On Your Marks, Get Set, Unionise!
For years, international track and field athletes have watched the decisions that shape their sport made by elite organisations while their right to protest was curtailed – so now, they’ve decided to unionise.
4352 Articles by:
Ko Leik Pya
Ko Leik Pya works as a teacher and writer in the UK and Myanmar. He writes here under a pseudonym.
Delays Are Not Enough – It’s Time to Cancel the Rent
Hundreds of thousands of renters face unaffordable arrears on top of their runaway housing costs. Delaying evictions isn’t a solution – it’s time to campaign for write-offs.
The Ruling Class Doesn’t Believe in Democracy
Under capitalism, democracy is permitted as long as it doesn’t fundamentally threaten the ruling class and their power – once that line is crossed, the democratic facade crumbles rapidly.
Track, Trace and the Myth of Private Sector Efficiency
For years, right-wingers have argued that healthcare privatisation is the path to greater efficiency. But the track and trace scandal shows what it really means – huge payouts for dysfunctional services.
Lebanon’s Interwoven Crises
This month’s apocalyptic explosion in Beirut was a symbol for the disintegration of a Lebanese state plagued by political and economic crisis – and increasingly subject to the intrigue of its old imperial power, France.
Instead of Rewarding Key Workers, Britain Is Putting Them on Zero-Hours
For the first time on record more than a million people in the UK are on zero-hour contracts. And the biggest growth sectors? Social care and retail – key worker industries that the government claims to champion.
Reading Neal Ascherson
In the first ‘What Our Editors Are Reading,’ culture editor Owen Hatherley reviews the Observer columns of Scottish writer Neal Acherson.
What I Learned from Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn didn’t win, but he fought for socialist politics even when it was difficult – if we are to have any hope of achieving radical change in our lifetimes, we must do the same.
Gen Z Wins Its First Battle
By forcing the government into a u-turn on A-level results, an emerging generation has learned its political power – but to win a decent future, it will have to fight for many years to come.
1. “Proudly Socialist”: A Conversation with Jeremy Corbyn
In the first episode of A World to Win, Grace interviews former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn about the past five years, the government’s handling of the pandemic – and the future of socialism.
PSG vs. RB Leipzig: Welcome to the Future of Football
Tonight in the Champions League, a Gulf dictatorship takes on a sports drink company for a place in the final. It’s a symbol of a game that is losing all connection to the communities that built it.
Fighting Climate Change Requires a Transit Revolution
There is no path to meeting climate targets and avoiding devastation that doesn’t run through a dramatic reduction in the use of cars. Now is the time to seize on this reality and invest in the alternatives.
It’s Time to Socialise the High Street
Britain’s high streets were already in crisis before Covid-19, but now many are on the verge of dereliction – it’s time for a bold plan to socialise them and build thriving centres of community life.
Introducing ‘A World to Win’
A preview episode of our new podcast ‘A World to Win,’ which will provide socialist views and analysis on a weekly basis from Grace Blakeley and her guests.
How Government Is Turning into Algoracy
As governments collect vast amounts of data on their citizens, decision-making is increasingly outsourced to algorithm – in the hope that behaviour can be modified and sites of democratic resistance diminished.
Keir Hardie: Marx, the Man and His Message
On Keir Hardie’s birthday, we republish an excerpt from his 1910 pamphlet ‘Marx, the Man and his Message’ explaining why Marx’s work remains a “consecrated treasure” for the working class of the world.
Covid Will Change How We Work – It’s Time for the Left to Respond
From skyrocketing unemployment to remote working and reduced hours, the Covid-19 pandemic is transforming the world of work – and the Left needs to provide its vision for the future before it’s too late.
The A-Level Results Are Class Politics
This year the Tories have turned England’s A-levels into a postcode lottery, further disadvantaging working-class youth. If students want justice they will need to follow their Scottish counterparts – and fight back.
Dawn Butler: ‘It’s Not Every Police Officer, but the System is Structurally Racist’
Labour MP Dawn Butler on being stopped by the police, the far-right campaign of abuse which followed – and why she intends to keep fighting the structural racism that plagues policing in Britain.
The Sad Comedies of Soviet Socialism
Georgii Daneliya was one of the Soviet film directors genuinely beloved by Soviet audiences. His gentle comedies depict the USSR as neither dystopia nor utopia, but as most people actually lived it.