A review of an interesting book on the reaction to the Russian Revolution within the British left at the time. It shows how many on the left went from supporting the revolution due to its increase in democracy to defeating the Bolshevik dictatorship in a few years. It appeared in Anarcho-Syndicalist Review No. 73 (Spring 2018)
(more…)Category: Britain
-
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
A review of Imagine by Tommy Sheridan and Alan McCombes, the (then) leaders of the Scottish Socialist Party. An attempt by Trotskyists (formerly of Militant) to become libertarian sounding are not very convincing. At the height of its electoral success in 2003, the party had six Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) but it then imploded, in thanks to the activities of its leader, Sheridan, and the cult of personality the party had created around him. It appeared in Black Flag no. 224 (2004).
(more…) -
Sylvia Pankhurst: Anti-Parliamentarian Communist
An account of the evolution of Sylvia Pankhurst from suffragette to supporter of the Bolshevik regime and then to council communist. It discusses the similarities of her ideas to anarchism as well as her links to the movement. It appeared in Black Flag Anarchist Review Volume 5 Number 3 (Autumn 2025).
(more…) -
The Two Souls of Democracy
A review of Tony Benn’s 2005 TV programme on democracy. It points out the democracy has many meanings and can, and is, used to justify elite rule.
(more…) -
Mind the Gap!
A discussion of the state of the economy from 2017. Discusses the gap between mainstream economic theory and reality, the gap in income and wealth between the working and capitalist classes, and the gap between the proposed solutions and what is really needed.
(more…)