Socialist Standard Past & Present Blog
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Posts
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Just scanned in.
An excellent Socialist Standard article, ‘Kenya and Berlin’, from August 1953 by Alwyn Edgar (A.W.E. in the Standard) on the ongoing hypocrisy of the ruling class during the Cold War:
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2025/08/kenya-and-berlin-1953.html
Well worth reading, Well worth sharing.
Added some new pages to the blog.
The pages are dedicated to particular columns from the Socialist Standard from yesteryear.
New Page: Letter From Europe column (1979-1986)
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2025/09/new-page-letter-from-europe-column-1979.htmlNew Page: Aspect column (1967-1971)
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2025/09/aspect-column-1967-1971.htmlNew Page: Letter From America column (1977-1978)
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2025/09/letter-from-america-column-1977-1978.htmlSad to read about the death of the radical filmmaker Peter Watkins at the age of 90.
Best known for the banned BBC documentary The War Game, some of his work has reviewed in the pages of the Socialist Standard.
Click on the links for the reviews:
Peter Watkins: A Revolutionary Film-Maker (2015)
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2015/10/peter-watkins-revolutionary-film-maker.htmlPeter Watkins: A Revolutionary Film-Maker (2015) – part 2
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2015/11/peter-watkins-revolutionary-film-maker.htmlReview of The War Game – 1966
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-war-game-1966.htmlAnother review of The War Game – 1980
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-war-game-1980.htmlYes, it was sad to hear about Peter Watkins’ death, and thanks for posting the links. The War Game is rightfully lauded, and there’s much of interest in his other work too. ‘Privilege’ (1967) describes how pop culture can be used by the elite as a means of control. The film opens with a riot at a gig, deliberately-engineered by the state to channel youthful anger away from dissent. This was filmed in Birmingham’s Town Hall, and I went to a screening of the film in the same auditorium, which was quite unsettling (although there was no riot when I was there!). Watkins’ 1971 film Punishment Park is an astonishing piece of work, depicting the trial and punishment of characters representing the strands of 1960s counter-culture. Most of the actors were non-professionals, improvising their dialogue and reactions, giving the film added realism and impact. These films, though, used techniques which Watkins would later reject as he developed his own style, intended to counter the prevailing manipulative style of film-making. He was one-of-a-kind.
‘It’s Clichéd to Be Cynical at Christmas* . . .’
I posted this last year but why not post it again one year on? Think of it as a re-gifting.
A selection of Christmas-related articles that have appeared in the Socialist Standard (and elsewhere) down the years.
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2024/12/its-cliched-to-be-cynical-at-christmas.html
The Christmas-related articles are great, Darren. And often amusing too. I wonder what Steve Coleman would think now of what he wrote then.
– Imposs1904
Here’s a great Christmas-related article that’s missing from your list:
The Waiting Game by Clifford Slapper
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-waiting-game-1985.htmlMoo,
Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll make a note of it.
In other news, a bit later than usual, the list of the 21 most popular articles on the blog in 2025:
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2026/01/january-february-i-dont-understand.html
Please click away.
A short post to mention that the pages for the regular, longstanding Socialist Standard columns have been updated on the blog. The pages provide easy access to all the individual columns in chronological order:
Cooking the Books column:
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/p/cooking-books.htmlMaterial World column:
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/p/material-world-column.htmlPathfinders column:
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/p/pathfinders-column.htmlI’ve not updated this thread for the longest time, so a little update about the blog:
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2026/06/blog-update.html
As mentioned in the post linked to I have been trying to post more material on social media – using our extensive back catalogue – so if anyone can suggest articles or reviews which are particularly worthy for inclusion, I would appreciate it.
Just posted a new page on the Socialist Standard Past and Present blog.
2026 is the 15th anniversary of the Socialist Standard’s excellent Proper Gander TV review column, and that’s a good enough excuse to put together a dedicated page to it where all the columns are listed in chronological order. (Where I could, I’ve provided a brief description of each column.)
Mike Foster was kind enough to provide an introduction to the page.
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2026/07/new-blog-page-proper-gander.html
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