‘Don’t forget who runs your economy now.’ For the 1 percent who rule society, democracy seems more than ever a hindrance to ensuring that the most calamitous economic crisis since the 1930s is paid for by the 99 percent below them. The most obvious expression of this is the installation of unelected technocrats as prime […]
10 Nov
Comments Off on A Left Flank dispatch from Europe: The ‘descent into chaos’ begins
If the last week’s bizarre political contortions in Greece — first a referendum, then not, then a government of national unity, now more uncertainty — were not enough, the spread of contagion to Italy threatens even greater turmoil. As we arrived in London we were greeted by the Financial Times informing us that Silvio Berlusconi had (finally) […]
07 Nov
Comments Off on Left Flank in London
Tad and Elizabeth are both presenting conference papers at this year’s Historical Materialism conference, held in Central London later this week. UK readers can register for the conference here.
04 Nov
Comments Off on Australia’s #occupy protests: When ‘politics’ is no longer just a game played by elites
Occupy Sydney: photo by Kate Ausburn This week ABC’s The Drum published an article by Tad on the Occupy Movement and the demand from many that it list its ‘demands’. Below is the article in full. Tad was also interviewed on ABC Brisbane about this question. It’s been remarkable to see the sheer number of public lectures and admonishments – delivered […]
31 Oct
Comments Off on Qantas lock-out: The 1% declares all-out war on the 99%, and Gillard lends it a hand
If there was ever any proof needed that the central concerns of the #occupy movement, about rising social inequality and injustice, and the absence of democratic institutions willing to protect the interests of the vast majority, surely we got it in the behaviour of Qantas management over the last few days — and the Gillard government’s […]
28 Oct
Comments Off on Collingwood supporters and other ‘bogans’
St Kilda player Stephen Milne provoking the Collingwood cheer squad, as reported by a Federal Court Judge part of the squad that day. ABC’s The Drum recently published an article by me on Collingwood Supporters and class hatred, related to some of the issues I’ve previously discussed here at Left Flank. Below is the article in full. Given hype […]
23 Oct
Comments Off on NOW ON SALE — ‘On Utøya: Anders Breivik, right terror, racism and Europe’
On Utøya: Anders Breivik, right terror, racism and Europe is now available at Amazon. An overview of the essays, and details on how to buy it, are also on our website. You don’t need a Kindle or an iPad to read it — you just download a free app to your PC, Mac or android smartphone.
21 Oct
Comments Off on #OccupyOz captures the mood, but its critics are too busy demanding the possible to be realistic
There are times when living in Australia is a bit like living in a bubble, sequestered from the massive economic and political convulsions that have marked 2011. It is the kind of situation that allows prominent progressive bloggers, like Greg Jericho (Grog’s Gamut) and Scott Steel (Possum Comitatus), to spew venom and ridicule at the […]
15 Oct
Comments Off on #occupysydney is a go
13 Oct
Comments Off on Occupy Everywhere: Against capitalism and its paid prizefighters
During protests in Egypt to overthrow Mubarak, a protester displayed a handmade sign that said ‘Egypt Supports Wisconsin Workers – One World, One Pain’. The sign broke all the rules: it was terribly written, hard to read even up close, had a confusing graphic of a wrench and cog within the writing, and the text went in […]
19 Nov
Comments Off on End times for democracy? How the 1% staged a coup & why worse is yet to come