state socialism

The anarcho-syndicalist movement in China in 1910s and 1920s - Vadim Damier

Submitted by Foristaruso on Jun 4 2014 05:14

Notes on the early 20th century history of anarcho-syndicalism in China by Vadim Damier.

Iranian intellectuals and dependency theory - M. Arman

Fedayeen Khalq guerrilla organization of Iran flag.

An interesting critique of the Iranian intellectual left who had their dogmas - particularly those around anti-imperialist struggle - shattered by the events of the revolution. Also contains interesting information about the development of the Iranian socialist movement.

State capitalism in Egypt: a critique of Patrick Clawson - Clive Bradley

Gamal Abdel Nasser, President of Egypt, 1956-1970, in Mansoura.

A comradely criticism by Clive Bradley of some of Patrick Clawson's views on the development of capitalism in Egypt from Khamsin #9.

Fighting back in Ukraine - Oleg Dubrovskii with Simon Pirani

Submitted by Dan Radnika on Apr 8 2014 20:22

This short pamphlet was put together by Simon Pirani in 1996/7 from a series of interviews with Ukrainian worker activist Oleg Dubrovskii. It’s of general interest in relation to the way that life for the workers changed when the old Soviet Union disintegrated, but also provides some useful background information to what’s happening in the Ukraine today.

The guillotine at work - Gregori Maximov

Submitted by Steven. on Apr 5 2014 23:58

Originally published in 1940 in two parts, this is the (partly eyewitness) account of the Leninist terror inflicted upon Russia during the revolution after 1917. Maximov, a life-long anarchist, fought in the Russian Revolution, organized with the metal-workers, and was imprisoned by Lenin's secret police in 1920 when he refused to join the Red Army: he was happy to fight the Whites, but not put down workers' and peasants' uprisings.

The guillotine at work, part 2: data and documents

Submitted by Karetelnik on Apr 5 2014 21:42

Prisoners arrive at the Solovetsky Camp (1927)

This is part 2 of the The Guillotine at Work, containing documentation of the Bolshevik "Red Terror" in the wake of the Russian revolution, edited by Russian anarchist Gregori Maximov.

Leadership and the myth of apathy

Submitted by Phil on Apr 4 2014 20:42

Why aren't we rising up? Whether the 'we' in question is young people, the British people, or the poor, this is a question asked an awful lot by both mainstream and leftist commentators. Austerity, job cuts, pay freezes, workfare, poverty, food banks, police brutality, political corruption - it's all the rage, so why aren't we all enraged?

Italy: Renzi government reforms jobs and cuts rights

Submitted by StrugglesInItaly on Mar 28 2014 16:35

At first glance, Giuliano Poletti, Minister of Labour and Social Policy in the Renzi government, could look like an old-fashioned left-wing politician: born into a farming family in the “red” Emilia-Romagna region, raised in the Communist Party, president of Legacoop, the main national organisation of cooperatives. He could be someone to provide a contrast to the Prime Minister’s attitude towards jobs (modelled on the inspiring figures of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair). But appearances can be deceptive.

Government in the future - Noam Chomsky

Text of Noam Chomsky's 1970 lecture on the possibilities for a libertarian socialist society and against both liberal capitalist and state socialist alternatives.