Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Rising authoritarianism and the drive to war pose new challenges for the daily paper of the left
Morning Star editor BEN CHACKO outlines the role and challenges facing the Daily Miracle in a world growing dark
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
THIS weekend, local demonstrations for Palestine will take place up and down the country.
At many of them you may see a supporter handing out Morning Stars. That tells you two things about our newspaper: that it is an agitational activist’s tool, providing those fighting for peace and socialism with the information and arguments to take to the movement; and that its promotion rests very heavily on its readers, who through readers’ and supporters’ groups nationwide help to sell, distribute and raise funds to keep the Daily Miracle going.
Other papers are handed out at demos — but the Morning Star is the only daily socialist newspaper in the English-speaking world. We will often do a free distribution at major events, but our survival relies on regular paying readers, both in print through shops (any newsagent will order it in for you if you ask, while home news delivery is increasingly available across Britain) and through online subscription. And we need more of them.
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BEN CHACKO says in different ways, the centenary of the General Strike and that of Fidel Castro’s birth point to priority tasks for the British left in the coming year
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Our charter’s demands for fair pay, affordable housing and environmental security will recruit working-class youth into the political struggle for socialism, emulating the success of the Women’s Charter, writes YCL general secretary GEORGINA ANDREWS