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.

A vintage-style halftone illustration in red, beige, and black shows a chaotic political rally scene displayed across five devices: an old CRT television, a tablet, and three smartphones. The central image on each screen depicts former President Donald Trump being escorted by Secret Service agents through a crowd of supporters. The distressed, grainy texture and muted tones evoke a 1968 protest aesthetic, emphasising media saturation and political spectacle.

Death of the Real

The bullet missed, but the image hit. And it’s the image that rules now. Trump, mid-stumble, hand to ear, flanked by agents in suits. It has already been cropped, filtered, multiplied. Not just a moment, but a message: the strongman under fire, the martyr made live. The spectacle doesn’t distract from the violence; it packages it. Sells it. Projects it across TVs, phones, and tablets until belief hardens into doctrine. This is what power looks like in the age of algorithmic memory: not stability, but survival on camera.

It depicts five heavily armed and masked Border Patrol agents in tactical gear standing in and around the open sliding door of a white van. The central figure’s vest prominently displays a yellow badge with the words “BORDER PATROL.” The image has a rough, stencilled texture and a distressed background, evoking a dystopian, authoritarian atmosphere.

Spectacle at the Tool Aisle

The ICE raid at Home Depot isn’t law enforcement. This is performance of sovereignty. Armed agents posing in camo and Kevlar to detain migrant day labourers is not about public safety, but about staging dominance. It’s capitalism enforcing its border through spectacle: a theatre of control, broadcast from a retail car park, where labour is criminalised and militarism is aestheticised. This isn’t about stopping migration. It’s about punishing poverty and reassuring power.

Digital Delusions: Unmasking the Modern Spectacle

From the cult-like following of visionaries like Elon Musk to the polarising influence of figures such as Donald Trump, we explore how the digital age’s most prominent personalities contribute to and thrive within the ever-evolving spectacle that captivates and divides our global society.

Mirage Of Menace: The Spectacle of the Iraq War

The realm of the spectacle is a treacherous landscape, where commodities distort truth and opinions manipulate desires. The United Kingdom’s decision to wage war in Iraq stands as a chilling testament to this phenomenon. In this post, we will explore how words and images were craftily deployed to create a mirage of deception and illusion, justifying the invasion. We will delve into the roles played by key figures like Tony Blair and Alastair Campbell, as well as the influence of the neoconservative agenda, in shaping this narrative. In the end, the consequences of this sinister dance between truth and spectacle emerge from the shadows, providing a harrowing reminder of the dangers of succumbing to the allure of falsehoods and manipulation.