In 1215, King John I of England signed a document known as the Great Charter – Magna Carta. As a legal document, it has attained a near-legendary status as a symbol of the supposed power of the rule of law. Ben Glineicki looks at the significance of this 800-year-old document and examines the history of the law and class society.
We publish here an article by the Marxist Student Federation, which examines the causes behind the cuts and attacks on education. These are not ideological, but flow from the laws and logic of capitalism. The fight for free education is the fight for socialism.
After years of monotonous two-party ping-pong, American politics has started to get interesting. Just a few months ago, the presidential election was shaping up to be a snoozefest between yet another Bush and another Clinton. However, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump—and above all, the American electorate—had other ideas.
After participating in the despicable, racist bile being thrown at the thousands of desperate refugees making their way to Europe, David Cameron has announced that he will allow 20,000 people to find refuge in Britain. This announcement is the very definition of a political fudge, but it is one which will have fatal consequences for many innocent people.
#CutTheCosts is the latest political campaign set up by NUS, the aim of which is to force the government to u-turn on its planned scrapping of maintenance grants. Ed Taylor of the Sheffield Marxists explains how the fight for free education and a living grant is a fight for socialism.
Socialist Appeal invites you to a weekend of revolutionary ideas, hosted by the Marxist Student Federation in London over the weekend of 23-25th October. With the world economy on the verge of another deep slump, and with political earthquakes shaking the establishment in Britain, there has never been a better time for the revolutionary ideas of Marxism. Buy your ticket today!
100 years ago, on 5th September 1915, a small group of international socialists gathered in the tiny Swiss village of Zimmerwald. This was the first attempt to unite those socialists – such as Lenin and Luxemburg – who were opposed to the War, and was the embryo of the Communist International. Alan Woods explains the historical significance of Zimmerwald.
The current refugee crisis has brought out some of the horrors of capitalist society, as well as the contrast between the basic human solidarity of ordinary working people and the cold calculation and callousness of capitalist rulers in Europe and elsewhere, as this statement from the International Marxist Tendency explains.
Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal, looks at the ongoing crisis of capitalism, the growing inequality in the world today, and the potential for transforming our lives on the basis of modern technology, and explains why you should join the fight for the revolutionary socialist transformation of society.
We publish here an article by Emanuel Tomaselli of the Austrian Marxists Der Funke, who looks at the imperialist forces behind the refugee crisis, as thousands of victims of war and poverty flee their homes. Despite the reactionary racist rhetoric of the right-wing parties and press, workers and youth across Europe are protesting against attempts to ban these refugees.
Earlier this week, thousands of Labour members received an email from John Prescott, the former New Labour deputy leader, encouraging voters to back Burnham for Labour leader. Darrall Cozens, a long-standing member of the Labour Party, replies to Prescott and calls on workers and youth to vote for Corbyn and fight for socialism!