Great Works: 50 Paintings Explored

Great Works: 50 Paintings Explored is a fully illustrated collection of essays on individual paintings drawn from his Great Works column in The Independent that ran from 2005 - 2010. As literary executor for the estate of Tom Lubbock I facilitated the production of Great Works together with Andrew Dunn from Frances Lincoln: proofing, editing, image calibration, working from the essay schedule set by the author

Introduction

Introduction to the memoir Until Further Notice, I am Alive, by Tom Lubbock, art critic of the Independent. The work is a record of two years following diagnosis of a brain tumour. It is a meditation on language and mortality and was published by Granta in 2012 to great acclaim. I wrote the 2200 word introduction, giving the text the contextual framework of an experience both of us lived through

Will the electoral system continue to ‘skew’ towards Labour in 2015?

With less than one week to go until polling day, and irrespective of the fact that the polls are extremely close (they are), we should focus on whether the electoral system helps one or other of the two largest parties, argues Tom Lubbock. In recent years the system has had a skew to Labour resulting from its biases. Will it this time around

The new “skew” of the electoral system in 2015

Historically, the electoral system has tended to help Labour in the way it translates votes into seats. In 2015, the skew changed, giving a significant advantage to the Conservatives, argues Tom Lubbock

Thinking specifically about your own constituency…

The 2015 election has seen more constituency-level opinion polls than any previous election, most of which have been administered by Lord Ashcroft. In this post, Tom Lubbock examines the differences in reported vote intention when those polled are asked to think about the candidates in their specific constituency, rather than a more general question. The results suggest significant differences from national polls, particularly for the Liberal Democrats

Imperialism and the Geopolitics of COVID-19 in Venezuela

The impact of COVID-19 in Venezuela has merely compounded an already existing health crisis within the country. Like the rest of the Venezuelan economy and society, the breakdown of the healthcare system is largely due to the legacy of class conflict and the contradictions of Bolivarian oil-dependent development policy, which finally came to breaking point with the end of the commodity super-cycle. And yet, despite the domestic sources of the crisis, the current unfolding of the COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela is inherently geopolitical in nature. Central to this story is the manner in which Venezuela’s domestic and electoral dynamics have become inextricably embedded within the ‘imperialist chain’ centred on Washington. The conflict between chavista and opposition forces, the constitutional crisis of 2017, the unilateral declaration of Juan Guaidó as ‘interim president’ in 2019, and an intensified sanctions regime are all differentially conditioned by US imperial strategy. This paper will unpack the interconnections between the domestic and international dynamics of Venezuela’s socio-political crisis, explore the ways in which COVID-19 has been weaponised by the Trump administration, and attempt to understand the prospects for radical political renewal under conditions of increasing geopolitical conflict

Women and Men in Rural Finance in the Syrian Arab Republic: State-Owned Banking vs. Self-Managed Microfinance

Policymakers in Syria are seriously concerned (a) about social equality and equal opportunities for women and men; and (b) about the effectiveness of financial institutions in providing adequate services to men, women and youth to fight poverty and reduce unemployment. Considerable social progress has been achieved in terms of social indicators; but wide gaps persist in terms of economic opportunities for women and men. A private banking law, presently before parliament, is expected to lead to thourough reforms of state-controlled banks --

Spaces of agrarian struggle : ALBA, La Via Campesina and the politics of 'food sovereignity'

This thesis offers an in-depth analysis of the political project of ‘food sovereignty’ within the Latin American regional institution of ALBA (Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América: Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America). As a means of navigating ALBA’s agrarian transformation, the thesis employs a broadly historical materialist approach to the analysis of class struggle and sociopolitical change in the context of realizing a new food sovereignty regime. Drawing primarily on a neo-Poulantzian perspective, the analysis opens up the question of the bureaucratic state itself – as a condensation of class relations and hegemonic discourses – through the tripartite lens of rights, territory and sovereignty. Such coordinates are key areas of contestation for food sovereignty protagonists, who not only struggle against the power of landed capital but also the concentrated force of state power. To ground these theoretical parameters, the empirical data draws upon fieldwork carried out in Venezuela (the economic and ideological center of the ALBA bloc). Through an examination of social movements, peasant producers and activists, educational/pedagogical institutions promoting the practices of food sovereignty, and workers within ALBA’s rice producing factory network, the study offers a multifaceted account of the complex and contradictory transition away from capitalist agriculture and towards a new food regime embedded within structures of popular empowerment. From this analysis, the thesis uncovers a number of critical findings that are not often acknowledged within the ALBA literature; namely, that while the role of the ‘post-liberal’ state has been a key actor in the improvement of social wellbeing, popular classes find their greatest challenge in the form of the strong, bureaucratic state. Such a contradiction – between state-as-ally and state-as-nemesis – speaks directly to the Poulantzian problematic of ‘democratic socialism’, and the challenge of engaging with state institutions in order to dissolve their very logic. The study therefore offers important lessons with respect to the limits and prospects of building ‘socialism in the 21st century’

Women and Men in Rural Microfinance: The Case of Jordan

Rajwa is a 50 years old widow in the area of Karak, with five children. Her husband died 10 years ago. In January 2000, she received a collateral-free loan of JD 2,100 (US$ 3,000) from the ACC/IFAD Income Diversification Project, repayable over 8 years. She bought 20 sheep, which have increased to 24, and went into dairy production. By September 2001, she had sold only 2 kg of goat butter and 6 kg of jameed. Everybody produces jameed and butter, there is no market, she says. She has made two payments of JD 30 each, which covers less than the interest due. ACC keeps writing letters and visiting her, but to no avail. With a loan of JD 200 for 8 months, less than one-tenth of the actual loan amount and period, Rajwa could have purchased the equipment and bought milk for dairy production instead of raising sheep. This would have given her the opportunity of testing the market and her entrepreneurial skills at a manageable risk. Now she is stuck with a bad loan and ineligible for another to go into a more profitable line of business. It was the loan terms imposed on her that made her start big - and fail big. She would like to apply for a loan to buy a sewing machine at a cost JD 120; but she is a defaulter, and the amount is too small to be financed from an ACC loan. --