Imperium: a vindication of the Marxist view of history
A current West End play about the life of the Roman orator Cicero demonstrates the validity of the Marxist explanation about the role of the individual in history.
Culture and reviews
The Young Karl Marx: depicting the struggle for socialist ideas
Rob Sewell reviews Raoul Peck’s excellent film about the early years of Marx and Engels, which is worthy of a far wider audience.
Review: Working Class White Men reveals “the crisis at the heart of working class life”
Stephen Agnew reviews the recent documentary by UK rapper Professor Green, which provides a revealing insight into the alienation and extreme difficulties facing the working class in broken Britain.
Review: “The Jungle” – a harrowing depiction of the horror facing refugees
Adam Booth reviews The Jungle, a moving but devastating play that depicts events at the Calais refugee camp – once home to thousands of migrants fleeing the horrors of war and poverty.
The Death of Stalin: skewering the Stalinist bureaucracy
With his latest film, the Death of Stalin, British director and comic writer Armando Iannucci continues with his recurring motif of the cynicism and self-interest of the professional political class. This time, however, the incompetent politicians being lambasted are not those of the Western establishment, but of the Stalinist bureaucracy.
Young Marx: a farcical distortion of a revolutionary genius
Young Marx is a new comedic play at the Bridge Theatre, set in Soho London, revolving around Karl Marx’s struggle to provide for his family, and fend off spies, creditors, political enemies, and the police, all whilst completing his economic magnum opus, Das Kapital. We publish here a review by members of the Marxist Student Federation, who recently attended one of the first performances.
Review – October: The Story of the Russian Revolution
Owen Walsh of the Leeds Marxists reviews the latest book by science fiction writer and socialist China Miéville: an exciting and inspiring account of revolutionary Russia in 1917 – a wholly worthy effort that deserves to be on any comrade’s reading list in this centenary year of the Russian Revolution.
Review: “We are the lions” Grunwick strike exhibition
“We are the lions” is an exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of the Grunwick strike, hosted at the Brent Musuem and Archives until 27th March. Ravi Mistry reviews the exhibition and explains the importance of this inspiring struggle.
Parliament Ltd: lifting the lid on the rotten world of Westminster
Pat McDonald reviews Martin Williams’ first publication, Parliament Ltd – an excellent insight into the murky depths of political and institutional corruption that brilliantly exposes the true nature of what goes on behind Westminster walls.
“I, Daniel Blake” – a heart-wrenching portrayal of Tory austerity Britain
Adam Booth reviews the latest film by acclaimed socialist director, Ken Loach, which shines a light on the harsh and degrading conditions faced by thousands – if not millions – in this age of austerity.
“Beyond Caring”: a harrowing portrayal of zero-hours Britain
Beyond Caring, a modern play that portrays the conditions of workers in modern day, zero-hour Britain, begins a new UK tour today, starting in Birmingham. We are republishing our review of this powerful and poignant play, along with a recent interview with the director, Alexander Zeldin.
“And The Weak Suffer What They Must?” by Yanis Varoufakis
Josh Holroyd reviews the latest book by Yanis Varoufakis, And The Weak Suffer What They Must?, in which the former finance minister in Greece offers a potted history of post-war global finance, the rise of the euro, and its spectacular fall, along with his own prognosis and solution for the interminable crisis of European capitalism.