M) Articles By Topic

 

This is an on-going project, starting with the oldest material available.

Socialist History and Theory

The Original Marxists
Parliamentary Democracy Downplayed in the Communist Manifesto.  Marx and Engels excluded Parliamentary Democracy from the Communist Manifesto.

Original Leninism
Brendan Clifford on the Russian Revolution.  Parts 1 to 3 &  Parts 4 to 6.  Also available as a PDF: The Russian Revolution:  Parts 1 to 10.
The Bolsheviks and Orthodox Christianity.  A World Without Bolsheviks?  Soviet Socialism and Law.  

The Stalin Era
Misunderstanding Stalin.  The 1930s Moscow Trials.    Stalin: Triumph and Tragedy.   Che Guevara Approved of Stalin.
Market Socialism in the Soviet Union.  Marxism and Market Socialism.   Also available as a PDF, Stalins Economic Problems Part Two.

Post-Stalin Leninism
Remembering in 1988 the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia (which with hindsight doomed the Soviet Bloc to stagnation and death).   Soviets Since Stalin.   The Post-1956 Failure of Pro–Moscow Communism.
Student Politics Remade the Left in Britain (1 of 3).  Student Politics (2 of 3).  Student Politics Remade the Left(3 of 3).  When Marxism Was Made Fashionable  (comment by Brendan Clifford).  ‘Marxist Today’ smugly winds itself up amidst the ruins of left-wing politics.
Medvedev on Stalin.

Non-Marxist (Green)
Was Modern Industry a Mistake?  Green Policies for Labour.  Criticising Britain’s Green Party in 1989.

Non-Marxist (Other)
Charter 88 – the British Left demand for a written constitution.   How the British Left defeated itself.  Full Employment – a lost ideal.  Poverty and Its Causes.  Trade Unions – Industrial Democracy.

Against Modern Liberalism and Libertarianism
“Anything I Don’t Like, Isn’t Freedom”.  If it is broke, do fix it.  Being An Aboriginal European.

 

 

Socialist of the Past

Before 1930
R. H. Tawney.     Kier Hardy – Labour’s First MP.

Before the 1960s
Anthony Crosland.   Clement Attlee.     Hugh Dalton.

Recent
Interview with Barbara Castle.  In Place or Strife was a lost opportunity.  This and refusing various other schemes paved the way for Thatcher.
1991 interview with Eric Heffer, considering Labour’s likely future.Tribute to Eric Heffer.  Eric Heffer autobiography reviewed.
Jack Jones on Ernest Bevin.

 

The Soviet Collapse

Gorbachev’s Reforms
Scepticism in 1987 about Gorbachev’s Reforms.    Remembering in 1988 the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia (which with hindsight doomed the Soviet Bloc to stagnation and death).   Thatcher and Gorbachev as Soulmates (in 1989, before both fell).  Flux in the Europe that Stalin Made (written before the Warsaw Pact collapse).
How Gorbachev Wrecked the Soviet Union. (written in 2018)

The 1989 Collapse of the Warsaw Pact
The collapse of East European Leninism, written in March 1989.  Fall of Romania’s Ceausescu.  Poland in 1991 With Lech Walesa as President.  The Post-1956 Failure of Pro–Moscow Communism.

1991 Vanishing of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Collapse (written just after the failed 1991 coup).

The Yeltsin Succession
Kleptocracy in Yeltsin’s Russia.  Russia past and present (in 1992).

The Putin Era
Did Russia do the Nerve Gas Assassination?

 

British Political History

Recent

Parliamentary Notes: December 2013, January 2014, February 2014, March 2014, April 2014, May 2014, June 2014, July 2014, September 2014, October 2014, November 2014, December 2014, February 2015, March 2015, April 2015, None for May, June 2015, July-August 2015, September 2015, October 2015, November 2015, 2nd for November 2015, December 2015, February 2016, March 2016, April 2016, May 2016, June 2016, July-August 2016, September 2016, October 2016, November 2016,  December 2016, January- February 2017, March 2017, April 2017,  May 2017,  Not June 2017 (election), July 2017, August 2017, September 2017, October 2017, November 2017, December 2017, February 2018, March 2018, April 2018, May 2018, June 2018, July-August 2018, September 2018, October 2018, November 2018, December 2018 (1), December 2018 (2), February 2019, March 2019, April 2019, :

Diary of a Corbyn Foot Soldier: May 2016, June 2016, July-August 2016, September 2016, October 2016, November 2016, December 2016, February 2017, March 2017, Not for April, May 2017, June 2017, July-August 2017, September 2017, October 2017, November 2017, December 2017, None for February, March 2018, April 2019, May 2018, June 2018, July-August 2018, :

It’s A Fact; Interesting Statistics: December 2013, January 2014, February 2014, March 2014, April 2014, May 2014, June 2014, July 2014, September 2014, October 2014.

Before 2000

Interview with Barbara Castle.  In Place or Strife was a lost opportunity.  This and refusing various other schemes paved the way for Thatcher.
1991 interview with Eric Heffer, considering Labour’s likely future.Tribute to Eric Heffer.  Eric Heffer autobiography reviewed.
Jack Jones on Ernest Bevin.

Before the 1980s / Before the 1960s – TO DO

World War Two – TO DO

From 1918 to 1939

Force-Labour Camps in 1930s Britain.  ‘Bomber’ Harris in 1920s Iraq.

World War One

Parliament and World War One; Debates in Parliament.  Posted Monthly: May 2014, June 2014, July 2014, October 2014, November 2014, December 2014, February 2015, March 2015, April 2015, May 2015, June 2015, July-August 2015, September 2015, October 2015, November 2015 (1), November 2015 (2), December 2015, February 2016, March 2016, April 2016,  May 2016, June 2016,  July-August 2016, September 2016, October 2016, November 2016, December 2016, February 2017, March 2017, April 2017, May 2017, June 2017, July-August 2017, September 2017, October 2017, November 2017, December 2017, February 2018, March 2018, April 2018, May 2018, June 2018, July-August 2018, :

Before 1914

Before the 1800s

1688 and Socialism.   Adam Smith Had Alien Social Values.

 

British Politics

Before 2000
Brixton Riots of 1987.    The British Monarchy (why socialists should tolerate it).   Child Benefit.   British Spies.   Thatcherite Selfishness (Loadsamoney).
Education Reform, Criticising Britain’s Green Party in 1989.  Why British socialist should not be hostile to the monarchy (criticising Christopher Hitchens).

British Literati bravely defending Rushdie in 1990 over the Satanic Verses.  The 1990 Poll Tax Riot.  Evil in Return (causes of the 1990 Poll Tax riots).  Racism in London in 1990.  Full Employment – a lost ideal.  Churchill.  The Politics of Britain’s Bonfire Night.  How John Major Almost Restored Conservatism; lost possibilities from 1991.

Tories Claim a Classless Society.   Blasphemy for Atheists? Why Bother?. The Post-1956 Failure of Pro–Moscow Communism.  Neglect of the Mentally Ill (in 1991).  British Government Under John Major Disrupts the European Union.   ‘Marxist Today’ smugly winds itself up amidst the ruins of left-wing politics.

 

The British Labour Party

Fear of Socialism (by the Labour Defectors).

The Anti-Semitism Smear
“Tunbridge Wells has a Drugs and Murder Problem”.  Israel As Europe’s Last Settler-Colony.  Kaufman on Gaza, Palestine & Israel.   Antisemitism in the Labour Party.

Before 2009

Before 1993
Labour and the Bomb (in 1989), Housing in Britain.   Labour and the Atomic Weapons (in 1989).  Americanizing the Labour Party (in 1990).
Sovereignty and a Single European Currency; considered in 1991.  1991 interview with Eric Heffer, considering Labour’s likely future.  Green Policies for Labour.   Jack Jones on Ernest Bevin.   Black Sections in the Labour Party.    Eric Heffer.   Labour and the Unions.  Labour Needs a Working Class Section.

Before 1980
Kier Hardy – Labour’s First MP.    Harold Wilson.
Interview with Barbara Castle.  In Place of Strife was a lost opportunity.  This and refusing various other schemes paved the way for Thatcher.
Debate with the Socialist Party of Great Britain on the 1945 Labour government.

 

The Conservative Party

Before 2009

Before 1993
Thatcherism in 1989 coming apart at the seams.   Thatcher’s Rise to Power, considered in 1989.  The economic destructiveness of Thatcherism, noted in 1990.   How John Major Almost Restored Conservatism; lost possibilities from 1991.  How Thatcher Repeatedly Rewarded IRA Violence.    How Thatcher boosted Welfarism.  Tories Claim a Classless Society.  British Government Under John Major Disrupts the European Union.

Before 1980:
Churchill.
Balfour on Cobden and Progress.  Why does Balfour Still Matter?.    Balfour on Cobden and Corn Laws.    Radicalism Beyond Cobden.    Balfour on Political Economy.    Balfour’s ‘Fragment On Progress’.    How Balfour Saw Progress.    .

 

Trade Unionism

Before 2009

Before 1993
The Building Industry and the role of Trade Unions in it.   1990 interview with Jimmy Knapp, General Secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen.   Letter on Frank Chapple and the Electricians Union Scandal of the 1950s.  The US Teamsters Union.  1991 interview with Jack Jones.   1991 interview with Bill Morris.  Trade Unions – Industrial Democracy.   Jack Jones on Ernest Bevin.

 

United Nations and International Law

Before 2009

Before 1993
Nations in Conflict (a round-up of the conflicts happening round the world in 1988).  War Crimes Trials – Only for the Defeated.   Iraq and International Law (from 1990).   War Without Law (following the 1991 war on Iraq).  The United Nations and the 1991 Gulf War – unjust but working just as its creators intended.  America’s unjust hegemony (as it was in 1991).  Eric Heffer.  The USA’s New World Order.  The USA’s New World Order.

 

Ireland

Before 2009

Before 1993
Belfast and the French Revolution.  The IRA as criminals or warriors?.  Sovereignty and a Single European Currency; considered in 1991.   How Thatcher Repeatedly Rewarded IRA Violence.     A Misleading History of Ireland.  The Irish Labour Party.  How Charles Haughey Transformed Ireland.

 

The Rest of Europe

Recent

Monthly News From France: December 2013, January 2014, February 2014, March 2014, April 2014, May 2014, June 2014, July 2014, September 2014, October 2014, November 2014, December 2014, February 2015, March 2015, April 2015, May 2015, June 2015, July-August 2015, September 2015, October 2015, November 2015, December 2015, February 2016, March 2016, April 2016, May 2016, June 2016, July-August 2016, September 2016, October 2016, None for November, December 2016, January- February 2017, March 2017, April 2017, May 2017, June 2017, July 2017, August 2017, September 2017, October 2017, November 2017, December 2017, February 2018, March 2018, April 2018, None for May, June 2018, July-August 2018, September 2018, None for October, November 2018, December 2018, February 2019, March 2019, April 2019, :

Monthly News From Italy: May 2014, June 2014, July 2014, September 2014, October 2014, November 2014, February 2015, March 2015, April 2015, May 2015, June 2015, July-August 2015, September 2015, October 2015, November 2015, None for December,  February 2016, March 2016, April 2016, May 2016, June 2016, July-August 2016, September 2016, October 2016, November 2016, December 2016, February 2017, March 2017, April 2017, May 2017, June 2017, July-August 2017, September 2017, October 2017, November 2017, December 2017, February 2018, March 2018, None for April , May 2018, June 2018, July-August 2018, :

Before 2009

Before 1993
The 1789 French Revolution and Its Unstable Politics.   Poland in 1991 With Lech Walesa as President.  Sicilian Godfathers in Fact and Film.
Serbs and Croats – who was anti-Nazi?  Serbs in 1991 Allowed to Crush Albanian Kosovo.

 

Iraq and the West

Before 2009

Before 1993
‘Bomber’ Harris in 1920s Iraq.  (Saddam copied the methods of this British commander.
The West in 1987 saved Saddam Hussein after his failed war on Iran.
Iraq – just after the Invasion of Kuwait.  Warning that Iraq could not be ruled except by someone just as brutal as Saddam Hussein.  Further 1990 warnings Against a Gulf War.  Iraq and International Law (from 1990).    Morality of a Gulf War  (from 1990). Warning Against a Gulf War (in January 1991).
The First Bad Gulf War (March 1991).  The USA Forced a War Over Kuwait.    Saudi Arabia Encouraged the Gulf War.   Hunter-gatherers in a world of machines.   Iraq Tricked Into Invading Kuwait.  The United Nations and the 1991 Gulf War – unjust but working just as its creators intended.  Gulf War Lies & Callousness to Arabs.

 

Islamic World (other than Iraq)

Before 2009

Before 1993
USA in 1988 neglecting Afghanistan.  (Before the emergence of the Taliban and other Sunni Islamic extremists).
The 1989 row over Islam and ‘Satanic Verses’: Multiculturalism and the Rushdie Dispute, Protecting Islam Within Britain (History ), and The Social Origins of Islam.  British Literati bravely defending Rushdie in 1990 over the Satanic Verses.

 

China

Before the Opium Wars

Before 1912
China: Why a sophisticated Empire could not modernise.

Before 1949
China’s Blue Republic, 1912-49, China: Nurturing Red Stars,  Smedley: an American Woman Who Loved China’s Red Army, China: Agnes Smedley’s Battle Hymn Against Japan

The Mao Era
China 1949: Fixing a Broken Society, China: Blue Ants and Dangerous Reds.
How Mao Greatly Strengthened China.

Deng and Jiang Zemin
Chinese demonstrations in 1987 that anticipated of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest.    The Tiananmen Protests (predicting in 1989 that Communist Party rule would continue for many years).    Mao’s Achievements – success in two out of three ‘impossible tasks’.

Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping.
China’s Future: Comrade X and a Man Called Xi.

 

Other International

Recent

Monthly Letter from New Zealand: November 2017, December 2017, February 2018, March 2018, April 2018, None for May, June 2018, July-August 2018, :

Israel As Europe’s Last Settler-Colony.

Before 2009

Before 1993
Reagan’s ‘Star Wars’.   The wider Turkish world (in 1990).     How Vietnam Won the War But Lost the Peace.     The US Teamsters Union (in 1990).
Hoping in 1990 that South Africa under Mandela would work, contrary to what most people said.  Making peace in South Africa (prospects in 1991).

 

World History

Before 1945
Hitler: the 13th Chancellor

Before 1900
Britain’s Exterminating Sea Empire

Before 1800

Before 1700

Before 1600

Before 1500
How Humans Became Citizens – the origins of civilisation.

 

Economics

Modern
The economic destructiveness of Thatcherism, noted in 1990.
Feed-the-Rich Economics.  How the Mixed Economy won the Cold War, and then was denounced when the rich felt safe.

Before the 1980s

Before 1900
Friedrich List, the German economist whose ideas were closer to reality than those of Adam Smith.   Sovereignty and a Single European Currency; considered in 1991.  Adam Smith Had Alien Social Values. 

 

Culture

High Culture
Review of the French films Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources.  People of the Black Mountains (Book Review).  Against Modernist Architecture. The novel ‘How Green Was My Valley’.
The Muon and the Green Great Dragon.
Notes on Asocialism (how we exist as social beings).
Post-Liberalism.  Why we should speak of ‘Our Freedoms’ rather than ‘The Freedom’.

Popular Culture
Racism as Anti-Racism.   Why Pornography does not cause Rape.   In Defence of Pornography.    How Modern Pagans Celebrate Christmas.   Gender-neutral language.   British Literati bravely defending Rushdie in 1990 over the Satanic Verses.  Does Pornography Cause Violence?.

Evil in Return (causes of the 1990 Poll Tax riots).  Morality and Modern Christian Failure.   Review of a Biography of Bertrand Russell.  The Politics of Britain’s Bonfire Night.  Blasphemy for Atheists? Why Bother?.  Hunter-gatherers in a world of machines.  Sicilian Godfathers in Fact and Film. Football as Culture.

Science Fiction
Star Trek begun again in 1990.

 

Science and Technology

Climate Change needing urgent action (written March 1990).  Why US Electronics Succeeded (written 1990).  Hunter-gatherers in a world of machines.    Was Modern Industry a Mistake?
Darwinism – a Creed Needing Correction.  Being An Aboriginal European.

The Muon and the Green Great Dragon.

 

Other

Before 2009

Before 1993
Morality and Modern Christian Failure.   Review of a Biography of Bertrand Russell.  Blasphemy for Atheists? Why Bother?.