General secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions GAWAIN LITTLE calls for support and participation in the national partnership organised to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1926 general strike
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On writing as a leftist
From intellectual heavyweights of the academy to organisers like me who have come to the role via a life on the shop floor, writing by leftists must centre communication — and if capable of it, even fun, writes ROGER McKENZIE
RED WRITINGS: Lenin at Work, Igor Reznik, 1970
After brutal police crackdowns on pensioners and the forced approval of secret IMF deals, trade unions are finally responding to grassroots pressure and fighting back against savage neoliberal reforms, reports BERT SCHOUWENBURG
Bizarrely, Trump’s latest attacks now include the National Zoo, but his real and racist agenda is to strip everything black from the country’s cultural institutions, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
The transformation of a stable secular state into a fractured ruin largely ruled by Western-backed fundamentalists exposes the hollow nature of ‘multipolarity’ and the absence of principled anti-imperialism today, writes ZOLTAN ZIGEDY
Facing economic turmoil, Jim Callaghan’s government rejected Tony Benn’s alternative economic strategy in favour of cuts that paved the way for Thatcherism — and the cuts-loving Labour of the present era, writes KEITH FLETT
The economic value of disability benefits far outweighs their cost, argues Dr DYLAN MURPHY
As tensions rise in the Middle East, the role of Iran in the region’s political balance becomes ever more significant. STEVE BISHOP assesses the current situation
RECENTLY I have found myself wondering why socialists or communists write as journalists, authors or poets — or any other kinds of writing I’ve missed off the list.
Sometimes I think it has more to do with demonstrating a superior grasp of Marxist-Leninist theory than anyone else. Good for you if it floats your boat to fill page after page with a demonstration of your superior intellect — particularly in non-theoretical publications.
Just let me know in advance so I can put some John Coltrane on to get me through. Coltrane’s Love Supreme possibly accurately describes a love that many of these writers or critics appear to have for themselves.
More from this author
Public libraries are sanctuaries which facilitate the exploration of the universe of ideas for free for those curious enough. ROGER McKENZIE advocates their protection against authoritarian incursions, US style
