L for Lenin
Lenin is a divisive figure, demonised by bourgeois society as a tyrant, and deified by Stalinist regimes who used him as a figurehead to justify their actions. Vladimir Ilyich “Lenin” Ulyanov’s actual legacy is more interesting. Born to an educated family, Lenin became involved in anti-Tsarist politics while he was studying law. His older brother […]
Book review: The Significance of the Waihi Strike, by Martin Gregory
On the eve of World War One, New Zealand’s labour movement was approaching a crossroads. Down one path lay an end to imperialist slaughter on foreign fields and liberation from colonial capitalist oppression at home. Down the other, government by two alternating parties who differed over how to administer capitalism, but who were equally committed […]
Students and Radical Politics
For as long as there have been calls for radical change, students have been involved in a big way. In the past decade alone, we’ve seen the rise of massive movements led by young people around the world. From global calls to combat climate change and campaigns for a free Palestine to mass protests against […]
D mo te Democracy
Nau mai, whakatau mai e te tī, e te tā ki ngā taihuringa āhuatanga o te wā, ā, ki te puna kōrero nei o A E I O U: Hei Hanga Ao mo te Kai Mahi. I te pānui kotahi kua pahure, kua whakataki ngā korero mo ngā ahuatanga o te pūrawa, ā, tēnā pānui […]
Freedom of Speech
The Left has long fought for the right to freely share ideas. Being able to criticise a government and powerful institutions without fear of reprisal is critical for social progress. Being able to freely access a range of analyses for educational purposes can be personally nourishing as well as help develop the capability of society […]
When Freedom isn’t Free
For centuries, capitalists have claimed that the working class need capitalism because it guarantees our freedom from tyranny and from encroachment into our personal liberties. The capitalist free market is promoted as being our sole means of attaining political and economic freedom because of the way it channels individual workers into consensual relationships of exchange […]
The Socialist Vision of Freedom
Freedom from Oppression, Freedom from Exploitation Freedom is a contested word, but the real freedom at the core of the socialist vision – freedom for everyone – must be fought for. Socialists envision a world where everyone has the freedom to take the time we want to do the things we want. A world where […]
“God’s Bankers”: Capitalism and Religion
This article was published in Salient earlier in 2025. This version expands on Stewart’s philosophy, notes the utilisation of missionaries, and contains other minor editorial differences. Few things have been as devastating for the socialist project than its span as a state religion. For much of the twentieth century, so-called “communist” states raised Marx and […]
Working Class History: The 1959 Oil Workers Strike in Fiji
In the late 1950s in Fiji, the cost of living was rising. Indigenous Fijian workers, along with the formerly indentured Indo-Fijian workforce, chafed under the exploitation of the colonial, capitalist system. Some workers, like unionist Apisai Tora, had been radicalised by the experience of fighting in WWII and returning to continued hardship at home. It […]
The Lost Decade of Revolutions
The following is a lightly edited version of a public talk given to the Tāmaki Makaurau branch in March 2025. If you are attending a meeting of the International Socialist Organisation then we are going to start with the assumption that you want to change the world for the better: that you are at least […]
