The rich are getting even richer and the poor are getting even poorer. This is the conclusion of a new report on inequality produced by Oxfam, which confirms that the richest 1% of the world’s population, based on current trends, will soon own over half the world’s wealth – that is, more than the other 99% of us have put together.
In the final part of his series on Marx’s Capital, Adam Booth tries to answer the question of how capitalism initially arose. In what way was an initial disparity and inequality created to allow for the laws of capitalism to set in? It is this issue of “primitive accumulation” that Marx turns to in chapters 26-33.
In this talk at the Southampton Marxist Society, Marx David – of the Oxford Marxists – looks at the contrasting ideas of Marxism and Anarchism, examining their similarities and their differences, and discussing the relevance of these different revolutionary theories in terms of how to change and transform society today.
In April 1961, Yuri Gagarin, the Russian cosmonaught, became the first person in space. Flight, and later space travel, were once viewed as an indication of humanity’s progress and ability to overcome even the most enormous of obstacles. But the recent explosions of two private space ventures demonstrate the barrier that capitalism has become in our exploration of the stars.
The vicious cycle of state and individual terror continues unabated. Now France has been pulled violently into the maelstrom. The Marxists have long explained that imperialism and Islamic fundamentalism are two aspects of the same reactionary phenomenon—the decay and decline of capitalism—which threatens to take the whole of humanity down with it.
Recently released figures demonstrate that the number of children being admitted to hospital in England for self-harm is at a five-year high. Similar statistics for suicides demonstrate the same trend. Lee Singh Gill looks at these figures, which provide a graphic picture of the increasing feeling of hopelessness, despair, and alienation felt by youth under capitalism today.
Over the weekend several million people took part in demonstrations in Paris and many provincial cities of France to show solidarity with the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack. The magnitude of the protests is an indication of the profound malaise which for years has been developing below the surface of French society.
The scandal enveloping Prince Andrew and his paedophile friend, Jeffrey Epstein, has shone an unwelcome spotlight on the festering corners of Britain’s rotten Establishment. Ben Curry of the Leeds Marxists examines the latest episode in the neverending tale of Establishment sleeze and depravity.
In an article originally written and published last Friday, Alan Woods – editor of In Defence of Marxism – looks at the impact of the latest events in France, where two armed gunmen attacked staff and security at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper, killing a dozen people and injuring many more. These events have sent shock waves across France, the whole of Europe, and beyond.
The terrorist attack against the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo has caused a huge wave of anger and indignation throughout France. The labour movement, however, must not let this horrific attack be used as an excuse for the hypocrisy, racism, and exploitation of the ruling class.
Adam Booth contrasts the economic theories of Thomas Piketty with those of Karl Marx.
With the biggest squeeze on living standards for 100 years now being promised by the coalition government, the next 12 months will bring little relief to working class families in Britain. The crisis is about to enter a new relentless phase of mega-austerity. Rob Sewell analyses what’s in store for workers and youth in Britain in 2015.