How Students Beat the System in 2020
This year, students exposed the myth of England’s ‘meritocratic’ education system and overturned the government’s A Level results. But dealing with the class divides in our schools will be a far longer struggle.
4342 Articles by:
Rae Hart
Rae Deer is an economist and freelance writer.
Ireland’s Carceral Cure for Poverty
For much of the twentieth century, Ireland’s ruling class resisted social-democratic reforms. Instead, they treated poverty as a moral failing – and built a brutal carceral state to correct it.
For the Tories, the Return of the Death Penalty Is Not so Farfetched
Rumours that Home Secretary Priti Patel was exploring the reintroduction of the death penalty were met with surprise – but it would just be the latest chapter in a decade of Tory governments devaluing human life.
Silent Houses
The doomy sound of Belarusian group Molchat Doma has resonated with both western and eastern youth. Is it a musical Soviet nostalgia or something more telling about our own times?
Socialise Big Tech
The ‘big five’ tech giants – Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft – have extraordinary control over our lives. Regulating them isn’t enough, they have to be brought under democratic public ownership.
How Air Pollution Is Killing Britain’s Working-Class
Earlier this month, Ella Kissi-Debrah became the first British person to have air pollution recorded as a cause of death – but she won’t be the last. In poorer urban communities, it is increasingly a matter of life and death.
The Socialism of William Morris
William Morris is most famous for his iconic patterns, but a new collection of his writings shows the other passion of his life: a conviction that only the overthrow of capitalism could liberate humanity.
A Very Tribune Christmas
In 1937, Tribune ran a Christmas editorial paying tribute to workers imprisoned in the struggle against fascism and capitalism – and calling for a renewed fellowship of labour across the world.
Gerrard Winstanley’s Christian Communism
For Diggers leader Gerrard Winstanley, any Christianity which focused on individual salvation was bankrupt – Christ’s message was a revolutionary doctrine that demanded rebuilding society in the common interest.
The Radical Dickens
In his literary works, Charles Dickens told the story of a society blighted by inequality – and the cruelty of a ruling class which kept so many living in grinding poverty.
The Latest Housing Scandal: Blaming Tenants for Overcrowding
Last week, a Southwark family won their appeal against a council which accused them of ‘deliberately’ overcrowding their one-bed flat – but there’s only one thing worth blaming for overcrowding: the lack of decent council housing.
The Man Who Made a Million Socialists
Robert Tressell, author of ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists,’ was born 150 years ago. His writing left an indelible mark on the socialist movement — but the man himself was almost forgotten by history.
How Great Ormond Street Hospital Workers Beat Outsourcing
This month, domestic staff at Great Ormond Street hospital won an in-housing agreement with the help of their union. Their victory is one we should replicate across the NHS.
Tony Benn on Revolutionary Christianity
We republish Tony Benn’s classic lecture on the revolutionary social imperative of Christian teachings.
Keir Starmer’s Speech on Scotland Was Too Little, Too Late
This week, Keir Starmer committed Labour to exploring greater powers for the Scottish parliament – but in rejecting outright the idea of a referendum, he undermined what little good will the party might have earned.
‘We’re Mapping Strikes to Help Build the Workers’ Movement’
The new Strike Map UK initiative aims to put a spotlight on the scale of industrial action taking place across Britain – and build links of solidarity which can strengthen the working-class movement.
The Trickle-Down Scam
For decades, governments have been justifying tax cuts for the rich by arguing they would create wealth and benefit society. The evidence is now overwhelming – they were lying.
To Save Lives, It’s Time to Scrap Serco
The government’s decision to hand England’s test-and-trace system over to Serco has been an unmitigated disaster. As millions suffer the consequences, it’s time they’re removed from our public health system for good.
When Science Met Socialism
Frustrated by the conservatism of Britain’s scientific establishment – and the growing popularity of eugenics – a group of radicals led by J. D. Bernal set out to harness science’s capacities for social transformation.
Organising America’s Abortion Clinics
The political sparring over reproductive healthcare in the US is notorious, but there’s another struggle going on, too – one between abortion clinic staff and their union-busting bosses.