Alienation: The philosophical basis of Capitalism
Loss of control is the fundamental expression of alienation. Popularly, and particularly among psychologists, alienation is understood almost exclusively as a psychological state. It refers to a variety of disorders, including anxiety, despair, loneliness, apathy, meaninglessness and powerlessness. Some if not all of these problems will be intimately familiar to us, but are these just […]
Okinawa and the US Empire
Following a brutal and horrific battle between Japanese and US forces which claimed the lives of approximately one third of Okinawa’s population, Okinawa has been forced to house American militarism up until this day. Approximately 20 percent of the Okinawan mainland is used to house US military bases. Military crimes are commonplace and many of […]
Transforming our Unions: a report from the PSA Youth National Conference
Earlier this week the Public Service Association’s Youth Network (PSAY) held its annual conference. 90 members of the PSAY Network met to discuss issues relevant to young workers and build youth participation in the union. While young workers join the PSA and become delegates at roughly similar rates to their older colleges, they are under-represented […]
Marching against Rape Culture
International Socialist Organisation members joined over one thousand others in rallies across the country last weekend, protesting against rape and sexual violence. Members in Tamaki Makaurau report a lively and energetic, mostly young, crowd at that city’s demonstration. Many in the crowd were receptive to left-wing ideas and arguments: we distributed many hundreds of leaflets […]
“Roastbusters”, rape, misogyny and the police
What an appalling set of stories. Each day it gets worse. Revelations of the abuse suffered by young women in Auckland over the last few years, and then further revelations of how their stories and complaints were ignored or dismissed by Police, have horrified many. For days media outlets kept referring to this as a […]
Auckland Action Against Poverty Welfare Impact
Today I am going to give a brief overview of the recent Auckland Action Against Poverty Welfare Impact that I attended, what drives me to work in this area, and my plans to build a sustainable welfare advocacy service in Otepoti. Firstly, my interest in welfare stems from my upbringing, living in a household sustained […]
Wellington BDS campaign launch: Divest from G4S
In 2005, a coalition of more than 170 Palestinian organizations called for international supporters to initiate boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns–to boycott Israeli products and companies, divest from businesses that profit from the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and demand government sanctions for Israel’s violations of international law. The goal of the BDS campaign is to […]
Syria: No to Assad, No to US Imperialism
The Syrian civil war has come about as a response to the rule of Bashar al-Assad who succeeded his father in the year 2000, coming into presidency with strong support of the people and with aspirations of democracy and secularism. However, as his presidency unfolded, not much changed for the Syrian people. The economy was […]
Len Brown, Sex Scandals, Stereotypes, and Anti-Asian Racism
I am not interested in Bevan Chuang or Len Brown’s sex lives. As a socialist I think private conduct between consenting adults should be their concern and no one else’s. The only ‘betrayal’ from Auckland’s mayor that interests me is from last year is when he betrayed the wharfies. But media coverage of the last […]
Auckland University Students Rally Against Fee Increases
On the afternoon of Monday the 21st of October a rally of around 50 to 100 people was held in front of the steps of the Old Choral Hall at the University of Auckland, protesting fee increases and the increasing commodification of education. The rally was in protest of the yearly fee increases and the […]
