Marxist political economy has a two-fold interest in the economics of defence.1 On the one hand, Marxism has proposed explanations for the extent and scope of defence spending in contemporary capitalism, drawing on theories of imperialism.2 On the other hand,… Continue Reading
Despite emergency appeals to social solidarity during the Covid-19 pandemic and the rediscovery of society by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the idea of the individual still lies at the very heart of ruling class ideology.1 The ruling class need to… Continue Reading
In the 1840s, in the manuscripts later published as The German Ideology, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels set out the first comprehensive statement of the approach to understanding history and society that underlay their writing and political activity for the… Continue Reading
In 1922, the great radical journalist Louise Bryant observed that Lenin drew great strength from the women close to him.1 Her observation contrasts sharply with the exploitative Lenin who has come to dominate historical studies and biographies. The women in… Continue Reading
Radicalism is not a term that adheres easily to the 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden.1 Biden is a traditional centre-right Democrat, a long-standing proponent of welfare cuts, a former supporter of George Bush’s 2003 invasion of Iraq,… Continue Reading
A Scottish breakaway from Britain may be edging nearer.1 In the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, the “Yes” vote fell short of victory by just 5 percent. Now, with a record voter turnout after a campaign centred on independence, elections… Continue Reading
In February 2021, a poll was published which triggered a dramatic chain of events in Northern Ireland. It showed that the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the main voice of Ulster unionism, had slumped to 19 percent, behind Sinn Féin at… Continue Reading
Hartlepool is the sort of place that London-based newspapers send their journalists to go on safari. They marvel at the house prices, joke about the local food and tend to discover swathes of backward opinions among the benighted residents. However,… Continue Reading
Stathis Kouvelakis has published a selection of texts from Marx and others entitled On the Commune. It provides key commentaries on the events of Paris in 1871 from contemporary observers (including direct and indirect participants). Though the book is in… Continue Reading
Dieser Aufsatz erschien zuerst in: International Socialism 135, Sommer 2012, London http://isj.org.uk/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-jewish-labour-bund/. Aus dem Englischen von Rosemarie Nünning und David Paenson. Die Geschichte des jüdischen Bunds, mit vollem Namen Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeter Bund in Lite, Poyln un Rusland,1 ist voller… Continue Reading