The Life and Crimes of Winston Churchill
Current Affairs10 Touko 2022

The Life and Crimes of Winston Churchill

Tariq Ali is the author of two dozen books and his career as a public intellectual and activist stretches back to the 1960s. His new book Winston Churchill: His Times, His Crimes is an effort to demolish the "Churchill myth" that has been built up since the Thatcher years. Ali demonstrates that Churchill was:

- Not actually popular among the British public, who threw him out of office immediately at the end of World War II, and voted in the socialist Labour government instead

- A virulent white supremacist whose core political beliefs were the violent maintenance of the British empire abroad and the suppression of class struggle at home

- Not actually an opponent of fascism on principle, having highly praised Mussolini. Churchill saw the threat that Hitler posed to Europe but would happily tolerate far-right governments to stop the spread of Bolshevism

- Responsible for hideous colonial atrocities such as the Bengal famine

Ali's book is not just a myth-busting biography of Churchill, but a history of imperialism and the British working class movement, and a case study in how falsified myths are used to justify the maintenance of the existing social order. Today, everyone from Boris Johnson to Volodymyr Zelensky invokes the Churchill of legend, but we need to understand the Churchill of historical fact, and face up to the horrors of the British empire and the way that powerful countries rationalize their misdeeds with appealing self-righteous rhetoric and the turning of morally repugnant rulers into saintly icons.

A review of Ali's Winston Churchill has been published in Current Affairs here. Footage of the British public booing Churchill and chanting "We Want Labour!" can be found here.

Jaksot(600)

Current Affairs News Briefing ❧ February 20, 2026

Current Affairs News Briefing ❧ February 20, 2026

A convoy to Cuba, Grok doxxes a sex worker,  Mamdani cuts the library, Pakistan has really fast jets, MGP declares war on sea lions, Andrew is arrested, and bugs are more popular than Trump. 📰 SUBSCR...

21 Helmi 7min

Abigail Thorn of Philosophy Tube on Parasocial Relationships

Abigail Thorn of Philosophy Tube on Parasocial Relationships

Abigail Thorn is an actor, writer, and the creator of the widely acclaimed YouTube channel Philosophy Tube, where she explores politics, culture, and philosophy through performance and storytelling. S...

6 Helmi 29min

Why Conservatives Hate the Government But Love the Cops

Why Conservatives Hate the Government But Love the Cops

🦩 Use the code "15OFF" for a discount on Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership The core right-wing principle is a belief in hierarchy, not the limitation of state power. 🐍 Read ...

4 Helmi 8min

How the Right Abuses Tolkien

How the Right Abuses Tolkien

🦩 Use the code "15OFF" for a discount on Current Affairs: https://www.currentaffairs.org/membershipFor Peter Thiel, JD Vance, and other figures on today’s far right, the works of J.R.R. Tolkien have ...

30 Tammi 28min

Current Affairs News Briefing ❧ January 28, 2026

Current Affairs News Briefing ❧ January 28, 2026

EPA to stop animal testing, Palestinians go on general strike, Ye apologizes for his Nazism again, TikTok claims apparent censorship was caused by a power outage, and the government repeals workplace ...

29 Tammi 4min

Ro Khanna: “Newsom Doesn’t Want to Offend the Donor Class”

Ro Khanna: “Newsom Doesn’t Want to Offend the Donor Class”

Ro Khanna is the U.S. representative for California’s 17th Congressional district, more commonly known as “Silicon Valley.” He was a co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign in 2020, and ther...

24 Tammi 40min

How Corporations Convinced America that Litter is Our Fault

How Corporations Convinced America that Litter is Our Fault

The "Keep America Beautiful" campaign urged Americans to pick up their trash—so that companies could keep producing it.🗑️ Read the full article: https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-sinister-origi...

23 Tammi 12min

Current Affairs News Briefing ❧ January 21, 2026

Current Affairs News Briefing ❧ January 21, 2026

Climate change is sinking posh London homes, pro-Palestine protesters face felony charges, Ugandan president cuts internet during election, Trump’s new Board of Peace, and Nike’s tone-deaf MLK Day bas...

22 Tammi 6min

Suosittua kategoriassa Komedia

nikotellen
anni-jaajo
tuplakaak
antin-matka
olipa-kerran-otsikko
ihan-oikeesti
rss-saarinen-shoy
antin-palautepalvelu
antin-elokuvakerho
rss-nikotellen
puurojengi
everypodi
naakkavalta
rss-kaheli
ela-viitti
rss-kuukka-vehvilainen-hartlin
kasper-ja-mikko-suomen-suosituin-podcast
rss-ruokacast
mysteeripodcast
rss-sami-jorma