Two lefts
Before I wade into blogging about my new book Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future, I’d like to take a step back and try to characterize some of the broader political contours that have now put me in a different camp to George Monbiot,..
leftist politics
Class Politics Fit for the Times
I have come to think that the themes we on the Left should be coalescing around are dismantling rentier capitalism, offering a new income distribution system in which basic income divorced from the performance of labor is the anchor, and reviving all forms of commons and commoning.
The rise of Sinn Fein: Ireland’s Bernie moment
The former political arm of the IRA now draws support from the economically besieged young. A risky game.
False Hopes for a Green New Deal
The Green New Deal pivots on a central lie of continued growth, promising this growth and employment whilst pretending it can magic away the environmental and humanitarian consequences. The result of this is that on all three counts – infinite growth, reliance on fossil fuels, and colonial resource extraction – the Green New Deal is unable to challenge the prevailing order.
New Deals, Old Bottles
Let me begin by saying that we leftists do often struggle with the issue of the environment. One member of our tribe recently told me proudly on Twitter that the left was ‘against nature’ (yes, really), and it’s true that historically we’ve had a bit of a thing about trying to keep the messy world of the natural, the organic and the rural at arm’s length…
Climate Breakdown: Where is the Left?
For some on the left, environmental justice remains as important to their DNA as any other type of justice: their heart always has been, and still is, firmly in it. But more generally, some things still feel a bit… lacking.
If You Want to Be Realistic, Be Radical
Leftists are told that we have to be realistic, and I agree. But how realistic is it to expect solutions to human injustices and ecological crises to emerge from the systems that have created the problems? If you want to be realistic, get radical.
The Centre-Left’s Narrative on Climate Change has Convinced No One
The election of Donald Trump reflects the unraveling of the centre-left across the West, and with it a fragile consensus on climate change.
Hope, Power, and Delusion
Jeremy Corbyn has won the race for leadership of the Labour party. But Greek and Spanish activists advise against placing too much faith in political parties.