It happened with the dotcom bubble, then, more tragically, with the subprime mortgage crisis, and soon after, most lethally, with the global food crisis. The extreme boom and bust of markets, force-fed and distended by the financial sector. After each crash, financial speculators have sought new arenas in which to […]
We need a fairer tax system – one that rectifies the historic wrong whereby land ownership and natural resource wealth has been taken by a few; one that protects our natural resources from over-use; one that cannot be avoided or evaded. We need transparency in our taxation. Profits are notoriously […]
A major criticism that has been levelled at Occupy LSX is that the movement has become an umbrella for too many issues. “What do they want?” our mainstream media asks, as a stroll through the camp makes it clear that democracy and corporate greed are not the only issues being […]
Imagine becoming poor overnight. Since May 2010, when the government decided to get a loan from the IMF, EU and ECB, most people in the country have lost at least one third of their annual income. For those who still have a job, the value of their labour has fallen […]
On March 26th 500,000 people took to the streets to stand up against the cuts which are destroying our lives. One of the protests that day was ‘Occupy for the Alternative’ called by UK Uncut, where hundreds took part in a sit-in protest at Fortnum and Mason – Royal Grocers, and […]
At some point in time anyone involved in social movement activism confronts a tough question: if things are as bad as we say they are, then why are more people not taking action? This year has seen the beginnings of a popular response to the breakdown of the neoliberal global […]
Just over a quarter of all British workers are in a trade union. Up to three million of them will be out on strike on Wednesday, 30th November (N30). That leaves millions of workers not coming out, many of whom might be wondering why public sector workers are striking over […]
November 30th is a milestone. It’s the biggest co-ordinated strike since the 1926 General Strike, which led the then-Tory Government to fear imminent “red revolution”. Up to three million workers from across the public sector will take part in the most widespread form of direct action the Cameron regime has […]
As is evident from events in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya and Syria throughout 2011, some governments make no reservations about using any means possible to kill a protest. By comparison, the UK has a long history of peaceful demonstrations – some of which have played an important role in effecting […]
Some weeks ago, as the novelty started to wear off the Wall Street occupation, media interest was suddenly renewed by reports of mass arrests. Arrests for peaceful protest, arrests for voicing an opinion, arrests for walking on the wrong bit of street. Arrests, even, for withdrawing one’s own money from […]