With the death of Pope Francis, the world loses not only a church leader but also a moral compass
Hard truths and the Covid crisis
As millions become aware that capitalism cannot of itself generate the impulse to solve the problems posed by pandemic, then the drive to find an alternative grows stronger, argues NICK WRIGHT

IF NOTHING else the precipitous fall in share prices might concentrate the minds of our ruling class on the growing dangers that a new and more deadly mutant virus presents.
South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana and Eswatini have been added to Britain’s red list, in the hope that the omicron Covid strain can be shut out.
People from these states are compelled to quarantine for 10 days and flights into Britain from these places are now banned.
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The left must avoid shouting ‘racist’ and explain that the socialist alternative would benefit all

The left must confront both far-right bigotry and the undeniable problems the exploitation of migrant workers by the ruling class creates — but there are few lessons from the global left on how to strike this balance, laments NICK WRIGHT

Xenophobic hysteria over the statistically insignificant number of small-boat crossings deliberately conceals how capitalism manipulates population flows for profit — if we can explain that, we’ll beat the right, argues NICK WRIGHT

NICK WRIGHT delicately unpicks the eloquent writings on art of an intellectual pessimist who wears his Marxism lightly