What did the classical Marxists actually say on the subject of education? James Tansey has been finding out, and draws some lessons for communist work today.
In February 1865, at the age of 24, Paul Lafargue first met Karl Marx in a visit to report on the progress of the International Workingmen’s Association in France. Marx was apparently enthusiastic about … read this post
According to the secretary of state for education, Michael Gove, ‘one of the under-appreciated tragedies of our time has been the sundering of our society from its past’1. Unfortunately, he was not referring to the tendency for subjects like politics and economics to be taught in a manner completely torn from all historical context, but to the proposed … read this post
We are republishing this article as it should be of interest to anyone on the student left. In it, Mike Macnair argues that student unions are not like trade unions, and unity must be built primarily around politics, not ‘student issues’.
Across England and Wales university students are starting their courses with ‘freshers weeks’ and existing students are returning. The … read this post
Here we republish an excellent article by Bertell Ollman, a professor of politics at New York University. His book, ‘Exams and changing the rules’ is reviewed here.
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The psychologist, Bill Livant, has remarked, “When a liberal sees a beggar, he says the system isn’t working. When a Marxist does, he says it is”. The same insight could be applied … read this post
The failure of the left in the 20th century and today could perhaps be said to be a failure of imagination; a failure to penetrate other minds. It is a failure that is felt most keenly by those who self-consciously place themselves to the far left of the political spectrum, but the weight of the ever growing disaster of modern … read this post
All students should read Bertell Ollman’s How to take an exam and remake the world (Black Rose Books), says Benjamin Edgar Klein
I first opened this book last summer term. Faced with the daunting prospect of writing about 15,000 words and taking a seemingly endless stream of exams, I found Bertell Ollman not only provided some much-needed distraction from the … read this post
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