Society & Culture
Günter Grass and the German neurosis
19 Apr 2012
Maciej Zurowski looks at a literary scandal and the bourgeoisie's attempt to cope with its past
They worshipped many gods
03 Oct 2024
What Christians call the Old Testament depicts the ancient Hebrews being dedicated to the Yahweh cult, but also erecting altars on high places and sacrificing to Baal. Jack Conrad explores the origins of Judaism
Missing a trick
19 Sep 2024
Gaby Rubin reviews Paul du Toit (writer/director) The unlikely secret agent Marylebone Theatre
Another useful innocent
12 Sep 2024
Nuclear power should be supported because it is conducive to trade union organisation and because it is a way of dealing with all that weapons-grade plutonium. So argues Leszek Karlik, a member of Poland’s soft-left Razem party
Fiction: utopian and scientific
12 Sep 2024
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
Ethos of punishment
12 Sep 2024
Overcrowding is at an all-time high, showing yet again that prison does not work. Eddie Ford argues that we should help damaged people recover, not damage them further
Nuclear power’s useful idiots
29 Aug 2024
Advocates claim that nuclear power is essential if humanity is to enjoy a life of abundance and nature is to have room to flourish. But, says Jack Conrad, that is falling for a big lie
Solidarity, not sectionalism
29 Aug 2024
While communists want to abolish existing gender hierarchies, it does not follow that we should want to abolish gender as such. Mike Macnair responds to proposals for a communist programme on trans liberation
Fight ideas with ideas
22 Aug 2024
Labour has vowed to crack down on ‘hateful beliefs’ associated with the far right and extreme misogyny. But what about anti-Zionism, asks Eddie Ford, which we are told equals anti-Semitism?
Nature’s gift to humanity?
22 Aug 2024
It is neither particularly expensive nor particularly dangerous. Using nuclear energy is, though, essential if we are to enjoy a life of abundance and nature is to have room to flourish, claims Emil Jacobs
Combat the far right online
22 Aug 2024
Social media and encrypted messaging are being used by the far right to shape politics. How should the left respond? Carl Collins thinks we should consider throwing away our leaflets and take to our keyboards
After the riots
22 Aug 2024
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
01 Aug 2024
Protests are erupting against overtourism, but the problem is unlikely to go away without fundamental changes to the political economy, argues Paul Demarty
Promise myth as template
25 Jul 2024
An ancient saga is harnessed in service of settler-colonisation. Moshé Machover looks at how modern Zionism not only forged a nation through religion, but finds justification for ethnic cleansing and genocide in the words of Yahweh
Locusts versus vampires
25 Jul 2024
As a matter of basic principle, Maciej Zurowski opposes the ban on the anti-establishment news magazine Compact. However, it is clear that those advocating a bloc of two classes, workers and industrial capitalists, have momentum behind them. The forces of liberalism, including the liberal left, are in a panic
From kick-off to finish
18 Jul 2024
Carl Collins examines the current state of the beautiful game that is now worth billions, its origins in violent country ways and the influence of the far right