Articles by Sandra Bloodworth

Welcome to Marxist Left Review

Marxist Left Review, a new journal published by Socialist Alternative,is launched as the most severe world economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s has entered its second phase.

Marx and Engels on women’s and sexual oppression and their legacy

Friedrich Engels published his The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State in 1884. He argued that women’s oppression arose with the development of classes in society.  Most feminists of the 1960s and 1970s recognised Engels’ work as a key text, whether inclined to agree with or oppose him.  Yet for all the debates about the book, there is very little understanding of the actual content and importance of not just Engels’, but also Marx’s contribution to establishing the basics of a fight for women’s liberation.

Marxism and the Arab revolutions

Revolution is back on the agenda. Sandra Bloodworth argues that the Arab revolutions confirm the relevance of Marxism as a guide to the fight for human liberation.

The Arab Spring: revolution and counter-revolution

The Arab revolutions continue. Sandra Bloodworth looks at the danger of counter-revolution and discusses the political questions and challenges for the left posed by these momentous events.

A note to our readers

Marxist Left Review editor Sandra Bloodworth explains how MLR is changing.

Lenin vs "Leninism"

Sandra Bloodworth attacks the persistent myths and misconceptions about "Leninism with an examination of Lenin's writings and activities as he struggled to build a revolutionary party.

Forgotten women rebels of Eureka

Sandra Bloodworth reviews a new book by Clare Wright, Forgotten Rebels of Eureka. The historical material in Wright’s book not only confronts the masculinist narrative of Eureka which has dominated Australian historiography, but also confirms some key Marxist arguments about women and social struggles.

Lenin and a theory of revolution for the West

Sandra Bloodworth argues that Lenin and the other great revolutionaries of the early twentieth century provide us with a theory of revolution for advanced democracies.

The roots of sexual violence

Sandra Bloodworth examines the widespread sexual violence in our society: from intimate partner abuse, to paedophile priests, to attacks on the elderly, the disabled, the mentally ill and children in institutions which supposedly “care” for the oppressed and vulnerable.

Russia 1917: gender, class and the Bolsheviks

Sandra Bloodworth looks at the impact of identity politics on some of the best feminist and social historians of the Russian revolution.

The origins of women’s oppression – a defence of Engels and a new departure

Sandra Bloodworth revisits Engels’ arguments about the origin of women’s oppression.

ریشه‌های سرکوب زنان / ترجمه‌ی حسین رحمتی (Farsi: Origins of women's oppression)

Sandra Bloodworth revisits Engels’ arguments about the origin of women’s oppression. Translated by Hossein Rahmati.

From revolutionary possibility to fascist defeat: The French Popular Front of 1936-38

Sandra Bloodworth draws on the French experience to refute reformist calls for a revival of Popular Front strategies.

Editorial (SR Vol 2)

Sandra Bloodworth explains the rationale for establishing the Socialist Review as a twice-yearly journal.

The poverty of patriarchy theory

In this important piece, Sandra Bloodworth critiques feminist theories of women's oppression, focusing

Editorial (SR Vol 3)

Sandra Bloodworth introduces the contents of the third issue of the journal.

Editorial (SR Vol 4)

Sandra Bloodworth introduces the contents of the fourth issue of the journal.

Nationalism and revolution in the Arab world

Sandra Bloodworth critiques the failures of Arab nationalism, putting a case for a socialist strategy for working class self-emancipation in the region.

Editorial (SR Vol 5)

Sandra Bloodworth introduces the contents of the fourth issue of the journal.

Rape, sexual violence and capitalism

In this groundbreaking piece, Sandra Bloodworth critiques bourgeois feminist approaches to understanding and combating rape and sexual violence.

Celebrating the Paris Commune of 1871: “Glorious harbinger of a new society”

Marxist historian Sandra Bloodworth commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Commune, recounting the breathtaking events and providing an assessment of their ongoing political significance.

Τιμώντας την Παρισινή Κομμούνα του 1871: «Ένδοξος προάγγελος της νέας κοινωνίας» (Greek: Celebrating the Paris Commune of 1871)

Marxist historian Sandra Bloodworth commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Commune, retelling the breathtaking events as well as providing an assessment of their political significance.