This article is dedicated to the memory of another Sephardic Jewish rebel, Roni Margulies (1955-2023). Why discuss Marx and Spinoza now? The appearance of a monumental new biography by Jonathan Israel, an outstanding historian of the early modern Netherlands, is… Continue Reading
During the current cost of living crisis, many groups of public sector workers, such as teachers, university lecturers, postal workers and significant sections of National Health Service workers, have taken industrial action.1 The entry of health workers into the waves… Continue Reading
The fight against antisemitism today is beset with difficulties.1 Challenges come from three directions. First, there has been a documented increase in antisemitism across the globe.2 To deflect from crises our ruling classes are encouraging the rise of bigotry and… Continue Reading
“The past is never dead. It is not even past.” William Faulkner. The strong verbal opposition from union leaders to the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill (now Act) 2023 is a good moment to survey the resistance—industrial, legal, and political—to… Continue Reading
Aus dem Englischen von Rosemarie Nünning. Zuerst erschienen in International Socialism 179 (Sommer 2021) (http://isj.org.uk/revolutionaries-and-elections) Verschiedene Entwicklungen haben im Jahr 2023 das Interesse an einer möglichen Wahlbeteiligung revolutionärer Sozialist:innen in Großbritannien neu geweckt.1 Dazu zählen die fortgesetzte Rechtsentwicklung der Labour… Continue Reading
On 17 July 1930, Archibald Fenner Brockway, a leading member of the Independent Labour Party (ILP), stood on the floor of the House of Commons and attempted to raise the question of the massive scale of repression unleashed in India… Continue Reading
August 2023 marks the bicentenary of one of the most important revolts by enslaved people in the history of the British Empire, taking place in what was then Demerara (later part of British Guiana, now Guyana) on the Caribbean coast… Continue Reading
Several issues in 2023 have helped spark renewed interest in the potential for revolutionary socialists in Britain to engage in electoral work.1 These include the continued rightward shift of the Labour Party under Keir Starmer; the presence of various left-wing… Continue Reading
Sudan is no stranger to war, but the conflict that erupted on 15 April 2023 between the two generals who earlier led the military coup of October 2021 has shattered the capital city and thrown millions of people into crisis.1… Continue Reading
What has been happening in France since January 2023 comes closest—in terms of its breadth and duration—to a revolutionary situation in an advanced capitalist country in decades.1 In addition to the objective factors, such as the deepening contradictions of capitalism… Continue Reading