Opposition to Unity and Unity of Opposition: Spain and the POUM
The experience of the POUM in Spain demonstrates the importance of Marxist unity and the dangers of Popular Fronts, writes Finlay Gilmour. “It is the …
History
Building Camaraderie in the CPUSA, 1930-1950
Josh Morris investigates how the Communist Party USA created a sense of camaraderie in its organizing efforts between members, looking at how both circumstances forced …
The Democratic Bolshevik
Alexander Gallus reviews Ilona Duczyńska’s German language book ‘The Democratic Bolshevik’ which explores the socialist experiment of Red Vienna and its failure to defend itself …
Early American Socialism and the Poverty of Colorblind Marxism
The history of early American Marxism is one of a failed colorblind politics that was incapable of organizing the proletariat in post-Reconstruction United States, argues …
A Left-Wing History of the Republican Party
Radical Republicanism was a predecessor to Marxism in the United States with its critiques of slavery and wage labor. M.A. Iasilli takes a look at its …
Fighting Fascism: Communist Resistance to the Nazis, 1928-1933
The failure of the German left to unite against Hitler is often used as a warning to those who fail to build unity with liberals …
May 1968: The Birth of Neoliberalism?
The May events in 1968 France are now remembered by some as merely a watershed for the rise of neo-liberalism. Donald Parkinson aims to complicate …
Double Agent in Detroit: Anti-Communism at the Local Level
Looking at anti-communism before the McCarthyist era at the local level, Joshua Morris dissects the career of an industrial double-agent William Gernaey. We publish this …
Insurrection and Defeat in Bavaria, 1918–19 (Part 2)
Alexander Gallus concludes his saga on the Bavarian Soviet Republic and tries to draw political lessons from its failures. The leader of the Bavarian November …
From Workers’ Party to Workers’ Republic
Donald Parkinson takes a look at the history of the First, Second and Third Internationals, arguing for an approach to party-building and political strategy that …
Missing Victory? Blanqui and the Paris Commune
Louis August Blanqui was a key revolutionary leader in the French Socialist movement. Yet when the Paris Commune erupted in 1871, Blanqui was in prison, …
The USSR’s Founding Mother
M.A. Iasilli on what Bolshevik militant Nadezhda Krupskaya can teach us about education and labor. Reading: Cliff Connolly. Since researching the stages of national development …
Conciliation and Insurrection in Bavaria 1918–19 (Part 1)
What political lessons can be learned from the failed Bavarian Soviet Republic? Alexander Gallus takes a deep dive into the history of this famous moment …
Historical Narratives of the Red Terror
Donald Parkinson dives into the historiography of the Russian Revolution and argues that the Red Terror was not an ideological outgrowth of communist ideals. Rather, …