As another national election occurs, with it comes another frustrating choice for the electorate. The choice between an increasingly incompetent establishment, or ‘radical’ alternatives like the anti-vax Luigi Di Maio or anti-immigrant Northern League. Perhaps most worryingly is the kingmaker appearing to still be corrupt 81 year old Berlusconi, who seems to be supporting […]
Left Politics
Who Are More United?
Recently the Scotland in Union organisation hit the headlines with a major information leak to independence bloggers such as Wings Scotland and Bellacaledonia and even the unionist These Islands got a little press coverage when a member of its advisory council, Professor Nigel Biggar, got into a row about his defence of the British […]
Four Myths Surrounding American Minor Parties
Scouring political comments sections is never good for the body or the soul, and yet I find myself reading endless virtual tirades every single day. It seems my passion for politics can override my concern for my mental and emotional health sometimes. An increasing plurality of Americans now believe that another party is needed in […]
A Tale of Two Revolutions: Russia and Iran
After Tom Perez’s “Night of the Long Knives” purge of progressives and entrenchment of centrists at the Democratic National Committee, no self-respecting leftist can hold anything for the Democratic Party but contempt. A thoroughly corrupt organization cannot be reformed, period. Capitalism cannot be reformed. Neoliberal bodies such as the EU or the UK of GB […]
Life in the Empire Part 1: Where is the American Anti-War Movement?
Ask any American who experienced the assassination of John F. Kennedy what occurred in their lives that day, and they will be able to recall every detail: where they were, whom they were with, what they ate for breakfast that morning, all as fresh as if it took place only an hour prior. Ask Americans […]
Me, Iran and The Green Movement
Many of you may not be aware that the current wave of people standing up to struggle against the forces envincing to enslave them under absolute despotism and establish a system that serves the needs of the many rather than the greed of the few began not in the West, nor in North Africa, […]
Soap and Socialism
Soap and socialism make for unexpected bedfellows. The un-poetic household item, and left wing ideology would, in the run of everyday life, appear to have little in common. An odd couple. Yet the improbable becomes possible when you’re trying to save the world, one bar of soap at a time. An unusual endeavor, […]
The Meaning of Life part 4: No Gods, No Masters
In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, we learn from a computer named Deep Thought that the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is “42”. In The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, we learn that the Ultimate Question that produces that Answer is “What do you get if you multiply six by […]
The Meaning of Life part 3 – The Endless Struggle
“Every generation must fight the same battles again and again and again,” said Tony Benn in one of his more memorable speeches. “There is no final victory, and there is no final defeat.” Those who buy into what those trying to shift power from the ballot box to the market-place with austerity, balanced budgets, so-called […]
AN INDEPENDENT SOCIALIST SCOTLAND? Some Problems of ‘Socialism in One Country’.
From the time of the Russian Revolution of 1917, it has been recognised that acute problems attend the construction of socialism in conditions of ideological isolation. Before 1924, Lenin, Trotsky and all other Soviet leaders believed that the crucial importance of foreign trade and investment for Soviet development implied the assistance of other socialist countries. […]