This is a guest post by Natalie. Over the past year I’ve observed “autonomism” being periodically evoked by members of Trotskyist/Leninist socialist parties as a dangerous force in the anti-cuts movement. The “autonomist” does not bode well for any activist group- they are opposed to all forms of structure and organisation, they refuse to vote [...]
The factionalisation of the left has been a problem since the first triceratops got upset because he was less pretty than a stegosaurus, and since these prehistoric times the expression of differences has regressed to things that are generally even more petty. Yet sometimes I think the way organizations behave is worth discussing, albeit briefly. [...]
Walking through security at Portcullis House, the fabulously expensive building standing adjacent to the Houses of Parliament, is a bit like going through any airport anywhere in the world. But making your way through the spacious courtyard, past green trees and sun-dappled water features under the enormous sparkling glass dome towering overhead, you could be [...]
In capitalism’s early life Marx compared capital to a vampire, that ‘only lives by sucking living labour, and lives the more, the more labour it sucks’. Chris Harman thinks a different horror staple is appropriate for the system’s later years. Far from being the sophisticated, sentient vampire count, it is better compared to the mindless, [...]
I spent last weekend where I spend the first weekend of every July, at the annual Marxism Festival, hosted by the SWP. Unfortunately, as ever, due to my various commitments (most notably organising the free creche), I didn’t get to see many of what I’m told were highlights. Nevertheless here are a few of my [...]
There’s a bit in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan where the eponymous character starts paraphrasing Moby Dick. “I’ll chase him round the moons of Nibia and round the Antares Maelstrom and round Perdition’s flames before I give him up!” he cries. Tracking down comedian Mark Steel can be a bit like that. Between [...]
