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AGAINST THE BACKDROP of the numerous discussions of the political agenda, appearance, and vocabulary of the candidates running in the American presidential election, there is almost no demand for one subject: What is the class nature and mass social base of each politician? This approach comes naturally to the right-wing and liberal media, but why is it completely alien to the Left? The reason seems to be that the answers we would get if we were to consider this issue seriously would not be palatable for everyone on the Left. [Read More]

IN APRIL, the Platypus Affiliated Society held its Eighth Annual International Convention, based on the question, “What is socialism?” On April 2, 2016, Platypus held the convention’s closing plenary, “The Death of Social Democracy,” a discussion and Q & A moderated by Pam Nogales of Platypus, with the following panelists: Jason Schulman of the Democratic Socialists of America; Christoph Lichtenberg of the International Bolshevik Tendency; Brian Tokar, former director and current board member of the Institute for Social Ecology; and William Pelz, director of the Institute of Working Class History. [Read More]

COMMUNIST PARTY USA (CPUSA) chairman John Bachtell argues that the main danger – overriding all – is the danger of the extreme right.1 Bachtell points out that the CPUSA has been sounding the alarm on this danger since the 1980s. In doing so, the CPUSA has consistently urged people to vote for the Democratic Party candidates and not support third party efforts in the cause of defeating the extreme right. [Read More]

ON JUNE 8, the London chapter of the Platypus Affiliated Society hosted a panel on the topic “Left Exit or No Brexit?” at the London School of Economics. The panel brought together Neil Davenport, Mike Macnair, and Gerry Downing, and was moderated by Ninad Pandit of the Platypus Affiliated Society. Neil Davenport is the head of sociology at a comprehensive school in North London, and is a NASUWT representative. He is on the organizing committee for the Institute of Ideas’ annual festival, the Battle of Ideas, and is a regular contributor to its associated publication, Spiked Online. [Read More]