The US economic slowdown is much greater than China’s

9th August 2013 Socialist Action 0

Discussion about the trends in the world economy emerging from the 2008 financial crisis is dominated by the relative growth rates of the US and China – the world’s two largest economies.

The media discussion has been focusing on concerns about China’s slowdown and its global impact, while the US is portrayed a recovering well. In fact both major economies are slowing in the context of continued global economic weakness, but the US is slowing much more than China.

The following article, by John Ross, looks at these facts in detail and points out that the key question is not ‘why is China slowing?’, but why has the US slowed much more dramatically than China in the last year?

from Ed Miliband's photostream

Miliband, the union link and ‘New Labour Mark 2’

8th August 2013 Socialist Action 0

By Jane West

Ed Miliband’s decision to call a Special Conference in Spring 2014 to change the relationship between the unions and the Labour Party has been dubbed his ‘Clause IV moment’, in reference to Tony Blair’s Easter 1995 Special Conference that changed the Party’s Aims and Values.

Secularism à la française and Islamophobia

27th July 2013 Socialist Action 0

Book review by Najete Michell

La Laicite Falsifiée [State Secularism Falsified] by Jean Beauberot

The question of what is known as ‘laïcité’ has raised passions in French politics for more than a decade.

It was in the name of ‘laïcité’ that laws were passed first prohibiting the hijab in schools, then the niqab in the street. Both led to increased Islamophobia. And now this is extending to the consideration of new laws prohibiting children’s nannies and mothers accompanying their children on school trips from wearing the hijab.

Why the right is attacking the unions

18th July 2013 Socialist Action 0

By Jane West

The conflict that erupted between UNITE and the Labour leadership over the union’s decision to sponsor a range of candidates in the current round of Parliamentary has provoked a new round of assault on the union link with Labour.

The decision by Ed Miliband to take the opportunity of the spat to push through changes to the unions’ affiliation to the Party has been cheered on by the Blairites and the right-wing media, for whom an ‘opt-in’ ballot and the elimination of the unions’ 50 per cent of the vote in the London Mayoral selection are just initial steps.

Jean-Luc Melenchon on the coup in Egypt

12th July 2013 Socialist Action 0

We publish below the comments of Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the French Parti de Gauche, on the coup in Egypt. The original text can be found here.

Socialist Action strongly agrees with his judgement that this was a coup, that it was a rightist coup and that those forces that have welcomed the coup – or failed to recognise it as a coup – are profoundly wrong and store up grave errors of approach for the future.