Leon Trotsky’s life and work were intrinsically intertwined with the rise and fall of the Russian Revolution. It is his heroic role as both its sword, during the October insurrection and civil war, and then his tragically doomed attempt to… Continue Reading
Social scientists and journalists have bandied about terms such as “globalisation” and the “new economy” for some time. Behind much of this lies the argument that the working class is dead and with it Marxist hopes of working class self-emancipation.… Continue Reading
Mushtuq Husain is a leading member of the Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal (Socialist Party) of Bangladesh. He spoke to Yuri Prasad about the history of the organisation and the struggle for socialism today. Can you explain the origins of your political… Continue Reading
On 23 November 2008 Venezuela went to the polls. It was the 14th election in the ten years since the victory of Hugo Chavez in 1998. This time the vote was for state governors, mayors and representatives to Venezuela’s 24… Continue Reading
“We are on the edge of the abyss. One slip and we will be into depression like that of the early 1930s.” That message has been repeated a thousand times in one way or another since the banking system imploded… Continue Reading
The election of Barack Obama as president of the United States is tremendous confirmation of the widespread opposition to the wars, racism and economic policies of the Bush administration. The Obama campaign tapped into a deep desire for change among… Continue Reading
The least expected beneficiary of the September-October 2008 financial crisis was Gordon Brown. The whole media, and at least half the cabinet, regarded him as one of the living dead in the run-up to the Labour Party conference. Within weeks… Continue Reading
Barack Obama’s victory in the US was one consequence of the crisis. Of course, there was more to the victory than that. For many African Americans it was an important symbolic gain after more than three centuries of oppression. Tens… Continue Reading
“History books will document that the global economy experienced a sudden stop after 15 September. The manner in which Lehman Brothers failed disrupted the trust that underpins the smooth functioning of market economies. As a result, virtually every indicator of… Continue Reading
A review of Peter Cole, Wobblies on the Waterfront: International Unionism in Progressive Era Philadelphia (University of Illinois, 2007). On 14 May 1913 longshoremen on the Philadelphia docks walked out on strike demanding a 10 cent an hour pay rise,… Continue Reading