News

Coronavirus, capitalism and a crisis of mental distress

For many, lockdown will affect their mental wellbeing. Iain Ferguson and Sarah Bates explore why mental distress is linked to the social system that we live in.

Russia 1917 - how a revolution beat back a pandemic

How would a society that has had a revolution deal with pandemics? A glimpse comes from Russia in 1917. The working class, headed by the Bolshevik party, took power in a revolution there in October. Immediately, they had to deal with waves of disease sweeping large parts of Europe.

VE Day—did workers win the peace?

As we mark 75 years since Victory in Europe Day, Donny Gluckstein looks at the class forces behind the frontline that helped to shape the post-war world

Union leaders’ inaction flows from drive to compromise

In a crisis that puts workers’ lives at great risk, union leaders must step up the fight. Tomáš Tengely-Evans explains why most have failed to do so

Homeless people abandoned in a system ‘designed to fail’

Despite Tory promises to house homeless people, the most vulnerable are left struggling with a situation that’s only getting worse

Who will pay for the crisis now?

A global pandemic has exposed just how fragile the world economy already was. Tomáš Tengely-Evans examines why capitalism constantly creates economic crises

A system of waste and rot

More than 250 million people face food uncertainty by the end of this year, while producers are destroying food on an extraordinary scale

Lenin and his ideas today

In a time when capitalism is in crisis, the works and life of the revolutionary Vladimir Lenin—born 150 years ago this week—are still crucial, writes Tomáš Tengely-Evans

Marxism in an age of catastrophe - capitalism created an era of plagues

We live in an era of plagues because of capitalist development, argues socialist author Mike Davis.

Time to leave the Labour Party and fight for change outside it

The Labour Party’s structures have always privileged its MPs and the right wing who hold members in contempt. The left shouldn’t be their willing hostages again, writes Nick Clark

Conspiracy theories don’t explain society’s problems

Sophie Squire asks what makes people believe in conspiracy theories—and looks at why they’re ultimately a dead end

Cook’s tour drenched in blood

British explorer James Cook arrived on the east coast of Australia 250 years ago. His incursion was part of a horrific imperialist expansion, writes Charlie Kimber

The state—whose side is it on?

The coronavirus crisis has seen governments across the world bring in harsh new state powers. Nick Clark looks at how so-called temporary restrictions on our rights can often become permanent

‘Working in danger because of profit’

Sadie Robinson investigates how the Tories’ response to coronavirus is wreaking havoc on millions of workers’ lives—and how the bosses are taking advantage

Women, the family and the coronavirus crisis

During this period where people’s lives are centred around the home, Sarah Bates looks at capitalism's reliance on the family and women’s domestic labour.

Why Corbyn couldn’t beat capital

As Jeremy Corbyn ends his time as Labour leader, Nick Clark looks at the impact he has had—and why any attempts by Labour to change the system will be limited

The myth of the ‘Blitz spirit’

The “Blitz spirit” was then, as now, a propaganda ploy.

The ‘national interest’ is not the interest of workers

During times of turmoil, the ruling class will tell us to come together. Behind this is the drive to keep making profits writes Nick Clark

Corona crisis shows need to break from chaos of capitalism

A society based on democratic planning could meet the needs of everyone and boost innovation. Socialist Worker looks at how ordinary people could reshape our world

Massacre that exposed apartheid—60 years after Sharpeville

Sixty years ago this week the small township of Sharpeville in South Africa hit the headlines around the world. In 1985 Socialist Worker’s Alan Gibson looked at what happened.