Following on from the recent post detailing the addition of the Pathfinder column page to the blog, here's a similar type post giving details of the Material World column page which has also been added to the blog homepage.
As mentioned previously, with so much material now on the blog, it now makes sense to bring together the articles and reviews into themed pages which can properly aid the reader. Current Socialist Standard columns are first up to be featured but in the future I'll also be creating pages for writers - past and present - and old columns.
The Material World column first appeared in the pages of the Socialist Standard in January 2008 and, in many regards, can be a considered a successor to the old World View column which appeared in the Standard in the 1990s and the early 2000s. Arguably the crucial difference between the two is that the World View column focused more on nations states and their intra-capitalist rivalry but what is common to both columns is that they set out to cover the world outside the borders of the UK from a uniquely socialist standpoint and, unlike the Pathfinders and Cooking the Books columns, both have always had a wide array of writers.
As we are fast approaching 200 Material World columns in the Standard, here is a rundown of the 20 most popular columns as featured on the blog as an introduction for the first time reader:
20. The Bottom Line on Climate Change by Janet Surman (December 2011)
19. Mexico – The Disappeared by Peter E. Newell (September 2013)
18. Mexican Drug Wars by Peter E. Newell (April 2013)
17. South Sudan – Another Failed State by Alan Johnstone (June 2017)
16. Antarctica - End of the Last Wilderness? by Stephen Shenfield (December 2013)
15. Socialism Seeks Well-being For All by Alan Johnstone (February 2016)
14. Indigenous Suicides by Alan Johnstone (June 2015)
13. Co-operatives no way to socialism by Alan Johnstone (August 2018)
12. Capitalising on Disease by Alan Johnstone (November 2014)
11. Migration - Internal and External by Alan Johnstone (March 2017)
10. Workers of the World – in it together by Janet Surman (March 2011)
9. The Porn Business by Stephen Shenfield (February 2012)
8. Feeding the World by Alan Johnstone (April 2017)
7. There is Only One Humanity by Alan Johnstone (January 2017)
6. It’s Not Overpopulation, it’s the System by Alan Johnstone (September 2017)
5. Money – a waste of resources by Stephen Shenfield (July 2011)
4. Vaccine development: another market failure by Alan Johnstone (September 2020)
3. Mystery of the Pig/ Bird / Human Flu Virus by Stephen Shenfield (June 2009)
2. All Migrants are Workers by Alan Johnstone (May 2017)
1. Body Parts by Alan Johnstone (April 2015)