Ian Birchall
Review: Anti-Nazi Germans
As Boris Johnson and others attempt to invoke the ‘spirit of the Blitz’ in response to COVID-19, Ian Birchall celebrates a recent publication that disrupts the national myths of WWII.
The total Marx and the total theory of literature
A lost gem of Marxist aesthetic theory, out of print for over forty years.
There’s nothing so weird as a revolution
Ian Birchall reviews China Miéville's October, a new history of the Russian Revolution.
It seems an odd pairing: the Russian Revolution and China Miéville, whose...
Peter Sedgwick and the British Left
Peter Sedgwick (1934-83) was a lifelong socialist activist and writer. Apart from his work to bring Victor Serge to the English speaking world, and his critical writings...
The story of a Bolshevik worker-intellectual: a review of Barbara Allen’s...
Ian Birchall reviews Barbara C Allen's Alexander Shlyapnikov 1885-1937: Life of an Old Bolshevik, published by Haymarket Books.
"Young Alexander conquered India. He alone?"...
The Somme: Remember…and explain
Ian Birchall reviews Neil Faulkner's new pamphlet, Have You Forgotten Yet? The Truth about the Somme
I happened to be on Waterloo Station on 1st July. When...
Bel Druce 1940-2015
We republish Ian Birchall's obituary for his very close friend, and rs21 member Bel Druce, who died at the end of August. It was...
Alfred Rosmer: A lifelong revolutionary
In the first of a series exploring the lives of some of history's understated revolutionaries, Ian Birchall introduces French syndicalist and communist Alfred Rosmer
The...
Latest articles
Zero covid is possible
Through serious nationwide action that puts public health above profits, the infection rate can be brought down to zero. So why is demand for a Zero Covid strategy so low?
What does abolition mean in modern Britain?
The Black Lives Matter movement has sown seeds of hope worldwide for the abolition of police. But policing in the UK goes far beyond the bodies of armed men in uniform.
To beat Covid, we have to fight for safe schools
While politicians squabble over degrees of lockdown, Covid is spreading in educational settings. Education workers must force the politicians to make their schools safe.
Bolivia after Evo
Mike Gonzalez analyses the presidency of Evo Morales, who became President of Bolivia in 2005 at the head of a powerful mass movement, and was ultimately ousted in a right-wing coup last year.
Neoliberal ‘Omnibus Law’ sparks rebellion in Indonesia
Indonesia's neoliberal regime is using the pandemic to attack workers' rights and environmental protections. Workers and students have other ideas.
Break the border
Socialists are fighting against borders around the world. East London rs21 recently held a meeting to discuss strategy for this struggle in the here and now. Watch recordings of the opening speeches here.
Highlights
Fortress Europe after Moria
After Moria burned to the ground, a new camp was quickly built to replace it. We interviewed Chloe Haralambous and Michalis Poulimas about events on the ground and what they mean for the EU border regime.
Global fever
The Covid-19 pandemic is a foretaste of the approaching climate catastrophe. Andreas Malm's electrifying new book looks at both these crises and asks what we'll need to do to face them down.
Interview: Organised and disorganised labour in the Belarus uprising
Siarhei Biareishyk speaks to rs21 about the uprising in Belarus following the falsified re-election of Aliaksandr Lukashenka on 9 August 2020.
Interview: Beirut blast exposed a global system
Rima Majed spoke to rs21 about the blast that devastated Beirut in the context of an existing political and economic crisis.
Review: Fortunes of Feminism
Leslie Cunningham reviews Fortunes of Feminism by Nancy Fraser, a critical account of changes in feminist thought in the era of neo-liberalism.
Johnson’s bonanza for private capital
The Tories are increasing spending, but the money is going to the rich. Adam Blanden argues that this represents the acceleration of Britain’s transformation into a ‘speculator state’.