Issue 35 Autumn 2019

CONTENTS: General election in sight at last, Alex Davidson:  Dominic Cummings, Alex Davidson:  Socialists and climate crisis, Frieda Park:  Can climate catastrophe be stopped?, Brian Durrans:  Capitalism and global warming, book review by David Wickham:  Shifting alliances in the Middle East, Simon Korner:  No justice, no peace, Frieda Park:  Lives cut short by austerity, Steve Bishop:  The London Plan - for developers or people, Pat Turnbull:  Remain and conform, Gary Lefley:  Twitter waves the flag, Lars Moerking:  Can we challenge US internet monopoly?, Dan Morgan:  Chile and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Dan Morgan:  The CIA's cold war in the arts, Gregor Tassie.

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Articles featured in Issue 35

• General election in sight at last
  Wednesday, October 9, 2019

  The Brexit crisis has come to a head with Prime Minister Johnson's confrontational tactics, which have served to unite the Remainer majority in Parliament. It is now intent on stopping a No Deal Brexit. Johnson has turned on his own MPs who dare to dissent, expelling recent former ministers and Tory grandees. A general election is now inevitable, but Labour would find one fought solely on Brexit difficult as it has shifted further in the direction of Remain, but still needs the support of Leave voters. It will need once again to focus on policies beyond Brexit, unifying people round an anti-austerity platform and its positive vision for Britain.
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• Can climate catastrophe be stopped?
  Tuesday, October 8, 2019

  Socialism has the interests of humanity at its core and can plan economic activity to serve those interests. However, we are in a world dominated by capitalist self-interest. In these circumstances, how can we campaign to prevent climate catastrophe? Labour's Green New Deal is a good start.
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• Shifting alliances in the Middle East
  Tuesday, October 8, 2019

  The United States failure to achieve regime change in Syria has led to a shifting power dynamic in the Middle East. Russia, Iran, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have become more assertive and alliances between them have changed in ways which do not serve US interests. The US sees Iran's emergence as regional power as a particular threat to its own position as well as to Israel and Saudi Arabia.
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• Socialists and climate crisis
  Sunday, October 6, 2019

  To combat the climate crisis we need state intervention and planning. this is an opportunity for the left to argue for collective solutions to the planet's problems. Change must not be at the expense of individuals and the working class. Labour's Green Industrial Revolution policies, with their focus on climate justice, can unify all those who are interested in and affected by climate change, creating a broad movement.
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• Capitalism and global warming
  Saturday, October 5, 2019

  Review of Andreas Malm's book, Fossil Capital. Malm traces the origins of global warming and shows how it is a product of capitalist industrial development. He also addresses contemporary issues: the urgency of the challenge to reduce carbon emissions and how this challenge can be met.
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• Dominic Cummings - Boris Johnson's eminence grise
  Friday, October 4, 2019

  Dominic Cummings is Boris Johnson's most influential adviser and architect of his high stakes confrontational strategy, taking on his own party and its MPs, the Remain opposition and the EU. What are his background and beliefs?
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• Remain and conform
  Friday, October 4, 2019

  Many argue that "another Europe is possible", that the EU can be reformed. However, its structures and logic make that impossible. Neo-liberal capitalism is built into its treaties and the democratic mechanisms effectively do not exist to change that.
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• No justice, no peace
  Thursday, October 3, 2019

  Through anti-working class legislation, inequality in access to the law and conspiracies of the corrupt, the rich and the powerful, working class people are denied justice. Through long, hard battles some have succeed in getting to the truth behind state cover-ups. Some battles continue. Grenfell, Orgreave, Hillsborough, Bloody Sunday are a few examples in a very long list.
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• Lives cut short by austerity
  Wednesday, October 2, 2019

  Austerity is taking its toll with life expectancy in Britain beginning to decline. We have come to expect that the lives of the next generation will be better than those of the one before, however, inequality and poverty are for the first time rolling back people's life chances.
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• The London plan; for developers or for people?
  Tuesday, October 1, 2019

  In one of the richest cities in the world ordinary people find it increasingly difficult to live their lives. in particular there is an acute shortage of affordable housing, yet the draft London Plan is skewed not to their needs but towards the interests of developers and growth at all costs.
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• Can we challenge US internet monopoly?
  Monday, September 30, 2019

  US companies dominate the internet and social media, gathering huge amounts of information about their users. But is it possible to stop using Google, Facebook etc? What alternatives are there?
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• Twitter waves the flag
  Sunday, September 29, 2019

  Social media giants have intervened in the Hong Kong protests, blocking accounts favourable to the Chinese government. The protesters are also supported financially by the united States.
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• The CIA's cold war in the arts
  Friday, September 27, 2019

  At the height of the Cold War the US government through the CIA established the Congress for Cultural Freedom which promoted anti-communist propaganda. It funded magazines, conferences and artistic festivals. The CCF was the front for this secret programme designed ultimately to support capitalist values and the US way of life. In pursuit of this it sponsored many well-known artists, writers and musicians.
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• Chile and the Trans-Pacific Partnership
  Wednesday, August 28, 2019

  In common with other recent "free" trade deals, the Trans-Pacific Partnership favours big companies over people. It abolishes democracy and national sovereignty by enabling courts to over-rule governments at the behest of corporations. The struggle against the TTP in Chile united many diverse movements and politicians, changing the political scene there.
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