The catastrophe unfolding in Gaza – where Palestinians are freezing to death in tents – is not a natural disaster but a calculated outcome of Israel’s ongoing blockade, aid restrictions and continued violence, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
Latest editorial
How communism improved the lot of workers in the West and saved capitalism
Numerous studies and analysts agree that whether socialists actually come to power or not, the ‘threat’ of socialism inspires the capitalist class to make all of our lives better, regardless of our own politics, explains IAN SINCLAIR
Evidence suggests Lammy’s proposals would come at a high cost: reduced fairness, diminished trust and greater racial inequality in the criminal justice system, argue TARA LAI QUINLAN and KATHARINA KARCHER
After years of austerity and denial under a new Reform UK council, a failing Send service was pushed into the spotlight by staff, unions and parents — culminating in a £1.3m funding boost and a 50% increase in front-line workers. MARTIN PORTER explains
Trump’s escalation against Venezuela is about more than oil, it is about regaining control over the ‘natural’ zone of influence of the United States at a moment where its hegemony is slipping, argues VIJAY PRASHAD
Trade union leaderships have so far stopped short of the bold industrial action over Gaza seen in Italy and Greece. NATHAN HENNEBRY calls for a re-radicalising of the union movement and rebuilding class power as vital to turning solidarity into action
Held at a last-minute undisclosed venue amid fear of disruption, a Women’s Rights Network event brought together authors and activists, offering a day of debate on feminism’s past, present and future. JADE MIDDLETON reports
WHILE conventional wisdom has it that capitalism triumphed over communism in the cold war, in 2019 the journalist Aditya Chakrabortty provided a more nuanced, largely ignored, analysis.
“Communism didn’t topple capitalism, but kept it honest — and so saved it from itself,” he argued in the Guardian.
“The very presence of a powerful rival ideology frightened capitalists into sharing their returns with workers and the rest of the society, in higher wages, more welfare spending and greater public investment.”
Similar stories
RICHARD CLARKE recommends a hugely valuable text for those seeking theoretical analysis and practical action to defend public services
From defeating illiteracy to tackling student stress, China’s system transforms lives while putting people before profit — British educators should consider what we could learn from the world’s largest school system, writes LOGAN WILLIAMS
ZOLTAN ZIGEDY reflects on the lessons from two books looking at the US labour movement and the recent history of spontaneous mass uprisings – and finds two pernicious ideologies working against the interests of the people
HELEN MERCER welcomes an account of how US labour leadership collaborated with the state and betrayed their membership