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Historical Narratives of the Red Terror
Donald Parkinson, September 17, 2018
Donald Parkinson dives into the historiography of the Russian Revolution and argues that the Red Terror was not an ideological outgrowth of communist ideals. Rather, the red terror must be understood through a materialist lens that sees its roots in social environment rather than ideology. Read Article.
Conciliation and Insurrection in Bavaria 1918–19 (Part 1)
Alexander Gallus, September 23, 2018
What political lessons can be learned from the failed Bavarian Soviet Republic? Alexander Gallus takes a deep dive into the history of this famous moment from the German workers' movement and aims to draw contemporary lessons for revolutionary Marxist politics. Read Article.
Missing Victory? Blanqui and the Paris Commune
Doug Enaa Greene, October 13, 2018
Louis August Blanqui was a key revolutionary leader in the French Socialist movement. Yet when the Paris Commune erupted in 1871, Blanqui was in prison, leaving his core of followers without leadership. Failing to defeat inevitable counter-revolution, this experiment in social emancipation was crushed in blood. How would have Blanqui's leadership affected the outcome of the Commune? Doug Enaa Greene, author of 'Communist Insurgent: Blanqui's Politics of Revolution' weighs in. Read Article.
The USSR's Founding Mother
Cliff Connolly, October 8, 2018
M.A. Iasilli on what Bolshevik militant Nadezhda Krupskaya can teach us about education and labor. Reading: Cliff Connolly. Read Article.
From Workers' Party to Workers' Republic
Donald Parkinson, October 17, 2018
Donald Parkinson takes a look at the history of the First, Second and Third Internationals, arguing for an approach to party-building and political strategy that is informed by the positives and negatives of these experiences. Reading: Matthew Strupp. Read Article.
Insurrection and Defeat in Bavaria, 1918–19 (Part 2)
Alexander Gallus, October 22, 2018
Alexander Gallus concludes his saga on the Bavarian Soviet Republic and tries to draw political lessons from its failures. Read Article.
Double Agent in Detroit: Anti-Communism at the Local Level
Josh Morris, November 5, 2018
Looking at anti-communism before the McCarthyist era at the local level, Joshua Morris dissects the career of an industrial double-agent William Gernaey. We publish this not only for its contribution to the history of the US Communist Movement and industrial organizing and counter-organizing but also for its depiction of the internal day-to-day operation of the CPUSA in an era of intense class conflict and anti-communism. Read Article.
May 1968: The Birth of Neoliberalism?
Donald Parkinson, November 24, 2018
The May events in 1968 France are now remembered by some as merely a watershed for the rise of neo-liberalism. Donald Parkinson aims to complicate this narrative and looks at the role of the French Communist Party's historical legacy. Read Article.
Fighting Fascism: Communist Resistance to the Nazis, 1928-1933
John K, January 7, 2019
The failure of the German left to unite against Hitler is often used as a warning to those who fail to build unity with liberals in order to stop the far-right. Why did the German Communists and Social-Democrats not unite against the Nazis? John K argues not all blame can be placed on the Communists for their failure to build a proper united front, as their uneasy relationship with the Social-Democrats was based on the treacherous behavior of the Social-Democrats themselves. We publish this despite believing that the reductionist and ultra-left politics promoted by the Stalin-dominated Comintern deserve heavy critique and that ultimately the party made major strategic and political errors in leading the working class with its lack of democratic flexibility and exercise. Read Article.
A Left-Wing History of the Republican Party
M.A. Iasilli, February 10, 2019
Radical Republicanism was a predecessor to Marxism in the United States with its critiques of slavery and wage labor. M.A. Iasilli takes a look at its rarely discussed history. Read Article.