Theory & History
Subcategories
World economy: A way out of depression?
Global capitalism is mired in depression. A Keynesian tract for our times by Paul Krugman proposes a way out. socialistparty.net reviews Krugman's new book "End This Depression Now!".
Sowing the seeds of inequality
Men are from Mars, women from Venus. We are simply hardwired differently. Women are naturally caring and emotional, best suited to bearing and raising children or to looking after the sick and elderly. Men are dominant and logical, and should concentrate on breadwinning. Men have a natural affinity for leadership, so they dominate in politics and business. Gender roles are unshakeable and unchanging. So it has been and so it ever shall be.
The problems with conspiracy theories
Conspiracy theories have had something of a resurgence in recent times. Even during the global Occupy movement it was common to meet people who claimed that a secret clique of bankers are running the world, that money is the source of all our problems, or that 9/11 was an inside job.
Fight for a socialist society!
Socialists are for massive investment in new jobs and for retooling the economy to both protect the environment and put all the unemployed back to work. Democratic planning by the majority of society could ensure that everyone has a good job and that the economy provides the products we need.
Living under Stalin’s shadow
Vasily Grossman's monumental book, Life and Fate, was written over a protracted period of time and was completed in 1960. Centred on the epic second world war battle of Stalingrad, it exposes the brutal nature of Stalinist Russia. With this 2010 edition and the serialisation by BBC Radio Four, it has been made accessible to new audiences. socialistparty.net revisits this classic work.
For a European struggle against austerity – For a socialist Europe
It is Europe’s working class and young people that have become the victims of the worst economic crisis that has gripped the continent since the end of the Second World War.
Review: A new type of revolution?
Revolutionary and radical movements have been sweeping the world. The Arab spring, Occupy, action by students and youth, and strike waves have all ushered in a new era of resistance to dictatorship and austerity. In turn, this has sparked widespread debate on the nature of mass struggle today. socialistparty.net reviews a contribution to this debate by Paul Mason - Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere: the new global revolutions.
Another attempt to assassinate the legacy of Leon Trotsky?
Condemnation of Leon Trotsky is well-trodden ground for so-called biographer Robert Service. Service was condemned by The American Historical Review (June 2011), which considered his 'biography' of Trotsky a complete distortion.
Answering common questions – Socialism FAQs
With the rise of the Occupy movement, opposition to the existing political and economic order has gone mainstream. It’s hard to imagine that the bandana-clad woman on the cover of Time magazine – representing “The Protestor,” Time's “Person of the Year” – has many nice things to say about capitalism, and the ubiquity of the Guy Fawkes mask – popularized by “V for Vendetta” – further underscores how widespread the idea of revolution has become.
Occupy Wall Street: Tremble Ye Bankers the People Are Coming
Warren Buffet, one of the richest men in the world said earlier this year that “There has been class warfare going on... and my class isn’t just winning, I mean we’re killing them”. The onset of neo-liberal capitalism in the late 1970s that saw a shift away from manufacturing because the rate of profit for the corporations therein had flatlined, towards a finance capitalism in particular, facilitated a huge squeezing of the US working class, dashing the American Dream for the majority and massively increasing the wealth of the tiny minority of super-rich.
