A Better World Is Possible

Welcome to Black Dwarf, an online magazine that looks forward to a better world.  

Black Dwarf was the name of a journal that was first circulated in the UK around the time of the Peterloo Massacre of 1816 and the Scottish revolution of 1820. It was read by working people and intellectuals alike, who sought to oppose and overthrow the reactionary government headed by Lord Liverpool.  

The Dwarf was part of a great radical tradition within British politics, starting with the Levellers and continuing with the Chartist movement. The journal's name and tradition were revived during the youth radicalistaion of the 1960s. It became a voice for the anti-Vietnam war movement and the new rise of world revolution that was marked so dramatically by the pre-revolutionary crisis in France between May and June, 1968.

It was a profoundly anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist journal that embraced the Cuban revolution, the ideas of Che Guevara, and the growing labour militancy represented by the strike wave of the late 1960s.  

Black Dwarf today stands proudly on the shoulders of this great revolutionary socialist tradition. As you can see from the contents, it covers a broad spectrum of national and international issues, analysed in depth from a working class point of view. The invaluable historical research carried out by the journal provides a solid basis for understanding contemporary crises and movements.  

Many of these articles provide the bases for books authored by the editor, Brian Lyons. By bringing the material together under one cover, these books allow you to read or study the issues pertaining to a broader topic or theme. Bound together in a professionally designed cover, they provide a hard copy which is instantly accessible.

Besides the articles and books, the journal is also home to a library of historical literature, ranging from the Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels through to selected writings and speeches of Lenin, Trotsky, Che Guevara and other revolutionary fighters of the 20th century. The library is just starting its collection, so look out for more additions over the coming weeks and months.