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Russia was never socialist – and why: what we said over the years
October 1996, U.K. So often Russia is described at having tried ‘socialism.’ Russia under Lenin, Stalin and the rest is usually described as socialist or communist by the media. Yet, as these extracts from our British-based journal, The Socialist Standard, argue, Russia was never socialist…………….. 1920 When we are told that Socialism has been obtained…
Security and “terror” in South East Asia
This article has been reproduced from the Socialist Standard (March 1996), the monthly journal of the Socialist Party of Great Britain. ‘The Indonesian Government remains a military dictatorship that has little hesitation in cracking down on political dissent. Military repression in East Timor and harsh clamps on free speech and other civil liberties in Indonesia…
Pinochet and socialism
This article has been reproduced from the Socialist Standard (December 1998), the monthly journal of the Socialist Party of Great Britain The arrest of the Chilean ex-dictator Pinochet in London in October reopened the debate about the overthrow by the armed forces of the Allende government in 1973. At the time Leninists and anarchists trumpeted…
Black consciousness in South Africa
November 2000, South Africa This article has been reproduced from the African Socialist (December 2000), a journal of the World Socialist Movement. What follows is a text submitted by Crifford Marathodi , a W.S.M. member in South Africa, with an introduction by Ben Malcom of the Socialist Party of Great Britain. Introduction This article, focusing…
Ethnic cleansing the desert
In Israel/Palestine there exist communities of what some call the ‘Invisible Citizens’ and with echoes of past justifications for the establishment of Israel assert that the Negev desert where they dwell is vacant and undeveloped. These are the Bedouin who make up around 3.5 percent of Israel’s population and thousands of Bedouin serve in the…
What is happening in Venezuela?
On 23 January 2019, the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, declared himself ‘Interim President’ of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, denouncing the elected President Nicolas Maduro as an illegitimate dictator. The US government immediately announced its support, followed by a declaration from the Group of Lima, which is an institution embracing several…
S.P.C. February Report
Greetings Fellow Workers, Please find our February 2019 Monthly Report for your review and comment. This month we had an amusing contribution sent from a sympathizer, MatterNatter, which we though you may enjoy. Find it as a second attachment below. yfs, John, Mehmet, Steve & GAC members Socialist Party of Canada PO Box 31024 Victoria…
Material World: the military contribution to climate change
The United Nations Intergovernmental Report on Climate Change last October made grim reading. Our planet is facing a crisis unprecedented in human history, one that some believe to be an existential threat to civilisation itself. We are informed that a series of business and life-style reforms might lessen the worst effects of climate change. But…
Almeria’s greenhouses: the dark side of agro-capitalism
Part One: Mar de Plastico In Almeria province in Southern Spain there is to be found the largest greenhouse complex in the world, an area roughly the size of the Isle of Wight. Nothing quite prepares you for the sheer scale of it all – or the brutal ugliness. Driving through it can be a…
Welcome to the WSM site
Introduction and Welcome Not interested in politics? Who could blame you? The stuff that’s served up in the media is pretty dreary, after all. You may not be interested in politics because you feel you can’t do anything to bring about change. You may feel powerless. But maybe you should be interested. “Politics”, after all,…