What is the meaning of The Carpet Crawlers? The Genesis song, whose lyrics were written by Peter Gabriel, has a dense, religious imagery leading to considerable discussion over the years as to what is the meaning of the The Carpet Crawlers lyrics. Here I’ll offer an interpretation that it is, at heart, addressing a terrible […]

Evasions on the Left over Ukraine
Wars are not light topics that can be dispensed of with simple formulas. I, for one, cannot imagine how the success of Russia would further the cause of democracy and socialism around the world. If you do, then say so, openly, so it can be debated in public. But don’t falsify tradition and history and […]
The Western Left and Russian Imperialism
Day and night, gunfire could be heard. There was no public transport. Knocked-out Russian tanks stood raggedly about the streets, while others rumbled continually up and down. Shattered buildings with gaping holes cast grotesque shadows across hundreds of bodies lying in the streets amid the broken glass, empty cartridges and other debris. Occasionally, a van […]
Commemorating the 1916 Easter Rising
Ireland’s 1916 Easter Rising: commemorating revolution Commemorations of Ireland’s revolutionary years have been underway since 2016. In 2016, the Easter Rising was celebrated by the people of Ireland as having been essential to the establishment of the Irish Republic. Quite rightly, the events of 24 April 1916, Easter Monday, were seen as being a pivotal […]
‘Primitive Communism’: Did it Ever Exist?
A review of The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow and an explanation of why the concept of primitive communism is mistaken. The way in which we imagine the first human societies is intimately connected to our current political beliefs. Conservatives believe in repression, the need for […]