Sidebar

flagman
Socialist Appeal NZ Socialist Appeal NZ
flagman
  • News
    • New Zealand
    • International
    • Search
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Join Us / Support Us
  • Theory
  • Follow via Facebook
  • Follow via Twitter

Why Labour must learn from the past

Details
Editorial Board
08 March 2020
The General Election is now set for Saturday 19 September 2020. The Labour Party was elected in 2017 using the slogan “Let’s do this” but they won’t be able to use “We’ve done that” this time. This is an issue that must be addressed.  The Labour-led coalition government which took office after nine years of National austerity, was met with optimism and enthusiasm. The trade unions took action hoping for better pay and conditions. They were backed by many young workers hoping for a better deal. Even the Prime Minister and the Education Minister addressed picket lines, mainly to plead patience, as they could not do everything at once, they said. However, patience has not been rewarded as far as workers are concerned.
 
We will analyse the campaign and the achievements of the current government in future issues. For now we wish to consider the lessons that can be learnt from past campaigns, starting with the very first.
Read more: Why Labour must learn from the past

Samoa's measles epodemic: resist pseudo-science

Details
Miles Lacey
08 March 2020

2019 was marked by many tragedies but few could have compared with the measles epidemic that swept Samoa. It killed 83 people (as of the end of December 2019) , nearly all of whom were children aged under four, and it infected 5,520 people in total. To put this in context, Samoa only has a total population of approximately 200,900 people. What makes this measles epidemic such a d tragedy is not only the numbers of babies and toddlers killeor infected but the grim reality that the epidemic could have been avoided.

Read more: Samoa's measles epodemic: resist pseudo-science

Coronavirus outbreak threatens world economy

Details
Niklas Albin Svensson
08 March 2020

 

The latest outbreak of coronavirus has caused the biggest wave of stock market losses since 2008, wiping $5tn off share values worldwide. Markets are worried that the virus will have a serious impact on an already weak world economy. These fears are not unfounded.

The new coronavirus epidemic is having important implications for the class struggle, which we covered yesterday in an article about the outbreak in Italy. In this article we will deal with the effect the outbreak is going to have on the world economy.

Read more: Coronavirus outbreak threatens world economy

Bernie Sanders vs the Democrats - fight for a workers’ party

Details
Callum Douglas for Socialist Appeal in Britain
08 March 2020


 
 
 
 

 
The Democratic primary campaign has become a two-horse race. Former Vice President Joe Biden and self-proclaimed socialist Bernie Sanders are set to slog it out over a gruelling campaign, reminiscent of the Democratic primaries in 2016. The party establishment are terrified of a Sanders win - not simply because of the Vermont Senator himself, but because of the mass movement behind him. An article in the Economist even argued that Democratic primaries are too democratic and that it would be preferable for “party insiders” to “vet candidates by setting tighter eligibility criteria” in order to prevent a “populist takeover” by the left.
Sanders has built a powerful base amongst the working class and the youth. He has achieved this on the basis of class-based demands, such as universal healthcare, combined with radical rhetoric - including calls for a political revolution against the billionaire class.  This has resonated with many in the US - in particular those who have remained outside of politics, due to a lack of an alternative to the two establishment parties, as well as new layers of radicalised youth.

 

Read more: Bernie Sanders vs the Democrats - fight for a...

Britain after the election defeat

Details
Alan Woods
15 December 2019

“The idea that all Britain’s Labour party needs to do to win is offer true socialism has been tested to destruction.” (Financial Times) 

News of the British election result was greeted by jubilation on the stock markets of the world. The pound sterling soared, and Donald J Trump tweeted: “Congratulations to Boris Johnson on his great WIN!”

But all history shows that a rise in the stock market does not necessarily signify anything positive for the working class. Rather, the opposite is the truth. And what pleases the present occupant of the White House will not necessarily be to the liking of the working people of Britain.

Read more: Britain after the election defeat

Britain: lessons of the election, don’t mourn – organise!

Details
Rob Sewell
13 December 2019

All the reactionaries are crowing. Donald Trump expressed particular delight at the result. “Congratulations to Boris Johnson on his great WIN!” the US President wrote on Twitter. “Johnson secures crushing UK election victory,” exuded the Financial Times, as the pound rose on foreign exchange markets.

Read more: Britain: lessons of the election, don’t mourn –...

IMT statement: for revolutionary change, not climate change!

Details
International Marxist Tendency
08 September 2019

The international climate strike movement has created waves across the world. Over the past year, during the course of several global days of action, millions of young people from over 100 countries have walked out of school in order to join the ‘Fridays for Future’ protests, demanding immediate action against the climate crisis.

Read more: IMT statement: for revolutionary change, not...

Marxism vs Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)

Details
Adam Booth
08 September 2019
 
MMT has created a buzz on the left recently, with its supporters citing it as an answer to all our economic woes. Instead of trendy new ideas, however, we need the clear, scientific analysis of capitalism that Marxism provides – Adam Booth writes.
 
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back.”  John Maynard Keynes
Read more: Marxism vs Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)

Hands off Ihumātao! No luxury homes for the elites!

Details
Miles Lacey
08 September 2019

Ihumātao is a place that most people had not heard of until recently due to the escalation in protests on this land. At present there are approximately 1,500 people on the site, which has been cordoned off by the police.

Why is this protest being undertaken?

Read more: Hands off Ihumātao! No luxury homes for the...

Venezuela: Guaidó’s botched coup – what does it mean and what's next?

Details
Jorge Martin
07 June 2019

Just before dawn on 30 April, the Venezuelan opposition launched yet another attempt at a military coup. By the end of the day, the botched coup attempt seemed to have failed, with one of its leaders seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy, 25 of the soldiers involved requesting asylum at the Brazilian embassy and Juan Guaidó in hiding or on the run.

Read more: Venezuela: Guaidó’s botched coup – what does it...

Mega-strike in New Zealand as 50,000 teachers walk out

Details
Miles Lacey
06 June 2019

Strike action was taken by over 50,000 teachers throughout New Zealand on 29 May to demand a 16 percent pay increase and improved working conditions. Their strike is the result of a breakdown in pay talks between the New Zealand Educational Institute, the Post-Primary Teachers Association; and the government Ministry of Education.

Read more: Mega-strike in New Zealand as 50,000 teachers...

On Marxism and the State

Details
Phil Mitchinson
06 June 2019

With the increase in strikes in New Zealand we republish this article on the State by the late Phil Mitchinson.

 

Standing between the working class and the socialist transformation of society is a colossal state machine. Where did it come from? What purpose does it serve? can it be reformed, or must it be done away with altogether? What should replace it, indeed should it be replaced at all? In the first place what is "it"?

In their writings on the state, Marx and Engels set themselves the task of demystifying it, of conquering the idea that the state is some kind of eternal being, in order to strip away the magical shroud in which capitalism has cloaked it.

Read more: On Marxism and the State

More Articles ...

  1. Auckland Rail Maintenance Workers Locked Out. Support RMTU 13% Pay Rise Claim
Page 3 of 27
  • Start
  • Prev
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • Next
  • End
Bootstrap is a front-end framework of Twitter, Inc. Code licensed under MIT License. Font Awesome font licensed under SIL OFL 1.1.