SOLOMON HUGHES uncovers government documents showing hidden dinners and meetings between Labour figures and disgraced Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm, which collapsed after links to Epstein and sleazy influence operations came to light
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Christianity and socialism have more in common than you might think
TOMASZ PIERSCIONEK explores the overlaps between the ideas of Christ and Karl Marx in seeking a better world for the poor and downtrodden
GIVING PRAISE: General view of a crucifix in the scissor arches of Wells Cathedral
In the second of a series of interviews with leaders of progressive parties in Wales ahead of the May 7 Senedd election David Nicholson talks to Welsh Green Party leader ANTHONY SLAUGHTER
Oil and gas prices are rising due to the illegal war against Iran, but new nuclear power plants will only make things worse as their costs also escalate, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
As women dominate public services yet face pay gaps, unsafe workloads and rising misogyny, this International Women’s Day and TUC Women’s Conference must be a rallying point, says ANDREA EGAN
As the government quietly begins reviewing the BBC’s Royal Charter, the moment should be seized to refound the corporation as a truly democratic, regionally rooted public service, writes PAUL W FLEMING
Like the president in Wag the Dog, Donald Trump faces scandal at home and turns to conflict abroad. But the conflict with Iran risks igniting a regional inferno with global consequences, warns ROGER McKENZIE
THE relationship between religion and Marxism has historically been an antagonistic one, with the former (at least with respect to its hierarchy) typically siding with the interests of the ruling class.
Organised religion helped legitimise and strengthen the position of society’s elites by espousing ideas that justified inequality as God’s will or which promised the poor and downtrodden a reward in the afterlife.
Such heavenly promises served to mollify proletarian resentment about their earthly oppression while duping them into accepting the status quo as part of a divine being’s master plan. Karl Marx wrote: “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”
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