Chartist - for democratic socialism

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Archive of past articles

Labour movement

British politics

International politics

Economy and society		Date
Paying for public goods Patrick Diamond on the public’s continued demand to have, and pay for, public services		May/June 2013
End blacklisting! Steve Murphy on a shameful practice and a shameful silence from our government		May/June 2013
Leeching off the state Isabel Gilbert takes aim at the degrading role private firms like Atos have on the public realm		May/June 2013
Cutting what can't be cut Keith Savage on the strain of Coalition cuts borne by local authorities		Mar/Apr 2013
Fixing the roof Ruth Halkon on appalling Tory policy on squatting		Mar/Apr 2013
Dignity for the migrant Don Flynn demands a rethink on low pay		Mar/Apr 2013
Black youth marginalised Jyoti Bhojani sees minority youth facing jobs double whammy		Jan/Feb 2013
Paying through the nose Alice Perry & Tom Copley say youth priced out of good housing		Jan/Feb 2013
A taxing issue Paul Teasdale argues inequality can't be tackled without tax reform		Nov/Dec 2012
Limits to Keynesianism Harry Shutt on a socialist response to capitalist crisis		Nov/Dec 2012
Standing up to slash and burn Frances O'Grady outlines the union alternative to austerity		Nov/Dec 2012
Bank on it Prem Sikka outlines the mutual alternative for banking reform		Sep/Oct 2012
An Olympic boondoggle? Kerry Ann Mendoza fears a corrupt spectacle		Jul/Aug 2012
Another Mail failure Anna Kessel takes apart the Daily Mail’s outdated Britishness		Jul/Aug 2012
Public pain Dexter Whitfield surveys 30 years of public sector pillaging		Jul/Aug 2012
No benefit Baroness Wilkins defends the disabled		May/Jun 2012
Tax avoidance Prem Sikka proposes action to tackle the dodgers		May/Jun 2012
Working women Frances O’Grady on the gender impact of the cuts		May/Jun 2012
A friend for all? Paul Reynolds with a different view of Adam Smith		Mar/Apr 2012
All shades of racism Don Flynn on footballers and coppers		Mar/Apr 2012
Lessons learnt? Cat Smith surveys aftermath of the MacPherson Report		Mar/Apr 2012
Snouts in the trough Deborah Hargreaves exposes corporate largesse		Mar/Apr 2012
Emergency exit Frank Lee on an exit strategy		Jan/Feb 2012
Housing Benefit cuts Karen Buck sees poverty and homelessness		Jan/Feb 2012
Fairtrade Glenn Power says councils must practise what they preach		Jan/Feb 2012
Carry on casino banking The Vickers Report on banking fails to provide durable reforms says Prem Sikka		Nov/Dec 2011
The poverty of tabloid journalism David Khabaz surveys the wreckage of the News of the World's demise		Sep/Oct 2011
The state gets heavy - part 1 Tom Holness reports on political prosecutions for handing out leaflets.		Sep/Oct 2011
A mortal sting in this summer's tales? Phil Vellender reflects on the subtext of a tumultuous summer and recalls another scandal mistakenly dismissed as a 'non story' back in 1972.		Sep/Oct 2011
In go(l)d we trust Frank Lee discusses the current and ongoing rise in the price of gold and the slightly altered promise on the back of the US Dollar.		Sep/Oct 2011
Kant and capitalism Bob Brecher and Phil Vellender on an immoral system		Jul/Aug 2011
Why torture is wrong Bob Brecher argues that torture is never justified		May/Jun 2011
Nowhere to turn Cat Smith on the scandal of the one in five		May/Jun 2011
Reverse Socialism Prem Sikka on how the Coalition is transferring wealth from many to a few		May/Jun 2011
Universities and the neo-liberal revolution Bob Brecher finds the Browne report on higher education a convenient justification for a new class elitism on access		Jan/Feb 2011
Cooperative opportunities in transport While Cameron's Big Society rhetoric is strangely silent on private companies Paul Salveson argues the libertarian left has a much stronger alternative		Jan/Feb 2011
Corporate tax avoidance threatens democracy Prem Sikka on the billions that could be saved cutting tax evasion by the rich		Jan/Feb 2011
Two societies Andy Gregg makes comparisons between the Big Society and the Great Society		Nov/Dec 2010
Fat cats, cuts and courtesans Whilst the Coalition is undermining health and safety, Elaine Smith MSP argues the plight of sex workers demands human rights not unionisation		Sept/Oct 2010
BNP down but not out David Braniff-Herbert on why the political campaign to defeat British fascists must be sustained		Sept/Oct 2010
Danger of double-dip John Grieve-Smith challenges the Coalition on budget deficit reduction		Sept/Oct 2010
Tax, cuts and the Left Pete Rowlands on a taxing alternative to public spending cuts		Sept/Oct 2010
Immigration policy Don Flynn explains how New Labour flunked it		Mar/Apr 2010
Bendy Boris Cat Smith says London’s Mayor has betrayed disabled access		Mar/Apr 2010
Dr Jekyll, Mr Hyde and Mr Brown Eric Shaw on Brown’s neo-liberal legacy		Mar/Apr 2010
All that shopping Neal Lawson insists it’s a problem		Jan/Feb 2010
Tory education Dave Lister sets out a damaging prospect		Jan/Feb 2010
Tobin tax time Gary Kent applauds Gordon Brown’s support		Jan/Feb 2010
Siding with patients Martin Rathfelder considers the election choices in health		Nov/Dec 2009
Shopping's not all bad Mica Nava sees a new critique of 'turbo consumerism' as a bleak, moralistic and outdated story		Nov/Dec 2009
Tax justice now John Christensen on the cancer at the heart of the financial system		Nov/Dec 2009
Corporate elites Prem Sikka and timid bank reforms		Sept/Oct 2009
The delusions of social dumping Don Flynn argues that views that depict British workers as the victims of social dumping are more likely to derail than aid the fight against capitalist firms		Jul/Aug 2009
Pig in a poke Royal Mail privatisation is a blind alley says Roger Berry MP		May/Jun 2009
Protect and survive Martin Cook stands against free marketeers		May/Jun 2009
Feminism today Laurie Penny argues capitalist patriarchy hits men too		May/Jun 2009
Bailout losses? Prem Sikka suggests government should get a grip		Mar/Apr 2009
Cooperation is back Jenni Boswell-Jones surveys theco-operative sector		Mar/Apr 2009
Put cash into people's pockets Fight recession through redistribution says Prem Sikka		Jan/Feb 2008
Banking meltdown Prem Sikka adds up the cost		Nov/Dec 2008
Crash revisited Frank Lee on history lessons		Nov/Dec 2008
Housing crisis Jon Cruddas MP ponders tools down in the sector		Nov/Dec 2008
Truly a game of two halves The absence of fair pay in British football is just the tip of the iceberg argues Jon Cruddas MP		Sep/Oct 2008
Pale, male and stale? Not today says Sarah Holden who argues unions are at the forefront of campaigns to realise the equalities and anti-discrimination laws		Sep/Oct 2008
After capitalism? In examining the political prerequisites for change Frank Lee traces what the likely contours of a socialist economy may look like.		Jul/Aug 2008
Power of first awakening Forty years on Patricia d'Ardenne - a veteran of the Hull sit-in - reminisces about the 1968 revolution		May/June 2008
Biting the hand that feeds them Prem Sikka on the tax avoidance scam operated by some PFI companies		May/June 2008
The price is not right Deborah Littman on the Government’s misguided public service pay policy		Mar/Apr 2008
City futures in a global era Robin Hambleton examines the role of governance in managing the urban explosion		Jan/Feb 2008
Free market on the rocks Prem Sikka on how the taxpayer has to bail out the 'risk takers'		Nov/Dec 2007
Hierarchies of exclusion Don Flynn seeks to make sense of the immigration debate		Nov/Dec 2007
Drugs - It's prohibition stupid! The 'war on drugs' dominated the 20th century. Mike Davis dissects a failed policy finding the time is ripe for a debate on a new approach.		Sept/Oct 2007
Limits of work and benefits strategy Tackling worsening child poverty and inequality will require more than a revamped department, argues Kate Green		Sept/Oct 2007
Pity about the reality Angela Neustatter reports on the Blair legacy for youth justice		Sept/Oct 2007
Does comprehensive education have a future? Fiona Millar wonders whether a Brown government will make the tough political decisions needed to realise the comprehensive ideal		Jul/Aug 2007
Wake up and smell the coffee! Patrick Vernon calls for an apology		May/Jun 2007
Labour's contract culture Dexter Whitfield despairs of Labour		May/Jun 2007
Pete Smith 1949-2007 Obituary and selection of writing		Mar/Apr 2007
Rich country, poor pensions UK Pensions Bill fails the future test, argue Austin Mitchell and Prem Sikka		Mar/Apr 2007
Whatever happened to investigative reporting? Jean Seaton reflects on whether society will pay for the media it needs		Jan/Feb 2007
We're all mental Identifying and treating the significant minority of children and young people with a mental health disorder is a vital step in tackling anti-social behaviours argues Dinah Morley		Nov/Dec 2006
Community meltdown Tim Root looks behind the veil at the empty rhetoric of community cohesion		Nov/Dec 2006
Putting a dampner on boom and bust Chris Huhne MP on why a land tax matters		Sept/Oct 2006
We don’t want no Blairucation Dave Lister says most people want good local schools not market-place type choice		Sept/Oct 2006
A Future For Public Ownership As jobs tumble and prices rise in privatised water and electricity utilities John Grieve Smith questions the view that private means cheaper and better		Sept/Oct 2006
Out of poverty Kate Green applauds Labour’s achievements on reducing child poverty but asks where is the left on strategic debate to meet targets?		Sept/Oct 2006
Beyond the condom taboo Will a new document from the Vatican herald a new era in HIV prevention for the Catholic church? Christine Allen expresses a guarded optimism		July/Aug 2006
Are we really having it so good? Frank Lee tackles the left-liberal literati about the UK economy		July/Aug 2006
Pension misery for millions Adair Turner’s report on the pensions crisis fails to address the question of redistribution, says Prem Sikka		Mar/Apr 2006
Stigmatising sex workers New government strategy continues to treat prostitution as a social problem rather than a labour and human rights issue says Dr Ana Lopes		Mar/Apr 2006
Unequal Britain John Grieve-Smith examines the reasons for the widening equality gap opening under new Labour.		Mar/Apr 2006
Debts of despair Chris Wearmouth on the prospect of being debt-laden from school to grave		Jan/Feb 2006
Corporations rule not OK All stakeholders should have a say in the running of the major corporations that, often corruptly, control our lives argues Prem Sikka		Jan/Feb 2006
London bombings and alien panics Antony Taylor on parallels with Victorian anarchists		Nov/Dec 2005
Lurching into nationalism Trevor Fisher argues nationalism is no response to fundamentalism		Nov/Dec 2005
Rights, freedoms and terror Shami Chakrabarti on Blair's reaction to the bombings		Nov/Dec 2005
Demonising Muslims will not reduce terror Yasmin Qureshi challenges us not to fall into the same trap our government and media seem to have done.		Sept/Oct 2005
Public sector provision: is the voluntary sector the answer? Mary Chadwick spells out the issues.		Sept/Oct 2005
Getting welfare rights back on the agenda Kate Green warns that otherwise Labour risks missing its anti-poverty targets.		Sept/Oct 2005
Labour’s illusory reforms Democratic accountability requires a bonfire of the quangos, says Dexter Whitfield.		Sept/Oct 2005
What happened at Longbridge? More rather than less government intervention in MG Rover might have prevented the excesses and failure of the Pheonix Four, argues Richard Burden.		July/Aug 2005
Cook's column By Martin Cook		July/Aug 2005
New opiate of the people Anna Bluston on popes, royals and the cult of celebrity.		May/June 2005
Good to talk Anna Bluston on freedon to attack or defend religion.		Mar/Apr 2005
Blair's challenge to 'Bourneville Man' The tsunami disaster highlights the question of debt relief. Are we willing to pay more asks Chris Wearmouth.		Jan/Feb 2005
Hand in hand without fear of reprisal Public views of gays and lesbians lag behind progressive legal advances argues Steven Allen.		July/Aug 2004
Follow the flag Pete Smith reflects on patriotism.		July/Aug 2004
Let's here it for nannies Anna Bluston defends the idea of a caring state.		May/June 2004
Double, Bubble, Trouble It's just a matter of time before the US economy slumps, says Frank Lee		Mar/Apr 2004
The Secret Policeman's real secret It's hard not to be racist in the modern police service, says Don Flynn		Mar/Apr 2004
We’re all mental Anna Bluston says many of us will have mental health problems and talking therapies can help		Jan/Feb 2004
Sects and the city In looking at religious sects Pete Smith sees the Nation of Islam as the Protestant ethic dressed up in the trappings of black nationalism		Jan/Feb 2004
The last Crusader James Clegg on the legacy of the Jarrow crusade		Jan/Feb 2004
Think European on health Health embraces social and geographical areas, by Steve Illiffe		Nov/Dec 2003
That's great but... Children's Commissioner without power argues Steven Allen		Nov/Dec 2003
A leading question 'Do as we say' lesson lost on youth, says Andreas Koumi.		July/Aug 2003
Alien Resurrection Consumerism, therapy, the lottery, they're all part of more pervasive contemporary alienation, says Pete Smith.		July/Aug 2003
The poverty of human rights? Don Flynn reports on the waning of the hopes for a strong new human rights alliance between government and civil society.		Mar/Apr 2003
Ageing Timb Bomb Flexibility on retirement age could ease pensions cost, says John Grieve-Smith.		Mar/Apr 2003
Gun Crime Ending black alienation is key to problem, says Pete Smith.		Mar/Apr 2003
Free-born John Pete Smith on the Leveller leader, John Lilburne.		Jan/Feb 2003
A global Robin Hood Matti Kohonen and Helena Kotkowska on the rise of a new social movement aiming to redistribute wealth through taxing currency transactions.		Jan/Feb 2003
Protection racket Maurice Frankel on restrictions on freedom of information.		Nov/Dec 2002
World Cup 2002: triumph of the globalised game? Don Flynn says that the glamour of the World Cup can't hide the fact that football everywhere is teetering on the brink of disaster.		Sept/Oct 2002
The Mass Psychology of Capitalism Frank Lee examines the evidence for the view that 'things can only get better' but doesn't find any - at least in the short term.		Sept/Oct 2002
Citizenship of fools David Floyd on the link between schools and immigrants		July/Aug 2002
Class War Pete Smith sees new educational apartheid fo 14-19 year-olds		May/June 2002
Great Golden Jubilee swindle Andrew Stevens says resist peer pressure on Jubilee fest		May/June 2002
A fridge too far Anita Pollack on Britain's refrigerator mountain		Mar/April 2002
Long to reign over us Bernard Misrahi on the royals, jubilees and personal politics		Mar/April 2002
No sex please, we're American Mike Davis on sex conservatives in US classrooms		Jan/Feb 2002
Pity the poor immigrant Don Flynn examines Labour's immigration debate		Nov/Dec 2001
Why drugs are illegal Trevor Turner explains why the drugs laws don't work		Sept/Oct 2001
Riots of separation Jock Young on why the recent riots are different from the 1980s		Sept/Oct 2001
Closing the casino John Grieve Smith on reforming the global finance system		July/Aug 2001
Can we make things again Denis MacShane reviews policy on industry and the regions		Mar/April 2001
Big Mac politics Pete Smith on the globalisation of consumer culture		Mar/April 2001
Decline and Fall Frank Lee looks back at the work of John Maynard Keynes		Jan/Feb 2001
Jack Straw's dilemma Donn Flynn on issues raised by human rights legislation		Nov/Dec 2000
A fiscal Loch Ness Monster Harry Barnes welcomes sightings of a new tax on speculators		Sept/Oct 2000
Women are not simply gender Mike Davis interviews Lynn Segal on feminist directions		July/Aug 2000
Sex, lies and stereotypes Mike Davis on what kids should be taught in sex education		May/June 2000
Not a blank sheet Richard Burden MP on the Rover crisis		May/June 2000
Corporate racism - words and reality Donn Flynn on little progress since Macpherson		Mar/Apr 2000
Trusting our mutual friends Glyn Thomas says Labour should defend the mutuals		Mar/April 2000
Pot luck David Floyd reviews the state of play in the drugs debate		Mar/April 2000
CTC is dead - long live best value Mary Creagh, councillor for Highbury		1999