DAVE SPART has been a stalwart of _Private Eye_, a British satirical magazine, since the 1970s. The bearded Bolshevik has never wavered in his enthusiasm for denouncing capitalism (“totally sickening”). But in recent years the _Eye_’s editors gave their fictional columnist progressively less space as the left made its peace with free markets and consumerism. Now, Mr Spart is back—not only on the pages of _Private Eye_ but in the corridors of power. Britain’s main opposition Labour Party this week held its first conference under a new, hard-left leader, Jeremy Corbyn. In Greece and Spain new left-wing parties have emerged. Greece’s Syriza has come out on top in two successive elections and Spain’s Podemos is set to make big advances in December’s general election. In the United States, Bernie Sanders, a self-described independent socialist, is making a spirited run for the Democratic nomination. And in the Vatican Pope Francis denounces the “invisible tyranny of the market” and recommends “returning the economy to the service of human beings”. Why is anti-capitalism gaining ground?...
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