Bill’s Budget is a Castle Made of Sand
On Radio Live last night, Duncan Garner was chortling with satisfaction at Bill English’s stewardship. His business guests were even more delighted. Andrew Patterson praised Bill English’s wisdom and prudence that had finally undone all the damage of the Clark Labour Government. In a pretty disgusting metaphor, Garner said Cameron Bagrie, the ANZ chief economist, […]
The Second Chinese Revolution 1925-27
The Second Chinese Revolution of 1925-27 was a turning point in world history. Consider the world situation around 1924-1925. In Europe the revolutionary wave that accompanied the end of the First World War had exhausted itself to leave the Russian Revolution isolated. In Germany the revolutionary process from 1918 to 1923 had been halted and […]
Socialism and the Campaign Against Asset Sales
Why do socialists oppose asset sales? The answer seems obvious: socialists want state ownership because it provides popular control of the economy. People on both the right and the left generally agree socialists stand for ‘big government’ and ‘state intervention’. But being a revolutionary means questioning accepted wisdom and although reformists in Labour and the […]
May Day: 2013
Kaimahi kaha – workers’ power! May Day greetings to all our readers. Although Labour Day has had more official recognition and celebration in Aotearoa / New Zealand over the decades, May Day is the internationalist celebration of workers’ struggle and solidarity. You can read about the history of May Day here. May Day marks our […]
Fighting to Choose: the Abortion Rights Struggle in New Zealand
[Alison McCulloch is a freelance journalist and abortion rights activist based in Tauranga. Her history of the abortion rights struggle in New Zealand, Fighting to Choose, will be published by Victoria University Press next month. We spoke to Alison about her book and the campaign.] Alison, you’re an active member of ALRANZ, the pro-choice organisation. […]
Margaret Thatcher 1925 – 2013: May her legacy follow her to the grave
The death of Margaret Thatcher is an important event for anyone who stands for equality and socialism. While the event itself changes little, and Thatcher has not been in power for over 20 years, the legacy of the ‘New Right’ is still making people suffer today. Coming to power in 1979, Thatcher followed a vicious […]
Marx and the Lassalleans
The following was presented as a talk at Marxism 2013 in Melbourne Who today has even heard of Ferdinand Lassalle? Who cares about Marx’s battles with his followers? Lassalle’s writings are out of print, and his collections sit gathering dust in the stacks and back-rooms of libraries. Picking over these old quarrels seems, at first, […]
Why women need abortion rights: the socialist case
Shomi Yoon gave this talk to the Wellington branch of the International Socialist Organisation in March. “Not the Church, not the state, women must decide their fate”: this was the fighting slogan of the abortion rights campaign of the 1970s. Women’s liberation was a movement that swept across the world, growing out of and alongside […]
Celebrating the struggle against sexism
This talk was given to the Dunedin branch of the International Socialists by Miranda B to mark International Women’s Day 2013. The first International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration was held over 100 years ago in 1911. In the last few years it has been taken over by mainstream or bureaucratic bodies, in particular the United […]
Pope Francis and the Machinations of the Father of Lies
It will come as no surprise to many non-Catholics that Jorge Bergoglio, who was elected pope this week with the name “Francis”, is likely to serve more of the same stew of sexism and homophobia as his predecessor. He has been hailed as the first pope not born in Europe (although he is the son of […]
