The significance and shortcomings of Karl Marx
In honor of the bicentennial of Marx's birth, this essay summarizes some of his contributions and explain in what respects he got his own ideas wrong.
Telling the truth about class - Gáspár Miklós Tamás
G.M. Tamás argues that all socialist endeavours can be divided between Rousseauian and Marxian ones. Rousseau seeks to replace stratified society with the people, while Marx believes that capitalist society might end by one of its fundamental classes, the proletariat, abolishing itself.
Yankee theorists are always on the TV: a reply on Americans, academics and so on
The question of class and things that tend to get described as “identity politics”, whether or not that term is a useful one, seems to be one of those topics that generates never-ending, vaguely circular, discussions, often ones which generate more heat than light. As such, it’s worth checking in on every now and again to see if the latest contributions offer anything new.
Huey Newton introduces Revolutionary Intercommunalism, Boston College, November 18 1970
In 1970 Huey Newton gave a speech at Boston college outlining a new ideological direction for the Black Panther Party, Revolutionary Intercommunalism. Newton described his rejection of the idea of black people being an internal colony in the US, that class struggle rather than national liberation was the only route to a communist society (describing the failure of liberation movements in Africa as 'neo-colonialism'), concerns around automation and the working class, and the impossibility of a socialist state in the US (against the position of the Progressive Labor Party), although he still described Vietnam and China as partially liberated.
All That Melts into Air is Solid: A. Sivanandan
Sivanandan criticises the New Times tendency in Marxism Today's reorientation towards the Labour Party and its attempt to create a new electoral coalition.
It's A Class Struggle, Goddammit! - Fred Hampton
Hampton discusses Bobby Seale's trial while criticising the reactionary nationalism of Ron Karenga, Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) and Leroi Jones (Amiri Baraka), (unfortunately using some homophobic language in the process). He also mentions the name of the cop (Glove Davis) who was to participate in his assassination a month later.
Identity crisis: Leftist anti-wokeness is bullshit
Submitted by Mike Harman on Aug 22 2017 16:31
When criticism of ‘identity politics’ is just an argument for class representation under capitalism.
Bloody legislation against the expropriated
Submitted by Steven. on Jul 22 2017 22:37
Karl Marx's short history of the violent legislation introduced by governments in Europe to force peasants removed from their land into wage labour from the 16th century.
House to Goddess of the House: Gender, Class and Silk in 19th Century Mount Lebanon
An essay on the development of capitalism in Lebanon and the effects it had upon gender roles. Mainly focusing on women workers in the silk industry from a Christian Lebanese background.
Identity Politics and Class Struggle
Article from 1997 by Robin D. G. Kelley on discussions around identity politics and class struggle. While written twenty years ago it remains relevant to current discussions on the same topic.
