitalism - book reviews

  

  Two books on environmental crisis say that anti-capitalist politics are needed, but mistakenly reject the existing revolutionary tradition, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Counterfire media reaches 100k, now help us do better

  

  This is a time of great possibility for the left, but only if we are prepared to stand our ground

• How to deal with defectors – keep left

  

  We shouldn't be intimidated by the splitters, we need to work to make Labour decisively turn its back on its failed Blairite past, argues David Swanson

• Old Gods, New Enigmas: Marx’s Lost Theory - book review

  

  Mike Davis punctures many myths about Marx and shows how important the history of working-class struggle remains for today, finds Dominic Alexander

• The revolutionary life of Sylvia Pankhurst - Counterfire Media Podcast

  

  Tom Lock Griffiths talks to biographer and activist Kate Connelly about Sylvia Pankhurst and why the militant socialist and suffragette is still powerfully relevant today in this episode of Counterfire Media's Podcast

• What would a ‘Green New Deal’ look like in Britain?

  

  A Green New Deal, now a popular idea in Britain as well as the US, can help to merge environmental struggle with class struggle, argues Jago Corry

• Nostalgia for the future: Luigi Nono - book review

  

  This excellent edition of Luigi Nono’s writings offers an invaluable insight into the unity of thought of one of the twentieth century’s greatest musical minds, writes Thomas Gibbs

• Marx in Engels' words

  

  Following the attack on Marx's grave in Highgate, we reprint a transcript of Engels speaking at his graveside on why he is worth remembering

• Marxism and the Brexit crisis

  

  The Brexit crisis is best understood through a strong methodological framework, argues John Rees

• On new terrain - book review

  

  Kim Moody’s book on labour, unions and capitalism, is very valuable, but revolutionary organisation is essential, argues Richard Allday

• Rosa Luxemburg, von Trotta's 1986 film, receives digital restoration - review

  

  In this moving biopic, Rosa Luxemburg emerges as a vibrant, sensual, intellectually brilliant, morally and physically courageous woman, whose legacy proves timeless, writes Tom Lock Griffiths

• For a left populism - book review

  

  Mouffe’s elaboration of a left populist strategy contains some useful insights but ultimately rests on the centrist ideology that it appears to criticise, argues Josh Newman

• Rosa Luxemburg: a revolutionary for our times

  

  Rosa's commitment to her class against the greatest of odds is an enduring inspiration, writes Dana Mills

• Rosa Luxemburg was a revolutionary socialist

  

  Written in 1983, Lindsey German's introduction to Tony Cliff's book on Rosa Luxemburg gives a brief snapshot of her revolutionary life and ideas

• Standing on the shoulders of a giant: Rosa Luxemburg and The Mass Strike

  

  Marking the centenary of her assassination, Richard Allday looks at Rosa Luxemburg's The Mass Strike and the lessons it holds for revolutionary socialists today

• Rosa Luxemburg: reform or revolution?

  

  The life of the influential revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg provides inspiration and lessons for today, writes Judy Cox

• In India, epic worker mobilisations challenge the Modi government as never before

  

  In what is estimated to be the biggest strike in history, over 200 million workers in India took strike action, reports Susan Ram

• Obituary - Bruno da Ponte: 1932 - 2018

  

  Chris Bambery remembers the life of Portuguese revolutionary, Bruno da Ponte

• EastEnders at Christmas

  

  The producers may stop short at liberal individualism, but Sofie Mason argues that the viewers of EastEnders may reach other conclusions as to what is to be done

• The limits of Keynesianism - Counterfire Media Podcast

  

  Tom Lock Griffiths talks to Dominic Alexander about his new book The Limits of Keynesianism in this episode of Counterfire Media's Podcast

• Ten radical Christmas songs

  

  Tis the season to be radical with Morgan Daniels' pick of Christmas songs

• Counterfire's books of the year - part two

  

  The second instalment of the books that have inspired leading activists on the left over the last twelve months

• Counterfire's books of the year - part one

  

  We asked a few leading campaigners and performers from the left what books have inspired them over the last twelve months

• Marxism and Feminism - Counterfire Media Podcast

  

  Feyzi Ismail talks to Hester Eisenstein on current trends in Feminism and Marxism, #MeToo, intersectionality and reformulating issues of class as central to feminist theory and practice in this episode of Counterfire Media's Podcast

• 5 things a Corbyn government can't do if we stay in the EU

  

  If a Corbyn-led government is bound by the EU's framework, then it will face big obstacles in delivering its socialist policies, argues Tom Gibbs

• Beyond austerity: what should a radical economic policy look like?

  

  Let’s insist that future Labour policies confront inequality and material deprivation head on, argues Alex Snowdon

• About time to kick the Tories out

  

  This campaign by the People's Assembly will tour the country to unite those compaigning against the devastating effects of Austerity

• Stop bombing Yemen

  

  Our movement has set its sights on the UK's barbaric arms trade, reports Jonathan Maunders

• Marx, colonialism and the Global South - Counterfire Media Podcast

  

  Chris Nineham talks to American author and Marxist historian on Marx, colonialism and the Global South, and how Marx's ideas were ahead of their time in the fifth episode of Counterfire Media's Podcast

• The Unity demo: towards a united front against fascism

  

  Today saw the biggest response yet to the emergent far right. Jack Hazeldine reports on a hopeful day of protest and the tasks ahead for the left

• A Marxist analysis of Eastenders

  

  More than just a sentimentalised view of working class life, Eastenders can often cut through some of the big issues facing working people argues Sofie Mason 

• Stick in the Wheel in Dublin - gig review

  

  Stick in the Wheel are an urban folk group rooted in the tradition but with a hard, forward-looking sound and attitude, reports Josh Newman

• Trump loses Congress, but the Democrats are not the winners

  

  Last night's results show increasing polarisation in US politics, with establishment politics the loser, argues Shabbir Lakha

• No platform for Alice Weidel in Oxford

  

  The cancellation of Alice Weidel's visit to the Oxford Union is a victory and should help to push for a mass, anti-racist movement, argues Josh Newman

• Germany after Merkel: how the right can be beaten

  

  With the departure of Angela Merkel, centrist hopes for maintaining the status quo are withering, while the left is at a strategic cross roads, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• Britain is broken: we can't afford the Tories

  

  Campaigners are preparing for a new wave of activity to match the mood on the streets, reports Steph Pike

• Marx and the fight against climate change - Counterfire Media Podcast

  

  Elaine Graham-Leigh and Tom Lock Griffiths discuss the Marxist perspective on ecology and the fight against climate change in the third episode of Counterfire Media's Podcast

• The Tories are destroying our schools, we need a socialist education policy

  

  The campaign against school funding cuts has attracted a lot of attention, but a socialist education policy can do much more than solve the funding crisis argues Judy Cox

• Decarbonisation, jobs and justice

  

  As the IPCC report stresses the urgent action needed to tackle climate change, we must challenge the narrative that an ecologically sound economy would be bad for workers

• France in 1968: myths, realities and unanswered questions

  

  50 years on from the 1968 crisis, John Mullen gives an overview of events in France, the debates historians are having and the lessons today's anticapitalists should take

• The Brazilian elections and the fight against the far right

  

  The far right threatens to do well in Brazil's elections this weekend amid a polarised climate of reaction and resistence, reports Orlando Hill

• The dialectics of Doctor Who

  

  Although a part of the establishment media, Doctor Who has always had a subversive thread running through it and today is no different, argues Sean Ledwith

• Labour conference and how the left can win - Counterfire Media Podcast

  

  Chris Nineham and Tom Lock Griffiths discuss Labour Party conference and what it tells us about how the left can win in the first episode of Counterfire Media's new podcast

• Ontario becomes a testing ground for hyper austerity

  

  Creative organising and resistance are urgently needed as a rampant, austerity-bent Tory government carves its way through Ontario, reports John Clarke

• Orange is the new black - analysis

  

  Beyond the sly humour and emotive character interactions lies a story of deep institutional repression and desire for radical new approaches to justice, argues Jago Corry

• The socialist challenge to Trump

  

  The Trump nightmare has fired up left organisation in the US to electorally challenging the establishment, writes Sean Ledwith

• Corbyn makes defiant speech as thousands welcome him to Liverpool

  

  At a Labour rally at Liverpool's pier on the eve of Conference, Jeremy Corbyn gave a radical speech to rapturous applause and loud chanting

• Minding the depth and breadth - a Labour conference reading list

  

  As Labour gathers for its annual conference Mark Perryman welcomes the variety of thinking a range of authors, new and old, are offering the Left at this vital time

• Is the Labour Party a machine or a movement?

  

  Corbynism and the prospect of a Labour government are at risk if the NEC undermines the membership and democracy 

• A Party with Socialists in It - book review

  

  A history of the left in the Labour Party highlights the need for a strong extra-parliamentary movement, argues Chris Nineham

• UK wage stagnation is not a puzzle to solve, but an injustice to fight

  

  Wealth redistribution has to become the key priority in our fight against austerity, insists Susan Newman

• The limits of Keynesianism

  

  A Marxist critique of Keynesian economics and what that means post-financial crisis

• It's time to fight back: help launch Counterfire Media

  

  We are launching Counterfire Media. We need your help to do so.

• Corbyn’s leadership in danger

  

  The defeat for the Palestinian cause at the hands of the Labour Party’s NEC should not be underestimated

• Labour's NEC votes on IHRA; members protest to defend Corbyn

  

  Protesters rallied outside Labour Party HQ to defend Jeremy Corbyn and oppose the IHRA definition, Shabbir Lakha reports

• UK councils invest over £9bn in fracking industry

  

  Newly released data shows that councils in the UK are investing billions in fracking, we need to keep pushing for divestment commitments

• A New Hope for Mexico - book review

  

  AMLO, the new Mexican president, represents a break from neoliberalism, despite the political limitations of his programme, argues Orlando Hill

• It happened here - film review

  

  Brownlow and Mollo's alternative vision of Nazi-led Britain in the 1940s resonates powerfully today, Tom Griffiths finds

• Take the fight to the right and make this time ours - national meeting

  

  It's time to fightback against the smears aimed at sabotaging Corbyn

• Rural activism: tales from the sticks – part two

  

  In the second part of tales from the sticks, Jim Scott explains the birth and growth of a movement in rural Wales over the last 5 years

• The fightback is on: hundreds rally behind Corbyn in London

  

  Hundreds of Londoners rallied against the attacks on Jeremy Corbyn and Palestine on Tuesday, Shabbir Lakha reports

• What's wrong with the IHRA definition? - video

  

  A short video explaining why adopting the full IHRA definition would be a mistake for Labour

• Beyond the veil: some context in the controversy over the burqa

  

  The right instrumentalise Islamophobia but use the liberal trope of universal values to cover up a variety of political contexts, argues Floyd Codlin

• Frida Kahlo: artist and revolutionary

  

  Frida Kahlo was a revolutionary and a politically-committed artist whose art condemned the society she revolted against argues Judy Cox

• How did socialists respond to the advent of fascism?

  

  As the far right gains energy across Europe, John Riddell reminds us of how the emergence of fascism was met by socialists

• Solidarity with Bookmarks shows a united left can take on the far right

  

  The huge show of solidarity with Bookmarks bookshop on Saturday shows that the left can unite to defeat the far right argues Isabel Carr

• Unclear and divisive: not the deal our NHS workers deserve

  

  NHS workers have been pressured into accepting a deliberately misleading deal, explains a health worker and union representative 

• The dynamics of disaster

  

  Capitalism will destroy humanity. Only working class mass mobilisation and struggle can stop this, argues John Westmoreland

• Interest rates, wages and the UK economy

  

  As he analyses the state of the economy, Michael Roberts finds that the capitalist sector of the British economy has failed to deliver for the needs of the people

• The attack on Bookmarks was an attack on us all

  

  The attack on Bookmarks shows how emboldened the far right are and why the debate on how to stop them is so urgent argues Pete Morgan

• Cleaners go on strike and win an early victory

  

  Cleaners have begun three days of coordinated strike action for a living wage and sick pay, and have won one victory already reports Jonathan Maunders

• Zimbabwe after Mugabe: his successor struggles to maintain grip on power

  

  What we are seeing in the first elections after Mugabe is the deep state clutching to power, but can it hold on? Asks Shabbir Lakha

• Dear Amber Rudd, we're not left behind, we're being held back

  

  The former Home Secretary's desperate attempt to defend Tory policies in Hastings only shows how clueless she is, reports Chrissy Brand

• Is Corbyn's Brexit policy really 'full Trump'?

  

  Describing Jeremy Corbyn's Brexit strategy as "economic nationalism" is adopting neoliberal arguments that defend the status quo argues Kevin Ovenden

• Now is the time to join Counterfire

  

  Be part of a socialist organisation committed to fundamental change

• PCS Ballot: the fight for decent pay is hotting up

  

  The labour struggle around a fair, real wage rise in the PCS union is gathering traction, reports Floyd Codlin

• Grenfell: First the injury, now the insults

  

  With survivors and FBU firefighters now in the firing line, Julie Al-Hinai detects echoes of Hillsborough 

• After the final days of May

  

  This is the start of a new phase of the crisis, not the end of it, writes John Rees

• Why Trump won't forget his visit

  

  Chris Nineham argues why it is important that the movements go on to the offensive against Donald Trump in the next few days

• Success for England will mean what we make it mean

  

  As England prepare to take on Colombia tonight, Philosophy Football’s Mark Perryman outlines what we might or might not be able to look forward to

• The real danger behind Trump's antics and why he is not indestructible

  

  Trump's obvious absurdity should not distract us from the very real dangers posed by his presidency and his UK visit

• To celebrate, but also to defend: be on the streets for our NHS this Saturday

  

  Join us in wishing the NHS a happy 70th Birthday and in standing up to defend it tomorrow in London

• Homelessness is rapidly rising - it's the product of a failed system

  

  The Tories are responsible for the huge growth in homelessness and rough sleeping, it'll take systemic change pushed from below to solve it argues Daryl Peach

• May Days review - a fitting tribute to Grenfell and a society fighting back

  

  This staging of a potent poem of our times gives voice to a class realising its own power, finds Cameron Panting

• Marxism and human nature

  

  Mainstream conceptions of human nature are rooted in the historical development of capitalism.  Elaine Graham-Leigh argues that we can only understand nature through the dialectic method

• Socrates: Brazil's football revolutionary

  

  Footballers have not always been divorced from political struggle. Sean Ledwith remembers a legend of football and socialism

• Socialism: utopian and scientific - an introduction

  

  Engels’ popular pamphlet offers one of the best concise accounts of capitalist development and an accessible introduction to Marx's revolutionary socialism, writes John Rees

• The Storm Clouds Gather: Is there a future for the European Union?

  

  The gathering crisis in European Union should make it clear the EU provides no haven from racism or austerity

• Karl Marx: before all else a revolutionist

  

  200 years since Marx’s birth and 170 years after the 1848 revolutions, Katherine Connelly reflects on Marx’s revolutionary contribution

• UCU: we are the union

  

  The annual UCU conference has begun and the leadership, unwilling to accept criticism, has acted anti-democratically and with contempt of its members reports Des Freedman

• Who was Karl Marx?

  

  The world has changed dramatically since Marx's day, but his ideas could not be more relevant, writes Dragan Plavsic

• Marx200: the Paris Commune and the Marx family

  

  The Paris Commune only lasted from 28 March to 28 May 1871 but it inspired Karl Marx and continues to inspire and inform socialists today argues Judy Cox

• A win for women in Ireland, a reminder of what's holding back the North

  

  After the victory for Yes today, the reactionary politics holding Northern Ireland back is a construct of British imperialism, argues Reuben Bard-Rosenberg 

• University of Bristol students march for mental health services

  

  Students at the University of Bristol demonstrated in huge numbers this Friday to protest inadequate mental health provision, reports Steven Cooper

• Change is coming: be a part of it

  

  The upcoming National People’s Assembly, is a necessary step towards refreshing and refocusing the anti-austerity movement

• Two sides of a city: homelessness and the royal wedding

  

  We cannot turn a blind eye to the class cleansing where homeless people are moved on whilst royal wedding fans camp out unhindered

• Be part of a socialist organisation committed to fundamental change

  

  We have a once in a generation chance for change, and must take it

• Childish Gambino: This is Trump’s America

  

  Sean Ledwith argues Childish Gambino's latest track and video, This Is America is the new voice of the American musical resistance. 

• The limits of Keynesianism part 4: the Keynesian attack on the labour theory of value

  

  In the fourth part of our series, Dominic Alexander looks at the problems with Keynesian critiques of Marx's labour theory of value 

• After Windrush: this racist government must go - Counterfire Freesheet May 2018

  

  Windrush, May 68, Palestine, UCU strike, Marx and more - Counterfire freesheet edition 025, May 2018

• Rethinking Democracy: Socialist Register 2018 - review

  

  Socialism and democracy belong together, and recent popular movements of the left make possible a fight for authentic democracy, argues Sean Ledwith

• Was Marx an economist? What was his contribution to economics?

  

  In her speech at 'Why Marx Was Right', Susan Newman argues that Marx's analysis of capitalism goes against everything modern economics stands for

• Why Paul Mason is wrong about Marx

  

  On the bicentenary of Karl Marx's birth, Paul Mason writes about the relevance of Marx today. Dragan Plavšić explains where he gets it wrong

• Local elections: for the left, standing still is losing ground

  

  Labour did better in the local elections than the loss the media are portraying, but they could have done a lot better, argues Cameron Panting

• Rural activism: tales from the sticks – part one

  

  The Tories' ‘scatter-shot’ strategy has finally backfired on them and will eventually send them running for the hills argues Jim Scott

• The limits of Keynesianism part three: Marx, Keynes and the analysis of the trade cycle

  

  In the third part of our series on Keynesianism, Dominic Alexander looks at cycles, crisis, and why Keynesianism always looks to fix capitalism 

• Marxism in 800 words

  

  As we approach Karl Marx's 200th birthday, Alex Snowdon summarises Marx's key ideas in as few words as possible

• Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Marx on his 200th birthday

  

  On 5 May, leading Marxists are getting together to celebrate Marx’s 200^th birthday. Chris Nineham argues why the event matters so much.

• Windrush and antisemitism: who’s weaponising what?

  

  The Tories are astonishingly trying to turn the windrush scandal into a knock for Labour and Shabbir Lakha argues that it must not stick

• Systemic Islamophobia in Britain has deadly consequences

  

  The political mainstream's cynical use of Islamophobia leads directly to death and heartbreak, argues Maz Saleem

• The limits of Keynesianism part two: the assumptions Keynes makes

  

  In the second part of our series on Keynesianism, Dominic Alexander outlines the economic and philosophical underpinnings of Keynesian thought

• Amber Rudd Must Go

  

  The entire left must stand united in its condemnation of the Windrush scandal, and demand the immediate resignation of Amber Rudd.

• Marx and the national question

  

  Marx's understanding of the fight for self-determination at national level as a step on the road to socialism is useful for us today, argues Chris Bambery

• The limits of Keynesianism part one: John Maynard Keynes and orthodox economics

  

  In the first part of our series considering the merits and pitfalls of Keynesian economics, Dominic Alexander looks at the history of Keynes' contribution

• The Windrush scandal: It's time to deport Theresa May from office

  

  This terrible scandal shows us that racism is driven primarily from the top of society, not the bottom, argues Kevin Ovenden

• A pointless but dangerous display of gesture bombing in Syria

  

  The decision to bomb Syria was a pathetic display of supposed strength by declining imperial powers, argues Chris Nineham

• France Insoumise: What is it and where is it going?

  

  As a massive wave of strikes continues in France, what forces might propose a mass political alternative to Macron? John Mullen discusses the party being led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon

• Brazil: Neoliberalismo versus Democracy (Portuguese Version)

  

  A raiz do golpe constitucional no Brasil está na tentativa de Lula e Dilma de unir uma democracia inclusiva com a lógica excludente do neoliberalismo, consta Orlando Hill.

• The Corbyn Moment - video

  

  Some clips from the speeches made at The Corbyn Moment event in London filmed and edited by Paul Merron

• Bloody Friday in Gaza: a great return massacre

  

  An unarmed, civilian protest from a people who have been oppressed for decades, results in bloodshed and massacre.

• Revolt on the Clyde - book review

  

  William Gallacher’s account of the early-twentieth-century socialist movement in Glasgow shows how we can challenge our rulers today, argues Richard Allday

• When the ruling class can't rule in the old way - weekly briefing

  

  The establishment is losing control, but there is a way out for them, if the left lets its guard down, warns John Rees

• A Redder Shade of Green - book review

  

  Ian Angus’ essays range across many issues at the intersection of politics and environmental science, illuminating the meaning of ecosocialism, finds Kevin Crane

• Corbynism was to a large extent a response to Pasokification

  

  In his speech at 'The Corbyn Moment', Alex Nunns argues that it's participation which will be critical in avoiding the perils of Pasokification

• Did the West provoke this crisis with Russia?

  

  A US army study, 'Is the Next Global Conflict Imminent?', suggests NATO expansion is the key driver of tension with Russia

• The Young Karl Marx - film review

  

  This portrait of the most important thinker of the modern age shows a man who was much much more than the popular caricature of a grey beard

• The SPD, grand coalitions, and European social democracy

  

  In Germany, the left is at a crossroads, and what path it takes depends on the strength of the movements, argues Evan Sedgwick-Jell

• Environmental entropy is inescapable in capitalism

  

  No truly effective green politics can do without a coherent argument against the capitalist mode of production, argues Nathan Street

• Alternative models and silent revolutions

  

  After years on the back foot, Labour has shown that ideas of worker-led ownership are back in play

• The return of idealism: identity and the politics of oppression

  

  The pervasion of identity politics limits our ability to truly liberate ourselves from oppression, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• You don't hate snow, you hate capitalism

  

  As a blast of cold Siberian air has frozen the UK over, Tim Hinson explains how increasing temperatures in the Arctic is to blame

• Automation: the future, but what future?

  

  We cannot consider automation without taking into account the mode of production in which it's operating, argues Nathan Street 

• Building Counterfire

  

  People have been building socialist organisations for a very long time. Karen Buckley discusses some ways to do it in the 21st century

• Obituary: A Sivanandan (1923-2018)

  

  Siva’s understanding of race, class and imperialism, and of humanity in general, will continue to inspire resistance to injustice and hope for socialism

• Capitalism and technology: are robots going to take over - video

  

  At a London meeting, Marxist economist Michael Roberts discusses whether or not the robot takeover is inevitable, and would advancement lead to living standards improving or further exploitation

• Alabama: you cannot be a socialist and an elitist

  

  You cannot understand the Alabama result if you divide and deride working class voters. Throw out elite centrism and look at class, argues Kevin Ovenden

• Arthur Ransome on the Russian Revolution

  

  100 years on from the October revolution, Judy Cox introduces Arthur Ransome's pamphlet The Truth about Russia

• The return of the S-word in the US

  

  As market fundamentalism is falling out of favour, especially among the young, socialist ideas are gaining traction, writes Des Freedman

• The current struggle in Brazil and the need to build a left-wing alternative

  

  It is necessary to go beyond electoral politics and build a movement from below that can mobilise all those who intend to combat austerity and the threat of fascism, argues Leonardo Pericles

• Who was James Connolly?

  

  In the first of our series looking at significant revolutionary figures, Chris Bambery asks what Irish republican James Connolly can tell us about the link between national liberation struggles and the fight for socialism

• The most stunning pictures from the protest at the Tory party conference

  

  As the Tories held their conference in Manchester, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in opposition to a government that is hanging on by a thread

• Durham Miners' Gala: celebrating resistance

  

  Jeremy Corbyn will be speaking at the historic Durham Miners' Gala, off the back of a magnificent surge in support

• Le Tour: Nothing to lose but our chains

  

  As the annual cycling spectacle of the Tour De France begins, Mark Perryman argues the case for two wheels good