Articles

A Design for Life: How Platforms Are Weaving Their Way Into the Fabric of Capitalism
With platform companies such as Apple and Facebook running up against the limits of their business models, they are turning to new ways to leverage your data for profit. In this week's column, James Meadway examines the measures platforms are taking and asks what it means for the future of capitalism.
Privatisation Is Creating Unfair Access to Immigration Services
The government recently outsourced visa application centres to private company Sopra Steria. Inconsistencies in the service – which is free in some parts of the country and not in others – and inadequate customer care highlight the dangers of privatising a vital public service.
The Public, Not the Tory Party, Must Decide Britain’s Next Prime Minister
It now seems certain Theresa May will resign as prime minister in the coming months, if not weeks. Aaron Bastani argues that if, amid such historic turbulence, her successor is chosen without the explicit consent of the country, it will discredit the very notion that Britain is a functioning democracy.
Economist Frédéric Lordon’s Letter to Emmanuel Macron: “Hand Over the Keys”
On 18 March, president Macron hosted a hand-picked group of 64 intellectuals at the presidential palace to discuss the challenges the country faced. One invitee who refused to attend was economist and philosopher Frédéric Lordon. Gabriel Bristow translates his response.
‘Work Sucks, I Know’: It’s Time We Moved to a Four-Day Week
Government spin would have you believe the world of work is looking rosier than ever - were it not for the fact that it defines our actual daily existence. In a new column, James Meadway - former economics editor to John McDonnell - argues a four-day week could be the solution we've been desiring all along.
Here’s All the Times Brandon Lewis Failed to Address Tory Islamophobia
Despite his claims to the contrary, Conservative party chairman Brandon Lewis has - according to members of his own party - repeatedly failed to address complaints of Islamophobic abuse.
Israeli Apartheid Week: Why We Need to Reject the Commodification of Anti-Racist Heroes
With apartheid very much alive in Israel, the history of the anti-apartheid movement and the legacies of anti-apartheid activists must be remembered and drawn on in fighting against these systems of racism and discrimination, writes Nelson Mandela's grandson, Nkosi Zwelivelile.
To Overcome Despair, We Need to Build a Fighting Corbyn Movement
As the soft coup against Jeremy Corbyn grinds on, in recent months the Labour membership has become increasingly paralysed by despair. To overcome this, we need a fighting left capable of taking on the establishment both inside and outside the Labour party, argues Holly Rigby.
Farage’s Ukip Must Not Be Rehabilitated
Recent media coverage of the UK Independence Party has drawn stark comparisons between the party under Nigel Farage and so-called 'Ukip 2.0' under successor Gerard Batten. George Newth argues this discontinuity is being greatly exaggerated, and is only aiding Farage's self-reinvention as a moderate politician.
As Isis Falls, a Humanitarian Crisis Is Rapidly Unfolding in North-Eastern Syria
As the media fixates on 'Isis brides', the Syrian Democratic Forces are struggling to keep thousands of people alive in the desert, with little help from international aid groups. Novara Media and the Rojava Information Centre report from the frontline.
Labour Is Now Crafting a Vision for Twenty-First Century Socialism
Forget the Tories' dull explosion, the Independent Group, and internal party sabotage led by Tom Watson. This week saw something more important than all of the above - the foundations of how a Corbyn government would build twenty-first century socialism, argues Aaron Bastani.
Sidelined No Longer, Sex Workers Led the Women’s Strike
At the heart of a feminism for all, the push for sex worker rights is a movement in which women who experience intersecting oppression and who have been marginalised by mainstream feminism are fighting back and winning.
As the Far Right Comes for Feminism, Women in Spain Have Gone on Strike
In Spain, millions of protesters have taken to the streets for International Women's Day. Amid a conservative backlash against feminism's social and political demands, they are marching and striking against domestic violence, inequality at work, unrecognised forms of labour and transphobia.
Sisterhood and Solidarity: How Pakistan’s Feminists Started an Anti-War Movement
As women in Pakistan prepare for the country’s second International Women’s Day March, the feminist movement has adopted an anti-war agenda that attacks militarism from an explicitly anti-capitalist, feminist and postcolonial perspective.
5 Reasons Feminists in Leeds Are Striking on 8 March
Wrenched from its radical roots in the struggles of working class women, International Women’s Day has been increasingly defanged in the name of corporate interest. Luke Dukinfield makes the case for reclaiming it.
A Day in the Life of a Marxist Immigration Barrister

An anonymous immigration barrister describes a typical day at work, the uphill battle of dismantling the British imperial border and why theirs is a job that really shouldn’t exist.
No, Labour Hasn’t Always Been an Anti-Racist Party
In recent weeks, many on the Labour right have suggested the party has always been anti-racist, but that under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership this has changed. Aaron Bastani takes a look at the history of New Labour and argues this couldn’t be further from the truth.
What Should Rent Controls Actually Do?
There is a broad consensus across the population that rent controls are a good idea. But they aren’t always radical, or even that progressive. Gordon Maloney outlines the kind of rent controls we should fight for, and how it is we should fight for them.