anti capitalist musings

The rest of the blog

Britain

The Patriarchy in Uniform: Reform UK’s Law and Order Is a War on Women

When Reform UK’s justice spokesperson declared she would “much rather see a great big strapping male police officer with a female,” she wasn’t just airing a preference. Pochin was laying out a worldview. One where women are too vulnerable to patrol alone, too soft for frontline work, and too inconvenient to be equal. As under Trump, so under Farage: the creeping politics of patriarchy, where power is always male, and women are tolerated only if they stay in their place.

Britain

The Real Arsonists of Social Cohesion

The English disease is back. While Scotland holds the line with civic identity and social solidarity, England is once again the testing ground for far-right mobilisation and state complicity. From hotel sieges in Epping to flag-waving standoffs in Norfolk, this isn’t about deprivation alone. This is nationalism curdled into grievance, stoked by those who know exactly what they are doing. And the only person who benefits from this is the man rubbing his hands together, whispering told you so, told you so, and you all know exactly who that is: Nigel Farage.

Britain

Unbinding the State: On Suella Braverman’s Plan to Leave the ECHR

Braverman’s plan to leave the ECHR isn’t legal reform, it’s preparation for rule without restraint. Like the ERG before her, she wraps authoritarian ambition in the language of sovereignty. Strip away the rhetoric and what’s left is a state unbound, a state that punishes, not protects. If she jumps to Reform UK, this plan becomes reality.

A cracked wall bears the words “Krome Transitional Center” above a row of four old CRT televisions. The largest screen shows the hooded, outstretched figure from the Abu Ghraib torture photos, standing on a cardboard box with wires attached to his fingers. The other monitors display static. Exposed pipes run down the wall, evoking a bleak, institutional atmosphere.
ICE

Kneel and Eat: America’s War on Migrants

Reading this made me feel sick. It brought back the images from Abu Ghraib, its black hoods, outstretched arms, the grotesque theatre of domination. Only this time, it’s not Baghdad in 2003 but Miami in 2025. Don’t look away: this is what America does to the unwanted. And Britain’s not far behind.

A vintage-style protest poster features the Palestinian flag centred on a textured beige background. Bold, black block text above the flag reads: “THIS FLAG CAN GET YOU ARRESTED*”. Beneath the flag, in smaller text, it says: “*HOWEVER GENOCIDE CAN’T”. The design uses distressed fonts and grainy textures in the style of protest posters, drawing attention to the criminalisation of Palestinian solidarity in contrast to the impunity for state violence.
Britain

Criminalising Solidarity

The Labour government has not criminalised violence, it has criminalised resistance. Holding a flag, wearing a slogan, even whispering “Palestine” is now suspect. But dropping bombs on children? That’s fine. If that sounds like justice to you, you’re already lost.

Britain

The Great British Retirement Swindle

They gutted final salary schemes. They tied your future to the stock market. Now they want to gamble what’s left on the promise of growth that never comes. Rachel Reeves calls it “unlocking capital.” What it really means is handing over your pension to the very firms that gutted the economy in the first place.

There’s no housing to fall back on. No council flat, no affordable rent, no hope of owning. Just a threadbare pension pot and a government asking you to work longer, save more, and expect less.

Crime and Punishment

Nigel Farage: The Performance Artist of British Punishment Politics

Farage isn’t offering a plan, this is performance. His “law and order” blitz isn’t costed, credible, or connected to reality. It’s the politics of punishment as spectacle: build more prisons, shout louder, deport faster, sentence longer. No thought to the broken justice system, no answers on prevention or rehabilitation. Just another culture war front for a party with no economic programme and no interest in governing.

Trump and Musk in the White House. Photo: @realDonaldTrump/Truth Social

The Hollowing of the State

Trump’s return to power signals not just a political shift but a profound restructuring of the American state—one that fuses corporate power with authoritarian governance. This transformation, driven by figures like Elon Musk and the influence of think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation, represents the latest stage in capital’s ongoing march towards unaccountable dominance.

The Doge and the Fall of the American State

Picture a once-mighty empire, stripped to its underwear. Once hailed for its democratic values and global reach, the United States now staggers beneath the weight of its own contradictions—its institutions hollowed out, its alliances squandered, its climate left to burn. In the aftermath of a second Trump presidency, what was once dismissed as political theatre has morphed into a crisis so profound that even the most reluctant observers must confront the truth: the old order cannot endure.

Liberalism’s Betrayal: Defending Fascism in Times of Crisis

The assassination attempt on Donald Trump has spotlighted a troubling paradox: why do liberal institutions and figures often defend fascist politicians, even when these politicians espouse values antithetical to liberalism? This article delves into the inherent contradictions within liberalism that lead it to shield authoritarian figures like Trump, arguing that these actions reveal a deeper alignment with capitalist interests and a fear of revolutionary change.

9th National Ceasefire Now march, to Israeli Embassy London 17th February 2024.

Ghosts of Thatcherism

The UK government’s attack on dissent and protest rights echoes a long history of state suppression, revealing a deep fear of the power of a mobilised working class.

Just Stop Oil protestors

The Unanticipated Opera: A Symphony of Dissent at Glyndebourne

On a seemingly ordinary Thursday, at the time-honoured Glyndebourne opera festival, an unexpected interlude of protest emerged. In the sanctuary of the arts, amid the melody of Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, a dissenting chorus brought the opera to a standstill. Sparked by the cause of Just Stop Oil, the interruption blended a traditional form of high culture with the pressing concerns of our era. This is the narrative of that day, a symphony of dissent resounding from the grand opera house to the streets of London.

A graphic from the Tories twitter campaign on "We Must Stop the Boats"

The Tories’ Creeping Fascism: Manipulating the Media and Demonising Migrants

This post explores the growing threat of creeping fascism in the UK political landscape, particularly within the Conservative Party. It examines recent actions by the government, including the exclusion of critical media outlets from the Home Secretary’s trip to Rwanda and the policy to deport asylum seekers, in light of the “creeping fascism” thesis. The post argues that the Tories’ use of jingoistic and anti-immigrant rhetoric is a deliberate tactic to distract from the real issues facing the UK and consolidate their power.

Blood Sport: The BBC vs the Tories

It’s a classic case of power versus principle, and the stakes have never been higher. In the end, it’s not just about football – it’s about the very soul of our democracy.