Walking on the Far Left

  Photo my comrade got of me after the festival. Che Rosenberg perhaps?! Whilst being an avid SWP member and a huge fan of the much awaited Marxism Festival and the many other smaller national events within the party, being on the Marxism team was not something I'd ever done before. In spite of the long hours (starting qt 9:30- long before festival goers arrived- and ending late into the evening) the making of sacrifices of not attending certain meetings, and the effort of stewarding and organising large groups, it was a really enjoyable experience for me and one I would like to have again. From the very beginning helping set up all the chairs in the venue to the final singing of the Internationale by all to close the festival, I immediately felt confident and proud to be representing a party I valued so much, and give something in return for all the many opportunities they had given me in developing my activist profile. I felt a huge sense of pride at being welcomed into such a fa...

 You'll notice I've been a bit quiet lately. Not to worry, I'm okay but just busy with uni work and other commitments. More great posts soon to come. Yesterday I went to London with my Portsmouth comrades to what was the largest anti-far right counter-demo in UK history which amassed half a million anti-racists marching together from Park Lane to Trafalgar square with the aim of uniting the people to demonstrate pride in the diverse cultural landscape of the country we live in and celebrate all who call it home. Unlike the pathetically small group of right-wing counterparts failing to provoke us, we were not establishing a mobilisation fuelled by fear and hatred, but collective hope for a peaceful future in which we could all live as one without the fear of conflict or persecution that comes against us for merely being who we are. Seeing the multitude of causes, signs shown and political groups represented, this felt like a true mobilisation to bring together and establish ...

I visited London today to go to Marxism in a day. A smaller conference than  the annual Marxism festival  and organised by the SWP in Birkbeck University, it featured talks by several prominent activists both from and outside of the SWP (including Wayman Bennet, Geoff Brown, Paul Holborrow, Alex Callinicos and Joseph Choonara), it acted as a pleasant space by which people of many age groups could discuss and gain insight into various pressing political topics alongside a very knowledgeable panel, to which our involvement was highly appreciated.  The conference was opened with with excellent talks by Professor Alex Callinicos and SWP activist Katie Coles on the ever growing importance of Marxism in today’s society, and its evolution in its application economics and political sciences over time. This was then followed by Yuri Prasad’s talk on the need for revolution in understanding and fighting against racism, which inspired a lot of discussion. It was through listening to...

With multiple pin badges, leaflets, and other promotional materials in hand, after I animatedly helped encourage people to donate to and join Stand Up to Racism, I set off down the streets of London to steward the counter protest against Tommy Robinson.  It was through this that I took in what really made London and the UK as a whole. The unity, diversity and solidarity with all groups coming together to bring about change and call for peace was what brought out the best of our nation. These were British values at their finest; in spite of what Tommy Robinson and his supporters thought, we were the ones who could “unite the kingdom” the best. As I marched on, in spite of the pouring rain and the wind blowing, I felt a real sense of warmth. Peace, love, rain (and the savoury smell of the very British delicacy of bacon sandwiches from a street vendor at one point being intermingled with the wet air as we walked past) was London in all its glory. That was until we spotted the other si...

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post. Have been busy sorting out some life stuff, manic university business, and have started work with the Workers Party. Anyways, I'm back now with some more posts. Top: Me on my way to Marxism 2025. Bottom: the festival. Yesterday, I paid a visit to London to attend the Marxism 2025 festival. Set in a Shoreditch studio featuring a pop-up socialist bookshop and talks by a variety of prominent and well-renowned speakers including Jeremy Corbyn, Yanis Varoufakis, and Rima Hassan, the current and ever-changing influence of socialist ideas on society globally, as well as the vast array of forms they exist in in day to day life could be brought to life and celebrated. From technological feudalism and capitalism within AI, to the legacy of global imperial influence on the cultural and economic factors influencing revolutionary ideals within Iran and Palestine, the extent to which we live in a capitalist society, as well as the importance of...

In what world is the injustice globally not frowned upon but saying the word "fuck" is? is a question that the  conservative snowflake brigade  (who shrink back in fright at any radical proposals or hints at social progress yet remain emotionless in discussing the problems with the world's inequality, corruption and violence) struggle to find an answer to. The underrepresentation of Kurt von Meier when discussing modern art and the last century's political movements proves to highlight exactly this.                                                                         Von Meier in 1966 Kurt von Meier was a Californian professor lecturing in art history at a variety of universities within the US, Australia and New Zealand. He is also the author of several critical and historical publications on art ...

Me enjoying a pint of beer (aka progress and liberation) in a pub. There is no doubt that the pub is widely regarded as a place of relaxation, socialising and entertainment that is appreciated by many globally in its various different forms and by people of many different ages from students to seniors, and anyone in between. What is less well known, however, is its major political importance and position as the site of revolution, debate and emancipation of the working classes in which it was influential in the German labour movement in the 19th century. At this time, the country was undergoing rapid industrialisation like much of Europe and more efficient work and production by the proletarians employed in the factories was needed. This was responded to through the capitalist factory owners attempting to improve this by dulling workers' senses and making them lose track of time and their feelings of exploitation by serving them alcohol in the form of schnapps during their workdays...

                                A 2017 political cartoon by Tom Stiglich from The Week magazine depicting liberal snowflakes against Trump. The term "snowflake" as it is used today (referring to an individual who is "overly sensitive", "too politically correct", according to Merriam Webster's Dictionary) has existed since the late 19th century, with the first recording uses being in the 1860s referring to wealthy, white (hence snowflakes) and politically more influential people opposing the abolition of slavery. However, it has only been within the past decade that it has become more embedded into political discourse and used in more mainstream and quotidian contexts, this coinciding with the rise of conservativism and the political right for both the UK and the USA. This has predominantly been by those on the political right as a derogatory term and a means of disparaging against those who value more libera...

With many interpretations of feminism and sexual expression being based around Marx and Engels' ideas, and with these ideas being very much in line the radical feminist ideas of women being heavily sexually oppressed with all relations between women and men featuring an exploitation and imbalance in power by the men over them as the lesser sex (or akin to the proletariat while the men function as the bourgeoisie as described by Marx and Engels) with this largely being attributed to their role and position in society, the liberation of women and social progress in understanding their rights can be seen to largely be supported by a more liberal and progressive socialist society. As a result, the development of the theory of Marxist Feminism and the women's revolution against their treatment when working in domestic labour, as can be observed throughout the last century, can lead to the politicisation of feminism and this being associated with socialist movements. In his 1848 Comm...

                                       A poster for a Green Party meeting in Hackney (inner London) in 1985 While organised groups of environmental activists having existed since the 17th century with the founding of the Royal Society and the Temple Coffee House Botanical Club, and the Victorian environmental organisations seeking to campaign against industrialisation and its resulting environmental consequences, it is only recently that governments have become increasingly keen to improve the environmental inclusivity of their policymaking, as well as the general public having become more vocal about these issues. This has led to increased support for and rapid growth of the Green political movement likely properly taking off at the time of 1970s counterculture going against  materialism and capitalism with the UK Green Party (under a different name) having emerged in the UK politic...

While there has been limited attention paid to sexuality and the action against repression of the homosexual people in Marx and Engels' work (as well as the theory by some early leftists exploring this topic that homosexuality could be viewed as a threat to communism defining homosexuals by "the corruption and decadence of bourgeois society, while they themselves, the left, do their part to fix gays into a position of the qualunquismo" thus reducing productivity and hindering attempts at revolution), communism has, over the centuries, been instrumental in influencing perceptions on the queer community and activism amongst them, as well as in the politicisation of homosexual rights. This has been highlighted through the theories regarding gender by communist activist Mario Mieli in his work Towards a Gay Communism in which, while the promotion of sexuality had been considered as secondary to the revolutionary aims of the communist political groups as well as having homos...

To kick start this blog, enjoy this post featuring two of my greatest passions, left wing politics and music.                                                                        Abel Meeropol Today would be Abel Meeropol’s birthday him being the poet, New York high school teacher and socialist and trades union activist who wrote the poignant, haunting and ever powerful anti-racist poem, "Strange Fruit" in 1937. This continues to be used to shed a light on the brutality of the treatment of slaves and the racially induced violence in the southern US states having been inspired by his shock and horror at a photo the lynching of two slaves in 1930. Originally titled "Bitter Fruit", put to music and sung by Billie Holiday, this would become a timeless anthem encouraging us to solemnly reflect and question the ...