The World Transformed

Week 4 advance viewing for TWT's "Know Your Enemy" course. In this session, Gargi and Richard Seymour discuss: - In what way are the Tories trying to recompose the state? Is the party a unified actor? - Does the Ruling Class really rule? And if so, how do they do it? - Does Nationalism serve to build an alliance of the different parts of the right in Britain? - Why is it that many ostensibly 'Working Class' voters in Britain still vote for the right? - Is the idea of a Labour-voting 'Red Wall' in the North helpful? Or is it more complex than that? - How should we characterise the coalition we are seeing now between Capital and the Electoral Right?

Week 3 of The World Transformed's "Know Your Enemy" course. In this interview, Gargi Bhattacharya talks to Sita Balani about how the right is changing today, starting with Stuart Hall's essay The Great Moving Right Show on the emergence of Thatcherism and tracing the current terrain with “Johnsonism”, the new authoritarianism and the differences between how elite interests are served now and how they have historically been served under neoliberalism.

Week 2 advance watching for TWT's "Know Your Enemy" course. Gargi Bhattacharyya and Tom Mills discuss: - Who are the elite in this country? - How should we understand the state? - What is corporate power? How does it relate to other forms of power? - What techniques of power analysis might be useful to us?

For people today, hard work in school no longer guarantees a secure, well-paying job in the future. Far from a gateway to riches and fulfilment, 'work' means precarity, anxiety and alienation. In response, we've seen increased demand from the left for workers to join a union. But what can workers achieve when they unionise their workplace and rally around a set of demands? How does the emergence of the gig economy, 0 hours contracts and bogus self employment change the nature of workplace organising? And can union organising move beyond winning small victories in workplaces to the wholesale transformation of work itself? Amelia Horgan is a writer and researcher. She has written for various publications, including Tribune, the Guardian and VICE. Lois McCallum is a hospitality worker and trade union rep, speaking on behalf of Sheffield Needs a Payrise, a campaign organising workers to fight back against low pay – and offering an alternative to the dismal working conditions that plague post-industrial Britain. Tam Wilson works for the STUC (Scottish Trades Union Congress) as an organiser with the BetterThanZero campaign, a Scottish based trade union campaign that focusses on supporting those in precarious and casualised work to collectivise in their workplace and challenge exploitative employment practices. Sarah Jaffe (chair) is a US based labour journalist, and author of 'Work Won't Love You Back'.

In this week's episode of Understanding TWT, we spoke to Red Pepper co-editor and co-founder Hilary Wainwright. Hilary spoke to us about the history of the ‘new left' from the Hungarian revolution of 1956, how the Soviet Union's domination of its bordering countries led many socialists to re-evaluate their understanding of Marx and relationship to the party and state, how TWT fits into and is informed by that history, and how the ideas of the new left continue to develop and change today.

Introducing "Understanding TWT" - a series on the ideas and concepts that have inspired our work. First up, a presentation on the role of 'affect' (bodily emotion) in political practice, what we mean by 'collective joy', why these are essential for building a mass political movement, and how TWT has and can continue to embed this thinking in its work. Political theorist, DJ and long time contributor to (and supporter of) TWT Jeremy Gilbert leads the event with a talk on these themes.

Grenfell must be a 'never again' moment in the history of this country. The fire has exposed incestuous relationships between local, as well as national government, and the construction industry. In or out of government, how can Labour effectively engage with this issue, beyond superficial lip service? How can Labour act now to put the party at the disposal of a horrified and haunted community forced to campaign through their trauma for the safety of all across the country? Come and hear from those who have spent the last two years fighting tooth and nail for a justice which may never come. With Speakers: Lowkey; A poet, playwright, political activist and award winning hip-hop artist. Karim: The Vice-Chair of Grenfell United, the official organisation of survivors and bereaved families of the Grenfell Tower fire, working together to campaign for safe homes, justice and change. Reis Morris: A local activist and former resident of the Grenfell Tower. Zeyad: An organizer of the Grenfell Tower Silent Walk - an annual walk organised by Grenfell United to remember the Grenfell Tower fire. Daniel Renwick: A videographer and writer who made Failed By The State - the struggle in the shadow of Grenfell. He is a youth worker and advocate in the local community

A discussion of a new report from Common Wealth looking at the economic gap between private and state schools across England. The report by Dr Sol Gamsu shows how English private schools receive four times as much money per pupil as local state secondary. In some schools this figure is much higher with the wealthiest schools in the South of England having 8,9,10 times the income of local state secondary schools. Is a system where some schools have tens of thousands of pounds to spend per pupil justifiable? With: Dr Sol Gamsu (Durham University) // Professor Rebecca Boden (Tampere University) // Steven Longden (Abolish Eton). You can read the full report here: https://www.common-wealth.co.uk/reports/why-are-some-children-worth-more-than-others

In 2020, writer Owen Hatherley published two books about London. One, Red Metropolis was a polemical history of municipal socialism in Britain's capital. The other, was an alternative guide to London's boroughs featuring 33 activists, historians, architects and politicians exploring stories and neighbourhoods from across each of the city's 33 boroughs. The alternative guide, which was commissioned by Open City, a charity best known for its London-wide festival of remarkable architecture Open House, attempts to unpick the social and political dimensions of London's built fabric while taking the reader on an adventurous journey encompassing everything from Brutalist Polish community centres to suburban garden cities, from pioneering modernist estates to ornate Victorian greenhouses. In this special event, Owen is joined by Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty, who wrote the alternative guide's chapter on the London borough of Haringey, and graphic designer Rosa Nussbaum to discuss contemporary London following the mayoral election, property development in Haringey and beyond, and wider themes of both books. The Alternative Guide to the London Boroughs is available from the Open City online shop. Anyone who would like to get hold of a copy before this event can use the one-off discount code THEWORLDTRANSFORMED to get 40% off the cover price. The event will be introduced by Phineas Harper, architecture writer and director of Open City who commissioned the Alternative Guide to the London Boroughs and compered by Sam Swann from The World Transformed.

The shocking scenes of the MET's violent response to those seeking to mark and protest the death of Sarah Everard made visible the kind of state violence that has been meted out to communities since the force's inception. This week, the government plan to rush through parliament a significant increase in police powers over public demonstration. The recently published Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is full scale assault on our civil liberties, threatening our rights to protest even further, expanding stop and search powers, and further criminalising traveller communities. Join us to better understand its implications, hear from those being targeted by the bill, and discuss our options for resistance. With: Shami Chakrabarti - Barrister, human rights activist & former director of Liberty Zehrah Hasan - Barrister, founding member and Director of Black Protest Legal Support Becka Hudson – Organiser and researcher on prison, psychiatry and empire Luke Smith – Co-founder, Labour for Gypsy, Roma & Traveller communities Chantelle Lunt – Founder Merseyside Black Lives Matter Alliance Ali Brumfitt – Organiser with Global Justice Bloc

Common Wealth and The World Transformed are pleased to present the launch of 'Work Won't Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone', the latest book from labour journalist Sarah Jaffe. 'Work Won't Love You Back' is a thoroughly reported investigation into the persistent myths around a “labour of love”, where work is done out of passion instead of pay. Told through the lives and experiences of workers in various industries — from the unpaid intern, to the overworked teacher, to the nonprofit worker and even the professional athlete — Jaffe reveals how all of us have been tricked into buying into a new tyranny of work. Jaffe is joined by Dalia Gebrial (Associate Researcher at Autonomy) and Amelia Horgan (author of the forthcoming Lost in Work: Escaping Capitalism). The discussion explores workplace democracy, the labour movement and more.

Transphobia is on the rise across society and within the left. A recent report suggested four in five trans people in the UK have experienced a form of trans hate crime over the last 12 months. Meanwhile public figures including MPs have been able to use their platform to express transphobic views, often without consequences. But what even is transphobia? How does it manifest in different parts of society? And how can understanding its roots and role in modern day politics help us all get better at identifying and challenging it when it arises? Join us for the third event in a series of political education on trans liberation being organised by trans people within The World Transformed, Labour Campaign for Trans Rights and Momentum. Speakers: - Shon Faye: Writer - Lola Olufemi: Black Feminist and Researcher - Juliet Jacques: Writer and Filmmaker - Chay Brown: Director, TransActual - Felix Mufti: Organiser, Labour LGBT+ Network (chair)

As part of Disability History Month 2020 TWT and Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) teamed up to create this introduction to disability oppression. In it DPAC activist and Labour NEC member Ellen Morrison speaks to author and DPAC activist Ellen Clifford about: Who disabled people are? The difference between deaf and disabled people? The specific type of oppression disabled people face under capitalism? And how disability oppression manifests within our own movement? This is part of a workshop plan that we'd encourage you to run with friends and/or your local group. You can find the workshop plan here: https://theworldtransformed.org/resourcehub/disability-oppression-101/

What has lockdown taught us about ‘freedom' under capitalism? Whose freedom is more important: the freedom of businesses to make money, or the freedom of workers to stay healthy? Is freedom a question of personal rights and privileges, or the shared ability to decide what kind of world we want to live in?

For the past 40 years, we've been told that governments can't do much to change our lives: they can't fix climate change, they can't make housing cheaper, they can't care for the old or educate the young properly. Suddenly this year, we learned that they can manage a complete alteration of every aspect of our lives in a matter of weeks. How come?

Why have renters been hit so hard by the Covid crisis? Why are so many young people forced to rent? Why is rent so expensive and why do renters in the UK enjoy so few rights? Why have governments become obsessed with maintaining property prices and is there an alternative?

Why are your chances of dying of this virus much lower if you are rich or white? Who gets to decide what measures are taken to protect people and what counts as ‘healthy'? And why do some lives seem to matter more than others?

Living under Covid-19 and a lockdown has taught us many things about ourselves and the society we live in. But what has it taught us about capitalism, the system that underpins and dominates life across the globe? Lockdown has seen millions of us withdrawn from our usual patterns of work, while the work of a few essential people has been widely recognised as crucial to modern civilisation. So why aren't these ‘essential workers' the most highly paid in our society? What is work for and who gets to decide? How much work should we really all have to do?

With UK politics gripped by a “culture war” - which the right is winning - how should the left understand and respond to these dynamics? This session will explore what is driving this “culture war”, how it impacts class struggle, whether it's possible for the left to avoid it and, if not, what an effective strategy for engaging with it looks like. With Joe Guinan, Lisa Nandy MP, Ash Sarkar, Alex Doherty & Kojo Koram.

At the 2019 General Election, the Conservative Party achieved 43.6% of the popular vote - the highest percentage of any party since 1979. This electoral coalition has been decades in the making. The Conservatives have increased their share of the vote in every election since 2005. In contrast, Labour's vote share declined considerably between 1997 and 2015. Although Labour's surge at the 2017 General Election seemed to point to the possibility of building a social majority for radical socio-economic reforms, the result in December revealed the fragility of Labour's electoral coalition. What groups does Labour need to win? What are the tensions between these different groups and what politics will it take to unite them? With Paul Mason, Andrew Murray, Hazel Nolan & Sonali Bhattacharyya.

With recent defeats for the UK and US Left, it is vital we address how we build power post-Corbyn and Bernie. What can we learn from challenges of competing for state power and building movements? How can we maintain the energy and infrastructure built during that period? Are our organising methods still relevant in this new context and how can we innovate? Join activists from across the UK and US left for an exciting exchange of experiences and ideas. With Becky Bond, Beth Foster-Ogg, Amy Ramirez, Chris Lazarre, Ilona Duverge, Jean Ross & Gaya Sriskanthan.

Decades of cuts and privatization in health care left us vulnerable to coronavirus. How can we ensure that health care workers have the protections they need and ensure that testing, treatments, and a future vaccine are available to all? Join us to hear how nurses and health justice activists around the world are fighting back to protect themselves, their patients, and their communities and discuss what it could mean to build meaningful international solidarity in response to this global pandemic. With Vijay Prashad, Tobita Chow, Hermes Torres Font, Rachel Ambrose, Izzie Jani-Friend & Deborah Burger.

During the Labour leadership election, Keir Starmer warned against the party lurching to the right. Five months into his leadership and it remains unclear where he plans to take Labour policy. Polls show that a large majority of members want the party to continue supporting a radical economic agenda and progressive domestic and foreign policy reforms. What should Labour's priorities be in the coming years and what can we do to ensure the party goes into the next election committed to transformative policies that address the multiple crises of our time? With James Meadway, Deborah Hermanns, Nadia Whittome MP, Andrew Scattergood, Grace Blakeley & Hannah O'Rourke.

From chlorinated chicken to NHS drug prices, more and more people are discovering reasons to oppose the US trade deal. But this is hardly the first time that a neoliberal trade agenda has met with resistance. From the Seattle protests against the WTO, to the defeat of TTIP and the Free Trade Area of the Americas, the attempt to impose corporate trade deals has often created moments of crisis for the system. Join us to find out how we fit into this rich history of struggle. With Nick Dearden & Luciana Ghiotto

The recent defeats of Corbyn and Sanders were undoubtedly setbacks for progressive forces and their hopes for a new and better world. But should we now cast aside bold visions of the future as a result? The left arguably needs its utopianism more than ever: we're facing an unprecedented recession, a global pandemic and imminent climate crisis. The stakes couldn't be higher. Our utopian imaginations are a key battleground of politics, and the Left cannot afford to neglect a vision for the future in favour of short-termism. In this session, prominent activists and intellectuals will make the case for the continued importance of utopian dreaming, deisiring and planning - from ambitious provocations through to concrete policy proposals. Let's be bold: we can't afford not to. With Thea Riofrancos, Kathi Weeks & Rebecca Long-Bailey MP.

Labour Against Racism and Fascism (LARAF) and Socialists of Colour team up to explore four decades of the Labour Party and the trade union movement's relationship with racism. We will hear from activists, academics and historians alongside the perspective of politicians involved in both long-standing and recent struggles against racism. With Madge Dresser, Amrit Wilson & Diane Abbott MP.

Trade unions have played a central role in the Labour Party since its creation. Today, Labour has 12 trade union affiliates who provide funding, resources, activists and candidates, and who have considerable representation within the democratic structures of the party. As Labour moves in a new direction under Keir Starmer's leadership, what will this mean for the trade unions' relationship to the party? Join labour movement leaders and thinkers to discuss the role of trade unions within Labour, how the union link has shaped the development of both the party and the unions, and how the unions should relate to the new Labour Party leadership. With Len McCluskey, Sam Tarry MP, Leo Panitch, Gemma Bolton & Jo Grady.

When TWT was formed in 2016, the Labour left were in the ascendancy. Now, within the space of six months things have turned on their head. Starmer pitched left during his leadership campaign with promises to maintain the radicalism of the Corbyn years. However, since taking over as leader he has set a rather different tone. How should progressives in Britain relate to the Labour Party under Starmer's leadership? And what leverage do we have when Starmer allies are doing their best to marginalise the left? With Patrick Maguire, Dawn Butler MP & James Schneider.

Support for nationalist politics is growing across the world. The campaign for Brexit catalysed a convergence between mainstream conservatives and the far-right behind an exclusionary vision of Britain. Meanwhile, we are seeing growing support for independence amongst progressives in Scotland, Ireland and Wales. What is driving support for nationalism and what are the differences between these distinct forms of nationalism? Join speakers from across the nations to discuss the remaking of the British isles. With Adam Ramsay, Rory Scothorne, Harriet Protheroe-Soltani, Alex Niven & Allison Morris.

The Pandemic has exposed the underlying faults in our society and our economy. Ten years of austerity cuts have meant that our public services have been shockingly ill-equipped to deal with this crisis. Wage freezes, insecure work and lack of employment rights have left people facing potential hardship and an uncertain future. But as more and more people start to question how our society is organised, it is vital that the left is able to provide answers. If we don't, then others will. Claim the Future, led by John McDonnell MP, sets out to develop some of the solutions needed to reframe our economy and bring people together to secure change. This session will consider some of the policy interventions needed to ensure that people have the basics for a decent and secure life: enough to eat, a roof over their heads and the care that we need at different points in our lives. With John McDonnell MP, Nadia Whittome MP, Apsana Begum MP & Ian Byrne MP.

Coronavirus has exposed the crisis in the world of work - from insecurity and poverty pay, to a broken welfare system. We now stand on the brink of mass unemployment, combined with an expanding gig economy and fresh attacks on workers' rights. But we have an opportunity: the crisis has underlined the value of unions and essential workers and demonstrated that government intervention in the labour market can work. In this session we'll discuss the crisis of work and how the left can push, in workplaces and politically, for a more equal and sustainable future. With Ian Taylor, Alice Martin, Shreya Nanda, Dan Carden MP & Will Stronge.

What have we learned on both sides of the Atlantic over the last 5 years about pursuing a socialist agenda using the vehicle of traditional political parties? Taking a historical perspective, this session will examine the challenges and limitations of this approach and what we could have done differently. Asking the question of what would have happened had we achieved power, participants will map out a long view on socialist strategy and explore different avenues for delivering success. With Kali Akuno, Joe Guinan, Richard Seymour, Mary Robertson & Laura Smith.

State surveillance, anti-terror laws and the rhetoric of ‘national security' are being used to criminalise progressive activists and marginalised communities across the world. Speakers will discuss the colonial roots of policing and how histories of ‘anti-terrorism' in the UK and ex-colonies, such as South Africa and India, continue to be linked before and after 9/11. We will also explore other colonialisms, such as China in Hong Kong. As states share and internationalise their repressive methods, we ask how we can build international coalitions of resistance.

With the COVID-19 eviction ban soon to be lifted in England and Wales, tens of thousands of private rental tenants and mortgage holders will face the life-destroying possibility of eviction notices and losing their homes. In this panel organised by Momentum, hear directly from tenants unions leading the struggle against evictions about how renters can fight back through collective power. With Owen Polley, Harriet Protheroe-Soltani, Amina Gichinga & Ghazal Haqani.

Structural, institutional, systemic – racism prefixed as such points to a concept that was first used by black American activists in the 60's. The wave of protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd by police in the US has brought the concept to the fore in recent months. Its potency, both as a means of analysis and as a call to action, depends upon a robust and widespread understanding of the concept. This session will see Angie Speaks, Clive Nwonka and guests demystify structural racism by considering the media as a battleground in which it rears its ugly head. With Angie Speaks, Peter Coffin & Clive Nwonka.

For decades, the people of Palestine and Kashmir have struggled against violent military occupations which have denied them autonomy and statehood. Governments across the world have turned a blind eye or - in many cases - actively supported and resourced Israel and India's human rights violations. This session will look at what's happening on the ground in Kashmir and Palestine, and will also explore how the left can practice international solidarity - including fighting back against attempts by the right to crack down on these forms of activism. With Ben Jamal, Dibyesh Anand, Inshah Malik, Ryvka Barnard & Yara Hawari

We live in an era with the radical right on the rise. But where are they taking us? In this session, we unpack the ideologies driving various right-wing currents and distil the utopian visions that lie therein. What is the endgame of Silicon Valley Libertarianism? Does the Johnson-Cummings matrix represent a departure from Conservatism as we've known it? What vision of the future is at the heart of Bolsonaro-ism? Crucially: what are the weaknesses in these right-wing ideologies and how can we resist them? With Wendy Liu, Alan Finlayson, Lizzie O'Shea, Ollie Vargas & Aurea Carolina.

The moral panic in response to migrants crossing the English channel is just the latest example of how racism and xenophobia structures British politics. The hostile environment policy that led to the Windrush scandal two years ago, is now at risk of being intensified as the Conservatives attempt to divert attention from one of the worst Covid-19 death rates and recessions in the world. But across the UK and beyond there are inspiring examples of migrants getting organised and movements that show the true meaning of solidarity. Join this discussion on how we can defeat anti-migrant politics. With Rafael Navar, Roger McKenzie, Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, Akram Salhab, O.R & Loup Blaster.

Is it possible to build meaningful coalitions between anti-racist movements like Black Lives Matter and the electoral left? Speakers from the USA and the UK will consider the lessons that have been learnt in the last few months since the killing of George Floyd, exploring what a fruitful relationship between mass movements and legislative politics might look like.

The forces of capital repressed movements from the left throughout the world in the twentieth century. The imperialistic dynamics of this oppression remain relevant, and must be understood by us if we are to offer meaningful solidarity to the global left. Join Vincent Bevins (journalist, author of The Jakarta Method) and Vijay Prashad (author, editor-in-chief of LeftWord Books) as they discuss the history of anti-capitalist movements, and their repression, in the Global South.

From the pandemic to BLM, and now the biggest economic crisis for a century, 2020 has been a year where things have changed irreversibly. After December's election defeat, it's understandable that many of us are feeling demoralised. But the left is bigger and better organised than we were during the crisis of 2008, and we now have a popular programme to fight for. Losing hope is not an option. In this opening event of TWT20 we be heard from speakers involved in inspiring struggles in the UK and beyond, who are demonstrating that the future is ours to claim and that a world transformed is still possible. With Ash Sarkar, Jon McDonnell MP, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Dave Ward, Rafeef Ziadah, Samantha Napa, Laura Hother & Travis Dupree.

Recording of TWT & Verso's webinar on 02.07.20 COVID-19 has reshaped the global economy in a matter of weeks: millions out of work, unprecendented bailouts from governments and central banks and a radically uncertain future. This unprecedented crisis also creates oportunities for radical change. But we can't rely on external circumstances alone to get the sort of change we desperately need.

Recording of TWT and Verso's Zoom call on 18.06.20 Leo Panitch and Meagan Day discuss: How does Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party fit into this move "from protest to politics"? What can we learn from the left's nascent, so far truncated, attempts to take state power in the 21st century?

Labour's 1983 election campaign was notoriously dubbed 'the longest suicide note in history'. It opened the way not only for a decade of Thatcher's brutal policies, but also for a sharp turn to the right in the Labour party itself. The idea that a left-wing program could never win an election became sacrosanct with the 1997 'New Labour' landslide.

Recording of TWT and Verso's webinar on 21.05.20 Leo Panitch and Hilary Wainwright discuss the 1970s new left's attempts to radicalise the Labour Party.

After a decade of economic depression and war, Clement Atlee's Labour government laid the foundations for today's welfare state with a program of nationalisations and mass public investment. What may seem natural to us now - be it universal healthcare or widespread council housing - was radical then. How was post-war Labour able to push through collective ownership and control? And what lessons can we learn from its limits for our own democratic ownership agenda? How does our image of Labour's “Golden Age” affect our understanding of the party today? With Leo Panitch, Colin Leys and Tariq Ali.

Recording of Abolitionist Futures and The World Transformed's launch of our Abolitionist Futures Reading group, to discuss how Coronavirus is exposing some of the ideas that underpin our justice system, the history of prison abolition and reform, how we can build a world without prisons and how to organise your own Prison Abolition Reading group with your friends and community.

Autonomy's in-house urban planner Julian Siravo joins Freddie Stuart and Tin Hinson on the TWTFM sofa to discuss job centres, dark kitchens and building new infrastructures of work.

Really nice chat with Jack where we cover everything from whether there is a distinctive style to new left wing comedy, to music, and what the most healthy ratio of hate to love is in a podcast. Follow @2reel2politik and @gapesology on twitter for great content. Or follow @tinhinz88 for mainly just retweets about air pollution, and of course follow rising star @freddiestuart12

In the first #RedHacks live event Joana Ramiro chats with Owen Jones, Kimberly McIntosh, and Simon Childs at The World Transformed festival in Brighton about the problems facing journalism and how both the general public and those working in the media can start bringing in change to a fundamentally neoliberal industry. Sound Recording: @JAPinto Live Sound: James Tranmer @ Green Door Store

Salma Yaqoob joins Freddie and Tin to discuss her mayoral bid in the West Midlands