A collection of writing, from science fiction through politics to medieval history, with some bits and bobs thrown in for good measure.
Review of Revolution in Carcassonne
Revolution in Carcassonne is a compelling account of a little-known medieval revolt in which class and religious issues were tightly bound together, finds Jacqueline Mulhallen. See the full review on Counterfire.
Revolution in Carcassonne: The story of a fourteenth-century rebellion
In August 1303, the people of the southern French town of Carcassonne rose up in revolt. Their rebellion against King and Inquisition saw the prison stormed, many of the town elite driven out and their houses sacked, and the inquisitors humiliated. For eighteen months, Carcassonne was a town where the French royal writ did not run.
Reconstructed from the contemporary accounts, the revolt emerges as an important incident in medieval class struggle. It was also the apogee of the fight by the people of Languedoc against the northern French invaders of the Albigensian crusade and the persecutions they brought with them.
Combining political analysis with original research, this book reveals the hidden story of a significant medieval rebellion and its importance for our understanding of oppression and resistance today.
Out now from Whalebone Press
Buy here
The Catholic Church Has Always Been a Worldly Institution
The extraordinary longevity of the Catholic Church could make it seem like a body that floats above the everyday world of political and economic life. In reality, the Church has always been firmly linked to structures of power and property. See the full piece on Jacobin.
Rosa Luxemburg: The Incendiary spark – my review of Michel Löwy
Michel Löwy, Rosa Luxemburg: The Incendiary Spark, ed. Paul Le Blanc (Haymarket Books 2024), xvii, 168pp.
An interesting collection of essays from decades of thought about Rosa Luxemburg. I don’t agree with all the conclusions here, but it was always thought-provoking. See the full review on Counterfire.
Nuclear is Not the Solution – my review of M V Ramana
M. V. Ramana, Nuclear is Not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change, (Verso 2024), viii, 264pp.
A clear demonstration of why nuclear power is not the answer to the climate crisis, I argue for Counterfire.
Why stopping wars is essential for stopping climate change
Researching for a speech I’m giving soon, I was reminded of this old piece for Stop the War. Reposting because sadly, it’s still true now.
Photo: US Department of Veterans’ Affairs
The Jews’ Garden
A bit of historical fiction, about young love and medieval antisemitism, published on Bounds Green Book Writers.
Photo by Lisa Forkner on Unsplash
Slow Down: my review of Kohei Saito
Kohei Saito, Slow Down. How Degrowth Communism Can Save the Earth, trans. Brian Bergstrom, (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London 2024), xvi, 264pp.
Saito attempts to argue for a ‘degrowth communism’, but misunderstands Marx and sees no revolutionary role for the working class, I argue for Counterfire.
Do Workers Benefit from Imperialism? Lenin and the Labour Aristocracy.
The centrality of anti-imperialism to socialism and class struggle has been disputed since before the First World War, but clarity on this issue remains vital, I argue for Counterfire.
Talking to Jacobin about the Albigensian Crusade
My article on how the Albigensian crusade supplied a template for modern oppression, and a podcast talking about all things Cathar, both for Jacobin.
Red Puffin 