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Author Archives: James Robb

Notes on the life of my brother: Andrew Robb, 1955-2022

May 24, 2022by James Robb 16 Comments

When we were very young, my mother was in the habit of dressing my brother and me in identical clothes, which often led people to ask us if we were […]

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education, Maori struggle, New Zealand history, working class history

How not to conduct a scientific debate: Royal Society, university split over matauranga Maori and science

April 19, 2022by James Robb Leave a comment

A long-running and tetchy argument over science education in New Zealand has polarised academics at Auckland University and shattered one of the central institutions of science, the Royal Society. International […]

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academic freedom, capitalist economy, education, evolution, Maori struggle, materialism, science, working class

Two wars over Ukraine

March 13, 2022by James Robb 5 Comments

Pacifists and liberals are fond of repeating the old adage that ‘the first casualty of war is the truth.’ In fact, the exact contrary is far closer to the truth: […]

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Bolshevik party, censorship, imperialist war, inter-imperialist rivalries, NATO, Russia, self-determination, Stalinism, Ukraine

How a decayed workers state transformed into monopoly capitalism in China

February 6, 2022by James Robb Leave a comment

Capitalist economic and social relations had been slowly developing and strengthening within the Chinese workers’ state as far back as the aftermath of the Great Leap Forward fiasco, when the […]

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capitalist economy, capitalist state, China, economic theory, imperialism, Marxist theory, working class

Why the Australian-New Zealand military adventure in the Solomon Islands is bound to fail

December 7, 2021by James Robb 1 Comment

The New Zealand government announced 1 December that over the coming weeks it will be deploying a force of about 65 ‘peace-keeping’ troops and police to the Solomon Islands, at […]

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Australia, China, imperialist war, inter-imperialist rivalries, national self-determination, Second World War, Solomon Islands, United States

How, why and when capitalism was restored in China

November 28, 2021by James Robb 3 Comments

Part 8 of China in the age of American decrepitude The overthrow of capitalism in China in the early 1950s took place under very unfavourable circumstances. From nearby Korea, US […]

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Bonapartism, China, Chinese revolution, communism, Cultural Revolution, education, frame-ups, Indonesia, Maoism, religion, Soviet Union, Stalinism, witch-hunts, working class

The long and torturous road to the Third Chinese Revolution

November 22, 2021by James Robb Leave a comment

Part 7 of China in the age of American decrepitude When the sudden decline of US industry in the 1980s and 1990s opened the possibility, for the first time in […]

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China, Chinese revolution, class collaboration, imperialist war, Japan, Maoism, revolution, Stalinism

How the old imperialist powers still siphon off the wealth of the world

October 21, 2021by James Robb Leave a comment

Part 6 of China in the age of American decrepitude For most of the twentieth century, the United States was the dominant world imperialist power. Its power was based on […]

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capitalist economy, China, economic theory, imperialism, Marxist theory, United States

The falling rate of profit and the decline of US industry

October 4, 2021by James Robb 1 Comment

Part 5 of China in the age of American decrepitude Towards the end of the twentieth century United States capitalism was increasingly beset by a crisis of profitability. At the […]

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capitalist economy, China, economic theory, falling rate of profit, Marxist theory, United States, working class

The Empire’s new clothes: US capitalism in its twilight years

September 28, 2021by James Robb 2 Comments

Part 4 of China in the age of American decrepitude I spent the year 2004 as a ‘supply teacher,’ filling gaps in the high schools of Nottingham, England. It was […]

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capitalist economy, China, economic theory, imperialism, Marxist theory, pandemic, United States, working class history

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Australia history capitalist economy capitalist justice capitalist state China class collaboration class struggle communism democratic rights freedom of speech Harry Holland imperialism imperialist war Labour Party Maori struggle Marxist theory national self-determination New Zealand history petty-bourgeoisie racism revolution rightist groups and currents Russian revolution solidarity Stalinism unions United States women's equality working class working class history

Recent Posts

  • Notes on the life of my brother: Andrew Robb, 1955-2022
  • How not to conduct a scientific debate: Royal Society, university split over matauranga Maori and science
  • Two wars over Ukraine
  • How a decayed workers state transformed into monopoly capitalism in China
  • Why the Australian-New Zealand military adventure in the Solomon Islands is bound to fail

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