Category Archives: History

“The materialist conception of history starts from the proposition that the production of the means to support human life and, next to production, the exchange of things produced, is the basis of all social structure; that in every society that has appeared in history, the manner in which wealth is distributed and society divided into classes or orders is dependent upon what is produced, how it is produced, and how the products are exchanged. From this point of view, the final causes of all social changes and political revolutions are to be sought, not in men’s brains, not in men’s better insights into eternal truth and justice, but in changes in the modes of production and exchange.” — Friedrich Engels, Socialism: Utopian and Scientific

The revolution: a cherished failure.

Posted on 12/07/2012 by yeksmesh

One of the basic positions held by the radical left is the need to radically transform the society we live in, more precisely from a capitalist society into a socialist society. The generally accepted proposition is that this transition should … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics, Proletarian politics | 6 Comments

Thoughts on culture in an age of superabundance

Posted on 12/07/2012 by modulus

One of the biggest triumphs of capitalism lies in having created the impression that it’s a natural system. A non-specialist, when considering other times and societies, will almost certainly interpret them through the prism of capitalist assumptions: transferable property, free … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural analysis, Culture, History | 1 Comment

The crisis in Spain: a public-private partnership

Posted on 01/07/2012 by modulus

There’s a conventional wisdom on the right that the basic problem of the European economies now in trouble lies with excessive public spending. Sometimes this gets a bit more nuanced–but only a bit–and there comes the talk about competitiveness, labour … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History | Comments Off on The crisis in Spain: a public-private partnership

A Theory of History

Posted on 22/06/2012 by Gavin Mendel-Gleason

Recently, I’ve been looking at theories of history.  My interest in a theory of history derives from my interest in finding a political project which is at once progressive in content and direction, but also not doomed. It might help … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Comments Off on A Theory of History