Robinson successfully defended his school from closure, fought for the unification of the teaching unions, mentored future trade union leaders and transformed teaching at the Marx Memorial Library, writes JOHN FOSTER
War: is it in our genes?
Capitalism drives modern warfare — but our species has waged determined and passionate campaigns of murder against each other long before its arrival. How can we begin to explain this, asks JOHN GREEN
WISHFUL THINKING? Created by the Soviet sculptor Evgeniy Vuchetich, the bronze statue ‘Let Us Beat Our Swords into Ploughshares’ was installed in 1959 in the north garden of the United Nations
sculptor Evgeniy
Vuchetich, the bronze
statue ‘Let Us Beat Our
Swords into
Ploughshares’ was
installed in 1959 in the
north garden of the
United Nations
[Magnolia677/CC] 
A judge in a German court ruled that the ban activity imposed on renowned Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah was unlawful, reports LEON WYSTRYCHOWSKI
At the very moment Britain faces poverty, housing and climate crises requiring radical solutions, the liberal press promotes ideologically narrow books while marginalising authors who offer the most accurate understanding of change, writes IAN SINCLAIR
From Gaza protest bans to proscribing Palestine Action, political elites are showing a crisis of confidence as they abandon Roy Jenkins’s apologetic approach for Suella Braverman’s aggressive ‘hate march’ rhetoric, writes PAUL DONOVAN
ANSELM ELDERGILL examines the legal case behind this weekend’s Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival and the lessons for today
Ben Chacko talks to RMT leader EDDIE DEMPSEY about how the key to fixing broken Britain lies in collective sectoral bargaining, restoring unions’ ability to take solidarity strike action and bringing about the much-vaunted ‘wave of insourcing’
The summer of 1950 saw Labour abandon further nationalisation while escalating Korean War spending from £2.3m to £4.7m, as the government meekly accepted capitalism’s licence and became Washington’s yes-man, writes JOHN ELLISON
AT this moment armed conflicts are taking place on all continents apart from North America and Antarctica. We live in a world in which war has become an accepted fact of life.
Homo sapiens is the only species on the planet that deliberately kills its own in huge numbers —and with the grisliest cruelty. All other animals may battle over territory or to obtain a mate, but they rarely kill; their battles are more ritualistic, simply driving the vanquished away.
They are satisfied with the territory or the mate they have or the food they have gathered, they are not driven to want excess. On the other hand, humans are driven invariably by greed and go to war for more land, food, and wealth than they need. Why?
More from this author
JOHN GREEN is fascinated by a very readable account of Britain’s involvement in South America
JOHN GREEN is stirred by an ambitious art project that explores solidarity and the shared memory of occupation
JOHN GREEN applauds an excellent and accessible demonstration that the capitalist economy is the biggest threat to our existence
JOHN GREEN isn’t helped by the utopian fantasy of a New York Times bestseller that ignores class struggle and blames the so-called ’progressives’
