Society & Culture
Günter Grass and the German neurosis
19 Apr 2012
Maciej Zurowski looks at a literary scandal and the bourgeoisie's attempt to cope with its past
Preparing for disillusionment
11 Jan 2024
Losing ground badly in the polls, facing more by-election defeats, and with Reform UK breathing down his neck, it is not surprising that Rishi Sunak wants to go for a late election, writes Eddie Ford
How crybullying works
11 Jan 2024
Politics should have no ‘safe spaces’. Sob stories about ‘anti-Semitism’ on campus strike at a weak point in contemporary left politics, argues Paul Demarty
Record-breaking in the wrong way
04 Jan 2024
Storms, floods, drought and fire on an almost biblical scale presage social breakdown. It is socialism or barbarism, says Eddie Ford
Not a religious war
04 Jan 2024
Daniel Lazare lumps Hamas together with the Zionists, argues Tony Greenstein. But socialists should unconditionally support the oppressed
Haley’s telling blunder
04 Jan 2024
Many southerners happily fly the stars and bars, but they prefer to talk of state rights, not black slavery. Paul Demarty looks at Donald Trump’s nearest Republican rival
Islam and Christianity
16 Dec 2023
Yassamine Mather looks at the connection between various religious festivals
Living on a knife edge
14 Dec 2023
Attacked on all fronts over Rwanda, Rishi Sunak survived the vote this time. But, with the various factions pulling in opposite directions, he seems to be heading for a general election defeat, writes Eddie Ford
An international socialist?
14 Dec 2023
Daniel Lazare has Jesus reaching out to the Roman oppressors, disowning his siblings and mother and affronting popular morality, to promote what was a cause parallel to modern socialism. There is always the danger, when we look back at the past, of finding a reflection of ourselves - but Jesus was undoubtedly a revolutionary
Socialism and socialising
14 Dec 2023
Eduard Bernstein gets us into the Christmas spirit with his fascinating recollections of Frederick Engels’ London home as an often ‘squiffy’ salon of international socialism and good cheer - with an introduction by Ben Lewis.
Their Tolkien and ours
14 Dec 2023
Neo-fascist interpretations of JRR Tolkien’s works are resurgent - and understandable. But can the left make room in its culture for hobbits? Paul Demarty revisits The lord of the rings
A world turned upside-down
14 Dec 2023
Festivals of wild disorder symbolically assert human solidarity. Mike Macnair explores the history, ancient and modern, of a constantly reproduced Golden Age
Monarchy and mystery
07 Dec 2023
Omid Scobie’s book suggests that the king may be a racist. Why wouldn’t he be? asks Paul Demarty
Blowtorching the planet
07 Dec 2023
Despite carbon emissions hitting record highs, Cop28 has been yet another talking shop, writes Eddie Ford
Online Communist Forum, Sunday December 3 5pm
30 Nov 2023
Why supporting Israel’s war doesn’t stop Marine Le Pen’s party being anti-Semitic
Media, migrants and mobs
30 Nov 2023
People Before Profit says the state is soft on far-right groups, but failure to deal with the housing crisis is the main problem, argues Anne McShane