The UK Prime Minister may have the regal touch in northern England, but he’s been wrong-footed on the constitutional challenges posed by the Celtic Alliance of first ministers from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, argues KENNY MacASKILL
IN Marx’s day, solidarity, humanity, sharing amongst working people were not considered “charity.” Charity was something that those with money did. It relieved the conscience of the rich (and made them look good to their peers) and provided benefits to some. The name of Scottish-American steel magnate Andrew Carnegie can still be found on libraries and museums throughout Britain.
It’s hard not to cheer for 99-year-old Captain Tom Moore, who raised £33million for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his garden. The money raised will help to save lives, not least those of NHS workers who like other key staff, are on the front line of the crisis.
But, as ever, there is another side to charity. Until recently Tom’s chosen fundraising platform, JustGiving, skimmed 5 per cent of all donations. That would have meant a bonanza to the company of over £1.5m for Tom’s efforts. That’s now been replaced by a standard fee of 1.9 per cent plus 20p — still over £300,000.
MML director MEIRIAN JUMP outlines the recently refreshed library’s busy autumn schedule that ranges from book sales, archival exploration, community work with online education and the ever popular site tours
Humans are part of the ‘animal kingdom’ – and of nature in general – but also distinct from it and labour (work) is part of what makes us unique, declared Engels. His insights 150 years ago into how our species came to be and how we differ from the rest of nature, are as important today as they were then, says the MARX MEMORIAL LIBRARY
Dignity is important to all humans, argues the Marx Memorial Library and Workers’ School, but it does not come about automatically. In a less than perfect world, dignity can accompany suffering, but the collective dignity of working people is achieved through acting together to change the world.
Nature as well as society works dialectically, asserts the Marx Memorial Library and Workers’ School


