Ian Birchall
Prospects for the left after the French election
The results of the first round of the French presidential election make for grim reading. Ian Birchall looks at some of the lessons of the election, and the future prospects for the left.
Review | Léo Frankel, life of a Communard
Ian Birchall reviews a new French biography of Paris Commune member Léo Frankel.
Cultural Marxism? A review of The Dialectics of Art
Ian Birchall reviews The Dialectics of Art, a new work by John Molyneux.
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?"...
Latest articles
Palestine solidarity and the future of the DSA – on the Bowman crisis
Arguments over Palestine solidarity have swept through the DSA in recent months – two American socialists explain the background.
Lowering expectations: misrepresentations of McAlevey
Many trade union activists have been inspired and guided by McAlevey's books on strategy. But sections of the union bureaucracy are now co-opting her terminology to justify inaction and anti-democratic methods.
Review | Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire
Caroline Elkins' compelling new book makes the barbarity of the British empire in the twentieth century absolutely clear.
Striking union organizers raided by Russian security forces
Russian security forces raided the apartments of independent trade unionists in Moscow on Monday night in a direct attack on the organising of gig economy workers, writes an anonymous rs21 member.
Growing strike solidarity networks in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester has been home to an unusual number of major strikes in the last couple of years. Local activists and rs21 members Ian Allinson and Derek Fraser discuss what we can learn from these and the development of solidarity networks around them.
Activists occupy the British Museum
This weekend, climate and anti-colonial activists occupied the British Museum in opposition to its oil sponsorships.
Highlights
On the invasion of Ukraine
A statement from the rs21 Steering Group on the inter-imperialist war currently being waged in Ukraine.
Cost of living crisis – strike, mobilise, occupy!
After the first wave of protests, we must continue the fightback against the companies and institutions that have caused the crisis.
The actuality of the revolution: exploitation and oppressions
In this extract from Revolutionary Rehearsals in the Neoliberal Age, Neil Davidson suggests ways to draw struggles against oppression and exploitation together.
The double shift: talking childcare and gender in the pandemic
As many nations re-enter lockdown, Kate Bradley interviews two rs21 members on their experiences with childcare, work and gender during Covid lockdowns.
Reimagining the relationship between care and power
Zad El Bacha reviews Abolition. Feminism. Now. in the context of radical politics in Britain.
The cost-of-living crisis
With high inflation and a sharp rise in energy prices on the way, Ian Allinson argues that the cost-of-living crisis will shape British politics over the coming months.