Solriche

The Road to February World War One was to temporarily cut across the growing insurrectionary mood in Russia but it was in turn to sow the seeds of revolution… The first world war would have been greeted with some relief by the ruling elite. The opposition parties were gaining strength on the back of a growing wave of discontent. Workers had recovered from the repression that followed the 1905 insurrection. The numbers participating in political strikes had risen from 8000 in 1911 to 500,000 in 1913 and had doubled in the first half of 1914. [1] This movement was halted with the declaration of war in August 1914. Almost in a flash the psychology of the nation changed. There were “…….processions in the streets carrying the Tsar’s portrait……….Those first days of war! How full we were of enthusiasm, of the conviction that we were fighting in a just and holy cause…….” . [2] This general feeling of confident euphoria was not to last long. Initially the Russian army had mixed fort...

Right-wing populism, a socialist answer The neoliberal consensus of the mainstream political parties that had its roots in the 1980s doctrines of Thatcherism and Reaganomics ended in failure with the financial crash of 2007-2008. Polarisation took the place of this consensus leading to a surge of right-wing populist parties and the rise of left-wing movements. Its impact on the tradition parties of the left and right was to force them to adapt or die. This sign posts to a coming period of volatility, ever greater polarisation and upheaval. Traditional left parties, wedded to the establishment consensus, have suffered a string of electoral defeats. These failures have influenced a turn to socialist ideas as an answer to right-wing populism and the problems faced by ordinary people. Fall out of the 2007-2008 financial crash CNN headlines: 2007-2008 Financial Crash The 2007-2008 crash, dubbed the 'Great Recession', was the worse financial shock since the Great Depress...

Everyone's a fascist! "It will be seen that, as used, the word ‘Fascism’ is almost entirely meaningless. In conversation, of course, it is used even more wildly than in print. I have heard it applied to farmers, shopkeepers, Social Credit, corporal punishment, fox-hunting, bull-fighting, the 1922 Committee, the 1941 Committee, Kipling, Gandhi, Chiang Kai-Shek, homosexuality, Priestley's broadcasts, Youth Hostels, astrology, women, dogs and I do not know what else." Used carelessly, as George Orwell complained above, fascism risks being stripped of all meaning and reduced to a mere term of abuse. We've witnessed the rise and proliferation of figures and parties, such as Donald Trump in the US , UKIP in the UK, Front National in France and Austria's Freedom Party. All have made free use of racial caricatures, anti-immigration and nationalist rhetoric. All of these are accused of being fascist but which, if any, actually compare with the classic form of...

..the only thing Venezuela has in abundance is chaos , this is the verdict of most of the mainstream media on the crisis in Venezuela. The home of Chávez's Bolivarian revolution is beset by violent anti-government protests set against a background of economic problems. Supporters of Chávez and his successor, Maduro, accuse Venezuela's elites of economic sabotage and colluding with foreign powers to overthrow the government. Venezuela has reached a crossroads with the choice of taking the revolution forward or the ' Chavismo ' movement being drowned in blood. Gains of the Bolivarian revolution Hugo Chávez Hugo Chávez 's Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV formally MVR) came to power on a radical programme of reform after the 1998 election. Most of his support came from the working classes and sections of the middle classes that had experienced worsening circumstances over the previous decade. Ordinary people made huge gains under Chávez ...

American elites at war with themselves Sections of the American elite greeted Trump's 2016 US Presidential election victory with consternation. They traded insults with each other including accusations of Trump enjoying a bromance with Vladimir Putin. These accusations and counter-accusations over issues such as Russia, China and the economy underline the profound disagreements [1] within the US elite. They have split roughly between those on the neoliberal, free trade side and those supporting greater protectionism. The root of this division is over the the best way forward in the face of new challenges to the dominance of US capitalism. US global strategy is governed by the demands of its economic power but with the rise of Russia and China as competing powers it has become more difficult to sustain. Spheres of influence 2016 G20 Leaders' Summit in Hangzhou, China The global strategy that has been followed by US since it became a super power was summed up b...