Paul Demarty

Paul Demarty is a member of the Communist Party, and a regular columnist for the Weekly Worker. His research interests include the philosophy of Louis Althusser, the critique of Hegelian variants of Marxist philosophy and the theory of culture and ideology.

Latest articles by Paul Demarty

Slope really is slippery

Legalisation of assisted suicide is not progress, argues Paul Demarty, but rather gives capitalism free rein to throw the seriously ill in the trash-can

Cabinet of curiosities

Warmongers, kleptocrats, sex pests - but above all cronies. Paul Demarty looks ahead to an already fractious Trump front bench that will, in all probability, churn with remarkable speed

A strangely familiar failure

How could the Democrats lose to that man - again? The inquest begins, but do not expect any bold thinking from the decadent consultant class, writes Paul Demarty

A modern chameleon

Kemi Badenoch is fully on board the global helter skelter to the far right and ‘anti-woke’ national chauvinism. She is, argues Paul Demarty, the perfect match for Donald Trump

Racists against racism

Marching with Zionists in opposition to racism in general and marching against Zionism over Israeli state racism is a circle that cannot be squared. Beset by internal divisions, the central committee is under increasing pressure, reports Paul Demarty

Nine lives of Manifesto man

From drunken apprentice to EDL street fighting, from apology tour to Cypriot exile. Paul Demarty charts the career of Tommy Robinson and warns that the main danger comes not from this celebrity far-right influencer, but the increasingly reactionary Lab-Con elite

How to buy a government

Labour is supposed to be the party of working people, but its recent troubles show how bourgeois politics and big money interweave, argues Paul Demarty

Hiding the hack

Even though the odds are too close to call, why are US media outlets so unwilling to use leaked material about Trump’s running mate? Paul Demarty investigates

Another predator escapes justice

Class society puts people at the mercy of sadists like Mohamed al-Fayed, says Paul Demarty. However, a counter-culture of radical egalitarianism can combat the established culture of abuse

Amy Leather vanishes

What lies behind the mid-term changes at the top? The central committee limits itself to a single gnomic pronouncement. Meanwhile, Paul Demarty investigates

Fiction: utopian and scientific

We all have our ways of weighing up the probabilities, of orienting our moral sense. In his intriguing talk to Communist University 2024, Paul Demarty examines the changing face of utopian literature and the role it, and science fiction, can play in Marxist politics

Revenge on the internet

Encryption can be broken with a $5 wrench. The legal actions against Telegram and X show the fragility of free expression in the face of state power, argues Paul Demarty

End of the beginning

With the Democratic national convention safely wound up, Paul Demarty assesses the presidential race and peers into an uncertain future

After the riots

Racist violence erupted in almost every part of Britain. We need a better response than liberal hand-wringing and blinkered economism, argues Paul Demarty

Nothing to see here

Protests are erupting against overtourism, but the problem is unlikely to go away without fundamental changes to the political economy, argues Paul Demarty

A day of chaos

After a botched software upgrade, Microsoft’s Blue Friday outage shows the price of putting software and IT infrastructure under the rule of capital, argues Paul Demarty

No driver at the wheel

The incumbent is not all there; the challenger nearly dies in an assassination attempt. All the more reason to ditch the entire US presidential system, argues Paul Demarty

A Gaza election?

The low turnout and lack of enthusiasm for Labour could not prevent a Tory bloodbath on July 4. Paul Demarty examines the results, and warns of the right’s hidden strength

Denialism in the circles of hell

America has armed, financed and diplomatically supported Israel throughout the Gaza war. That makes it complicit in genocide, argues Paul Demarty. Yet, as the death toll remorselessly rises, the House of Representatives votes to deny the evidence

Bookies, mugs and pollsters

As Sunak’s campaign stumbles from bad to worse, Paul Demarty looks at the latest turn in the betting scandal and, in the absence of any differences of substance, the media obsession with the polls

Where it don’t shine … yet

Murdoch’s papers have yet to endorse Sir Keir - Paul Demarty wonders how long they can hold out from backing a winner. Meanwhile Rupert is on honeymoon and indecision rules

Sir Keir’s sinister past

Rightwing pundits have finally begun bringing up deep entryism and long-gone political affiliations to Pabloism. But Trot-baiting is unlikely to save Rishi Sunak, says Paul Demarty, he is a loser

Galloway’s motley crew

Economic nationalism and anti-war internationalism are combined together with social conservatism. Paul Demarty has a look at the Workers Party and its quirky slate of candidates

Banging the drums of war

Rishi Sunak’s dismal national service plan is certain to flop. However, Paul Demarty takes the opportunity to renew the call for a people’s militia

Regrets, they’ve had a few

Why has the SWP issued a public statement on its 2013 rape scandal? Paul Demarty looks at the record and searches for answers

Israel’s nightmare

Rewritten lyrics, canned applause and media spin could not hide the almost universal revulsion against the pending genocide in Gaza. Paul Demarty looks at the politics behind the songs

Interview with an opportunist

Sahra Wagenknecht offers no real alternative to global capital, argues Paul Demarty. But moralism is no response

Death in academia

Oxford University has finally closed down its Future of Humanity Institute. Paul Demarty explores the social limits of AI and the long-termist utilitarian ideology promoted by Nick Bostrom

A very Tory ban

With Labour support, the Tories’ smoking ban is likely to pass - but, on historical evidence, prohibition is hardly likely to work, says Paul Demarty

Selective memory syndrome

Paul Demarty admires George Galloway’s grand ambitions, but warns about a complete inability to deliver. Meanwhile, a forgetful SWP sticks to ‘strikes and streets’

Through fog of war

First casualty is the truth. Paul Demarty says Al Jazeera should be congratulated for presenting what is probably a fair and accurate account of the October 7 events

Doctoring the princess

Kate Middleton’s photo fiasco casts an unflattering light on the relationship between the crown and the press, argues Paul Demarty

How to be an extremist

Michael Gove and co seek to redefine ‘extremism’. Paul Demarty suggests that we should wear the label with pride

House of cowards

Speaker Lindsay Hoyle kept a real Gaza ceasefire off the agenda a few weeks ago in the name of keeping MPs safe. Paul Demarty stands up for the right to protest

Screaming blue murder

Lee Anderson, Liz Truss and Suella Braverman are trying to further their despicable careers in the only way they know how, writes Paul Demarty: by hate-mongering against Muslims

Navalny’s sticky end

Paul Demarty looks at the death of a persistent critic and irritant to Vladimir Putin and the FSB regime ... and a hero of the west, who showed undoubted courage in the face of cruel persecution

Tucker in Putinland

A two-hour long interview with Vladimir Putin told us little new about anything, but stands in intriguing contrast to the routine media spin, argues Paul Demarty

Monkey see, monkey do

Revolution or vapourware? Paul Demarty assesses brain-computer interfaces and Elon Musk’s hype

Full-spectrum complicity

By ‘suspending’ funding, the west’s diversionary campaign against UNRWA gives the lie to bourgeois cant about ‘genocide prevention’, argues Paul Demarty

First, they came for …

The ban on Hizb ut-Tahrir demonstrates that our rulers have no effective way to control the Gaza narrative other than by legally silencing critics, argues Paul Demarty

Grim fate awaits him

Julian Assange’s imminent extradition draws a line under the idea of the internet as an untameable new frontier, argues Paul Demarty

How crybullying works

Politics should have no ‘safe spaces’. Sob stories about ‘anti-Semitism’ on campus strike at a weak point in contemporary left politics, argues Paul Demarty

Haley’s telling blunder

Many southerners happily fly the stars and bars, but they prefer to talk of state rights, not black slavery. Paul Demarty looks at Donald Trump’s nearest Republican rival

Their Tolkien and ours

Neo-fascist interpretations of JRR Tolkien’s works are resurgent - and understandable. But can the left make room in its culture for hobbits? Paul Demarty revisits The lord of the rings

Monarchy and mystery

Omid Scobie’s book suggests that the king may be a racist. Why wouldn’t he be? asks Paul Demarty

Don’t cry for Milei, Argentina

The election of an anarcho-capitalist eccentric as president is the latest example of bourgeois politics descending into irrationality, argues Paul Demarty

Nigel’s next adventure

However he gets on in the jungle, Nigel Farage is far from done with frontline politics, writes Paul Demarty

Anti-Semitism and other lies

Accusations against the Palestinian solidarity movement of hating Jews qua Jews are obvious nonsense, says Paul Demarty. Many Jews support the Palestinian cause and are welcomed and cheered

A curse on free speech

They want to stop us marching, they want to stop us protesting. The censoriousness of government ministers exposes the limits of free expression under capitalism, argues Paul Demarty

Declaring moral bankruptcy

Our leaders cannot justify Israel’s war on the Palestinians, writes Paul Demarty, so they slander protestors and try to suppress dissent in their own ranks

Etymology of terror

Accusations of terrorism have become all but meaningless. Paul Demarty examines the strategy, tactics and hypocrisy of the T-word

Week in the hall of mirrors

Reporting of Israel’s assault on Gaza provides an object lesson in how the bourgeois media works, argues Paul Demarty

Backing a winner

Rupert Murdoch may well bring his papers in behind Sir Keir - but how great is his influence in Britain nowadays? Paul Demarty investigates

The last emperor

Rupert Murdoch is due to step down as chair of Fox and News Corp. In his place will come his lacklustre son, Lachlan. Paul Demarty finds much of interest in Michael Wolff’s latest blockbuster about the real-life version of the TV drama ‘Succession’

Sex, lies and celebrity

Sexual misconduct is inseparable from celebrity culture and the capitalist media apparatus. But, asks Paul Demarty, can Russell Brand ever get a fair trial?

Staggering to next crisis

Joe Biden’s growing incapacity, the likelihood of him being replaced mid-term by Kamala Harris if re‑elected, and a potential impeachment trial show that the abnormal is becoming the new normal. Paul Demarty looks at America

Beyond our repair

Chattel slavery’s damage is done, argues Paul Demarty, so communists should fight for a better future, not redress for past injuries

Mr Griffiths goes to Beijing

Showered with all manner of treats, the CPB’s gensec is a credulous fanboy of China’s ‘socialist modernisation’, writes Paul Demarty

New faces on the final frontier

India has joined the club of states to have landed spacecraft on the moon - a matter of geopolitics rather than scientific endeavour, suggests Paul Demarty

Gambler of Riyadh

From sportswashing to megacities: what is MBS up to? Paul Demarty investigates the grandiose Vision 2030

The truth is elsewhere

David Grusch - a whistleblower on secret government projects to recover and reverse-engineer extraterrestrial spacecraft - has testified before the House Subcommittee on National Security. Paul Demarty investigates the latest alien visitation to Washington

Venomous targeting of migrants

Despite suffering something of a setback in Spain, the far right is on the march across Europe. Prime responsibility for this, argues Paul Demarty, lies with the left

Tinseltown’s hot summer

Writers and screen actors need to win in their strike against the media giants, says Paul Demarty. But our aim must be a better, a higher culture

Elon Musk’s Twitterdämmerung

The flashy launch of Threads demonstrates the web’s tendency towards monopoly, argues Paul Demarty

Adriana and Titan

Instinct takes bourgeois journalism down tracks already laid a million times before. Paul Demarty contrasts the treatment given to two different maritime disasters

Death of a true believer

He exposed official lies, escaped the clutches of Richard Nixon’s goons and fought hard for pacifism for the rest of his life. Paul Demarty remembers Daniel Ellsberg

Death and the cabin

Paul Demarty considers the life and death of Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. There are lessons for Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil and all who despair of majoritarian politics

Labour and Lubner’s millions

Starmer’s new megadonor threatens to outweigh the influence of the unions, argues Paul Demarty

Fallen Phil and Teflon Don

With the Stormy Daniels indictment, the E Jean Carroll civil verdict and the whole eight-year-old campaign of lawfare against Trump, Paul Demarty asks why it makes no difference to his political prospects. Meanwhile, here in Britain, we have Phillip Schofield

Heirs of Edmund Burke

For all its incoherence, the National Conservatism conference in London is indicative of a worrying direction of travel for the global right, argues Paul Demarty

On its last legs

Mark Zuckerberg bet the farm on virtual worlds - and lost. Paul Demarty pours one out for the metaverse

Kinesics of defiance

Open rejection of the coronation circus from Charles’s mischievous subjects are a reminder that the image of Britain as overwhelmingly pro-monarchy is a lie, hurrahs Paul Demarty

A manufactured illusion

Today’s monarchy is not a precious inheritance dating back to the Saxons. It is a product of the mass media, argues Paul Demarty

Rupert’s American debacle

The spectacular settlement with Dominion Election Systems is an index of both political dysfunction and the role of the rightwing media, argues Paul Demarty

Cheap shots, great and small

Controversy over Starmer’s attack ads shows up the increasing emptiness of bourgeois political debate, argues Paul Demarty

Dragged over the coals

Why on earth is the right going nuts over drag queens? Paul Demarty investigates the latest moral panic

Diabolus ex machina

With Elon Musk leading the way in expressing worries about AI, Paul Demarty explains what is really going on

Against educational tsarism

In the wake of Ruth Perry’s tragic suicide, Paul Demarty demands an end to Ofsted tyranny and instead an education system based on need

Victory for pundits’ union

The BBC’s brief ‘free speech’ war with Gary Lineker shows up its own institutional weakness - and the strange moral situation of football itself - argues Paul Demarty

Stupidity and score-settling

What was Matt Hancock thinking about when he handed a vast trove of WhatsApp messages over to a notoriously mercenary journalist? Paul Demarty looks over the ‘lockdown files’

Xi and John and Yoko

China’s 12-point plan has not been welcomed in Washington, Brussels or Moscow. But, asks Paul Demarty, should communists join the pacifist camp?

How not to win arguments

Counterfire is in upheaval over the trans issue. Paul Demarty calls for serious debate, not heresy-hunting

School for scoundrels

Widely pictured as a supervillain, Andrew Tate is, suggests Paul Demarty, a banal symptom of atomisation

Safe space for Zionism

The left should and will reject Rebecca Tuck’s report into ‘anti-Semitism’ - but our own errors make it hard to fight back, argues Paul Demarty

Look in the mirror

They continue to denounce sexism in state institutions without confronting their own history. Paul Demarty calls for some self-criticism

Going spare

With the British establishment suffering a collective conniption, Paul Demarty says we republicans owe a small debt to the Californian prince

The sins of the father

He presided over the destruction of liberation theology, backed the US rollback of communism and provided ideological cover for contra death squads. Paul Demarty examines the legacy of Benedict XVI

G-man behind the curtain

Scandal or nothingburger? Paul Demarty assesses the ‘Twitter files’ and the continued travails of Elon Musk

Diminished responsibility

The high-profile cases of Lady Susan Hussey and Kanye ‘Ye’ West highlight the limits of official anti-racism, argues Paul Demarty

Armbands and alienation

With the competition now well under way, Paul Demarty examines the clash between soft-focus liberalism and Qatari feudal values

A tournament to remember

Corruption, brutal exploitation, hypocrisy: Qatar 2022 has it all. Paul Demarty looks at the price of football

Twitter year zero

What the hell is Elon Musk up to? Paul Demarty reads the tea leaves and spills the beans

Buyer’s remorse

Meta’s stock market beating and Musk’s acquisition of Twitter paint a grim picture of the state of social media, argues Paul Demarty

Rishi’s one real god

What is this mysterious thing called ‘the market’ that proposes and disposes of prime minsters? Paul Demarty looks at what controls the controllers

Art attack

Young activists from Just Stop Oil have been castigated by the usual parade of ranting tabloid hacks and LBC anchors for defacing a Van Gogh. But, argues Paul Demarty, the stunt highlights the limits of direct-action groups

On borrowed time

Liz Truss’s early downfall seems likely - but offloading her will not resolve the contradictions of the Tory Party, argues Paul Demarty

For whom the bell tolls

The mini-budget fiasco and the humiliation of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng holds sobering lessons for the national socialist left, argues Paul Demarty

Original takester

It has been a strange journey from the Revolutionary Opposition to defence of the nation state and traditional values. Paul Demarty delves into Frank Furedi’s cheery new Substack

On to the red republic

The funeral of Elizabeth Windsor released a torrent of treacle. Paul Demarty welcomes the growing republicanism of young people, but, it is clear, we still have a mountain to climb

Behind the death mask

Paul Demarty goes in search of Elizabeth Windsor’s personality and finds very little apart from cynicism, unpleasantness and self-entitlement

Misremembering Gorbachev

The death of the USSR’s final leader comes at the crisis point of the post-cold war period. Paul Demarty considers Gorbachev’s grim legacy

After the summer of discontent

The strike wave is set to grow in numbers, militancy and coordination. Paul Demarty warns that Liz Truss could respond by imposing wartime measures

Gift that keeps on giving

The Tories can neither abandon Brexit nor make it work. That means we can only expect more chaos, argues Paul Demarty

One foot in the grave

RMT’s withdrawal from Tusc was understandable, especially given the consistently dismal electoral performance. But, argues, Paul Demarty, this leaves SPEW, the mothership, in profound crisis too

That’s entertainment!

Boris Johnson’s persona is part Psmith, part Flashman and part Tim Nice-But-Dim. Paul Demarty traces the rise and fall of the ‘Red Tory’

Going, going, gone

Britain will soon have a new Tory prime minister, writes Paul Demarty. Meanwhile, Sir Keir is copying Sir Tony and his triangulation strategy, while the left is whispering about yet another broad party

Mick Lynch meets the media

We cannot rely on the ‘balance, fairness and objectivity’ of the enemy’s press and television - we need our own full-spectrum alternative, argues Paul Demarty

Le Pen surges forward

The danger is that the left will use anti-fascism as an excuse to cut a deal with the liberal centre. To put it mildly, that would be a profound mistake, warns Paul Demarty

Same colour, same aim

Boris Johnson narrowly survived, but he is far from secure. However, the left needs to go beyond chanting ‘Tories out’, because today that implicitly means ‘Sir Keir and Blue Labour in’, says Paul Demarty

Tony, the futurologist

The repeatedly delayed Future of Britain event is no threat to Sir Keir, but its ‘big ideas’ are utterly inadequate in the face of the problems they purport to address, writes Paul Demarty

Talking loud, saying nothing

Paul Demarty checks in on the congress of the Socialist Party in England and Wales - a decision-making body apparently without decisions to make

Single-issue failure

Clearing out Azovstal is a rare piece of good news for the Russian government, writes Paul Demarty, in what is a grim strategic picture

Two souls of big money

Todd Boehly’s consortium and the deal to buy Chelsea FC for £4.25 billion reveals the menace threatening the beautiful game, argues Paul Demarty

Moral panic and blue checks

Elon Musk’s proposed $44 billion Twitter takeover should not be compared with the last days of the Weimar Republic. Nor will it strike a blow for free speech, writes Paul Demarty

Unintended consequences

The calumnies against Shaima Dallali highlight the left’s errors. Paul Demarty calls for a principled defence of free speech

Hold the line

The left in France should not be panicked into voting for Emmanuel Macron, writes Paul Demarty

Rise and fall of a creep

The fiasco over his wife’s non-dom status and now a fixed-penalty notice have sunk Rishi Sunak’s prime ministerial ambitions. Paul Demarty is amused

Alex’s greater friend

The SWP is clearly motivated by opportunist considerations, not least the fall-out from the Martin Smith rape scandal. We do not owe politeness to renegades, argues Paul Demarty

Peace-loving liberals for war

The rhetoric of the anti-war movement has been coopted by the war party in the west, argues Paul Demarty

A tale of two wars

As the western powers furiously denounce Russian aggression, they continue to aid and abet the Saudi war in Yemen, writes Paul Demarty

Triumphalism to pessimism

Does the Russia-Ukraine war epitomise a crisis of liberalism brought about by attacks from the populist right and the so-called anti-scientific left? Perhaps so - but not in the way Francis Fukuyama imagines, suggests Paul Demarty

Away with comforting delusions

‘Official communism’ is bitterly divided over the Ukraine war. Paul Demarty traces the battle lines back to their origins

A lesson in courage

Anti-war protests in Russia give a glimmer of hope in a perilous situation, argues Paul Demarty

Blindness to empire

As Russia invades Ukraine Britain’s social-imperialists rally to side of Nato. But for socialists the main enemy is at home, argues Paul Demarty

Downfall of a company woman

Cressida Dick’s departure will not lead to meaningful reform. Paul Demarty insists that the police force needs to be replaced by a well-drilled popular militia

Abstraction and obfuscation

Paul Demarty reviews 'Anti-Postone', an essay written by Michael Sommer and translated by Maciej Zurowski (Cosmonaut Press, 2021, pp124, £11.99)

Plucky little Kiev

Self-determination is not an absolute principle. We in the western left must train our main fire on our own warmongers, argues Paul Demarty

On the brink of war?

The US drive to subordinate Russia, not Putin’s imperial ambitions, are the main explanation for any further conflict, argues Paul Demarty

An uncertain situation

Discounting the danger of Islamic reaction is more than stupid. Paul Demarty looks at the Kazakh uprising and the CSTO intervention

Three cheers for juries

With attorney general Suella Braverman threatening to use extraordinary measures and a deafening silence coming from Labour’s front bench, Paul Demarty unhesitatingly welcomes the acquittal of the Colston Four

Epstein saga continues

With Andrew Windsor embroiled in the scandal, with Ghislaine Maxwell facing years in jail, with the possibility of top names being named, Paul Demarty searches for the roots of bourgeois depravity

The future that ended

Three decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the causes and consequences still elude most of the left, writes Paul Demarty

Our gun rights too

Despite Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal, Paul Demarty raises three cheers for the US constitution's second amendment

Deserting the fight

Plans to close Labour Against the Witchhunt and form yet another amorphous broad-left outfit are not only, by definition, unprincipled: they are bound to fail, writes Paul Demarty

History and hagiography

Saints and sinners. Paul Demarty assesses the Greta Thunberg phenomenon

Long march of censorship

Paul Demarty looks at recent attacks on free speech in the name of combatting offence, real or imagined

Failing the Lenin test

A spooked leadership is attempting to silence its left critics, especially the rebel youth wing. The use of cadre names, defence of Stalin, advocacy of a popular militia and any public dissent have been outlawed. Paul Demarty reports on what could end up as a messy split

Prince over the water

The takeover of Newcastle United by Saudi Arabia’s MBS highlights the contradictory position of fans in modern football, says Paul Demarty

A disaster foretold

HGV drivers, petrol, empty supermarket shelves - Britain’s dependence on global supply chains has been badly exposed. Paul Demarty investigates

Cargo-cult Blairism

Here we are supposed to have the intellectual background. What is revealed is a sad lack of intellectual background. Paul Demarty reviews Keir Starmer's 'The road ahead' (Fabian Ideas, 2021, pp32, £5.95)

Those who look into the abyss

Words can have all manner of meanings. Paul Demarty takes issue with Amanda MacLean on trans rights

Dealing with anti-vaxxers

Invading BBC, ITN and Google. Paul Demarty examines vaccine madness and the limits of coercive action

The great game and geopolitics

For all Xi’s rhetoric, the power struggle between the Communist Party of China and the country’s billionaires is far from decided, writes Paul Demarty

Manufacturing consensus

We do not want to unite the whole of the anti-racist movement, if that means uniting all prepared to mouth anti-racist platitudes. In fact, writes Paul Demarty, so far as such ‘unity’ exists, our role is to destroy it

For your eyes only

Paul Demarty assesses the dangers of Apple’s new surveillance measures against child sex abuse

The perfect spy

NSO is hugely profitable and closely bound up with the Israeli state and its diplomatic interests. But there is far more to spyware than obtaining information on criminals, terrorists and political opponents. Paul Demarty explains

In spite of everything

Left illusions in cheap populist rhetoric risk splitting the vote and handing victory to the right. Paul Demarty argues in favour of a clear-sighted and long-term strategy

What did England expect?

Following narrow defeat at the hands of Italy, the meaning of it all is being hotly fought over. Paul Demarty urges the left to think beyond gesture politics

A strange amalgam

In light of George Galloway’s strong showing in Batley and Spen, Paul Demarty asks if his new organisation has any kind of serious future

George’s modest flutter

The return of the British left’s most eccentric celebrity has provided an interesting twist - but can he succeed? Paul Demarty looks at the Batley and Spen by-election

Dim end of the wedge

The buffoonery of GB News’s first weeks should not be confused with failure, warns Paul Demarty

Lots of grassy knees

Is the English football team in the grip of a Marxist conspiracy? Paul Demarty considers the ‘taking the knee’ controversy

Finishing what Blair started?

The project of delabourising Labour has had a new lease of life, argues Paul Demarty

Flying saucers over Washington

UFOs are back in the news again. Paul Demarty explores the cold war background and its exotic leftwing offshoots and variants

Diana and the demagogues

Why the furore over an ancient interview? Paul Demarty looks at the renewed attacks on the BBC

Wages of tailism

Unlike others on the left, the SWP at least tries to draw lessons from the failure of Spain’s Podemos. The problem is, Paul Demarty explains, the lessons it draws are hopelessly wrong

Sorry results of tailism

Narrow nationalism of all varieties distorts, twists and inverts class politics. Paul Demarty provides a preliminary post-mortem on the May 6 results

Rent-seeking as mass murder

The row over vaccine patent waivers reveals the inhuman logic of intellectual property, argues Paul Demarty

That was the league that wasn’t

Defeat of the European Super League project is welcome, but redeeming football will take imagination, suggests Paul Demarty

Death by numbers

Instead of treating the monarchy merely as a quaint feudal relic, the left needs a much sharper critique, argues Paul Demarty

Grief at gunpoint

The coverage of Philip Windsor’s death has reached new heights of absurdity, even for British royals, argues Paul Demarty

How to be gaslit

Anger is an insufficient response to the Sewell report, argues Paul Demarty. The left needs its own critique of liberal anti-racism

Anti-racism as a straitjacket

Boris Johnson's government boasts of its anti-racism, the UN boasts of its anti-racism, the SWP boasts of its anti-racism. Paul Demarty detects more than a whiff of popular frontism

Separation showdown looms

With Nicola Sturgeon in the clear, a battle between Holyrood and Westminster over Scottish independence is very much on the cards, argues Paul Demarty

King and queen of America

The royal family’s falling out illustrates the inherent authoritarianism of all bourgeois politics - monarchical or liberal, argues Paul Demarty

The afterlife of Bobby Sands

Glowing leftwing tributes to the hunger-striker contrast markedly to the prevailing attitude 40 years ago. Paul Demarty looks at the modern-day paradoxes

Unionist wishful thinking

The Salmond-Sturgeon rift has given hope to anti-independence forces, writes Paul Demarty. But the national question is not so easily dealt with

No escape from Earth

Dreams of Martian colonies cannot substitute for revolutionary change on this planet, argues Paul Demarty

Live at the witch trials

Starmer’s ‘advisory board’ is part of a wider push to eliminate all opposition to Israel, says Paul Demarty

Fishy business in Holyrood

With the Holyrood inquiry being branded a whitewash, Paul Demarty asks what really lies behind the Sturgeon-Salmond feud

Poor man’s pivot

The government’s decision to join an Asia-Pacific free trade area is not likely to provide much shelter from economic headwinds, argues Paul Demarty

Light and air

Paul Demarty insists that unrestricted free speech is central to the communist project

No dodging self-determination

Whoever is chosen as leader, the Scottish Labour Party is cruising for a bruising, reckons Paul Demarty

End of internet anarchy

Fallout from the Capitol invasion shows that pacification of social media is well underway, says Paul Demarty

End of the beginning

The Brexit trade deal settles little - the EU will haunt British politics for years to come, writes Paul Demarty

Europe after Brexit

As the British and European powers continue haggling, Paul Demarty assesses the state of the EU

Getting out of the culture wars

The court decision against the Tavistock clinic has reignited the battle over trans rights. Paul Demarty looks at the confusion

Understanding lockdown resistance

As Boris Johnson licks his wounds, Paul Demarty examines the mounting discontent with the handling of the pandemic

Showdown looms

A crisis over independence is on the horizon - and things could quickly get ugly, writes Paul Demarty

Quinlan or Vargas?

As a judicial inquiry commences into the surveillance of activist groups, Paul Demarty explains why the workers’ movement must fight to replace the police with a popular militia

Pyrrhic victory over populism

However clownish Donald Trump is in defeat, a far-right resurgence is on the cards, reckons Paul Demarty

Myths of unity and disunity

The EHRC report demonstrates the bankruptcy of the official Labour left’s appeasement of the right, argues Paul Demarty

No end in sight

Will a Biden victory break the far-right wave? Paul Demarty thinks the Covid-19 economic downturn will fuel irrationality

Eyes on exits

Paul Demarty examines the rising support for independence, and the tasks of the internationalist left

World looks on

Uncertainty about the American presidency makes for anxious times in every other country. Paul Demarty sees conflicts, breakdown and wars ahead

Break the cycle

It is understandable that many on the left will cast a vote for Joe Biden - but it is time for a decisive break with lesser-evilism, argues Paul Demarty

Vengeance and global order

The fates of two journalists have an ominous significance for the rest of us, argues Paul Demarty

A very unlikely story

Can anyone really believe that the US government is run by Satanist paedophiles? Paul Demarty investigates the QAnon phenomenon

Racism and jealous gods

Overweening taboos on certain slurs do nothing to aid our understanding of racism, argues Paul Demarty

Rapprochement in reverse

There is more to US-China tensions than Trump’s xenophobia, argues Paul Demarty

Woman bites dog

What was that about ‘western values’? Paul Demarty looks at the Shamima Begum case

Trouble at Fort Hood

As battles rage over Confederate symbols in the US military, Paul Demarty asks what the left has to learn

Double or quits

Donald Trump’s Mount Rushmore speech sets a belligerent tone for the rest of the presidential campaign, writes Paul Demarty

New bloodbath looms

We still do not know if or when it will happen, but the annexation of parts of the West Bank is not a contingent outcome, but the logical conclusion of Zionist colonialism, argues Paul Demarty

Garbage in, garbage out

Failure of the NHS tracing app is characteristic of the government’s pandemic response, argues Paul Demarty

The show must go on

As things restart in England, a new stage in the game’s financialisation is about to begin, argues Paul Demarty

An international explosion

Protests against police violence and structural disadvantage have erupted in country after country, but what happens next, asks Paul Demarty

Too smug to fail

The survival of Dominic Cummings is typical of the elite’s insulation from the pandemic, argues Paul Demarty

Rise of the Covidiots

How can pandemic-sceptics deny the reality in front of their eyes? Paul Demarty investigates

Their fables and ours

World War II is a breeding ground for comforting myths, argues Paul Demarty - for both the bourgeoisie and the left

Where is the strategy?

Support for a ‘global ceasefire’ is acceptable, argues Paul Demarty, but not if it obscures the causes of war

Shielding the powerful

Heavy-handed legal threats against Labour show up the real effects of data protection legislation, argues Paul Demarty

Defend Steve Hedley

RMT should immediately rescind the suspension of its assistant general secretary, argues Paul Demarty

Who will pay the price?

As a result of Covid-19, class divisions will become ever clearer, writes Paul Demarty

The ‘Blitz spirit’

Are we ‘all in it together’? Paul Demarty investigates

End of the line

Covid-19 has done away with Britain’s rail franchising system. Paul Demarty, for one, is not going to miss it.

Responding to catastrophe

Paul Demarty looks at the strengths, and limits, of the left’s response to the coronavirus.

Lessons being learned

Elements of the US left have at last awoken to the possibilities opened up by Bernie Sanders, writes Paul Demarty.

Still in denial

It is all very well for the SWP to condemn Weinstein, writes Paul Demarty, but what about the legacy of its own rape scandal?

‘Socialist’ frontrunner causes panic

America’s ‘ideologically pure’ presidential candidate actually fights back against the anti-Semitism smears, Paul Demarty reports.

Crisis at the top

Paul Demarty asks what the expulsion of Manchester City from Europe means for a sport married to mega money.

George’s marvellous medicine

The pro-Brexit Workers Party is a strange amalgam. But asks Paul Demarty, can it make an impact?

The Huawei panic and US decline

A dispute over the building of the UK’s 5G network exposes the ambiguous role of military competition in capitalist progress, argues Paul Demarty.

The new ‘party of order’

Paul Demarty asks what the Wuhan outbreak has to teach us about the political moment.

Curing the country of Prevent

The list of ‘extremist’ organisations subject to intervention under the Prevent strategy is laughable - but the consequences could be grave, warns Paul Demarty.

Preparing the ground for repression

Further scares about anti-Semitism are signs of the times, reckons Paul Demarty

State of the union

Paul Demarty anticipates a showdown over holding a second referendum and an independence bid.

Breeding ground for terrorists

The Tories’ populist response to the London Bridge attack is no surprise. But the relationship between the prison system and Islamist terrorism seems to be symbiotic, argues Paul Demarty.

What the critics are missing

Paul Demarty looks at the fallout from Roger Hallam’s invocation of the holocaust.

Cancel the monarchy

Andrew Windsor’s bizarre Newsnight interview should strengthen our resolve to fight for a democratic republic, argues Paul Demarty.

Not the end of history

With the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall bourgeois triumphalism feels more brittle than ever, says Paul Demarty.

Cure worse than the disease

The left should have no truck with clampdowns on the ‘abuse’ of politicians, argues Paul Demarty.

Another avoidable tragedy

Sickening scenes in Essex show the need for a working class response to the migration question, argues Paul Demarty.

Nationalist dead end

Paul Demarty examines the complex politics involved in the Catalan independence dispute.

Avoiding extinction for real

As the Met clamps down on Extinction Rebellion protests, Paul Demarty looks at the choices facing the movement

Where is Boris going?

America is changing, so Britain’s relationship with America must change, Paul Demarty investigates.

Being ruder than Boris

The left should have no time for establishment MPs and their worries about extreme language, argues Paul Demarty.

The party organ of the state

Paul Demarty comments on the retirement of John Humphrys from BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

No pacts, no coalitions

The willingness of the Labour leadership to bloc with Liberal Democrats, Scottish nationalists and Tory rebels is a mistake, argues Paul Demarty. It could easily presage a government of national unity.

Outmanoeuvred by Johnson

The left’s response to the prorogation of parliament betrays a shallow view of democracy, argues Paul Demarty.

We need a game plan

Protest politics always reach their limits and eventually fizzle out, argues Paul Demarty.

Island illusions

The political crisis in Hong Kong needs to be seen in the context of global politics, argues Paul Demarty.

Taaffe expels his majority

Paul Demarty reports on the finalisation of the split in the Committee for a Workers’ International.

Taaffe counts his shekels

The two sides in the CWI dispute are engaged in a tawdry wrangling over cash, writes Paul Demarty

Squandering the Legacy

SPEW is severing its ties with the PCS leadership - because of its political errors, argues Paul Demarty

Drop the dead donkey

Peter Taaffe’s determination to split his would-be international is yet more proof of his unfitness for leadership, argues Paul Demarty

Fetishising the web

The left needs a comprehensive, partyist approach to media, argues Paul Demarty

What will be left?

The split in the Committee for a Workers’ International ought to put paid to its delusions of grandeur, writes Paul Demarty

Fiasco nears conclusion

Peter Taaffe’s split-mongering shows that loyalty to him is the yardstick of orthodoxy in his ‘international’, argues Paul Demarty

The prosecutor’s fallacy

Boris Johnson is surely guilty of lying - but dishonesty in politics cannot be dealt with by the courts, argues Paul Demarty

Silent treatment

The failure of some left groups to back the Labour Party is the fruit of deep-rooted problems in method, argues Paul Demarty

BDS on the march and under fire

The witch hunt against those who campaign against Israeli settler-colonialism is unlikely to end any time soon, observes Paul Demarty

Making plans for Nigel

While the Brexit Party surges in the polls, too much of the left lines up with one or another faction of the bourgeoisie, says Paul Demarty

Lying about the elections

The Tories suffered a historic drubbing in the local elections, writes Paul Demarty. So how come Labour’s performance was portrayed as equally bad?

Anti-racism and ‘useful idiots’

The SWP remains trapped in its old bad habits - and never have they been more obviously counterproductive, reckons Paul Demarty

Taaffe demands a split

Further leaks from the CWI point to a parting of ways, writes Paul Demarty

No to extradition

Julian Assange’s arrest shows he is lined up for the same fate as Chelsea Manning, argues Paul Demarty

Whatever happened to the Lexit lads?

Life has driven the left advocates of Brexit into ever greater confusion, argues Paul Demarty

Taaffe goes for the throat

It is increasingly obvious that the crisis in the CWI is a lamentable attempt to force a split. Paul Demarty wonders who will fall for it, and whether the ‘tradition of the Militant’ is strong enough to survive

The government is missing

As the clock ticks down, nobody is meaningfully in charge, writes Paul Demarty

Bercow’s coup settles nothing

As the chaos continues, Paul Demarty considers the state of British ‘democracy’

Under pressure at home and abroad

Will Donald Trump survive his current difficulties? Only a fool would rule it out, argues Paul Demarty

A classic case of CIA subversion

Why is Juan Guaidó still at liberty? Paul Demarty diagnoses the lack of revolutionary backbone

From Bethnal Green to Baghuz

Sajid Javid has stripped Shamima Begum of her British citizenship - but there is a steadfast refusal to understand why she left in the first place, writes Paul Demarty

The spectre of socialism

Paul Demarty casts a critical eye over the rise of self-styled socialists in the Democratic Party

Next on Trump’s list

Events in Venezuela amount to an imperialist coup attempt - but the left still draws no lessons from the failures of the ‘Bolivarian revolution’. Paul Demarty investigates

Brexit in the balance

The Commons vote does not change the bigger picture, notes Paul Demarty

National government real danger

With Theresa May paralysed, neoliberal MPs are preparing to ‘take back control’. Paul Demarty looks at Britain’s unfolding constitutional crisis

May's deal is dead as a dodo

Paul Demarty asks what comes next after the crushing rejection of May’s Brexit deal by the Commons

Trump’s game of chicken

The president’s showdown with Congress has a ruthless logic, argues Paul Demarty

Limping towards the cliff-edge

The government holds together for now - but the problems of Brexit will prove inescapable, reckons Paul Demarty

May survives ... for the moment

She might have won a vote of confidence, but the UK faces a full-blown constitutional crisis, reckons Paul Demarty

Immigration: ignoring the problem

Fighting for open borders means facing up to the reality of mass migration, argues Paul Demarty

May's numbers don't add up

Escape from a no-confidence vote in the Tory Party will not save Theresa May’s Brexit plans, writes Paul Demarty - hence the renewed talk of a national government

Rewriting the constitution

As Trump gears up for 2020, Paul Demarty asks why America needs a president at all

Trump can still win in 2020

The midterm results will increase the tension in Washington, says Paul Demarty, presenting the left with dangers and opportunities

American midterms are an index of political crisis

And the left must ensure its candidates are accountable, writes Paul Demarty

Huddersfield and the causes of crime

There is more at stake than criminal justice in the latest grooming scandal, argues Paul Demarty

Brexit: more humiliation looms

The present terms of debate on Brexit represent paralysis, argues Paul Demarty - in the government, and on the left

With the grain of the times

Yet more scandals - but Trump stands firm. Paul Demarty urges a more radical reckoning with American politics

Still no way out

Paul Demarty watches the fur fly at the Birmingham conference

The poverty of left-remainers

Another humiliation for Theresa May; another ambiguous policy from Labour. But, says Paul Demarty, taking £70,000 from George Soros is the left’s very own road to disaster

Grovelling will not save you

No olive branch is big enough for the Labour right Paul Demarty wonders why the leadership keeps offering them

Boris rolls the dice

Boris Johnson’s burqa article is not a gaffe, but a political gamble, argues Paul Demarty

Imprisoned within the national

Comparisons with Donald Trump are dishonest - but that does not mean Corbyn’s industrial strategy will actually work, warns Paul Demarty

Telling lies about lies

Despite its claims, the Commons select committee is undermining democracy, writes Paul Demarty

Europe and the Trump Doctrine

If Donald Trump is such a disastrous president, why is America not suffering, wonders Paul Demarty?

The degaying of Pride

This year’s Pride parade was embroiled in controversy - a minor miracle, reckons Paul Demarty

No future for London

The third runway is not inevitable. It must be stopped, argues Paul Demarty

The bad old days

Are we going back to the 1930s? Tony Blair says this scenario “no longer seems far fetched”. But will Donald Trump save us? Paul Demarty thinks not

Gifts for the NHS

Theresa May’s narrow victory in the Commons is hardly a vote of confidence in her government, reckons Paul Demarty

The rag without qualities

Paul Demarty bids farewell to the most hated man on Fleet Street

Things to do when you’re dead

It is not only the Russian government which is putting around fake news, notes Paul Demarty

For your protection

The EU’s data protection law bodes ill for the internet’s anarchic side, argues Paul Demarty

Who remembers Marx?

Paul Demarty marks 200 years since the birth of the founder of scientific socialism

No way back to normality

The Stormy Daniels affair is more threatening to Trump than it might appear, writes Paul Demarty

That’s what they want

Who’s afraid of conspiracy theorists? Not Paul Demarty for one

In enemy hands

The barrage of lies about Labour’s anti-Semitism ‘problem’ shows we badly need an alternative labour movement media, argues Paul Demarty

Facebook crisis in context

Is the Cambridge Analytica scandal really all it is cracked up to be? Paul Demarty takes a closer look

Russian weapons

There is great fury about the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal - but Paul Demarty detects crocodile tears

Dacre and the ‘posh tankies’

Why is the Mail so shocked to discover aristocratic Marxists? Paul Demarty investigates

Negotiating with guns

Donald Trump’s tariffs are about politics, not economic renaissance, argues Paul Demarty

Charities and purity politics

As the Oxfam affair unfolds, Paul Demarty asks why the wave of sexual harassment scandals has given more ammunition to the right than the left

Further into farce

How much longer can Ukip limp on, wonders Paul Demarty?

Misrepresenting the people

Paul Demarty wonders what is left out of the centenary celebrations for the Representation of the People Act

Earthquakes and H-bombs

Paul Demarty reports on the heightening drama of US politics

All the president’s men

As the sexual harassment scandal continues to claim victims, Paul Demarty wonders how it will be brought back under control

Chuck Schumer’s long lunch

It is the paralysis of rightwing Democrats which the three-day government shutdown exposes, not the White House, argues Paul Demarty

Foundations in sand

Is poststructuralism purely a reaction to Stalinism? Paul Demarty responds to Rex Dunn

Fire in the hole

Paul Demarty reviews Michael Wolff Fire and fury: inside the Trump White House (Little, Brown 2018) pp336, £14.99

Back from the cliff edge

The last-minute deal between British and European negotiators has averted disaster for now - but settles very little, argues Paul Demarty

Negotiations end in chaos

Even if Theresa May manages to strong-arm Brexit negotiations to their next phase, there is a long way to go. Paul Demarty asks if she has the staying power

Protecting the northern flank

The right’s grip on the Scottish Labour Party is starting to slip, writes Paul Demarty. But there is a long way to go

May on the brink

As the resignations and scandals pile up, Paul Demarty wonders how long this dysfunctional government can last

Shutting out reality

The SWP has been dragged into the sexual harassment scandal. Paul Demarty revisits the case

Enough wishful thinking

The left must do better than acting as Puigdemont’s PR department, argues Paul Demarty

The negative-sum internet

Paul Demarty reviews: Angela Nagle, Kill all normies: the online culture wars from Tumblr and 4chan to the alt-right and Trump, Zero Books, 2017, pp120, £9.99

Six degrees of Harvey Weinstein

What does the downfall of one of the film industry’s most powerful men tell us? Paul Demarty investigates

Hanging on by a thread

While Theresa May has just about survived the Conservative Party conference, worse challenges lie ahead, reckons Paul Demarty

Dangerous games

There is a perverse rationality to the Spanish repression of the Catalan independence campaign, writes Paul Demarty

California über alles

Uber’s troubles in London are indicative of the brittleness of the Silicon Valley tech elite, argues Paul Demarty

Boris’s cunning plan

Foreign secretary will never be good enough for Boris Johnson, reckons Paul Demarty - but the top job is hardly guaranteed

Computer says no

Paul Demarty asks why we insist on treating our computers like gods

Our lady of the tabloids

Twenty years on, Britain is still not over the death of Diana Spencer. Paul Demarty investigates the cult of the ‘people’s princess’

Lord of chaos

Donald Trump’s reign is turning into a fiasco, writes Paul Demarty, who is concerned about his plans to regain the initiative

Get used to it

Attempts to insulate MPs from insults are laughable and doomed to failure, argues Paul Demarty

Enough Blairite bleating

Paul Demarty takes a look at the right’s latest moans - and notes SPEW’s continued refusal to join the battle on the side of the Labour left

Now let’s crush the Blairites

There is a greater opportunity than ever to break the grip of the right, argues Paul Demarty

May is not irreplaceable

More is needed than a removal van outside Number 10, argues Paul Demarty

Fire in Babylon

This is a disaster that results from decades of misrule, argues Paul Demarty

Bloodied, but not broken

Paul Demarty examines the media’s role in May’s humiliation

Bitter taste of victory

Can Ukip recover from its present decline? Paul Demarty thinks not

Scandal fails to take hold

Jeremy Corbyn seems to have survived attacks on his historic links with Irish republicans, but his response was still weak, argues Paul Demarty

Pensioners sidelined by atrocity

The Tory manifesto’s attacks on the elderly is no longer in the headlines - but Paul Demarty wonders why such risks were taken

The roads to Wannacry

How could an amateurish cyber-attack take down the NHS? Paul Demarty dons his black hat

No concessions

The French left must overcome its panic and maintain its opposition to the dysfunctional capitalist establishment, argues Paul Demarty

Total intellectual collapse

Theresa May’s snap election exposes the political bankruptcy of the far left, argues Paul Demarty

Playing dangerous games

Donald Trump’s swaggering brinksmanship is a reminder of the fragility of the global order, argues Paul Demarty

Digging our own hole

The left itself must take some responsibility for the Ken Livingstone debacle, argues Paul Demarty

Diversionary dead end

The Socialist Party’s decision to stand candidates in May is delusional, argues Paul Demarty

Understanding Khalid Masood

We cannot explain atrocities like the Westminster attack through individual psychology, argues Paul Demarty

Trebles all round

George Osborne’s appointment as Evening Standard editor is a textbook illustration of establishment corruption, argues Paul Demarty

Hammond’s self-employed U-turn

The Tories know that they have to preserve the middle classes, argues Paul Demarty

Divisions over unity

Squabbles in the British anti-Trump campaign say much about the forces involved, reckons Paul Demarty - and little of it good

At war with fourth estate

The left needs more weapons in its armoury than street demonstrations, argues Paul Demarty

Deep opposition

Who is out to get Donald Trump? Paul Demarty goes in search of the American deep state

It ain’t necessarily so

Who fears ‘fake news’ - and what is their own relation to the truth? Paul Demarty pulls apart the current hysteria

Will France be next?

As the ruling circles take in the election of a right-populist US president, Paul Demarty looks at the rightwing threat within Europe

Don’t shit where you eat

Theresa May is only one of many people put in an awkward position by Donald Trump’s travel bans, argues Paul Demarty

Yet more retreats

Backpedalling will not save Jeremy Corbyn, argues Paul Demarty

Election season is on

Divisions are multiplying in the cabinet - but it would be foolish to underestimate the strength of Theresa May’s position, argues Paul Demarty

Gestures at top, gestures at bottom

Donald Trump is lurching between conciliation and wild provocations, writes Paul Demarty

An icon, but not a model

Revolutionary, dictator - or both? Paul Demarty remembers Fidel Castro

New era taking shape

Donald Trump’s early cabinet nominations are in line with his conspiratorial rightism. Paul Demarty assesses the reaction

Different next time

Donald Trump’s victory is a blow for the nationalist right - but hardly an irreversible one, argues Paul Demarty

A richly deserved defeat

Trump’s victory is an indictment of shallow American liberalism, and it is time for the left to detach itself from it, argues Paul Demarty

Sow the wind, reap the windbag

Donald Trump is a symptom of the sickness of American politics - but the likes of Hillary Clinton are the cause, argues Paul Demarty

Criticise, don’t boycott

Some on the left still want to boycott the Socialist Workers Party - and they are still wrong, argues Paul Demarty

Opening shots of next election

Paul Demarty looks at Theresa May’s conversion to red Toryism

Snapping the olive branch

With Corbyn about to be re-elected as Labour leader, Paul Demarty despairs at talk of peace offerings

Media: old and new

What is the impact of technology on the mass media? How can the left overcome its marginality in the public discourse? Should we trust Google searches? Paul Demarty addressed the past, present and future of the media at this year’s Communist University

For the love of god, go

Ed Balls urges the right not to split - but Paul Demarty wonders if they have a choice

Pseudo-secularism on the beach

The petty cruelty of the French burqini bans stems from an elite looking for scapegoats, writes Paul Demarty

Voting for the right lizard

Who’s afraid of president Trump? Not Paul Demarty

State department socialists

In the wake of the Chilcot inquiry, Paul Demarty remembers that it was not merely the Blairites who put faith in the benevolence of American power

Fear, confusion and delusions

Left responses to the referendum result vary from despondency to total exuberance. Both are misplaced, argues Paul Demarty

Abuse of a corpse

We should not be blind to the corruption at the heart of bourgeois politics, argues Paul Demarty

Corbyn and the media trap

Labour should stop basing its strategy on appealing to the media - it will fail, argues Paul Demarty

A threat laid low

Once considered a dangerous radical and traitor, Muhammad Ali died an establishment hero. Paul Demarty wonders what this says about our era

Stop treating people like idiots

Paul Demarty surveys the latest output of ‘Project Fear’ - so you don’t have to

Life in the bubble

Paul Demarty argues that the growing culture of brittle denunciations only hurts the left

Collective amnesia

The job of the left is to learn from past errors, not succumb to fanboyism, argues Paul Demarty

Fixer turns chancer

Sadiq Khan has wasted no time positioning himself for the Labour leadership, notes Paul Demarty

A shameful retreat

It is time the Labour leadership realise that no amount of grovelling will spare them nightmares like the ‘anti-Semitism’ smear scandal, argues Paul Demarty

Rising to the heights and beyond

What is art and can it survive? Paul Demarty investigates

Openness is a weapon

The Weekly Worker’s commitment to open reporting on the affairs of the labour movement is not a fetish, but a political necessity, argues Paul Demarty

Drawing lines of distinction

We need to look beyond 2020, urges Paul Demarty

A bureaucrat’s tool

Imogen Wilson’s predicament is a timely reminder that ‘safe spaces’ policies are anti-democratic and a gift to the right, argues Paul Demarty

In disarray and retreat

The budget fiasco is a perfect illustration of the contradictions at the heart of the modern Tory Party, argues Paul Demarty

Left wing of Zionism

Recent smears of ‘anti-Semitism’ against the left are an echo of similar allegations emanating from within the left, argues Paul Demarty

A carnival of reaction

Neither side in the EU referendum campaign deserves leftwing support, argues Paul Demarty

Cameron’s chauvinist chicanery

The forthcoming EU referendum is a contest between reactionary forces, argues Paul Demarty

Missiles and meetings

Paul Demarty asks if the Labour left can press home its advantage

And the band played on

As Chinese woes once again spread throughout the world economy, Paul Demarty wonders what could shake the complacency of the bourgeoisie

Confront, intimidate, deselect

The 66 rebel Labour MPs are traitors. Do not be fooled by their crocodile tears, warns Paul Demarty

Bringing the bullies low

The curious tale of Elliott Johnson tells us something about capitalist society, argues Paul Demarty

A missed opportunity

Left unity continues to dodge the issue of its constitution, writes Paul Demarty

Choosing between two cultures

Paul Demarty says we have the opportunity to organise in a radically democratic fashion

Nice guys finish last

Battle lines are being drawn in the Labour Party, writes Paul Demarty

Don’t panic

It has been a bad week for the left in the Labour Party, says Paul Demarty. But the right will fight

Action requires organisation

Counterposing activism to Labour Party work is a mug’s game, argues Paul Demarty

Pitfalls of Corbynomics

While the right is aghast at Jeremy Corbyn’s economic plans, Paul Demarty wonders just how radical they really are

Signs of desperation

The largest organisations of the far left still cannot get their heads around the Corbyn campaign, laments Paul Demarty

Solidarity, not sectionalism

Paul Demarty looks at the chauvinist backlash against the Calais migrants

No escaping sordid history

The queen’s Nazi salute exposes the British establishment’s modern myths, writes Paul Demarty

Everything to play for

Jeremy Corbyn is looking more and more like a winner in the leadership race - much to the anger of the right. Paul Demarty reports

More impotent fearmongering

Ten years after the July 7 bombings, our rulers have learned nothing, writes Paul Demarty

Stop digging, Peter

How has SPEW responded to Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership bid? Incompetently, Paul Demarty discovers

A night in the uncanny valley

Harley Filben finds the first Labour leadership debate disturbing and encouraging in equal measure

Fight for a political alternative

The June 20 national demonstration should be seen as an opportunity to build something more permanent, argues Paul Demarty

Legalise the lot

The Tories think it is a good idea to put a blanket ban on legal highs. Paul Demarty wants some of what they’re smoking

Their corruption and ours

Paul Demarty is shocked - shocked! - to discover financial impropriety at the top of world football

The Goldsmiths ideology

The rightwing press campaign against Bahar Mustafa puts the parlous state of student politics under the spotlight, writes Paul Demarty

A wasteful dead-end

Left Unity should not agree to stand under the Tusc banner, argues Paul Demarty

Aspiring to what?

Blairites are flying the flag for ‘aspiration’ - a subject about which they know nothing, argues Paul Demarty

Court protects Labour corruption

After Lutfur Rahman’s removal as Tower Hamlets mayor, Paul Demarty calls for authentic local democracy

A simulacrum of Thatcherism

Paul Demarty is unimpressed by David Cameron’s housing policy, and calls for serious thinking on the left

Swept along by the moment

In the name of cuddling up to the Greens, Socialist Resistance warns about the dangers of the ‘ultra-left’. Paul Demarty objects

Headlong into a trap

After Socialist Resistance’s bungled intervention into transgender politics, Paul Demarty calls for serious debate - not trolling and trigger warnings

Secrets and lies

The left supports freedom of information and condemns trials where the public are barred. However, what passes for justice in our movement often leaves much to be desired, writes Paul Demarty

A tale of two Alexes

The Greek government is slowly retreating in the face of euro zone intransigence. But it may not be enough to stave off ‘Grexit’, argues Paul Demarty - not that that bothers some on the left

A test of seriousness

Paul Demarty examines responses to the seven questions posed by the Communist Platform to Left Unity candidates, and wonders why many are so reluctant to respond in good faith

A tactical embarrassment

Nobody comes out of the leaders’ debates farce in good shape, argues Paul Demarty

Corrupt through and through

Politicians are not the only people in power looking to make a quick buck, reckons Paul Demarty

The new normal

As Denmark becomes the latest staging ground for Islamist atrocities, Paul Demarty asks how the left can confront the growth of religious reaction

No more Herr Nice Guy

Only the presence of strong international solidarity can be the basis for opposing capitalism, writes Paul Demarty

A game of chicken

Who will blink first - Alexis Tsipras or Angela Merkel? Possibly neither, worries Paul Demarty

Honeymoon or hangover?

Initial euphoria on the left at the electoral victory of Syriza has given way to mixed feelings, notes Paul Demarty - but little sign of rethinking

Technology and terror

State antsiness about the ‘dark web’ reveals profound contradictions, argues Paul Demarty

Qui est Charlie?

Paul Demarty asks, who exactly is Charlie?

An abuse of power

Whatever the truth of allegations against Andrew Windsor, the Jeffrey Epstein case paints a grim picture of the top of society, reckons Paul Demarty

Reabsorbing solidarity

The 1914 Christmas truce has been thoroughly sanitised by the establishment, argues Paul Demarty

A people’s history of heckling

Attempts to ban heckling are designed to disempower the weak, argues Paul Demarty

Non-historic people

The Radical Independence Campaign wants to hold the SNP to account. Who are they kidding? asks Paul Demarty

Abstention and organisation

The Communist Platform abstained on many motions put to conference. Paul Demarty explains why

Left Unity: Funny goings-on

Some members of Left Unity are too quick to throw in the towel, reckons Paul Demarty

A pseudo-democratic caricature

The problem is not the House of Lords’ London bias, or even its unelected character: there should be no second chamber, argues Paul Demarty

Cometh the Brand?

Russell Brand’s anarchistic leftism is sincere enough, but his unlikely importance speaks volumes about the left’s weakness, says Paul Demarty

A dangerous game

David Cameron’s appeasement of the Eurosceptic right could backfire dramatically, warns Paul Demarty

UKIP: Something to smile about

Last week’s by-elections have proved once and for all that Nigel Farage and his party are a force to be reckoned with, notes Paul Demarty

Holes in the balance sheet

As the general election approaches, Paul Demarty wonders what happened to the left’s ebullient predictions four years ago

No clean hands

Some are gunning for principal speaker Bianca Todd. Paul Demarty wonders what exactly they hope to achieve

Proceeds of crime

The referendum exposed the economism of what still passes for the left, argues Paul Demarty

How justice works

Deep pockets, global fame and the lack of jury trials are prone to produce outrageous results, argues Paul Demarty

Sex, drugs and R&D

There are lies, damned lies, and headline economic statistics, writes Paul Demarty

Rotherham: A systemic failure

The Rotherham sexual abuse scandal reveals profound weaknesses in bourgeois society’s treatment of vulnerable people, writes Paul Demarty

Morning Star: Nothing to see here

A journalist’s angry resignation has been followed immediately by the departure of its editor and company secretary. Paul Demarty doesn’t believe in coincidences

Only an Arab revolution can liberate Palestine

Neither a one-state nor a two-state ‘solution’ can be achieved under the current balance of forces, writes Paul Demarty

Lack of style over substance

Miliband’s plea for less superficiality in politics is, itself, a superficial publicity stunt - and, reckons Paul Demarty, a stupid one at that

Cameron shuffles to the right

The Tory reshuffle sees David Cameron shoring up his right flank in the run-up to the 2015 general election, writes Paul Demarty

Socialism and bear-baiting

Socialist Worker’s gloating over Horatio Chapple’s death is crass and cruel, writes Paul Demarty. But it is also a product of political weaknesses

Treating people like toy soldiers results in frivolous politics

Alex Callinicos is trying to talk about strategy and patience, but his tongue is tied by his organisation’s disastrous errors, argues Paul Demarty

Confidentiality is a bosses’ tool

Left Unity should not deal with internal disputes through setting up secret trials, argues Paul Demarty

Left Unity: A matter of political health

Unity requires freedom to criticise, argues Paul Demarty

The Peter principle

It is past time for SPEW members to start questioning the strategic acumen of their leadership, argues Paul Demarty

May 22: Reaction on the march

Good results for Ukip, and a lukewarm reception for Labour - Paul Demarty argues that the election results exemplify society’s rightward drift

Ukraine: Economistic wishful thinking

There is far more at stake than wages, says Paul Demarty

Left Unity: Keeping disagreements hidden

Left Unity’s press release about Gerry Adams illustrates the fragility of its political method, argues Paul Demarty

Left unity: Playing happy families

The protracted regroupment talks between Socialist Resistance, the International Socialist Network and others continue; as does their political confusion, writes Paul Demarty

Birmingham schools panic: Horses for courses

The Birmingham school panic is an ironic product of post-Thatcher Britain, writes Paul Demarty

Circling the drain

The Co-op faces demutualisation by a thousand cuts, argues Paul Demarty

Rightwing press rocks the boat

Maria Miller and Nick Clegg suffer for the benefit of reactionary media moguls, writes Paul Demarty

Gay marriage: The road from the margins

The legalisation of gay marriage is a victory for sexual freedom - but, in this society, a fragile one, argues Paul Demarty

The internet in the epoch of decline

Extravagant revolutionary claims are made for new digital media and the technological avant-garde. The truth, argues Paul Demarty, is more complicated

Tony Benn: The moderate extremist

Paul Demarty examines the legacy of a tireless champion of the Labour left

Harriet Harman: More manufactured hysteria

As the Daily Mail smears Labour MPs for links to paedophiles - Paul Demarty wonders whether it doth protest too much

CWI: A bureaucratic farce

The anti-Keynesian dissident, Bruce Wallace, has been suspended, reports Paul Demarty

Labour: Another Blairite collaborator

Paul Demarty wonders why Sally Morgan of Ofsted was allowed to collaborate with Gove in the first place

ISNetwork: Bondage and bigotry

The International Socialist Network has split - over a work of art. Paul Demarty is bemused

Divisive incorporation

Paul Demarty on the latest attempts by politicians to assert that 'We're all middle class now'

Immigration: Chauvinist demagoguery

Paul Demarty looks at the poisonous bilge of our native reactionaries

Nick Griffin: A rat on a sinking ship

The collapsing British National Party is the victim of its own contradictions, not anti-fascism, writes Paul Demarty

Left Unity: Establishing freedom to criticise

Paul Demarty looks at the constitutional fallout for Left Unity post-conference

Labour and political scabbing

Defending the union link as it is falls short of the needs of the working class, argues Paul Demarty

Tories: Unite in the crosshairs

The right’s crusade against Britain’s biggest union continues, reports Paul Demarty

Phone hacking: Establishment still in dock

The problem is not ‘irresponsible gutter journalism’, argues Paul Demarty

AWL: Siege mentality

Conference is where political differences should be debated out. Paul Demarty reports on an exception

Left culture: Nutters like us

Till the left starts to make headway, get used to being viewed as mad, writes Paul Demarty

The ballad of Tommy Robinson

The left is in the habit of not thinking, notes Paul Demarty. Nowhere more so than when it comes to the far right

Daily Mail: Fear of everything

After its latest brush with notoriety, Paul Demarty examines the Daily Mail

Left culture: Politics for dummies

Paul Demarty asks why so many on the left are afraid of talking politics

Safe spaces: Conway-Hudson school of censorship

Paul Demarty defends the idea of free speech on the left

Socialist Platform: Politics of prejudice

The fear of political groups and impatience with political meetings on display at the Socialist Platform’s first national meeting are deeply linked - and politically pernicious, argues Paul Demarty

Left Unity: Playing it safe

Everyone involved in producing Left Unity’s proposed ‘safe space’ policy should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves, argues Paul Demarty

Syria: War bid hits buffers

The UK will not be taking part in any punishment strikes on Syria for now, but the threat of imperialist intervention remains, writes Paul Demarty

China: Populism and plutocracy

The trial of Bo Xilai reveals contradictions at the top of Chinese society, argues Paul Demarty

Manning conviction: A sick parody of justice

The conviction of Bradley Manning shows the need to abolish state secrecy, argues Paul Demarty

God of the gaps

Justin Welby is a hypocrite, but his credit union plans are a symptom of the decline of the workers’ movement, argues Paul Demarty

SWP: Opposition flexes its muscles

The ‘leadership’ got its disciplinary vote, writes Paul Demarty. But then it pathetically backed down

Socialist Party/CWI: Rudeness and revolution

The Committee for a Workers’ International should not insist on micro-managing debates, argues Paul Demarty

EDL: Oxygen of stupidity

Socialist Worker complains that the BBC is giving the English Defence League publicity - a bit rich, reckons Paul Demarty

AWL school: Missing the point

Paul Demarty shares some brief thoughts on a session dedicated to debating the IS/SWP and its history

Militarisation of cyberspace gathers speed

Tensions between China and the US over cyber-security are a reminder of the hidden dangers of the information age, writes Paul Demarty

Far right on the march

The chauvinist atmosphere in the wake of the Lee Rigby murder has thrown the British far right into the spotlight. Paul Demarty assesses the balance of forces

Woolwich: A pretext for state repression

The murder of a soldier highlights the irrationality of bourgeois politics - but also the failure of the left, argues Paul Demarty

Tories: Return of the repressed

For the first time, this coalition government looks structurally unsound - but its collapse would shift politics to the right, argues Paul Demarty

AWL: Pull the other one

In response to Left Unity, the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty has sent a counter-proposal to most of the far-left organisations. Paul Demarty replies

Ukip success: Not just a protest vote

Ukip’s success at the county council elections reflects its voters’ prejudices, but also long-term alienation from official bourgeois politics, argues Paul Demarty

SWP no-platformed: Self-inflicted injury

The annual Marxism festival is running short of big names - but the SWP has encouraged the culture of boycotting problematic people, argues Paul Demarty

Gender quotas: The two souls of tokenism

The gender imbalance in left groups cannot be cured by bureaucratic means, argues Paul Demarty

Feminism: The world of women, like the world of men, is divided

Paul Demarty calls for the unity of men and women in the fight for the self-liberation of the working class

Leveson and media: Long live the free press

It is possible that the new press regulations will be dead on arrival - and just as well, writes Paul Demarty

SWP and no platform: Meanwhile, in the real world ...

The intensifying feminist offensive against the far left is the bitter fruit of our collective political mistakes, argues Paul Demarty

SWP and feminism: Rape is not the problem

Red-baiting and feminist attacks on the SWP must be resisted, in spite of everything, argues Paul Demarty

SWP special conference: Divided they fall

The Socialist Workers Party leadership is attempting to divide the opposition. Taking the bait would be suicide, reckons Paul Demarty

SWP crisis: Silence of the lambs

The ‘softly, softly’ approach of the Socialist Workers Party opposition contrasts with the leadership’s aggression, argues Paul Demarty

SWP crisis: Lynch mobs and lèse-majesté

The Socialist Workers Party leadership is fighting a dirty war. Unfortunately, writes Paul Demarty, nobody seems to have told the opposition

SWP crisis: Twilight of the idols

The central committee has once again failed to reassert control. But dirty tricks are inevitable, writes Paul Demarty

Left press and the SWP: The dog that didn’t bark

The silence of significant sections of the left on the Socialist Workers Party crisis is a symptom of sectarianism, argues Paul Demarty

SWP crisis: Professor Callinicos and the dark side

Finally a member of the SWP central committee attempts to defend its conduct. Paul Demarty wishes he hadn’t bothered

SWP opposition: Seymour in Greece

He may have been propelled to the vanguard of the SWP opposition - but it is not immediately clear what Richard Seymour’s politics actually are. Paul Demarty looks for clues

SWP crisis: Opposition emboldened as demand for recall grows

The leadership can no longer lead - but a positive outcome to the crisis requires more than the removal of the entire CC, argues Paul Demarty

SWP conference: Comrades in the SWP, rebel!

The central committee was delivered a body blow at this weekend’s conference - but for dissidents the fight must go on, argues Paul Demarty

Gay marriage: Compromising with bigots

The marriage equality law is now a shambles - because David Cameron’s government is hostage to incorrigible reactionaries, argues Paul Demarty

Starbucks tax: A system built for playing

The Starbucks tax fiasco tells us much more about Britain than greedy corporations, reckons Paul Demarty

Leveson report: The dog that didn’t bark

The recommendations of the Leveson report are worse than the status quo, argues Paul Demarty - but not by much

Women Bishops & CofE: Irrelevant? If only

The Church of England’s failure to accept women bishops is embarrassing, but solutions short of disestablishment are absurd, argues Paul Demarty

BBC crisis: Child abuse and desperate diversions

Sections of the bourgeois press are attempting to conceal their own crisis by hammering the BBC, writes Paul Demarty

Obama election: Return of a rational reactionary

The absence of a viable working class alternative means American voters are treated as fools, argues Paul Demarty

Tories: Revenge of the nasty party

David Cameron once liked to pose as a compassionate Conservative, writes Paul Demarty. But no longer

Scotland: Independence from what?

The Scottish National Party’s support for Nato confirms Alex Salmond as a canny bourgeois politician, argues Paul Demarty

Jimmy Savile: Establishment’s dirty little secret

The establishment furore over the Jimmy Savile scandal has more to it than is being let on, reports Paul Demarty

NUS: Unreason all the way down

The National Union of Students no-platforms George Galloway, Galloway sues the NUS, the left talks nonsense throughout and Paul Demarty wonders what the hell is going on

One nation: Labour turns blue

Ed Miliband invoked the legacy of Benjamin Disraeli in order to embrace the agenda of Blue Labour, argues Paul Demarty

Remorse and retrenchment

The big story from the Liberal Democrat conference is Nick Clegg’s apology for raising student fees - but his party is as wedded to the Tories as ever, argues Paul Demarty

Handling the truth

Establishment mea culpas over Hillsborough have shocked many - but there are more skeletons in the closet, writes Paul Demarty

Pushing the button

The Julian Assange furore is about war, not sex, argues Paul Demarty

A textbook paranoid narcissist

As Julian Assange divides a confused left, Paul DeMarty seeks clarity

Honour among thieves

Recent frictions in the Tory-Lib Dem coalition are an object lesson in the cynicism of bourgeois politics, argues Paul Demarty

Where’s the action?

The Tory-Lib Dem government has not produced a spike in industrial action, notes Paul Demarty. So what should be made of the left’s strike fetishism?

Where is the left?

As Syria descends into bloody chaos, confusion lingers on, writes Paul Demarty

Another American tragedy

Paul Demarty takes a look at the confused issue of arms in the USA

Olympics and the perversion of sport

Are the Olympics the high point of a sporting religion? Harley Filben investigates

The appeal of Syriza

The left continues to squabble over the merits of the Coalition of the Radical Left in Greece - but, argues Paul Demarty, both sides miss the point

Diamond in the rough

The latest scandal to hit the banking sector could become truly explosive, writes Paul Demarty

The school as straitjacket

Michael Gove's plans to ditch GCSE exams are socially regressive - but, writes Paul Demarty, so is the obsession with examinations itself

Taking up extreme opposition

The victory of the troika's patsies in the Greek elections should be met with determined class resistance - across Europe, argues Paul Demarty

Be careful what you wish for

As the next Greek elections loom, Paul Demarty takes a look at the lines being taken by the left and the current controversy in the SWP

None of the above

Calling on Egyptians to vote for the Muslim Brotherhood is insane, argues Paul Demarty

How to learn nothing

The emergence of a programme from the Occupy movement has caused a flurry of debate on the ACI website, Paul Demarty decides to join in

Syriza in the spotlight

For a long time it was almost unknown outside Greece - but now the world's eyes are on Syriza. Paul Demarty examines the new thorn in the troika's side

The abuse of abuse

It is the social decay caused by capitalism, not race, that leads to acts of horror, says Paul Demarty.

Round one to Miliband

Labour is obviously pleased with the outcome of last week's local elections - but the government is not as weak as it looks, writes Paul Demarty

Murdoch bites back

The News International owner has his moment of revenge on David Cameron writes Paul Demarty - but the establishment is the real victim

Crisis and creeping despair

From the killing spree by a lucid yet paranoid Anders Breivik to the increase in private and public suicides in austerity Europe Paul Demarty asks, what is capitalism doing to our minds?

Charities up in alms

George Osborne's tax changes have been criticised for threatening charity in this country - if only, laments Paul Demarty

The creep of the secret state

Paul Demarty takes a look at the latest moves towards greater state monitoring of electronic communication

Racism as thoughtcrime

In the light of the jailing of Liam Stacey for making racist comments on twitter about footballer and recent heart attack victim Fabrice Muamba , Paul Demarty takes a look at official ant-racism and the attitude of Marxists.

The long view

Communists must be patient, writes Paul Demarty, avoiding the twins of opportunism and adventurism

Fur flies over Lenin

What has the debate over 1912 got to do with current communist practice? James Turley answers the philistines

Occupational hazards

As the St Paul's protest camp continues its transformation into a respectable pressure group with mainstream support, James Turley draws a few lessons

Silencing voices

Workers Power is again embroiled in internal disputes. James Turley asks why it insists on hiding its internal differences

Syria: In imperialist sights

With Syria in the sights of the imperialists and the bourgeois media, James Turley wonders where the Left and anti-war movement is.

Murdoch fights back

Despite the imminent launch of a sunday edition of The Sun the relationship between the press and the politicians will not quite be the same, says James Turley

Free Abu-Qatada

The rights and freedoms of Abu Qatada must be protected, no matter how politcally odious he personally may be, says James Turley.

Better dead than Fred

The recent bout of hand-wringing over bankers' bonuses conforms to the general pattern of bourgeois hypocrisy, argues James Turley

Taking the Chinese road

This week, Dilma Rousseff, the president of Brazil, makes her first state visit to Cuba. James Turley sees another step from Stalinism to capitalism.

Science and the square wheel

James Turley is not impressed by the resurfacing of 'male aggression' myths

Climax of tartan nationalism

The Scottish independence referendum is a choice between Westminster and Berlin, argues James Turley - yet the left offers no alternative to nationalist illusions

A load of old balls

Racism persists in society - but, as recent scandals show, serious analysis has been replaced by moral hysteria, argues James Turley

Cameron in the court of King James

The prime minister's speech on the King James Bible ticks every reactionary box going, argues James Turley

The other worlds of sci-fi and fantasy

How do science-fiction and fantasy help us understand reality? James Turley investigates

Europe and the delusions of leftwing nationalism

David Cameron's veto is a dangerous blunder, argues James Turley - so why does the left reproduce Tory stupidity on the EU?

Islamist election successes have lessons for left

Socialists need to play the long game, argues James Turley

Nothing to contribute

The Durban conference on climate change is likely to be even more useless than its predecessors - James Turley argues it is time to serve notice on capital's stewardship of the environment

Democracy against capitalism

The ascension of self-styled technocrats to political power is the latest proof that capitalism is antithetical to democracy, argues James Turley

Carrot and stick

Francis Maude's idiotic '15-minute strike' suggestion reveals a disquiet at the heart of the government, argues James Turley

Patriotism and pyromania

Police action against 'poppy-burners' reveals the murky chauvinist undercurrent to Remembrance Day, argues James Turley

Waking the dead

A Tory MEP has attracted derision for his loopy beliefs in the paranormal - but he is merely the tip of an iceberg of absurd mumbo-jumbo, argues James Turley

An inconvenient execution

The death of Gaddafi will not bring freedom to Libya, argues James Turley

A global act of refusal

The Occupy movement has energised politics, writes James Turley. But we must face up to the limits of spontaneity

Guarding the chicken coop

James Turley looks at the unfolding Liam Fox scandal

Cuts and cat-fights

The Conservative Party's annual conference produced a lot of empty rhetoric, a few concessions for the right and one clanger from the front benches, writes James Turley - but no surprises

Shoot the messenger

Bourgeois political power is not as unassailable as they would like us to think. Our rulers can be relied upon, periodically, to split. James Turley looks at the botched attempt of the Metropolitan Police to use the Official Secrets Act

Double standards

James Turley examines the atrocities in Basra

Ten years of blood and fire

The anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks coincides with a resurgence in 'liberal interventionism'. James Turley evaluates the bloody harvest of both

Fall of desperate regime

Anti-imperialism does not equal pro-Gaddafi, argues James Turley

Labour debate: repackaging of a tenuous argument

James Turley responds to Chris Strafford

A regulator with teeth: are you crazy?

There is no ahistorical code of 'press ethics' which can come out of this farrago, writes James Turley

Politics of press freedom

Rather than relying on bureaucratic solutions, argues James Turley, the left needs a dynamic approach to the media

Death in Wapping

The News of the World scandal has revealed the true relationship between the media and politicians, writes James Turley

Scotland: Independence fight looms

Scotland is not an oppressed nation, declares James Turley

Real attempt to learn the lessons

The 'Towards a New International Tendency' statement marks a step forward, notes James Turley

Nato paralysis and US decline

No candidate to replace the USA exists or looks likely to arise, writes James Turley

The Red Mist descends

James Turley introduces a new cultural website

Real democracy needs organisation

Collective discipline is absolutely fundamental to majoritarian politics, writes James Turley

Faith, flag, family, socialism?

'Blue Labour' is the latest fad to enrapture the leadership of the Labour Party. James Turley probes into its appeal for 'Red' Ed

Democracy against 'privacy'

The wooden spoon goes to the Alliance for Workers' Liberty, writes James Turley

Hacks versus celebrities

James Turley argues that a whole cultural-ideological system needs to be overcome

Who's afraid of George Galloway?

The open letter urging no vote for the Coalition Against Cuts list was understandable, but badly wrong, writes James Turley

Fighting Stalinism politically

James Turley responds to Paul B Smith

The fall of the Murdoch empire?

As the News of the World phone-hacking scandal grows, the corruption underlying the bourgeois state becomes ever more obvious, argues James Turley

Intervention, not incoherent abstention

James Turley replies to critics of the CPGB's project to transform the Labour Party

No united front with Gaddafi

Those who are waiting for a 'pure' opposition will wait forever, writes James Turley

Arm the movement with Marxist politics

James Turley reports on a good day in the fight to build resistance to the coalition's austerity

You are useful idiots

The imperialist assault on Libya has rallied many on the liberal and socialist left in its defence. James Turley argues that this makes an anti-imperialist perspective even more urgently necessary

No more Fukushimas

Technology is not socially neutral, declares James Turley

Cracks in state apparatus

We have to face the full social role of the police squarely, writes James Turley

Another nail in the coffin

Political oblivion looms large, writes James Turley

No champions of democracy

David Cameron's gun-toting trade tour is a much-needed reminder of imperialism's real interest in the Middle East, writes James Turley

Despised by the Tory right

James Turley says that Kenneth Clarke is telling his party exactly what it does not want to hear

Renewing solidarity

James Turley reports on the annual conference of Hands Off the People of Iran

Divisive dead-end

Should the left 'defend multiculturalism'? James Turley looks at the reactions to David Cameron's weekend speech

Ruling sexism offside

James Turley argues that those wishing to rid the world of the sexist idiocy of Andy Gray and Richard Keyes must set their sights higher

The pull to the left

Ed Ball's promotion to shadow chancellor gives Labour the Keynesian option, argues James Turley

Masses in revolt

The people have succeeded in sending one dictatorial president packing. But the old regime remains intact. James Turley argues for a pan-Arab revolution led by the working class

Against the politics of purity

There is certainly no way around Labourism, argues James Turley

Extended rally gives leadership free rein

The central committee brushed differences under the carpet at the Socialist Workers Party annual conference. James Turley reports

The fear of unity

Eager for ammunition, the SWP has delighted in the NSSN's looming split. James Turley reports

The second death of Liberal England

The weakness of the Liberal Democrats benefits the Tories more than the workers' movement, argues James Turley

Police kettle student protestors yet again

James Turley discusses the critical problem of organisation in the student movement

Harness the anger: the anti-cuts movement we need

James Turley looks ahead to the Coalition of Resistance conference and warns against the lack of democracy and a clear programme

After Millbank: the way forward

Communists have no truck with cowardly and hypocritical condemnations, writes James Turley

The two souls of socialism

Trade union politics was the main dish at Socialism 2010, the Socialist Party's annual school. James Turley reports

The lying game

Yes, Phil Woolas lied through his teeth - but they all do, including the Liberal Democrats. Eddie Ford looks at the Oldham East ruling

Snub to Labour machine

Lutfur Rahman has garnered support from some sections of the left, writes James Turley

No united front here

Unfortunately for Clegg, Osborne has not managed to get away with it, argues James Turley

Osborne the butcher

Cuts campaigns should move towards unity, says James Turley

The history boys

We need to go beyond liberal criticisms of Tory and neo-Liberal views of history, writes James Turley

Divided we stand

We have better solutions, asserts James Turley

The band played on

Lib Dems are underwriting a government of crisis, writes James Turley

Slow death of Cuban 'socialism'

The capitalist road is the only one open to an isolated Cuba, writes James Turley

Strike back against the empire

Place newspapers in the hands of journalists and printworkers, demands James Turley

Trouble in the fourth estate

Murdoch, Coulson, et al are being handled with kid gloves, writes James Turley

Not so green shoots

Capitalism will survive until it is consciously overthrown, writes James Turley

Expel the collaborators

James Turley questions the nature of Labour as an organisation

Open the books - end state secrecy

Wikileaks tip of iceberg, writes James Turley

Coalition threatens Lib Dems with oblivion

The 'Brokeback' speech by David Davis casts light on the possible demise of the Liberal Democrats in the 2015 general election, argues James Turley

Old cuts, new packaging

James Turley exposes Cameron's 'Big Society' lie

Keep off our turf

James Turley critiques the SWP's proprietorial culture

Seeking out a path to the right

Marxism 2010 provided, among the usual array of celebrity guest speakers in the 101 sessions, a chance to gauge the current state of Socialist Workers Party politics, writes James Turley

Pension con job

Working life should end in material comfort, demands James Turley

Reclaim the game

A festival of sporting genius, or an incitement to chauvinism? James Turley looks at the contradictions of the football extravaganza

Prostitution: decriminalise, not prohibit, not legalise

Amidst talk of a 'new Yorkshire Ripper' James Turley calls for a principled approach to sex work

Diane Abbott splits left

Communists want to see the Labour Party completely transformed, writes James Turley

The new bullshit

David Cameron's 'new politics' are a degraded version of the old, argues James Turley

Europe and the Greek contagion

The crisis in Greece is bound up with the global capitalist downturn. Instead of a nationalist response there could be an international fightback, writes James Turley

The right to be offensive

Creeping censorship must be opposed - even if feelings get hurt, argues James Turley

It was right to put safety above profits

James Turley argues that there is more to the Eyjafjallajökull volcano than disruption to tourists

A taxing dilemma

The dispute over taxation shows the bourgeois establishment's poverty of ideas, argues James Turley

Vote for Labour anti-cuts, anti-war candidates

Prepare for a political fightback, writes James Turley

Darling promises to be the kinder butcher

With Tory confusion on the economy, the general election looks to be very close, writes James Turley

International fightback, not 'race to the bottom'

Elementary workplace struggles demand to be generalised, writes James Turley

Rehabilitation not revenge

James Turley takes on the reactionaries whipping up hysteria over the age of criminal responsibility

The politics of bribery

The Tories are showing themselves up as the party of corruption, says James Turley

Resistance must not be isolated

Withdrawal calls reveal lack of strategy, writes James Turley

Storms and teacups

Both the media and bourgeois politicians want us to concentrate on personal strengths and weaknesses. But that is not the main issue, argues James Turley

Establishment impotence fuels climate denial

Capitalism and sustainability do not mix, says James Turley

Oil-slick divisions

International Marxist Tendency has suffered a damaging split. Not a new phenomenon, notes James Turley

Honesty and narcissism

James Turley looks at Tony Blair's performance before the Chilcot enquiry and the futile search for a smoking gun. Britain's alliance with the United States is the real culprit

Obamalaise hits home

James Turley looks at the first year of the Obama presidency

Quake: no act of god

Millions around the world were appalled at the death and devastation in Haiti. James Turley puts the calamity into context

Trouble at the top

More than corruption revealed in Northern Ireland, writes James Turley

Blind, dumb logic of capitalism

James Turley reviews Mark Bould's and China Miéville's new book 'Red planets: Marxism and science fiction' (Pluto, 2009, pp293, £19.99)

Public-spirited marching and the anti-system threat

James Turley looks at the mixed messages from the media about the Copenhagen demonstrations

In another world

Alistair Darling's pre-budget report includes a 'supertax' on bankers' bonuses. James Turley calls for more

Splendid talking shop

James Turley reports on the Historical Materialism conference

Metaphor for neoliberalism

Dubai collapse points to continuing crisis, writes James Turley

Political response needed

James Turley expects a sudden rise in the pitch of industrial struggle after the general election

The fight gets ugly

What does the SWP majority think democracy looks like? asks James Turley

The working class intellectual and the apparat

James Turley offers an appreciation of the life of Chris Harman, 1942-2009

Whatever happened to those green shoots?

Once again, says James Turley, it has not been a good couple of weeks for Alastair Darling and Gordon Brown

Uncanny detective story

James Turley reviews China Miéville’s The city and the city London 2009, pp312, £17.99

BNP contradictions

James Turley reviews Nigel Copsey’s Contemporary British fascism Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, pp264, £19.99

New vision for Europe wanted

James Turley argues that the bourgeoisie is incapable of uniting Europe on any secure basis

Anti-BNP class-collaboration

The left’s spluttering response to Nick Griffin’s invitation to appear on Question time reveals a floundering political strategy, argues James Turley

Islam and Rushdie

James Turley reviews Kenan Malik’s From fatwa to jihad: the Rushdie affair and its legacy Atlantic, 2009, pp266, £16.99

Abstention or intervention

After the victory by the Lindsey wildcat strike, James Turley draws some lessons

'Official anti-racism' cracks again

The accusations of Tarique Ghaffur against the Metropolitan Police have given the lie to the state's 'liberal' PR, argues James Turley

Return to Marx

James Turley reviews Mike Macnair's 'Revolutionary strategy' November publications, 2008, pp204, £7.99

The campus and the state

James Turley argues that students have an antagonistic relationship with college authorities

Multiculturalism and the working class

BBC's White season promotes division, says James Turley

Sunshine Stalinism ends?

James Turley looks at the mixed response of the left and the prospect of a 'Cuban Deng'

Politicising the Olympics?

The renewed furore over China's hosting the 2008 summer Olympics says more about the bourgeoisie than Beijing, argues James Turley

Rowan Williams and SWP lies

In Respect, Chris Bambery lied again and again. Secularism 'justifies' islamophobia, advocating secularism plays into the hands of those 'deliberately stoking up' islamophobia, etc. Yet now his Socialist Worker demands separation of church and state, writes James Turley

Conway scandal silence

They just keep on coming - yet another financial scandal ripples through Westminster. James Turley looks at the facts, the lessons and the embarrassment of the SWP

Hain and working class morality

James Turley calls for accountability of elected representatives

Oxford Union and 'free speech'

The decision by the Oxford Union debating society to give a platform to BNP leader Nick Griffin and holocaust denier David Irving provoked national controversy. James Turley digs through it all and argues for a particular application of the 'no platform' tactic

Socialists for Labourism

With the hostilities in Respect reaching their messy denouement last weekend, it was almost possible to forget the rather less fiery Socialism school of the Socialist Party in England and Wales. James Turley reports

A load of old Balzac

Is there such a thing as a 'Marxist art'? James Turley takes issue with Hillel Ticktin

National fetishes

It is that time of year when almost every public figure wears a plastic poppy, to commemorate the casualties of war. James Turley inquires into the roots and role of this practice

In the footsteps of WRP?

The pro-Iran apologetics at the Stop the War conference brought back unsavoury memories of Gerry Healy's 'Libyan gold'. James Turley examines the history

Plumbers and teachers

James Turley is not surprised that 10 years of Labour rule have not created a "classless society". But does class still matter?

Booze, fags and turkey twizzlers

On October 1, it became illegal for under-18s to buy tobacco. James Turley comments

Sickening apologetics

SWP member Naz Massoumi addressed the session entitled 'Iran - from revolution to rogue state', reports James Turley

SWP "relative autonomy"

James Turley reviews Alex Callinico's Universities in a neoliberal world (Bookmarks, 2006, pp41, ?2)

Controversy and comradeship

Comrades from diverse political backgrounds gathered at the University of Sheffield over the weekend of April 21-22 to discuss revolutionary theory, strategy and practice at the CPGB-organised Communist University North. James Turley and Jamie Linney report

Mountains out of molehills

Leading the Alliance for Workers Liberty's typically slippery response to our coverage of the Socialist Youth Network launch conference reveals an organisation in crisis and rapidly moving to the right, says James Turley

No anti-communist witch-hunts

Members of Communist Students have been banned from a new 'open' socialist youth organisation set up by supporters of the John McDonnell campaign. James Turley and Tina Becker report

No bans on christian fundamentalists

James Turley reports on the bureaucratic attempt to ban Exeter university's christian student society