In this recording from the 2014 International Marxist Winter School, Ben Gliniecki of the Marxist Student Federation explores what might be possible in a future socialist society – a society without the barriers of private ownership, production for profit, and the nation state that we see within capitalism today.
The so-called “Maidan revolution” was supposed to stand for democracy and Western values while fighting against corruption and the oligarchy. The actual result, as Jorge Martin explains, was that the reign of one group of oligarchs was replaced by another, and now, those who benefited from the change are fighting each other for the loot.
Varoufakis, the Greek Finance Minister, presents himself as a Marxist – albeit an “erratic” one – and is even described as such in the bourgeois media. Fred Weston analyses the arguments of Varoufakis, and demonstrates that he is, in fact, a classic reformist who believes that a solution to the present crisis can be found within the capitalist system itself, something which Marx never stood for.
That the British ruling class has fiddled whilst Britain burns is no longer a metaphor, it is literally true. Now that the Pandora’s Box of paedophilic corruption at the top has been opened, an avalanche of vile revelations exposing the whole establishment spews forth each day. Daniel Morley examines the latest news from the scandals surrounding the establishment.
In the latest part in his series on the First World War, Alan Woods examines the role of the Ottoman Empire, which joined the “Great War” on the side of the Germans. The British attempted to fight a campaign in Turkey, but were forced to retreat with their tail between their legs. Nevertheless, the old Ottoman Empire was carved up between Britain and France after the war.
The 2015 general election campaign is finally underway. This rotten parliament is now consigned to the dustbin of history after five dismal years of austerity, cuts, attacks on the poorest sections of society, corruption and scandals, and huge payouts for the super-rich. Few will mourn it’s passing. If ever a parliament reflected the decay of a system it was this one.
Ben Gliniecki reviews the latest book by radical author Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate, which explains that climate change will not be solved by market mechanisms and individual changes in consumption. What is required is a fundamental change to the way our economy works.
The statement by President Obama that Venezuela represents an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US “national security” represents an important escalation in imperialist meddling against the Bolivarian revolution. We publish here a statement by Class Struggle, the Marxist tendency in Venezuela, on these latest developments.
We publish here the annual report by the President of the Coventry Trades Union Council, Darrall Cozens, who discusses the impact of Tory austerity so far, the rising inequality in Britain and internationally, and the perspective for class struggle on the horizon.
As George Osborne, the Tory Chancellor, unveiled the last Budget before the election, one message was clear: there will be deep cuts ahead. The Chancellor may have boasted about recovery, but the vast majority of ordinary people have seen little to cheer about, in an economy dominated by exploitative, insecure and low-paid jobs.
Dave Smith, author and activist with the Blacklist Support Group, was arrested on the evening of 18th March at a peaceful demonstration against the sacking of two workers who raised concerns on the Crossrail project. A further protest has been called to show that those campaigning against the blacklist will not be intimidated by the state.
As the general election approaches, polls indicate that Labour will be hit hard in Scotland, possibly being reduced to just a handful of seats. The rise of the SNP is posing an enormous headache to Labour, who will be unable to form a majority government without their support – and yet Miliband has, under Tory pressure, ruled out a coalition.