Julie Waterson, who died absurdly young at the age of 54 on Friday 16 November, was one of the most outstanding figures to have emerged from the Socialist Workers Party. Whether as organiser, party leader or activist, she inspired everyone who came into contact with her. Alex Callinicos pays tribute to this inspiring socialist campaigner.

Julie came from Bathgate, West Lothian, and the close and loving ties binding her to her large family stayed with her in London, where she spent most of her adult life. She joined the SWP in 1978 while a student at Paisley Tech—she had been elected president of the student union there.

Julie moved to London in 1980 to work on the SWP magazine Women’s Voice. This was a time of intense discussion on the left about the relationship between Marxism and women’s liberation, and Julie threw herself into these debates. She never lost a ...

At the start of Israel's current attacks on Gaza, the Egyptian Revolutionary Socialists issued the following statement:

When will you cut relations with the enemy, if not now?

The Revolutionary Socialists

15 November 2012

Read the original statement in Arabic

In the midst of what is called ‘The Arab Spring’, Gaza’s Winter continues. Zionist shelling has so far killed more than ten martyrs, including children and even babies. Hundreds have been wounded, Gaza’s hospitals are overflowing, and the ‘good citizens’ of the world are rolling up their sleeves and preparing to provide relief, as if the people were victims of a volcanic explosion or an earthquake, rather than facing Zionist colonialism which enjoys the support of the Great Powers, and acts as the watchdog for their interests in the region. Even the “democratic” president of the United States, whose re-election the liberal world celebrated, did not hesitate in describing the Zionist ...

Alex Callinicos analyses why Barack Obama won a second term as US president—and what his victory will mean for the future of US capitalism.

Barack Obama’s re-election is undoubtedly the best outcome for American capitalism. This may seem surprising. After all, the higher a voter’s income the more likely he or she was to support the hapless Republican candidate Mitt Romney. The stock market fell after Obama won.

Moreover, as the Financial Times reported before the election, “Although there are some notable exceptions in Hollywood, high tech and clean energy industries—big business and wealthy executives across the country are cheering for the US president’s defeat. Goldman Sachs, [along with] executives at AT&T and General Electric, are now putting most of their campaign contributions behind Mitt Romney. From industrial magnates like the conservative Koch brothers to Wall Street and big oil executives, most of whom never supported Mr Obama in ...

The decision by unions in Greece, Italy, Portugal, the Spanish state, southern Cyprus and Malta to call a one-day general strike as part of a European-wide day of action against austerity is unprecedented.

Greek translation below

It provides a magnificent opportunity to link up the mass resistance to cuts and attacks on workers’ rights that has been developing throughout Europe over the last two years. It also reflects the pressure by rank and file trade unionists on their leaderships to accelerate the fight back.

Not since the 1930s has a crisis on such a scale been seen. The vicious austerity programmes imposed by the Troika have ravaged millions of lives. Public services are on the point of collapsing altogether in Greece and are heading that way in Spain and Portugal. Wages have been forced down by 20 percent in most of the public sector; the numbers living below the poverty line are steadily ...