News

Notes on The Society of the Spectacle, 2013, from Heath Schultz I began this project not because I thought it must be done out of some political or aesthetic concern, but with the modest hope to better understand The Society of the Spectacle. How odd, I thought, that for all the interest in Situationist artwork […] Read more »

Merry Cross, a supporter of the Left Unity initiative and a  member of Disabled People Against the Cuts [DPAC], explains the importance of disability struggles to building the new movement we all want The attacks on benefit claimants began quietly during the last Labour administration, in 2008, with the introduction of the Work Capability Assessment […] Read more »

  Sophie Katz examines the crisis of representation in European politics. This is part one of a longer analysis by Sophie. The second part will be published next week. What is the meaning of modern western politics and its apparent death wish? The left’s received wisdom is not false; that there is really nothing to […] Read more »

Bill Shortell, an official with the International Association of Machinists in Connecticut, argues for a move from military industrial production to manufacturing for peace Diverse forces are now converging in an attempt to carve up the military budget. These are  those who would cut it to reduce the deficit. There is considerable logic on their […] Read more »

Keith Flett looks the history of taxes and puts the new ‘bedroom tax’ into historical context. The Coalition’s bedroom tax that will leave those in social housing facing a significant reduction in benefit income if they have the temerity, for whatever reason, to have an empty bedroom is one of the most vicious examples of […] Read more »

International Women’s Day – 8th March – was originally a socialist holiday established in 1911 by the Socialist International and is celebrated by women’s groups around the world. In many countries, it is a national holiday and has recently been officially recognized by the United Nations, say Margaret Rapp and Susan Pashkoff. However, up until […] Read more »

Nick Wrack is been a leading member of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition [TUSC], previously he was a leading member of Respect. Here he examines the case for a new party of the left in the wake of the disastrous result for TUSC in the Eastleigh by-election. Nick’s call for a broad democratic party […] Read more »

The tragic death of Hugo Chavez is mourned around the world. Kate Hudson explains the social and economic context of his enormous political success and urges solidarity with the people of Venezuela. As devastating structural adjustment policies were inflicted on Latin America by the IMF and the World Bank during the 1980s, the people of […] Read more »

Salman Shaheen reports on a meeting he describes as ‘valuable and productive’. On Thursday, I attended my first meeting of the new Left Unity group. The gathering – refreshingly organised in a circle with all views given time to air – drew a diverse crowd of people from all manner of political backgrounds, but if […] Read more »

The Eastleigh by-election last week saw the best ever vote for the far right UK Independence Party (UKIP) and a very poor vote for the left-wing Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC). Five years into the economic crisis, just entering a triple dip recession and with major cuts to benefits about to be introduced the […] Read more »