The Knowledge-Practice Relation and its Political Significance In many contemporary societies, there is a typical distrust of knowledge claims that are backed by reason and evidence. Correspondingly, there is a popular penchant for knowledge claims that have no basis in reason or evidence. It is as if post-modernism is being put into practice in popular circles. … Keep reading »

In August this year, the acclaimed socialist writer and activist Samir Amin (1931-2018) passed away. Born in Egypt and educated in Port Said and Paris, he eventually settled as director of the Third World Forum in Dakar, Senegal from 1980. Samir was author of numerous books including his well-known Accumulation on a World Scale (1970), … Keep reading »

In early 2017, it was revealed that eight men owned as much wealth as half the world’s population (Oxfam 2017). This is in a world where, according to the most conservative figures, around one in three workers live in poverty. More realistic calculations show that the majority of the world’s population suffers from poverty of … Keep reading »

Marx’s Capital: three volumes, 2,500 pages. A tome as an organizing tool? For leftists who really can’t do without Marx, there are a lot of his texts that are shorter and address questions of organizing directly. The Communist Manifesto (1848) comes to mind, but also the materials he wrote for the International Working Men’s Association. … Keep reading »

The centenary of the October 1917 Russian Revolution, a world-shaking historic event, was an occasion for celebration throughout the world. Many diverse interpretations are advanced as to its success in achieving a radical transformation of society, both in terms of its history and its overall impact. Nonetheless, there is no denying that this event altered … Keep reading »

The following talk was given on 21 July 2018 to a two-day seminar at York University entitled “Historical perspectives on united fronts against fascism and the far right.” The framework for our panel this morning is “Unity against the Right: A historical approach.” There are in fact many histories of such united resistance, each with … Keep reading »

What would happen if the concept of a political formation were turned into a party building strategy? A map and a metaphorical excursion through two of today’s emerging democratic left forces may lead to an answer. This excursion starts by outlining the descriptive and strategic dynamics of the notion of the political formation, as articulated … Keep reading »

Mark Karlin (MK): Why is it important to have an historical understanding of fascism to shed light on the age of Trump? Henry A. Giroux (HG): The conditions leading to fascism do not exist in some ethereal space outside of history. Nor are they fixed in a static moment in the past. As Hannah Arendt … Keep reading »

Analysis of the May 1968 events in Europe and their significance for a revolutionary movement today. Keep reading »

Thirty-five years ago I undertook to translate and publish the record of the Communist International in Lenin’s lifetime, covering the preparatory years from 1907 to its foundation in 1919 and through 1923. Ten books totalling 7,000 pages are published or in preparation. This has been a team effort of more than 100 collaborators in several … Keep reading »

It doesn’t take much imagination to associate climate change with revolution. If the planetary order upon which all societies are built starts breaking down, how can they possibly remain stable? Various more or less horrifying scenarios of upheaval have long been extrapolated from soaring temperatures. Keep reading »

Hungarian writer and historian György Dalos described his relationship to Marx in a short, reflective piece that appeared in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung on 25 October 2017. In it, he claims that Marx drew upon that age-old human ideal of a society living in wealth and security and without fear of violence or retribution; and … Keep reading »