Turkey & Rojava

[These slides were used for a talk to the Socialist Alliance Geelong  branch, July 1, 2015. For a PDF of slideshow see here.]

Turkish elections: HDP's bold move puts party centre stage

[Green Left Weekly, #1054, May 26, 2015]

The June 7 elections to Turkey's Grand National Assembly are clearly the most important in a long time. The bold decision of the People's Democratic Party (HDP) to run as a party and strive to exceed the grossly undemocratic 10% threshold has put the organisation at the political centre stage.

Call to de-list PKK gathers support

[Green Left Weekly, #1053, May 19, 2015]

An open letter to the Australian government calling for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to be removed from the list of proscribed terrorist organisations is gathering support. Initiated by the Melbourne-based Australians for Kurdistan campaign committee, the open letter has attracted some notable endorsements. The letter and endorsements can be viewed at the website Lift the ban on the PKK.

Turkish elections: High stakes for both Kurds and government

[Green Left Weekly, #1048, April 20, 2015]

Turkey's parliamentary elections will be held on June 7. A lot is at stake, both for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and especially for the oppressed Kurdish population.

Campaign launched to de-list the PKK

[Green Left Weekly, March 31, 2015]

The Melbourne-based Australians for Kurdistan committee has launched a campaign calling for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to be removed from the Australian government's list of terrorist organisations. The PKK was first listed in 2005; its listing comes up for review this August.

Kobanê: A great victory, the struggle continues

[Speech given to a celebration of the liberation of Kobanê, at the Kurdish House in Pascoe Vale in Melbourne, January 28, 2015.]

Socialist Alliance joins with you in saluting the heroic defenders of Kobanê. After four and a half months, the IS killers have at last been driven out of the city. Considering everything, that is a great victory.

Paris: Different killings, different standards

[Green Left Weekly, #1037, January 21, 2015]

The day before the massive Paris demonstration against the killings at the Charlie Hebdo office, another demonstration marked another set of killings in the capital.

Turkey's 'Kurdish question' won't go away

[Green Left Weekly, #1029, October 22, 2014]

Ever since the foundation of modern Turkey in 1923, the country's Kurdish population has endured severe discrimination and national oppression. The nationalist officers around Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), the victor of Gallipoli, who led the struggle which established the republic, were ruthless Turkish chauvinists. They saw the large Kurdish minority as a problem to be dealt with.

'The defenders of Kobanê have given us an imperishable example of humanity, courage and determination'

[Speech at solidarity rally for Kobanê, Melbourne, October 11, 2014.]

Kobanê’s heroic resistance to the 'Islamic State' gangs has won admiration and support around the world.

Kobanê: Epic resistance increases pressure on US and Turkey

[Green Left Weekly, #1028, October 21, 2014]

OCTOBER 10 — Kobanê's epic resistance against the assault of the genocidal 'Islamic State' gangs has now entered its fourth week. The heroic defence has held out against overwhelming odds. The defenders have been forced back but their lines have not been broken. In some neighbourhoods street fighting is taking place.

Solidarity with Kobanê

[Speech to Kobanê solidarity rally, Melbourne, October 5, 2014.]

On behalf of Socialist Alliance, I want to express our solidarity with the people of Kobanê who are heroically resisting the forces of the genocidal Islamic State. Against overwhelming odds, despite being outnumbered and outgunned, the defenders of Kobanê have resisted the inhuman IS gangs. The IS thought Kobanê would fall in a week but it is now almost three weeks and they still have not taken the city.

Kobanê: Heroic defence resists ‘Islamic State’ assault

[Green Left Weekly, #1027, October 1, 2014]

Besieged since September 15, the northern Syrian Kurdish-majority city of Kobanê (Arabic name: Ayn al-Arab) has mounted an heroic, all-out resistance to the murderous 'Islamic State' gangs. As of September 25, despite all the superior heavy weaponry deployed by the IS, it appears that fierce resistance and determined counterattacks have halted or slowed the assault. Nonetheless, the IS thugs have pushed closer to the city centre than ever before and the situation remains perilous.

Say no to Abbott's new war

[Green Left Weekly, #1026, September 24, 2014]

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has committed Australia to join Washington's latest military intervention in the Middle East. Some 600 Australian military personnel and aircraft operating from a base in the United Arab Emirates will join US forces in bombing 'Islamic State' forces in Iraq and assisting the Kurdistan Regional Government with weapons and training.

Kobanê appeals for support against assault by 'Islamic State'

[Green Left Weekly, #1026, September 24, 2014]

Since September 15, the city of Kobanê in the Kurdish-majority liberated area of Rojava in northern Syria has been under intense attack by the murderous forces of the 'Islamic State'.

Rojava & the Kurdish freedom struggle

[These slides were the basis of an educational delivered to Socialist Alliance branches around the country in September-October 2014. For a PDF of slideshow see here.] 

Amid relentless fighting, Kurds search for unity

[September 2, 2014; Links online magazine ]

Across northern Syria and Iraq, Kurdish forces are locked in fierce battles with the murderous 'Islamic State'. Whether directly or indirectly, the whole Kurdish people is being drawn into this struggle.

Kurds fight 'Islamic State' over vast front

[August 11, 2014; Links online magazine]

The Kurdish people are facing an unprecedented challenge. Across a vast swathe of northern Syria and Iraq, the region's Kurds are locked in a desperate and heroic struggle with the genocidal forces of the so-called Islamic State (IS). Fighting is raging from Aleppo and Kobanê in Syria to Mosul and Kirkuk in Iraq — and all points in between. (The 'front' is enormous: for example, the direct distance from Aleppo to Kirkuk is over 650km.)

Are you patriotic? Some reflections on a topical question

[Green Left Weekly, #1006, April 29, 2014]

'Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.' Samuel Johnson's aphorism (1775) is well known. But if a lot of scoundrels are patriotic, where does that leave patriotism itself? Are you patriotic? Should we be?

Climate action must include people-protection measures

[Green Left Weekly, #995, February 3, 2014]

Victoria's scorching January heatwave has focused a lot of attention on the problem of coping with the immediate fallout from climate change. According to the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, in the period January 13-23 there were 139 deaths in excess of the expected average. There were reports of homeless people being forced away from airconditioned areas as they sought relief from the relentless heat.

In defence of Socialist Alliance's strategy of mass action: A reponse to Socialist Alternative

[Text of a talk given to the Geelong branch of Socialist Alliance on December 3, 2013]

The unity discussions between Socialist Alliance and Socialist Alternative have come to an end. In a November 3 letter on behalf of the Socialist Alternative National Executive Mick Armstrong wrote: 'The overall political projects of both organisations are not sufficiently similar to carry through a sustained and productive unity that could advance the cause of the revolutionary left in Australia and the broader class struggle.'[1]

Fighting for socialism today

[Talk given at Socialist Ideas Conference, Melbourne, November 2, 2013]

In Australia, as in all the imperialist countries, the capitalist class is carrying out a massive assault on all the gains won by working people in over 150 years. Every TV news bulletin these days features reports of cutbacks, selloffs and outsourcing, attacks on workers rights and attacks on civil liberties — as well as wars and massive misery abroad.

In memory of Doug Lorimer

[These brief remarks were delivered at a memorial meeting for Doug Lorimer in Melbourne on October 25, 2013, organised by Socialist Alternative. The photo above was taken outside an Annandale polling booth in the 1975 federal election. It shows (from right): Joy Ecclestone, Dave Holmes, Doug Lorimer, (unidentified), Geoff Payne.]

The July 27 Green Left Weekly carried an obituary for Doug written by Pat Brewer. For comrades interested in the basic details of Doug's political CV I would recommend it.

Abolish Australia's secret police

[Green Left Weekly, #977, August 12, 2013]

According to its Wikipedia entry, 'The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) is Australia's national security service, which is responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically motivated violence, attacks on the Australian defence system, and terrorism.'

How should a united socialist party work?

[This is the slightly edited text of a presentation given at the Socialism of the 21st Century seminar held in Sydney, June 9, 2013. Included at the end is a response to comments; for the full discussion see Links.]

Today I want to talk about how socialists need to work to win mass influence and how that relates to the unity process between Socialist Alliance and Socialist Alternative.

Development issues

[The following short presentation was made to a meeting of Moreland Socialists on February 28, 2013 to kick off a discussion on developing our policy platform.]

Scope of the question

What are 'development' issues? 'Development' concerns housing and all the issues of liveability associated with it: transport; urban environment; sustainability; green spaces and parks; schools and other facilities; jobs; and food (how and where it is produced, the cost to the consumer); and many more.

In defence of the transitional method

[This was originally a talk given at the Socialist Alliance National Conference, Geelong, January 18, 2013. When it was run in Links online magazine it attracted a number of responses. I have included my rejoinders below. The four pieces form a more or less coherent whole. See the whole debate at Links.]

Socialist Alternative comrades take us to task

Socialist Alliance is currently engaged in a process of discussion and clarification with Socialist Alternative, with a view to exploring the possibilities of greater cooperation and unity. How this will ultimately develop is an open question. But I think it is fair to say that on both sides today there is a much greater interest in the political positions and approach of the other.

Marxist philosophy: A primer

[This is the slideshow for a talk given at the Socialist Ideas Conference in Melbourne on March 24, 2012. At this stage there is no accompanying text as I spoke from rough notes but I hope the slides are useful. For PDF of slideshow see here.]

Report on 'Towards a Socialist Australia'

[The following report was presented to the Socialist Alliance Melbourne district meeting on December 6, 2011 and later to Geelong branch. While it was speaking to the first draft of the resolution (see Towards a Socialist Australia), I think the main points made remain relevant.]

Purpose of the resolution

The basic purpose of the document is to make a clear, logical and succinct case for socialism and explain what we want. We have policy resolutions on a great range of questions but nothing that pulls it all together and explains what we are fighting for, the big picture — a fundamental change in the way our society and economy is organised and what some of the key elements of this are.

Towards a socialist Australia

[This was written as part of the process of preparing a draft resolution for the Socialist Alliance January 2012 National Conference.]

A world in turmoil

The 21st century is shaping up to be a pivotal one as human society faces a profound and deepening crisis.

Overcoming the power of the 1%

[Green Left Weekly, #903, November 16, 2011]

The global Occupy movement has focused the spotlight on the dichotomy of the 1% versus the 99%. Who are these 1%? In the United States the 400 richest individuals have as much wealth as the bottom 150 million. A similar picture would apply in all the major capitalist countries.

Hands over the city: Towards an urban nightmare

[This is an edited version of a workshop talk given on October 2, 2011 at the World at a Crossroads conference in Melbourne. For a PDF of slideshow see here.]

In this talk I want to give an overview of the crisis of our cities as I see it. The city I focus on is Melbourne, where I live. But I doubt that the broad situation is much different in the other states.

How we work to win mass support

[Talk given at the Socialist Ideas Conference organised by Socialist Alliance & Resistance, Melbourne, September 3, 2011.]

Will the level of popular and working-class struggle rise significantly in the coming years? How can we overcome or neutralise the deadly effect of ruling class propaganda on the minds of so many ordinary people? Can left-wing forces rally significant support and lead big struggles? How do we work towards this goal?

On Eritrea's national day, little to celebrate

[Green Left Weekly, #879, May 18, 2011]

On May 24 Eritreans around the world will mark the country's national day. After an epic three-decades-long liberation struggle, in 1991 the liberation forces wrested control of their capital, Asmara, from the occupying Ethiopian army. Two years later a new, independent Eritrea was formally established.

Cuba: challenges & changes

[The slide show and text of a talk given to the Geelong branch of Socialist Alliance on October 6, 2010. For a PDF of slideshow see here.]

Market greed or a planned economy for social need?

[The slide show and text of a talk given as part of Melbourne Socialist Alliance’s Socialist Ideas Seminar series on August 28, 2010. For a PDF of slideshow see here.]

The starting point for a discussion of planned economy or the present market-based capitalist one has to be the situation we are facing today. Humanity faces some huge problems.

Free speech victory in Brunswick

[An edited version of this article appeared in Green Left Weekly, #841, June 23, 2010]

Green Left Weekly and Socialist Alliance have won a victory in our free speech struggle at Brunswick's Barkly Square shopping centre. Our Saturday morning card table stalls can now continue as before.

Eritrea's national day

[Greetings given to May 22, 2010 meeting at the Melbourne Resistance Centre celebrating Eritrea's national day.]

Comrades, on behalf of Socialist Alliance I would like to extend warm solidarity greetings to this meeting celebrating Eritrea's national day.

Free speech? Sort of . . .

[Green Left Weekly, #838, May 26, 2010]

We supposely live in a free country. But do we actually have free speech in Australia? Well, sort of . . .

Obviously, the situation here is completely different to a military dictatorship where people live in fear of a knock on the door. In some countries there is no Green Left Weekly, no right to protest, and dissidents are jailed and tortured. In Australia we do have some real and important democratic rights. However, there are severe practical limitations on effectively exercising these rights — that is, exercising them in a way that anyone actually hears what you're saying.

'Socialism of the 21st century' and left unity

[I was assigned to draft the Socialist Alliance leaflet below. It was first distributed in Melbourne at the end of March 2010.]

The triumphalism spouted by capitalist apologists in the early 1990s with the collapse of the Soviet Union has long gone. Today the problems are so obvious: global warming and the world economic slump are shaking the capitalist world and casting a growing shadow over the future.

Free speech under attack in Brunswick

[Green Left Weekly, #828, March 3, 2010]

MELBOURNE — Green Left Weekly is currently involved in a free-speech fight in the inner-city suburb of Brunswick. At the end of November, the management of the busy Barkly Square Shopping Centre stopped GLW from operating our regular Saturday morning card table stalls.

Asylum seekers: No room at the inn

[Green Left Weekly, #812, September 26, 2009]

With seven boatloads of asylum seekers intercepted in September, Australia’s Christmas Island detention centre is fast filling up. It now holds 677 detainees. ALP Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor told a conference that people smuggling was one of the key threats facing the country. But even he had to admit that the primary reason people seek refuge is because of "push factors" such as "war, civil conflicts, famines".

Tens of millions on move

Communism in Australia

[The text of a talk delivered to the conference A Century of Struggle — Laborism and the Radical Alternative. Lessons for Today. The gathering was held in Melbourne on May 30, 2009; it was organised by Socialist Alliance and sponsored by Green Left Weekly.]

The original Communist Party of Australia ceased to exist in 1991. (The present CPA is the renamed Socialist Party of Australia, the result of a pro-Moscow split from the old CPA in 1971.) So it is a long while gone. Many comrades here would have had no experience of it.

The Great Depression: Lessons for Socialists

[This is an edited version of a talk delivered at the World at a Crossroads Conference in Sydney, Easter 2009. It was organised by the Democratic Socialist Perspective and Resistance and sponsored by Green Left Weekly.]

It is widely recognised that the current global economic crisis is not a normal recession of the kind which characterises the capitalist business cycle — that is, it is not one of the periodic downturns which inevitably follow a boom period. Rather, it is a fundamental slump.

Not a normal recession but a fundamental slump

[Speech at the Melbourne launch of the pamphlet Meltdown! A Socialist View of the Capitalist Crisis (Resistance Books: Sydney, 2009); March 19, 2009]

Our pamphlet tries to briefly sketch for the reader some the main features of the current economic crisis and its main social and political consequences.

The first point to grasp is that this is a not a normal recession of the kind which characterises the capitalist business cycle — that is, it is not one of the periodic downturns which inevitably follow a boom period.

Nylex succumbs to 'oversupply' of water tanks

[Green Left Weekly, #785, February 28, 2009]

Victorian plastics manufacturer Nylex as been placed in the hands of receivers. Nylex is a well-known name — the company produces the iconic Esky, water tanks, wheelie garbage bins, hose and garden fittings, and interior trimmings for car manufacturers.

The DSP in the 1980s

[Introduction to Building the Revolutionary Party: Jim Percy Selected Writings 1980-87 (Resistance Books: Chippendale, 2008)]

This is the second volume of writings and speeches by Jim Percy, one of the founders of the Democratic Socialist Perspective and its longtime central leader until his death in 1992. These seven items — reports given by Jim to conferences and leadership gatherings of the DSP (or Socialist Workers Party as it was known in this period) — span the years 1980 to 1987.

Nationalisation: a key demand in the socialist program

[This article is an edited version of a talk originally given to the Melbourne branch of the Democratic Socialist Perspective in August 2008.]

For all the misery it represents for ordinary people, there is at least one positive result of the current capitalist financial crisis. The idea of nationalisation is getting an airing again in the West, however squeamish bourgeois leaders and pundits may be about using the actual word. Of course, this is clearly a case of governments mobilising massive resources and taking drastic action to save bankers and speculators from the consequences of their greed but, nevertheless, there it is. And if nationalisation — state or public ownership — is allowable in this dubious instance, why not for far more deserving and urgent causes such as saving the planet and the lives and welfare of masses of working people?

Are livable cities just a dream?

[The following talk was presented at the Climate Change | Social Change Conference in Sydney, April 2008.]

When one sees a modern city from the air, especially at night, it is a truly awe-inspiring spectacle. What always strikes me is the immensity of the project, a testimony to the power and creativity of human beings. However, on the ground and actually living and working in this wonder, things are quite different and the social and ecological problems crowd in and fill one's view.

Victorian Labor's water plan: business as usual

[Green Left Weekly, #720, August 3, 2007]

In Australia, as in other major capitalist countries, the official response to global warming is to deny or gloss over the utter catastrophe confronting human society and try to carry on with business as usual, making only a few relatively minor adjustments here and there.

Two roads for our healthcare system

[Green Left Weekly, #718, July 20, 2007]

The media hysteria over a possible Australian link to the recent British terror attacks serves to highlight a basic reality. The Australian healthcare system is critically dependent on overseas-trained doctors and it wouldn’t work without them.

The socialist revolution and the revolutionary party

[This is the text of a talk presented to the January 2007 Marxist Summer School organised by the Democratic Socialist Perspective.]

Socialism the only solution

Today humanity faces a global crisis stemming from the incredible rapacity of the capitalist system. In the first place, there is catastrophic climate change which threatens to end life on our planet, then there is endemic war and conflict, mass poverty in the Third World and neo-liberalism's ever more ruthless assault on working people everywhere.

Capitalism is leading us to total disaster

[From Change the System, Not the Climate (Resistance Books: Sydney, 2007); an edited version appeared in Green Left Weekly #693, December 6, 2006]

The fundamental problem facing humanity today is catastrophic climate change brought on by runaway greenhouse gas emissions. The relatively narrow band of climatic conditions within which we can function has been destabilised. As average temperatures rise extreme weather events are increasing (cyclones, floods, heat waves and droughts) and ocean levels look like rising dramatically, potentially making refugees of hundreds of millions of people. The very survival of the human race has now been called into question.

Victoria grapples with drought

[Green Left Weekly, #690, November 11, 2006]

Like a large part of the continent, Victoria is in the grip of an unprecedented drought. Across the state, dams are rapidly emptying and river flows are at record lows, cities and towns face drastic restrictions and farmers confront an uncertain future. The water crisis gives the question of global warming and catastrophic climate change a new immediacy and is a major issue in the November 25 state election.

Make public transport free — for everybody

[Green Left Weekly, #689, November 3, 2006]

Public transport issues continue to feature prominently in the November 25 state election as both major parties trawl for votes. First, Victorian Liberal leader Ted Ballieu pledged to make public transport free for all primary, secondary and full-time tertiary students in the state (at an estimated cost of $285 million). A few days later he promised to abolish metropolitan transport Zone 3, a move which would give significant savings to commuters travelling in to the city from the outer suburbs. And only hours after that, Labor Premier Steve Bracks promised to do the same and, furthermore, to reduce V/Line (country) fares by up to 20%.

Sixtieth birthday remarks

[Remarks made at a dinner in Melbourne to celebrate my 60th birthday, August 2006]

The card Andrea gave me for my birthday said that now I'm 60 I should make lists and offered one for today — first, check my zipper; two, make a wish; three, blow out candles; four, eat cake; and five, wipe my face. Well, I checked my zipper before I got up and I'll practice the rest later. But I did want to write down what I wanted to say tonight so it comes out right.

The Age campaigns for free public transport

[Green Left Weekly, #668, May 15, 2006]

For the past two months Melbourne's Age newspaper, owned by the Fairfax media group, has been energetically campaigning for free public transport in the city. Former Victorian Liberal premier Jeff Kennett — who privatised public transport in 1999 — revealed in an interview that he argued within his cabinet for a simple universal gold-coin fare system. He said his biggest regret in public life was that he failed to stick to his guns in the face of bureaucratic opposition. Kennett's cabinet colleague Robert Maclellan canvassed the idea of making public transport completely free until leading officials talked him out of it.

Crime and punishment II

[Green Left Weekly, #665, April 26, 2006]

Every society deals with crime and punishment in its own special way. Modern capitalism, for all the ludicrous claims of its media hacks and propagandists, is a class-divided society based on the exploitation and oppression of the many by the very few. It ceaselessly generates crime at all levels.

'Renewal' ALP-style

[Green Left Weekly, #659, March 8, 2006]

The ALP is undergoing a process of "renewal" as a clutch of ambitious right-wing trade union officials seek preselection against Victorian sitting federal MPs.

Free speech victory

[Green Left Weekly, #651, November 30, 2005]

Green Left Weekly has won the right to resume its Saturday morning stalls at the big Barkly Square shopping centre in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Brunswick.

Terrorism: the new Cold War

[Green Left Weekly, #649, November 16, 2005]

Terrorism has become a kind of new Cold War. During the post-World War II struggle of the US-led "free world" against the Soviet Union and its allies, everything was justified by the needs of the fight against "communism", Soviet "totalitarianism", Reagan's "evil empire", etc. Under these banners, the West carried out a permanent arms race (which included the massive deployment of nuclear weapons), sponsored and supported scores of atrocious Third World dictatorships, and witch-hunted their own citizens and attacked their democratic rights.

The workers militia and the struggle for socialism

[An educational talk given to the Melbourne DSP branch, August 2005]

The question of the workers militia may seem to be extremely remote from our present concerns but under the broader heading of workers self-defence it is a very important aspect of the struggle for socialism. And, of course, as Marxists, in preparation for the future, we study a great many things that may seem far away from our immediate concerns but which might, in time, become critically important and which all serve to deepen our understanding of the struggle for socialism.

Their Morals and Ours

[The text of a talk given to the DSP's January 2005 Socialist Educational Conference.]

I. The big picture

Morality is an arena of struggle

Today's class struggle poses some very hard issues. Imperialism presents us with an endless list of horrible crimes. Our world is full to the brim with unending violence, pain and suffering. But the struggle against this barbarism also confronts us with some very challenging questions.

At the tramstop

[Green Left Weekly, #608, December 1, 2004]

Waiting for the tram at the busy Melbourne Central stop on Swanston St., I look across at the State Library. It's a lovely building and very easy on the eye. A classic Victorian construction (it was built in the 1850s), one enters it through a row of neoclassical columns; and behind the roof line rises the great dome of the celebrated reading room.

In broad daylight

[Green Left Weekly, #483, March 6, 2002]

Although I am a committed socialist, I must admit there are times when sheer visceral hatred just wells up inside and I just wish one could press a button and the whole grubby, greedy, thieving, lying, vile, shameless lot of them would vanish into some black pit forever and the rest of us could just get on with our lives.

Terrorism: A Marxist perspective

[This is the text of a talk presented to the DSP and Resistance educational conference in Sydney in January 2002.]

I'd like to begin with a juxtaposition of two events — one which took place just four months ago and the other a long time before.

Becoming part of the problem

[Green Left Weekly, #470, November 7, 2001]

Every demonisation campaign undertaken by US imperialism has taken its toll as various prominent left-wingers have been taken in — or caved in — and have swung over to support US policy.

Who is the main 'enemy of civilisation'?

[Green Left Weekly, #470, November 7, 2001]

It has become a familiar scenario. A former political tool of the United States has fallen from favour and become an obstacle. Washington decides to take drastic action to assert its interests. But first, the public must be ideologically conditioned. Through a strident campaign in the mass media, the recalcitrant regime is painted in the blackest colours. A decade ago, the Gulf War required Iraq’s Saddam Hussein to be portrayed as an Arab Hitler; today, the terrorist Osama bin Laden is an "enemy of civilisation", likewise Afghanistan's Taliban regime which shelters him.

Socialists condemn terrorist outrage

[This statement by the Democratic Socialist Party was issued on September 13, 2001. While it was collective document I was assigned to produce the first draft. Almost a decade later, I think it still reads very well.]

Socialists unequivocally condemn the September 11 terror bombings in the United States. The killing of thousands of ordinary working people is absolutely criminal and has nothing whatsoever to do with the struggle for a better world. Indeed, this atrocity will undoubtedly make this struggle more difficult and aid the forces of capitalist reaction.

Marxism, socialism & religion

[Introduction to Marxism, Socialism & Religion (Resistance Books: Chippendale, 2001)]

Despite the apparently secular nature of so much of modern life, religion is a long way from being a spent force. For revolutionary socialists aiming to mobilise the masses for a fundamental transformation of society, religion is a question which cannot be ignored:

EPA: 'Emission Permission Authority'

[Green Left Weekly, #404, May 10, 2000]

WOLLONGONG — Since its reopening in February, emissions from Port Kembla Copper's smelter here have made life miserable for residents in nearby suburbs. For those with health problems, it has often been life threatening. The main culprit is sulphur dioxide, although it is far from the only one.

Illawarra residents battle corporate polluters

[Green Left Weekly, #397, March 15, 2000]

WOLLONGONG — Industrial pollution, in all its many forms and with all its attendant consequences, has long been a fact of life in the Illawarra. And nowhere are the effects more pronounced than in the suburbs near BHP's giant Port Kembla steel complex. In recent months, concern over emissions, dust fallout and other problems has risen sharply.

Laws scandal raises deeper issues

[Green Left Weekly, #369, July 28, 1999]

John Laws, one of the kings of Sydney talkback radio, has been engulfed in scandal. It has emerged that, at the same time that he was engaging in some populist bank-bashing, he secretly approached the Australian Bankers Association (ABA) seeking a lucrative deal to promote the banks' cause on air, not only through open advertisements but also through his supposedly independent editorial comments.

Socialism on Trial

[Introduction to Socialism on Trial (Resistance Books: Sydney, 1999).]

Almost 60 years ago in the United States, in 1941, there took place in Minneapolis, in the mid-western state of Minnesota, the most famous political trial of the wartime period. Twenty-eight socialist and union activists were charged with plotting the violent overthrow of the US government.

The insurance rip-off

[Green Left Weekly, #331, September 2, 1998]

WOLLONGONG — Two days after floods devastated this region, giant insurer NRMA attempted to deflect the second storm it knew would come by donating $250,000 to the disaster relief effort. Its cynical ploy fooled nobody.

Ever since it became clear that the insurance companies would reject most claims of residents hit by the deluge, the companies have been decidedly on the nose in the Illawarra.

Wollongong floods: an act of God?

[Green Left Weekly, #330, August 26, 1998

WOLLONGONG — The massive inundation of the region has been a compelling and sobering experience for all who live here. The normally imposing fabric of our built-up environment and the lives it enables us to lead have been shown to be startlingly fragile in the face of the forces of nature.

The socialist press: From the Neue Rheinische Zeitung to Green Left Weekly

[This article is an edited version of a talk presented to the DSP-Resistance educational conference on the 150th anniversary of the Communist Manifesto, held in Sydney, January 1998.]

As we know, the essential instrument of socialist politics is the socialist workers party. And the most essential weapon or tool of such a party is its newspaper. A history of left political parties — in the West at least — is also inescapably a history of the party press.

Arguments for socialism: Charity or justice?

[Green Left Weekly, #291, September 24, 1997]

At Princess Diana's funeral, representatives of some 100 charities she had worked with walked in the cortege. Charities are such an all-pervasive feature of modern society that we tend to take them for granted. However, they are decidedly a phenomenon of capitalist society and are essential to its functioning.

Arguments for socialism: In the spotlight

[Green Left Weekly, #289, September 10, 1997]

It is a now a commonplace that the untimely death of Princess Diana has put the spotlight on the media. But the issues raised go far deeper than questions of media intrusion into the private lives of famous people.

Arguments for socialism: Jobs at a price

[Green Left Weekly, #283, July 30, 1997]

Although the tourist postcards ingeniously manage to leave it out of the picture or consign it to a hazy background, BHP's huge Port Kembla steelworks is the most obvious feature of Wollongong. The towering main smokestack with its ever-present whitish plume can be seen at great distances from the city.

Cancer fear in the Illawarra

[Green Left Weekly, #282, July 23, 1997]

WOLLONGONG — The recent release of a long-awaited government report on leukaemia clusters in the Illawarra will do little to allay community concerns.

Arguments for socialism: Is 'human nature' up to it?

[Green Left Weekly, #275, May 21, 1997]

If patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel, "human nature" is often the final defensive position of apologists for capitalism. Any sort of truly egalitarian society is impossible, it is claimed, because people are naturally greedy and competitive. The ambitious and aggressive will always form an elite which will dominate society, irrespective of any economic arrangements. Thus socialism is a utopian fantasy — it is against "human nature".

Arguments for socialism: Crime and punishment I

[Green Left Weekly, #273, May 7, 1997]

Crime, especially violent crime, is a favourite staple of the capitalist media. Murders, assaults, sex crimes, paedophilia, robberies, home invasions, gang violence — they can never get enough of it. Then they whip it up over supposedly lenient jail terms or the release of murderers, rapists and child molesters who have served their sentences.

Arguments for socialism: Capitalism and the ecological crisis

[Green Left Weekly, #272, April 30, 1997]

The ecological crisis is perhaps the strongest argument for socialism. Despite the business-as-usual attitude of the capitalist media, this is not just one more crisis: it is a looming catastrophe that threatens the survival of humanity. It is generated by the most fundamental workings of the system and for that reason cannot be overcome within the framework of capitalism.

Arguments for socialism: Would socialism work?

[Green Left Weekly, #270, April 16, 1997]

Socialists condemn capitalism because it has failed the overwhelming mass of humanity in the most decisive way. It promises freedom, democracy and prosperity but spectacularly defaults on all three (as, for instance, the people of the former Soviet Union are today finding out to their bitter cost). Nevertheless, capitalism has one undoubted historical merit: it has developed society's productive powers to the point where everyone on the planet could be assured a decent, truly human existence — on the condition that the capitalist system is replaced by socialism.

Arguments for socialism: Utopian fantasy or realistic option?

[Green Left Weekly, #269, April 9, 1997]

February next year is the 150th anniversary of the first publication of Marx and Engels' famous Manifesto of the Communist Party. This event can be regarded as the birth of the modern socialist movement. Yet, despite all the drama and turmoil of the past century and a half, today the socialist movement seems at its lowest ebb ever. Among capitalist commentators, it is the received wisdom that socialism is a dead issue. Many erstwhile radicals have come to the same conclusion.

An introduction to James P. Cannon

[From Building the Revolutionary Party: An Introduction to James P. Cannon (New Course Publications: Chippendale, 1997)]

James P. Cannon was a pioneer of the Communist Party of the United States and one of its central leaders in the 1920s. Breaking with the Stalinised CP in 1928 he founded the American Trotskyist movement and played the decisive role in building it for over three decades.

Victoria: A far cry from utopia

[Green Left Weekly, #248, September 25, 1996]

MELBOURNE — "Life wasn't meant to be easy": in its day, Malcolm Fraser's quip became notorious. Its haughty Tory disdain summed up perfectly the outlook of the capitalist class and the Coalition government towards the needs and concerns of ordinary people.

Profiting from the 'casino culture' in Victoria

[Green Left Weekly, #214, December 5, 1995]

Since its 1992 landslide election win, Jeff Kennett's Coalition government has made an indelible impact on Victoria as it has sought to increase corporate profits at the expense of the state's working people. The "can do" government has done so much to revive business confidence and restore the bottom line to its rightful place in our lives.

UN at 50: Still dominated by the West

[Green Left Weekly, #213, November 28, 1995]

"The dominant impression of the massive international jamboree that marked the 50th anniversary of the United Nations", wrote Martin Walker in the November 5 Guardian Weekly, "was the extraordinary degree of resentment that the delegates of most countries now feel for the United States. The clearest display was the speech by Cuba's Fidel Castro, who was cheered to the echo in the longest and most fervent ovation of the three days, even though he did not attack the US by name."

Chasing the 'battlers'' vote

[Green Left Weekly, #210, November 7, 1995]

With a federal election looming, both the ALP and the Coalition are stepping up their propaganda aimed at the so-called "battlers", ie, the mass of low-paid workers hard-hit by the capitalist economic restructuring of the last period.

Can the planet survive tourism?

[Green Left Weekly, #209, October 31, 1995]

"The world", enthused a recent Time magazine feature, "is at the dawn of a new Golden Age of travel — an age of voyaging on a truly global mass scale. As the 21st century unfurls, people of every age and class, and from every country will be wandering to every part of this planet."

Defend the public sector!

[Green Left Weekly, #205, October 3, 1995]

Privatisation is at the cutting edge of the current capitalist attack against the working class. Throughout the western world, state assets and functions are being sold off, with drastic consequences for both the workers employed in the given sector and those who depend on the services provided. A previous article ("Privatisation is theft") sketched in the general background to the privatisation phenomenon in Australia and put forward some broad guidelines for resisting it. However, any fight against the sell-off of the state sector inescapably raises two central related issues: reforming the public sector in a progressive direction and the nationalisation or renationalisation of privately owned companies.

Privatisation is theft

[Green Left Weekly, #201, September 6, 1995]

Throughout the western world, governments are engaged in a veritable orgy of privatisation of state assets and functions. In the poor and dependent countries of the Third World, this process is being brutally imposed by the IMF and World Bank as a condition of desperately needed loans. The only real winners from this process are the corporate rich; working people are everywhere worse off as a result. In Australia, privatisation is in high gear. There are a number of key questions socialist and progressive forces must ponder in considering how to respond. Just what is happening? What is behind the relentless development of this process? Is it really possible to resist this trend? Is the demand for nationalisation still a valid and realistic element in the socialist program today?

Urban nightmare: The restructuring of Melbourne

[Green Left Weekly, #189, May 31, 1995; based on a paper presented to the Marxist educational conference Campaigning for Democratic Socialism, held in Melbourne at Easter 1995.]

The view of a modern city from the window of a plane as it descends is often breathtakingly impressive. The panorama is truly a miracle of social and technical organisation. Taking in the endless pattern of roads, houses, buildings and the night-time latticework of street lights can be a moving experience. The spectacle seems to say: this amazingly complex artificial environment we have created, all this is what human beings are capable of.

Interview: The movement against the Vietnam war

 [Green Left Weekly, May 24, 1995]

DAVE HOLMES, a founding member of the Democratic Socialist Party, first became an activist In Melbourne during the campaign to end the Vietnam war. KARL MILLER asks him about his experiences of that campaign.

What were your first experiences of the movement to end the war in Vietnam?

I got interested in politics in the later '60s, and by the time of the first Moratorium in May 1970 I had considered myself a socialist for several years. But this was the first demonstration I'd been on, and certainly it had a massive impression on me. I think it did on all those who went on it, and a great many other people.

How Kennett gets away with it

[Green Left Weekly, #161, September 28, 1994]

Jeff Kennett's resounding election win in October 1992 marks a watershed in postwar politics in Victoria. The cutbacks and changes that his Coalition government has rammed through over the last two years have had a deep effect on the lives of the mass of ordinary Victorians.

May Day: Time for a change

[Green Left Weekly, #143, May 18, 1994]

In Melbourne on May 1, about 1500 people took part in the annual Sunday afternoon May Day march and rally. As usual, the bulk of the participants came from the various left-wing, migrant and solidarity organisations.

Italian crisis and proportional representation

[Green Left Weekly, #97, April 28, 1993]

Perhaps other GLW readers have, like me, been fascinated by the recent stream of revelations about massive corruption in Italian public life. It seems that just about the entire ruling "political class" of Christian Democrat and Socialist leaders and MPs have been compromised — or soon will be — by the ever-spreading stain of corruption scandals.

Jim Percy (1948-92)

[This unsigned obituary article first appeared in Green Left Weekly, #76, October 21, 1992. While it was a collective effort, I was assigned to produce the first draft. I especially want to include it here in tribute to the enormous role Jim played in the development of our movement and in the political education of several generations of comrades, myself included.]

Jim Percy, national president of the Democratic Socialist Party, died quietly as a result of cancer, at his home in Sydney on October 12. He was 43 years old and had devoted 27 years of his life to revolutionary socialist politics.

The unity we need

[Green Left Weekly, #73, September 30, 1992. This is the text of a talk presented to a meeting sponsored by the electoral coalition Independent Action in Melbourne on September 16.]

These elections are marked by the record field of 182 candidates running independently of the major parties. And while the precise figures vary, all the polls indicate that collectively they enjoy substantial support.