billy-anania

3626 Articles by:

Billy Anania

Billy Anania is an art critic, editor, and journalist in New York City.

Opening New Worlds for Workers

A century ago, trade unionists founded the Workers Travel Association, which organised cheap, luxurious holidays in the belief that discovery and adventure should be for the masses – not just the wealthy.

A Materialist History of Sicily

Historically distinct from the Italian mainland and famed for its Mafia, Sicily inhabits a particular place in political culture. Today, the traditionally conservative island is resisting a national shift to the right.

A Letter from Santiago

In central Santiago, the ‘social explosion’ of 2019 has had consequences ranging from a Communist mayor to an overwhelming vote for a new constitution to replace that of General Pinochet – and red scare tactics aren’t working.

New Fronts, Old Wars

The history of the British trans community is usually told through non-fiction, as a way of convincing people it has a right to even exist. Juliet Jacques’ ‘Variations’ tries to move beyond the Right’s culture-war turf.

Economies Without Libidos

Keti Chukhrov’s book ‘Practising the Good’ argues that the Soviet Union really did build socialism, and that westerners have been blinded to this because they can’t imagine a society without ‘desire’. How seriously should this be taken?

Slum Diets

The pandemic has led to sudden changes in how we eat, from stockpiling to ordering from (or working for) Deliveroo – but it also showed the survival of a Victorian contempt for the ‘undeserving poor’.

Moulding the New Nye Bevans

Today’s labour movement struggles to create leaders with the politics or influence needed to take us forward – to change that, we need to rejuvenate the workplace and community institutions which shaped yesterday’s fighters.

Against Privilege

The Left’s embrace of a paper-thin representation politics has now been turned against us, as figures from the Centre and even the Right learn how to co-opt activist rhetoric. If we want to build a movement that can challenge the establishment, we’ll need to do more than criticise privilege.

We Still Need the Party

For anyone serious about socialist politics or building community power, the Labour Party remains a vital field of struggle – whether we like it or not.