It would be churlish to thumb one’s nose at the successful artist boycott of the Sydney Biennale, which cut the Biennale’s partnership with Transfield over the latter’s participation in the federal government’s border protection regime. A new tactic within the mishmash of often mutually hostile campaigns in support of asylum seekers, its triumph certainly brightened […]
05 Mar
Tad and I have an article on the state of the unions in the wake of the Qantas job cuts, which has been stirring up some discussion, at The Guardian‘s Comment Is Free section. Here’s a little preview, and feel free to comment below: It is no coincidence that the problems started during the Accord […]
21 Jan
Societies appear to be subject, every now and then, to periods of moral panic. A condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests; its nature is presented in a stylized and stereotypical fashion by the mass media; the moral barricades are manned by editors, […]
15 Jan
I’ve just had a contribution to an ongoing debate on Marxism and “privilege theory” published at the US Socialist Worker website. I’m putting it up here at Left Flank if people want to comment directly. The Socialist Worker page usefully links to the key posts in the debate. I’VE FOLLOWED with interest the debate on […]
12 Jan
In the lead-up the international day of action against fascism on 22 March, THANASIS KAMPAGIANNIS, writes in the latest issue of Σοσιαλισμός από Κάτω (Socialism From Below), the theoretical journal of the Greek Socialist Workers Party (SEK), looks at the danger of a major far Right breakthrough in May’s European Parliament elections, and asks what strategy […]
10 Jan
I’m putting up a link here to my review of two books on the crisis in psychiatry — which has just appeared in the latest International Socialism journal in the UK — so that people can write comments and I can reply. The books are: Ethan Watters, Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche (Free Press, 2010) Gary […]
05 Dec
With the Unions NSW-led High Court challenge to Barry O’Farrell’s donations laws awaiting a decision, a flurry of articles and commentary emerged in the press and social media recently, with several Greens activists defending the laws, and unionists, including Greens member and Fire Brigade Employees’ Union Secretary, Jim Casey, attacking them. Also coming out against […]
04 Dec
For some time, this blog has insisted that an Abbott government — far from getting a smooth ride, even with a big parliamentary majority — would most likely face “crisis and volatility” at least as much as the ALP had over the last few years. By way of contrast, the rapid accumulation of problems for Abbott in […]
20 Nov
Comments Off on The Greek crisis: Between democracy & dictatorship?
By THANASIS KAMPAGIANNIS This is a translation of “Democracy, Dictatorship and Fascism” from the latest issue of the theoretical journal of the Greek Socialist Workers Party (SEK), Σοσιαλισμός από Κάτω (Socialism From Below). 40 years after the Athens Polytechnic uprising, the debate on democracy is now more relevant than ever. As if one needed to be […]
20 Nov
I suppose we’ll never know if when Kevin Rudd dropped the word “Konfrontasi” into the pre-election debate on Tony Abbott’s “turn back the boats” policy he was merely stirring up his Coalition opponents or whether he was directly aware of the depth of contempt Indonesian elites had towards the Coalition’s sabre-rattling. The term certainly had […]
15 Mar
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