Peter Lamb
@peterlamb1.bsky.social
I write about socialism, Marxism, International relations theory etc. Recent books: Historical Dictionary of Socialism, 4th ed (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024); Harold Laski, the Reluctant Marxist (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024).
Also listen to Paul Robeson's great rendition of "Joe Hill" www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Kx...
November 19, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Also listen to Paul Robeson's great rendition of "Joe Hill" www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Kx...
I'm always pleased to hear about new work published about the great socialist theorist and activist Harold Laski. Hence, I am delighted to announce the publication of a new monograph in Italian language by the brilliant scholar Pier Giuseppe Puggioni. See www.edizioniets.com/scheda.asp?n...
L’obbligazione inesistente - Pier Giuseppe Puggioni
9788846772787 | L’obbligazione inesistente - Pier Giuseppe Puggioni - Il volume propone una lettura filosofico-giuridica dell’opera dello storico britannico Harold J. Laski (1893-1950), cercando di ri...
www.edizioniets.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:51 PM
I'm always pleased to hear about new work published about the great socialist theorist and activist Harold Laski. Hence, I am delighted to announce the publication of a new monograph in Italian language by the brilliant scholar Pier Giuseppe Puggioni. See www.edizioniets.com/scheda.asp?n...
"The fact is that any Bill of Rights depends for its efficacy on the determination of its people that it shall be maintained." This quote from Harold Laski, "LIBERTY IN THE MODERN STATE (1930: p.53) is very topical today.
November 18, 2025 at 4:12 PM
"The fact is that any Bill of Rights depends for its efficacy on the determination of its people that it shall be maintained." This quote from Harold Laski, "LIBERTY IN THE MODERN STATE (1930: p.53) is very topical today.
This is a very good article, making a great point very clearly and concisely.
✍️NEW on the Mainstream blog:
Cllr Cai Parry (@caiparry.bsky.social) on 'Why Rachel Reeves Should Implement a Land Value Tax'.
Read it here: www.mainstreamlabour.org/blog/why-rac...
Cllr Cai Parry (@caiparry.bsky.social) on 'Why Rachel Reeves Should Implement a Land Value Tax'.
Read it here: www.mainstreamlabour.org/blog/why-rac...
November 14, 2025 at 1:37 PM
This is a very good article, making a great point very clearly and concisely.
Sorry, I meant the Times rather than the Telegraph. So I meant: It was also only three months after Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party and thus leader of the opposition. So wasn't this stuff in the Times in 1975 part of the campaign to unseat the Labour government at the next election?
It was also only three months after Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party and thus leader of the opposition. So wasn't this stuff in the Telegraph part of the campaign to unseat the Labour government at the next election?
This kind of nostalgia is perhaps a form of what the psychologists call "learned helpless". It's a response to a perceived or real lack of control. We prefer the scripts with which we are familiar rather than engaging with the moving present. The feeling of paralysis is perversely comforting.
November 14, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Sorry, I meant the Times rather than the Telegraph. So I meant: It was also only three months after Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party and thus leader of the opposition. So wasn't this stuff in the Times in 1975 part of the campaign to unseat the Labour government at the next election?
It was also only three months after Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party and thus leader of the opposition. So wasn't this stuff in the Telegraph part of the campaign to unseat the Labour government at the next election?
This kind of nostalgia is perhaps a form of what the psychologists call "learned helpless". It's a response to a perceived or real lack of control. We prefer the scripts with which we are familiar rather than engaging with the moving present. The feeling of paralysis is perversely comforting.
"What is certain, and felt instinctively by almost everybody, is that things cannot go on in their present way" – The Times, May 1975
“It is difficult to imagine a previous period when such an all-pervasive hopelessness was exhibited at all levels of British life” – Professor Stephen Haseler, 1975
“It is difficult to imagine a previous period when such an all-pervasive hopelessness was exhibited at all levels of British life” – Professor Stephen Haseler, 1975
November 14, 2025 at 9:54 AM
It was also only three months after Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party and thus leader of the opposition. So wasn't this stuff in the Telegraph part of the campaign to unseat the Labour government at the next election?
For a good and very readable book on John Ball as a communist see William Morris, A Dream of John Ball www.marxists.org/archive/morr...
November 13, 2025 at 9:51 AM
For a good and very readable book on John Ball as a communist see William Morris, A Dream of John Ball www.marxists.org/archive/morr...
Great photo of three great American socialists: www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...
Zohran Mamdani says he's a democratic socialist. What does it mean?
President Donald Trump has attacked the New York City mayor-elect's political label and claims he is a communist.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Great photo of three great American socialists: www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...
Yes, preset hierarchies. The old adage of computing, 'Garbage In Garbage Out', still applies in the world of AI.
I see a lot of utility for AI, but I’ve stopped using it entirely. It gets things wrong. It’s glib. And AI sorts information and people into preset hierarchies. It’s this latter point that’s giving me the most pause. The current iteration of AI is also a social engineering project.
It's amazing how many people are out there bragging publicly about how they now use ChatGPT to perform pretty much all of their tasks at their well-paid corporate job, and have yet to connect the dots on "if you're making your utility value identical to ChatGPT, why would they keep paying you?"
September 24, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Yes, preset hierarchies. The old adage of computing, 'Garbage In Garbage Out', still applies in the world of AI.
Those out there who are interested in the History of the British left will find the following piece on the Chartist Ben Rushton of interest, on the Web site of Friends of Lister Lane Cemetery @listerlanecem.bsky.social . Rushton's interesting grave stone is in the Cemetery.
September 17, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Those out there who are interested in the History of the British left will find the following piece on the Chartist Ben Rushton of interest, on the Web site of Friends of Lister Lane Cemetery @listerlanecem.bsky.social . Rushton's interesting grave stone is in the Cemetery.
The focus of this book on Marx's work on a wide range of parts of the world really makes very clear the worldwide scope of his revolutionary ideas.
“The Late Marx’s Revolutionary Roads: Colonialism, Gender, and Indigenous Communism”
Kevin B. Anderson
www.versobooks.com/products/325...
Kevin B. Anderson
www.versobooks.com/products/325...
August 20, 2025 at 8:23 PM
The focus of this book on Marx's work on a wide range of parts of the world really makes very clear the worldwide scope of his revolutionary ideas.
Having read the abstract I think this looks like a great article. Perhaps an interesting issue arising from the article is whether, and if so how, the openings mentioned at the end of the abstract will require the left to be ready to win a competition with the right to harness the moral disapproval.
Proper thread after the summer break– but if you were looking for a beach read about political reasoning in today's working class, look no further: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
August 10, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Having read the abstract I think this looks like a great article. Perhaps an interesting issue arising from the article is whether, and if so how, the openings mentioned at the end of the abstract will require the left to be ready to win a competition with the right to harness the moral disapproval.
Yes, indeed, and Marx should also get more credit than he does for saying that such hollow phrases are the foundations of society.
Marx wrote ‘hollow phrases can be twisted and turned”. I feel he doesn’t get enough credit for this extended metaphor.
August 5, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Yes, indeed, and Marx should also get more credit than he does for saying that such hollow phrases are the foundations of society.
Indeed, a key role for the local public sector is important. What is also worth mentioning is that it could be part of Community Wealth Building project, such as that in Preston (which is not far from Manchester).
Yet another piece by an apparently blinkered economist that fails to mention the key role of the local public sector (here in Manchester) for any regional “industrial” strategy - for Pete’s sake at least say “economic” strategy, to include services! www.economicsobservatory.com/the-uks-new-...
The UK’s new industrial strategy: what does it mean for Manchester? - Economics Observatory
To succeed, the industrial strategy needs to build strong local ecosystems in places where the eight priority sectors can thrive. The example of Greater Manchester shows why investment must be joined-...
www.economicsobservatory.com
July 24, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Indeed, a key role for the local public sector is important. What is also worth mentioning is that it could be part of Community Wealth Building project, such as that in Preston (which is not far from Manchester).
Important research and article.
New research published in @languageeducation.bsky.social, available open access here (tinyurl.com/bdf262jp) and a short thread on the work below. Many thanks to the reviewers & editors for their feedback and to @leverhulme.ac.uk for funding support.
July 22, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Important research and article.
Indeed, whatever one's political stance and beliefs, this editing of Hansard could make it almost useless as a primary source for historians, especially if they expect it to report parliamentary discussions verbatim.
Historians: this is a worrying development. Historians use the Hansard to analyze what was said in parliamentary discussions. If the Hansard is subject to editing out things that are politically unacceptable at the time, we (and future historians) have a problem.
Parliament and Hansard have removed “We are all Palestine Action” from my speech on Wednesday 2 July 2025 — despite me saying it.
This is a blatant attempt to censor me and rewrite the record.
This is not how a democracy behaves.
We will not be silenced.
This is a blatant attempt to censor me and rewrite the record.
This is not how a democracy behaves.
We will not be silenced.
July 9, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Indeed, whatever one's political stance and beliefs, this editing of Hansard could make it almost useless as a primary source for historians, especially if they expect it to report parliamentary discussions verbatim.
A person of Hegseth's position should know the US constitution off by heart. Its only a short document after all.
BALDWIN: What is the authority that the administration is using to deploy active duty Marines to California neighborhoods?
HEGSETH: The president has constitutional authority
BALDWIN: Cite the provision of the Constitution
HEGSETH: I'd have to pull up the specific provision
HEGSETH: The president has constitutional authority
BALDWIN: Cite the provision of the Constitution
HEGSETH: I'd have to pull up the specific provision
June 11, 2025 at 5:25 PM
A person of Hegseth's position should know the US constitution off by heart. Its only a short document after all.
One way to consider this is as follows: Early theorists in a field are not necessarily better or worse than later ones. The early ones are, however important. By reading them we can see ideas the later ones built on, revised etc. So we thus get a fuller understanding of what later ones are saying.
Tbh I do not understand folks who prefer early theorists in a field (ex: anarchism, philosophy) over modern ones. In my experience most early theorists are worth getting to know in so far as gaining familiarity with them allows me to better understand modern theorists working within that tradition.
May 21, 2025 at 2:06 PM
One way to consider this is as follows: Early theorists in a field are not necessarily better or worse than later ones. The early ones are, however important. By reading them we can see ideas the later ones built on, revised etc. So we thus get a fuller understanding of what later ones are saying.
It is very important that these issue concerning the conditions of platform gig workers is being discussed.
New @hrw.org report based of interviews & survey of US-based platform gig workers:
“Low wages, algorithmic control and barriers to unionizing trap many workers in economic insecurity, even as multi-billion-dollar companies expand their market share and revenue”
www.hrw.org/news/2025/05...
“Low wages, algorithmic control and barriers to unionizing trap many workers in economic insecurity, even as multi-billion-dollar companies expand their market share and revenue”
www.hrw.org/news/2025/05...
US: Major Companies Violate Gig Workers’ Rights
Major digital labor platforms, also known as gig companies, operating in the United States misclassify gig workers as independent contractors, denying them labor rights.
www.hrw.org
May 12, 2025 at 1:51 PM
It is very important that these issue concerning the conditions of platform gig workers is being discussed.
Great blog piece (or whatever a piece in a blog is called) by Phil Burton-Cartledge. As I read it I thought the following:
Data as bourgeois morality (as Phil suggests)
Data often as an important part of a commodity
Data as bourgeois morality often involves commodity fetishism.
Data as bourgeois morality (as Phil suggests)
Data often as an important part of a commodity
Data as bourgeois morality often involves commodity fetishism.
April 30, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Great blog piece (or whatever a piece in a blog is called) by Phil Burton-Cartledge. As I read it I thought the following:
Data as bourgeois morality (as Phil suggests)
Data often as an important part of a commodity
Data as bourgeois morality often involves commodity fetishism.
Data as bourgeois morality (as Phil suggests)
Data often as an important part of a commodity
Data as bourgeois morality often involves commodity fetishism.
The Politics of Care Work by Emma Amador looks brilliant!
April 16, 2025 at 2:26 PM
The Politics of Care Work by Emma Amador looks brilliant!
This new book by Emma Amador looks brilliant!
My book is in print! Yay! 🎉 The official publication date is May 20th, but a few copies arrived today from @dukepress.bsky.social. Thanks to everyone that helped me tell these stories! I am posting a link yo the book and a 30% discount code below.
April 16, 2025 at 2:25 PM
This new book by Emma Amador looks brilliant!
This new book looks great. I've just read the description. Were I still running my MA Foreign Policy Analysis module, which followed me into retirement, I would certainly be updating the module and using this book.
How does the EU change its foreign policy course? My book "Crisis and Change in EU Foreign Policy" is out now in paperback. Eery timing as Europe is scrambling to respond to its biggest security challenge since WWII. manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526182586/
@manchesterup.bsky.social
@manchesterup.bsky.social
March 6, 2025 at 10:14 AM
This new book looks great. I've just read the description. Were I still running my MA Foreign Policy Analysis module, which followed me into retirement, I would certainly be updating the module and using this book.
As its the anniversary of Marx and Engels' Communist Manifesto, published 21 February 1848, perhaps the following book of mine published in 2015 might be of interest: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marx-and-...
Marx and Engels' 'Communist Manifesto'
Introducing the most famous work of the nineteenth-century radical thinkers Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, this comprehensive reader's guide to the Communist M…
www.bloomsbury.com
February 21, 2025 at 6:08 PM
As its the anniversary of Marx and Engels' Communist Manifesto, published 21 February 1848, perhaps the following book of mine published in 2015 might be of interest: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marx-and-...
Please excuse me commenting from the UK. As I reflect on what is happening in US politics and international relations, I am reminded fn a famous paragraph by Thomas Hobbes. Click this link to his book Leviathan, search for:
nasty, brutish, and short.
www.gutenberg.org/files/3207/3...
nasty, brutish, and short.
www.gutenberg.org/files/3207/3...
Leviathan | Project Gutenberg
www.gutenberg.org
February 15, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Please excuse me commenting from the UK. As I reflect on what is happening in US politics and international relations, I am reminded fn a famous paragraph by Thomas Hobbes. Click this link to his book Leviathan, search for:
nasty, brutish, and short.
www.gutenberg.org/files/3207/3...
nasty, brutish, and short.
www.gutenberg.org/files/3207/3...