Seeking a non TRA/identity politics periodical

[Victoriapestis]

I recently subscribed to the Spectator because of its coverage of trans issues. My middle child (dd) (14) has really taken to it. Worryingly.

This is obviously not at all good. I do not want to breed the next Iron Lady. So I want to subscribe to a socialist leaning periodical for her. Not one that supports self Id or promotes identity politics (because I think they are cynically used by those in power to distract attention from the gulf between rich and poor, and the undermining of democracy). An old fashioned one that talks about redistribution and tax and the welfare state and looks at income gaps.

Is there such a thing? As a young person I read the New Internationalist and the New Statesman but the last time I saw them they had climbed up their own backsides.

Any suggestions gratefully received!

As a young person I read the New Internationalist

Me too. Regular subscriber at uni and bought back issues going back to the 80s. Last time I looked sent me into a deep despair.

I used to buy Red Pepper but that's gone full woke now.

Has Socialism Today caved?

There's always a risk of teenage rebellion. My parent's are proper old school lefties with my mum also being a CND/Greenpeace hippy type.

So as a teenager I would either have had to go full communist which considering my great grandfather was one wouldn't have exactly been rebelling, or move slightly to the right just to get a reaction.

This manifested itself in reading the Economist, decorating my room like an office and being very into the free market and leaning towards libertarianism.

Anyway, long story short. Pushing the left wing stuff might have the opposite effect.

The Guardian (I know, sorry) had an article the other day which concluded:

Cox added that the findings showed that “traditional left-right politics is being flipped on its head, as under-45s back lower taxes and a smaller state, despite overwhelmingly voting Labour in the last election, while Conservative-leaning voters over 65 back higher taxes and spending”.

Perhaps I should buy her a giant poster of Rod Liddle. Kill or cure.

I think a big Jacob Rees-Mogg is what you're after.

I'm not kidding. William Rees-Mogg's The Sovereign Individual was exactly the sort of thing that appealed to my rebellious self. Even now after moving leftwards I still feel the lure of hoisting the black flag and saying "bugger society, it's me and mine".

I think the New Statesman is okay actually - we get the print version which is much higher quality writing than the online version. Quite a spread of views though I guess the spread only goes from centre-left to left-left. So the Spectator and the New Statesman would make good companion pieces, maybe! I pick up Prospect at the library sometimes.

What about "The Week"? Non political so a broad range of views

Prospect? Might be heavy going for 14 and not as lefty as you might want.

Private Eye? That skewers everyone...

My husband had a subscription to the New Statesman for, iirc, over 25 years. He gave it up, in disgust, about 2 years ago. Yes, there were still some decent articles in there from time to time but the whole tenor of the magazine had shifted right.

I don't know if George Eaton is still the Editor - I used to follow Eaton on twitter for that reason, until I finally had to give in and drop him in the arsehole bin.