We are frequently told that the working class is no more and that class in 21st century Britain is simply a matter of social tastes. We are supposedly “all middle class now”. Martin Hall of the Bristol Marxists examines the real nature of class in British society today.
Luxury goods brands have posted falls both in growth and profits in the recent period, down from record highs. That the sales of luxuries have been booming in a period of global recession for the past few years appears remarkable in itself. This contradictory phenomenon, and its more recent decline, gives an insight into one aspect of the capitalist crisis.
Ninety years ago, on 21st January 1924, Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Russian Revolution, died from complications arising from an earlier assassin’s bullet. Rob Sewell looks back at the life and ideas of Lenin, the great Marxist and revolutionary leader.
The world economy has been mired in a deep crisis since 2007. The bourgeoisie have tried everything to climb out of the crisis, from quantitative easing, to zero interest rates, to the socialization of banking losses, but all to no avail. Luca Lombardi of the Italian Marxists Falce Martello asks: why is it that a modern-day version of Keynesianism cannot work?
Friday 17th January 2014 marked the 53rd anniversary of the assassination of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s first democratically elected Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, who after being beaten and tortured for days, was finally shot. Nelson Wan of the QMUL Marxists looks back at the life and revolutionary ideas of this historic Congolese leader.
As the New Year dawns, memories are reawakening of another New Year, exactly a century ago, the dawn of 1914 when millions of people were drifting towards the abyss as if in a dream. Alan Woods looks back at the beginnings of the First World War and examines the possibilities of world war today.
Rob Sewell – editor of Socialist Appeal and author of “In the Cause of Labour” – looks back at the Great Crash of 1929, which marked the beginning of the Great Depression, and asks what lessons we can learn today in terms of looking at the current crisis of capitalism.
What is value? This question has perplexed the human mind for more than 2,000 years. The classical bourgeois economists grappled with the question, as did Marx. Rob Sewell looks at Marx’s Labour Theory of Value and provides a defence of these economic ideas against attacks from modern day critics.
Tory Education Secretary Michael Gove, on account of the approaching 100th anniversary of the First World War, has taken the opportunity to denounce what he has claimed are attempts to write out the glory and heroism of WW1 in the education system. Ajmal Waqif provides a Marxist analysis of the real history behind the First World War.
The energy scandal and the profiteering of the six giant companies – which control 98% of the market – really highlights the choices between heating and eating that increasing millions of people have to face. Darrall Cozens looks at this “new normality” under capitalism for ordinary working class families.
As 2013 came to a close, many economists and politicians drew a collective sigh of relief: the Eurozone remains in one piece; the USA has not defaulted; and a triple-dip recession was avoided in Britain- there is even much talk of a recovery! But for the more far-sighted commentators amongst the bourgeoisie, the New Year – far from offering any light at the end of the tunnel – simply brings with it increasing uncertainty, instability, and crisis.
The conservative government in Spain has recently abolished the right to abortion in the country after a long campaign of demagogy and reaction. The response in cities across Spain has been immediate, with tens of thousands protesting against this new change to the law. Julia Vidania of the Edinburgh Marxists reports on the recent solidarity demonstration in Scotland against the Spanish abortion ban.