Trotskyism, Ukraine and Hypocrisy: An Analysis

The far-left has thoroughly disgraced itself over Ukraine. Across the world, they are shilling for Russian imperialism and slandering Ukraine’s government as ‘fascist’ (a repetition of Russian propaganda), or at the very least, shamefully equivocating between the murderous, chauvinistic imperialism of the avaricious Putin regime and ‘Western imperialism’. Reading the articles these people produce, you … Read more

IMT: Useful Idiots for Russian Imperialism

The IMT has always had an odd position on Ukraine. Back in 2014, the organisation declared its solidarity with the ‘anti-fascist resistance’ that erupted in Eastern Ukraine in response to the Western-backed ‘counter-revolution’ of Maidan. This narrative is straight out of the pages of Press TV and Russia Today, the kind of media no doubt … Read more

I Tried To Be A Communist

In a 1944 article, ‘I Tried To Be A Communist’, Richard Wright explains his brief involvement and disaffection with the American Communist Party. This essay was included in a 1949 collection of essays by former Communists, The God That Failed, in which they reflect on their experiences. Wright’s account is one of the most stirring, … Read more

Venezuela, the IMT and the failure of socialism

This evening, I could not help but chuckle when I saw on Twitter that the IMT had published yet another article about Venezuela, scratching their heads as to how it was that the socialist ruling party lost in Hugo Chavez’s home state of Barinas. Their conclusion? Not enough socialism. How predictable. When I was in … Read more

The CWI Split of 1991-2, or Debate in Trotskyist Sects: Part 9

The 1991-2 split in the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI) brought about the demise of Militant, the CWI’s British section, and gave birth to the two main organisations that came out of it – the Socialist Party under Peter Taaffe, and Socialist Appeal under Ted Grant, Alan Woods and Rob Sewell. When I was … Read more

A Tribute to Louis Proyect (1945-2021)

Louis Proyect’s death was announced just this week. Having just found out the news, I feel duty-bound to write something in tribute. A well-known and well-respected online Marxist commentator, with a blog that attracted millions of hits over many years, he is one of the people to which I am indebted for rescuing me from … Read more

Ayatollah Woods and the ‘petty-bourgeois renegade’ Paul Mason

Last August, the IMT came out with a couple of stinging articles condemning Paul Mason as a ‘renegade’ and apostate from Marxism. The dispute is too boring to go into detail about, but anyone who is interested can go here and here. Mason foolishly gave the cult more publicity than it deserved by linking to … Read more