Vale John Molyneux (1948-2022)

We are still in shock and sadness at John Molyneux’s sudden passing. John was the driving force in establishing the Global Ecosocialist Network, and he succeeded in bringing together ecosocialists from around the world in a spirit of genuine collaboration to shares experiences and ideas.

John was also a gifted Marxist art historian :  his collection of essays The Dialectics of Art (Chicago, Haymarket books,  2020) is an outstanding contribution to the understanding of the works by Michelangelo,  Rembrandt,  Jackson Pollock and many others. 

His openness and respect among many leftists was based on deep commitment to non – sectarianism born from the recognition that we always start based on where we can find common ground. He managed to combine a humility based on a clear sense of the balance of forces without losing the sense to be audacious at those moments where clear socialist ideas had the opportunity to punch through, the success of People Before Profits in Ireland illustrated this creativity.

John succeeded, where others may have failed, in drawing activists together from different political tendencies and backgrounds within the left and ecological movement, to strengthen the ecosocialist pole. John’s most recent contribution to this was in proposing an expansion of the GEN Steering Committee to include more participation from ecosocialists in the Asia-Pacific, US and other countries outside Britain and northern Europe.

We are committed to seeing this through and continuing John’s work.

Our deepest condolences go out to John’s partner, Mary Smith and to his family, and to all who knew and loved him as a comrade and friend.

Michael Lowy, Sabrina Fernandes, Michelle Robidoux, Ian Angus, Susan Price, Trevor Ngwane, Mani Tanoh, Tafadzwa A Choto, Rehad Desai, Jess Spear, Memet Uludag