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Author Archives: Gavin Mendel-Gleason
The Party and the Ballot Box
The role of elections in socialist strategy The Legacy of the Republican Congress In 1934, in the shadow of a rising fascist threat in Europe, the Republican Congress was convened. This congress brought together the main elements of socialists, communists … Continue reading
Posted in Proletarian politics
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Fake News: The Epistemology of Media
“What is truth?” said Pontius Pilate to Jesus. Or at least this is what we are told he said in the Gospel of John. Can we trust John to have related accurately the words of Pontius Pilate? Most scholars date … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Politics
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Trump, Russia and the CIA
In 2012, there was substantial outrage about Russia placing restriction on foreign financing of NGOs and unions which was spurred by the fact that there was significant funding by the United States. The Western media were almost uniformly appalled that … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Why is my rent so high?
After a quick perusal of Daft.ie, it’s clear that the rental situation in Dublin is an absolute catastrophe. Rental prices have gone through the roof. Literally, garden sheds and one-car garages are now going for 900 Euro per month and … Continue reading
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Review of Capitalism: Competition, Conflict, Crises by Anwar Shaikh
For a long time, neo-classical economics has been the economic orthodoxy. Neo-classical economics is a patchwork of theories all with a general aim of demonstrating how production and distribution takes place under mediation of supply and demand. The theory came … Continue reading
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Of Tankies, Trots and Social Democrats
The uncomfortable questions of formerly existing something-or-other On the left, there can be no subject more divisive than the question of unity. There are approximately three times as many opinions on the question as there are socialists. I probably hold … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Avatars of the Advanced-Capitalist Psyche – Capitain America: Civil War
My 11 year old son asked me what I thought of Captain America: Civil War, upon leaving the cinema. What follows is approximately what I told him (and consequently, perhaps such questions are a mistake he will not make again). … Continue reading
Posted in Cultural reviews
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Between Ideology and Public Discourse
Our political and economic system is in crisis. There is a crisis of affordable housing, of decent jobs, of cuts to public services and cuts to social welfare provisions. There is a crisis of democracy which shows itself at every … Continue reading
Posted in Proletarian politics
3 Comments
Why the Workers’ Party
A new era was inaugurated with the financial collapse of 2008. The former optimism of near permanent economic growth which would yield benefits to the vast majority in society was dealt a serious blow. While the vast bulk of benefits … Continue reading
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Is Class Real? Some Empirical Contributions from Econophysics
The idea that society is divided into two major groups under capitalism: Working class (or proletarian) and Capitalist class (or bourgeoisie) has been out of favour for quite a while. There are many more common interpretations of what the import … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
3 Comments
Review: Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century
Thomas Piketty’s new book, Capital in the 21st Century, or “Capital” for short, has made a massive impression in the media. He has been elevated to something of an economic super-star status. People who never were interested in economics have … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
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What is at stake with the Labour Theory of Value
Marx has been getting a lot of media attention recently, with articles exploring his relevance in the New York Times, The New Yorker, Time Magazine, Forbes and many others. A quick search on Google trends for “was Marx right” shows … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
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Strategy of Attrition: Part II
Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus (Outside of the Church there is no Salvation) In order for strategies to become more permanently established they need to be theorised. Just as the Anarchists theorised the workers councils as the vehicle of liberation, Kautsky and … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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The Strategy of Attrition: Part I
Conquest or Destruction of the State? Right from its beginnings in early 19th century, socialism has been bedevilled by debates over strategy in a way that right-wing ideologies have not. Would salvation come, as Fourier dreamed, from wealthy benefactors funding new … Continue reading
Posted in Proletarian politics
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