Search London Progressive Journal
Questions of Power and Slavery
All governments encroach, creep into our lives, and smother our minds with ever more legislation that infringes our human rights and civil liberties... [read more]
International Relations and the Classroom
We in Britain are often subject to the age old criticism of being insular and self engrossed. Whereas this is not strictly speaking true, there is an element of truth in this belief... [read more]
Why capitalism likes us to behave irrationally
It’s a great irony that although human beings, as distinct from other animals, are characterised by their ability for rational thinking, so much of our behaviour is irrational, argues John Green.... [read more]
Eyeless in Gaza
The atrocity goes on. Two million human beings suffer inhuman treatment. And the world? Alas. the world is busy. It has no eyes for Gaza. Better not to think about that awful place... [read more]
Health and Humanity: Conclusion
A healthy human, with a foundation of biopsychosocial health, could hope to find their purpose in life... [read more]
In the Panama Capers we Trust
The leaked Panama Papers, from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca & Co, are spilling the beans on the details of what the rich, powerful and greedy get up to with unseemly amounts of dosh... [read more]
‘Cleansing the stock’ and other ways governments talk about human beings
Those in power don’t speak of ‘people’ or ‘killing’ – it helps them do their job. And we are picking up their dehumanising euphemisms, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
John Gray, David Hawkes and the Myth of Progress
Meliorism "is the view that the world is neither completely good nor completely bad, and that incremental progress or regress depend on human actions." This view holds that "By creative intelligence and education we can improve the environment and social conditions."... [read more]
The Only Way Is Ethics: A Crash Course in Six Parts
Part One: Now You See Me, Now You Don't... [read more]
The Case of Soldier A
A group of soldiers, supported by a major part of the political scene, has mutinied against their commanders. This is a major menace to the structure of the state, a challenge to what remains of our democracy.... [read more]
Health and Humanity
This upcoming series on health and humanity comes at an interesting time... [read more]
Imagined Nations
Each of us has a few books that formed and changed his or her world view... [read more]
The Litter Bug!
If you want an end to waste, you have to show it to the people, not hide it... [read more]
The Ministry of Fear
"We have nothing to fear but fear itself," said President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was wrong... [read more]
Sin, Socialism and Sacrilege
In some ultra-conservative circles the issue of gay marriage has become the cause célèbre du jour.... [read more]
State and Revolution: Chapter 5 - Withering Away the State
Thomas Riggins continues to guide us through chapter 5 of Lenin's State and Revolution... [read more]
GMOs, Corporatocentrism And Economic Plunder: The Right To Challenge And Refuse
The recently leaked report by India's Intelligence Bureau - ‘Impact of NGOs on Development’ - accuses certain activists and civil organisations of working against the national interest by colluding with foreign interests to undermine development and growth... [read more]
Sovereignty of Self-Governed Cities and Abolition of National States and Capitalism
The second in the series of articles by Steven Colatrella titled 21st Century Cosmopolis: Constitution for a Better World... [read more]
Slavko Martinov: The antidote to Propaganda? Question everything!
Patrizia Bertini conducts an exclusive interview with film producer Slavko Martinov... [read more]
Materialism and Empiro-criticism [Part 6- Did Nature Exist Prior to Man?]
Thomas Riggins guides us through the next part of Lenin's Materialism and Empiro-criticism... [read more]
Book review: The Contradictions of Real Socialism
David Lane reviews The Contradictions of Real Socialism, a book by Michael A Lebowitz... [read more]
Urgent Action Needed to Combat European Climate Change
What we need is binding international agreements that reduce and eliminate the use of all chemicals that endanger the lives, health and well being of human beings and other life forms making up the biosphere, writes Thomas Riggins.... [read more]
Condemnation partly motivated by hindsight
The condemnation of past behaviours has become fashionable. It is partly motivated by hindsight. It is also partly motivated by sheer outrage, as any decent and humane person cannot help but be outraged by man's often barbaric treatment of other human beings, writes Elizabeth Ellis.... [read more]
Change is the Only Constant: Got Any Spare?
outRageous! is back asking the questions no one else dares... [read more]
Letter to a Soldier of the IDF
John Wight writes a letter in commemoration of the third anniversary of Operation Cast Lead, Israel's military assault on Gaza, it is written in the form of a letter to an IDF soldier.
... [read more]
Should We Seek to Save Industrial Civilisation? A Debate with Paul Kingsnorth
Guardian journalist George Monbiot discusses climate change with the Oxford-based environmentalist Paul Kingsnorth.... [read more]
Short Essay on Georg Lukács
This short essay is a study of Lukács, specifically the political ideas of Lukács and the Socialist ideas of Lukács... [read more]
Short Essay on Brecht – Politics and Poems
This short essay is a study of Brecht, specifically the politics and poems of Brecht... [read more]
Why Do We Think We Own The Earth?
Is it too late to ditch our rigid world view, our superiority, our belief in our ‘right’ to own and control our world? ... [read more]
WHO SPEAKS FOR THE WOMEN OF THE WAR?
War tends to be men’s way of settling the quarrels between tribes and territories. Homer depicts the heroic, savage or mad acts of men in the Trojan War. The women come later with Odysseus’s wanderings... [read more]
Sharing is Key to a New Economic and Democratic Order
In order to meet the colossal challenges of the time, fundamental change to the socio-economic order is needed... [read more]
Climate Change, Extreme Weather, Destructive Lifestyles
Throughout the world heat waves, flooding and uncontrollable wildfires have caused widespread havoc, lives have been lost, homes destroyed, livelihoods ruined. ... [read more]
Strong as Death
I have spent many happy hours in Gaza. I had many friends there. From the leftist Dr. Haidar Abd al-Shafi to the Islamist Mahmoud al-Zahar, who is now the foreign minister of Hamas... [read more]
The Day of Shame
I asked myself: what would I have done if I had been a youngster of 15 in the Gaza Strip?... [read more]
Leaders of the world
In years gone by it never bothered me too much who was leading what country or international organisations because there were so many good leaders about who knew how the world worked... [read more]
The Terrible Problem
Ze'ev Begin, the son of Menachem Begin, is a very nice human being. It is impossible not to like him... [read more]
Yemen - Court Battle Exposes UK-Saudi Arms Deals And Humanitarian Tragedy
On Monday 10th July, a ruling was handed down by London’s High Court, which should, in a sane world, exclude the UK government ever again judging other nations' leaders' human rights records or passing judgement on their possession or use of weapons.... [read more]
Donald Trump and Theresa May - Partners in Planning Armageddon?
Prime Minister May’s endlessly repeated mantra “Brexit means Brexit” (Britain leaving the European Union) takes on a whole new meaning: she is prepared to trigger the UK departing the planet.... [read more]
How to defeat war-mongering America
The recent actions by Trump are a futile attempt to regain the waning global influence of American imperialist hegemony... [read more]
University of Terror
Some days ago, a man committed an act of terrorism in the center of London, a city I love.... [read more]
The Invisible Diasporan (Part 1)
Mallards Cottage was where I wrote my first novel. I called it The Return. I used to dream most of its events – the very plot was born of a dream on Christmas Eve of 1976... [read more]
The Most Moral Army
A few days ago I happened upon an excellent British movie, "Testament of Youth", based on the memoirs of Vera Brittain. The movie brought me back to the affair of Elor Azaria... [read more]
So Near and Yet So Far
Stop buying, start making! Stop buying, start growing! Stop buying,
start sharing!... [read more]
Lenin Deserves To Be Rescued From His False Reputation
2017 is going to see many revised versions of the October Revolution. Some prejudices need to be countermanded even before they are uttered. Lenin’s reputation is overshadowed by, and confused with, Stalin’s.... [read more]
Autonomy and progressive policies
How much should individuality be important for progressive forces? And is it possible to reconcile economic utility and individual autonomy?... [read more]
The Orange Man
So here we are. Either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton will be our next president... [read more]
Fracktured Britain
By downplaying all the issues that adversely affect the environment, the politicos have been mutually assuring our own demise - and theirs!... [read more]
What the Hell
What the hell has happened to them? Have they gone crazy? The British, of all people?... [read more]
What is to be Done with the Banks? Radical Proposals for Radical Changes
Immediate measures for moving towards socialisation of the banking sector... [read more]
The Subversive Vision of Patricia Highsmith
The release of the film ‘Carol’, based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1952 novel, ‘The Price of Salt’, gives us an opportunity to enter into the subversive world of one of the 20th century’s greatest popular writers... [read more]
We’ve Got to Talk about Water and the Middle East
This is the text of a lecture given in Dorchester on Wednesday 28 October 2015... [read more]
The Settlers' Prussia
Israeli democracy is sliding downwards. Sliding slowly, comfortably, but unmistakably... [read more]
The Real Menace
Let's put it bluntly: to try to stop IS means supporting the Assad regime. Bashar al-Assad is an abominable fellow, but he has kept Syria together, protected its many minorities and kept the Israeli border quiet... [read more]
British Government Racism – Europe’s Shame?
Britain’s top “diplomat” has accused migrants of threatening Europe’s “standard of living.”... [read more]
Yemen: A Voice in the Wilderness
Vanessa Beeley interviews a woman who fled Yemen in the wake of the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes against her country... [read more]
War Crimes? Us???
The concept of "war crimes" is dubious. The biggest crime is starting the war in the first place... [read more]
Cats in a Sack
A fight is going on. A fight of all against all. A fight without rules or limits... [read more]
A New Israeli-Palestinian Discourse
There is a need for both Israelis and Palestinians to change their discourse which is based on a mixture of rewriting history, expansionist aims, victimhood and endless conspiracy theories where none exist... [read more]
Libya Lies - Rape as a Weapon of War - Made in the USA?
The US Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, and Foreign Affairs advisor, Samantha Power, are credited with helping persuade President Obama to intervene in Libya... [read more]
Ageing or Just Raging
The difficulty has been distinguishing between simply ageing and those aspects of our world that appear difficult to cope with regardless of age... [read more]
U.S. cops kill at 100 times rate of other capitalist countries
How many people are killed every year by the police in the U.S?... [read more]
Taming corporate power: the key political issue of our age
Big business and its lobbyists have taken control of our politics. But there is an alternative. In the first of a new series, here’s how we can take on the fat cats, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
“We Stand With Shaker”: Tortured, ill, detained in Guantanamo, join new campaign to bring him home
A new campaign is being launched by independent journalist Andy Worthington calling for his release from Guantanamo.... [read more]
Decent Respect
Sweden, like Britain, was always considered a "pro-Israeli" country, loyally voting against "anti-Israel" resolutions in the UN. If such important Western nations are reconsidering their attitudes towards the policy of Israel, what does it mean?... [read more]
Lenin: State and Revolution: Chapter 5 (Part 2)
The second part of Thomas Riggins' analysis of Chapter 5 of Lenin's State and Revolution... [read more]
Piketty for Progressives
Part 2 of Thomas Riggins's analysis of Thomas Piketty's book - Capital in the Twenty-First Century... [read more]
Challenges to the rights of sexual minorities in Africa
A Ugandan Catholic priest analyses the reasons for the existence of homophobia in Africa... [read more]
“Operation Protective Edge”: Is Israel Planning Gaza’s “Final Solution”?
Yet another massive assault on Palestine is underway. Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Conventions is unequivocal: collective punishment is a war crime.... [read more]
A National Hero
Just before Israel’s 66th Independence Day, the country acquired a new national hero, writes Uri Avnery... [read more]
A Shameful Chapter
How would the US react to a declaration that the Palestinians would not conduct negotiations with an Israeli government that includes semi-fascist parties?... [read more]
The myths about Marxism
The past two decades have witnessed a barrage of propaganda against Marxism and its revolutionary heritage from the mainstream media... [read more]
The Flat World and the Good Society
The other evening, within a matter of five minutes, I sent messages to socialist colleagues in France, Spain, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania via Facebook and received answers back. The content was more social than socialist but I could have easily been organizing a Europe-wide campaign or demonstration, writes David Eade.... [read more]
Britain's Legacy in Palestine (Part 2 of 2)
Dr Faysal Mikdadi publishes an excellent account of Palestine's history, focusing on how the economic, racist, religious, nationalistic, commercial and orientalist attitudes of Britain shaped the land and its people (Part 2 of 2)... [read more]
Waiting for Mangabe or Slavoj Zizek on Mandela's Socialist Failure
This is a reply to Slavoj Zizek's article "Mandela's Socialist Failure" published online in The Stone (a New York Times maintained philosophy blog) on December 6, 2013... [read more]
The Theory of Knowledge of Dialectical Materialism and of Empirio-Criticism
Thomas Riggins continues to lead us through Chapter 3 of Lenin's book Materialism and Empiro-criticism ... [read more]
Causality and Necessity in Nature
Thomas Riggins explores Lenin's take on the theory of knowledge of dialectical materialism and of empirio-criticism... [read more]
Socialism: an unarticulated reality
Cumbria Unison convenor Paul Lloyd argues that whereas Socialism may have lost its voice in the political arena, it is still present in our daily life... [read more]
Marxism, the Taliban and Plato
Recently Simon Blackburn, the well known British philosopher, reviewed "Knowing Right from Wrong," the new book by Kieran Setiya, in the TLS... [read more]
For Whom the Cock Crows
Thomas Riggins discusses Marx's 1844 article on Hegel's philosophy of law... [read more]
Everything is information, you have to choose. An interview with Jean-Philippe Tremblay
Patrizia Bertini interviews Canadian film director Jean-Philippe Tremblay using the Lego Serious Play (LSP) method... [read more]
Reading Lenin: Materialism and Empiro-criticism [Part 5]
Thomas Riggins continues to guide us through Lenin's Materialism and Empiro-criticism... [read more]
Reading Lenin: Materialism and Empiro-criticism
Part 2 of Thomas Riggins' analysis of Lenin's Materialism and Empiro-criticism... [read more]
Welcome to the Shammies, the media awards that recognise truly unsung talent
There are awards for everyone. There are the Logies, the Commies, the Tonys, the Theas, the Millies ("They cried with pride") and now the Shammies, writes John Pilger... [read more]
Australia and Asylum Seekers: Media Perspectives
The issue is not 'boat people' but imperialist expansion explains Finn Bowen
... [read more]
Our psychology makes us neglect the victims of climate change
Psychologist Billy Larsson looks at how our human psychology prevents us from stepping up to the mark and dealing with the imminent problem of climate change... [read more]
Time Magazine and My Psychosis
Dr. Faysal Mikdadi discusses a recent letter he wrote to Time magazine... [read more]
Making the world a more dangerous place - the eager role of Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard has returned Australia to its historic relationship with Washington, similar to that of an eastern European satellite with Moscow, writes John Pilger.... [read more]
The life and death of an Australian hero, whose skin was the wrong colour
Arthur Murray died the other day. I turned to Google Australia for tributes, and there was a 1991 obituary of an American ballroom instructor of the same name. There was nothing in the Australian media, writes John Pilger.... [read more]
‘So, how do you feel then? British or Palestinian or Muslim or whatever you call yourself? Hmm?'
NOT SURE ABOUT THIS ARTICLE ER 07/10... [read more]
Human Conflict- is there a solution?
Professor David Rahni of Pace University, New York, asks a controversial question- Are humans genetically programmed for destruction, greed and fear of others?... [read more]
The Last to Fall (the life and letters of Ivor Hickman – an International Brigader in Spain)
John Green reviews a book by John L. Wainwright about the life of international brigader Ivor Hickman... [read more]
It's time we recognised the Blair government's criminality
John Pilger shows that in the Kabuki theatre of British parliamentary politics, great crimes do not happen and criminals go free... [read more]
Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul
In an exclusive for the London Progressive Journal, writer and former actor John Wight reflects on his years in Hollywood and shines a spotlight on the ‘glamour’ of life in the movie industry... [read more]
Cuba’s truths
A interesting editorial from Cuba's national newspaper, Granma, rebuts the latest claims of human rights abuses put forth by the US and some countries of the EU... [read more]
The Blockbusters
Uri Avnery shows how the differences that exist between the different cultural blocs in Israeli society are a barrier to peace ... [read more]
Light and fluid warriors
In the second of her interviews using the 'Lego Serious Play' method, Patrizia Bertini meets Ollie, a young occupier at the OccupyLSX camp... [read more]
Christopher Hitchens - an obit and opinion
Amid the avalanche of articles and obituaries written in tribute to Christopher Hitchens in the wake of his recent passing, we have been reacquainted with the essential condition of western liberalism - moral depravity, says John Wight.
... [read more]
Wearing Your Heart on Your Lapel
W Stephen Gilbert reflects on the politics of poppy wearing, its dissociation in popular society from what it actually represents and its hijacking by politicians. ... [read more]
Wealth Destroyers
The Corporation of the City of London has harmed you more than you know, says George Monbiot.
... [read more]
The New Anti-Semitism
Uri Avnery, Israeli writer and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement, offers a warning from history as he examines a modern form of racism taking root across Europe.... [read more]
The Banker who knows his Kapital
John Green translates and reflects on an interview with Edgar Most formerly of Deustche Bank and of the GDR State Bank, where he considers capitalism vs. socialism.... [read more]
Another Baghdad Massacre: Iraqi Christians Are Already at Home
Media rhetoric over the struggles of Iraqi Christians represents classic 'divide and rule' imperialism, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Cut to Shreds: Injustice for All
The coalition government's vicious attack on the public sector amounts to nothing less than a political coup d'état, says Richie Nimmo.... [read more]
Misunderstanding the FARC
Garry Leech on why the media's so-called 'experts' on the Colombian guerrilla group keep getting it wrong.... [read more]
Behind the Israeli Wall: A Lesson in Reality
Rich Whiles' timely new book takes a refreshingly honest look at the experiences of the victims of Israeli apartheid, writes Ramzy Baroud.... [read more]
Towering Lunacy
Green enthusiasm for vertical farms shows that no one is untouched by magical thinking, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
Morality Policing
The police treat protests and festivals as a threat to their power, writes George Monbiot.... [read more]
The Biggest Lie in the World and a Few Truths
Steven Colatrella picks apart the myth that free market capitalism is the most rational way of allocating resources.... [read more]
The Kangaroo
A year into his presidency, Barack Obama has achieved relatively little in the foreign policy sphere. Uri Avnery urges him to keep trying.... [read more]
Requiem for a Crowded Planet
George Monbiot's analysis of the failure of the climate talks.... [read more]
We Need an Index of Human Rights
Measuring and ranking every country's observance of human rights would give nations an incentive to raise their game, argues Peter Tatchell.... [read more]
The Global Struggle for Queer Freedom
Delivering the 2009 Caroline Benn Memorial Lecture, human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell hailed the ongoing defiance of the world's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the face of deeply-entrenched homophobic prejudice.... [read more]
Israeli Peace Activist and MSP Condemn Ongoing Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Territory and Demolition of Homes
Laura Taylor on the Scottish politician who this week drew further attention to the ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people ... [read more]
Gaza: Why We Must Act Now
Addressing a Lenasia rally in solidarity with the people of Gaza on 14th January, Zwelinzima Vavi characterised the Israeli government as a racist regime comparable to Apartheid South Africa. ... [read more]
‘I Can Give You the Names of Those Responsible’ – Interview with a Colombian Human Rights Activist
Campaign group Justice for Colombia recently conducted the following interview with a human rights activist who works closely with the trade union movement in the Colombian department of Meta. ... [read more]
On 5th November: Say "No" to the Commercialisation of Education
A new international campaign is aiming to halt the commercialisation of public education.... [read more]
The End of "The End of History"
David Brandon examines the discredited view that world history came to an end when the Berlin Wall came down.... [read more]
Exploited Labour On The High Street
Some of the UK’s most popular clothing brands use child labour to mass produce its merchandise. This must stop now - human dignity is at stake. ... [read more]
Popular Entertainment Update: Britney Spears in Trouble, Martin Amis is Not a Racist
David Floyd feels sorry for semi-clothed pop megastar Britney Spears, a product of turbocapitalism.... [read more]