Talking Politics

By Sophia Pogorelova, Year 13

Hello! My name is Sophia and I’m a year 13 student here at Winchester. My hobbies include reading classical literature and having an absolutely unhealthy obsession with collecting vinyl records. I aspire to get into the world of international relations and political science as I'm interested in understanding the frameworks of theological thinking. Now, what is my ultimate goal? I aim to make it onto the Forbes List.

WIN TIMES promises to foster the growth, the diversity, the connection and the mana of our students, building a new community for our incredible writers and illustrators. The opportunities you will receive as either a member of the WIN TIMES team, or as a reader, will allow you to gain and develop confidence, independence and creativity. I am looking forward to reading the upcoming articles from our talented writers and encourage you all to allow your mind to wander as you take up these innovative ideas as challenges that will help you blossom in ways you have yet to imagine.

Political Philosophy

A Brief Insight into the Marxist Sphere

What comes to mind when you see the word Marxism? Essentially three things. The terms revolution, socialism, and communism are all used interchangeably. So, what's the difference between socialism and communism?

Before delving into this matter, let's get a deeper insight on its history. Engels was a businessman who spent much of his time amplifying and disseminating Marx's views. Despite the fact that he authored himself, he did so on Marxist topics. Some of Marx's most renowned publications, such as the Communist Manifesto, were co-authored with Engels. It is probably Marx's most frequently read work today.

THE TWO MARXES

It's crucial to note two things about Marx. Is it possible that there are two Marxes in the room, at least in certain ways?

There's the younger German Marx, who was a sceptic of utopian beliefs of the day and attempted to turn them on their heads. He resided in Germany and spent a lot of time in Europe trying to start revolutions. When the 1830 upheavals swept over the continent, Marx saw it as the beginning of the end. When the monarchies were restored in 1831 and 1832, he was terribly disappointed and soon in 1848, another revolution swept Europe, wherein Marx felt hopeful that capitalism would soon be over. Of course, monarchs had been re-established throughout Europe by 1851. Marx was greatly chastened after it. He was also pursued, and he was forced to flee Europe where he then spent the majority of his later years in London and began working on his critique of capitalism in a much more sober and long-term manner. And we’re going to refer to him as the English Marx. Marx, who spent many years reassessing traditional political economics in the basement of the British Museum. .

By that time, he had realized that socialist and communist revolutions were not on the horizon and that if he was to comprehend the potential of a communist revolution, he would need to interact with the processes of capitalism in a far more serious way. And so, the other thing to say about him, well, just to emphasize, is that, even though he coined the phrase scientific socialism to distinguish himself from other 19th-century idealists like Feuerbach and others… His early ideas were utopian in nature.

However, as time went on, he became increasingly disillusioned and more linked to the true political currents of the day, hoping that they would be pushed in a progressive path.

DECODING MARXISM

When we consider Marxism and Marx's theories, we should begin at the end. We should begin with the concept of communism. According to Marx, capitalism finally fell and was replaced by socialism, which served as a form of interim state on the route to communism. And, as we can see from his definition of communism in the Communist Manifesto, it is a world in which each person's free development is a precondition for the free growth of all. The condition for the free growth of each is the free development of all. But the core premise is that if your freedom is contingent on my lack of freedom, we do not live in a free society. That is why the primary organizing concept of Marxism is the concept of exploitation. We don't have a free society if your freedom is reliant on or dependent on exploiting others. As a result, communism is a vision of a society in which exploitation has been eliminated and we are all free.

The Hope Probe

Madiha Javed, Year 5

The only vision in his eye, To make the UAE touch the sky. With the spark that lights the whole world with joy, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, Took the Arab world to the stars. It took many years of hard work And then it took off on 9th February, Blast off! Zoom! The Hope Probe was on the way to Mars. The world was waiting to see the making of history, And then, with the blink of an eye, The Hope probe was in the sky. Making history and bringing honour.

The Light of the Flag

Kashaf Shahzad, Year 6

Red, white, black, green, Colours of the UAE.

Indeed, it is beautiful like the sea

And has a light to it, you must agree.

Up above with the shining stars And as you drive by in your car Mesmerized will you be By the flag of the UAE The Rulers look proudly as the country grows And with every step, there is hope Within the borders of this country The flag shines for all to see

Let the light of the flag lead the way As in the wind, it proudly sways Red, white, black, green, The beautiful colours of the UAE.

Hidden in this wordsearch are just a few of the things we wish for you in the new year. We hope you find them all!