Posts

Trotsky, Lenin and Luxemburg: a revisionist take on the role of the military in achieving revolution

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  Being considered as a means by which to maintain security, stability and assist the restoration of diplomacy between nations, as well as an instrumental means by which to preserve the individual economic and political influence that major global powers rely upon to maintain their superpower status, it is clearly apparent that the prioritisation of military interests would act as an effective indicator of a comparatively more right wing state. This is especially apparent if there are strong military alliances having been active within these nations, and would further prove to exemplify the sentiment that the imperial means by which to maintain and reach the highest stage of capitalism, as a way of assisting these. The reason is thus clear why many on the left would act repulsed and appalled by it taking centre stage in international political decision making. This can be seen with Isegrim-Schippel regarding the militia as "an impossibility and an absurdity" when going about ...

Is post-colonial international sovereignty an effective measure of development?

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 As Lenin claimed, imperialism would appear by many as the highest stage of capitalism and the ultimate in social and economic advancement and civilisation. In fact, in present day political discourse, it remains one of the few things universally accepted by all, Global North or Global South, isolated or geo strategically engaged, coloniser or colonised. It is through this that many tensions arise between major settler colonial powers as to their positions of power and ability to effectively negotiate peace and agree on administration of effective security. Equally, on the other hand, as well as effectively severing ties between nations and leading to conflicts arising, alliances equally influential imperial superpowers can also further develop their influence to support internationalist aims, often leading to them becoming increasingly inter reliant on each other to further preserve their security and influence. This can prove to have clear negative consequences with regard to the...

Holocaust Memorial Day: Reflecting on the politics of antisemitism and how we can stop it

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  Wedding photo of my Jewish grandparents, Rita and Maurice (taken in 1962) who lived through the Holocaust and World War 2 This is probably going to be one of the most personal blog posts I have written (as regular readers would notice, I rarely write about myself and my own life) but I feel that it really needs to be as such for us to fully understand and reflect on the dire situation of continued conflict which ongoing settler colonial rule continues to divide and persecute us. This places vile imperialist and authoritative undertones on religion, which there should not be; it is in its pure form all about inclusivity and respect for others further bringing together and celebrating the richness of our diverse and evolving society. Although not being religious myself and resenting the individuals who have used religion to exploit and abuse influence, I strongly advocate religious freedom as a means of demonstrating the ideals I value, and feel a strong connection to the cultural ...

Geopolitical observations of the historic and present day relations between the US and Latin America

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You may have noticed I have been a bit quiet lately. I am back now with some more fire, which I am kicking off with this highly topical and important post. With major geo strategic presence and longstanding ties to the main politically influential Western superpower nations assisted by historic imperialism and neocolonialism, much of Latin America has remained ripe for trade, investment and international relations, further fostering its rapid socioeconomic and political advancements which have accelerated over the course of the last century. However, this has not necessarily resulted in social progress and greater gains for the welfare of society collectively. In fact, it has arguably been the force for greater corruption, and the means by which war and conflict continue to flourish. While the origins of this can be traced back to the 19th century and further accelerated by the conflict in interest regarding the needs of the population and the means by which the state of the nations ca...

Propaganda, poison… and pants filled with tomatoes: the crazy happenings at Stalin’s dinner parties

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                                                                  Me vs Stalin dining A man fond of overconsumption of expensive food and alcohol, Stalin was known for his memorable (and rather shocking) feasts which did more than just entertain; an abundance of food in opulent surroundings was a display of decadence, power and authority- proving to act as a valuable means of demonstrating his political influence. This would be further exemplified through his playing of propaganda films (these having been accessed from Goebbels’ library) to enlighten and entertain the guests. Traditional and simple Eastern European dishes but made in excessive quantities and using high value ingredients rarely accessible to the masses were eaten. These included a variety of cold appetisers (known as zakuski)  consisting of caviar, cold ...

Syndicalism: Is revolution through unionisation desirable or practical?

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One typically views a union as a group of unified masses of all different ages, backgrounds and occupations all standing together on a picket line much like the image above of members of Unite in the UK mobilised in London. All sexes, political orientations and cultures choose to mobilise this way. At first glance, it seems like the ultimate display of unity and collective society and the ultimate means by which a true community-led revolution can succeed. It can even, perhaps, be seen by some as a parallel or potential alternative to state centralisation of political power, and instrumental in the formation of a proletarian-led anarchy. However, it is also through this means of mobilisation that the state can further flourish as can other vanguardist and authoritative means of accumulation of power and resources amongst the masses, as well as equally appearing to further promote alternative pseudo-fascist authoritarian right wing ideology (the AFL CIO is an example of this, as were ma...

China’s cultural revolution: A period of growth or an advocacy for continuity?

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Set about with Mao Zedong’s promise to the public of achieving “all this and heaven too” in what would supposedly appear as a brief yet transformative period in which a renaissance in cultural and social thought could be accomplished, one may consider the cultural revolution as a process somewhat akin to the proposal of a permanent revolution. However, this would appear to be a rather superficial perspective on the matter that clearly lacks nuance. This would be due to the ironically more socially conservative elements of the approaches advocated by Mao’s government which had proven to put emphasis on traditional Chinese values and models for society which revolved around the preservation of the existing power structures that acted as the basis of the existing issues regarding class struggle, lack of individual and collective liberty, and wealth and power being concentrated amongst the elites. This also appears to go hand in hand with the strong sense of resistance by the proletariat d...