Ian Birchall
Latest articles
A Marxist theory of music: it’s all in the groove
Kate Bradley interview Mark Abel, author of Groove: An Aesthetic of Measured Time
After 9 June: on labelling fascists
Defeating racism will take more than an anti-fascist strategy, but we should clearly identify the fascist core of the new right wing street movement,...
‘I Am My Own Guardian’ – State repression of Saudi activists
On the 15th May, the Saudi government led by the young Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman rounded up seven prominent feminist and women's rights...
Review: The Young Karl Marx
How far is it possible for a film to bring to life the ideas, energy and humanity of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels? Mark Winter enjoys...
Leaders, leaders, leaders and leaders
Unite the Union activist Ian Allinson discusses the different uses of the word 'leader'
Socialism in One Factory?
Ian Birchall reviews Opening the Gates: The Lip Affair, 1968-1981
Three days that shook the UCU leadership
Rank-and-file university workers are pushing UCU's leadership in a bid for democracy, accountability and a fighting union
Photo report: opposing the DFLA in Manchester
Photos and reflections from Saturday's rally of opposition to the racist Democratic Football Lads Alliance in Manchester
One year on: Manchester and English nationalism
Since last year's bombing, Manchester's tradition of radical politics has come to the fore again
The death of irony at UCU congress
At the heart of the fight is the question of who controls the union: the officials or the membership?
Highlights
Syria is not exceptional: interview with Joseph Daher | Part 1
Syrian socialist author Joseph Daher discusses the nature of the Assad regime and the social basis of the uprising against it which began in 2011
No community without politics
The mirage of a "mainstream Jewish community", often weaponised against the left, hides the fact that "community" itself is always a site of struggle and contestation
Capitalism’s life source: the domestic and social basis for exploitation
Tithi Bhattacharya responds to questions about her new book on social reproduction theory.
Living with depression under capitalism
Kate Bradley looks at her experience of depression, the interplay of austerity and mental health problems, and the ambivalent role of state services
The politics of mental health
Hazel Croft argues that, while reducing stigma is a good start, we also need a more radical approach to mental health