In this talk, Jack Tye Wilson provides a Marxist response to Stalin’s “theory” of ‘socialism in one country’, and outlines the disastrous consequences of the Comintern’s abandonment of internationalism.

Based on the tragic events of the 1925-27 Chinese revolution, Bertolt Brecht’s ‘The Decision’ provides a powerful commentary on the betrayals of Stalinism and the idea of revolutionary sacrifice – something that liberal critics cannot understand.

The Spanish Civil War began on this date in 1936 with the beginning of the coup by General Franco. The fascist forces could have been defeated, with the working class rising up and fighting back. But their heroism was betrayed by the Stalinists.