Category Archives: Politics

“In the struggle, of which we have noted only a few phrases, this mass becomes united, and constitutes itself as a class for itself. The interests it defends become class interests. But the struggle of class against class is a political struggle.” — Karl Marx, The Poverty of Philosophy

The Strategy of Attrition: Part I

Posted on 26/03/2014 by James O'Brien

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 | Comments Off

Democracy and the role of the party

Posted on 20/03/2014 by modulus

Democracy in Crisis “In sharp contradiction to the belief that democracy is only a way to Socialism is another viewpoint which is also quite popular in Socialist ranks, namely, that true democracy is possible only in a Socialist society and … Continue reading →

Posted in Critique of the Left, Politics, Proletarian politics | 1 Comment

Working Class Hero

Posted on 19/03/2014 by Gavin Mendel-Gleason

There is a fairly widespread argument concerning the working class that goes something like this: The Working class is now only a small fragment of the population. The old class politics is therefore permanently dead and can not be resuscitated. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Proletarian politics | Comments Off

Disrupting Democracy

Posted on 05/03/2014 by Gavin Mendel-Gleason

In that last few years there have been numerous mass demonstrations which lead to changes of government, including in Egypt and the Ukraine. During this period the United States has been a major player in attempting to destabilise democratically elected … Continue reading →

Posted in Geopolitics | Comments Off

Podemos: what is it?

Posted on 12/02/2014 by modulus

Podemos is a new political option in the Spanish state. For now it is not much more than an idea, and it will go for elections for the first time for the European Parliament, a contest wherein–for reasons I will … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Proletarian politics | 2 Comments

Spontaneity, control and socialist organization

Posted on 02/02/2014 by yeksmesh

In this article I wish to write down some of my thoughts on socialist organization, more specifically on spontaneity and control within the working class and how this relates to socialist organization(s). The thinking underlying this article starts with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Critique of the Left, Proletarian politics | Comments Off

How do we get from here to there? Socialist strategy and political participation

Posted on 19/12/2013 by Dara McHugh

Is there a clear path to a better world? All too often, the route is set from a single fork in the road; the old polemical division – reform or revolution. For those who emphasise immediate reforms, we go via … Continue reading →

Posted in Critique of the Left, Politics | 1 Comment

Socialist Party Resignation Statement

Posted on 19/12/2013 by Guest Author

This statement has been drawn up by the following recently resigned members of the Socialist Party: Andrew Phelan, Megan ni Ghabhlain, Richard O’Hara, Pamela Rochford, Stephanie O’Shea and Jimmy Dignam. Notes: Tragically, Rob Ryan passed away before this statement was … Continue reading →

Posted in Proletarian politics | 4 Comments

The Transition

Posted on 28/11/2013 by Gavin Mendel-Gleason

The period of transition between our current capitalist economic and social system and a socialist economy is a very controversial subject among socialists. Maintaining an active dialogue and critique of this period is absolutely critical to our strategic and tactical … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics | 4 Comments

The democratic road: marxism’s greater vehicle

Posted on 27/11/2013 by modulus

Movements are never uniform. Where humans meet to achieve a common purpose, more likely than not, divergences exist: on ends and means, on commitment and focus, on vision and motivation… Even the sort of movement Nechayev proposed in his mad … Continue reading →

Posted in Critique of the Left, Politics, Proletarian politics | 1 Comment

The twilight of democracy

Posted on 13/11/2013 by modulus

There’s a certain story that can be told about popular participation in government. It begins with Athens, glorious and bright, yet outnumbered and besieged by the sinister forces of oriental despotism. It continues with Rome, a mixed constitution where power … Continue reading →

Posted in Bourgeois politics, Politics | 4 Comments

Interview with a member of the Communist Party of Canada

Posted on 30/10/2013 by modulus

This is our second audio interview, this time with a young cadre from the CPC. We hope you find it as interesting as we do, and that this won’t be our last. Hopefully we will keep bringing you diverse communist … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Proletarian politics | Tagged audio | Comments Off

“Wer hat uns verraten?”: Speculations on the imminent German Election

Posted on 18/09/2013 by Jerome Nikolai Warren

“Who’s done us in?” This ambiguous, and yet telling, interrogative was said to’ve stood on Karl Liebknecht’s desk in Berlin. Marc Uwe Kling, a contemporary political singer, comments that “a poster of the slogan is also over Oskar Lafontaine’s desk”. … Continue reading →

Posted in Critique of the Left, Politics | Tagged DIE LINKE, elections, German election, Germany, SPD | Comments Off

Production and consumption: differences in orientation

Posted on 03/09/2013 by modulus

A previous article on Spirit of Contradiction dealt with the issue of types of revolutions drawing the fundamental distinction between insurrection, socialisation in production and communisation in consumption. Some of these ideas were expounded on by earlier Marxists when confronting … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Politics | Comments Off