Their Tradition and Ours
Conservatives claim to defend tradition, but what they actually defend is historic injustice and inherited hierarchy – it’s the job of socialists to sustain the working-class tradition of fighting back.
4299 Articles by:
Billy Anania
Billy Anania is an art critic, editor, and journalist in New York City.
Pedro Castillo Offers a Chance for Peru to Break With its Neoliberal History
Indigenous left-winger Pedro Castillo has been sworn in as the president of Peru. His victory marks a break with decades of Cold War conservatism – and opens up the possibility of a government of the poor.
Speaking to Leeds
During lockdown, a bookshop placed Pete Mitchell’s photographs of Leeds in the 1970s and 80s on billboards near their original locations – juxtaposing the modern city with its own nostalgic past.
The Fight to Kill the Bill Isn’t Over
The Tories’ racist anti-protest bill isn’t yet law. We can still fight against its worst elements – and against the creeping authoritarianism that produced it.
Jimmy Reid: ‘We’re Not Rats. We’re Human Beings.’
50 years ago this week, Jimmy Reid led the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders work-in that defeated the Tory government. In commemoration, we republish his speech about alienation under capitalism.
How a New Aristocracy Is Profiting from Covid
Worldwide, secretive ‘family offices’ turn individual wealth into dynastic fortunes for everyone from CEOs to ex-prime ministers – and they’ve made big money from the Covid crisis.
The Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-In
On this day in 1971, shipyard workers in Clydeside began a work-in to save 8,000 jobs. Their struggle kept the yards open – and defeated the Tory government.
How an Indian Radical Founded the Mexican Communist Party
Exiled from India, anticolonial activist M. N. Roy charted a revolutionary course that took him everywhere from Mexico City to Moscow. Today, his life is a reminder of how global the struggle for freedom continues to be.
46. Asset Manager Capitalism: An Interview with Adrienne Buller and Ben Braun
This week, Grace talks to researchers Adrienne Buller and Ben Braun about where the power really lies in big corporations – and whether worker ownership can change the game.
The Floods Will Get Worse – Unless the System Changes
The extreme flooding seen across the world, including in London, in recent weeks is the collision of two disasters created by the ruling class – climate change and infrastructural collapse.
To Save the Planet, We Have to Change How We Travel
The government’s latest transport plan relies on new technologies to make how we travel today carbon neutral – but what we really need is to make climate-friendly systems like rail faster and more affordable.
Reading Dominic Cummings from the Left
Dominic Cummings’ recent interviews reveal an awareness that the political system is broken, but a narrow analysis as to why – because it is populated by the wrong people, not designed to serve the wrong interests.
Chasing Utopia
Between the wars, various groups experimented in building new societies. None lasted – but they were proof of the enduring desire for a future radically different from the past.
The Summer Holidays Expose Britain’s Childcare Crisis
A lack of affordable childcare means many are forced to lose income over the summer through reduced hours and unpaid leave – and working mothers are suffering the most.
Local Public Transport Should Be Free
Making local public transport free at the point of use isn’t a fantasy, it’s a popular way to help communities and the climate – and it’s already a reality in cities around the world.
Imagining a Socialist Education System
Recent attacks on teaching unions and ‘radical’ classroom materials make it clear that the ruling class understands education’s role in reproducing capitalism – it’s time that socialists did too.
Labour’s Self-Flagellation Tour
The Labour leadership’s ‘listening tour’ will do little to rebuild relationships with postindustrial communities – but it will provide plenty of opportunities to repeat right-wing attacks on the party’s progressive base.
A People’s Architecture
Elain Harwood’s forthcoming book Mid-Century Britain focuses on a time when the architecture of the welfare state was decorative and cheery, rather than monumental and avant-garde.
This Government Could End Hunger in Britain – But it Refuses
The government’s National Food Strategy was an opportunity to tackle hunger in Britain – but instead it shows that the Tories prefer millions living in food poverty to any kind of fundamental change.
The Life and Legacy of Michael Foot
Michael Foot was born on this day in 1913. A giant of Labour Party politics, the attempts to diminish his legacy after his death only reveal the extent to which his socialism threatened the British establishment.