Link to magazine's website below

Editorial – Stopping the boots It should not surprise us that a wave of far-right rioting has swept the country.

"This is, surely, physics.

In some respects, there has been a rightward shift in mainstream UK politics since the rise of Thatcher and neo-liberalism. The media has been key in driving this, not just the billionaire rags but national broadcasters and papers of record. Farage’s 34 Question Time appearances since 2000, along with every other far right-winger that could be squeezed into a suit, are testament to a deliberate complicity.

On the other hand, over the last decade elements on the left in this country have arguably been deliberately smeared by these same agencies in a moral panic about anti-semitism. To be anti-colonial was anti-semitic, and increasingly to be anti-capitalist was to be anti-semitic, with capitalism as a semitic trope. By the time the press had finished, surveys suggested the general public thought that fully thirty percent of left-wingers, consisting of the country’s most notable and self-styled anti-racist campaigners, was anti-semitic. And at the same time, of course, immigration was touted as being the main cause of our problems and the signifier of whether any politician was to be taken seriously or not.

Faced with such an overwhelming barrage of Farage, and scattershot of Oakeshott, neo-nazis are granted licence and anti-racists need bar their doors. It was, surely, pretty inevitable.

Or, this is what we should think. In fact, public decency prevailed. Tens of thousands protested against the far-right riots. Because there is more than physics at play.

We are all capable and responsible social beings, despite the conformist pressure of the mass media, and for every four fascist thugs there are four thousand people from all walks of life standing against them. Yes, with four thousand different reasons for doing so, but this variety of thought can sometimes be a strength when a single dogma is not, because it originates with the individual as an independent thinker rather than being spoon-fed from a single source.

We are not playthings of external forces, even Question Time, unless we choose to surrender. We are not governed by the stars or by television, or even by our stomachs; merely alienated from our decision-making, political ability. We have a choice and standing against racism is the right one.

Life-skills learned in struggles under capitalist are essential for making the socialist revolution. Such actions are not to be dismissed. They are not the revolution, but they are something. If socialism is the liberation of the individual, then the work of making socialists entails people coming to their own conclusions. That will still be happening, in fact most of it will be happening, in the course of revolution itself when the floodgates will be opened to a rapid change of perspective.

Take heart from the solidarity expressed across Britain in the last weeks. It was not the revolution – but the solidarity it engendered can over time feed into more positive developments, rather than being simply a reaction to the negative."

https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/socialist-standard/2020s/2024/no-1441-september-2024/

Anybody know of any reliable mutual aid groups or leftist organizations in Guam? I have a friend that’s moving there

Thanks for any help

Hello everyone, as any of you knows, we are living in a time in which the imperium is crumbling and capitalism is on the brink of imploding. For many, the fight for a liberated Palestine has ignited a spark and once again made clear that the people are the ones that hold the power. But this is also what confuses me at the moment.
I am a university student who has been active in organising for the pro-Palestine movement last year but still feel like many of us are as confused as I am about our role in the movement and relation to non-students/-scientists.

As a Marxist, it is clear to me that students are thoroughly part of the proletariat, even when not engaging in physical labour and having priviliges that many of us do not possess. This fact leads some of us to conclude that students should not enagage in a special function/role within the proletariat and should only take up the same means as other proletarians who engage in manual labour. I think this is a flawed conception.
I understand that the university is a colonial entitty and have personally experienced many push backs in pursuing radical studies. Can't students use their knowledge to enrich the understanding of the current events and dilemmas autnomous from the universities, and thus, truly serve the masses?

Does any of you have experience in conducting research that is thoroughly in service of popular struggle and revolution, guided by Marxist principles? Perhaps combining multiple disciplines and non-traditional methods, and what has your experience been like to engage with mental labour in a time and place where manual work is emphasised (also rightly so for the most part) and science is by many seen as being alienated from the masses?

It would also help me tremendously if some of you could recommend some good literature on the subject. I am looking specifically for science's role in student organsing/revolution or struggle and not specifically for decolonising the university. I have read quite a lot of literature on this last subject already and have found that many scientists are still stuck with serving a colonial institution in stead of conducting research that serves the measses and popular struggle.

I can’t do this anymore. Capitalism is a sickness. Greed is a sickness. I have not lived for this system. I have explored other aspects of life and that has left me crippled when it comes to my own labor. I can’t mentally take it when my labor is extracted. Mostly for two reasons, the most important to me is that I feel my labor isn’t going towards anything worth while. It goes towards furthering a system that encourages people to disconnect from nature and community…to disconnect from their own soul and humanity. The second reason is that, because we do live under capitalism, I don’t get the true value of my labor.

I’ve struggled to get a job for a long time. I have a new one now and it is unionized, but I can’t stand the idea that I will have to do such back breaking work for thirty years at least. This world could’ve been so beautiful, but capitalism, greed, and violence won. It will not stop being this way until we completely destroy ourselves. I have seen no evidence that we can pull off a revolution that truly gives the power back to the people and dismantles capitalism and the state that serves it. Even if we could, there are so many people that are so out of touch with reality that I fear it would quickly fracture into many different semi-states. Some of which are bound to be even worse fascist states.

I’m tired. I don’t know how much longer I can persist under these conditions. I have watched so many of many family and ALL of my close friends die. Mostly as a direct or indirect result of our current system. If I believed in something after death (anything) I’d join them. But I believe life and the universe existing to be the only two true miracles. To end my own life prematurely would be to disrespect those miracles.

I was not made for capitalism, none of us were. I don’t know how long I can work my new job. I don’t want to be a wage slave. I don’t want to live for money. I just want peace and to work towards universal healing. I do believe socialism to be the best answer as a transitional system to a form of anarcho-communism. I just don’t think we have a large enough base or the infrastructure to actually achieve socialism. Not to mention the billions upon billions of dollars used by the CIA every years to upend any socialist parties that start to form.

I’m mostly venting, I know, but it’s because my heart has broken. I have given up but for a few last threads of hope. If I cannot become stronger physically and mentally then I will not make it at this job. I’m tired and alone. I want peace and I fear I won’t get that until I’m dead. I want community and people that understand me and will help me carry the weight of life.

They talk a lot about the redistribution of land and decolonialisation, and I was wondering what everyones thoughts about them is, as I am partly south African myself and intend to travel there.

Hello everyone. I've recently realized that I don't enjoy doing non-profit work that much anymore and would rather continue to put most of my effort into outside of work activism. There's conflicts of not feeling like what I do matters, generally being unenjoyable, low pay that only seems to be getting worse as time goes on, and also really really dysfunctional middle management.

I'm looking for a career that's ideally not directly in non-profit spaces, but still does some good, and has applications to community activism. A good example I've been thinking of is nursing, because you have a clear work and non work period, stable income not dependent on grants, and skills applicable to organizing. (Street medic, free mutual aid medical care, etc.)

That being said, are there any other careers that pop to mind when you think of a career that isn't directly activism, but is in some way fulfilling and useful to organizing?

Hi Everyone,

I have been learning a lot about socialism and what a society would look like under this system. I became a socialist a while ago. I still have quite a bit to learn about the ideology which brings me to my question(s). The socialist perspective believes that the police are only there to protect those on the top, may I ask what reasoning behind this claim is and why it's the case? What are the alternative ways to maintain order in society without the need for law enforcement?

Also, under socialism, we advocate for universal healthcare and low-cost to free postsecondary education, but this where I am confused. Do all socialists advocate for universal coverage for all healthcare services and completely eliminate the need for private insurance companies? Also, the debate over postsecondary education is interesting because some advocate for low-cost because if students don't have to pay anything, they may not take their education seriously, whereas some argue that it should be free so that everyone can easily get the qualifications they need to get jobs.

I'd be interested in diving more into these topics and become more educated as a socialist, and any insight is appreciated.

I’ve been researching socialism lately in order to better understand the views of some of my close friends and one of the arguments I see/hear from socialist sources is that the free market creates harmful monopolies. I’ve people use Standard Oil and Carnegie Steel as some examples, but I’m interested in more modern day versions of this. Can you guys bring up some examples?

Thank you in advance.

Greetings everyone!

Please tell us about what you've been reading over the last month. Books or magazines, fiction or non-fiction, socialist or anti-socialist - it can be anything! Give as much detail as you like, whether that be a simple mention, a brief synopsis, or even a review.

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As a reminder, our sidebar and wiki contain many Reading Lists which might be of interest:

• Socialism Starter Pack
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Looking for reputable books that examine the new deal as a whole

I got a call from Amnesty (most likely a Swedish branch) asking to become a member and donate a set amount every month to "help them work towards a ceasefire", but I'm skeptical if their methods work since most people aware of the Genocide learned from independent internet sources. If I were to donate I'd imagine (without having done research) doctors without borders or an org that feeds people to do more to actually help make a difference.

Anyways I would love all of your opinions on this.

I follow various Economic subs, but have become more and more disappointed with their responses as time goes by. I have an interest in academia, particularly History, but decided to branch out into the study of Economics not too long ago. What drew me in was, although there was a clear general bias in favor of American political economy, in particular the policies of the Democratic Party, the members would not infrequently recognize the successes of China, Cuba or even the USSR, so I decided to dig deeper.

What I noticed was that these members exclaim that they prefer to avoid discussing politics and do not like to abide by the dichotomy of Capitalism vs Socialism. However, it became ever more clear that there was a significant problem not being acknowledged, and that was the role Politics plays.

The last post that really surprised me was one discussing the racial inequality of punitive action in schooling. This post and any mention that the U.S. may have a problem with racism were down voted into oblivion, while posts disparaging George Floyd were up voted and taken seriously. These are the people who would claim to support MLK Jr. currently (as it is politically "safe" to do so), however they would fail to recognize or even accept that most Americans despised MLK Jr., and they would most likely be one of them.

What originally captured my attention was the dry analytical data of discovering effective methods for solving current issues, along with a deeper understanding of the failures of modern Capitalism, but this has been completely destroyed by the typical Liberal arrogance which is commonplace in the anglosphere, which again, these economic enthusiasts claim to "be above" politics.

Economists apparently vote more "left leaning" (i.e. Democratic Party) than the average American, but vote more right leaning than any other academic field.

TLDR; What has been your experience with Economic Subs, Economists, or the study of the field?

I'm an unemployed student (classic socialist) and been looking for jobs, I realized being a real estate agent is kinda something you do on the side and pays well (depending on commission but I live in LA so it's obviously gonna be high). I mostly thought it looked interesting bc I already love looking at homes for fun knowing I won't be able to live by myself probably ever if I wanna stay in the city I was born in (I'm stubborn and gentrification already displaced me and other family members to worse areas of the county). That's exactly where my issue is, I don't necessarily think it's as bad as being a landlord or those house flippers that destroy beautiful architecture for cheap minimalist shit that's easier to resell, but I also don't know how much real estate agents (not the companies) are responsible for the housing crisis and gentrification since based on my understanding it's like being a sales person which is like most retail jobs (my last one was awful omg no wonder they didnt keep me I wasn't gonna push customers into debt by opening unnecessary cards.) Can I get a socialist perspective on this? Is there a way to be even a slightly morally better real estate agent like if I work with middle-lower income families and try to get lower prices for them? (also I think at this point owning a house is genuinely better than paying 3,000/month in rent that WILL go up on a shitty apartment the landlords don't care about)

I know that we need worse material conditions to achieve a revolution, but should we make people's economic situations worse on purpose to speed things up? With climate change threatening to be irreversible in a few years (as early as 2026), it seems like we don’t have time for material conditions to develop naturally.

Compared to prior decades, support for socialism has dwindled. I think it's from a literal centuries worth of anti-communist propaganda that leaves the depths of history murky. I'm starting to think The Proletarian Revolution will never manifest itself in the USA. What do y'all think?

Hey so I’ve been thinking of building up my community and organizing a group of commies. But with a focus on arming, training, and safety of ourselves and our community. With an interest in being a volunteer security force during socialist events, protests, etc. is this a bad idea, and more importantly is it illegal? US btw.