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Fra Socialist Review nr. 337

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Socialist Review 337: Content

337

3

jun 09

Roger Huddle: Exhibition: Futurism (Tate Modern, London)

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2

jun 09

The years at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries were full of experimentation and surprise within the arts.

Editorial

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3

jun 09

The European elections look set to throw into sharp relief the shape of British politics. The fusion of the economic crisis with the political crisis over MPs' expenses is toxic. New Labour has been the main casualty. But fundamental assumptions about the legitimacy of Britain's parliamentary system have also been shaken to the core.

Phil Rushton: Looking for a fightback in Italy

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jun 09

The impact of the economic crisis is heightening tensions in Italy and sharpening the need to reconstruct a political opposition to Silvio Berlusconi.

Patrick Ward: Policing the police

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4

jun 09

The Territorial Support Group (TSG) – the "public order" section of the London Metropolitan police – has been accused of 159 assaults over the past year.

Jennifer Jones: Sex education

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5

jun 09

Last month the mainstream press reported on Romanian born student Alina Percea who "auctioned" her virginity on a website so that she could "afford to pay for her degree".

Nuclear weapons by numbers

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jun 09

2 – Nuclear test conducted by North Korea, to an international outcry led by the US and British governments
185 – Number of nuclear warheads declared by Britain
5,400 – Number of nuclear warheads declared by the US

Dan Mayer: Savage repression won't bring peace to Sri Lanka

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6

jun 09

The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) has reconquered all of the areas previously held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Patrick Ward: Crisis over!

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7

jun 09

With politicians jumping over one another to claim that they are steering the world back to economic recovery, there are still few indicators that this is actually the case. Or are there?

Patrick Ward: Pots and kettles

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7

jun 09

Voters in the European elections were urged to punish the "greedy Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem MPs" by UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage. Perhaps they will. But Farage's message might have come across a little better had he not admitted during his election campaign that he was claiming vast sums of money himself.

Lindsey German: In my opinion: Money well spent!

337

7

jun 09

There is nothing that well paid commentators and writers like more than being able to expose what they see as hypocrisy from the left.

Andy Lawson: Letters: Stand up to the police

337

8

jun 09

Lindsey German and Ken Faro highlighted some of the recent examples of police violence, both in terms of police attacking demonstrators and deaths in custody (Socialist Review, May 2009).

Pete Jackson: Letters: Fight against the fascists goes on

337

8

jun 09

In light of the current economic crisis and the political situation, it would appear that the fascist British National Party (BNP) are gaining popularity in a big way (Feature, Socialist Review, May 2009). However, our experiences of campaigning against them in the Midlands have been very positive.

Linda Bartle: Letters: Victory at Visteon

337

8

jun 09

When we finally won the redundancy money we fought for we called off our 24-hour picket. Our last day was good, but sad at the same time. There'll be no more going to work.

Bassem Chit: Letter from ...: Lebanon

337

9

jun 09

What are the forces in this month's election and what are the prospects for the left?

Michael Lavalette: The best democracy money can buy?

337

10

jun 09

As workers lose their jobs and homes because of the recession, MPs from all the main parties have been caught on a spending spree with taxpayers' money. Michael Lavalette, a socialist councillor in Preston, makes the case for political representation with principles.

Valerie Wise: MP expenses: How I remember it

337

12

jun 09

Valerie Wise was a political assistant to her mother, left wing Labour MP Audrey Wise, on two occasions between 1977 and 1979 and between 1987 and 2000. She talked to Socialist Review about how MPs' expenses were dealt with in these periods.

Dipankar Bhattacharya: India: String of surprises

337

13

jun 09

What does the Congress party victory in India's recent elections mean for the struggle against neoliberalism?

Geoff Brown + Asim Jaan: Pakistan's new catastrophe

337

14

jun 09

Recent attacks on the Swat region of Pakistan have caused a deep political crisis in the country. Geoff Brown looks at the situation and talks with Asim Jaan, a socialist based in Karachi, about the impact of the offensive and how the left is responding.

Kevin Devine: Car industry: The devil's carousel

337

16

jun 09

The global car industry has been rocked by the recession, thousands of jobs have gone and many thousands more are threatened. Kevin Devine reports on how bosses' attempts to save their profits will affect the workers on the "devil's carousel".

Martin Smith: Interview: Working class life, two Erics and teamwork

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18

jun 09

Director Ken Loach and scriptwriter Paul Laverty talk to Martin Smith about their new film Looking for Eric and looking for a new left.

Christian Hogsbjerg: A to Z of Socialism: X is for Xenophobia

337

21

jun 09

Xenophobia – literally fear and loathing of "the alien", "the stranger", "the foreigner" – has enjoyed a long if inglorious past, not least in Britain.

Dave Crouch: Media: When no news is bad news

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22

jun 09

The rise of blogging, "citizen journalism" and free online content has been held as partly responsible for the demise of the newspaper industry. Dave Crouch argues the media corporations' greed is to blame for the thousands of journalists losing their jobs.

Charlie Kimber: Interview: Mahmood Mamdani on Darfur

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24

jun 09

In his new book Mahmood Mamdani puts the war in Darfur in historical context and challenges the Save Darfur Coalition's characterisation of the conflict and its call for international intervention.

Neil Davidson: Book Review: Terry Eagleton: Reason, Faith and Revolution

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25

jun 09

In this very welcome contribution to the current debate on religion, Terry Eagleton has two central objectives. One is to dismantle the pretensions of leading figures among the New Atheists, above all Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, whom he conflates into a single entity called "Ditchkins".
His other objective is likely to be more controversial with readers of Socialist Review. Eagleton, rightly focusing on Christianity rather than Islam, argues that the genuine radicalism of original religion was abandoned (the relevant chapter is actually called "The Revolution Betrayed") following its institutionalisation and subsequent accommodation to power

Andrew Stone: Book Review: Bertrand M Patenaude: Stalin's Nemesis

337

26

jun 09

Leon Trotsky spent the last four years of his life in a prison-like exile in Mexico. Pursued by Stalinist enemies, he survived an armed assault on his home before succumbing to the blows of Ramon Mercader, a GPU agent posing as a political sympathiser.
Stalin's Nemesis is a very readable account of these years, which despite Trotsky's enforced isolation were very eventful.

John Parrington: Book Review: André Pichot: The Pure Society

337

27

jun 09

Charles Darwin's legacy has been much celebrated recently, this year being the bicentenary of his birth. However, according to this book, there is a much darker side of evolutionary thought that should not be forgotten. Pichot shows how Darwin's name has been invoked in support of the reactionary theory of "eugenics".

Rachel Eborall: Book Review: Kevin Doogan: New Capitalism?

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27

jun 09

For years we have been told that through neoliberalism the global economy has changed fundamentally and in turn the labour market has been transformed. We are told that there is no such thing as a job for life any more; that because of technological advances capital can easily move from country to country looking for the cheapest labour; that because of open markets multinationals can move to countries like India and China at the drop of a hat. It is claimed that these changes have led to a more precarious world where workers' lives have become more unstable.

Pat Stack: Book Review: Richard Vinen: Thatcher's Britain

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28

jun 09

This book attempts to do the almost impossible: to take a dispassionate look at Margaret Thatcher and Thatcherism. I say almost impossible because just reading the chapters on the Miners' Strike, the Falklands War and the Hunger Strike brought back much of the rage and hatred I felt at the time.

Simon Basketter: Book Review: Clair Wills: Dublin 1916

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28

jun 09

At just after noon on Easter Monday 1916 Irish Republican leader Padraig Pearse stood on the steps of the General Post Office in Dublin and read out a proclamation announcing the birth of the Irish Republic.

Viv Smith: Book Review: China Miéville: The City and The City

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29

jun 09

China Miéville's new offering is a brave crossover from his usual "weird fiction" genre into the world of crime.

Sasha Simic: Book Review: Hilary Mantel: Wolf Hall

337

29

jun 09

This is the story of how, between the years 1525 and 1533, Henry VIII secured a divorce from his wife, Catherine of Aragon, in order to marry his lover, Anne Boleyn.

Colin Wilson: Book Review: Alex Ross: The Rest is Noise

337

30

jun 09

You might think that a history of 20th century classical music wouldn't include much of interest to socialists. But, as Alex Ross makes clear, this music was closely connected to social and political events and often written by those on the left.

Louis Bayman: Book Review: Nathan Gardels and Mike Medavoy: American Idol after Iraq

337

30

jun 09

This book attempts some academic weight but offers a very sketchy and confused account of the relationship between Hollywood, capital and politics.

New in paperback and children's books

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30

jun 09

Blackest Streets – Most Wanted Man – We saw Spain die – Underpants

Marianella Yanes + Mike Gonzalez: Augusto Boal has left the stage

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jun 09

Mike Gonzalez and Marianella Yanes pay homage to the founder of the Theatre of the Oppressed, Augusto Boal, who died last month

Gareth Jenkins: Film Review: Andrzej Wajda: Katyn

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32

jun 09

Poland's leading post-war director, Andrzej Wajda, now 83, has made a stunning film about a defining moment in modern Polish society – the massacre of Polish army officers in the Katyn forest in the early years of the Second World War.

Peter Segal: Film Review: Lance Daly: Kisses

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jun 09

Kisses is director Lance Daly's third film and, given the positive feedback at international film festivals, it could be a major breakthrough for him.

Five things to get or see this month

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jun 09

Radical Nature – Slumdog – Milk – Edinburgh Film Festival – Ornette Coleman

Luke Stobart: Culture Column: Cinema and the Spanish Civil War

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jun 09

Luke Stobart is looking forward to the BFI Southbank film season on the Spanish Civil War.

Keith Flett + Tim Sanders + Eileen Short: Cartoon: A People's History of the World: The Middle Ages

337

35

jun 09

Christophe Chataigné: Music Review: Kronos Quartet: Floodplain

337

jun 09

The Kronos Quartet is probably one of the most prolific string quartets around. Over the past 30 years it has released more than 40 recordings and performed live countless times (it spends at least five months touring every year). But what's most impressive with the quartet is its thirst to commission original works (more than 600 of them) and the number of artists it works with.