What do you think?
Rate this book
Marxist Left Review 29: Socialists against the stream
202 pages, Paperback
Published August 18, 2025
7 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 10, 2025
Why socialists should oppose sex work’ is a must read. Concise, sharp, damning. I think it should be published as its own pamphlet. It’s a very important topic to address and be clear on, especially when more people on the left are rediscovering the feminist tradition of opposing the sex industry.
It’s important that people know supporting sex work is not a radical position that was a part of the sexual liberation movement of the 70s, it is a conservative idea that developed in the retreat of the movement. The attacks on the working class by neoliberalism saw a rise in identity politics on the left. Emma Norton argues ‘Identity politics and raunch culture have had a corrosive effect on left-wing politics’.
This focus on individualism has lead the left to a terrible perspective on the sex industry. Norton quotes Symeon Brown from his book on influencer culture ‘At the heart of this movement (pro-sex work) is the questionable belief that anything that makes a woman rich is empowering for all women.’ Instead of looking at the sexist impact of the sex industry as a whole and the fact that prostitution is economic coercion, the left has adopted an idea that sex work an ‘empowering choice’ that an individual woman can make. This is total crap that needs to be rejected.
I’ve always opposed sex work, even before I was a socialist because it was just common sense for me. Seeing only fans influencers claim what they do is ‘liberating’ pissed me off in the extreme. But I still learnt a lot from this, especially that the blame should be pointed at the industry and the customers first and foremost. Despite a small number of women who sanitise the industry and make a lot of money from it, the majority of women are economically coerced into sex work. I found very useful the comparison between the sex industry and other fucked up capitalist industries like mining or weaponry. Socialists should fight against these terrible industries. That doesn’t mean socialists condemn the workers who are forced to work within them to survive. It also doesn’t mean we allow the industry to flourish, the industry should be restricted.
It’s impossible to say everything good about this article because it is all great, just a must read.
‘Marxism and national liberation’ is another standout. Mick looks at the history of socialist theory on national liberation and how Stalinism distorted this tradition.
Socialists fighting within national liberation movements should always seek to take these movements to their furthest conclusion- socialist revolution. Socialists should be clear that ruling classes- no matter how oppressed by others still oppress their domestic population and do not share the same interests as them. When push comes to shove, capitalists would prefer to remain subordinate in the world order than have their system of private property threatened. This is why many national liberation movements have ended in betrayal and bloodshed. After the masses rise up to combat imperialist domination, the ruling class seeks to stabilise the system and protect it. This means repressing the masses who have the power to overthrow the system.
For the mass of people within an oppressed country to be truly free, socialism must be the conclusion of the struggle.
It’s important that people know supporting sex work is not a radical position that was a part of the sexual liberation movement of the 70s, it is a conservative idea that developed in the retreat of the movement. The attacks on the working class by neoliberalism saw a rise in identity politics on the left. Emma Norton argues ‘Identity politics and raunch culture have had a corrosive effect on left-wing politics’.
This focus on individualism has lead the left to a terrible perspective on the sex industry. Norton quotes Symeon Brown from his book on influencer culture ‘At the heart of this movement (pro-sex work) is the questionable belief that anything that makes a woman rich is empowering for all women.’ Instead of looking at the sexist impact of the sex industry as a whole and the fact that prostitution is economic coercion, the left has adopted an idea that sex work an ‘empowering choice’ that an individual woman can make. This is total crap that needs to be rejected.
I’ve always opposed sex work, even before I was a socialist because it was just common sense for me. Seeing only fans influencers claim what they do is ‘liberating’ pissed me off in the extreme. But I still learnt a lot from this, especially that the blame should be pointed at the industry and the customers first and foremost. Despite a small number of women who sanitise the industry and make a lot of money from it, the majority of women are economically coerced into sex work. I found very useful the comparison between the sex industry and other fucked up capitalist industries like mining or weaponry. Socialists should fight against these terrible industries. That doesn’t mean socialists condemn the workers who are forced to work within them to survive. It also doesn’t mean we allow the industry to flourish, the industry should be restricted.
It’s impossible to say everything good about this article because it is all great, just a must read.
‘Marxism and national liberation’ is another standout. Mick looks at the history of socialist theory on national liberation and how Stalinism distorted this tradition.
Socialists fighting within national liberation movements should always seek to take these movements to their furthest conclusion- socialist revolution. Socialists should be clear that ruling classes- no matter how oppressed by others still oppress their domestic population and do not share the same interests as them. When push comes to shove, capitalists would prefer to remain subordinate in the world order than have their system of private property threatened. This is why many national liberation movements have ended in betrayal and bloodshed. After the masses rise up to combat imperialist domination, the ruling class seeks to stabilise the system and protect it. This means repressing the masses who have the power to overthrow the system.
For the mass of people within an oppressed country to be truly free, socialism must be the conclusion of the struggle.
November 3, 2025
highlight articles for me were:
"marxism and national liberation"
"why socialists oppose the sex industry"
and "what is liberalism"
"marxism and national liberation"
"why socialists oppose the sex industry"
and "what is liberalism"
October 20, 2025
Articles on the national question, Palestinian Fronts and Liberalism my favourite + very clarifying.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews