Class Struggle or Conspiracy? Black helicopters, Area 51, the Illuminati, Freemasons, “lizard people,” and the New World Order—these are the building blocks of what are called conspiracy theories. These “theories” are not actually theories at all, in a scientific sense, but are generally formed from a strange—and often extremely inventive—connecting of unconnected dots.
Gore Vidal: a belated obituary On 31 July Gore Vidal died at his home in Los Angeles from complications arising from pneumonia. He was 86 and had been ill for some time. As I was away on holiday at the time, I did not find out about this till later. The comrades in charge of Marxist.com decided to republish an article I had written in July 2002 with the title The decline and fall of the American empire, based on a television interview with the American writer.
Conserving Culture Under Capitalism The effects of the capitalist crisis are being felt at every level of society. As reported in a Time magazine article in April, this also includes the preservation of historical sites. As the cash-strapped European states race to cut public spending and slash budgets, the historical achievements of mankind crumble under paltry allotments for cultural preservation.
