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 Conservative administration of Rishi Sunak, the fourth Tory prime minister in as many years, appeared to be limping into oblivion as our autumn issue went to press.1 A piece by the chief political commentator at the Financial Times compares… Continue Reading
A review of The Communist Women’s Movement 1920-1922: Proceedings, Resolutions and Reports, Mike Taber and Daria Dyakonova (eds) (Brill, 2023), £164 The Communist Women’s Movement (CWM) is little known today, but it became a significant force in the international campaign… Continue Reading
Jane Bassett’s critique of The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow, published in a recent issue of this journal, is very welcome, and I agree with her basic conclusions.1 However, I would… 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
A review of Marx in the Anthropocene: Towards the Idea of Degrowth Communism, Kohei Saito (Cambridge University Press, 2022) £29.99 Kohei Saito’s work on Marxism, socialism and ecology has become increasingly influential since his first book, Karl Marx’s Ecosocialism: Capital,… Continue Reading
A review of Capitalism in the 21st Century: Through the Prism of Value, Guglielmo Carchedi and Michael Roberts (Pluto, 2022), £19.99 Any new book by Guglielmo Carchedi and Michael Roberts is to be welcomed; both authors have had a long… Continue Reading
A review of Lessons in Organising: What Trade Unionists Can Learn from the War on Teachers, Gawain Little, Ellie Sharp, Howard Stevenson and David Wilson (Pluto, 2023), £9.99 The education system in England has changed markedly in the last 35… Continue Reading