Socialism
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Left Party Platform Statement
A number of Left Unity supporters have drafted and agreed a short statement and longer background document to establish a Left Party Platform, clarifying and establishing a common position arguing for a broadly-based new party of the left as we move towards the founding conference. Continue reading
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The Class Struggle Platform
From the introduction: We have drafted a third ‘platform’ to extend the debate within Left Unity. Having read the two platforms currently circulating – the Left Party Platform and the Socialist Platform – we were struck by an obvious similarity between them. Neither address the immediate issues confronting the working class in Britain today, which… Continue reading
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Which way for Left Unity? The case for the Left Party Platform
In only a few months, more than 9,000 people have signed up to an appeal by film director Ken Loach to set up a new party, and 90 local groups have been established in towns and cities across the country. But Loach – wanting, rightly, to be more a figurehead than a “leader” – did… Continue reading
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Socialist Platform Statement of Aims and Principles
The following Statement is presented by the Socialist Platform in Left Unity for discussion and debate in the branches in the period before the November conference. Continue reading
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Book Review: One Eye on the Red Horizon – The Condition of Communism By Joseph G. Ramsey
It’s a sweeping and forceful work, one that boldly and unapologetically attempts to recast the political field of contemporary capitalism (at least as it is experienced in the Euro-American sphere) while taking aim at a host of widely held beliefs – prevalent on both the Right and the Left – that stand in the way… Continue reading
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Paul Le Blanc: Revolutionary elements in London — Marxism 2013 and its context
In what follows, I want to offer a report on what I was able to observe while attending Marxism 2013 (July 11-15, 2013). I will also take up various issues having to do with discussions and debates having to do with the Leninist tradition and how it relates to realities and struggles of our time. Continue reading
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The Communal State: Communal Councils, Communes, and Workplace Democracy By Dario Azzellini
The particular character of what Hugo Chávez called the Bolivarian process lies in the understanding that social transformation can be constructed from two directions, “from above” and “from below.” Bolivarianism—or Chavismo—includes among its participants both traditional organizations and new autonomous groups; it encompasses both state-centric and anti-systemic currents. Continue reading
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Video: Democracy Against Capitalism By Brian Roper
A presentation by Brian Roper, author of The History of Democracy – A Marxist Interpretation. Continue reading
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UK: Forward to a broad party of the left?
Phil Hearse reports on the first meeting of Left Unity’s National Co-ordinating group which took place in Doncaster on Saturday June 15. Continue reading
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Capitalism in Crisis: Our Opportunity for a New System By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese
It’s time to end the era of Big Finance capitalism and an economy based on the extraction of resources, especially for energy. This statement is not an ideological proposal, but a practical one. We simply cannot continue on the present path, and as systems fail and resources become scarce, we will be forced to change… Continue reading
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Freedom and socialism By Kyle Matzpen
By both its detractors and some of its supposed supporters, the name of socialism has been dragged through the mud. The word “socialism” is conjured up as a demon, a great dictatorial beast, bent on destroying all liberties and homogenising all differences. It is understood that under any system called socialism, the individual is reduced… Continue reading
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Speaking with Karl Marx
In a little villa at Haverstock Hill, the northwest portion of London, lives Karl Marx, the cornerstone of modern socialism. He was exiled from his native country–Germany–in 1844, for propagating revolutionary theories. In 1848, he returned, but in a few months was again exiled. He then took up his abode in Paris, but his political… Continue reading
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Thoughts from the first national meeting of Left Unity
Over a hundred people from fifty five local groups as well as members of the day to day organising group met for the first national meeting of Left Unity in London on Saturday May 12. Continue reading
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Beyond Theory – the Practice of Building Socialism in Latin America By Jorge Capelan & Toni Solo
This text is in response to a Global Research entitled The Pink Tide in Latin America: An Alliance Between Local Capital and Socialism? , Mahdi Darius Nazemroya, May 03, 2013 Continue reading
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The mega project and the end of marxism
Editing the Classics – the unknown Marx and Engels MEGA – what’s in an acronym: Marx / Engels Complete Works. A Mega-Project – the largest historical critical edition project in the social sciences, more than a hundred scholars collaborating in 8 countries on 4 continents, a long-lasting project: started in the 1960s, will continue (after… Continue reading
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Video: Michael Lebowitz: 'Spectres and struggles': a new vision for socialism in the 21st century
A spectre is haunting the working class of Europe (both east and west) and the working class of developed capitalism in general. That spectre is the spectre of communism. For the working class, that frightful hobgoblin is a society of little freedom, a society of workers without power (in the workplace or community) and a… Continue reading
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Declaration of the Social Movements Assembly
As the Social Movements Assembly of the World Social Forum of Tunisia, 2013, we are gathered here to affirm the fundamental contribution of peoples of Maghreb-Mashrek (from North Africa to the Middle East), in the construction of human civilization. Continue reading
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The Telekommunist Manifesto By Dmytri Kleiner
I coined the term ‘Venture Communism’ in 2001 to promote the ideal of workers’ self-organization of production as a way of addressing class conflict. Telekommunisten is a collective based in Berlin, Germany, where I have lived since 2003. Continue reading
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Red Pepper, Anticapitalist Initiative and IOPS invite you to an evening of discussion on the future of radical political organisation
An open forum on 6 March 2013, 7:30pm with contributions from Preeti Paul (IOPS), Tom Walker (ex Socialist Worker journalist), James O’Nions (editor, Red Pepper magazine), Luke Cooper (Anticapitalist Initiative), and Laura Schwartz (Feminist Fightback). Continue reading
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A Ghost is Haunting Slovenia, the Ghost of Revolution! By Gal Kirn
At the moment that I am writing this text, the massive social uprising in Slovenia continues and enters, with even fiercer political determination, into a new stage of political maturity. What began as an isolated sparkle in late November 2012 in Maribor, the second biggest city of Slovenia, spread to other cities and weeks later… Continue reading
The New Dark Age 