Soundings 45

Soundings 45 is now out
Although the cuts are coming, there has been an eerie political calm and sense of inevitability about all that is in store for us (carefully nurtured by the Coalition and their allies in the media). But the storm will break - people are going to start seriously suffering and we need to ensure that there is a political battle against the assault planned by the government. Can Labour lead this battle?

Contributors in this issue chart some of the debates, look at the prospects for Labour revival, discuss the financial crisis and outline the problems in carbon trading - a classic example of the failure of market solutions. We also carry an extended discussion on the importance of Luc Boltanksi and Eve Chiapello's The New Spirit of Capitalism; a defence of ethical socialism and the legacy of William Morris; a meditation on the problems faced by the generation that grew up with New Labour; and a thought-provoking article by Vron Ware about the ways in which the lives and deaths of individual soldiers have become ever more central to debates about Britain's wars.

CONTENTS
The political struggle ahead Doreen Massey
Labour in a time of coalition Sally Davison, Stuart Hall, Michael Rustin, Jonathan Rutherford
What comes after New Labour? Gerry Hassan
The SNP and the 'new politics' Richard Thompson
Rebuilding social democracy George Irvin
Greek myths Duncan Weldon
Money manager capitalism and the global financial crisis L. Randall Wray
Carbon trading: how it works and why it fails Oscar Reyes and Tamra Gilbertson
Why I am a socialist Ruth Levitas
Smile till it hurts Laurie Penny
Lives on the line Vron Ware