Light and Air
The blog of Marxist Unity Group. These articles reflect the positions of our members on a variety of topics, including history, theory, and current events.
Where Lies the New Movement? Wang Hui and the Retreat from Class
Matthew Strupp traces and critiques the intellectual trajectory of Chinese ‘New Left’ philosopher Wang Hui.
The Slogan of Our Time
Talking about socialism in the abstract is not enough, argues Luke Pickrell. We need a roadmap, and the slogan of the Democratic Republic shows the way forward.
Cop City or People's City? Atlanta at the Crossroads
S.A. Reed reports on the June 5th protest against Cop City in Atlanta and offers a potential path forward for the movement against the U.S. police state.
There is Never One Lamb Alone: Finding Unity in Diversity
Splits and purges are no solution to the problem of disagreement in the socialist movement. Marisa Miale calls for unity in diversity in the context of the DSA.
Marxism and the Democratic Republic
Luke Pickrell of Marxist Unity Group emphasizes the centrality of radical democracy to the communist project and reintroduces the construction of the democratic republic as the foundational political goal for socialists today. He emphatically asserts that if socialists are to defeat the tricephalic hydra of capitalist domination, we must aim for the heart – “the source and parent of all the other atrocities” – the US Constitution.
The Protagonism of Tenants
Comrade Holden of Marxist Unity Group deconstructs the question of the “housing crisis” in New York City through questions about power, protagonism and agency, and urges that an expansion of the tenant-worker self-organization movement is crucial to facilitate its historically necessary merger with the socialist movement broadly.
On the Class Point of View and the Rule of Law
Gil Schaeffer responds to Anton Johannsen, arguing that socialists cannot be indifferent to the principle of equality under law.
Abortion Access, a Luxury Jet, and Leaked State Secrets: Two Weeks in the Story of American "Democracy"
Luke Pickrell argues that recent political events in the U.S. reveal the necessity of the Marxist Unity Group’s ‘Winning the Battle for Democracy’ resolution for the 2023 DSA national convention. The resolution can be read and signed here.
Atom Bombs, National Security, and Empire: Year Seventy-Eight of the Cold War
Gil Schaeffer looks to the Civil Rights and Anti-Vietnam War movements as examples of how the modern left can best articulate its opposition to the current agenda of US imperialism.
Socialism with American Characteristics
Luke Pickrell and Myra Janis critique the 2019 updated party program of the Communist Party, USA, arguing that the CPUSA’s continued commitment to the Popular Front produces an unwieldy document incapable of charting a strategic path forward for socialists.
Not Very Quiet on the Western Front
Francis Babeuf reviews director Edward Berger’s new Netflix-produced screen adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s 1928 anti-war novel ‘All Quiet On The Western Front,’ arguing that Berger’s alterations of the novel’s original narrative produce a reactionary framing of WWI.
American Socialism from 1892 to 1908: a Study in Two Programs
S.A. Reed reviews two historic programs of American socialist parties, arguing for the importance of a good program and party-building strategy.