Sharon Smith analyses the causes and consequences of the collapse of the International Socialist Organization in 2019.
More...
The crisis in the ISO
Antonis Davanellos is a leading member of the Greek socialist organization International Workers’ Left (DEA). DEA had close, collaborative relations with the ISO until the latter’s disollution. Davanellos wrote the following assessment not long after the ISO’s final national convention held in February 2019, which he attended as an invited […]
Black feminism and intersectionality
“Although we are in essential agreement with Marx’s theory as it applied to the very specific economic relationships he analyzed, we know that his analysis must be extended further in order for us to understand our specific economic situation as Black women.” —the Combahee River Collective Statement, 1977 1 “The […]
US social democracy and the Marxist left
Us history is full of examples of how revolutionaries abandoned their project and dissolved into reformist organizations. Max Shachtman’s Workers’ Party is one historical example.
Greece after Tsipras: a left defeated, the right in power, and the new offensive
Antonis Davanellos analyses the political situation in Greece following the parliamentary elections last July, which saw the return of the right to power, the defeat of Syriza, and the failure of Left.
Bhaskar Sunkara’s Socialist Manifesto
Bhaskar Sunkara, The Socialist Manifesto: A Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality, Verso, London, 2019.
Bailing out the System: Reformist Socialism in Western Europe
Ian Birchall, in a chapter from his book Bailing Out the System, examines the history of European social democracy and its practical and theoretical limitations.
The rise and fall of Maoism
In what was originally a public presentation at a Socialism conference, Lance Selfa looks at origins of Maoism and its international impact.
Antonio Gramsci: Life of a Revolutionary
Many of Gramsci’s concerns as an active revolutionary are those he took with him into prison as the leader of the Communist Party and throughout his life: combating the determinism of Second International Marxism, and emphasizing the importance of human agency in transforming society.
What’s at stake in the Charlie Hebdo debate?
This is a modified version of a presentation delivered at the ISO’s 2015 national convention by Paul D’Amato, and appeared that year in an internal bulletin. Though there were a number of members who disagreed with its main arguments, no responses were written, and the debate came to an abrupt […]
The myth of rust-belt reactionaries
The argument that Trump’s base consists largely of rust-belt industrial is a flimsy argument based on false assumption, stereotypes, and false data.
Unity with whom and to what end?
“Unity” is a tricky slogan. Every trade unionist knows that the foundation for a successful strike is unity in the ranks—if a majority supports the strike, all workers, no matter how they voted, must honor the picket line and not cross. That’s a pretty clear-cut case where unity advances the […]
How to fight the far right
After the big mobilizations against Nazi hate in Boston and the Bay Area last month, there has been a flurry of attacks against violence. Not against far right violence—instead, the attacks have been against those committed to stopping the Nazis. Hard as it is to believe after the string of […]
Bourgeois revolution and workers’ revolution
In all past revolutions, the universal goals expressed by its participants masked underlying differences. General appeals to the interests of humanity, “the people” or the nation covered over the fact that in these struggles there were different class forces with differing ideas about what the revolution meant. In the […]
Socialists and the Democratic Party
THE MASS outpouring of protest against Donald Trump and his policies has been inspiring, drawing out hundreds of thousands of people and creating a situation in which the possibilities for solidarity–in defending every group Trump attacks–have become more tangible. There is not only anger against Trump–and, of course, a great […]
