23 November
The first recorded strike in history is said to have taken place on this day in 1170 BCE, during the sixth month of the 29th year of the reign of Rameses III.
Workers in the Valley of the Kings necropolis in Egypt downed tools after the government failed to pay them their agreed grain allowance for 20 days. It was to take several stoppages before they eventually won all that was owed to them.
They say the pharaohs built the pyramids.
Do you think one pharaoh dropped one bead of sweat?
We built the pyramids for the pharaohs
And we’re building for them yet.
– Anna Louise Strong
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#231: People, Power, Place ● International perspectives on municipalism ● 150 years since the Paris Commune ●100 years since partition in Ireland ● Re-thinking home in a pandemic ● Moving arts online ● Simon Hedges’s vaccine ● Latest book reviews ● And much more!
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The Bastard State
A hundred years on from partition, Pádraig Ó Meiscill diagnoses the many ills of past and present Northern Ireland
Terrible films about the Troubles
Taking a cinematic tour of predictable plots and improbable accents, Stephen Hackett finds himself asking: hasn’t Ulster suffered enough?
‘Global Britain’, aggressive imperialism and draconian policing
Belligerent abroad and oppressive at home, the government's rhetoric is being gradually cemented into law. Protest is the only response, writes Rohan Rice
Simon Hedges is jabbing away
Our 'Award Winning' columnist tries to trick his father into getting the vaccine, saying it will protect him from 'cancel culture'
Low traffic neighbourhoods: Making fairer, safer, cities
Low traffic neighbourhoods are part of building a fairer city, argues Rachel Aldred
Review – Misbehaving
A new edited volume emphasises that the personal is political and highlights the power of spectacular direct action, says Alice Robson
