Student Activism Revival
An exciting development of 2023 has been the return of university student protest, with a wave of protests erupting onto campuses across Aotearoa in response to proposed staff and course cuts. While we have seen outbreaks of student discontent on campus in recent years, such as the “New University” protests sparked by specialist library closures […]
Te Tairawhiti: The Sun Rising Over a Troubled Land
Ehara toku tu he tu ka neke, a, ko toku mana ki Hikurangi, ehara nana te nuku. Ehara toku kaha he kaha naku noa, ko toku kaha ki Waiapu, nana te kaha. Ehara ahau noa, ko Ngati Porou kei te mihi. I stand unmoving, as my mana is at Hikurangi, he does not move. My […]
Boycott Divest Sanction: From Capetown to Gaza
The oppression of the Palestinian people continues. Since October 7th, the response to Hamas’ attacks has been Israeli airstrikes, a vicious media campaign condemning communities that are being flattened by Israeli rockets, and the threat of an attempt to force over two million Palestinians from some of the last of their land. There has been […]
B is for Bourgeoisie
This article continues our ABC of Socialism series, an introduction to key socialist concepts for would-be world-changers. In our first column on Alienation we talked about the have-nots of society, the “99 percent,” who are alienated from the land, the resources and most of the wealth of society. But what about the haves, the 1 […]
The far right in the 2023 general election
Amongst the parties who vied for our votes in Aotearoa’s October 2023 general election, not a single one represented the working class against capitalism. However, this does not in any way mean all of the options were equally bad or that the various potential outcomes of the election were irrelevant. Beyond the obvious battle between […]
The Labour Party loses the election: What is to be done?
This was an election that Labour contrived to lose. The most dramatic shift in party support was the drop in the Labour vote from 50 percent in 2020 to towards half of that this time. Every other party gained. Labour lost votes to the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, which demonstrates that Labour managed to […]
Imperialism, capitalism, colonialism: The Israeli state and occupied Palestine
The following is based on an introduction given to an educational discussion in Te Whanganui-a-Tara branch of the ISO on October 31st 2023. The recorded talk is also available here. Two thousand years ago, the Roman Empire, centred on the Mediterranean, reached its zenith. Before the Romans there were many empires in human history based […]
Solidarity to fight Islamophobia, not more spies
“Justice to those affected has not yet been served.” That was Aliya Danzeisen’s response to the Royal Commission’s findings. The Commission was tasked with finding what factors lead to the massacre of 51 Muslims in Christchurch last year. Danzeisen has every right to be outraged and disappointed at the Royal Commission’s woefully inadequate recommendations, and […]
Labour’s Wellington rally
On Sunday 11 October Labour held its Wellington election rally at the Michael Fowler auditorium which can seat 1,800 on two tiers – ambitious. In fact the smaller top tier wasn’t needed and the main tier had some empty seats towards the back, but the audience was easily big enough to create a cheery atmosphere […]
Vote Labour, but Build a Socialist Alternative
As the anti-capitalist socialist movement is unable to stand candidates in the general election with any prospect of success, the ISO advocates electoral support for Labour without for a moment down-playing our fundamental criticisms of the party’s politics. We are not for abstaining. It makes a difference whether National or Labour forms the government. Take, […]
