David Renton is a barrister and professor. His latest book, Against the Law: Why Justice Requires Fewer Laws and a Smaller State, is now available from Penguin.
The British socialist writer Dave Widgery played a key role in Rock Against Racism, a mass movement that brought culture and politics together. With the far right on the rise again, Widgery’s ideas and example are now strikingly relevant.
In the last three months, several hundred people in Britain have been investigated or threatened with dismissal at work for expressing pro-Palestinian views. This is the biggest attack on free speech for decades, and universities are its main battleground.
On Thursday, the Conservative UK government published a new bill that would impose draconian restrictions on rail workers’ right to strike — aiming to punish rail unions for their recent militancy and make future strikes as difficult as possible.
The Supreme Court’s ultraconservative majority is determined to block progressive reforms. Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt both faced a similar problem, and the way they tackled it shows that there’s no reason to let judges strangle democracy.
The US Supreme Court is on the rampage, rolling back progressive gains from abortion rights to climate action. To stop conservative judges, we need to recognize that the law is a product of social struggle and shift the balance of forces outside the courts.
As British rail workers continue their strike, Tories are trying to force scabs to replace strikers. They only reason they might be able to get with it: Britain’s many laws that are rigged against workers and organized labor.
Banning protest, suppressing voters, and now diluting the Human Rights Act: the only right Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party cares about is its right to screw over British workers.
The catastrophic descent of interwar Europe into fascist rule may not be repeatable in today’s world. But a different form of reactionary politics could still take shape and prove to be just as harmful.
Donald Trump has threatened to ban “Antifa” as a terrorist organization. But you can’t ban a set of ideas. As long as we face the threat of a violent, authoritarian right, anti-fascism will remain an essential force.
Today’s far right is little more than an incoherent collection of provocations. But if it grows and attains more power, it will employ the consistent ideology and clear goals of traditional fascism. That’s the danger the Left has to combat today.
Steve Bannon’s organizing model relied on an army of street brawlers and online cranks. The success of Le Pen and Farage in the European election shows something different: the far right is going mainstream.
It’s not clear that a Leave vote would make our tasks on the Left any easier.
Syriza is divided over whether Greece should leave the eurozone — and at what cost.
Its critics are being proven wrong. Syriza hasn’t been demobilizing movements, but helping them grow.