Somebody once said to Lenin that war is terrible, to which he replied: “yes, terribly profitable”. Alan Woods continues his series on the First World War by looking at the role of the USA, which played the role of chief usurer and quartermaster to the European belligerents.
The recent death of more than 800 people as a result of a capsized fishing boat near the Italian island of Lampedusa brings the death toll of people attempting to reach Europe by boat in 2015 alone to 1,600. As Hamid Alizadeh explains, this tragic event highlights the dramatic situation that has developed in Africa and the Middle East after years of imperialist meddling.
On Thursday 2nd April, Iran and the world’s most powerful nations signed a preliminary outline agreement about Iran’s nuclear programme. This marks the beginning of the end of a 12 year standoff between the US and Iran. Hamid Alizadeh asks: what interests lie behind the negotiations and what does the deal mean?
In this recording from the Southampton Marxist Society, Jorge Martin – of the International Marxist Tendency – discusses the euro crisis, the recent political movements in Spain and Greece, and the rise of radical left parties such as SYRIZA and Podemos.
On Wednesday April 15th, over 50 people attended the premiere of the Telesur documentary “Hugo Chavez: a portrait from Europe”, co-organised by Hands off Venezuela and the Marxist Student Federation, with discussion following on the recent sanctions levied by American imperialism against the Bolivarian revolution.
Alan Woods provides a Marxist analysis of the national question in the context of Scotland. Despite the defeat of the Yes campaign, the referendum on Scottish independence was a political earthquake, which has transformed the landscape of British politics for years to come.
As the 2014-15 football season drags towards its end, all the top flight clubs are basking in the glory of the nice fat TV deal which has been concluded. Football supporters and those watching games on TV will be less happy, however, as ticket prices and subscription rates increase even further. Steve Jones asks, whatever happened to football being “the working man’s game”?
At their manifesto launch this week, the Green Party called for a “peaceful political revolution”, announcing a range of progressive reforms designed to challenge austerity and an economy “being run for the benefit of the few, not the many”. Matt Rider of the Swansea Marxists looks at the Greens’ manifesto promises and analyses how can we fight for these demands.
Barely more than two years after the British working class celebrated the demise of one of their bitterest enemies, Thatcher’s toxic spirit lives on in the Tories’ recent proposal to extend her Right to Buy policy to Housing Association properties. Sam Ashton explains how the crisis of housing is yet another reflection of the crisis of capitalism.
As the General Election approaches, there is little enthusiasm amongst ordinary people for any of the main parties and the programme of austerity that they share. There was plenty of revolutionary enthusiasm on display, however, at this year’s conference of Socialist Appeal supporters, attended by around 140 comrades and hosted by the SOAS Marxist Society.
Luke Wilson looks at the Mars One project, which aims to send a group of humans on a one-way trip to the Red Planet. Far from being a reflection of optimism in society, this reality TV-show exploration is an expression of the alienation and pessimism felt by most in this period of senile capitalist decay.
We publish here a report from a worker who recently spent three months upon a cruise-liner, who explains the horrific and exploitative conditions within this highly profitable section of the tourism industry. Whilst workers toil below the deck, the owners reap in the profits.