International Socialism #147 out now

The latest issue of International Socialism is out now, with pieces including analysis of the British general election by Alex Callinicos, Gareth Jenkins and Despina Karayianni on Greece under Tsipras - highly topical given the recent impressive and inspiring No vote, and a host of other wide-ranging articles and goodies it is difficult to do justice to at the moment - given I am about to go off to protest myself at George Osbourne's Tory budget - and say 'Oxi to Osbourne!'

On the anniversary of 7/7

One of the strange things about having a blog - and keeping it going (well, just about...) for over a decade - is that when anniversaries come around, you think - 'hang on, I wrote something about that'. Anyway, for what it is worth - this is the piece I wrote in the aftermath of the 7/7 London bombings at the time: The roar of bombs and the deep sleep of England - for the record, my opinion about British foreign policy has not changed - and as the British ruling class prepare to contemplate a fresh imperialist slaughter in Syria, I guess it remains worth reposting.

Marxism 2015 - Ideas for Revolution

Marxism 2015: Ideas for revolution

A five day political festival: 9-13 July 2015, Central London

www.marxismfestival.org.uk

Book up - Just over one week to go!

New meeting: Tackling the Racist Offensive

Sat 11^th July, 7pm

Marxism Festival is very pleased to announce that Diane Abbott MP will speak alongside Sabby Dhalu and Weyman Bennett (Joint Secretaries of Unite Against Fascism, pc) at this new meeting at Marxism.

Meetings on Greece at Marxism 2015

The crisis in Greece poses sharp questions for the left.

Don’t miss our special debate:

Syriza in power: Whither Greece?

With Stathis Kouvelakis (Syriza Central Committee) and Alex Callinicos (SWP)

Sat 11^th July, 2pm 

Plus

• Greece: keeping the hope for change alive

With Panos Garganas (SEK)

Sunday 12 July, 2pm

• The fight against Golden Dawn in Greece

With Petros Constantinou (Athens Councillor and co-ordinator of the Movement Against Racism and the Fascist Threat) and Kostas Papadakis (part of the legal team representing the victims of Nazi attacks at the trial of Golden Dawn)

Saturday 11^th July, 11.45am

• Fighting the Troika and austerity across Europe

Maria Styllou from Greece will peak alongside Richard Boyd Barrett from Ireland and Christine Buccholz from Germany

Sunday 12^th July, 3.45pm

Plus Panos Garganas will join the Marxism opening rally on Thurs 9^th July at 7pm

Other meetings at Marxism 2015

• After Kobane and the general election: where now for Turkey and the Kurds

 Ron Marguilies will be joined by HDP MP Sebahat Tuncel

Sat 11^th July, 7pm (the time of this meeting may change – please check our website)

• Orgreave: the search for the truth

Gareth Peirce and Mike McColgan from the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign

Sun 12^th July, 3.45pm

• The story behind Pride

With Nicola Field and Gethin Roberts, original members of LGSM

Sun 12^th July, 7pm.

And if you missed Pride at the cinemas there is chance to watch the film afterwards.

• Darcus Howe, broadcaster and civil liberties campaigner discusses his political life with his biographers Robin Bunce and Paul Field

The final timetable for Marxism 2015 will be on line from tomorrow . . . to book tickets and for more information go to www.marxismfestival.org.uk or call us on 020 7819 1190

Arguments for Revolutionary Socialism

A classic 1987 book Arguments for Revolutionary Socialism by John Molyneux is now online, and provides a characteristically clear explanation of the case for revolutionary democracy and workers' power.

New Labour or socialism?

While the late entry of veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn into the race for the Labour Party leadership has been one of the most positive and welcome political developments in British politics of late, the fact that he has such a major struggle on his hands to even get onto the ballot paper tells you just how far removed from the values of working class solidarity and the principles of internationalism the modern Labour Party has become.  The fact that it is almost certain that the next leader of the Labour Party will be a Blairite (or in the case of Andy Burnham, a former Blairite) who will be even more right wing than Ed Miliband means that it is perhaps timely to reconsider a 1996 pamphlet that is now online by Alex Callinicos, New Labour or socialism? - its content is kind of self-explanatory from the title, but it explains well - as does a 1983 book by Callinicos which is also now online, The Revolutionary Road for Socialism, why the task ahead for socialists remains to build a socialist alternative to New Labour - a task that looks set to become more pressing than ever given the likely outcome of the ongoing leadership election.

Gramsci conference 2015

PAST AND PRESENT. Philosophy, Politics, and History in the Thought of Gramsci.
International Conference. 18-19 June 2015. King's College London.

Marxism 2015 timetable online

The timetable for Marxism 2015: Ideas for Revolution, from 9-13 July in London - is now available online - well worth checking out.

After the shattering General Election result we need to understand how it happened and think how we organise resistance to the Tories.

Marxism 2015 is a five day political festival in central London. It will host over 150 meetings bringing together thousands of activists, trade unionists, students, writers and academics from across the globe.  It also poses huge questions about what sort of left we need in Britain and how we challenge the racism and scapegoating of UKIP.

It will be a crucial place for debate, analysis and discussion

Meetings include:

• Why did Labour lose the election?
• Is England more reactionary than Scotland?
• The unions, resistance and fighting the Tories
• How do we challenge UKIP?
• Is the SNP a radical alternative?
• What sort of left do we need?
• Are the Greens a left alternative?
• Islamophobia: the “othering” of Britain’s Muslims
• What are there so few strikes?

Plus activist forums on: 

• Disability and resistance after the election
• The fight to save the NHS
• From testing to academies: is the school system failing our children
• Organising the "unorganised" 

La Lutte Continue

After the generally disastrous general election, the struggle continues...

Rage Against The Machine: Voice Of The Voiceless

'It is my contention that if Mumia Abu Jamal dies as a result of the deliberate medical neglect that he is being subjected to, the uprising in Baltimore may well come to look like a tea party' - Tayo Aluko