The fraud of Stalinism
Stalinism is experiencing a small revival. For now, it is greatly exaggerated online, where many of the popular socialist meme pages are as devoted to praising gulags and North Korea’s nuclear missile program as they are to denouncing capitalism. But as the imagery and politics of Stalinis...CONTINUE READING
Vale Val Macarow, a tireless campaigner
Val Macarow, a lifelong activist for many causes, most notably the Movement Against Uranium Mining (MAUM) and the anti-nuclear movement, died on 9 March at the age of 87. Val’s Jewish grandparents had escaped from pogroms in Russia, and she grew up in a working class family in Carlton. “Th...CONTINUE READING
Remembering Aboriginal leader William Ferguson
It’s been 80 years since the first recorded protest for civil rights in Australia, led by the Aboriginal community in what is now known as the “Day of Mourning”, 26 January 1938. The Aboriginal organiser of the march, William (Bill) Ferguson, was a Wiradjuri man born in 1882 at Waddai, Dar...CONTINUE READING
What do we mean by socialism?
What the hell is socialism, anyway? Over the last decade, it has been one of the most frequently looked up words in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. And it’s easy to see why so many people feel the need for clarification. Right wing politicians and commentators call anything they are agains...CONTINUE READING
1968: the year the unthinkable happened
1968 has become known as the year of the student. Across the world, campuses were aflame with political activity. Students challenged university administrations and demanded student control over student life; they railed against racism and inequality in their own countries and fought imper...CONTINUE READING
Pre-colonial society shows humans can live collectively
“If the test of sophistication were whether or not all were fed regardless of rank or whether all contributed to the spiritual and cultural health of the civilisation, Aboriginal Australia might have a much higher rank than some of the nations considered the hallmark of human evolution.” S...CONTINUE READING
Where does inequality come from, and how can we end it?
The richest 1 percent of Australians own more wealth than the bottom 70 percent combined. Far from being the Lucky Country where equality abounds, Australia is in the top half of the most unequal societies in the 35-member Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the rich cou...CONTINUE READING
Mardi Gras 40th anniversary: ‘Proud to be a 78er’
Mick Armstrong: One of the most inspiring aspects of the first Mardi Gras was that protesters were not demoralised or intimidated by the appalling police brutality. We stood up and fought back. Hundreds of activists, both gay and straight, threw themselves into a vibrant campaign of mass m...CONTINUE READING
Vale Zelda D’Aprano, a fighter for women’s liberation
Zelda D’Aprano, famous for chaining herself to the railings of the Commonwealth Building in Melbourne in 1969 to demand equal pay for women, died on 21 February, aged 90. Zelda was born into a working class Jewish family in Carlton in 1928. Following her mother’s example, she became a memb...CONTINUE READING