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Nathaniel Flakin

Nathaniel is a freelance journalist and historian from Berlin. He is on the editorial board of Left Voice and our German sister site Klasse Gegen Klasse. Nathaniel, also known by the nickname Wladek, has written a biography of Martin Monath, a Trotskyist resistance fighter in France during World War II, which has appeared in German, in English, and in French. He is on the autism spectrum.

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Berlin Police Attack Jews and Palestinians Commemorating the Nakba

On the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, the Berlin police banned all Palestinian demonstrations, and broke up a demonstration of Jewish Berliners in solidarity with Palestinians.

Nathaniel Flakin

May 22, 2023

There’s No Democracy Under Apartheid

75 years after its founding, the state of Israel is being rocked by massive protests in defense of democracy. Yet Israel never was a democracy — and never can be.

Nathaniel Flakin

May 15, 2023

Not Syriza, Not Podemos, But a Working-Class Party Fighting for Socialism

What lessons can U.S. socialists draw from the experiences of Syriza, Podemos, and other broad left parties? Nathaniel Flakin and Jimena Vergara of Left Voice respond to Andrew Sernatinger of Tempest.

Nathaniel Flakin

April 18, 2023

On Monday, Germany Will Experience a “Mega-Strike”

On March 27, German railway workers and public sector employees will shut down the whole country. All trains are being canceled. Airports, freeways, hospitals, and daycare centers will all be affected.

Nathaniel Flakin

March 25, 2023

Turning the Greatest Anti-war Novel Ever into Bourgeois Propaganda

All Quiet on the Western Front won four Oscars, and it’s not hard to see why. The production — depicting the horrors of World War I — is spectacular. Yet the producers did not at all understand Erich Maria Remarque’s novel. Spoilers follow.

Nathaniel Flakin

March 16, 2023

Pro-NATO Positions Split a Trotskyist Tendency

The war in Ukraine has led to intense debates on the international socialist Left. In November, the Socialist Labor Party (SEP) of Turkey announced it was breaking with the Socialist Workers Movement (MST) of Argentina, in a serious blow to their common project, the International Socialist League (ISL-LIS). What can we learn from this split?

Nathaniel Flakin

March 10, 2023

Berlin’s Repeat Elections: Racist Campaign Pushes the City to the Right

Last Sunday, the conservative party won the most votes in Berlin’s local elections. It remains unclear who will be the city’s next mayor.

Nathaniel Flakin

February 19, 2023

150 Young People in Berlin Break from Reformism

A conference last Saturday discussed a “revolutionary break” from Germany’s Left Party, Die Linke.

Nathaniel Flakin

January 18, 2023

A Revolutionary Break from Die Linke in Germany

Germany’s Left Party is in a profound crisis. This weekend, over 100 young people are gathering in Berlin for a conference. Their goal is to break from Die Linke and begin building a revolutionary organization.

Nathaniel Flakin

January 11, 2023

The Supreme Court Is the Opposite of Democracy

Silly outfits, even sillier titles, and a complete lack of accountability: the highest court in the United States was designed as a counterweight to democracy.

Nathaniel Flakin

December 21, 2022

Broad Left Parties Are a Dead End

Syriza, Podemos, and other broad left parties were supposed to help socialists increase their influence. The record has been pretty dismal. A debate with Tempest.

Nathaniel Flakin

December 11, 2022

What Will Communism Look Like in New York City?

The new novel Everything for Everyone tells the story of a global insurrection against capitalism starting in 2052. It's not only entertaining — it's a good opportunity to think about revolutionary strategy.

Nathaniel Flakin

November 23, 2022

Thousands of Workers and Young People Participate in Socialist-led Assemblies across Argentina

Last weekend, the Party for Socialist Workers (PTS) in Argentina held over 100 democratic and open assemblies in cities and towns across the country to debate the inflationary crisis, government’s the austerity program, and a working-class solution.

Nathaniel Flakin

November 15, 2022

500 People Attend Trotskyist Summer Camp in France

Révolution Permanente, the sister site of Left Voice in France, held its first Summer University. Participants discussed building a new revolutionary organization in France.

Nathaniel Flakin

September 3, 2022

Germany Is Still Run by Nazi Billionaires

Nazi Billionaires, a new book by Bloomberg journalist David de Jong reminds us who runs Germany: the grandchildren of war criminals.

Nathaniel Flakin

August 20, 2022

Eric Blanc vs. Kshama Sawant: On Democracy, Autocracy, and Socialism

At a recent online debate, two prominent U.S. socialists hashed out the question of reform vs. revolution. Eric Blanc repeated dried-out reformist ideas. Kshama Sawant offered revolutionary criticism — but with some important limitations.

Nathaniel Flakin

August 19, 2022

Ruth Fischer: The Ongoing Fascination of the Ultra-left

Ruth Fischer was the chairwoman of the Communist Party of Germany in the mid-1920s, before she became a supporter of McCarthy. Her ultra-left policies continue to provoke discussions among socialists. A massive biography by Mario Keßler offers some lessons for revolutionary strategy today.

Nathaniel Flakin

July 3, 2022

Thousands Protest against G7 Summit in Germany

The leaders of the seven most powerful imperialist countries are meeting in the Alps. These seven men stand for environmental destruction and militarism like no one else. That’s why protests were guaranteed.

Nathaniel Flakin

June 28, 2022

The Strange Story of Trotskyism in the Alps

A new book in German tells the story of the Trotskyist movement in Switzerland from 1945 to 1968. It includes the strangest case of infiltration since the founding of the Fourth International.

Nathaniel Flakin

June 23, 2022

Open Letter to a Newborn Child: Why You Were Born on a Burning Planet

I just had my first kid. In 12 or 15 years, they might ask what we were thinking, giving what we knew about climate change. I've written down my thoughts in a letter.

Nathaniel Flakin

May 30, 2022

Reading Rosa Luxemburg’s ‘Junius Pamphlet’ in Times of War

While she was in prison in 1915, Rosa Luxemburg wrote an underground pamphlet titled The Crisis of German Social Democracy. As war rages in Europe, this text has many important insights for socialists.

Nathaniel Flakin

May 26, 2022

On the Anniversary of the Nakba, Berlin Police Ban All Pro-Palestinian Demonstrations

This is an unprecedented attack on the freedom of assembly, and it is being carried out by a "left-wing" government. Several hundred people defied the ban — and 59 were detained by police.

Nathaniel Flakin

May 16, 2022

Forty Years since Thatcher’s War Against Argentina — Lessons for Today

On April 5, 1982, the British government of Margaret Thatcher sent an armada into the South Atlantic. The war against Argentina ended with a defeat for the world working class. The results highlight why, for Marxists, anti-imperialism remains central to liberation.

Nathaniel Flakin

April 5, 2022

Socialists Should Not Support Imperialist Weapons Shipments to the Ukrainian Government

As war rages in Ukraine, NATO countries are sending billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to the Zelenskyy government. These weapons shipments are incredibly popular in Western countries — even among a sector of the Left.

Nathaniel Flakin

April 2, 2022

Seize the Assets of Russian Oligarchs — And of U.S. Oligarchs Too

Russian billionaires own big swathes of New York City and London. Politicians are saying these mansions and penthouses should be seized. A great idea — but why only apply it to Russian billionaires?

Nathaniel Flakin

March 21, 2022

Russia Is Not Fighting an ‘Anti-fascist’ War — And Neither Is Ukraine

Putin says he wants to “de-Nazify” Ukraine. Zelenskyy says he is opposing a new Hitler. In reality, though, both sides are happy to work together with fascists to achieve their nationalistic goals.

Nathaniel Flakin

March 9, 2022

International Women’s Day Is a Strike Day

On March 8, lots of workers went on strike in Germany. This is what International Women's Day has always been about.

Nathaniel Flakin

March 9, 2022

Amazon Workers in Germany Go on Strike on International Women’s Day

On March 7 and March 8, workers at six Amazon warehouses across Germany went on strike.

Nathaniel Flakin

March 8, 2022

As Half a Million Berliners Protest War, Germany Expands Its Military

On Sunday, up to 500,000 people joined a demonstration in Berlin against the war in Ukraine. But it was not exactly an anti-war protest — the organizers, following the German government, were campaigning for increased militarism.

Nathaniel Flakin

February 28, 2022

Putin, Lenin, and Ukrainian Self-Determination

Vladimir Putin says Ukraine was created by Lenin — “it can rightfully be called Vladimir Lenin’s Ukraine.” A look at Lenin’s policy on self-determination shows how the current conflict could be resolved.

Nathaniel Flakin

February 23, 2022