Sir Keir Starmer thought he had a deal worked out to give the Chagos Islands ‘back’, in the interests of British and US imperialism. Donald Trump however had other ideas. Starmer faces humiliation, and the whole fiasco reveals where Britain really stands in the world.
Ahead of the May Holyrood elections, the ruling Scottish National Party is trying to make overtures to the Palestine movement. But for all the gestures of solidarity, the SNP will not be taking any action against the war machine or the capitalists complicit in genocide.
A question many of us have asked is how Jeffrey Epstein and his associates morally defend their crimes. Daniel Morley explores this question and explains how “morality is nothing more than an expression of the real relations of society”.
In yet another setback for Starmer’s beleaguered government, the High Court has ruled that Labour’s proscription of Palestine Action is “disproportionate” and “unlawful”. This is a victory for the Palestine movement, and exposes the crisis of the ruling regime.
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show has dominated the headlines this week, with its defiant celebration of Latin American culture against a backdrop of Trump’s imperialist provocations across the Americas. But not everyone is happy with this subversive musical performance.
Like today, the 1930s saw hardship, unrest, and a growing interest in communism. Trotsky provides here an insight into what a communist future would look like for the United States – the world’s most advanced industrial power, both then and now.
In yet another egregious attack on the Palestine movement and free speech, Met Police officers have arrested a leading RCP student activist at a pro-Palestine demonstration at UCL. Join our protest at 7pm at Charing Cross Police Station.
The mass, collective action of the Minnesotan masses against ICE shows the way forward in the fightback against Starmer ramping up state repression. The lesson is clear: the way to fight back against state terror is with class struggle!
In the latest tranche of Epstein files, former-prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been accused of involvement in the torture and murder of trafficked girls. Prison bars aren’t punishment enough for these brutes and wretches.
The first month of 2026 saw Trump trying to assert his ‘Donroe Doctrine’, blustering his way from Venezuela to Greenland. But the President is rapidly coming up against the limits of US imperialism – realising that redividing the world is not so easy as a game of Risk.
Jesse Welles, an American folk singer from Arkansas USA has captured the burning mood brimming within American society. Welles has tapped into an anti-establishment and anti-war feeling which has invoked an emotive response from many.
A massacre of Rojava and the Kurds is being prepared in Syria. US imperialism once used the Kurdish SDF (Syrian Defence Forces) as a cynical pawn. Now, Donald Trump is abandoning them to their fate. Imperialism and class collaborationism is again proving to be the gravedigger of the Kurdish cause.
Last Friday saw a momentous political general strike in Minnesota against ICE terror. This movement clearly illustrates the colossal power of the American working class and their ability to paralyse the citadel of world imperialism.
Donald Trump’s desire to seize control of Greenland and its resources has brought US imperialism into conflict with Europe. This puts Starmer in a quandary, as he and the British establishment attempt a delicate, unsustainable balancing act.
In September and October 2025, two million workers came to the streets of Italy to fight against the genocide in Palestine. Leading RCI member Jorge Martín outlines the current crisis in Europe and how to fight it.
Venezuela is being plundered by Donald Trump. President Nicolás Maduro is held prisoner in New York. Venezuelan oil and wealth is draining out of the country. Our government is cheerleading this process. We urgently need your help to say: Hands off Venezuela!
On Saturday January 3 2026, Nicolas Maduro was kidnapped from his home by the United States. This is a clear act of imperialist aggression. But why is it happening? What does this mean for US imperialism, world capitalism, and countries like Venezuela?
Following his New Year intervention in Venezuela, Trump is feeling emboldened to embark on more adventures pursuing his declared aim of Peace: to Cuba, Greenland, and, of course, the Middle East. Blessed be the Peacemakers, for they shall inherit the Nobel Prize for Peace – sooner or later.
The ‘liberal’ British media, from the BBC to the Guardian, have spent over two decades slandering Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution, and backing regime change in Venezuela. These lackeys of western imperialism must be exposed!
Hugo Chávez remains an inspiration for anti-imperialists across the world. In 2002, he was able to mobilise the masses to oust a CIA-backed coup, and subsequent events led him to take revolutionary measures against capitalism. But the revolution remained unfinished.
Emergency protests were organised in Britain following Donald Trump’s invasion of Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro. Our correspondents across the country share reports from the ground.
Trump is laying bare his imperialist policy. Having disgracefully kidnapped Maduro and declared the US would run Venezuela directly, Trump is implementing the ‘Donroe Doctrine’. This is a recipe for clashes and conflicts – which will eventually provoke mass resistance.
Starmer’s government has given its tacit support to the criminal kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. This follows a long history on the part of British imperialism of pushing for regime change. We must fight to overthrow imperialism.
Today at 2AM, the United States carried out a criminal act, abducting President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuala, following months of sabotage, theft, and sanctions. The RCP stands unconditionally for the defence of Venezuela and call on our supporters to rally behind this movement.
A mega merger is under way in Hollywood over the historic WarnerBros Discovery corporation. The merger has potentially profound implications in how we consume media, the future of cinema, and the whole of artistic culture for an entire generation.
Last week the USA stole Venezuelan oil, reportedly worth up to 95 million dollars. This naked act of theft is nothing short of brazen imperialist bullying. It is a major escalation in Trump’s push for regime change in Venezuela, which it is our revolutionary duty to oppose.
Fifty years ago, Australia’s democratically-elected, left-reformist Labor government was forcibly dissolved – by the British monarchy. This detail, which remained hidden for decades, demonstrates the necessity of breaking with these oppressive ruling class institutions once and for all.
Eight political prisoners locked up for the ‘crime’ of fighting the genocide in Gaza have been starved and left to languish by the British state. If they die, the blame will lie with Starmer’s government and the system it upholds. Free the Filton 24! Lock up the real terrorists!
Tesla shareholders agreed to a trillion dollar pay package for CEO Elon Musk if the company’s market value reaches $8.4 trillion. This is exactly what Karl Marx predicted, extreme wealth at one end and extreme poverty and misery at the other. Musk is a parasite! Seize their wealth!
Tech corporations and governments are pouring trillions into the ‘AI arms race’. But warning signs are flashing that this is all a massive speculative bubble, waiting to burst. This anarchic speculation is set to have a catastrophic impacts on the world economy.
Recently there has been a renewed effort by the US to clamp down on Venezuela. Given this, we are publishing a talk by Jorge Martin from this year’s Revolution Festival on the history of the Bolivarian Revolution and Hugo Chavez. This incredible event is rich in lessons for those wanting to fight imperialism and capitalism today.
Workers at Britain’s biggest arms manufacturer are set to strike in the coming weeks, over below-inflation pay offers. However, Unite’s leadership is dragging its heels. Their class collaboration is tied up with their support for British militarism.
Tonight, at 6.30pm, Alan Woods and Fiona Lali will introduce this year’s Revolution Festival with a discussion on the crisis of world capitalism and the revolutionary wave it’s producing. Tune in LIVE on YouTube!
Yesterday, self-described ‘democratic socialist’ Zohran Mamdani sent shockwaves through Wall Street as he won the New York mayoral race in the heart of American capitalism. The main question now is how Mamdani delivers in the fight against the billionaires.
Since August, the United States has ramped up its military presence in the Caribbean with the goal of overthrowing the Venezuelan government. This imperialist bullying must be opposed. Our position is clear: Hands off Venezuela – Hands off Columbia!
53 years on from the Bloody Sunday massacre of defenceless marchers in Derry, the British state has shamelessly absolved itself of any guilt for the slaughter. Soldier F – who pulled the trigger against five on Bloody Sunday – has been acquitted.
Left-wing independent Catherine Connolly has been elected President of Ireland with a thumping majority. Alongside mass absenteeism, the election is a disaster for the Irish establishment.
We publish here the analysis of the Parti Communiste Révolutionnaire – the French section of the RCI – on Lecornu and his government’s reactionary budget surviving a no confidence vote thanks to the MPs of the ‘centre-left’ Socialist Party.
Announced in Washington at the end of September, it is becoming clear to everyone what this ‘peace’ deal in the Middle East really amounts to. The continued bombardment of Palestinians, corporations encircling Gaza for cheap real-estate, all potentially led by Tony Blair!
While Britain’s children go hungry, and pensioners fear freezing to death, Starmer’s Labour decided to set aside time in parliament to overturn a ban on violent Zionist hooligans from attending a football game in Birmingham. What a sick joke!
A trial against two British citizens accused of spying for China recently collapsed, following a change in the government’s policy towards Beijing. Starmer will tolerate Chinese spying in return for trade and investment – yet another reminder of Britain’s drastic decline.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film is an action thriller set against a backdrop of revolutionary struggle. Depicting individual terror, brutal repression of immigrants and the left, and racist elites pulling the strings, this cinematic masterpiece captures the zeitgeist of Trump-era America.
Half a million – including a 400-strong Communist bloc – took to the streets for Palestine on Saturday, showing the lack of trust in Trump’s imperialist ‘peace’. But the movement’s leaders lack answers. We must draw the lessons of the explosive European movement.
As Western imperialism celebrates another imperialist peace, we are further away from Palestinian statehood than ever before. The so-called ‘two-state solution’ lies buried beneath Gaza’s rubble, as the settlements spread across the West Bank.
From France to Italy, we’ve seen huge general strikes erupt against austerity and the continued warmongering of the European ruling classes. How can we build for such a strike here in Britain?
The European mass movement must act as a wake-up call for the British trade union leaders, who have so far been passive. We invite our members and supporters to pass this motion at all levels of the labour movement.
Across Europe, millions have taken to the streets to protest the genocide in Gaza, alongside Israel’s assault on the flotilla last week. The RCP enthusiastically participated in protests in London, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Cardiff, Leeds and Sheffield. Block everything for Palestine!
Today marks two years of Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza. In this time, millions have taken to the streets of Britain to protest for Palestine. The movement is now at a crossroads. To advance, organised workers need to enter the scene en masse.
Former prime minister Tony Blair has risen from the dead to potentially oversee Trump’s proposed “Board of Peace” in Gaza. The fact that this war criminal has anything to do with a so-called ‘peace’ plan exposes the cynical nature of the entire project.
The British establishment has leapt at the opportunity to exploit last week’s synagogue attack to further their own interests, and demonise the Palestine movement. Their hypocrisy and cynicism knows no bounds. Now is not the time to back down, but to fight back.
Last Friday was incredible. A political general strike against the genocide in Gaza shut down Italy. It is an enormous source of inspiration and possibility, with the conditions which arose to such a strike not being unique to Italy. We must draw the necessary lessons.
In this episode, we cover the Gen Z revolution from Madagascar to Morocco, student & worker mobilizations across Europe, the intensifying West Bank occupation, and how unions in Britain can help strengthen the movement to halt genocide.
At 6PM last night, Israel intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla. Spontaneous protests erupted across Italy with a general strike planned tomorrow. A national student strike has been called in Spain today. We say block everything! Shut it down for Palestine!
Last week, US President Donald Trump arrived at the UN for what was meant to be a 15-minute speech. Instead, he delivered a fiery hour-long rant, not against Russia or China, but Europe, harshly criticising America’s allies with unrelenting anger.
This Monday, a general strike against the genocide in Gaza shook Italy. In France, more than a million demonstrated last week. In Nepal, the government was overthrown. The masses arose in Indonesia. It is September 2025 and we are witnessing a revolutionary wave!
From Nepal, Sri Lanka, Kenya to Bangladesh, a revolutionary wave has blown across countries dominated by imperialism. Ben Curry analyses the meaning of this wave and the generalised lessons to be taken by revolutionaries.
In France, the government has fallen. More than half a million demonstrators came out on 18 September. The left political forces now have a responsibility to campaign for a lasting ‘blockade’ of the country whose end goal must be to transform the economy on socialist lines.
Last week, King Charles threw a grand party to please President Donald J. Trump. For all the pageantry and pomp, this was a rather pointless affair, with little of substance gained for the ruling class. The event could best be summarised as a circus with no bread.
Hundreds of thousands took part in France’s bloquons tout movement last week, dominated by the youth. This was a thunderclap: let the next mobilisation tomorrow, 18 September, be the beginning of a social storm!
The killing of American right-wing activist Charlie Kirk has sent shockwaves through the political landscape. We stand against everything Kirk stood for. We do not mourn his death. But we must state clearly that this act will have reactionary consequences.
After putting up with years of crushing poverty, the Nepalese youth have had enough. They have entered the stage of history, seeking to burn the system down altogether. But without leadership, what happens next remains unclear.
Days after brutal mass arrests of Palestine protesters, a Banksy mural appeared on the Royal Courts of Justice depicting a judge beating a defenceless, bloodied protester. This powerful artwork has now been removed, further exposing the establishment’s moral bankruptcy.
Palestine solidarity and calling out the genocide in Gaza has been criminalised by the British state. From Arsenal FC to housing officers, our readers show how this is the real two-tier justice system that exists in Britain today!
Tomorrow, thousands will descend on central London to protest the genocide in Gaza and repression of Palestine activists. As Netanyahu continues the genocide, famine, and fails to bring back the hostages, the fabric of Israel itself is tearing apart.
Facing Bayrou’s austerity drive and a looming vote of confidence, France braces for mass action on September 10 — led by unions and La France Insoumise to ‘block everything.’ If it succeeds, the impact will go far beyond Emmanuel Macron’s fate.
US imperialism’s plan to weaken Russia through the Ukraine war and sanctions backfired. Today, Russia’s economy and arms industry has massively strengthened to the point where it is significantly outproducing the combined forces of Europe.
Over the past weeks, the most horrific images have come out of Gaza, showing men, women and children reduced to skin and bones. Having backed Israel fully in its genocide, politicians in the West are now scrambling to mask their own roles with token gestures.
The recent meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska has been met with a chorus of condemnation by the leaders of Europe. In this article, Alan Woods cuts through the propaganda in the media, and gives a Marxist analysis of the events in Ukraine.
Amid global crisis, rising inequality, and war, 350 communists met in Italy for the First Congress of the Revolutionary Communist International.
Visiting Scotland to open a new golf resort, President Trump was lavished with praise and gifts by grovelling world leaders. Topping this list is Starmer himself, whose emasculation served as a sharp reminder of the real nature of the so-called ‘special relationship’.
In this session from the Revolution Festival 2024, Shaun Morris, Central Committee member of the RCP, discusses the cruel legacy of British imperialism in Ireland.
On Tuesday, Keir Starmer dangled the prospect of recognising Palestinian statehood out as a diplomatic bargaining chip. Starmer’s crocodile tears have fooled nobody. It is actions, not words, that matter in politics.
Israel bombed Damascus after Jolani’s jihadists attacked Syria’s Druze minority. Behind Syria’s volatility lies the crimes of Western imperialism in Syria. A new civil war looms, with Turkey, Israel, and Gulf states circling.
As Donald Trump visits Scotland, dogged by questions about the Epstein files, cracks are beginning to surface in his cross-class coalition. A reckoning amongst Trump voters lies in wait as they realise he is as much a part of the establishment as everyone else they despise.
On 30 July, the Revolutionary Communist International is calling a day of action outside of Pakistani diplomatic buildings to demand freedom for imprisoned leaders of the Awami Action Committee – Gilgit-Baltistan. Contact your local RCP branch to join our solidarity protests!
The hypocrisy of the British state, from the BBC blocking their own commissioned documentaries about Gaza, to the Met police arresting elderly people for their opposition to genocide, is Orwellian. Their dishonesty stinks!
As Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza escalates, the British establishment is clamping down ever-harder on Palestine activists. The labour movement must mobilise against imperialism and repression, and organise to overthrow the war criminals.
As the global crisis of capitalism deepens, political leaders on both sides of the Atlantic are finding themselves to be a hostage to events: pulled and pressured by powerful forces beyond their control, as the status quo crumbles around them.
Despite attempted censorship, multiple artists at this year’s Glastonbury Festival exposed British establishment’s despicable role in supporting Israel’s genocide. This reflects the burning rage against capitalism and imperialism, desperately seeking an outlet.
Netanyahu’s latest reckless bid to pull the United States into a full-blown regional war has exposed Trump’s contradictory position on the world stage. In this article, Alan Woods analyses the world situation in wake of the Israel-Iran war.
With his sledgehammer approach to the political and economic status quo, President Trump is unleashing chaos upon the world order. In this article, Adam Booth analyses the decline of the dollar as the world’s currency, and its implications for capitalism as a whole.
Thousands protested against Britain’s role in the criminal actions of the Israeli state on Saturday. Public anger around what’s happening in the Middle East has only grown, but to turn this into a successful struggle, the movement needs direction.
This afternoon, the government confirmed its intention to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group. This is nothing short of an attempt to criminalise the Palestine movement. In response, we joined an emergency protest at Trafalgar Square to say: Hands off Palestine Action!
Israel’s war on Iran marks a global turning point. Trump is being pulled in many directions, with Republican warhawks pushing for US intervention and regime change, while others call for the US president to deliver on his promise of peace. In this article, Alan Woods analyses these seismic events.
In this episode of Communist Radio, we next for the Palestine movement in Britain. After months of action, the words of the British ruling class changed but their actions and their backing of the Israeli war machine did not. Then only to come out in full support of Netanyahu.
Leading members of the Awami Action Committee in the Pakistan-administered region of Gilgit-Baltistan have been arrested. The Revolutionary Communist International is running a global campaign to secure the comrades’ release – and we need your help!
In response to Trump’s brutal campaign against immigrant workers and families, demonstrations have erupted across the United States. The ground is being prepared for a massive upheaval, and one spark could turn into a mass conflagration.
Israel’s latest act of aggression against Iran has once again stirred the hypocritical chorus of warmongers in Westminster. The task of Communists is to expose the crimes of Netanyahu, Starmer, and British imperialism; and to fight for international socialism, starting at home.
Netanyahu is betting his political future on a regional conflagration — escalating the Gaza genocide into an all‑out war with Iran, dragging US imperialism along to save his skin. The Israeli PM now masks his genocidal ambitions behind ‘defence’ rhetoric and global powers have followed in tow. The working class must resist being dragged into capitalist bloodletting.
This Monday, the IDF seized a sailboat carrying aid to Gaza, and deported those on board including climate activist Greta Thunberg. This latest criminal act has once again exposed the western leaders’ hypocrisy, and has sparked to an outpouring of anger internationally.
Targeted raids by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Los Angeles have sparked an inspiring spontaneous fightback over the weekend. Trump escalated the provocation by sending in the national guard. Workers organisations must mobilise to defend immigrant workers in deeds, not just words.
In preparation for the first congress of the Revolutionary Communist International, this special episode of Against the Stream, the weekly podcast of the RCI, covers the perspectives for the epoch of war, revolution and counter-revolution the world is now entering.
With the Ukraine war well into its third year, a Russian victory is inescapable. Trump is trying to secure a deal in order for US imperialism to withdraw, but the European leaders are desperately dragging out this bloody conflict, for their own cynical, imperialist ends.
A new book by a Belfast-based investigative journalist exposes a covered-up child sexual abuse scandal – involving the monarchy, MI5, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, and the Loyalist establishment. The British state is rotten, depraved, and abusive – right to the very top.
The British establishment has ramped up its witch hunt against Kneecap, with band member Mo Chara charged with a terror offence. The RCI opposes this blatant political attack, which is nothing but a distraction from the ruling class’s crimes in Palestine and at home.
After 19 months of backing Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza, Starmer and Lammy have begun to shed crocodile tears about the latest horrors being inflicted on the Palestine people. The Labour leaders cannot be trusted. Down with the war criminals!
Starmer is boasting about the UK’s recent trade deals with the EU, USA, and India. But will these deals “deliver for working people”, as Labour promises? And has the Prime Minister delivered the Brexiteers’ dream of ‘Global Britain’? Don’t hold your breath.
A hated Benjamin Netanyahu has once again set his sights on the complete seizure of Gaza. Trump meanwhile has been signing agreements with other Middle Eastern partners, seeking other avenues of support as the war has no end in sight. Victor Murray examines what it all means.
Half a million people took to London’s streets last weekend on the 77th anniversary of the Nakba. While the Palestine movement has subsided in previous months, the anger in society has continued to pile up – and is desperately looking for an outlet.
Louis Theroux’s latest documentary lays bare the genocidal Zionist settler movement. Backed by the Israeli state and emboldened by the western imperialists, these fanatics freely wage ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank.
Yesterday, the Indian Air Force carried out military attacks in Pakistan. The two countries are once again at war, using the question of Kashmir to cut across their own internal class divisions. We say: Only class war can end all wars!
Irish rap group Kneecap have been victims of a vicious smear campaign for supporting Palestine. This reeks of imperialist hypocrisy. It is the capitalist system and its politicians that have blood on their hands. Kneecap have nothing to apologise for.
Today marks 100 days since Donald Trump became US president for a second time. Here, we publish an extract from a document set to be discussed by the Revolutionary Communists of America, outlining the perspectives for class struggle in the USA.
The US-China trade war continues with neither Trump nor Xi yet blinking. Daniel Morley explores the ramifications and how fundamentally there will be no true winner, indicating not the madness of Trump, but the capitalist system itself.
President Trump’s recent ‘pausing’ of tariffs has done little to slow the full-scale trade war. These protectionist measures only serve to highlight the limitations of capitalism. To avoid destitution, workers must fight for revolution!
In the weeks that have passed since the US tore up the decades-old western alliance, the European leaders have been frantically trying to thrash out a rearmament plan. The Communists say: Down with militarism and austerity! For international revolution!
In an embarrassing diplomatic snub for Labour, the Israeli state has deported two British MPs on a trip to the West Bank. The entire rotten establishment has been more animated over this row than Israel’s genocidal actions over the last eighteen months.
This week, Marine Le Pen was barred from standing in the upcoming French elections after having been found guilty of the embezzlement of European parliamentary funds. Many on the Left have been jubilant, but Alan Woods warns us that this is in fact nothing to celebrate.
Trump is set to announce a barrage of new tariffs, in an attempt to stem the decline of US capitalism. Here, Niklas Albin Svensson outlines the Marxist position on the ‘free trade vs protectionism’ debate, and how tariffs will impact the world economy.
Since coming to power, there has been enormous mystery about what Donald Trump’s presidency means. Author and Marxist theoretician Alan Woods cuts through the confusion to clearly explain the phenomena of Trumpism, what his rule means and where he is going.
All hopes that the hellfire rained on the people of Gaza would be relieved by the January ceasefire have been cruelly shattered, as Netanyahu’s genocide resumes. Only the revolutionary overthrow of all those responsible can create the conditions for the genuine liberation of Palestine. Down with the war criminals!
Starmer’s cuts to foreign aid have caused backlash among his ranks and within the liberal establishment. But both sides of this furore are merely trying to salvage Britain’s declining power. We say: No to militarism! Down with liberal hypocrisy!
Western leaders like Macron and Starmer have been blindsided by last week’s Oval Office clash, which came after weeks of slavishly courting Trump’s favour. In this article, Alan Woods analyses the seismic shifts in world relations which led to this event.
Last Friday, an unprecedented argument took place in the Oval Office between Trump and Zelensky in front of the world’s media. The event exposed the real relations between the two countries, one between master and servant. Jorge Martín here examines the event and its implications.
The CDU’s Friedrich Merz will be Germany’s next Chancellor. But with geopolitical and economic turmoil ahead, the next government will be even more unstable and discredited than than the last. Polarisation and class struggle are on the order of the day.
We publish here the contents of a speech by Jorge Martín to a meeting of the Revolutionary Communist International’s leadership. In it, he covers the seismic shifts taking place in world relations, and the revolutionary pressures building up everywhere.
In a matter of weeks, President Trump has upended the decades-old ‘western alliance’. With US-Russia relations opening up, European powers have been left in the eye of the storm, carrying enormous social and political implications.
Here we publish an excerpt from ‘Colossus: The Rise and Decline of US Imperialism’, a new title by John Peterson, a leading RCI member in the USA. The book covers Lenin’s analysis of imperialist war, plus the rise and relative decline of US imperialism.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s new chainsaw-wielding Department of Government Efficiency has made quick work of slashing state spending. But cuts to USAID, a key part of US imperialism’s ‘soft power’ strategy, have provoked splits within the ruling class.
US President Donald Trump has proposed the forced expulsion of two million Palestinians from their land. This is nothing short of another Nakba. But this crude plan can only pour petrol on the flames of a volatile situation in the region and worldwide.
‘America First’ means everyone last, including Europe. European capitalism is already in an impasse. US retrenchment, increased defence spending, and a potential tariff war will only further this decline. Events are laying the groundwork for the future European revolution.
One week after Trump announced a colossal government-backed AI investment plan, an obscure Chinese startup has lobbed a grenade into the US tech sector. With the stock markets in turmoil, the president’s protectionist plans are off to a rocky start.
The European economy is facing its biggest crisis in a decade, with hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs at risk. European capitalism has entered into a steep decline, and will be unable to weather the geopolitical storms that surround it.
This month, TikTok was briefly banned in the US, in a sabre-rattling move against China. But this backfired spectacularly, with millions of American users flooding onto RedNote, where they discussed class issues and communism with Chinese youth.
Today marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where over a million Jews, Poles, Roma and communists were murdered by the Nazis. But today’s commemoration was tarnished by the hypocrisy of western imperialism.
After decades of decline, British capitalism is particularly vulnerable to the instability that Trump and his ‘America First’ programme bring. The new president will inflame the political turmoil, radicalisation, and polarisation taking place in Britain.
In this session from Revolution Festival 2024, Khaled Malachi, Central Committee member of the RCP and regular writer on the Middle East, will put forward a revolutionary way forward for the workers and youth in the region.
A Trump-brokered ceasefire has brought Israel’s brutal campaign in Gaza to a halt. This represents a humiliating blow for Netanyahu and the Zionist state. However, the oppression of the Palestinian people continues. Free Palestine! Fight imperialism!
13 years ago, without any clear programme or plan, the Arab masses rose up against their despotic rulers, and overthrew several regimes. But these revolutions ultimately failed to solve the problems facing the masses. With tensions in the region heating up once more, Lubna Badi analyses these rich events.
With the world’s most powerful imperialist power, the United States, entering into relative decline, rival powers are struggling for influence. Turmoil and disorder prevail on the world stage, preparing the ground for revolutionary explosions.
Donald Trump is once again set to lead the most powerful imperialist power in history. However, Trump’s expansionist ambitions offer no solution to the crisis of American capitalism, nor the danger of class struggle and revolution.
Several wildfires are raging uncontrollably in and around the US city of Los Angeles. From the climate crisis, to the underfunding of fire departments, to water privatisation – the blame for this catastrophe lies squarely with the capitalist class.
This Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned after almost a decade in power. His resignation symbolises the continuing crisis of liberalism. The fall of Trudeau ushers in a new era of crisis and instability for Canada.
The British government has been loudly celebrating Assad’s fall in Syria. Amidst a media frenzy to ‘rebrand’ HTS from terrorists to moderates, the real role Britain has long played in creating the conditions for Islamic fundamentalism has been obscured.
In this episode of Marxist Voice, Hamid Alizadeh, member of the International Secretariat of the RCI, explores the reasons for the rapid collapse of the Assad regime, and what this means for the region.
In this episode, leading RCI member Alan Woods outlines the perspectives for the coming period: one of rising geopolitical tensions, turbulence, and revolutionary explosions.
The Syrian regime has collapsed. The resulting power vacuum is being filled by local militias and warlords, backed by various imperialist powers seeking to redivide the country and the region. The Syrian masses can only rely on their own strength.
Last week, a masked man shot to death the CEO of one of America’s largest healthcare insurance companies. While members of the ruling class shrink in fear, the class hatred amongst many ordinary Americans is palpable.
In this podcast, Antonio Balmer, leading member of the Revolutionary Communists of America, explains the reasons behind the election of Donald Trump, and the implications for the next stage in the crisis of US capitalism.
President-elect Trump is assembling a cabinet of outsiders, mavericks, and loyalists to wage war on the US political establishment. This will set the stage for unprecedented upheaval, instability, and class struggle in the United States.
Yesterday, ‘counter-terrorism’ police raided a Kurdish community centre and arrested several people. This follows Starmer and Lammy’s recent cosying-up to Erdoğan’s bloodstained regime. Down with Labour’s hypocrisy! Solidarity with the Kurds!
The International Criminal Court has finally issued arrest warrants for war criminals Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant. This decision exposes the utter hypocrisy of the western imperialists, as well as the impotence of ‘international law’.
Starmer has followed his American masters and allowed Ukraine to fire British-French missiles into Russian territory. This reckless move will have no bearing on the outcome of the war, other than prompting greater retaliation from Russia. We say, down with the warmongers!
Alan Woods explains why, in the dying days of Biden’s presidency, ‘Genocide Joe’ has decided to arm Volodymyr Zelensky with long range ballistic missiles, and what this means for the war.
This year’s COP summit is off to a farcical start, with the head of the conference caught brokering lucrative fossil fuel deals, and many world leaders not even bothering to show up at all! The capitalists are incapable of solving the climate crisis.
In the run-up to election day, ‘Crooked Kamala’ assembled a ‘celebrity avengers’ squad, including big names like Beyoncé, JLo, Taylor Swift, and Eminem. But this only fed resentment towards the out-of-touch Democratic establishment.
This week on Communist Radio, Fiona Lali and Ben Gliniecki discuss Trump’s election victory, and the deep ramifications a Trump presidency will have for Starmer’s government, and for British capitalism as a whole.
Starmer and Lammy wasted no time in sending grovelling congratulations to the new President-elect. But from trade wars to geopolitical shifts, a Trump administration spells chaos for British capitalism, and more resentment towards Labour.
With all the cards stacked against him, Donald Trump has won the US presidential election, tapping into a deep anti-establishment mood in society. A new and turbulent chapter in American history is about to be written, writes Alan Woods.
Today, all eyes are on the USA – the ‘belly of the beast’ of world capitalism – as millions of voters head to the polls. Neither Trump’s reactionary ‘populism’ nor Harris’ so-called ‘lesser-evil’ establishment politics offers any solution. America needs a revolution!
Six days after flash floods left at least 214 people dead, the Spanish King and Prime Minister were pelted with mud and chased away by angry protesters. These unprecedented scenes were an expression of seething class rage.
Having failed to destroy Hamas or return the hostages, Israel’s has embarked upon an open policy of ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza, where some 400,000 men, women, and children remain. The bloodletting will not cease until imperialism is overthrown.
Starmer recently blamed Russia for disrupting food aid to Gaza, and having no respect for international law. Meanwhile, Britain’s allies in Israel starve, bomb, and massacre tens of thousands, with Labour’s full support. Down with imperialist hypocrisy!
With both candidates neck-and-neck in the run-up to election day, you can sense the anxiety of the ruling class, who mostly oppose the maverick Trump. But why has his anti-establishment message struck a chord with a section of American society?
Ever since the 7 October attack, the logic of imperialism has driven the Middle East towards regional war, with revolutionary implications across the world. Today it is clearer than ever: capitalism and imperialism must die, so that mankind may live.
As the murderous Israeli regime rains down hellfire upon Palestinian hospitals and Lebanese neighbourhoods, Labour have nothing to offer but empty words, sickening hypocrisy, and toothless measures. Starmer and Lammy are complicit in these crimes.
Israel’s invasion of Lebanon has led to confrontations with UN peacekeepers. While the Zionist state commits war crimes and disregards international law, western leaders look the other way. The sham of the ‘rules-based order’ is being exposed to millions.
We are proud to announce a new, updated, and expanded edition of the RCP booklet ‘Israel-Palestine: A Revolutionary Way Forward’. We publish here the new introduction, covering the earth-shattering events since the commencement of Israel’s slaughter.
Netanyahu’s genocidal war on Gaza, now one year old, has created a new ‘nakba’ – ‘catastrophe’ in Arabic – for the Palestinian people. With Israel now spreading the slaughter, the same fate awaits Lebanon. We must fight to overthrow the warmongers.
Israel and its western imperialist backers are pushing the Middle East ever closer to a devestating all-out regional war. No amount of petitioning or radical language can put an end to the Zionist war machine. We need mass action to bring down imperialism!
This week on Communist Radio: Ben Gliniecki and Khaled Malachi discuss Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, the rank hypocrisy of western leaders like Starmer, and how workers and youth can fight to overthrow the imperialist system.
Starmer and the rest of the British establishment have given their wholesale support to Netanyahu and his campaign of carnage across the Middle East. We can have no trust in this Labour government. We say: fight to bring down these war criminals!
After weeks of airstrikes, Israel’s invasion of Lebanon has begun. This reactionary war is backed and funded by US and western imperialism, who have blood on their hands. Fight war! Fight imperialism! Down with all the warmongers!
Israel is rapidly escalating the conflict in the Middle East, with airstrikes on Lebanese and Yemeni targets, designed to pull Iran – and the USA – into an all-out regional war. We say: Down with all the warmongers! Overthrow imperialism!
The Israeli state is carrying out a massive, prolonged bombardment of Lebanon, in preparation for a land invasion. This wholly reactionary war of aggression will drag the whole region – and the entire world – into even greater turmoil and instability.
This week on Communist Radio, Fiona and Ben discuss Israel’s killing of hundreds in Lebanon; the first one hundred days of Starmer’s anti-worker, imperialist Labour government; and how we can build a revolutionary party like Lenin and the Bolsheviks.
Billionaire pop star Taylor Swift is the latest celebrity to endorse Kamala Harris for US President. Despite the liberal establishment’s delusions, this will not win over the youth, who are fed up with the anti-worker, pro-imperialist Democrats.
The Israeli terrorist state has carried out a horrific attack inside Lebanon. For his own cynical and reckless reasons, Netanhayu is provoking an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. We must fight to overthrow all the warmongers.
‘Sir’ Keir Starmer’s attempts to impress on the world stage have ended in embarrassment, revealing the real subservient nature of Britain’s so-called ‘special relationship’ with the USA. Kick out the warmongers in Westminster and Washington!
From Washington to London, Kyiv to Tel Aviv – the war drums are banging ever louder, as the western imperialists and their henchmen look to prolong and escalate the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. We say: down with all the warmongers!
Starmer’s Labour are trying to distance themselves from the genocide in Gaza, with a partial ban of arms exports to Israel. But the truth is that they, and the entire British establishment, have blood on their hands. Overthrow these war criminals!
The political crisis in France has intensified, with Macron’s refusal to appoint the left-wing NFP’s proposed Prime Minister. Whatever the outcome, only a powerful movement of workers and youth outside of parliament can halt the ruling class’s austerity agenda.
The recovery of six dead hostages from Gaza has sparked a serious political crisis within Israel, which could lead to the removal of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. However, Zionist class-collaboration offers no way forward for Palestinian liberation.
In 1948, the Israeli state was founded, and millions of Palestinians were expelled from their homeland. Scandalously, the Stalinist bureaucracy supported the creation of Israel – a move which had a disastrous impact on the world communist movement.
The Revolutionary Communists of America have launched ‘Class War 2024’. This campaign will counter the cesspit of bourgeois politics with a class-struggle perspective, and set about organising class-conscious workers and youth in the USA.
Netanyahu’s provocations against Iran and Lebanon are pushing the entire region towards an explosive conflagration, with devastating consequences for the whole world. The imperialist warmongers are responsible for this catastrophe in the making.
For the last fortnight, the western capitalist press has been hollering about the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk, Russia, with hyperbolic talk that this could be a turning point in the war. In reality, Zelensky’s reckless move is set to backfire.
In a charged resignation letter, former Foreign Office civil servant Mark Smith has come forward accusing the UK government of aiding the Israeli regime’s war crimes in Palestine. We say: Down with the Westminster warmongers! Down with imperialism!
Poor countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are facing an intolerable debt crisis. The imperialist powers are demanding their pound of flesh, leading to a backlash of protests against austerity. The only path forward is socialist revolution.
Tensions between the major powers are heightening worldwide. Conflict is intensifying. And the ruling classes are responding with greater militarism. We call on workers and youth to join us in an international campaign against imperialism and war.
It is over a week now since the Bangladeshi masses forced Sheikh Hasina to flee the country. The ruling class is manoeuvring, attempting to preserve the rotten regime. To advance the revolution, workers and students must trust only in themselves.
After a short hiatus during the pandemic, demand for travel and holidays continues to rise. Protests are breaking out in popular destinations, as residents get pushed out by sightseers. To make tourism sustainable, we need socialist planning.
Stock prices have been on a rollercoaster ride over the last week, in response to fears about the US and global economy. Capitalism’s accumulated contradictions are beginning to burst to the surface. A new slump looms, with explosive consequences.
Continuing sabre-rattling between Israel and its regional rivals threatens to spill over into a wider conflagration across the Middle East, pulling in Lebanon, Iran, and the big imperialist powers. Only revolution can put an end to this nightmare.
The students and workers of Bangladesh have successfully overthrown the murderous Sheikh Hasina. We say all power to the workers’ and students’ committees! No trust in the army or the ruling class’ parties!
A heroic mass movement of students has erupted in Bangladesh, against the hated Hasina regime and its policies. Protestors have faced severe repression and smears. We, the Revolutionary Communist International, are mobilising in solidarity.
In another dramatic twist in US politics, Joe Biden has ended his reelection campaign. His likely successor, Kamala Harris, is yet another devotee of capitalism, and is unlikely to beat Trump in November. The only way forward is to build a mass communist party.
Given all the combustible material accumulated in American society, the assassination of Donald Trump could have been the spark for explosive events. Only a genuinely revolutionary alternative can channel workers’ anger, and offer a real way forward.
Keir Starmer has lost no time in proving his loyalty to western imperialism: reaffirming the ‘special relationship’ with Washington; promising to increase military spending; and bolstering British support for Ukraine. We say: for books, not bombs!
The near-miss attempt to assassinate Donald Trump will pour petrol on the fires of instability and polarisation that are damaging US capitalism and its institutions. Only a clear class perspective can offer an alternative to this barbaric system.
Those in Britain attempting to show solidarity with Palestine continue to face repression at the hands of the state. Students are being spied on by university authorities, and prominent activists are being arrested. But we will not be silenced!
Following Fiona Lali’s inspiring election campaign, the RCP is launching a new national campaign to mobilise young people against British imperialism, and to overthrow the warmongers responsible for death and destruction. Get organised today!
The French legislative elections saw the left-wing NFP come out on top, and the ambitions of the far-right crushed. However, the political crisis will now enter a new phase. Workers and youth must mobilise to implement and deepen the NFP’s programme.
Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza will be a major issue for millions of voters in tomorrow’s election. The entire British establishment backs the oppression of the Palestinian people. We must mobilise to kick out all the war criminals in Westminster.
Western imperialism is facing defeat in Ukraine. But unable to accept this, the warmongers in Washington and Kyiv are resorting to ever-more desperate measures – fuelling further instability for the global economy and world relations.
Whistleblower Julian Assange is finally able to walk free today, having faced over a decade of repression and incarceration by US imperialism and its allies. But the real criminals – the warmongers in Washington and Westminster – are still at large.
We publish here an exemplary report about workplace agitation and organisation by a comrade in our US section. We encourage readers to emulate Milos’ efforts, and to write in about any efforts to establish communist cells amongst your colleagues.
Over the last week, hundreds of Marxists from across the world gathered for the founding conference of the Revolutionary Communist International. The RCI will be a lodestar for radicalised workers and youth everywhere. Join us and get organised!
Donald Trump is now the first American president ever convicted of a felony. Yet in reality “equality before the law” still remains a fairytale. Trump may be the first presidential felon, but the entire ruling class is criminal.
French president Macron has called a snap election, following the success of Le Pen’s far-right National Rally in the European elections. The only way for the left to combat Le Pen is to mobilise workers and youth around a revolutionary programme.
A number of Palestine solidarity encampments have been brutally attacked by the state. The only way to fight this repression is by broadening the movement as much as possible, with a militant class programme directed against the entire warmongering establishment.
The hellish scenes of the massacre in Rafah have deepened the fury of workers and youth worldwide. Only a revolutionary struggle against the imperialist ruling classes in every country on earth can free the Palestinians from their nightmare.
As the encampment movement spreads across the country, the police in Oxford arrested a number of activists. This must not be cause for surrender, but a further escalation of the movement.
With Labour preparing to enter government, its MPs are pitching their case for a ‘progressive realist’ foreign policy. In reality, this is nothing more than business as usual for British imperialism, as it continues its decline on the world stage.
In this episode Fiona Lali discusses Gove’s outrageous smear against the RCP, the ICC request for an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, and what lies ahead for the Palestine encampments.
The ICC has requested an arrest warrant be issued against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. But even if the court resists the pressure to back down, only the mobilisation of the working class can halt the Zionist regime and its imperialist backers.
Tory minister Michael Gove has accused the RCP of antisemitism on national television. Not only is this a blatant smear against the Palestine movement, but it is rank hypocrisy. In reality, it is the Tory Party which has a shocking history of antisemitism.
The RCP has been accused of antisemitism by Michael Gove in an attempt to cover up the crimes of British imperialism and its support of Israel’s genocide. Help us overthrow these hypocritical warmongers in Westminster!
The student movement in support of Palestine has swept campuses across Britain. To take things to the next level, workers at universities and beyond need to join the fight to kick imperialism off campus, and bring down the warmongers.
The western imperialists and their Arab allies have spent months launching airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen, in an effort to protect the profits of the big shipping firms. But this expensive bombing campaign has been an utter failure.
Student encampments in support of Palestine have rapidly spread to universities across Britain. The RCP is organising an online national meeting on Thursday 23 May at 18:30 to discuss how to broaden, link together, and escalate this struggle.
Across the country, comrades of the newly-founded Revolutionary Communist Party are helping to build the student movement in solidarity with Palestine. Whether it’s on campus or on TV, the RCP is fighting to overthrow the Tories and end imperialism.
Inspired by the Palestine solidarity encampments in the US, students across Britain have begun to take action. The newly-founded Revolutionary Communist Party has thrown itself into the struggle, fighting to escalate the movement and to bring down the imperialists.
Amidst the biggest student protest movement since the Vietnam War, Macklemore’s new song ‘Hind’s Hall’ breaks the music industry’s conspiracy of silence on Palestine, posing the question: “Why is nobody talking about the genocide in Gaza?”
Israel’s long-planned attack on Rafah has begun, threatening horror for the Gazan population. Escalating the movement, and taking the fight to the bosses and politicians at home is the best way of helping the Palestinian people in their hour of need.
On 3 May 1968, police brutally attacked student protestors in Paris, setting in motion a revolutionary struggle that could have toppled French capitalism. Given the parallels with the Palestine movement today, we must study the lessons of this rich experience.
On either side of the Atlantic, Palestine solidarity protests are erupting on university campuses. The British establishment and its institutions have blood on their hands. We must fight to kick out the warmongers in Westminster and Washington.
Last Friday, communists kicked Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg out of Cardiff University. Establishment politicians and the media have responded with a frenzy of condemnation. We will step up the struggle to bring down our imperialist ruling class!
Across campuses in the United States, a movement has exploded against the massacre in Gaza. The state has responded with brutal repression, and a whole generation is being politicised. The RCP stands in full solidarity with this courageous struggle.
As the conflict in the Middle East threatens to spiral out of control, the warmongers in Westminster and Washington are ramping up their militarism: finding money for bombs, but never for workers’ wages and public services. Overthrow their system!
From the Middle East to Ireland, the historic crimes of British imperialism have left devastating scars. As elections get underway in India, Ravi Mistry examines one of the most heinous of these atrocities: partition of the Indian subcontinent.
This weekend, Iran launched a drone and missile attack on Israel, in retaliation against Israeli strikes. The situation in the Middle East is becoming increasingly fraught and unstable, with a regional war and mass social upheaval on the cards.
Writing for the latest issue of the ‘In Defence of Marxism’ magazine, with the upcoming launch of the Revolutionary Communist International, Alan Woods discusses the history of Marxist internationalism, and the lessons for communists today.
This June sees the launch of the Revolutionary Communist International. We publish here a synopsis of the RCI Manifesto, outlining the communist programme that we are fighting for. Join us today, and help build the forces of communism worldwide.
Following defeat in two constitutional referendums, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has stepped down. His resignation marks the latest difficulty for the hated political establishment of the Republic. Join the Marxists in the fight for revolution.
Jeffrey Donaldson has stepped down as DUP leader, after being charged with historic sexual offences. This latest scandal marks a heavy blow for the DUP, for Unionism, and for the stability of Stormont. This whole rotten system must be overthrown.
Establishment politicians have decried Israel’s killing of aid workers in Gaza, including several Britons. But the truth is that Sunak, Starmer, and the rest of the Westminster warmongers have blood on their hands. We say: overthrow their system!
The western imperialists are hypocrites of the highest order. Biden and his allies wring their hands about the death and destruction in Gaza. Meanwhile, they aid and abet Netanyahu’s slaughter. We must fight to bring down all these warmongers.
The Shut Down Rafael campaign aims to shut down an Israeli-owned arms factory in Newcastle. Our comrades, who have been involved in the campaign, offer a critique of its methods, underscoring the need for a revolutionary, class-based approach.
In recent weeks, student activists have occupied university buildings in solidarity with Palestine. Communists involved in the Leeds occupation examine the effectiveness of these methods, and the role students can play in the struggle against imperialism.
Last Friday, the world was horrified by reports of an appalling massacre at a packed concert venue in Moscow. Alan Woods uncovers the murky circumstances surrounding this brutal attack, and which forces might have been involved.
The situation in Gaza has reached a stalemate. The Israeli regime has failed in its aims. For his own interests, however, Netanyahu refuses to accept a ceasefire. The imperialists in Washington, London, and Tel Aviv have blood on their hands.
Yesterday, we published the Manifesto of the Revolutionary Communist International: a call to arms for all communists who want to put an end to the rotten capitalist system once and for all.
This June sees the launch of the Revolutionary Communist International. We publish here the founding document of the RCI, outlining the communist programme that we are fighting for. Join us today, and help build the forces of communism worldwide.
With the western imperialists facing defeat in Ukraine, their boastful jingoism has turned into its opposite. In this episode, Hamid Alizadeh explains what forces lie behind the conflict, and why Communists must take a revolutionary, internationalist position.
Netanyahu is tightening the noose around the necks of the Palestinian people. Gaza is being purposefully deprived of vital aid by western imperialism. And Israel is withholding tax revenue from the West Bank. An almighty explosion is being prepared.
The self-immolation of US Airman Aaron Bushnell in protest of the imperialist slaughter of Gaza has been met by an immense outpouring of sympathy across the world. A revolutionary mood is brewing everywhere, this must be channelled by a clear communist programme and organisation.
Western imperialism is facing the prospect of a humiliating defeat in Ukraine. Support for Zelensky and his government is falling, both at home and abroad. Washington and NATO have scandalously pushed Ukrainians into fighting an unwinnable war.
The people of Gaza are already facing a deadly nightmare. Spurred on by his own narrow political interests, however, Netanyahu is set to escalate the slaughter even further by invading the city of Rafah. The whole region is ready to explode.
The elected leadership of the IMT met recently to discuss the tumultuous situation for capitalism globally, and the tasks of the communists in the period ahead. Most importantly, comrades resolved to launch the Revolutionary Communist International.
This May, we are launching the Revolutionary Communist Party. To prepare for this, we are looking back on the history of our organisation – beginning with the firm position taken by the Trotskyists in the ‘40s against the partition of Palestine.
Last Saturday, police officers arrested an IMT member for raising the slogan of ‘Intifada ’til victory!’. But the communists won’t back down. We need your help to fight back against state repression, and to see an end to this brutal capitalist system.
Whilst the Israeli state continues its genocide of Palestinians, western powers have suspended funding to UNRWA – a vital source of food, shelter, and medicine in Gaza. The imperialists’ hypocrisy knows no bounds. They have blood on their hands.
The mass movement in solidarity with Palestine is continuing across the country. The communists have energetically intervened in this struggle from day one, raising revolutionary perspectives and demands. We say: intifada until victory!
Writing for the first issue of The Communist, readers highlight some of the most egregious examples of the global elites’ debauchery and depravity: from eye-watering inequality, to sordid scandals, to hypocritical hedonism. Overthrow their system!
The Tories are using public sector workers in the North of Ireland as pawns in their efforts to end the political paralysis at Stormont. But workers across the sectarian divide are refusing to be passive observers, and are moving into action.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is drawing out the war on Gaza in an effort to save his own political skin. But in doing so, he is heightening all the tensions inside Israel, across the region, and in turn for world capitalism.
In this episode of Marxist Voice, Jorge Martín discusses the real nature of the Chinese regime, as well as the inter-imperialist conflict and class struggle headed its way in the stormy period ahead.
South Africa’s court case against Israel has attracted the attention of millions worldwide, exposing the hypocrisy of western imperialism. But ultimately it is toothless. Only the workers of the world can stop the slaughter, by overthrowing the warmongers.
With their latest intervention in the Middle East, firing missiles at Houthi targets, the American and British imperialists risk alighting the powder keg that exists across the region. We say: Hands off Yemen! Overthrow the warmongers!
While the Israeli regime bombs Gaza into oblivion, the US and UK are deploying missiles against Houthi targets in Yemen, a country already wracked by imperialism. Workers and youth must mobilise to overthrow the warmongers and their criminal system.
The imperialists are experts in manufacturing lies as a cover for their murderous crimes. And the Israeli regime’s latest war on the Palestinian people is no exception to this rule. The revolutionary task of the communists is to tell the truth.
The new year has started as the last one ended: with the imperialists, the establishment, and their media mouthpieces spouting all manner of lies and hypocrisy. Meanwhile, postmodernist academics squabble over language. We need a revolution.
In response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, Houthi militants have launched missiles at Israel, and targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea. The situation in the Middle East is extremely unstable, with explosive implications for world capitalism.
In this podcast, Josh Holroyd explains the seismic events unfolding in West Africa, as well as the revolutionary way forward: the masses can’t be duped by the cynical Chinese and Russian imperialists, but must rely on their own forces.
Activists across Britain have blockaded arms factories supplying the Israeli regime. Trade union leaders have failed to give a lead. To escalate the movement, workers inside the factories must be convinced to take solidarity action themselves.
The repression of the Palestine solidarity movement has revealed the complete sham of bourgeois democracy. Communists have stood firm against these attacks. Genuine free speech requires democratic workers’ control over the press and wider economy.
After twenty months of war, Western imperialism is looking towards a humiliating defeat in Ukraine. As a product of the relative weakness of US imperialism, this will have important consequences on consciousness both in Ukraine and worldwide.
Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has been met with a massive global solidarity movement. Yet the slaughter continues. Marches and demos are not enough. For the struggle to advance, we need revolutionary perspectives and class struggle methods.
Our comrades at the University of Nottingham have come under attack for showing solidarity with the Palestinian people and calling for a struggle against imperialism. We will not be silenced!
The Tories and the police are continuing their clamp down against pro-Palestine supporters, harassing activists who attempt to show solidarity, in an attempt to intimidate others. The movement must not be cowed, but instead organise and mobilise.
In this episode of Marxist Voice, Khaled Malachi discusses the history of Israel and Palestine, the pernicious role of British imperialism, and outlines a revolutionary way forward for a free Palestine.
Henry Kissinger, a leading strategist of US imperialism, died earlier this week. While bourgeois politicians and papers provide gushing eulogies, workers will remember the bloody crimes that he and the capitalist system are responsible for.
A recent police raid against the London Kurdish community reveals the complicity of British imperialism in Erdoğan’s repression of the Kurds. We must fight to overthrow the real terrorists: the warmongers in Downing Street, Washington, and Ankara.
Diving into the BBC archives, one can find a revealing documentary that highlights the mass methods of struggle used during the Intifada, the intrigues of the imperialists, and the rotten role of the Palestinian ‘leaders’. We must tell the truth.
The movement in support of Palestine has continued over the last week, with further mass demonstrations in cities across Britain, and student walkouts at schools and universities. To stop the slaughter, we must organise to overthrow imperialism.
Reactionary riots on the streets of Dublin have revealed the threat of the far right in Ireland. The left and the labour movement must organise and mobilise to meet this menace head on. We must urgently build the forces of revolution.
Tomorrow will see another mass national demonstration in solidarity with Palestine, calling for a permanent ceasefire. The imperialists are set on continuing their murder and destruction. How do we organise and mobilise to really stop the war?
Celtic FC supporters have hit the news in recent weeks, defying football’s authorities to show their solidarity for Palestine at the team’s matches. The establishment is attempting to whitewash sport. Fans must fight for community control of clubs.
Alongside its devastation in Gaza, the Israeli state is actively encouraging the Zionist settler project in the West Bank. The aim is clear: to drive Palestinians from their homes. The only solution is a Socialist Federation of the Middle East.
Students at schools and universities are mobilising in support of Palestine. This Friday will see walkouts at a number of locations and campuses across the country. We call on students to join these actions. Get organised with the communists today!
The death count in Gaza is spiralling, as the IDF reduces hospitals to rubble. Western leaders are complicit in this murder. The Palestine solidarity movement is growing. Workers and youth must mobilise to overthrow the warmongers and their system.
Despite a month of powerful protests, MPs voted yesterday against a parliamentary motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Both Sunak and Starmer firmly represent the interests of imperialism. We need a mass struggle to overturn their system.
Socialist Appeal comrades have been targeted by the police and the rest of the establishment for waging a determined campaign to build solidarity with the Palestinian people. We call on you to help us in this fight. Intifada until victory!
As Israeli troops and tanks skirmish on the streets of Gaza, it is clear that Netanyahu and his imperialist allies have no end game, other than to prepare the conditions for further conflict. There is only one solution: Intifada! Revolution!
Events in the Middle East are having a profound impact on consciousness in Britain. While the establishment all sing from the same hypocritical hymn sheet, hundreds of thousands are taking to the streets. Revolutionary explosions impend.
After three weeks, with a nightmare playing out in Gaza, the mass movement in solidarity with Palestine shows no sign of letting up in Britain. Larger layers are drawing revolutionary conclusions, and are calling out: Intifada until victory!
Keir Starmer has provoked a backlash within the Labour Party, due to his unconditional support for Israel. The Left, meanwhile, is putting all its efforts into demands for a ceasefire. Instead, workers must mobilise to smash imperialism.
Across the country, our comrades are at the forefront of Palestine solidarity movements on university campuses. Rattled by our revolutionary demands, the right wing is attempting to browbeat us into submission. But we will not be silenced.
With a humanitarian disaster already playing out in Gaza, and a mass movement in solidarity with Palestine building, western leaders are growing alarmed at the prospects of an Israeli invasion. They know they will have blood on their hands.
From the outset of the latest Israel-Palestine conflict, the capitalist media in Britain has acted as an obedient mouthpiece for the establishment, echoing their imperialist propaganda. We need to build a voice for the exploited and oppressed.
As the death count in Gaza soars, many leading left-wingers are calling for a ceasefire and for peace negotiations. But there can be no genuine end to Palestinian oppression under capitalism. That is why we say: Intifada until victory!
As horror plays out in Gaza, workers and youth across Britain are mobilising en masse. An explosive mood of anger is building – aimed not only at Netanyahu’s murderous regime, but at ‘our own’ criminal ruling class. We say: Intifada until victory!
Facing attacks from the establishment press, and meddling from university and student union bureaucracies, the communists are continuing their efforts to mobilise solidarity with Palestine. We say: Intifada until victory!
The imperialists fear that Israel’s war on Gaza will ignite the entire Middle East, with grave implications for the world situation. They are right to worry. The plans of the Americans lie in tatters and, with sparks flying in a region riven by economic instability and inter-imperialist tension, war and revolution impend.
Communists in Britain have been attacked by the reactionary press for the use of our slogan, ‘Intifada until victory!’ Cutting across the lies and distortions, we must look at the real heritage of the Intifadas, as a source of lessons and inspiration for revolutionaries across the world.
A hospital in Gaza was bombed yesterday by Israeli forces, killing hundreds. Now is the time to escalate the campaign against Israel’s murderous war, against western imperialism, and for the national liberation of the Palestinian people.
Our comrades have come under attack from the establishment and their media mouthpieces for daring to defy them by showing solidarity with the Palestinian people, and calling for mass struggle against imperialism. We will not be silenced.
Palestinian trade unionists have called for international solidarity of the working class to halt the Israeli war machine. Workers in the arms industry have the potential to strike a powerful blow against the Israeli state and imperialism.
In contrast to their hue and cry about ‘democracy’ and ‘self-determination’ in Ukraine, the western powers have given Israel the go-ahead to raze Gaza to the ground. Once again ‘international law’ and the ‘rules based order’ are exposed as a hypocritical cover for the iron heel of imperialism.
The escalating aggression of Israeli imperialism, with the imminent threat of invasion in Gaza, has provoked a massive outburst of anger in Britain. IMT comrades have been connecting with this mood, putting forward clear revolutionary slogans.
The escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict has led to a chorus of hypocritical condemnation from the western imperialists. The communists stand firmly on the side of the oppressed, against the oppressors. We say: Intifada until victory!
Many workers in Britain are looking at the catastrophic events unfolding in the Middle East, wondering what they can do to halt the imperialist carnage. Organised and mobilised, the working class has the power to stop the warmongers.
Across the country, a movement has erupted in solidarity with Palestine. But this is being met with a repressive response from the authorities, as the ruling class looks to silence dissent and debate. Workers and youth must mobilise in defiance.
In this episode of Marxist Voice, Khaled Malachi outlines the situation in Israel-Palestine, the position that communists must take, and what we can do here in Britain to get organise international solidarity with the Palestinian struggle.
Protests have exploded onto the streets in Britain over the last few days, in response to the ongoing occupation of Palestine and the escalating oppression of its people. Throughout, IMT comrades have raised the banner of revolution.
Workers and youth in Britain are rightly outraged by the oppression of the Palestinian people, and by the complicity of ‘our’ ruling class in this repression. Through organisation, mobilisation, and mass action, we can offer genuine solidarity.
The explosive conflict in Israel-Palestine is the latest flashpoint in the crisis-ridden capitalist system. The profit-hungry imperialists are to blame for the wars ravaging society. The alternative facing humanity is socialism or barbarism.
The reactionary Israeli state has been humiliated by Hamas’ attack, and its response against the Palestinians will be brutal. No to the invasion and bombing of Gaza! End the occupation! Intifada until victory!
The war in Ukraine has exposed the class-collaborationist and bureaucratic policies of a number of communist parties around the world. In order to build a genuinely communist international, it is necessary to look back to the real traditions of Lenin.
Across the world, establishment politicians and bourgeois economists are growing anxious about ageing populations and shrinking family sizes. The real problem, however, is not a demographic crunch, but the crisis of capitalism.
The catastrophic failure of the Ukrainian counter-offensive is provoking splits and divisions in the NATO alliance. Meanwhile, workers across the world are paying the price for this inter-imperialist conflict. The class struggle is set to intensify.
A confused motion is up for discussion at this week’s TUC Congress, calling for ‘solidarity with Ukraine’. Instead of backing the Tories and their imperialist aims, the labour movement must fight for an internationalist, class-based position.
The Dublin Lockout began 110 years ago, when the bosses joined forces to smash militant trade unionism in Ireland. Socialists today must learn from the inspiring example of James Connolly and Jim Larkin, and build a revolutionary leadership.
The much-hyped Ukrainian counter-offensive is rapidly running out of steam. As demoralisation creeps in, blame and recriminations abound. All the while, workers in Ukraine, Russia, and the West are paying the price for this imperialist carnage.
The Kremlin’s assassination of mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin reveals the instability of Putin’s regime. But those now hoping for a change of fortunes in the Ukraine War are misguided. Western imperialism is riddled with its own contradictions.
A comrade from the Irish Marxists explains why he left People Before Profit (PBP), Ireland’s largest self-styled ‘Marxist’ organisation, to join the International Marxist Tendency. Unsatisfied with a lack of attention to theory and the electoral reformism of PBP, Nathan explains why the IMT in contrast fits the bill as the serious, revolutionary outfit he had been seeking.
A recent report has documented the brutal repression meted out against migrants by the Saudi regime. The western imperialists, meanwhile, have willfully ignored the barbaric behaviour of their long-standing ally – exposing their stinking hypocrisy.
An ongoing inquiry into accusations of extrajudicial murders by British Special Forces in Afghanistan shines a light on the crimes of western imperialism. The fight for justice must be a fight to overthrow this entire barbaric system.
Record temperatures and wildfires have hit huge swathes of the planet in recent months. Only by taking power out of the hands of the bankers and billionaires can we plan society rationally, to avoid a complete climate catastrophe.
Across the world, all the key pillars of the establishment – from the institutions of bourgeois democracy, to the police, to the media – are being eroded and undermined by scandals, corruption, and crises. We need a revolution to overthrow the lot.
Today marks 70 years since the truce that brought a stop to the Korean War and divided the peninsula. Events surrounding the conflict revealed both the brutality and cynicism of US imperialism, and the crimes of Stalinism, leaving a historic scar.
The recent NATO summit revealed once again the arrogance, cynicism, and stinking hypocrisy of the western imperialists. For them, the Ukraine conflict is merely a means to crush Russia. And it is the workers of the world who are being asked to pay.
Contradictions are mounting for capitalism. The system is being thrown from one crisis to the next. Inflation, debt, and financial instability all threaten the world economy. A new slump looms. The only way out of this impasse is through revolution.
Following the aborted putsch by oligarch and mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, many are asking what the impact will be on the regime in Moscow and the war in Ukraine. The task of overthrowing Putin belongs to Russian workers and youth.
Recent events in the Atlantic and Mediterranean oceans are a tale of two classes: one, the story of tremendous efforts being made to save five buccaneering billionaires; the other, the tragedy of hundreds of migrants being killed by capitalism.
All the mainstream media has been focussed this week on the deaths of a handful of billionaires exploring the shipwreck of the Titanic. Meanwhile, little attention has been paid to the tragic drowning of hundreds of migrants in the Mediterranean.
There has been much optimism surrounding the election of left-wing governments in Colombia, Chile, Brazil, and other Latin American countries. But already, these are hitting up against barriers. Only revolutionary struggle can offer a way forward.
The combined impact of the war, the pandemic, and inflation, on top of decades of imperialist exploitation, has left the world’s poorest nations buried in debt. This is preparing the ground for revolutionary explosions in one country after another.
We conclude our recent series on Israel-Palestine by examining recent events in the region, the situation today, and the way forward for workers and youth. Only revolutionary struggle can offer a real solution. Intifada until victory!
Liberal supporters of Ukraine have recently attacked the IMT for openly defending our position on the war. While some ‘lefts’ happily side with their own ruling class, we proudly stand in the Marxist tradition of class-based internationalism.
After months of build up, the much-heralded Ukrainian offensive has begun. Alan Woods discusses the prospects for this latest military campaign, the propaganda of western imperialism, the perspectives for the war, and the task of the Marxists.
Tensions between the major powers are heightening. The rise of China and the relative decline of US imperialism are creating a new – unstable – balance of forces in world relations. Communists must fight for international socialist revolution.
Following their victory in last year’s Stormont elections, Sinn Féin have come out top in the recent local elections in the North, marking another deadly blow for unionism. Workers and youth must fight for a Socialist United Ireland.
The US economy is hurtling towards a disastrous default, as Democrats and Republicans haggle over spending and cuts. This dangerous game of chicken highlights the madness of capitalism. We say: make the billionaires pay for this crisis!
Today marks the anniversary of the Irish Rebellion – a mass revolt against landlordism and colonialism, which began on the dawn of 24 May 1798. Revolutionaries in Ireland, Britain, and beyond should study the lessons of these inspiring events.
In the latest part of our series on Israel-Palestine, we discuss the demand for boycotts, divestment, and sanctions aimed at Israeli businesses. Instead, workers and youth must organise, mobilise, and fight for revolution.
Our series on Israel-Palestine continues with an examination of the proposals presented by reformists – particularly the suggestions for a ‘two-state’ or ‘one-state’ solution. Instead, workers and youth must fight for a revolutionary way forward.
This weekend, protests will be taking place across the world to mark the 75th anniversary of the Nakba – the disaster faced by the Palestinian people as part of the creation of Israel. We say: Fight for a Socialist Federation of the Middle East!
In this episode of Marxist Voice, Khaled Malachi outlines the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the current crisis in Israel, and a Marxist programme for the liberation of Palestine.
In the second part of our series on Israel-Palestine, Francesco Merli examines the wars, manoeuvres, and uprisings that characterised the decades following the creation of the Israeli state, and which have left the Palestinian people oppressed.
Having unleashed the monster of inflation through their reckless policies, the ruling class are struggling to bring prices back down. Meanwhile, big business is raking in record profits. The blame for this chaos and crisis lies with capitalism.
In the first part of our series on Israel-Palestine, Francesco Merli explains the shady dealings and machinations of the imperialist nations, which paved the way for the partitioning of Palestine, and opened up a Pandora’s Box of violence and degradation.
We are proud to announce a new series of in-depth articles on the topic of Israel-Palestine, putting forward a revolutionary perspective for Palestinian liberation, and lasting peace for the whole region.
A leak of confidential material from the Pentagon, first shared by a group of video gamers, has caused embarrassment for Washington. These latest revelations once again expose the hypocrisy and cynical motivations of western imperialism.
Rejecting the reformism of the old nationalist leaders, thousands of youth in the Basque Country are turning towards revolution and class struggle. Similar processes are underway across the world. The communists are coming! Join the Marxists today!
This week marks the 25th anniversary since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. The establishment believed this would open up a period of peace and prosperity. Instead, decades on, sectarianism and instability still stalk the North of Ireland.
Recent years have seen one political earthquake after another send shockwaves across the landscape of American society. The criminal charges against Donald Trump are the latest example. These tremors are a harbinger of revolutionary explosions.
This week marks the 74th anniversary of the founding of NATO. In this talk, Lotta Angantyr explains the real role and history of this tool of Western imperialism, and why Marxists are irreconcilably opposed to NATO.
In the latest episode of Marxist Voice, Dylan Thomas discusses the militant traditions of the American working class, the industrial battles taking place today, and the prospects for revolution in the USA – the belly of the capitalist beast.
The British establishment is heralding the adoption of the Windsor Framework, the latest UK-EU trading arrangement. But this deal will do nothing to resolve the tensions in the North of Ireland. Only united class struggle can offer a way forward.
Establishment golden boy Rishi Sunak has been receiving praise in the press recently, having negotiated a deal for the North of Ireland. But any hopes of lasting peace between Britain and the EU – or within the Tory Party – will quickly fade.
In this discussion, Jorge Martin discusses the war in Ukraine and how it connects to the national question.
Recent polling shows that more and more young people across the world consider themselves communists. With capitalism in crisis, and workers on the move, revolutionary explosions lie ahead. Join the Marxists today in the struggle for socialism!
Marking the one year anniversary since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, Alan Woods discusses Putin’s aims, the hypocrisy and lies of the imperialists, the perspectives for the war – and its impact on the class struggle.
In recent weeks, western press and politicians have manufactured a hue-and-cry over supposed Chinese spy balloons. With crises and class struggle brewing back home, imperialist sabre-rattling provides a useful distraction for the ruling classes.
Flag-waving Tory chauvinists are increasingly attempting to whitewash the brutal history of the British Empire. But recent studies have exposed this shameless falsification and revealed the true extent of colonialism’s horrific, murderous crimes.
In this book launch, Ben Curry discussing the newly republished book Ireland: Republicanism and Revolution.
The recent earthquake in Turkey has caused widespread devastation, with thousands confirmed dead. But this was not simply a ‘natural’ disaster. Profiteering construction bosses, warmongers, and the corrupt Erdogan regime are all to blame.
In this discussion, speakers from various organisations, including Jorge Martín of the IMT, discuss the situation in Peru and the way forward for the struggle.
With the struggle of workers and peasants in Peru sharpening, internationalist activists in London gathered last night at a solidarity meeting co-organised by the Marxist Student Federation. We offer our full support to this inspiring movement.
The global elites have been gathering in Davos this week, discussing the fate and future of capitalism. With the world economy wracked by inflation and instability, a mood of pessimism prevailed. We need a revolution to put them out of their misery.
Following the ousting of President Castillo last December, the struggle in Peru is sharpening, with state repression against protestors and activists. The international labour movement must show solidarity with Peruvian workers and peasants.
The International Marxist Tendency is launching a new weekly podcast in January, aiming to analyse the latest news from a revolutionary Marxist perspective. Subscribe now, and help us bring Marxism to the digital airwaves.
Shaun Morris discusses the Civil War in Ireland, and the continuing struggle for a socialist united Ireland today.
Daniel Morley outlines the Marxist perspective for the class struggle in China.
Last Saturday saw the official launch of a new edition of Alan Woods’ ‘Ireland: Republicanism and Revolution’. At this inspiring event, and in the article below, Ben Curry discussed the key lessons contained within this important book.
The last week has seen mass protests erupting across China, as anger against harsh lockdown measures explodes onto the streets. Workers and youth should have no trust in the liberals, but must wage a revolutionary struggle against the regime.
As 2022 draws to a close, the western establishment is celebrating the triumph of their liberal champions over reactionary demagogues such as Le Pen and Bolsonaro. In reality, their system is in terminal decline. We must fight for revolution.
This year’s football World Cup has opened to commotion and uproar, with FIFA bosses and tournament host Qatar facing criticisms of corruption and repression. Capitalism has sullied the beautiful game. We must kick out the fat-cats and profiteers.
The western propaganda machine has again gone into overdrive, creating a furore over a supposed Russian attack on Poland. Despite Ukraine’s desires, Washington has no interest in all-out war with Russia, but is instead prolonging the conflict.
Alan Woods outlines a Marxist perspective of the current world situation.
The western press has celebrated Russia’s retreat from Kherson in Ukraine. But this withdrawal does not represent a decisive defeat for Putin. The outcome of the war still hangs in the balance, as economic, social, and political tensions mount.
The latest midterm elections in the USA have yielded further political polarisation and paralysis. The Republicans are split, while the Democrats have nothing to offer the working class. Instability, crises, and social explosions lie ahead.
Esaias Yavari discusses the movement of the Iranian masses and what route they must take in order to succeed.
Some ‘lefts’ have thrown their weight behind western imperialism, joining the chauvinistic chorus which demands that more weapons be sent to support Ukraine. Scandalously, these muddleheads justify their position by quoting Trotsky.
Manon Powrie discusses the socialist struggle for open borders.
Left-wingers are celebrating Lula’s election victory in Brazil. But the far-right threat of Bolsonarismo remains. And in the context of capitalist crisis, Lula will have few crumbs to offer. Workers and youth must fight for revolutionary change.
At the recent Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping concentrated power in his hands, hoping to provide stability in the face of a growing economic crisis. But state control cannot hold back the brewing explosions.
With Ukrainian forces advancing, western media and politicians are suggesting that Putin’s Russia will soon be defeated. But war is a complex equation. And the conflict is preparing a major economic, social, and political storm across Europe.
The mass movement in Iran, sparked by the police murder of a young Kurdish woman, has escalated and broadened to include not only youth and students, but also organised workers. The missing factor is that of revolutionary leadership.
Spiralling energy costs are set to cause devastation to households and businesses across Europe this winter. And as the Ukraine conflict drags on, the pressure is building, preparing the conditions for explosive class struggles in all countries.
In September 2022, Hamid Alizadeh and Jorge Martin discussed the main developments in the Ukraine war, and where the conflict is going.
Italy has a new reactionary government in power, following elections on Sunday. This will mean further vicious attacks on workers and the oppressed. Explosive class struggles lie ahead – on the industrial front, and on the streets.
Responding to recent advances by western-backed Ukrainian forces, Vladimir Putin this week announced plans to mobilise additional military manpower for Russia’s war effort. The big imperialist powers are raising the stakes on both sides.
This Sunday sees the latest national elections in Italy. The result is likely to return a right-wing coalition. This will mean further attacks on workers and the oppressed – and further strikes and explosive struggles, as the masses mobilise.
Over the last week, Ukrainian forces have made significant advances on the Kharkiv front, forcing the Russians into a disorganised retreat. Where did this surprise counteroffensive come from? And what is its significance for the war overall?
Huge floods and heavy rains have wreaked havoc on Pakistan recently, causing destruction and ruin across the country. But whilst millions drown and starve, the ruling class continues to enrich themselves. Only revolution can end this misery.
The masses in Sri Lanka overthrew their hated president Gota Rajapaska in July, but left the capitalist state intact. The regime is now responding with a wave of repression. Experience is teaching that the only way forward is to overthrow capitalism.
Germany is facing a crisis of catastrophic proportions this winter, if supplies of Russian gas remain restricted. This would have profound social and political consequences, which could spread worldwide. Class struggle is on the order of the day.
Across the world, immense anger is building amongst the masses, as the crisis of capitalism deepens, creating impoverishment and hunger. In one country after another, this fury is exploding to the surface. The situation is ripe for revolution.
In another stinking display of hypocrisy, British imperialism is meddling in the political affairs of another sovereign country, refusing the Maduro government access to Venezuelan gold stored in the Bank of England. We say: Hands off Venezuela!
Pursuing the narrow interests of US imperialism, Nancy Pelosi has made a provocative trip to Taiwan, leading to further sabre-rattling with China. Only socialist revolution can end the instability and heightening tensions in world relations.
Social explosions are breaking out in one country after another, as the crisis of capitalism deepens. Alan Woods examines the underlying processes playing out across the world – and the revolutionary implications of these titanic events.
A recent article published by the UN accidentally reveals the exploitation and wage-slavery upon which the capitalist system is based. To end poverty and hunger, we need to plan the economy along socialist lines – we need a revolution.
After months of protest, the Sri Lankan masses have stormed the grounds of the president and the prime minister, forcing leader Gota Rajapaksa to flee the country. These explosive events are a harbinger of revolutionary developments worldwide.
Every year on 12 July, Ulster loyalists in the North of Ireland celebrate William of Orange’s victory at the Battle of the Boyne. In this article from 1913, Irish Marxist James Connolly explains the real meaning of these sectarian traditions.
The recent NATO Summit in Madrid was hailed as a victory for the powers of Western imperialism, keen to show off their ‘unity’. But beneath the surface they are far from united, as their diverging interests over Ukraine and China reveal.
This summer marks a century since the outbreak of civil war in Ireland, when fighting began between supporters of the Anglo-Irish Treaty and those demanding a sovereign Irish Republic. Today, the struggle for a Socialist United Ireland continues.
Laura Brown and Joel Bergman discuss the reasons and impact of the repeal of Roe v. Wade.
The US Supreme Court’s assault on abortion rights threatens to strip millions of their basic freedoms overnight. Biden and the Democrats have done nothing to defend women against these attacks. Only mass class struggle can offer a way forward.
As the war in Ukraine drags on, with the US and British imperialists prolonging the conflict for their own narrow interests, weapons manufacturers are making a killing in extra profits. To end the horrors of war, we must fight to end capitalism.
The tables are beginning to turn in the Ukraine war, with Russian forces gaining ground in the Donbas. These developments – combined with the conflict’s economic impacts and rising class struggle – are causing western unity to fracture.
Jorge Martin discusses the events that have challenged the capitalist system in Latin America.
Whilst US imperialism fights a proxy war with Russia in Ukraine, China is looking to expand its spheres of influence in South East Asia and the Pacific. Tensions are rising between the world’s major powers. Storm and struggle lies ahead.
The menace of inflation is no temporary phenomena, with the war, the pandemic, and protectionism combining to push up prices across the world. The ruling class has no solution to this crisis. The stage is set for explosive class struggles.
As the war drags on, the real aims of western imperialism are openly being admitted by its representatives. Many ‘left-wingers’, however, are providing them with a left cover. Instead, socialists must maintain a clear class position.
Following Thursday’s elections, Sinn Féin is now the largest party in Stormont. This will have explosive repercussions across Ireland and Britain: accelerating the crisis of unionism and sharpening UK-EU tensions.
Jorge Martin discusses the revolutionary history of Afghanistan, and how we can fight against imperialist aggression.
The Supreme Court has sent shockwaves across the USA with its plans to overturn the case of Roe v. Wade, threatening to plunge society back into barbarism when it comes to women’s rights. This attack must be fought with mass, militant action.
Washington is funnelling further arms to Ukraine, hoping to prolong the war and advance their own imperialist interests. Cynical talk of ‘defending democracy’ and ‘self-determination’ is just propaganda, designed to conceal their true aims.
The liberal establishment are breathing a sigh of relief that their man – Emmanuel Macron – has won a second term as French President. His re-election, however, will mean further attacks on workers and youth, and further intense class struggles.
Joe Attard analyses the 2022 French Elections, putting forward the positions that Marxists should stand for complete class independence, voting for neither Macron nor Le Pen.
Ben Curry analyses the social explosion that has erupted as a result of the capitalist crisis in Sri Lanka, and what is needed to take this mass movement forward.
Joe Attard exposes US president Joe Biden as nothing but a spineless representative of a decaying capitalist system.
Establishment politicians and press have suggested that the Ukraine conflict could spur a move away from fossil fuels. But instead, it has boosted the profits of the energy monopolies. Only socialist planning can combat the climate crisis.
The conflict in Ukraine has seen a massive campaign of propaganda by western politicians and press, designed to whip up jingoism and distract from problems back home. Marxists must cut through the lies and reveal the real class interests at play.
With the British monarchy mired in crisis and scandal, calls for republicanism are growing across the Commonwealth. The struggle for genuine independence must be linked to the struggle against imperialism and capitalism – and for socialism.
The war in Ukraine is having severe consequences throughout the world. Many countries will be hit hard by rising food and energy prices, tipping millions over the edge. It is only a matter of time before a new revolutionary wave sweeps the world.
Boris Johnson and the Tories have cynically utilised the war in Ukraine to whip up jingoism and distract from their own crimes. But as the patriotic fumes wear off, the spotlight will once again be focussed on their hypocrisy and corruption.
In order to score political points against Putin’s Russia, western governments are cynically expressing their support for Ukrainian refugees. But these hypocrites and their system are the root of the problem. The solution is socialist revolution.
Tensions are rising in the North of Ireland, with the Stormont Executive paralysed and unionism riven by the contradictions of Brexit. There is no solution to this crisis under capitalism. Only a Socialist United Ireland can offer a way out.
Contrary to the assertions of western propaganda, the war in Ukraine is not the result of Putin’s mental state, but is the product of belligerent aggression by US imperialism and NATO. They are responsible for the current catastrophe.
The hypocrisy and cynicism of the Western imperialists knows no bounds. It is they who are guilty of war crimes and pernicious propaganda. They do not care about the plight of ordinary Ukrainians, but only in their own profits and power.
Jorge Martin explains the nature of the conflict in Ukraine, and why Marxists must stand for an independent class position.
Whilst crying crocodile tears about refugees fleeing war in Ukraine, Tory ministers have erected a fortress against those escaping the horrors of imperialism in Africa and the Middle East. We say: Bring down these walls! Bring down capitalism!
The conflict in Ukraine has provoked panic and confusion across society. This is a clash between reactionary powers. Marxists oppose both sides. Socialists must fight against the imperialists and warmongers, and for world revolution.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to fears that the conflict will escalate into WW3. This hysteria is being whipped up by Western imperialism and its servants, in order to sow confusion. Marxists must cut through this barrage of lies.
Vladimir Putin shocked the world this morning by launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Despite many ‘strong’ words, Western leaders have been exposed as impotent. Only revolutionary class struggle can end the horrors of capitalism and war.
Faced with Western imperialism’s intransigence, Putin has escalated the conflict in Ukraine by recognising the Donbas republics and sending in troops. This is a clash between rival reactionary powers – powers that the working class must overthrow.
‘Sir’ Keir Starmer’s recent letter in praise of NATO is designed to impress the establishment whilst chastising the left. Instead of offering apologies for western imperialism, the labour movement must fight for socialist internationalism.
According to a recent report by global poverty charity Oxfam, the biggest killer throughout the pandemic has not been COVID-19, but inequality. Capitalism is the real disease. The only cure is to expropriate the parasitic billionaire class.
Irish activists Orla Murphy and Zac Lumley are facing trial – and possible severe punishment – this week for protesting against government inaction over climate change. We say: The capitalists are the real criminals! Solidarity with Orla and Zac!
In a cynical attempt to distract from his crises back home, Boris Johnson is whipping up hysteria around the ‘threat’ of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Socialists must expose these lies – and the imperialist interests that hide behind them.
50 years ago today, British soldiers opened fire on a civil rights demonstration in Derry, in the North of Ireland, killing 14 people. Only the struggle for a Socialist United Ireland can deliver justice for the victims of British imperialism.
Tensions are rising between Russia and Ukraine, with western politicians and journalists warning of the threat of invasion. Putin’s jingoism has highlighted the weakness of US imperialism – and the inherent instability of world relations.
After years of revolution and counter-revolution, the movement in Sudan is at a decisive juncture: either the masses organise to take power, or the reactionary junta will crush them. The question of leadership is vital.
The recent trial and sentencing of elite socialite and sex-trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has opened the curtain on the disgusting den of sin that the capitalist class inhabit – with all eyes now on Prince Andrew and the crisis-ridden monarchy.
At the start of this year, a mass movement erupted in Kazakhstan. With the protests growing and spreading, the regime has intervened with brutal repression. The masses can rely only on their own strength to take the revolution forward.
As the new year begins, Alan Woods, editor of In Defence of Marxism, looks at what lies ahead, as economic crisis, environmental catastrophe, war, and disease continue to plague humanity. The perspective is clear: socialism or barbarism.
As a new wave of the pandemic sweeps across Europe, governments are enforcing measures to slow the spread of the virus. But the ruling class and its representatives cannot be trusted with our lives. We need to put workers in control.
The emergence of a new, highly-transmissible variant of COVID-19 threatens to deepen the coronavirus crisis. This disastrous setback is the entirely predictable result of capitalist profiteering. The alternative is clear: socialism or barbarism.
The refugee crisis is growing day-by-day. The victims of imperialism are being trapped on the Belarusian border or drowned in the English Channel. Reactionary politicians in the UK and EU are throwing up barriers. We say: bring down the borders!
Despite all the fanfare in advance, the latest UN climate summit concluded with little to show for itself, as capitalist politicians refused to commit to urgent action. The fight against climate catastrophe must be a fight for revolution.
Keelan Kellegher discusses the impact of the Cuban Revolution, and in what ways it can be defended against imperialism and taken forward to a world revolution.
This week’s planned protests in Cuba ended in failure, with the forces of reaction unable to mobilise ordinary people to their cause. On the other side, young communists are beginning to organise in defence of the Cuban Revolution.
Daniel Morley explains the contradictions building up in Chinese society, and the impact of the crisis of Chinese capitalism on the world economy.
The Cuban Revolution is at a decisive crossroads. The economy is in crisis; discontent is rising; and reactionary forces are mobilising. The only way forward is on the basis of workers’ democracy and international socialism.
A year after being elected, Joe Biden has failed to deliver on any of his promises. The Democratic President, his party, and the capitalist system he represents offer no future for the working class. We must build the forces of Marxism.
An immense crisis is brewing in the Chinese economy, with ominous parallels to the 2008 crash. This will send shockwaves across the world, and across Chinese society. The scene is set for a period of intense instability and class struggle.
The last month has seen a wave of strikes in the USA, with workers across the economy taking action over pay and conditions. Consciousness is rapidly changing, and the class struggle is sharpening. The working class needs fighting leadership.
The Tory government is on a collision course with the European Union over the question of trade and the North of Ireland. The capitalists on both sides are losing control of the situation. An explosive cocktail is being prepared.
Marxist societies across the country have been campaigning in solidarity with young Irish climate activists, who face serious charges for taking direct action. We say: Protest is not a crime! The capitalists are the real criminals!
Following on from the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers, a new exposé has again revealed the hidden hoards of wealth that the global elites have stashed away through dubious means. The conclusion is clear: capitalism is corruption.
A new military pact between Australia, the UK, and the US has provoked consternation amongst other imperialist powers – most notably the EU and China. This is yet another symptom of the era of instability that capitalism has entered globally.
Two young climate activists in Ireland are facing draconian punishments from the state in response to direct action taken earlier this year. We say: Solidarity with Orla and Zac! Protest is not a crime! The real criminals are the capitalists!
Recent events in Ireland have shone a light on the hypocrisy and haughtiness of the political establishment, who believe that there is one rule for them and another for the rest. But beneath the surface, an explosive anger is accumulating.
Workers at the GKN plant in Florence have waged a militant battle to defend their jobs, occupying the factory and organising mass action. Their bold struggle provides inspiration and valuable lessons for fighting GKN workers in Britain.
The US Supreme Court has voted to uphold a new Texas state law that drastically limits access to legal abortions. This attack on reproductive rights – under threat from the rotten capitalist system – must be met with working-class resistance.
On this day 20 years ago, Al Qaeda terrorists shocked the world by bringing down the Twin Towers. Two decades on – after waging a long, bloody war – US imperialism has been humiliated in Afghanistan, opening up a new era of instability.
With the shambolic withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan earlier this month, thousands of Afghans are now looking to flee the country. Faced with an unprecedented humanitarian crisis of their own making, politicians in the US and Europe are crying crocodile tears over the hardships faced by refugees, while nonetheless abandoning them to their suffering.
The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan marks a humiliating defeat for US imperialism, as the world’s most powerful military force flees after 20 years of waging a fruitless war. The lesson is clear: the Afghan people can trust only in themselves.
Jorge Martin talks about recent protests in Cuba and the need to defend the Cuban Revolution against imperialist aggression.
Workers at major game developer Activision Blizzard have begun to organise and take action against harassment and discrimination. To kick sexism out of the tech industry, we must kick out the bosses and fight to put workers in control.
The recent World Congress of the International Marxist Tendency was an incredible success, displaying both the strength of the IMT’s ideas, and how these have been translated into a material force across the globe. Marxism is on the march.
The shambolic, much-delayed Tokyo Olympics Games have begun – without fans, and amidst general disapproval from ordinary people in Japan. It is the bosses, not the working class, who should be made to pay for this crisis.
After fighting a fruitless and bloody war for the last 20 years, US forces are withdrawing from Afghanistan. US imperialism is leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Only socialist revolution can prevent a descent in chaos and barbarism.
Counter-revolutionary protests have erupted onto the streets of Cuba, provoked by the deteriorating economic situation facing the country. Socialists must defend the Cuban revolution, oppose imperialism, and fight for workers’ democracy.
Despite the heroic efforts of the masses, the inspiring revolutionary movement against the military regime in Myanmar has reached an impasse. The task ahead is to build a revolutionary leadership armed with Marxist theory and a clear strategy.
The Tories’ welfare ‘reforms’ have intentionally robbed thousands with disabilities and long-term illnesses of crucial support. We need a system that treats the most vulnerable in society with compassion, not contempt.
In recent weeks, billionaires Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Richard Branson have all announced their intentions to travel into space. In reality, they are already living on another planet from the rest of us. We say: expropriate the super-rich!
There are many illusions in Joe Biden, including on the left. But while he might not be as openly reactionary as Trump, he is no friend of working people. He is still the leading representative of the same brutal, oppressive capitalist system.
The DUP in the North of Ireland is in a deep crisis – a reflection of the impasse facing Unionism as a whole. Sectarianism and capitalism have nothing to offer Protestant workers. Only united class struggle can provide a way forward.
The 2018 referendum over the 8th amendment in Ireland was a turning point in the struggle for women’s liberation, delivering a huge blow against the Church and the establishment. Caoimhe Lyons reviews a new documentary following this struggle.
From the 2019 ‘Red October’ in Chile and Ecuador; to the recent mass movement in Colombia and Castillo’s victory in Peru: Latin America is seeing a wave of struggle. Jorge Martin discusses the perspectives for revolution across the continent.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has been kicked out of office by an unholy alliance of opposition parties. But this new government is no less reactionary than the outgoing one. Only revolution across the Middle East can offer a real alternative.
The recent meeting of the G7 nations was heralded as being a comeback for America and its allies, with the aim of stifling the rise of China. But instead, the summit only confirmed the decline and disunity of Western imperialism.
Across the world, young people are at the forefront of the struggles against exploitation, oppression, and repression. Capitalism offers no future for the new generation. Only socialist revolution can provide a way forward.
The victory of Pedro Castillo in the Peruvian presidential election is a major political earthquake, which reflects the enormous social and political polarisation in the Andean country. The ruling class has been dealt a massive defeat by the masses, who have rallied behind a militant teacher trade unionist at the head of a party, Perú Libre, which calls itself Marxist, Leninist and Mariateguist (after Mariátegui, the founder of the Peruvian labour and socialist movement).
World capitalism is lurching from one crisis to another. Growing numbers of workers and youth are desperately seeking a way out. An era of revolutionary eruptions on a world scale is in preparation.
Although Israel has finally agreed to a ceasefire for now, the brutal oppression of Palestinians will continue. The Palestinian general strike indicates the way forward for the movement – to fight the reactionary Israeli regime along class lines.
Big business politicians like Joe Biden and Boris Johnson are promising to ‘build back better’, with investment and jobs. But in reality, the working class will be presented with the bill for capitalism’s crises. Storms and struggle lie ahead.
As Israeli air strikes continue, a mass movement has erupted across the world – in solidarity with the Palestinians, and denouncing the crimes of Israeli imperialism. Only revolutionary struggle can put an end to this barbarism.
The partition of Ireland took place a century ago, but the sectarian divisions conjured up by British imperialism remain to this day. With sectarianism rearing its head once again, it is vital that we learn the lessons of this period.
The latest imperialist aggression by the Israeli state has killed dozens in Gaza and wounded hundreds more. The only way forward for the mass of Jewish and Palestinian workers and youth is the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism.
Activists from the International Marxist Tendency are mobilising all over the world for May Day, raising the banner of revolution and international socialism, as the only solution to capitalist barbarism and the horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Derek Chauvin’s conviction marks a new stage for the class struggle in the USA. The Biden administration cannot solve the problems facing US capitalism or American workers. Only revolutionary struggle offers a way forward.
India is in the grip of a second wave of COVID-19. The blame for this public health crisis lies squarely on the Modi regime and the self-interested imperialist powers. Only socialist planning and workers’ control can offer a way forward.
The global microchip shortage has shed light on the retreat from globalisation across the world. The scramble to re-shore industries can only intensify the crisis of capitalism. The only way out is international co-operation and socialist planning.
Capitalist governments the world over are exploiting of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to curb civil liberties and clamp down on dissent. It is vital that the workers’ organisations fight back to defend these basic democratic rights.
Loyalist rioting in the North of Ireland has raised fears of a return to ‘The Troubles’. This sectarianism is a Frankenstein’s Monster of British imperialism’s creation. Only a united class struggle for socialism can offer a way forward.
Mass vaccination offers the clearest route out of the COVID crisis facing humanity. Yet the barriers of private ownership and the nation state stand in the way of achieving this. The capitalist system is killing us. It must be overthrown.
Socialist Appeal supporters are deeply saddened to hear the news of the death of Hans-Gerd Öfinger, a lifelong revolutionary Marxist and a founding member of the German section of the IMT. We send our solidarity to his family and comrades.
In this podcast, Shaun Morris of the Revolution editorial board, will examine the lessons and legacy of the Irish independence struggle – an understanding of which is essential for revolutionary Marxists fighting for a socialist united Ireland today.
COVID chaos reigns across Europe, with vaccine protectionism and scepticism on the rise. Tensions between the EU and UK are heightening. But as these rival imperialist powers spar, it is the working class who are suffering the consequences.
Myanmar’s masses continue to resist the military junta, which is failing to restore stability. Class tensions are heightening, with an alliance of unions organising a second general strike. All the conditions exist for a revolution.
This week, Tory ministers announced that Britain would drastically cut the aid it sends to war-torn Yemen. Meanwhile, UK arms sales to the Saudis continue. As Lenin remarked: war is terrible – terribly profitable for the capitalists.
With capitalism in its deepest ever crisis, and revolutionary movements erupting across the world, there has never been a more urgent need to build the forces of Marxism. Help us in this vital task. Donate to our Fighting Fund today!
Over two million people have died directly from the virus and the crisis is far from over. Protectionism and “vaccine nationalism” are preventing billions of people from actually accessing lifesaving vaccines. When will it all end?
Brexit is only a month old. But already, Ireland has been caught in the crossfire as the UK and EU clash. The menace of Protestant sectarianism is rising once again. Only united class struggle can offer a way forward.
In organising a swift coup against Aung San Suu Kyi (ASSK), Myanmar’s generals have killed the illusion, already in its death throes, of the liberalisation of Myanmar under US domination.
With vaccine production left to Big Pharma, supply shortages have led to tensions across Europe. A clash between the UK, EU, and AstraZeneca has heightened fears of ‘vaccine protectionism’. We need socialist planning.
The Egyptian Revolution is rich in lessons, as well as prospects for the immediate future. This article provides a balance sheet of the revolution and its aftermath, 10 years later, and explains the revolutionary perspectives for Egypt today.
A recent Oxfam report has found that the world’s 10 richest men have increased their fortunes by $540 billion during the pandemic. Instead of appealing for philanthropy from these fat cats, we need to expropriate the super-rich.
In this recent talk to Socialist Appeal supporters, Antonio Balmer (from the Socialist Revolution USA editorial board) discusses the recent dramatic events in Washington, which are yet another symptom of the decline of American capitalism – and a harbinger of revolutionary explosions to come.
Joe Biden was sworn in as US president yesterday, surrounded by armed troops. The establishment are pinning their hopes on the new administration to pull US capitalism out of this period of chaos and decline. But the writing is on the wall.
Trump has been banned from Twitter after he encouraged supporters to storm the Capitol building. While there is a gratifying irony in this, Marxists must soberly consider the implications of this move by the Big Tech capitalists.
Governments across the world are in a race against the clock to roll out COVID vaccines. But the profiteering of Big Pharma, the recklessness of bourgeois politicians, and the anarchy of the market are hindering efforts.
As 2021 begins, Alan Woods looks at the state of the world. While a few billionaires enrich themselves, most are trapped between the pandemic and poverty. The working class are beginning to stretch their muscles in preparation for the battles to come.
This week, a mob of Trump supporters invaded Capitol Hill. These dramatic events are exposing the total impasse of US capitalism. But the real insurrection must come from the working class: the only force that can transform society.
A British judge has ruled that Julian Assange will not be extradited to the US given his fragile mental state, despite agreeing with the prosecution’s case against him. He has also been denied bail. This farcical affair is far from over.
The COVID-19 vaccines are the only road out of this pandemic. But despite receiving huge sums from the state, Big Pharma expect to generate handsome profits. We say: nationalise the pharmaceutical industry to fight the virus!
Socialist Appeal are greatly relieved and enthused to hear that comrade Amar Fayaz – who was abducted by the Pakistani state on 8 November 2020 – has finally been released, thanks to a tremendous international solidarity campaign.
The move by the Tories to cut the foreign aid budget has caused uproar amongst the establishment. But beneath their ‘concern for the poor’ lies their concern for their own profits.
Biden beating Trump in the White House race is no surprise. Just a few months ago the Commander in Chief was forced to hide in a bunker from the most massive protest in US history. What is surprising is that the result was not a foregone conclusion.
Comrade Amar Fayaz was abducted last month by Pakistani forces. Since then his whereabouts have been unknown, yet no charges have been brought against him. Join the campaign to fight for Amar’s release. Release Amar Fayaz!
COVID restrictions are set to loosen up in the North of Ireland – part of a cynical attempt by politicians to use the pandemic for sectarian ends. Workers in both communities need a united socialist struggle to end this chaos and crisis.
A second wave of COVID-19 is ravaging Europe. This was not inevitable, but a deadly consequence of governments prioritising the wealth of the capitalists over the health of the population. Make the bosses pay to protect lives and livelihoods!
Biden has won – to the delight of the establishment, and the relief of ordinary Americans fed up with Trump. But US society remains polarised. And Biden represents the same bankrupt politics that led to Trump’s rise in the first place.
Fred Weston, editor for marxist.com, discusses the most polarised US election in living memory. Biden’s victory is no cause for celebration for workers and youth. Donald Trump and his supporters are not going away anytime soon.
Joe Biden is on course to become the 46th President of the USA. But while cheers can be heard on Wall St., there is little enthusiasm amongst workers for the new White House occupant. Nor will Trump and his ilk go quietly into the night.
US election night has come and gone, but there are no clear results. Trump has all but declared victory, while Biden has called for patience. The general picture is one of deep polarisation, with bourgeois democracy in an utter mess.
The oppression of the Uyghurs by the Chinese regime is real. But Western imperialism’s condemnation is a cynical attempt to put pressure on Beijing. Sanctions will not alleviate the plight of the Uyghurs – only class struggle will.
In a landslide election result New Zealand’s Labour party has won an absolute majority, showing a dramatic shift to the left. However, the programme promises very little and its limits will be exposed by the coming economic tsunami.
The official global death toll from the coronavirus crisis has now exceeded one million. The blame for this lies with the capitalist system and its reckless political representatives, who have consistently put profits before lives.
Alan Woods – editor of In Defence of Marxism – comments on the situation in the USA, where it was announced last week that President Donald Trump has contracted COVID-19, amidst a farcical presidential election and the greatest crisis in the history of US capitalism.
We are living through a turning point in history with no parallel. The entire system is in crisis and consciousness of developing in leaps and bounds across the world. Our urgent task is the building of a revolutionary organisation.
Julian Assange’s extradition hearing resumed earlier this month. Every trick in the book is being used in order to crush and silence the whistleblower – all on the part of US imperialism. Socialists must defend Assange and the right to free speech.
Elections are approaching in the USA, and voters are faced with the dire ‘choice’ of Trump or Biden. Neither will serve the interests of the working class. Workers must mobilise to kick out Trump and kick out capitalism!
John Hume – founding member of the SDLP in the North of Ireland, and key architect of the Good Friday Agreement – died recently, on 3 August. The establishment has been full of posthumous praise. But his lasting legacy has not benefited the working class.
In this recent talk by Fightback, the Canadian section of the IMT, comrade Adam Zeineddine discusses the way forward for the Lebanese revolution.
President Trump has attempted to whip up panic around the Black Lives Matter protests, in order to portray himself as the ‘law and order’ candidate in the upcoming elections. But this desperate move is a sign of weakness, not strength.
The explosion in Beirut last week has caused an explosion of rage and struggle, as the Lebanese masses take to the streets once again. We say: trust nobody but your own forces! Workers of Lebanon, overthrow the whole rotten system!
A massive explosion caused untold destruction and bloodshed in the Lebanese capital yesterday. This tragedy was a disaster waiting to happen, and will provoke the anger of the masses against the corrupt clique at the top of society.
Comrade Amin – who was abducted on 14 July by the Rangers paramilitary organisation in Pakistan – has now been released. This was the direct result of an international campaign of solidarity from IMT comrades and sympathisers worldwide.
EU leaders have come to an agreement on a new rescue package for the ailing trading bloc. But this is a sign of mutual weakness, not solidarity; and the working class will be asked to foot the bill. Crisis and chaos continue to loom.
All over the world, lockdowns are being lifted. Amidst the biggest economic and social crisis in living memory, the ruling class is pushing a “return to normality” – while preparing new attacks on the working class.
Caught in the clash between US and Chinese imperialism, the Tory government has confirmed plans to ban Huawei from 5G infrastructure. Far from displaying any post-Brexit strength, this reveals British capitalism’s weakness.
The pandemic has triggered an unprecedented crisis of capitalism. The ruling class has no solution for how to get out of this. Consciousness will be shaken and transformed by these events. We must prepare for world revolution.
The ruling class, under pressure from the enormous Black Lives Matter movement, have given minor concessions. However, nothing will fundamentally change until we do away with this rotten system and the state apparatus that maintains it.
Alan Woods comments on the uprising in the USA, which was sparked by the police murder of George Floyd, and has become the catalyst for an explosion of anger by the downtrodden in America. What is the way forward?
A split is developing at the top of American society over how to deal with the mass movement, as Trump’s crackdown adds fuel to the fire. Workers in the USA cannot rely on either Trump or Biden – they must rely on their own strength.
In our latest episode of IMTV, Alan Woods – editor of In Defence of Marxism, discusses the police killing of George Floyd in the USA and the insurrectionary protests seen in response across America.
In this recent live broadcast statement by Antonio Balmer – of Socialist Revolution, US section of the IMT – looks at the recent police killing of George Floyd, discussion the question of racism and police violence, and explaining the need for revolution.
Anger has exploded across the United States in response to the recent police killing of George Floyd. This time workers and youth are drawing more radical conclusions, declaring “this ain’t a riot, it’s a revolution!”
New documents reveal the existence of a secretive “Venezuela Reconstruction Office” at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, showing the close relationship between the Tory government and the coup-plotting Juan Guaido. We say: Hands off Venezuela!
The COVID-19 crisis is exposing the limitations of global bodies like the UN and the WHO, trapped between the competing interests of US and Chinese imperialism. Like an umbrella full of holes, they’re useless precisely when they’re most needed.
A recent report estimates that half the world’s workforce will lose their livelihoods as a result of the pandemic. Capitalism is destroying people’s lives. We must fight for a system that works for the billions, not the billionaires.
In the weeks and months to come, the world could be facing “multiple famines of biblical proportions”. With war, poverty and now a pandemic spreading across the globe, recent predictions are showing that the worst-off are being hit harder than ever.
Socialist Appeal recently spoke to Paul Murphy, Irish TD (MP) for Dublin South-West, who discussed the need to fight back against the bosses and big businesses that are attempting to profit from the COVID-19 crisis.
Bernie Sanders is out of the race, a punch to the gut for many who hoped his campaign would offer a way forward. But it’s also a turning point. For millions, this will be the last time they try to work within the two-party system of the capitalists.
A perfect storm of private sector profiteering, reckless production practices, environmental destruction and underinvestment in medical research has made global pandemics more common, and undermined our capacity to deal with them.
The coronavirus crisis has brought the national tensions within the European Union to the fore, leading to a sharp conflict between the northern and southern European member states over spending. The European project is facing its demise.
We are told: “The virus does not discriminate – rich and poor alike, we are all in this together.” However, the reality is that the privileged elite, who enjoy relative safety, expect the workers to risk infection to keep profits rolling in.
The coronavirus crisis in Italy has brought out the real nature of the capitalist system, where profit is being placed before lives. The working class is reacting with militant strike action. What lessons can be drawn from this experience?
Capitalism has utterly failed to deal with the coronavirus crisis, and is putting the lives of millions of people at risk. In such a situation, only drastic measures – socialist measures – can avert the impending disaster.
Europe faces its greatest crisis since WWII as borders close across the region. The coming slump will exacerbate national tensions. We are witnessing a new phase in the unravelling of the union. Fight for a Socialist United States of Europe!
The entertainment industry is amongst those that has been hit hard by the pandemic-induced paralysis of the economy. Uncertainty prevails for film and television workers, as the future of the sector hangs in the balance.
After 2008, China prevented a global depression by taking on a massive amount of debt. However, this merely paved the way for a larger crisis. This time the economic crisis will be far deeper, as China can no longer play this role.
German football has hit the news recently, with fans protesting against the increasing commercialisation of the sport. Once again, we see how the ‘beautiful game’ is being destroyed by profit.
World events are moving at breakneck speed. Covid-19 has set in motion a chain reaction, throwing one country after another into the maelstrom. All of the contradictions of the capitalist system are erupting to the surface.
Millions of women across Latin America – who have been at the forefront of recent revolutionary uprisings – took to the streets on International Women’s Day. The struggle for women’s liberation must be a struggle for socialism.
The Democratic primary campaign is now a two-horse race between Sanders and Biden. Just as in 2016, the Democratic party establishment will do everything to hold Sanders back. The creation of an independent workers’ party in the USA is urgently needed.
The coronavirus outbreak threatens to plunge the fragile world economy into a new slump, as supply chains are disrupted, travel is curtailed, and businesses shutdown. These dangers reflect the global crisis of the capitalist system.
Julian Assange faces potential extradition to the US for exposing the crimes of US imperialism. The brutal methods of the American ruling class must not be exposed, so they intend to make an example of Assange.
Ben Curry reviews Peter Hadden’s book on the history of the class struggle in Ireland, and asks: how should Marxists approach the national question?
The spread of the coronavirus across China is starting to have serious political repercussions for the regime. Social tensions are heightening, the economy is stalling, and the stability of the system is under threat.
Ireland was previously hailed by liberal commentators for bucking the trend of political instability. But it has now caught up with a bang. The rise of Sinn Féin has delivered the establishment and the two-party system a decisive blow.
Trump’s recently announced “Deal of the Century” to broker “peace” in Israel-Palestine is a laundry list of humiliating terms for the Palestinians, aimed at giving full US backing to Israeli expansionism.
A recent report demonstrates the high level of dissatisfaction with democracy across the world. Liberalism is in crisis as capitalism fails to improve or even maintain living standards. Only socialism provides an answer.
The results of the general election show that Ireland has caught up with the rest of Europe in terms of political polarisation and the collapse of the centre ground. The country is set for a new period of instability.
The rotten nature of American capitalist democracy was exposed at the Iowa caucus this week. This charade shows, once again, the need for a workers’ party in the US.
The Coronavirus outbreak in China has caused widespread fear across the country. A perfect storm of bureaucratic blunders and the drive for profit has resulted in a growing crisis, heightening social tensions in China.
French workers have demonstrated staggering resolve to continue their general strike against Macron’s pension ‘reforms’. New layers continue to enter the fight. Only a break with the system can provide a way forward.
Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, recently appeared in the ICJ to defend the regime in Myanmar against accusations of genocide. The masses cannot rely on bourgeois ‘saints’ to fight for their freedom, they must rely on their own strength.
Russia’s recent doping ban is just the tip of the iceberg. The scale of the scandal is hidden to protect the profits of corporations making billions from sporting events. Sports must be taken out of the hands of big business.
The recent assassination of General Soleimani was a clear act of imperialist aggression. This weekend, Socialist Appeal supporters marched with thousands of others in protest of Trump’s warmongering. No to imperialist aggression!
The future looks bleak for the ruling class with stagnant growth and the threat of a no-deal brexit. Symptoms like the conflict between the US and Iran and the ongoing wildfires in Australia show the depth of the capitalist and climate crisis.
Workers in France have been striking since early December, fighting against the attacks of the reactionary Macron government. To win, the struggle needs to escalate. This requires a political perspective of bringing down the Macron regime.
The assassination of General Soleimani was an act of imperialist aggression serving Trump’s short-term interests. The attack is unlikely to lead to war, which would be a disaster for the US. But it highlights the weakness of US imperialism.
The recent UK election results have added to tensions in the North of Ireland, delivering a blow to the DUP and boosting demands for a border poll. Only a united working-class struggle can offer a way forward.
Latin America has been shaken by tumultuous events. Mass uprisings have erupted against austerity and oppression. However, the forces of reaction are organising in response. These must be fought with revolutionary means.
The last month has seen massive uprisings erupting across the world, including in Iraq, Lebanon and Chile. We are entering a revolutionary period, as the crisis of capitalism continues to deepen. The only solution is socialism.
The last few weeks have seen massive uprisings taking place across the world. This reflects the deepening crisis of capitalism internationally. We publish here articles on the dramatic events unfolding in Ecuador, Chile, Haiti, Catalonia and Lebanon.
The impeachment of Donald Trump reflects the desperation of the American capitalists who have no control over the erratic president. However, this farce will do nothing to advance the interests of American workers, who must organise against capitalism.
Syriza’s betrayal demonstrates how anti-austerity governments must break with capitalism or be forced to enact the austerity demanded by the crisis. This is an essential lesson for the British Labour movement, with a possible Corbyn government.
As in any country, the ruling class in Ireland have distorted their history to disguise the role of the revolutionary masses. In Resistance and Rebellion, by RTE, the revolutionary role of James Connolly and the Irish masses are obscurred.
Since 2000, 400,000 in the US have died using prescription opioids like Oxycontin. Big pharmaceutical companies make billions by lying about the dangers of these drugs and paying doctors to overprescribe. Nationalise healthcare now!
Last Friday millions across the world took to the streets to fight climate change, a result of capitalism. Comrades across the world intervened, putting forward a class solution.
This summer has seen catastrophic fires in the Amazon, a consequence of environmental destruction in the interests of big business. This process has been accelerated under Bolsonaro. We say kick out Bolsonaro! Kick out capitalism!
Despite apparent concern for the environment and human rights, the world’s largest food companies have shown that their only real concern is profit. Only working-class solidarity provides the answer.
Recent shootings in the USA have shone a light on far-right extremism and the role of reactionary politicians like Trump in whipping up racism and bigotry. Both Trump and these shootings are symptoms of the rotten capitalist system.
Fifty years ago today, British troops were sent into the North of Ireland, marking the start of the Troubles. Rob Sewell explains why only the fight for a Socialist United Ireland can bring an end to sectarianism.
Washington is ratcheting up attempts at regime change in Venezuela – this time by enforcing an embargo designed to strangle the country’s economy. This latest imperialist aggression must be fought using revolutionary means.
The recent death of Jeffrey Epstein – the well-connected billionaire and sex trafficker for the rich and famous – has once again shone a spotlight on the depraved world of the ruling class. This rotten establishment must be overthrown.
The left-wing Syriza party in Greece has been defeated in the polls after capitulating to the capitalists and carrying out austerity whilst in government. This is a vital lesson for the left in Britain and internationally.
Greta Thunberg, founder of the #YouthStrike4Climate movement, has put out a call for workers to join students on the next international day of action, on 20th September. The leaders of the labour movement should unite the struggles.
This year’s G20 summit in Osaka was a masterclass in putting on a brave face. As the ruling classes stumble from political crises to economic slowdown, all the leaders of world capitalism could do was smile vacantly for the cameras.
Tensions are rising in the Gulf, with a belligerent wing of the Trump administration set on sabre-rattling with the Iranian regime. We must oppose this imperialist warmongering.
All over the world, the liberal status quo is splintering under the pressure of so-called ‘populism’. But why? And what does this mean for the fight for socialism?
Recent elections in Ireland have seen a surge in support for the Greens and a continuing stagnation for the country’s two historically dominant parties. The ruling class is full of pessimism about the stability of their system.
Conditions for Palestinians today are horror without end. With the recent Israeli elections giving a majority to a coalition of right-wing parties, the oppression of Palestinians looks set to intensify.
Trump’s ongoing coup in Venezuela took a new turn yesterday, when Washington puppet Juan Guaidó launched a small military assault. This is a warning: revolutionary counter-measures are needed against imperialist aggression.
The terrorist bombings of churches in Sri Lanka are a barbaric atrocity. Only united class struggle can provide a way forward.
The fire that partly destroyed Notre Dame is a tragedy for anyone who cherishes the cultural, artistic and architectural achievements of humanity. To protect our past, we need to fight for a socialist future.
Accusations of anti-semitism against the left and Netanyahu’s recent electoral victory have brought the issue of Israel and Palestine sharply to the fore. It is important to provide a clear Marxist analysis on this question.
The British establishment have put all the blame for the Bloody Sunday massacre on the shoulders of just one ‘rogue’ soldier. But the crimes of British imperialism in the North of Ireland go far deeper than this.
The horrendous recent events in New Zealand demonstrate that there is a growing fascist threat on the fringes of society. It is the racism and xenophobia from the top that is to blame for this rise of far-right terrorism.
US imperialism’s attempts at ‘regime change’ in Venezuela have stalled. But frustration could lead to even more desperate measures by Trump and his allies. This coup must be fought through revolutionary means.
Bernie Sanders has officially thrown his hat into the ring and put himself forward to be the Democratic Party candidate for the 2020 presidential election. But if we want a “revolution against the billionaire class”, we need a mass socialist party.
Liberal leaders and commentators have rushed to support Washington’s coup attempt in Venezuela. As ever, the liberals are providing a convenient cover for imperialism’s pernicious interests.
The dramatic ‘standoff’ between US President Donald Trump and the Democrats over border policy is a cynical charade between two parties that represent one and the same class. We need a socialist alternative.
The imperialist coup plotters had been hyping up last Saturday’s ‘humanitarian aid’ delivery in advance, hoping for a turning point in their attempts at regime change. But in the end their plans fell flat.
US imperialism is upping the ante in its mission to implement regime change in Venezuela, attempting to provoke a clash by importing “humanitarian aid” across the border. This aggressive intervention must be combatted with revolutionary measures.
After spending over a decade in power attempting to greenwash her capitalist programme, Merkel’s environmental agenda is quickly unravelling under pressure from big business.
Marxist student activists in Pakistan are being repressed for their solidarity campaigning. We urge all our readers to support victimised comrades and demand the release of those arrested.
US imperialism is continuing in its attempts to bring about regime change in Venezuela. We publish here a statement from the International Marxist Tendency, explaining why it is the duty of all socialists to fight this coup.
A coup attempt is in full-swing in Venezuela, orchestrated from Washington. As ever, supposedly ‘objective’ media outlets such as the BBC are softening up public opinion for this imperialist intervention.
US imperialism is continuing to tighten the screws on the Maduro government in their attempt to bring about regime change. But the revolutionary masses in Venezuela are resisting this coup.
US imperialist intervention in Venezuela is escalating by the day. The Trump administration is ramping up the pressure in an attempt to bring about regime change. This coup must be fought through revolutionary means.
The Trump administration is continuing to escalate its imperialist intervention in Venezuela, in an attempt to overthrow the Maduro government. Socialist activists everywhere must condemn this coup.
A coup attempt is underway in Venezuela, backed by US imperialism. The labour movement internationally must respond to condemn this imperialist intervention and support the revolutionary masses in Venezuela.
The ongoing trade conflict between the USA and China will not subside any time soon. The current protectionist battle is merely a harbinger of greater tensions and instability in world relations.
The US government remains shutdown as the standoff between President Trump and the Democrats continues. The working class should use their power to keep society running in their own interests.
US imperialism is preparing the ground for a coup d’état against the Maduro government. Workers of the world: defend the Bolivarian Revolution against imperialist aggression!
Alan Woods looks back at the turbulent events of 2018, and forward to what promises to be an even more unstable year ahead.
Alan Woods responds to the myths about socialism being spread by Trump’s team. Their desperate slanders reveal that the US ruling class is worried about the increasing support for radical ideas amongst workers and youth.
The gilet jaunes protests in France continued over the weekend, but with diminished numbers. To move forward successfully, the trade union and left leaders need to provide direction, with mass strikes aimed at bringing down the Macron government.
Across the continent, European leaders are facing political and economic crises at home. The EU project is being torn apart at the seams.
France’s “gilets jaunes” protests have rapidly escalated into a national mass movement against the elite and their political representatives. Now they must go further and overthrow the Macron government.
Liberal commentators have recently turned on Mohammad bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince, as a result of his involvement in the brutal Khashoggi murder. But Trump has stuck with his trusted ally, revealing the true ugly face of capitalism.
The radical and militant mass movement of the yellow vests in France has won a partial victory with the cancellation of the fuel tax increase. But now it must continue and fight to topple the Macron government.
A mass grassroots movement has exploded onto the scene in France, aimed squarely against the Macron government. The left must help to give this radical movement a political expression.
Mass student protests in Colombia have been met with repression by the state. But workers are also on the move against the government. Students and workers: unite and fight!
The big tech monopoly has been found using student “interns” in its factories, forcing them to work in brutally exploitative conditions. But this is not just a case of one rotten capitalist apple.
The fragile fabric of the European project is being torn apart by a combo of political and economic forces. Liberal politicians are impotent to hold up the crumbling pillars of this failed status quo.
A crunch point is approaching in the ongoing saga surrounding the highly-indebted Italian economy. This could spark a revival of the dormant euro crisis.
The US President has poured scorn on the attempts of Honduran migrants to make their way to the USA, asserting that they will be met with force. But threats and repression will not deter those desperately seeking to survive.
The elections in Brazil on Sunday have brought to power Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right candidate, who promises to launch a full on assault against the working class. How was this reactionary figure able to win?
Neoconservative Francis Fukuyama once proclaimed the triumph of liberal capitalism and the “end of history”. But events have forced him to swallow his words.
This weekend sees the second round of the Brazilian presidential elections. The likely winner will be Bolsonaro, an arch-reactionary. The working class need to mobilise and organise to fight him head on.
The disappearance of a critical journalist has shone a light on the brutal nature of the Saudi regime and the hypocrisy of their western imperialist allies.
The escalating US-China trade war reveals the long-standing and developing frictions between the imperialist powers, which threaten to plunge the world into a new recession.
John Peterson from Socialist Revolution in the USA examines the upcoming midterm elections and the battle that has taken place over the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
A year on from the dramatic events surrounding the referendum for Catalan independence, Jorge Martin analyses the lessons of the struggle for the Catalan Republic.
The recent eviction of a group of occupiers in Dublin has highlighted the absurd housing crisis that exists in Ireland, with empty homes alongside homelessness.
Earlier this summer, the Israeli parliament voted through a law that reduces the sizeable Arab population to the status of second-class citizens.
After decades of peace and calm, a period of uncertainty and volatility is opening up in Sweden. The crisis of capitalism has reached so-called “socialist” Scandinavia.
Today is the National Day of Catalonia. We publish here the latest editorial from Revolució: magazine of the International Marxist Tendency in Catalonia, which provides a balance sheet of the political situation in Catalonia and the rest of the Spanish state, and explains the tasks ahead for the left wing of the Republican movement.
The recent arrest of investigative journalists in Northern Ireland shows what is really meant by the “free press” under capitalism.
The fatal collapse of the Morandi bridge in Genoa, Italy, demonstrates once again how – under capitalism – the profits of the few come before the lives and safety of the many.
Turkey is facing a deep economic crisis, set in motion by a clash between the ‘strongmen’ of Trump and Erdogan. But this dispute was merely the spark to a pile of combustible material.
The ‘progressive’ apologists of capitalism claim that their system is helping the global poor. But in fact it is condemning billions to a life with no future.
The situation in Venezuela is reaching breaking point, with inflation, shortages, and emmigration all increasing. Something has to give. Workers and peasants are beginning to move, indicating the way forward.
Donald Trump’s recent summit with his Russian counterpart has rattled the cages of the establishment across the Western world, bringing all the old certainties into question.
Thousands will protest across the country today against the US President’s visit. But to tackle Trump, we must tackle the rotten system that has produced him.
Trump’s UK visit this week will draw thousands onto the streets in opposition to his disgusting policies. But many of these are just a crude continuation of his liberal predecessors.
Across the world, the US President is pouring oil upon an already-raging fire. His arrogant, egotistical behaviour reflects the greed and madness of the capitalist system that has produced him.
The victory for Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his MORENA party in the recent Mexican elections is a huge blow against the ruling class and imperialism.
The massive victory for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the recent Democratic primary in New York has raised the hopes of many socialists in America. But can the Left really take over the Democratic Party?
An extremely unstable government has been cobbled together in Italy. But this could fall apart and sink at any point, threatening to pull the rest of Europe down with it.
The US President’s explosive strategy in terms of foreign policy is a reflection of – and a contributing factor towards – the collapse of the existing global status quo.
Joan Claravall from Spain looks at the horrific crisis facing those who are fleeing to Europe from war and poverty. But European leaders are all trying to pass the buck.
Trump’s latest tariffs on Chinese goods threaten to escalate and destabilise an already fragile situation.
The world’s most popular sport has been corrupted by money and profit-seeking. We need to kick capitalism out of football.
The situation facing the masses in Venezuela has continued to decline following the re-election of Nicolas Maduro last month. A revolutionary way forward is urgently required.
As expected, the ‘historic’ meeting between the US President and North Korean leader was, in the end, mainly for the cameras and the press.
Trump is acting as a wrecking ball to the established world order. But his destructive impact is only possible because global structures have already been greatly weakened by the crisis of capitalism.
The crisis in the eurozone has moved from the economic plane to the political plane – and back again. Europe is stuck in a “doom loop”.
Trump’s threat to ignite a trade war with the rest of the world is a reflection of global capitalism’s impasse, not its cause.
The already unstable political situation in Spain has taken another dramatic turn, with right-wing Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy forced to step down after losing a vote of no confidence.
The massive vote to repeal the 8th amendment and introduce abortion rights marks another major turning point for all progressive forces in Ireland.
Voters in Ireland will have a chance on Friday to hit back against a key pillar of establishment.
Despite imperialist meddling, workers, peasants, and the poor in Venezuela turned out to re-elect Nicolas Maduro as president. But the country’s crisis is far from resolved.
The serious representatives of capitalism are petrified that the ongoing trade dispute between China and America could erupt into a full-blown economic war.
Neither the opposition nor the Maduro bureaucracy offers a way forward for Venezuela. The chavista movement needs a genuine revolutionary leadership.
The brutal murder of Palestinian protestors this week is another horrific reminder of the oppression facing the people of Gaza.
In withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, the US President has added fuel to an already blazing fire in the Middle East.
As Trump announces US withdrawal from one nuclear deal, he is attempting to claim credit for another.
All that was solid has melted into air. The ground is being prepared for a revolutionary overthrow of the old order.
The crisis of European capitalism now expresses itself as an acute crisis of the establishment, with political instability and a collapse of the centre ground seen across the continent.
The campaign against the abduction of our IMT comrades in Pakistan has had an impact. But we must keep fighting to help those still detained.
We call on all our readers to show solidarity with comrades in Pakistan and help campaign against the abduction of seven leading activists by the state.
We call on all our readers to protest against the abduction of six IMT comrades in Pakistan by the army.
A decade on since the financial crisis, the world situation is characterised by instability at every level. How do we make sense of this chaos?
To fight the barbarism imposed on the people of Gaza, a united struggle of Palestinian and Israeli workers and youth against the Israeli ruling class is needed.
The weekend’s airstrikes are a cynical distraction from the problems facing Trump, May, and Macron back home.
Macron’s offensive has galvanised workers and students across France. Now the action needs to step up a gear.
The Spanish state has stepped up its attempts to repress the movement for independence in Catalonia. But they have faced unexpected obstacles – from the courts and from the masses.
We publish here an editorial statement from Lucha de Clases – the IMT in Venezuela – about the latest moves by US imperialism and the need for a revolutionary alternative to the Maduro bureaucracy.
Donald Trump has taken another step on the path towards a trade war, announcing large tariffs on Chinese goods. The US President’s latest measures reflect the fears amongst the American capitalists towards Chinese competition.
The Good Friday Agreement was signed two decades ago, ending years of sectarian violence. But now the treaty is being trampled under foot by the narrow interests of cynical politicians on all sides.
The technology may have changed, Daniel Morley writes, but the dodgy practices used by Cambridge Analytica to influence political opinion are no different from those employed daily by the entire capitalist establishment and its liberal mouthpieces.
Fred Weston analyses the results of Sunday’s elections in Italy, which have left the country in much the same situation as before the vote: economically in crisis; politically unstable; and socially on the brink.
Alan Woods looks back at the life and revolutionary role of Hugo Chávez, using the 5th anniversary of his death to examine the prospects for the Bolivarian Revolution going forward.
Alan Woods takes an in-depth look at the situation in Syria, where the ceasefire has broken down. The dire situation reveals the cynicism of the imperialists – and the horror without end that they have created.
Daniel Morley discusses the latest accusations and revelations that have engulfed Oxfam and the murky global charity sector. Far from “making poverty history”, these organisations thrive on capitalism’s injustices.
Last night, on the evening of 14th February, Jacob Zuma resigned from his position as President of South Africa. This follows a long period of power struggle between two rival wings of the ruling ANC party. Turbulent events lie ahead.
We publish here a statement by Lucha de Clases, the Venezuelan section of the IMT, which discusses the increased aggression and intervention by US imperialism in Venezuela.
After inflicting years of barbarism on the Yemeni people, the Saudi coalition is falling apart at the seams. This, Hamid Alizadeh explains, spells trouble for the rotten Saudi ruling class.
On the back of yesterday’s State of the Union speech, Josh Holroyd takes a look at the chaos sweeping through the White House. Donald Trump is both a product and a source of unprecedented instability in the system.
Waves of heroic protests have spread rapidly to towns and cities throughout Iran over the past two weeks. But, as Farshad Azadian reports, the rhetoric of Western leaders in support of the ‘Iranian people’ has nothing to do with concern for the suffering of the Iranian people and everything to do with assuring their own imperialist interests.
Gerry Ruddy explains the history of the border in Ireland, and discusses the contradictions facing the governments in Britain and Ireland as a result of Brexit.
As the New Year begins, Alan Woods looks back at the major political developments of the past year – and ahead to the turbulent and revolutionary events in store in 2018.
Jorge Martin analyses the results of last month’s municipal elections in Venezuela and discusses the perspectives for the country and the Bolivarian movement in the face of economic crisis and bureaucratic state control.
In the past week, Iran has seen the most widespread protests since the 1979 Revolution. While it is still smaller in size than the 2009 Green movement, it has spread far beyond the mainly urban areas of the big cities to which that movement was mainly confined. This is a sea-change and it has shaken the regime to its foundations.
The results of the 21st December Catalan elections represent a slap in the face for the strategy of the Spanish government and their efforts to introduce direct rule and smash the independence movement. Jorge Martin outlines the lessons from these elections results – and the movement seen over the past few months – in the struggle for a Catalan Republic.
Catalonia goes to the polls tomorrow in elections imposed by the Madrid government as part of the Article 155 measures. As Jorge Martin explains, this vote takes place in exceptional conditions of repression and the curtailment of democratic rights. With one day to go, the result of the elections is hard to predict.
We publish here two articles about the latest events in Catalonia, which this week sees a regional election imposed by the Spanish state as part of their Article 155 repressive measures. The first article is a statement by the Catalan section of the IMT about the upcoming elections. The second is a summary of the struggle for a Catalan Republic by Jorge Martin.
The Russians and Iranians have declared the successful end of the war on the Islamic State. But the war against ISIS in the Middle East has fundamentally changed the balance of forces in the Middle East. The influence of Moscow and Tehran has grown, whilst that of US imperialism and its Saudi ally has been greatly diminished. For the masses, life in the region remains a nightmare.
Last Wednesday, US President Donald Trump declared that he would officially recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This reveals the real nature of the so-called peace talks – the fact that the Western imperialists have never supported the oppressed Palestinian people. On a capitalist basis, Hamid Alizadeh notes, there will never be an agreement in Israel and Palestine.
We publish here two articles analysing the latest developments in Venezuela. In the first, Jorge Martin looks at the upcoming municipal elections in Venezuela, which have provided a platform for revolutionaries to oppose the bureaucracy. In the second, Lucha de Clases in Venezuela provide an in-depth analysis of the October regional elections and the perspectives going forward.
Fraud in the recent national elections in Honduras has resulted in mass demonstrations against the hated regime of President Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH). The state apparatus is splitting along class lines, with layers of the police refusing to obey the orders of their commanders. IMT comrades from Honduras report on the revolutionary developments taking place.
At the recent 19th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, President Xi Jinping took the opportunity to let the world know that China is a “mighty force” soon to reclaim its rightful position on the world stage. Behind all the bluster, however, one could detect an unease at the prospect of growing internal instability within China, which flows from the impending crisis of capitalism.
Earlier this week, coalition negotiation talks in Germany between Chancellor Merkel and the right-wing Free Democratic Party collapsed. The failure to reach an agreement leaves Germany without a government. Merkel’s future hangs in the balance. As Hans-Gerd Öfinger discusses, a period of instability lies ahead.
Robert Mugabe, the 93-year-old dictator of Zimbabwe, interrupted parliament’s impeachment proceedings this afternoon with a letter announcing his resignation. This follows a week of pressure on the senile president, both from other factions in the ruling elite and from the masses on the streets. But, as Ben Morken explains in an article written earlier this week, Mugabe’s downfall will lead to even greater instability and crisis for the regime.
The proclamation of the Republic by the Catalan Parliament on October 27th was short-lived. The Spanish state was ready to crush it decisively, while the Catalan government had no plans and no strategy to defend it. That, however, is not the end of the movement. Jorge Martin reports on the perspectives for the struggle for Catalan independence.
Tensions are reaching boiling point in Zimbabwe, with the Army stepping in earlier this week and putting President Robert Mugabe under house arrest. It is clear that a power struggle is taking place to succeed the ageing dictator. Ben Morken in South Africa analyses the volatile situation opening up in Zimbabwe.
The battle between the Spanish state and the Catalan independence movement is not over. We publish here two articles about the fight for a Catalan republic: the first, an analysis by comrades in Lucha de Clases (Spanish section of the IMT); the second, a report by Jorge Martin about the huge general strike seen in Catalonia on this week, on 8th November.
The revelations in the Paradise Papers detailing the offshore tax-avoiding activities of the global elite tell us what we already know: that whilst they demand austerity attacks for the vast majority, the super-rich do not pay their taxes. Ben Gliniecki looks at the latest scandal exposing the hypocrisy of the Establishment and their system.
The decision to jail eight members of the Catalan government, and to issue an arrest warrant for the Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, along with a further four members of his government, is an unprecedented and very serious violation of basic democratic rights. But, as Jorge Martin reports, this attack by the Spanish state has revived the Catalan independence movement.
As Brexit negotiations grind to a halt, big business is entering panic mode. A no deal, “train-crash” Brexit – the one scenario that capitalism wants to avoid at all costs – looms large. And caught on the tracks is Ireland, the only country that shares a land border with the UK. Ben Curry looks at the the chaotic perspective facing Ireland, in the North and the South, as a result of Brexit and the global capitalist crisis.
After a week of about turns, indecision and last minute attempts to find a negotiated way out, the Catalan Republic was proclaimed on Friday 27th October. Tens of thousands celebrated in the streets of Barcelona and other Catalan towns and cities. But the newly born Republic was short-lived, with the Catalan leaders failing to mount any real resistance to the Spanish state’s repression.
Over the last 15 years, 30,000 men, women and children have lost their lives drowning while attempting to reach European shores. And each year the number of victims is rising. This is the equivalent of a silent, unilateral war against hundreds of thousands of unarmed people – a war waged by capitalism and imperialism against innocent migrants and refugees.
450,000 marched in Barcelona on Saturday 21st October, demanding freedom for the two Jordis (held without bail on sedition charges) and rejecting the implemention of Article 155, announced by the Spanish President, Rajoy. As Jorge Martin reports, the measures being proposed by the Spanish government amount to a coup against democracy in Catalonia.
Jorge Martin reports on how the arrest of two Catalan officials has reignited the mass movement for independence. The whip of oppression wielded by the Spanish state has driven the masses back into action. The mood is incendiary, and Puigdemont has been left little room for manoeuvre.
Jorge Martin discusses the latest events and developments in Catalonia, where Puigdemont – the Catalan President – has delayed announcing the formation of an independent republic, under pressure from bourgeois public opinion. But the situation is not resolved, as there is still a counter-acting pressure of the masses from below and the repressive Spanish regime to contend with.
At the end of last month, on 23rd September, Mélenchon’s France Insoumise (Rebellious France) organised a massive rally of over 100,000 in Paris against the austerity programme of the Macron government. Jérôme Métellus, editor of Révolution, outlines what the Left and the trade unions in France should do next in the struggle to bring down Macron.
Catalonia’s Independence Referendum on 1st October has opened up a major crisis of the regime in Spain. Hundreds of thousands occupied and defended polling stations in order to vote on the day. Those sights are now burnt into the consciousness of the Catalan people. On 3rd October, a national shutdown paralysed Catalonia with huge demonstrations against police repression.
Despite brutal police repression, hundreds of thousands fought with determination yesterday to vote in the referendum on Catalan independence. The real ugly face of the Spanish regime was clear to see. At the same time, Jorge Martin reports, the mass mobilisation and self-organisation of the Catalan people was also on display.
We publish here a statement by the International Marxist Tendency, along with a series of reports from Arturo Rodriguez in Barcelona about the rapidly developing mass movement for a Catalan independence referendum and against state repression.
A political earthquake is the best way we can describe the federal elections that took place in Germany on Sunday 24th September. For the first time ever in post-war history an extreme right-wing party has been elected to the Bundestag. At the same time, the parties that have formed the “Grand Coalition” – lead by Chancellor Angela Merkel since 2003 – have suffered historic defeats.
Alan Woods examines Donald Trump’s debut speech at the United Nations, in which the US President outlined his scattered thoughts on North Korea, Iran, and Venezuela, amongst other countries, revealing the ugly face of American imperialism for all to see.
Two hurricanes have hit the south east of the USA in the last two weeks. The total death toll has surpassed one hundred. Hundreds of thousands of households have lost everything. Hamid Alizadeh looks at these devastating weather events and the systematic factors behind why they have caused so much damage to the lives of ordinary Americans.
We publish here two articles by Arturo Rodríguez in Barcelona and one by Jorge Martin, who report on the latest events in the movement for Catalan independence and provide some background to the national question in Catalonia.
The last month has seen a flurry of hurricanes hit the Carribean and the USA, causing untold damage to the region. The frequency of these extreme weather events, and the devastation they cause, reflects the horrendous reality of climate change for ordinary people and the bankruptcy of capitalism.
Thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands of defenceless Rohingya Muslims are fleeing the brutal onslaught of Myanmar’s armed forces. In the middle of all this, we have the western media’s darling “democrat” and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi.
Since being elected, Macron – the poster-boy of European liberalism – has seen his popularity steadily decline as his facade of respectability crumbles away. A majority of French voters are now “dissatisfied” with the President’s performance, with approval ratings lower than for any incoming president, after four months, since 1995.
This year has seen a ratcheting up of tensions between the US administration and North Korean regimes, with sabre-rattling and bellicose rhetoric on both sides. It is clear, however, that Donald Trump’s words and actions are intended not as help for the Korean masses, but as a desperate attempt to display a veneer of strength.
Like Katrina and Sandy before it, Hurricane Harvey in the USA has once again revealed the rotten results of capitalism’s prioritisation of profits over people. What Harvey shows is that the system cannot effectively deal with catastrophe. In fact, capitalism itself is the catastrophe.
The chaotic process of Brexit reflects the long-term decline and decay of British capitalism. But this turbulence, in turn, is not confined to the UK. The whole of European capitalism is equally crisis-ridden. As Josh Holroyd discusses, the future for both the UK and EU under capitalism is one of stagnation, slump, and austerity.
When we think of slavery we immediately cast our minds back to the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade. But while chattel slavery of such scale and savagery has been consigned to the history books, there are in fact more slaves in the world today than at the height of the colonial slave trade.
The International Marxist Tendency strongly condemn the criminal terrorist attack carried out by ISIS activists in Barcelona. An attack which, up to now, has left thirteen dead and over a hundred injured. We express our solidarity with the victims and their families in these moments of suffering and pain.
Donald Trump, in regards to the current situation in Venezuela, has stated that he is “not going to rule out a military option”. With such comments, Trump is speaking on behalf of the imperialist US establishment. We publish here a statement by Hands Off Venezuela USA, calling for solidarity with the Venezuelan masses.
We publish here an article by comrades from the IMT USA, who discuss the way forward in fighting the far-right in the wake of the white supremacist, neo-Nazi march in Charlottsville, Virginia, last weekend. The consciously organised working class, in the form of a mass socialist party, could stop a burgeoning fascist movement in its tracks.
The trial involving Martin Shkreli has ended. He is the entrepreneur who bought the rights to a cheap life-saving drug for the treatment of AIDS and cancer and increased its price 5,000%. Shkreli has shown the real morality of capitalism, where profit is king and to hell with everything else.
The Tory government has responded to the Constituent Assembly elections in Venezuela on Sunday July 30 with an escalation of hypocritical imperialist rhetoric and actions. Whilst denouncing the Maduro government, Theresa May and Boris Johnson have no qualms forging close alliances with despots in Saudi Arabia or the Erdogan regime in Turkey.
Before the results were even in for Sunday’s Constituent Assembly election in Venezuela, the opposition and western imperialism had already declared there had been massive fraud and that they would not recognise the legitimacy of the Assembly. Since then, they have piled up pressure on all fronts. Jorge Martin asks: what is to be done?
The Venezuelan opposition, backed by Washington and Madrid, has launched an all out offensive to prevent Sunday’s Constituent Assembly elections form going ahead. We stand firmly against this reactionary attempt which can only be defeated by revolutionary means.
Imperialist military interventions in Iraq, Syria and Libya were justified on the basis of restoring democracy and human rights. But what has occurred is the exact opposite, with the rise of barbarism in all three countries. In Libya, we are seeing the growth of slave-like conditions on a systematic level.
The Venezuelan opposition is stepping up its campaign, organising a “sovereign consultation” last Sunday, 16th July. The opposition has announced that Sunday’s consultation marks the “zero hour” for a national, permanent and open ended “trancazo” (road blockades), until the “fall of the dictatorship”. The aim is clear: to overthrow the government of Nicolas Maduro.
For the last month the Gulf state of Qatar has been blockaded by its neighbours Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, who along with Egypt have severed all diplomatic ties with the country. These events have opened up a crisis situation in the Gulf region, which is being viewed with trepidation by the major powers on the world stage.
The refugee crisis has returned to the pages of the national press once again recently, with further deaths reported as boats capsize during the perilous journey from Libya across the Mediterranean. The refugee crisis has been going on for over two years now, with no apparent end in sight. Capitalism and imperialism are to blame.
Shortly after midday on 29th June, an eleven person jury delivered 6 unanimous verdicts of “not guilty” to spontaneous cheers in the courtroom at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The verdict brings to its conclusion a trial by means of which the Irish ruling class sought to bring an end to the fundamental democratic right to peaceful protest.
Things in Venezuela are changing by the day, sometimes by the hour. This week, a police officer commandeered a helicopter and attacked government buildings, calling for the overthrow the Maduro government. This marks a gear change in the opposition’s counter-revolutionary tactics.
The growing far-right nationalism of the sub-continent spilled out onto the streets of Leicester on Sunday 19th June as India and Pakistani cricket fans clashed. Hindu nationalism, on one side, and Islamic fundamentalist groups, on the other, are gaining ground, dividing working class diaspora communities.
For several months now, the right-wing opposition in Venezuela have been taking to the streets with violent riots in an attempt to destabilise and overthrow the democratically elected Maduro government. Jorge Martin examines the turbulent political situation in Venezuela and discusses the future of the Bolivarian Revolution.
The second round of the French parliamentary elections on Sunday saw record levels of abstentions, with voters in many cases presented with little alternative. The composition of the National Assembly is therefore more disconnected than ever from the political reality of the country. The task now is to organise the fightback against the new government.
Following the first round of the French parliamentary elections on Sunday, Macron is assured an absolute majority in the National Assembly. But this is an illusory victory. In reality, there was a record level of abstentions. Despite the propaganda of the capitalist press, the new French President’s popularity is already precarious.
The recent terrorist outrages in Manchester and London sent a wave of shock and revulsion through society. Who or what is behind these terrorist attacks? Alan Woods discusses the rise of jihadi terrorism and what this reveals about the chaos and instability that capitalism and imperialism have brought upon society.
110 years ago, in 1907, a strike in Belfast over wages by dockworkers, coal labourers and others united both catholics and protestants against the ruthless bosses. Although ultimately defeated, the strike remains an important historical demonstration of the power of the working class when united.
The recent stormy meetings at the G7 summit and NATO conference have laid bare the growing tensions in world relations. Trump and Merkel have exchanged heated words in the aftermath of these international meetings, with the German Chancellor coming close to announcing the death of the Western alliance. The old order is crumbling.
The calling of constituent assembly and regional elections in Venezeula has been met with an escalation of demands for “regime change” on the part of the opposition. As Jorge Martin discusses, this is a critical moment for the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela.
On 17-18th May, Greece was shaken by a general strike and protests in all major cities against a new round of austerity measures. As Arturo Rodríguez explains, Syriza has become the administrator of crisis-ridden Greek capitalism and is being used by the Troika to grind down the Greek working class.
The defeat of Isis is imminent: their last pocket in Mosul is about to be wiped out, Raqqa is being encircled and even Deir ez-Zor is under pressure. As Niklas Albin Svensson discusses, however, the end of Isis in Iraq and Syria has begun a struggle amongst the imperialists and the various regional powers to carve out spheres of influence in the aftermath.
On Monday 22nd May a sizeable group of Venezuelan opposition supporters attempted to disrupt a solidarity meeting in London, which had been called in order to answer the lies of the mainstream media. Jorge Martin, secretary of the Hands Off Venezuela campaign, asks: who are these oppositionists and what do they stand for?
The Trump administration faces its biggest crisis yet following a string of major political scandals. Having fired the FBI Director, James Comey, the President himself is now embroiled in accusations that he and his team have links to the Kremlin. The overall result is an unprecedented level of instability for the US Establishment.
The Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela is facing one of its most serious crisis since president Chavez was elected in 1998, with over forty days of almost continuous violent protests by the right-wing opposition. The aim is clear: the overthrow of the government by any means necessary. The revolutionary masses must fight back with socialist measures.
The most chaotic presidential election of the Fifth Republic has resulted in the election of a new head of state. Millions of left-wing voters held their noses and reluctantly voted for Macron in order to defeat Marine Le Pen. The Rebellious France movement must now organise and mobilise to fight both Macron and Le Pen.
In a ballot by Jean Luc Melenchon of his supporters in the radical left movement of the Rebellious France, a two-thirds majority rejected supporting the so-called “lesser evil” of Macron in the second round of the French elections. This is yet another sign of the growing mood of militancy and anger amongst workers and youth in France.
The second round of the French presidential elections present workers and youth with the “choice” between a banker and xenophobe. Neither offers any alternative for the working class. The focus must now be on transforming the Rebellious France into a mass political movement that fights to break with capitalism.
Tensions over North Korea continue to simmer as Donald Trump adopts a more bellicose and belligerent stance. This imperialist sabre-rattling is a threat to everyone, raising fears of a Third World War. With a maverick in the White House, far-right demagogues on the rise, and the world economy in crisis, it is clear that we are in an epoch of profound instability.
After months of turbulent campaigning, the drama of the first round of the French presidential elections has come to a close, with Macron and Le Pen left to face each other in the run-off. Most notable in these elections was the unprecedented collapse of the traditional parties and the rise of the radical left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon and his “Rebellious France” movement.
Recep Tayyib Erdogan officially won the YES vote in Turkey’s referendum to grant him, as president, sweeping and unchecked powers. But while the referendum was staged to give the impression of a strong regime with solid backing – a democratic vote for dictatorship, as some had called it – it has, in fact, revealed the exact opposite.
The isolationist Trump has had a change of heart. Instead of his promise to keep out of the Middle East, he has launched an attack against the Syrian government. This new American intervention in the Syrian civil war, along with sabre-rattling by the US President over North Korea, reflects not the strength of US imperialism, but the weakness of the Trump administration.
The last three weeks have seen a rapid rise in the polls for Jean-Luc Melenchon, the candidate of the Rebellious France movement for the presidential election, on the back of a radical left programme. The Establishment is now terrified of the prospect of a Le Pen / Melenchon second round – a contest that the left-wing firebrand could win.
The power-sharing deal in the North of Ireland, established with the Good Friday Agreement, has broken down. The old system of rule no longer works, an indication of the pressures that flow from the economic crisis. Gerry Ruddy looks at why and how this has come about.
Bus drivers in Ireland have reacted to attacks by the bosses with fierce militancy. Their struggle is a clear indication of the anger building up across Ireland. As cracks open up in the Fine Gael-led coalition government over everything from water charges to police corruption, it is evident that this weak and divided government can be brought down.
Last week, under orders from President Trump, the US navy launched a series of missile attacks on the Al Shayrat airbase in the central governorate of Homs in Syria. This attack was said to be in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime. Once again, however, we see the reeking hypocrisy of the imperialists on display.
With under a month to go before the first round of France’s presidential elections, there is still all to play for, with almost half of French voters still undecided. Support for the traditional parties has collapsed; the Establishment have swung behind the liberal Macron; Mélenchon is gaining momentum; and the possibility of a Le Pen victory threatens the stability of European capitalism.
The Trump administration and the Republicans in Congress suffered defeat as their proposal to “repeal and replace Obamacare” disintegrated. Historically speaking, a new President has the most momentum in his first 100 days. Trump has been president less than 65 days—with no victories and now a major defeat.
Gerry Ruddy looks back at the life of Martin McGuinness, the former Provisional IRA leader, head of Sinn Féin in the North of Ireland, and Deputy First Minister in the Stormont Assembly, who passed away last week. McGuinness’ death comes at a turbulent time for the North of Ireland, as all the old divisions threaten to re-emerge in the wake of Brexit.
Earlier this month, the United Nations announced that 20 million people are at risk of starving to death across the globe due to the wars and political crises in countries such as Yemen and South Sudan. This international humanitarian famine crisis is not the product of any “natural disaster” but is yet another symptom of the rotten capitalist system.
In normal times, the Dutch general elections would not make headline news around the world. But we are not in normal times. The Netherlands, for decades were considered one of the solid, stable, north European countries. That is no longer the case, as the crisis of world capitalism impacts on this small country.
In certain conditions, all things can turn into their opposite. Prior to the arrival of its latest resident, the White House had long been a symbol of the immense stability and confidence of the USA’s political regime. As Josh Holroyd explains, today it stands at the centre of an almighty political crisis.
The elections on 2nd March to the Northern Ireland Assembly have shattered all of the old certainties enshrined in the sectarian monolith established by the Good Friday Agreement. The elections have done nothing to shift the political deadlock, but have instead brought to the surface all of the contradictions in the North.
The Bolivarian Revolution is at one of its lowest points since President Chávez’s electoral victory in 1998. On top of the defeat in the December 2015 National Assembly elections, the aggravation of the economic situation is impacting the mass of the working people—who are the base and support of the revolution. It is time to draw a serious balance sheet.
The resounding victory for Pablo Iglesias and his list of candidates at the recent Podemos congress, the National Citizens’ Assembly, marks an important development for millions of workers and youth in Spain. At the same time, it represents a defeat for the ruling class, who hid behind the right-wing stance of Íñigo Errejón.
After years of stagnation and struggle under the “Socialist” government of Hollande in France, the establishment parties have been completely discredited and the situation has grown into a full-blown political crisis. The next presidential election, taking place in the next few months, is set to be the most unpredictable in generations.
With around 500,000 protesters on the streets, the ongoing anti-government protests in Romania have seen the largest number of people involved since the collapse of the Ceausescu regime in 1989. These protests come after a year of rising unrest and political crisis. A mood of anger and resentment has been on the rise. But what is the nature of this movement?
In just a few days, Trump has set his stamp on US and world politics, economics, and relations. Already, his Islamophobic, anti-immigrant policies – in particular – have sparked mass protests across America and internationally. This is what is meant when we talk of sharp and sudden changes being on the order of the day.
On 9th January, Martin McGuinness, Deputy First Minister of the Stormont Assembly in Belfast, resigned in protest against the ongoing “cash for ash” scandal. As the Assembly was unable to elect a new Deputy, new elections have been triggered, as required under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, adding yet more fuel to the fire for the political establishment in Westminster and Belfast.
And so begins the Trump era: with worldwide protests, pessimism, and polarization – full of combustible material, to put it mildly. The most anti-worker administration in decades has formally taken possession of the White House, and an avalanche of austerity and attacks on the working class is on the order of the day. A turbulent period of class struggle lies ahead.
On Saturday 21st January, millions of demonstrators took part in women-led marches across the world, protesting Donald Trump’s inauguration and the threat to democratic rights that he represents. We publish here a collection of reports and pictures from the mass protests against the newly-inaugurated US President.
This week, the global business elites are congregating in Davos, a Swiss ski resort, to discuss the state of the global economy at the annual World Economic Forum. Coinciding with this gathering of the Establishment, Oxfam have released their latest figures on the eye-watering inequality on a world scale.
The recapture of Aleppo by loyalist forces in December, represents a decisive milestone in the Syrian civil war, as well as for the crisis in the whole region. But, as Hamid Alizadeh discusses, it also has wide ranging consequences for world relations in the coming period.
Twenty-five years ago after the fall of the Soviet Union the defenders of capitalism were euphoric. They spoke of the death of socialism and even the end of history. But, as Alan Woods explains, today not one stone upon another is left of those confident predictions. History has returned with a vengeance.
2016 was the most unstable year since the end of the Second World War. Rising discontent is reflecting itself in different ways. In particular, with Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, we learned to expect the unexpected. 2017 – the centenary of the Russian Revolution – is set to be even more turbulent.
We publish here the second instalment of our update to the perspectives for the class struggle internationally. In this second and final part, we look at the latest developments in the Middle East and the decline in US imperialism that these events reflect. Most importantly, we analyse the biggest political shock of 2016: the election of Trump.
On Monday, a truck ploughed through a Christmas market in Berlin, killing twelve and injuring at least 49. All the attention is focussed on such acts of terrorism. But what the media conveniently leaves out is who is responsible for the mess in the Middle East in the first place: the imperialists and their meddling.
Already since publishing our 2016 world perspectives earlier this year, we have seen the political earthquakes of Brexit and Trump’s victory. These are only a small taste of the turbulent events that lie ahead. We publish here an update to our analysis on the perspectives for the class struggle internationally.
After four years of bloody war of attrition, Aleppo has fallen. For the rebels and their foreign backers this represents a humiliating blow which will have major consequences internationally and domestically. Hamid Alizadeh looks at the stinking hypocrisy of Western imperialism regarding the tragedy of Aleppo.
On Sunday 4th December, the European establishment let out a collective sigh of relief. Following the shocks of Brexit and Trump’s victory, there were grave concerns about the possibility of the far-right candidate, Hofer, winning. In the end, the establishment-backed candidate of Van der Bellen won with 54%. But the situation is far from stabilised.
Renzi lost his referendum and has resigned. The 4th December vote has revealed that there is an enormous anti-establishment tide rising in Italy. It is yet another tremor in a series of political earthquakes that have shaken the ruling class and the political establishment across Europe and America.
The results of the Italian Constitutional referendum and the sudden announcement of prime minister Renzi’s resignation are sending shockwaves throughout Europe. A victory for the No vote was expected, but the scale of the defeat for Renzi is yet another blow to the European Establishment in this epoch of instability.
Daniel Morley examines the changing relations between the Philippines and the major imperialist powers, as the country moves from being a firm ally of the USA and turns towards China under the new leadership of Rodrigo Duterte – yet another sign of the growing geo-political instability arising from the decline of US imperialism and the global crisis of capitalism.
As with many other trends in our crisis-ridden capitalist world, the term “alt-right” meteorically arose from obscure corners of the internet to one of the most discussed political phenomena in the US and elsewhere. But what is the real strength of this racist and reactionary movement? And how do we fight back against it?
We publish here two articles by comrades in the US section of the IMT about the recent American elections. In the first, John Peterson looks at the completely unrepresentative nature of American democracy, which is designed to maintain real power in the hands of the ruling class. In the second, comrades from Socialist Appeal USA propose a programme to fight Trump and his reactionary ideas.
On Wednesday 9th November the “free world” woke up to find it had a new leader: Donald J. Trump. The establishment and its parties were shaken to the core. But this phenomenon is not confined to the United States. As the Economist stated, in reference to Francis Fukuyama and the fall of the Berlin Wall: “History is back—with a vengeance.”
On 9th November, spontaneous protests erupted across America in response to the US election results. While liberal apologists despaired, the instincts of the radicalised youth came alive. This is the Sanders movement 2.0, no longer attempting to transform the Democrats, but pouring into the streets, refusing to accept a society in which racism and unemployment are allowed to fester.
Five years ago, Muammar Gaddafi was caught and shot dead by the militias of the Libyan National Transitional Council, with the active support of the French Intelligence services. At the time, imperialist intervention in Libya was justified on “humanitarian” grounds. But what, in reality, have the imperialists achieved since?
Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections is a political earthquake that makes Brexit look like a minor tremor in comparison. We publish here videos from Alan Woods and Rob Sewell, in which they discusses the anti-establishment mood lying behind Trump’s win and the implications for America and the rest of the world.
Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections is a political earthquake that has shattered the entire global Establishment. Trump is not the problem, however, but a symptom of a more general malaise in society. The system has broken, and the American Dream has become a nightmare for millions. John Peterson of Socialist Appeal USA analyses “America’s Brexit”.
The world waits with bated breath as the “leader of the free world” is selected. The Election 2016 campaign has been like no other seen in the US for a century or more. Voters are trying to make up their minds as to “which candidate they hate less”. As John Peterson of Socialist Appeal USA comments, the US elections have destabilised the already chaotic world situation even further.
Around the world, millions of people are waiting nervously to find out whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will become the most powerful person in the free world. Whoever wins, the election result is not the end of the process; for Marxists, the work is just beginning!
This week, the last inhabitants of the so-called Calais “Jungle” were moved on. The camp itself has been reduced to a pile of rubble and ash. But for the thousands of its former inhabitants, a future of further fear, indignity, and suffering lies ahead as callous politicians – and a callous system – play diplomatic games with human lives.
After almost a year without a government, Mariano Rajoy, leader of the right-wing People’s Party (PP), was made president at the eleventh hour with the support of the liberal party Ciudadanos and the abstention of the social-democratic PSOE. But, as Arturo Rodríguez comments, this new government is not one of strength but of weakness.
Yesterday in Balochistan, Pakistan, the home of comrade Zareef Rind was attacked by unknown gunmen. His 18-year-old younger brother Hasil – an activist of the Baloch Student Organization (BSO) – was killed by a bullet shot in the head. We publish here a brief statement by the comrades in Pakistan, along with a recent article by Adam Pal discussing the menace of terrorism in Pakistan and how to fight it.
Last week, criminal courts in Venezuela annulled the collection of the signatures needed to activate a recall referendum, ruling out the possibility of President Maduro being removed this year. The hypocrisy of the counter-revolutionaries about “violations of democratic freedoms” is clear. But if the Bolivarian revolution is not completed, this will pave the way for victory of the counter-revolution.
Day after day the public in the West is submitted to a constant barrage of horror stories emanating from Syria. Such scenes are used by those who are experts in the business of shaping public opinion according to certain interests. Alan Woods explains that it is the duty of Marxists to cut across the fog of propaganda, to expose its cynical nature and to lay bare the real interests that lie behind it.
As the US presidential candidates prepare for their final debate, it is now clear that the Establishment has made its choice: Hillary Clinton is the favourite of the bankers, industrialists, military brass, and even key leaders of the Republican Party itself. The role of the detestable Donald Trump has been to make the hated Hillary more palatable.
France witnessed a wave of intense class struggle earlier this year with the strikes and mass protests against the government’s new law on labour relations. The movement later died down, but now the working class and youth is preparing to move from the trade union front to the political. Fred Weston and Jérôme Métellus discuss the growing contradictions within French class society.
On Sunday 2nd October, Hungary held a national referendum over the mandatory resettlement of refugees in the country. The Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, had hoped to use the vote to strengthen his authority both at home and abroad. Instead, he has suffered arguably his most embarrassing setback since he came to power in 2010.
As western media overflows with damning images of the atrocities carried out in Syria’s Aleppo, the humanitarian disaster in Yemen is being more or less quietly brushed under the carpet. The reason? The West is elbow deep in the Yemeni tragedy. Hamid Alizadeh looks at the blatant hypocrisy of the western imperialists.
On Sunday evening, the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees met again for another televised debate. The liberal media’s most hated buffoon and “Killary” Clinton took center stage to “debate” the issues confronting the US and the world. Both were a faithful representation of the senile and decrepit capitalist system.
Polish women staged magnificent demonstrations and strike action all over the country last week, fighting against a proposed law that would ban abortion under all circumstances. Even in this country where the Catholic Church is so powerful, and where the right-wing Law and Justice Party won power just a year ago, the spirit of struggle is alive and explosive.
On Sunday 2nd October, Colombian voters rejected the agreement between the government and the FARC guerrillas “for the end of the conflict and the building of a stable and lasting peace.” Jorge Martín explains the process leading up to the referendum and what this will mean for the future of the class struggle in Colombia.
The crisis in the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) was resolved at the weekend with a decisive victory of the coup plotters against PSOE leader Pedro Sanchez. This opens the way for the victors to allow the formation of a government of the right-wing Popular Party. This, in turn, presents huge opportunities for Podemos and the United Left to make significant gains.
Alan Woods examines the recent opening presidential debate in the USA, where Trump (the billionaire) and Clinton (backed by the billionaires) fought it out. Whether Trump or Clinton win eventually will not make any fundamental difference to the lives of ordinary Americans – both represent the interests of big business.
The US bombing Syrian soldiers and the Assad regime bombing an aid convoy indicate that, just one week after the agreed cessation of hostilities in Syria, the uneasy ceasefire has broken down. The ceasefire breakdown, meanwhile, reflects the ever-increasing tensions between the various imperialist powers and local players in the region.
A new major ceasefire has been agreed in Syria. But what does it mean for Syria and the Middle East? Hamid Alizadeh discusses the changing balance of power in world relations, which is reflected in this latest deal between the US, Russia, and their proxies
Mother Teresa has been beatified by Pope Francis I, after a series of “miracles” were fished out from her lifelong record running clinics for the poor in India. These years of crisis and revolution have been a lean period for the Catholic Church, which has been forced to churn out saints in order to maintain its appeal.
In a couple of months time, Americans will go to the polls to elect the new president of the United States. But the “choice” facing American will be over which unpopular crook and liar will get to rule them on behalf of Wall Street for the next four years. This is not a choice – it is an undemocratic imposition by a political system set up and controlled by the two-party establishment in defense of capitalism.
By 61 votes to 20, the rotten Brazilian Senate has approved the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff and, consequently, her definitive removal from office. Under pressure from its capitalist masters, the new Temer government must now go on the offensive. These attacks will open up a new period of sharpened class struggle in Brazil.
Fred Weston continues his series on the crisis in Greece by looking at the radicalised and polarised political situation that has developed over the past few years. In particular, Fred highlights the shift to the Left and the speed of events, with the rapid rise and fall in support for SYRIZA.
For the first time, Turkey has launched a direct military intervention in Syria, sending tanks and warplanes across the border in a coordinated campaign with Syrian opposition fighters and targeting positions held by ISIS. The failed coup attempt against Erdogan in July has acted to change Turkey’s foreign policy in the region, shifting the geo-political landscape and altering the dynamics between Turkey, the USA, and Russia.
The backlash against the racist and draconian ban of the “burkini” has resulted, today, in France’s highest court declaring the burkini ban to be illegal. Such bans and attacks on democratic rights are an attempt by the ruling class to distract from the current government’s programme of austerity and cut across the rising class struggle in France. Fight racism! Fight all oppression! Fight capitalism!
Central to the current crisis in Greece is the question of debt – particularly the national debt. Reducing public debt has became the main aim of (and reason for) the seemingly permanent austerity forced on the Greek working class. Fred Weston continues his series on the deep crisis of Greek capitalism by exploring the origins of the high debt levels in Greece.
Fred Weston continues his series on the crisis in Greece by looking at the question of productivity. Having joined the euro in 2001, the Greek economy cannot compete on the basis of its level of productivity against the stronger European capitalist economies, such as Germany. Instead, it must seek an “internal devaluation”. This is the meaning of austerity.
The suffering of the Greek people is deep, very deep. Austerity is pushing larger and larger sections of the population into poverty – a direct consequence of the cuts imposed by the Troika. Fred Weston continues his series on the crisis in Greece, looking at the very real human impact of austerity
The historic crisis of European capitalism expresses itself most graphically in the existential crisis of the European Union. This throws up a number of questions for Marxists on the nature of the EU and the attitude of Marxists to the idea of European integration. We publish here a reading guide on the question of Marxism and the European Union.
One year ago 60% of the Greek population said OXI [No] to the Troika’s austerity. One year later we see austerity continuing and getting much worse! The decline in living standards in the recent period has been palpable. Fred Weston continues his series examining the ongoing crisis in Greece.
With the crowning of Hillary Clinton as the Democratic candidate, the 2016 US election cycle appears to have come full circle. But, what we have passed through is not a circle, but a contradictory spiral of development. While Sanders’ surrender to Clinton will inevitably lead to a temporary ebb, the course of US politics has been changed forever.
Across the world, centre-left governments and the traditional parties of the working class are in crisis. Reformism has hit up against the rocks of reality, unable to offer anything to workers and youth in this age of austerity. Daniel Morley examines the historic decline of social democracy and points the way forward for leaders, such as Corbyn, in the fight to defend the gains of the past.
Greece has been in and out of the news headlines, as other events push it into the background, such as the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, the Brexit vote, or the tumultuous class conflict gripping France. Nonetheless, Greece remains the weak point within the EU. The country is moving inexorably onwards towards a major crisis that will affect the whole of Europe.
The recent NATO summit in Warsaw, earlier this month, was full of contradictions and tensions between members of the alliance. Ben Gliniecki and Hamid Alizadeh discuss the fragility of NATO’s power and the instability of world relations, which were on display for all to see at this latest summit.
Over the last few weeks, the southern African country of Zimbabwe has experienced escalating protests that have shaken the Mugabe regime to its core. Ben Morken reports on the strikes and militant protests that demonstrate the pent up anger in the depths of Zimbabwean society.
The new French labour law will be adopted in the National Assembly by 22 July, after final feedback from the Senate. The “Socialist” government has won this battle. Jérôme Métellus of the French Marxists, Révolution, analyses the strengths and weakness of the massive movement against this law seen in France over the past months.
Dramatic events shook Turkey on Friday as armed troops moved onto the streets of Istanbul and Ankara. They closed down the main airports and bridges while military jets were roaring very low above the cities. Nevertheless, this coup as a whole was defeated quickly and Erdoğan has used it to re-consolidate his powers.
Earlier this week, Bernie Sanders formally endorsed the Democratic establishment candidate Hillary Clinton for president. In doing so, Sanders has disappointed many of his supporters, who saw in him a refreshing and radical break from the status quo. What is the way forward for revolutionaries in America now that the race is between Clinton and Trump?
On June 26, Spaniards were called to the polls in an atmosphere of polarisation and expectation. Unexpected results gave victory to the conservative PP and put the centre-left PSOE slightly ahead of the radical left coalition Unidos Podemos. Jorge Martín and Arturo Rodríguez analyse the election results and explain the tasks ahead for workers and youth.
The June 26 election campaign in Spain is coming to an end. The coalition between Podemos and United Left seems poised to overtake the Socialist Party, and according to some opinion polls is closing the gap with the ruling right wing Popular Party, which remains in first place. What are the implications and what is the program on which Unidos Podemos stands?
We publish here an article by a comrade from Socialist Appeal USA, who looks at the causes and impact of the Zika virus – an epidemic that is hitting the poorest communities in Brazil and across the South America and the USA. The spread of the Zika virus is yet another clear example of capitalism’s inability to solve the fundamental problems facing humanity.
Yanis Varoufakis, the former Greek finance minister, has put himself at the head of the European Left and is touring the continent to gather support for his “DIEM25” (Democracy in Europe Movement 2025) project to reform the institutions of the European Union. Can such a Herculean task be achieved? Or is Varoufakis’ “Modest Proposal” of DIEM25 doomed to fail?
Jérôme Métellus of the French Marxists, Révolution, provides an assessment and analysis of the inspiring and militant mass movement of workers and youth in France against the hated and reactionary El Khomri labour law. What is the way forward for workers in this struggle?
The results are in from the final state primaries and the outcome is no real surprise. With the media, the Democratic Party machine, and big money behind her, Hillary Clinton is to be the party’s nominee. Sanders’ strong showing, however, is proof that millions do not want to settle for Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump.
In all countries across Europe, capitalism is in crisis and class struggle is on the rise – from Greece and France, to Spain and Portugal. Belgium – a country where compromise and moderation seemed for a long time to be part of the genetic make-up of society – is no exception to this rule, and mass strikes are breaking out everywhere.
We publish here an edited version of an analysis originally written by Alan Woods in 1997, commenting on the contradictions within the European project in advance of the introduction of the Euro. In this document, Alan outlines the history and class character of the European Union and emphasises the need for Marxists to fight for a socialist alternative.
“On lache rien!” We do not give up! This slogan sums up quite well the mood of militant determination of the French workers’ and youth movement against the El Khomri labour counter-reform which has now entered its third month. Last week saw oil refineries, harbours, nuclear power stations on strike and fuel depots blockaded by striking workers. What stage is the movement at and what are its perspectives?
On Sunday 22nd May, the Greek Parliament voted in favour of a new austerity package, involving another round of harsh cuts and privatisations. The purpose of the meeting was to free up 5 of the 86 billion euro Troika bailout rescue plan. Events in Greece demonstrate that the capitalist European Union cannot be “reformed” – it must be overthrown.
Today marks one of many declared “days of action” by the trade unions in France against the vicious new employment law being introduced by Hollande’s “Socialist” government. We publish here a brief overview of the militant and radical movement developing in France, as mass strike action and protests of youth sweep across the country in scenes reminiscent of May 1968.
The assault against the Bolivarian revolution has intensified in the recent days and weeks. Editorials and front pages in US and Spanish newspapers are screaming about hunger in Venezuela and demanding the removal of the “dictatorial regime”. Jorge Martin of the Hands Off Venezuela campaigns asks: what is really happening in Venezuela and how can these threats be faced?
“We don’t have a say in the referendum, but the politicians and press talk about us as if we are an underclass who cannot read – and it’s terrifying.” This is the understandable sentiment of the thousands of migrant workers in Britain who are being demonised and blamed for all the ills in society; used as pawns by politicians on both sides of the EU referendum. We say: End all borders! For a Socialist United States of Europe!
The Brazilian Senate last week voted by a majority of 55 votes to 22 to impeach the President Dilma Rousseff. This marks the end of a long period of relative political stability in Brazil. The economy is in its worst recession since the 1930s. It is in this context that we can understand the recent dramatic shifts and turns in the political situation.
On May 9, an electoral unity agreement between the United Left [IU] and Podemos for Spain’s June 26 general election was announced. The impact of such a joint list means that there is the possibility of a challenge for first place against the ruling Popular Party, and thus of a Left government in Spain.
A massive protest movement in France has been taking place since February. Sparked by the announcement of a reactionary new “reform” of the labour laws, this movement is mobilising hundreds of youth, and has given birth to a new method of organisation called the Nuit debout (Night Stands Up). A new generation is being drawn into the struggle.
Today sees Americans in a number of states vote in the primaries for the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. In this recent editorial for Socialist Appeal USA, John Peterson analyses the result of last week’s New York primary, in which Bernie Sanders lost to Hillary Clinton, and points the way forward for those seeking a fundamental change in US society.
On Sunday 17th April, the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, the Brazilian President, was approved on Sunday by a united front of bourgeois parties in order to establish a new government to act in the interest of the capitalists. But the impeachment has unleashed the forces of class struggle in Brazil, and the new government will be unable to stabilise the situation.
In this fourth and final part, the International Marxist Tendency’s draft world perspectives document analyses the revolutionary tasks and tactics required in this turbulent period, concluding with an overview of the historical epoch that society is passing through – an epoch of crises and class struggles in all countries.
We publish here the latest part of a draft document by the International Marxist Tendency examining the world economic and political situation. In this third part, the document looks at the increasing tensions developing between the imperialist powers of the USA, Russia, and China, and analyses the seemingly-permanent crisis in the Middle East.
Heads are beginning to roll thanks to the Panama Papers. Unlike previous scandals, however, the Panama scandal potentially has serious political implications on a world scale. From Iceland to Peru, and from China to Britain: political leaders and the ruling class everywhere are now under serious threat.
We publish here the second part of a draft document by the International Marxist Tendency, which examines the political impacts of the crisis of capitalism, with a focus on the radicalisation taking place in the USA and Britain, and the ever-increasing tensions within the European Union.
In the biggest data leak in history it has been revealed how the global elite make use of 200,000 shell companies created by the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca to secure their money in offshore tax havens. Almost everyone is involved from across the Establishment, the rich and the ruling class, demonstrating the rottenness of the system.
We publish here the first part of a draft document which will be discussed at the World Congress of the International Marxist Tendency this summer. The aim of this document, originally drafted in October 2015, is to outline the main economic, social and political trends in the world today and to develop a perspective for the class struggle in the period ahead.
This Easter Sunday, an official state ceremony was held in Dublin to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising. The officials present represent a class that did not support the Rising in 1916, but who now wish to present themselves as heirs to that heroic struggle. Alan Woods exposes the utter hypocrisy of these people and recalls what the Rising was really about.
On the evening of Sunday 28th March, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a children’s park in Lahore, Pakistan. At least 72 deaths have so far been confirmed and more than 250 are reported injured. This is yet another in the series of terrorist attacks continuing in this “land of the pure” in recent years.
Last weekend, the EU-Turkey agreement on refugees came into effect. Open migrant centres became closed detention facilities where refugees will be prepared for deportation to Turkey. This shameful agreement, quite possibly in violation of international law, reveals the extreme callousness of the racist, capitalist European Union.
Yet again we saw this week the ruthless killing of innocent people as they went about their daily lives. Marxists condemn such acts of terror, in the same way that they condemn the killing of thousands of people in Syria and other war-torn countries. The point is: what can be done to put an end to this barbarism?
Though it still remains mathematically possible that Sanders could win the Democratic nomination, his chances are much slimmer after the results of March 15. We believe it’s time for his supporters to take a sober and serious look at how the momentum and enthusiasm his campaign has generated can be carried forward.
Earlier this year, a parliamentary e-petition calling to ‘block Donald J Trump from UK entry’ gathered more than 580,000 signatories, triggering a debate in Parliament. But to fight Trump’s reactionary ideas and understand his impact, it is important to explain where his support comes from: the fears of workers in an epoch of crises.
In the second part of his analysis of the US elections, John Peterson of Socialist Appeal USA examines the role of identity politics in the Democratic candidates’ campaigns, and outlines the perspectives for the movement of the American working class.
Mass enthusiasm and interest in the Bernie Sanders campaign has swept the entire planet. The political pendulum, which had swung so far to the right, is beginning to swing dramatically in the opposite direction, reflecting the deep-seated discontent that has been slowly but surely percolating beneath the surface.
Alan Woods analyses the result of three recent elections, all of which bear witness to highly significant processes that are now moving with great speed. These processes are not confined to one or two countries, but are manifestations of the same global phenomenon of increasing economic, political and social instability.
America is going through the biggest political upset in living memory, perhaps longer. Never has the American Establishment, having lost control over the situation, been in such a state of confusion. Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal, looks across the pond to the radical mood that is developing around Bernie Sanders.
The latest in a series of annual reports from Oxfam, detailing the level of economic inequality in our world, is a striking example of Marx’s prediction that capitalism concentrates wealth in fewer and fewer hands. Oxfam’s statistics demonstrate that the capitalist system is not sustainable.
As in Britain, millions of Americans have been battered by the economic crisis, suffering from low-paid jobs and falling living standards. As a result, Bernie Sanders’ campaign, with his call for a “politcal revolution against the billionaire class” is gaining a massive echo amongst workers and youth across the United States and beyond.
The landslide victory of Bernie Sanders in the New Hampshire primary produced shock waves. After narrowly losing in Iowa, Sanders beat Clinton by a margin of more than 20 percentage points in Tuesday’s election. This result has produced bewilderment among the commentators. It was something that was not supposed to happen.
Before they have even started, the so-called peace talks about the future of Syria have collapsed. As the balance of forces shifts in the war, none of the parties on the ground have any reason to take serious steps in the talks. All the geopolitical contradictions and tensions are coming to the fore.
The Schengen agreement, regarded alongside monetary union as one of the twin pillars of the European Union, is on the brink of collapse, as national governments erect barriers against refugees. Schengen’s looming suspension marks the latest stage in the crisis of the European Union.
In the final part of his three part series on the crisis in Europe, Josh Holroyd looks at the perspectives for the EU. As the EU’s ongoing political and economic crisis enters a new and potentially decisive phase, many are beginning to question whether the Union’s strategic goal of “ever closer union” can really be achieved.
The Iowa Caucus results are in. Bernie Sanders, who identifies himself a socialist and calls for a “political revolution against the billionaire class”, was defeated by Hillary Clinton by a mere 0.3%. Millions of Americans are desperately looking for a way out of the crisis and Sanders has filled the vacuum on the Left.
A process of crisis and turmoil is underway across the whole of Europe. The lessons of Greece must be taken on board by the Left, to avoid the same mistakes made by the SYRIZA leadership. We provide here the outline of a speech given by Stamatis Karagiannopoulos of the Greek Communist Tendency (the IMT in Greece) during his recent tour of Spain.
In 2015, roughly 1.5 million migrants and refugees were estimated to have arrived in Europe. The response of national leaders has put the Schengen agreement in tatters. In the second part of his series on the contradictions within Europe, Josh Holroyd looks at the refugee crisis.
After increasing outrage around statements made by billionaire presidential candidate Donald Trump, many have asked: is Trump a fascist? In this article from Socialist Appeal, USA, we look at who Donald Trump is, what he represents, and how to fight back against his reactionary ideas.
Five years ago, without any organisation, programme, or plan the Arab masses brought down in a matter of weeks regimes that had seemingly not moved an inch in decades. Yet today, it is clear that the Arab Spring has turned into reaction in Egypt, Libya, and Syria. How has the region gone from revolution to counter-revolution?
Six years after the beginning of the euro crisis, none of the problems it exposed have been resolved; in fact they have been both amplified and multiplied by events. In the first of a series of three articles, Josh Holroyd looks at the looming economic and political crises set to strike the EU this year.
The recent execution of Al-Nimr, a Shia cleric leader, by the Saudis highlights the crisis facing the regime. The economy is in a fragile state as the price of oil falls and money is hemorrhaged on regional wars and adventures. Increased repression indicates a fear of the rulers about an impending movement from below.
The December 20th elections in Spain produced an extremely fragmented congress in which no single party emerged with an overall majority. The regime is at an impasse. But the European capitalists are insisting on a “stable government” in Spain, which they need to push through further austerity and attacks.
The United Nations is often held up as an international instrument for world peace and prosperity. The reality of the UN falls far short of this noble image. In fact, as Daniel Morley explains, the UN is a forum for the horse-trading of the major capitalist powers; a convenient cover for their imperialist designs.
Less than a quarter of an hour after opening, the Chinese stock market was closed by an automatic shutdown. This “circuit-breaker” mechanism was imposed by the government only five months ago after equally dramatic losses. This reveals how nervous the Chinese government is of the underlying economic instability.
Amidst all the parties at the start of the New Year, there was no sign of any optimism or hope for the future on the part of the ruling class and its strategists. On the contrary, as Alan Woods discusses, the columns of the bourgeois press are filled with pessimism and foreboding.
In the past few months, a crisis has developed within the ANC, the ruling party in South Africa. All the contradictions within South Africa are coming to the fore as the crisis of capitalism impacts upon the country’s fragile economy. The conditions are being prepared for an explosive period of class struggle. Ben Morken, from the IMT in South Africa, reports.
On Sunday 20th December 2015, Spanish people went to the polls in a tightly contested general election. The results have produced an extremely fragmented parliament, reflecting the class polarisation and radicalisation that has been taking place in Spanish society in recent years.
On Sunday 20th December, Spaniards are called to the polls in what is set to be a momentous election. Arturo Rodriguez analyses the background to these elections – possibly the most important since the fall of the Franco dictatorship in 1975, and a test for PODEMOS.
Over the past year, hundreds of thousands of people in the south east of Turkey have seen their home towns and neighbourhoods destroyed in the face of indiscriminate and barbaric attacks by Turkish armed forces. We publish here a statement by the International Marxist Tendency, calling on our readers to support the struggle of the Kurds.
Drunk with victory and seething with revenge, the reactionary opposition in Venezuela have started to announce plans to reverse the gains of the Bolivarian revolution. This has provoked ferment amongst the revolutionary rank and file, which at the same time is directing part of their anger at bureaucrats and reformists within its own ranks.
In the first round of the recent French regional elections, the right-wing nationalist party, the National Front (FN), came out as the largest party. This is a reflection of the contradictions in this period, and the failure of the Left to provide a genuine alternative. We publish here an initial analysis by the French Marxist journal, Révolution.
Late into the night in Venezuela on 6th December, the counter-revolutionary opposition MUD had won 99 seats to the Bolivarian PSUV’s 46, with another 22 remaining to be allocated. This is a serious setback; it is our duty to analyse the reasons and explain the likely consequences.
Venezuelans will go to the polls on Sunday 6th December to elect deputies to the National Assembly. A combination of factors have made this one of the most difficult challenges the Bolivarian Revolution has faced in the 17 years since President Chávez was first elected in 1998. Either the revolution is completed, or it will be defeated.
The downing of a Russian jet in Syria by the Turkish military was clearly a provocation on the part of the Turkish president Erdogan. His aim was to stop an alliance being formed between Russia and the West in Syria. He has achieved the opposite with Turkey now more isolated and the major world powers coming closer to each other.
This morning, the Turkish military shot down a Russian military aircraft on the border with Syria. What is quite clear is that this was a blatant provocation by the Turkish ruling clique. Alan Woods explores the ever increasing geo-political contradictions that are coming to the fore in the Middle East and Syria.
Last Friday, Paris was the scene of mass slaughter in which at least 129 people were shot down in cold blood. These atrocities mark a new and sinister development in the steady expansion of attacks attributed to or claimed by the so-called Islamic State. There is dynamite in the very foundations of our society.
The attacks in Paris have aroused the revulsion and anger of millions of French workers and youth. The fear of new attacks is palpable. The French and international labour movement must respond by reviving the goal to end capitalism and its “horror without end.”
The events in Paris last week are a wholly reactionary attack against ordinary working people. The Marxists condemn the murderous gang which carried out these attacks and we express our solidarity with the people of Paris. The struggle against terrorism is a struggle against imperialism, and for socialism.
In the past couple of weeks, unprecedented events had been unfolding in Afghanistan, as hundreds of thousands of people protest in the streets of Kabul. This is the reflection of massive discontent with the neverending American occupation as well as with religious fundamentalism.
On 10th November, the 11-day old government of the right-wing coalition in Portugal was ousted by the left-wing parties in parliament. The scene is set for a period of political and social turbulence and struggle in Portugal. Nina Christou reports from Lisbon.
On Sunday, the party of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the AK Party, won a comfortable majority in Turkey’s parliament. This came as a huge shock to many workers and youth. How could this blatant murderer and aspiring despot get the support of large sections of the population?
We publish here two recent video talks in which Alan Woods and Hamid Alizadeh discuss the Syrian civil war, the role of imperialism in the Middle East, and the refugee crisis that has been created as a result, as millions flee war and poverty.
Portuguese politics have become very interesting in recent weeks. The parliamentary elections of October 4th saw a shift to the left in society that reflects the discontent and radicalisation sowed by the crisis of capitalism in one of the countries that has been hardest hit by it.
On Friday 23rd October, South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, announced that there will be no increases to student university fees for next year. This was a clear attempt to contain a movement which has became too big to control. These student protests indicate the coming of a firestorm – an anticipation of the South African revolution.
Over the past few weeks international media have reported on growing tensions and daily violence escalating in Palestine and Israel. These attacks are not organised by any of the Palestinian factions but are clearly a symptom of the desperate rage of a layer of Palestinian youth against the asphyxiating stranglehold of the Israeli state.
Following Saturday’s heinous terrorist attack, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Turkey in the biggest mass movement since the Gezi Park movement of 2013. But contrary to the intentions of the attack, it seems to have isolated the crisis-ridden Erdogan regime even more.
Around 100 people were killed on Saturday by two explosions in the largest terror attack in Turkish history; hundreds more have been wounded. This is a clear continuation of the campaign of terror against leftist forces in Turkey, but it has triggered a backlash as tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest against the government and their thugs.
The American imperialists and their “allies” in NATO now find themselves in an impossible situation in the Middle East. They are trying to face two ways at once; in the process they find themselves at every step entangled in new and insoluble contradictions. Meanwhile, Putin has outmanoeuvred the Americans at every step.
Since last week when Russia began bombing targets inside Syria, Western media has been overflowing with articles about the crimes of Russian imperialism in Syria. But, as Hamid Alizadeh explains, the idea put forward that “moderate” rebels are being bombed by ruthless Russians raises more questions than it answers.
This week, for the first time in ten years, Vladimir Putin attended the UN general assembly, followed by a closed door meeting with Barack Obama. Only one month ago such a meeting would have seemed highly unlikely. The significant increase of a Russian military presence in Syria over the past month has changed the situation.
With a hugely increased turnout of 77% (10 points more than in 2012), the Catalan elections gave an overall majority of seats to pro-independence parties. However, these parties did not get an overall majority of votes. The results showed the strength of the pro-independence feeling.
US regulators have discovered German carmaker Volkswagen has been systematically cheating its emissions tests on diesel vehicles, in order to increase its profits. The scale of the scandal is huge, but this is likely to only be the tip of the iceberg. Such “cheating” is an inevitable outcome of a system based only on profit.
Yesterday, Sunday 20th September, SYRIZA won the Greek elections. Tsipras claims this victory gives him a mandate to continue on the road of austerity dictated by the Troika. But the governing coalition has lost a total of 416,000 compared to the vote in January. The period ahead is one of continued economic, social, and political instability.
Tomorrow, on Sunday 20th September, Greece goes to the elections once again, following the resignation of Tsipras and the split of SYRIZA. The outcome will be determined by several factors, an important one being the sense of betrayal and disappointment among many of the SYRIZA voters. But there is also a process of radicalisation taking place on the left.
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.
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.
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.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras last week announced he will step down. He has lost his parliamentary majority and Syriza is split, with left leader Lafazanis announcing the formation of a new party, Popular Unity. Alan Woods analyses the latest events in the Greek crisis and highlights the failure of reformism that these demonstrate.
Last week, Greek Prime Minister Alexi Tsipras called for new elections on 20 September. At the same time the Left Platform within Syriza has announced the setting up of a new party which will run in these elections. We publish here a statement from the Greek Marxists in the Communist Tendency of Syriza about these latest developments.
For weeks now, journalists and TV crews have been camped night and day outside Calais reporting on the “mass invasion” of the Channel Tunnel by “hordes” of migrants. The Tories and the right-wing press have whipped up a hysterical campaign against migrants to distract from their attacks on workers in Britain.
Since last week’s barbaric terrorist attack in the Turkish town of Suruc, the situation in Turkey has dramatically escalated. Under the guise of joining the war on ISIS, Erdogan has launched a major military operation against the the PKK as well as arresting hundreds of Kurdish and Turkish leftist activists.
On Monday, a massacre took place in the district of Suruç in southern Turkey. A massive blast ripped through a meeting of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF) gathered at the Amara Culture Centre. We offer our deepest solidarity to the socialist youth of Turkey, who are courageously fighting against reactionary forces in the region.
A grotesque humanitarian disaster looms large as the conflagration and mayhem ravages the Middle East. The number of people fleeing the civil war just in Syria has now surpassed four million, according to the UN refugee agency. Only a socialist revolution can cleanse the region of all violence, imperialism, sectarianism and reaction.
Last week, the long-awaited nuclear deal between Iran and six major world powers was signed. This brings to an end more than three decades of harsh economic sanctions imposed on Iran by US imperialism and marks a complete defeat of the US strategy of intimidation, blackmail and coercion of Iran.
The bankers and capitalists of Europe have stamped their iron heel down on the people of Greece. Even the representatives of capital now recognise the revolutionary mood that is developing across Europe. The latest events in Greece prove above all else that there is no way out of the crisis on a capitalist basis. The only alternative to austerity is socialism.
It was after midnight on July 15 when the Greek parliament finally approved the deal demanded by the Troika. The vote was met with strike action, demonstrations, a rebellion by 38 Syriza MPs and the opposition of the majority of the party’s Central Committee members. Tsipras – and Greece – now faces an extremely politcally turbulent period ahead.
In this epoch of capitalist crisis, it is only a short step from an amorphous striving for basic rights and modest reforms to drawing fully revolutionary conclusions. From the Greek referendum to Bernie Sanders’ campaign for president of the USA, it is clear that a process of radicalisation is taking place across the world, as people look for a genuine alternative to the status quo.
To add to the turmoil of Greece and the Euro Crisis, there is now the sudden collapse of the Chinese stock market, which has been so vast that even the mighty Chinese government is incapable of controlling it. The world economy is tottering, and these latest events in China are yet another sign of the diseased economic system that is capitalism.
The deal imposed on Greece in the early hours of July 13 after an all-night Euro summit can only be described as a humiliating capitulation. Greece has basically given up sovereignty to the Troika. This deal will not work, but will create further political and economic instability, whilst exposing deep rifts within the European Union.
The victory of the OXI in the referendum is being quickly turned into its opposite. The government has sent a proposal to the Troika which in essence represents accepting what people rejected in the referendum on Sunday. Opposition is growing in the ranks of Syriza and beyond, among the Greek working masses aroused by their victory in the referendum.
Bernie Sanders, the Democratic Party candidate for president of the United States, has attracted huge crowds and generated enormous enthusiasm across the country. He calls himself a socialist and urges a “political revolution against the billionaire class.” What does Sanders’ campaign reflect and represent? And how should revolutionary Marxists approach it?
Greek voters have decisively rejected the terms of an international bailout. Sunday’s referendum was a slap in the face for the bankers and capitalists of the Eurozone. The “OXI” victory marks another turning point in the development of the European revolution.
The Greek crisis is approaching a denouement. This marks a turning point for the working class of Greece and the whole of Europe. In advance of tomorrow’s referendum, we publish here a statement by the International Marxist Tendency on the latest developments between the Troika, on the one side, and the SYRIZA-led government and the Greek masses on the other.
As the referendum in Greece approaches, political polarisation is reaching unprecedented levels. The sham of bourgeois democracy has been revealed, as the Troika demand Tsipras’ removal. The conclusion is unavoidable: there is no way to end austerity within the limits of capitalism.
As the Greek bailout ends and the repayment deadline is passed, bank and capital controls are now in action in Greece. Tsipras has called for people to vote NO – “OXI” – to the Troika’s proposals, as the creditors refuse to move. Tens of thousands have turned out in Athens to reject the proposals. The scene is set for an almighty confrontation between Capital and the Greek masses.
Events in Greece are moving at a lightning pace. On Saturday, Greek PM Tsipras announced that he will put the the latest ultimatum from the troika to a referendum. The troika responded by stating there will be no extension of Tuesday’s repayment deadline. Now the banks in Greece will be closed for a week. Greece’s future now rests on a knife-edge.
The latest provocative demands and ultimatums placed by the troika on the Greek government have one clear aim: to destroy it. They cannot be interpreted in any other way and all the pieces of the puzzle are now falling together. The only alternative to austerity is for Syriza to break with capitalism.
At the last minute, when it seemed that a break was inevitable, the Greek government made a new proposal which included substantial additional concessions to the demands of Europe’s bankers and capitalists. The Syriza government has been forced to abandon substantial points of its own election program, and even the famous “red lines” have been crossed.
The protracted negotiations between Greece and the troika which started after the election of Syriza on January 25 this year have seemingly reached a dead end. Withdrawal of deposits from the banks have accelerated, bringing the Day of Judgment closer. The troika is tightening the noose, and unless the victim manages to break free it will choke.
The recent FIFA corruption scandal has adorned the front pages over the past few weeks. Already, president Sepp Blatter has stood down, after 17 years in the position and just a few days after being re-elected. More heads may roll. But corruption at FIFA is hardly a new story. So why is this news emerging with such force now?
Thousands came out to cheer the swearing in of new mayors in Spain on Saturday June 13, in scenes not seen since 1979 or perhaps 1931. The May 24 municipal and regional elections represented a serious setback for the ruling right wing PP – and, importantly, an important gain for the alliances to the left of social democracy.
The EU and IMF sharks have dropped their mask and revealed their real intentions, removing any illusions that an “honourable compromise” with the Greek government was somehow possible. The question is: what should be done now? What programme and policy should the Syriza-led government adopt in breaking with the creditors? Here we provide a statement by the Communist Tendency of SYRIZA.
The scandal surrounding the manipulation of LIBOR rates has erupted once again, with all the major banks embroiled in this mess. Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal, looks at this latest demonstration of the endemic corruption within the capitalist system.
The result of Sunday’s Turkish general elections and the clear defeat of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s AK Party mark a qualitative change in the situation in the country and bear important consequences for the whole of the Middle East. Francesco Merli analyses the reprecussions of this political earthquake for Turkey and beyond.
As the Syrian civil war drags on into its fourth year, the war is entering a new phase. US imperialism is losing control in the Middle East as old allies distance themselves and begin to pursue their own interests more forcefully. This is a recipe for inreased instability and turbulence in the region.
The spectre of default is now being raised as a serious possibility by the international bourgeoisie for Ukraine, where the economy – ravaged by over a year of war and decades of corruption – is in a deep crisis. Default on a capitalist basis would be a catastrophe for ordinary people in this war-torn country.
Sunday 24th May will go down as a landmark in Spanish history. Municipal and regional elections were held across Spain. The right-wing PP (People’s Party) was unseated from most of their historical strongholds. More important, however, was the sharp turn to the left in Spanish society, best exemplified by the rise of Podemos and the electoral fronts that it led.
We live in a time when the whole establishment is not only corrupt and rotten to the core but is seen as such by a large section of the working class. For many, the single organisation that perfectly defines this corruption, bribery and general fiddling is FIFA.
Irish voters have decisively voted in favour of marriage equality, making Ireland the first country to do so through the ballot box. This was a victory of the future against the past, of the young against the old, of reason against ignorance, of the forward-looking urban areas against the old backward rural Ireland.
Only a few days ahead of the local and regional elections in Spain, the ruling class have used all the dirty tricks in the book. Both Popular Unity lists for municipal elections and Podemos (standing in the regions) have been slandered. The ruling class is increasingly worried by the rise of PODEMOS and the rhetoric of its leaders.
With the heinous murder of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, USA, the #BlackLivesMatter movement came roaring back to life. These once-routine and largely unrecognized murders are now churning up powerful forces long dormant in the womb of society. John Peterson of Socialist Appeal USA comments on the increasingly radicalised mood in the United States.
A stand-off is taking place between the Greek government and the country’s creditors that could end up with Greece defaulting on its debt, leaving the euro and even the EU itself. This would have very serious consequences both for the Greek people and the European and world economy. What is this leading to?
The death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland, USA is just the latest in a string of police killings of black men to hit national headlines. But it seems that it may mark the end of a national ebb in the #BlackLivesMatter movement. As things heat up in the coming months, an important question must be asked: what is the way forward for the movement against racism and police brutality?
The war in Yemen, which has killed and wounded thousands, is bringing out the contradictions in the Middle East as Saudi Arabia finds itself increasingly isolated. Tension between the different players and powers across the region is increasing, provoking instability on all levels.
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?
The news of the German pilot Andreas Lubitz flying the Germanwings Airbus 320 into a mountain in the French Alps came as a shock to the world. We publish here an article by a pilot, who explains how this latest tragedy is yet another symptom of the sickness of capitalist society.
Since early Thursday morning, hundreds of fighter jets, representing Saudi Arabia and a wide coalition of Arab states, have been bombing targets across Yemen, killing dozens, destroying all major runways and much of key infrastructure of the country. Yemen has become the latest country emboiled by the crisis in the Middle East and the proxy wars of the imperialists.
Once again, the mainstream media in Britain have distorted the truth in order to support the actions of the Western Imperialists. We publish here a reply – by Jorge Martin and Rachel Boothroyd of the Hands off Venezuela campaign – to an artice in the Guardian, which falsely accuses “democracy” of being “behind bars”, with “opposition leaders facing jail or death”.
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.
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.
President Obama has declared that “the situation in Venezuela” poses an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States”. This is the latest measure of US imperialist meddling in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation like Venezuela and as such is strongly condemned by the Hands off Venezuela campaign.
Despite all the concessions imposed on Greece by the troika, the February 20th agreement with the Eurogroup has produced very little of any substance and is already starting to unravel. The deep crisis of Greek capitalism, combined with the stubbornness of the troika in humiliating the Greek government, leaves almost no room for manoeuvre.
Sixteen years since Chavez came to power, the Bolivarian revolution has still not been completed. A revolution cannot be carried out partially. Either it goes all the way in removing capitalism once and for all, or it goes backward and is possibly defeated. We publish here two articles from Jorge Martin and Alan Woods, which analyse what needs to be done to complete the Venezuelan Revolution.
Alan Woods, editor of In Defence of Marxism, explains the significance of the recent retreat by the SYRIZA government, highlights the intense contradictions that remain within the Eurozone, and analyses the way forward for workers and youth in Greece and across the whole of Europe in the fight to end austerity.
Two years have passed since the death of Hugo Chávez on 5th March 2013. His death was a great loss for the cause of freedom, socialism and humanity. To fight for socialism in Venezuela and throughout the world: that is the only way forward; the only way to honour the memory of Hugo Chávez.
As a new spree of terrorist attacks unravels with increasing frequency, the menace of Islamic fundamentalist terror seems to be beyond the control of the ruling class. The claims of the political elite, of “uniting against terrorism” and for “national unity”, have proved to be boastful absurdities and hypocritical deceptions.
The political, tribal, and religious divisions in Libya, which have been fuelled for many years by imperialism, are dragging the country into a bloody civil war, never seen before. Roberto Sarti discusses how, just as in Iraq, military intervention by the imperialists, rather than stabilising the country, has enormously destabilised it.
History demonstrates that if you do not remove the class enemy from power within the country, they will not stop until they have crushed the revolution. This is the relevant fact faced today by the Venezuelan revolution. We publish here two articles by the Marxist Tendency of the PSUV, the IMT in Venezuela, which analyse the latest developments in the Bolivarian Revolution.
Ben Gliniecki analyses the latest developments in Ukraine, where, despite an official ceasefire, fighting continues in the east. The various political leaders involved are no longer in control of the situation, which has developed a dynamic and logic of its own.
We publish here the latest analysis of the developments in Greece, including an article by Jorge Martin of the International Marxist Tendency, who explains the significance of the Greek government’s retreat in the face of pressure from the Troika, and a recent statement from the Communist Tendency of SYRIZA.
On Friday 20th February, the Greek government signed a joint statement with the Eurogroup of Finance Ministers which amounts to an abandonment of the programme on which Syriza won the recent elections on January 25. Jorge Martin (of the International Marxist Tendency) and the Communist Tendency of SYRIZA analyse the details of the deal.
In this latest statement from the Communist Tendency of SYRIZA, the comrades in Greece comment on the retreats by the SYRIZA-led government in the face of pressure from the European capitalists. Only by going on the offensive with a bold socialist programme can the SYRIZA leaders stand up against the austerity and attacs of the Troika.
We publish here two recent statements from the Communist Tendency of Syriza, which provide a detailed analysis of the latest developments taking place in the negotiations between the leadership of the new Syriza-led government and the representatives of the Troika – the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the IMF.
On Sunday 15th February, an estimated 2000 people assembled at Trafalgar Square in London, in solidarity with the Greek people against the Troika. The demonstration, called by the Greek Solidarity Campaign and SYRIZA London, was linked to a wider international mobilisation across Europe, with the message everywhere of “your struggle is our struggle – lead the way!”
Eurozone finance ministers meet today, Monday 16th February, to try and reach an agreement on how to deal with Greek debt. Fred Weston analyses the pressures facing Tsipras and the Syriza-led government: the pressure of the Troika to continue with austerity, on the one hand; and the pressure of the masses opposing further attacks on their living standards, on the other.
This week revelations have sparked an explosive scandal: HSBC, the UK’s largest bank, has been caught facilitating industrial-scale tax evasion, committed by some of its wealthiest clients. This latest episode has yet again shone a light on the murky world of capitalism and exposed the Tory politicians who defend their rich fraudster friends.
Newly released figures show that the Chinese economy in 2014 experienced its lowest economic growth since 1990. Such figures illustrate the beginning of the end for China’s ‘miraculous’ boom, as the reality of capitalist crisis is seeping through to the world’s largest exporting economy.
At the beginning of January, 500,000 miners in the nationalised coal industry in India went on strike against governmental plans to privatise coal mining. This monumental show of strength is indicative both of the tensions within Indian society and the pressure that is being brought to bear on the leadership of the working class to put up a fight.
We publish here a further statement from the Communist Tendency of SYRIZA, which outlines the inevitable confrontation and collision between the SYRIZA-led government – which was elected on a programme of opposing austerity – and the Troika – the IMF, EC, and ECB – which is demanding continued cuts and “structural reforms”.
We publish here the latest statement of the Communist Tendency SYRIZAon the recent developments in Greece. The new SYRIZA-led government should stay true to its commitments and keep away from any new agreement, which would only be a trap to confine Greece within the terms of the Memorandum – i.e. the Troika’s programme of austerity.
The election victory of Syriza in Greece marked a fundamental shift not only in the situation in Greece, but throughout Europe. We publish here an interview with Ilias Kirousis, a member of the Communist Tendency of SYRIZA as well as the leadership of SYRIZA’s youth wing, who provides his analysis of the elections and the perspectives for the SYRIZA government.
We publish here a recent statement from the Communist Tendency of SYRIZA, which analyses the enormous contradictions facing the SYRIZA leadership in their attempt to reach some sort of compromise with the Troika and their representatives, Merkel and Draghi. There is no room for manoeuvre within capitalism. A bold, radical, socialist programme is needed.
Hundreds of thousands marched in Madrid on 31st January, in a demonstration called by PODEMOS to mark the beginning of their campaign to win the general election this year in Spain. The huge march came just after SYRIZA’s victory in Greece and reflected the deep anger of millions of working people against capitalist austerity, as well as the hope that it can be ended.
Heinz Dieterich – the German academic, self-proclaimed prophet of “Socialism for the 21st Century”, and so-called “friend” of the Bolivarian Revolution – has recently written another new article offering “advice” to the Venezuelan Revolution. We publish here a response to Dieterich by Alan Woods, who explains the tasks necessary for completing the Revolution.
Having won a resounding victory in the recent Greek elections, the SYRIZA leadership have established a coalition with the Independent Greeks, a right-wing nationalist party. We publish here a statement by the Communist Tendency of SYRIZA, which analyses what could have been done in order to achieve a government composed solely of parties from the Left.
According to the latest figures, whilst homelessness has increased and people who can’t afford their mortgages are being evicted from their homes, there are 11 million empty houses across Europe. This is yet another damning indictment against the irrational capitalist system.
Despite all the Keynesian experiments and the monetary stimulus, China has failed to escape the global economic crisis. Chinese workers are experiencing the economic slowdown in terms of the closures of factories and non-payment of wages. The result has been a surge in the number of strikes and the organisation of the working class in China.
Sunday 25th January saw general elections in Greece, with SYRIZA – the left-wing party – winning 36% of the vote and 149 seats in parliament – just short of the 151 needed for a majority. SYRIZA’s victory marks an historic event, and is an important step in the process of radicalisation taking place in Greece and across Europe. All eyes will now be on what actions the SYRIZA leadership takes.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. After years of crisis and further months of prevaricating, quantitative easing will soon be implemented across the Eurozone. However, the contradictions that have prevented such a programme of QE in Europe up until now have not gone away, and the fault lines along which the Eurozone will crack are already apparent and clear.
This Sunday, on January 25th, Greece will vote in a general election. Syriza is likely to be the party voted to power. This poses a dilemma for the European capitalists and is seen as a serious threat to the plans of the rulers of Europe to solve the economic crisis by an all-out attack on the living standards of the working class.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Twelve months ago the economists were predicting that 2014 would be the Year of Recovery. One year later nobody seriously maintains that vain illusion. The bourgeois economists do not understand the crisis and have no solution. It is a case of the blind leading the blind. Alan Woods analyses the state of the world economy at the dawn of the New Year.
We publish here an article by Jorge Martin, written at the end of 2014, which analyses the latest developments in the case of the disappeared Ayotzinapa students. Over three months after the police attack on teacher training students in Guerrero, Mexico, details have emerged that cast even more doubts on the official version of events and the level of complicity of the state in the affair.
The United States has admitted that its attempt to bully Cuba into submission had failed. This should be seen as a victory for the Cuban Revolution and its resilience against the relentless onslaught of the most powerful imperialist power. However, US imperialism has not given up on its aims: the restoration of the rule of private property and the destruction of the gains of the revolution; it has just changed the means to achieve the same result.
A grassroots upsurge has swept the US over the past few weeks, its sudden eruption marked by huge marches last weekend on the East Coast and by smaller, broadly based protests across the length and breadth of the country. These protests have popped the lid off a widespread, simmering popular discontent in the USA and given it focus.
The attack by the Taliban on a school in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Tuesday 16th December 2014 was perhaps the most barbaric and brutal attack carried out by the fundamentalists to date. Now more than ever, it is vital to highlight the courageous work of the Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign and to ask for concrete solidarity for those fighting imperialism and fundamentalism in Pakistan.
The massacre of 141 people including 132 children by the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban at the Peshawar Army Public School yesterday was probably the most heinous barbarity ever seen even in Pakistan, which has been victim to this scourge for decades now. Hardly a day passes without suicide attacks, terrorist bombing or target killings in this tragic country.
A recent report from the US Senate about the use of torture by the CIA outlines the most hair-raising villainies that have been committed in the name of “democracy”, removing any remaining doubts that one might have about the degenerate rottenness of US capitalism and imperialism. These are not “commie lies and propaganda,” but come straight from the horse’s mouth.
Francis Fukuyama, who upon the fall of the USSR famously declared “the end of history”, now says that America “suffers from the problem of political decay in a more acute form than other democratic political systems.” In plain English: capitalism and its institutions are in big trouble.
The starkest contradiction of the present epoch is the huge level of inequality in which the vast majority of the human race is immersed in poverty, misery and deprivation in an era of plenty. And yet, today the means of production and modern advanced technology have the capacity to produce much more than the total needs for a decent existence of the human race.
The violent abduction and disappearance of 43 students in the state of Guerrero in September has plunged Mexico into a deep social and political crisis. The case of the Ayotzinapa students has brought the masses onto the streets and convulsed the presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto. Alan Woods analyses the latest developments in Mexico, which are pregnant with revolutionary implications.
A revolutionary situation is currently spreading across West Africa. Over the last few days and weeks, big movements of the masses have shaken the regimes of Togo and Gabon to their foundations. It is clear that these are not isolated events. Rather, it is part of a revolutionary wave which has the potential to engulf the entire region.
It is now seven weeks since the police attacked students from the Ayotzinapa teacher training college and then kidnapped 43 of the survivors and handed them over to a drug cartel. The brutal incident in the town of Iguala, Guerrero, acted as the proverbial last straw, opening up a wave of mass protests which continues to grow and spread.
More than a month after the killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black youth from Ferguson, USA, the police officer who shot him multiple times remains free and safely in hiding. Michael Brown’s killing was “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” opening up a new stage in the changing consciousness of young Americans.
PODEMOS has become the focal point of Spanish politics. There is no party of the establishment that is not panicking about the dangers of ‘populism’. We publish here a recent editorial from the paper of the Spanish Marxists, Lucha de Clases, which looks at the rise of this new electoral force in Spanish politics and the task facing the masses in Spain: to kick out the rotten regime and take power into their own hands.
On Sunday 9th November, over 2.3 million Catalans mobilised to vote in a “consultation” over their future status in Spain defying Rajoy’s government which had twice banned the vote. Of those who voted, 80% or 1.8 million said they wanted Catalonia to be an independent state. For many, the vote was a way of expressing their defiance against the hated Rajoy government.
What if they held an election and nobody came? In some ways, the 2014 midterm elections in the USA were very much like this. Just 36.6 percent voted. The main capitalist parties—the Democrats and Republicans—do not deal with real issues related to the lives of the overwhelming majority of the population. This is true bourgeois democracy. That is, democracy for the top 1% or 2%, but not for the rest of us!
In this talk at the UCLU Marxist society, Ben Gliniecki – the youth organiser for the Solidarity with the Anti-Fascist Resistance in Ukraine campaign – analyses the latest developments surrounding the crisis in Ukraine, and discusses how Marxists can support the struggles against fascism in Ukraine.
The situation in Burkina Faso has been moving at lightning speed since the revolution erupted on Thursday 30th October. Not only did the revolutionary masses overthrew the hated Blaise Compaoré, but also his hand-picked successor, general Honoré Traoré, just a few hours later. The military tops and major imperialist powers have been scrambling to hatch some kind of a deal to pacify the masses and restore some sort of bourgeois normality.
We publish here an article written last week by Ben Morken of the International Marxist Tendency in South Africa, who reports on the revolutionary events unfolding in Burkina Faso. The situation has developed since this article was written, but it nevertheless provides a useful analysis and background to the events taking place.
Urgent solidarity action is required for Pakistan Marxists in Malakand. Early on Sunday morning at 5.45am, comrade Ghufran Ahad’s home in the village of Allahdand in the district of Malakand, was attacked by a hand grenade. Fortunately no one was injured but the windows and other parts of the home were severely damaged.
The recent parliamentary elections in Ukraine have been almost unanimously characterised with the ambiguous “Pro-Western camp wins”, while at the same time admitting that the new parliament’s role will be to push through harsh and unpopular austerity measures, on a population already in a dire situation. This assertion also overlooks some significant divisions within the post-Maidan ruling class.
Hundreds of thousands marched this week in Mexico city and tens of thousands more in dozens of other cities across Mexico to protest at the kidnapping of 43 student-teachers from Ayotzinapa. They were clear in pointing the finger squarely at the Mexican state. The actions were part of a widespread nationwide 48 hour student strike. Jorge Martin looks at the latest developments in Mexico.
It is now a month since the beginning of the movement of students at the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) in Mexico. This is a huge movement involving tens of thousands of students in dozens of schools, mass assemblies with thousands of participants, which has forced the national government to make important concessions in order to prevent a general explosion of the youth movement.
The horrendous incident in which police officers opened fire on students killing six people and injuring 17, and then kidnapped another 43 and handed them over to a drug cartel, has brought out sharply the depth of the rottenness of the Mexican capitalist state, to what degree its structures are linked with those of the drug cartels, and finally, how they stop at nothing in suppressing anyone they perceive as a threat to their interests.
The Ebola epidemic has grown exponentially and now threatens to spread to Europe and America. This epidemic, however, is not simply a medical issue. Ebola is not ‘above’ or ‘removed’ from other general political issues, but is yet another symptom of the decay and stagnation of capitalism.
The forces of ISIS are closing in on the besieged town of Kobane on the Turkish-Syrian border. While the rest of the world looks on, the people of Kobane are threatened with an unspeakable bloodbath. The international labour movement must rally to the defence of the Kurds who are faced with a genocidal massacre.
The struggle of the Kurdish forces that have been defending the town of Kobane against the onslaught of ISIS forces, which outnumber and outgun them, has been nothing short of heroic. These latest events, however, expose the cynical manoeuvres of the Ergodan government in Turkey and the hypocrisy of the Western imperialists.
British MPs have voted overwhelmingly to involve UK military forces in yet another imperialist adventure in Iraq. So successful have previous efforts at ‘stability’ and ‘democracy’ been, that the military is being sent in once again in a desperate attempt to prevent Iraq from spiralling out of the control of the Western imperialists. Rob Dransfield examines the hypocrisy and real motives of imperialism
Many in the West are justifiably horrified by the atrocities being perpetrated by the ISIS gangsters. But imperialist intervention, which led to this wreck in the first place, is no solution. There is no short-term way out. John Peterson of Socialist Appeal USA discusses the only genuine alternative: a socialist revolution that can transform the region and the world.
With the vote in Parliament last week overwhelmingly in favour of involving the Royal Air Force in attacking the ISIS in Iraq, Britain has once more become involved in an extraordinarily complex and increasingly out-of-control situation in the Middle East. Owen Walsh of the Leeds Marxists looks at the latest development in Iraq.
The final round of the presidential elections in Afghanistan, and the “deal” between the two “front runners”, on September 21, was so feeble, and the outcome so rotten, that even bourgeois analysts and reporters had to designate them as pathetic and repulsive. Lal Khan analyses the latest political developments in Afghanistan.
Three years after the Occupy Wall Street Movement spread out from Manhattan to several major cities all over the world, the Occupy Central movement has begun in Hong Kong. Congyue Dai analyses this mass movement for genuine universal suffrage.
We publish here an article by Roberto Sarti from the editorial board of Falce Martello, the paper of the Italian Marxists, on the question of Iraq and ISIS. Written before the recent decision by Obama to launch air strikes against ISIS in Syria, the article provides a thorough analysis of the interests governing the imperialists’ actions in Iraq, Syria, and the Middle East.
Marxists stand in full solidarity with the Palestinian masses against the brutality of the Israeli ruling class. Ultimately, we understand that only a socialist revolution offers any hope for a meaningful solution to the problems in the Middle East. What therefore is our attitude towards the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (“BDS”) campaign, and what can we do internationally to show solidarity with the Palestinian masses?
Eight years of cuts, privatisations and continuous high unemployment have finally led to the fall of the right-wing government in the recent Swedish elections, held on 14th September. But despite the dissatisfaction with the right-wing policies, neither the Social Democrats nor the Left Party proved able to channel the anger felt in society.
The recent transfer deadline day brought a dramatic close to the summer’s wheeling and dealing in the marketplace of football. While most back pages have focused on the shock last minute transfers, the most notable trend is the increasingly large amounts of money thrown around as the rich exploit what was once a working class sport.
Comrade Riaz Lund, a leading member of the Pakistan section of the IMT and well-known class fighter in Karachi, has been shot in cold blood by assassins. In a cowardly and brutal assault, he was hit three times, twice in the stomach and once in the chest. We publish here statements by Alan Woods and the Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign (PTUDC) calling for solidarity against this horrific attack.
The main outcome of the recent NATO summit was decision to launch a new ‘spearhead’ rapid response task force. This ‘achievement’ is something that NATO’s political and military leaders seem to be very proud about. In reality this new project is yet another landmark in the weakening of US imperialism, the crisis in world relations and the decline of the global capitalist system as a whole.
As politicans from across the world met at the NATO summit in Wales, the crisis in Ukraine saw an escalation in rhetoric. The same people who told us about Saddam’s “Weapons of Mass Destruction” are now raising a hue and cry about thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of Russian troops having invaded Ukraine and are demanding swift action to counter them.
Lal Khan analyses the modern resurgence of political Islam and religious fundamentalism, which has risen in conditions of ideological and political vacuum following the collapse of the Soviet Union. From the black reaction of ISIS to the ferociously bestial Taliban, these Frankenstein’s monsters created by imperialism in the past have wreaked havoc and are raising the spectre of barbarism in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Middle East.
The “Ice Bucket Challenge” has gone certifiably viral. Countless videos showing people dousing themselves with buckets of ice water in the name of charity have flooded social media. But what does it all mean? Is “raising awareness” enough? We publish here an article by John Peterson of Socialist Appeal USA, who asks: how do we really create a world free of illness and suffering?
The shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown has let loose the pent-up anger and frustration of black youth in the otherwise quiet working class St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. The US National Guard have now been called in to quell the protests. These events above all show that huge pressures are building up in US society, just one scratch below the surface. We publish here an analysis from Socialist Appeal USA.
Having created a crisis in the Middle East due to their invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Obama administration is once again backing bombing in Iraq. Under the guise of averting a “humanitarian disaster”, US imperialism is again intervening in the Middle East. But the workers and youth in the region should trust in no one but themselves.
On Saturday 9th August, an estimated 150,000 people marched in London against the brutal assault of the Israeli state against the Palestinian people. Thousands travelled from all over Britain to show their outrage at the ongoing bombardment of Gaza, which has left nearly 2000 Palestinians dead, including approximately 452 children and 235 women.
We publish here the second part of our analysis of the recent elections in India and the state of the Left in the world’s second most populous country. The election of Modi will only be a prelude to a future of crisis and class struggle in India.
Sam Hall looks at the analysis presented in a recent UN report, which reveals the truth about forced migration and asylum seeking. The report is a condemnation of the political and economic situation in the world at the moment, highlighting the grinding poverty and terrible conflict that is the product of global capitalism.
In the Presidential elections held at the beginning of June, Assad was declared the winner with 88.7% of the vote. Whilst the election result is clearly exaggerated, it is still the case that a significant section of the population is backing Assad. Why is this?
India has seen two very powerful general strikes in the past two years, revealing a sharp class polarisation in the country, and yet we have the disastrous result in the recent Indian elections for the Communist and left parties. This apparent contradiction has brought into sharp focus the role of the leaders of these parties and their total inability to offer a way out of the impasse they themselves have been responsible for creating.
The defeat of the attempts by the counter-revolutionary opposition to overthrow the Venezuelan government by force has given way to a wide debate amongst the Bolivarian rank and file about economic policy. Jorge Martin of the Hands Off Venezuela campaign analyses the latest events and debates in Venezuela.
News that the IMF might consider allowing the Irish government to pay off a large chunk of the bailout debt will no doubt be heralded as a great victory for the Coalition in Ireland. Séamus Loughlin from Fightback Ireland explains the reality: that the impact of this deal will only be felt as a ripple on the balance sheet.
Saturday 26th July saw another wave of protests in Britain against the military aggression of the Israeli state, who have continued their criminal attacks on the innocent people of Gaza. We publish here brief reports of two of the demonstrations in the UK from Socialist Appeal supporters in London and Newcastle.
The death of almost 300 innocent men, women and children on a Malaysian airline flight has shocked the world. Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was travelling over the conflict-hit region when it disappeared from radar. Alan Woods analyses the hypocrytical response of the media and the politicians to these events
Last week, the Israeli army embarked on a ground offensive into Gaza. Whilst hundreds of Palestinians die at the hands of the Israeli state’s criminal attacks, the imperialists continue to offer their support to Israeli’s “proportionate actions to defend itself”. Fred Weston analyses the cynicism and hypocrisy of the Israeli government and of the international bourgeois media and politicians.
On Saturday 19th July, tens of thousands gathered outside 10 Downing Street and marched to the Israeli embassy in London to protest against the Israeli government’s military attacks on Gaza, which escalated last week with a ground invasion by the Israeli military. The mood amongst demonstrators was one of emotion and militancy, reflecting the intense feelings of anger and injustice towards the criminal attacks of the Israeli army.
We publish here a draft document to be discussed at this year’s World Congress of the International Marxist Tendency. Written earlier this month, before the recent recapture of Slovyansk by the Kiev government, the document explains the origins and processes behind the current war and crisis in Ukraine, as well as outlining the tasks of the Marxists internationally.
A storm of bombs and fire grotesquely denominated “Operation Protective Edge” has been unleashed by the Israeli government on the civilian population of Gaza. Francesco Merli discusses the latest attacks by the Israeli state and the hypocrisy of the imperialists.
Recently a young worker and member of the Leeds Marxist Society, Ben Curry, travelled to Cuba as an international delegate to the May Day celebrations. We publish here his thoughts and analysis on what is happening in Cuba now and where it is going in the future.
Sinn Féin made a big surge in the Euro and Council elections. What are the reasons behind this development? What programme does Sinn Féin propose? And what does the growth of SF mean for workers across the Island?
The speed with which large swathes of Iraqi territory have fallen to a relatively small force of armed militias begs the question as to how this was possible. The Iraqi armed forces were numerically much superior to the groups who took over towns such as Mosul in the north. The army actually melted away. This cannot be explained simply by referring to armed Islamic groups. Something deeper is going on.
Ever since the reactionary and bloody partition of the South Asian subcontinent in 1947, the drums of blame immediately start beating when any major incident that divides the South Asian subcontinent occurs, with fingers pointing across the other side of the border. Lal Khan examines the historical roots of the divisions between Pakistan and India, and looks at the political tensions between these countries today.
Earlier this month, the Solidarity with the Antifascist Resistance in Ukraine (SARU) campaign was launched. This Sunday (22nd June), Jorge Martin from the SARU campaign will be speaking about the struggle against fascism in the Ukraine, as part of the International Marxist School 2014. We publish here a brief overview of the past few months’ events in Ukraine by Tomasz Pierscionek.
The FIFA World Cup continues this week in Brazil, but with a very different atmosphere to what usually accompanies such an event, as the widespread protest movements and strikes taking place in the country clearly demonstrate. Here we publish an article by comrades of the Esquerda Marxista [Marxist Left] in Brazil, which highlights the enormous social and class contradictions that have surfaced around the tournament.
On Tuesday, the militant Islamist group ISIS captured Mosul, one of the key cities in Northern Iraq and then proceeded South towards Baghdad, capturing several important cities on the way. Hundreds of thousands have already fled fearing their lives under the rule of this reactionary group. This spectre of barbarism rising on the horizon, is the direct result of the cynical adventures of American imperialism.
The World Cup events being held in 12 cities across Brazil are set to begin today. Half a million tourists are expected to flood into Brazil. However, instead of the expected celebrations and weeks of national rejoicing in a country long-known for its proud football traditions, there is an enormous tension within Brazilian society.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a relentless attack was waged by the bourgeois intellectuals and politicians against the ideas of Marxism and socialism. Lal Khan comments how now, with the world living through a seemingly endless crisis, the spectre of Marxism is back to haunt the capitalists.
From the FIFA World Cup to the Olympic Games: under capitalism, today’s mega-sporting events have become vehicles for the profits of giant multinationals. Ray Physick analyses the situation of sport under capitalism and looks back at history at the alternatives provided by the international labour movement.
The shocking revelations that certain officials from Qatar had allegedly bribed their way to a successful FIFA vote to stage the 2022 World Cup, football’s highest competition, will not come as a surprise to anyone. With the World Cup 2014 beginning this week in Brazil, Steve Jones examines the corrupt, big-business-dominated world of football under capitalism.
Twenty-five years ago, on 4th June 1989, the Tian’anmen square movement was brutally smashed by the rifles and tanks of the Chinese troops. It was a heroic movement of the Chinese people in a struggle against the bureaucracy. Class struggle is again on the rise in China today; but unlike the movement of 1989, the workers and students in China today are a qualitatively and quantitatively more powerful and revolutionary force.
Monday 2nd June saw the founding meeting of the ‘Solidarity with the Antifascist Resistance in Ukraine’ campaign, which was hosted by the Marxist Student Federation in SOAS, London. Over 150 people attended the meeting to discuss the need for a campaign in support of the antifascist resistance in Ukraine to provide a counterweight to the lies and distortions of the Western media.
Monday saw the announcement by King Juan Carlos of Spain of his decision to abdicate. That same evening, hundreds of thousands of Spaniards took to the streets throughout Spain and the rest of Europe demanding a referendum on the return to a republic. We publish here reports of the protests in Spain and Edinburgh.
The whole of the Egyptian establishment are falling over each other as they praise the ‘landslide victory’ of Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in the Egyptian presidential elections. However the stability that the bourgeois are craving for is further away than they think.
The recent European Parliament elections have caused shock waves in the continent’s political landscape. Many commentators have argued that these elections represent a sharp swing to the right. Alan Woods explains that this argument is entirely false.
Eamon Gilmore, former leader of the Labour Party in Ireland, has resigned as party leader after Labour was hammered in the local council and the European polls. The Labour Party’s right wing programme and the record of its ministers in office have massively discredited its local representatives. Ireland’s elections illustrate that there are no short cuts. The working class must find a way out of the chains of capitalism.
Sixteen years after the Good Friday agreement and ever so conveniently, just after the European Elections, the Stormont Assembly will shortly face a show down on the question of Welfare Reform, which is likely to illustrate just how toothless and lame the Assembly really is. But most importantly it will demonstrate the relationship between the DUP, Sinn Féin and the Westminster Government.
Following the elections in Ukraine on 25th May, the bloody assault against rebels in Donetsk has continued and escalated. We publish here three short articles that deal with the latest developments in the Ukraine, including one article by left-wing group Borotba.
On the 16th May, the results of the Indian elections were announced. Narendra Modi – right wing Hindu nationalist of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been elected Prime Minister. Sparsh Pandya looks at the pro-capitalist programme of Modi and the BJP, which aims to divide the working class along ethnic and religious lines.
Following the declaration of martial law in Thailand on Tuesday May 20, the army has now carried through a full coup d’état and removed what remained of the elected Pheu Thai party from power. This is the 12th coup in Thailand since 1932, demonstrating how the ruling class really consider “democracy”.
As people take to the polls for the European elections, we republish here an abridged version of an important article written in 1997. In this article, Alan Woods analyses the historical development of the European Union and the single currency, discusses the socialist alternative to the EU, and outlines the contradictions present within the present set up – contradictions that have come to the fore today in an explosive manner.
The landslide victory of the BJP and the meteoric rise of Narendra Modi as a populist leader have stunned a large number of secular and liberal analysts in India and elsewhere. Lal Khan explains the results of the recent Indian elections and outlines the perspective of crisis and class struggle in India.
Allegations of corruption and collusion between bourgeois politicians, big business and the state no longer come as any surprise to workers in Ireland, nor anywhere else in the world. Tony Healy of Fightback Ireland looks at the close relationships between capitalist politicians, big business, and the bankers.
The abduction by the Islamic fundamentalist Boko Haram group of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok in the north of the country and the way the Nigerian government has reacted to it has highlighted the truly corrupt nature of the regime. It has revealed its utter cynicism in the face of the real suffering of the masses. Fred Weston comments on the contradictions in Nigerian society.
We publish here an article by Musa Atiku, a Marxist in northern Nigeria, who provides an overview and an analysis of the activities and origins of Boko Haram, the Nigerian Islamic fundamentalist terrorist organisation who are responsible – amongst other atrocities – for the recent abduction of 300 schoolgirls.
274 miners have been declared dead and up to a hundred are still trapped underground after an explosion in a Turkish coal mine in the western town of Soma. The accident reveals the ruthless exploitation and extreme inequality behind the economic growth of the past decade, and has led to an explosion of anger and protest across Turkey against the hated Erdogan government.
Tensions are high in Thailand as a political crisis that has been simmering for years is reaching boiling point. Last week a judicial coup ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and several of her ministers. Ben Gliniecki analyses the latest developments and the revolutionary potential in Thailand.
The holding of the referendums in eastern Ukraine represents a new and potentially dangerous twist in the Ukrainian crisis. The representatives of the people of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions say 89% and 96% respectively voted in favour of self-rule. Alan Woods analyses the significance of the referendums and the responses of Putin’s Russia and the Western media.
Sunday 11th May saw referendums in Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. We publish here an article by Jorge Martin, written in advance of the referendum, which analyses the situation in the region, including the activities and involvement of fascist paramilitaries on the one side and the growing role of the working class on the other.
Ukraine’s acting President Turchynov admitted that his forces were “helpless” to quell the unrest in Eastern Ukraine, as the pro-Russian insurgency is on the rise. Now the goal would be to prevent the pro-Russian insurgency from spreading in the Kharkiv and Odessa regions. This amounts to a declaration of defeat.
India is hyped as being very modern, yet in the midst of the towering buildings and corporate plazas there are huge swathes of ghettos overflowing with intense poverty and misery, where human beings are forced to live in bestial conditions of unhygienic and filthy dwellings. The artificial glitter and the facade of modernity fails to conceal the primitive social and economic conditions that prevail across India.
This Easter, as every year, socialists and Republicans across Ireland will commemorate the 1916 Easter Rising. Yet with only two years to go until the centenary, the aim of the Workers’ Republic that James Connolly appears as far off as ever. Fightback – the Marxists in Ireland – comment on the continuing crisis of capitalism in Ireland and the response from Labour and the small forces to their left.
Ukrainian president Oleksandr Turchynov declared earlier this weak that a full-scale operation will be launched to regain control over Eastern Ukraine. Later, the same man announced a date for a referendum in Eastern Ukraine. Others are talking about UN peacekeepers coming in. This contradictory flip-flopping indicated the insoluble mess the Ukrainian authorities have got themselves into.
With the upcoming European elections on 22nd May, we publish here an analysis of the European Union and the euro crisis by Claudio Bellotti – member of the National Executive of Rifondazione Comunista in Italy and member of the editorial board of Falce Martello, the paper of the Italian Marxists – which examines the limitations of the pro-EU position put forward by the left reformists across Europe.
In the recent municipal elections in France the right wing did well, mainly at the expense of the Socialist Party, which pays a heavy price for carrying out draconian austerity measures at national level. Here we publish an article by Jérôme Métellus, a member of the Communist Party in Paris and also of the Editorial Board of La Riposte, the journal of the Marxist wing of the Communist Party.
In the last week, Crimea has officially become part of the Russian Federation. The western powers, despite a series of veiled threats, have been able to do nothing to stop this process. Francesco Merli examines the latest developments in Russia and Ukraine, which expose the declining influence of US imperialism and its European allies.
We republish here an article by Gerry Ruddy, originally written for the Red Plough, which looks at the politics of Gerry Adams and Sinn Fein, who have accepted the capitalist system and ignored the class question in relation to the north of Ireland.
Tomasz Pierscionek looks at the background and development of the events in Ukraine, where the situation has progressed rapidly with a complex interplay of forces, including competing imperialist powers. Socialists cannot support either the US or Russian backed “solutions”. Only a movement of the working class, in Ukraine and internationally, can provide a real solution to the people in the Ukraine.
5th March marks one year since the death of Hugo Chávez, the great Venezuelan revolutionary, who was an inspiration to the masses in Latin America and across the world for his leading role in the Bolivarian Revolution. Alan Woods, editor of www.marxist.com and personal friend of Chávez, looks at the legacy of the late Venzuelan President.
As Ukraine slides deeper into chaos, the sound of war drums gets ever louder. The tension between the Russians, Americans, and Europeans increases by the hour. Alan Woods analyses the sabre rattling surrounding Ukraine and discusses the future facing the Ukrainian people.
The dramatic events in Ukraine have led to the fall of Yanukovych. But in reality this is not the end of the drama but only the possible end of its second act. Power has fallen into the hands of the opposition like an overripe apple falling from a tree. The question is: what will they do with it?
For the last two weeks there has been a violent campaign of rioting on the part of a small number of opposition supporters in Venezuela. They have blockaded streets and avenues in an attempt to force the removal of President Maduro. What is the meaning of these actions and how should they be confronted?
We publish here the fifth and final part of the International Marxist Tendency’s draft document on the perspectives for the world revolution. In this final section, the analysis focusses on the growing inequality in society and the radicalising effect this is having in society, particularly amongst the youth. This has revolutionary implications on a global scale.
It is now three years since the Labour Conference voted to go into coalition with Fine Gael in Ireland. In the opinion of Gilmore, the Irish Labour Party leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Ireland has been to “hell and back”. While we – Fightback, the Irish Marxists – would agree that the capitalist crisis has put the Irish working class through hell, it is not at all clear that the process has ended.
Today we publish the fourth part of the IMT’s analysis of the world situation, which deals with the ongoing revolutions in Latin America and the Middle East, the movements in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Egypt and Iran, as well as world relations and the decline of US imperialism.
Reform or revolution? This has been the main ideological debate in the labour movement for the past century. Today, the crisis of capitalism poses the question sharply. Unlike in the past, however, the material basis for reformism has been eroded. The cupboard is bare. Austerity, heightened class struggle, and revolutionary upheaval are on the order of the day.
We continue publishing here the latest analysis of the world situation by the International Marxist Tendency. In this third part, we look at the development of the situation in the “BRICs” – Brazil, Russia, India, and China – which were held up by many bourgeois commentators as being possible saviours of the world economy. Now, however, we see contradictions and tensions emerging in all of these countries.
We continue publishing here the latest analysis of the world situation by the International Marxist Tendency. In this second part, we look at the crisis in Europe, which is a particularly acute expression of the worldwide crisis of capitalism, and which is creating enormous political and social tensions and contradictions across the whole continent.
The recent interview with actor/comedian Russell Brand on Newsnight with Jeremy Paxman, dubbed a call for revolution by many, quickly became a viral sensation. Brand’s indignation and discontent in the interview and the viral spread of the YouTube video is a clear indication that these are not merely the ramblings of an eccentric celebrity, but a sentiment that is shared by millions. Mark Rahman of Socialist Appeal USA looks at the recent spate of calls for revolution from celebrities.
In Britain, a handful of super-rich plutocrats control our lives. On a world scale, according to Oxfam, a mere 85 top billionaires, who could all comfortably fit into a double-decker bus, own more wealth than half of the world’s population put together. Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal, looks at the obscene levels of inequality under capitalism.
We are publishing here the latest analysis of the world situation by the International Marxist Tendency. In this first part, we look at the world economic situation and discuss the global crisis of capitalism – the deepest crisis in the history of capitalism. This forms the background to the political and social situation, which has developed to revolutionary proportions worldwide.
We publish here a short obituary to Pete Seeger, the American folk singer and activist, who sadly passed away last week on 27th January at the age of 94. Seeger was a decent man who suffered disgraceful harassment at the hands of the US establishment throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
American diplomats Richard Haass and Meghan O’Sullivan , were invited to Belfast by Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson to seek an agreement over the issues of parades, flags and the legacy of the past. The position of the Unionist parties and those of Sinn Féin and the SDLP reveal much about the underlying contradictions and divisions in the North.
Luxury goods brands have posted falls both in growth and profits in the recent period, down from record highs. That the sales of luxuries have been booming in a period of global recession for the past few years appears remarkable in itself. This contradictory phenomenon, and its more recent decline, gives an insight into one aspect of the capitalist crisis.
On 11th January 2014, Ariel Sharon – the former Israeli army general and Prime Minister – died after spending eight years in a coma. For analysis on the life and role of this reactionary figure, we draw our readers’ attention towards two articles, both published in January 2006 at the time when Sharon entered his long comatose period.
Enda Kenny, Michael Noonan and Eamon Gilmore may be hoping that the Irish exit from the Troika bailout will convince the voters that the end of the economic and political crisis and particularly the crisis in the state finances might be in sight, but there is more than enough evidence in place to the contrary.
Daniel Morley looks at China’s announcement of its very own Air Defence Identification Zone, which highlights the tensions between Chinese and American imperialism. This ominous step by China is proof that US imperialism’s golden era of relative stability is drawing to a close and a new phase of instability and conflicts dawns.
In the mass media, the demonstrations in the Ukraine are presented as the desire of the Ukrainian people for the country to join the European Union. However, anyone who has followed Ukraine in the last two decades can understand that the grievances are not limited to the question of joining the EU. What are the different factors behind the Ukrainian protests?
The Nelson Mandela national memorial day turned out horribly wrong for the bourgeoisie, the ANC, and President Jacob Zuma as the masses completely upset the applecart and took center-stage. The result was a massive embarrassment for the “respectable people” who had come from all over the world, and especially for President Zuma, who was booed amidst an outpouring of raw emotion by the defiant proletarian crowd.
The December 8th municipal elections in Venezuela gave yet another victory to the Bolivarian revolution, with the Socialist United Party (PSUV) and its allies receiving 5.1 million votes (49.24% of the total) and 4.4 million (42.72%) going to the opposition. The opposition had presented these elections as a plebiscite on Maduro’s presidency; the result, however, will serve to vindicate the decision taken by Maduro’s to fight against the economic sabotage led by the capitalists.
Nelson Mandela is no more. At about 20:50 on Thursday 5th December, Nelson Rohishlahla Mandela passed away peacefully at the age of 95 after a long illness. The news was announced by President Jacob Zuma to a worldwide audience. All across the country people gathered to pay tribute to a freedom fighter. Ben Morken in South Africa looks back at the life of this important political and historic figure.
Given the lack of opportunities for political expression in the US, even off-year elections provide important insights into where things stand politically and in which direction they are moving. Frustration with incumbents and disgust with “politics as usual” has reached record highs. This is an unprecedented situation with profound implications for the future. It is not simply this or that politician or this or that party in the doldrums; the entire system is being questioned. It is in this context that the 2013 elections give us yet another snapshot of the changing mood in America.
In the run up to the 8th December municipal elections in Venezuela, the campaign of speculation, hoarding, profiteering, overpricing and sabotage of the economy has intensified. The Venezuelan government of President Maduro has denounced that there is a “slow motion coup” being implemented and has taken measures to fight this economic war.
In recent days, President Maduro has rightly explained the seriousness of the economic war against the Bolivarian revolution, pointing out that the culprits are the capitalists and has announced a series of measures to address it. We publish here a statement by Lucha de Clases, Venezuelan section of the IMT, which explains what is needed to fight this economic war – workers’ control and expropriation of the oligarchy.
Six months into China’s new Politburo Standing Committee under Xi Jinping’s Presidency, it has become abundantly clear that the next ten years under his rule will not resemble the relative social stability and rapid growth of the past ten years. Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party stand at a crossroads, facing that classic dilemma of all ruling classes – either to open up to democratic reform or clamp down on growing dissent. Daniel Morley and Congyue Dai analyse the current economic, political, and social tensions in Chinese society.
Michael Noonan’s Budget 2014 will take a further €2.5bn out of the Irish economy; in other words a figure of around €600 for every man, woman and child in the state. It is evident also that as anticipated the losers are the old, the sick and the young unemployed. Tony Healy reports on the latest round of austerity in Ireland.
We publish here an article by Stamatis Karayannopoulos, member of the Communist Tendency in SYRIZA in Greece and member of the SYRIZA Central Committee. This article was written before the arrests of the leadership of Golden Dawn. However, the analysis it contains regarding the Golden Dawn – a neo-fascist organisation in Greece – has been absolutely confirmed by the subsequent events.
For 16 days, the world waited with bated breath as the US government was shut down and teetered on the brink of default. At the eleventh hour, a deal was rammed through both the Senate and the House and signed by Obama, thus averting the immediate crisis. What is the meaning of all this? What are the ramifications for American politics and the capitalist system itself? John Peterson of Socialist Appeal USA reports.
“The bourgeoisie has stripped of its halo every occupation hitherto honoured and looked up to with reverent awe. It has converted the physician, the lawyer, the priest, the poet, the man of science, into its paid wage labourers.” So reads the The Communist Manifesto, written by Marx and Engels, who described a process that we see today: the erosion of conditions for those who once considered themselves as middle class, as capitalism pushes this layer of society down into the working class.
Last week, October 9th, marked one year since the serene valley of Swat was suddenly overcome with pain and anguish at the bestial attack on Malala Yousafzai and other schoolgirls in the van taking them home as it rounded at an army checkpoint in the midst of a fundamentalist insurgency. Lal Khan of the Pakistani MarxistsThe Struggle discusses the wider politics behind these event and the hypocrisy of the subsequent media coverage.
We publish here an article by Andrea Davolo of the Italian Marxists, who looks at the latest tragedy involving the case of hundreds of North African migrants who died recently due to a capsized overcrowded boat off the coast of Lampedusa, an Italian island, and who analyses the wider question of immigration under capitalism.
In the final analysis, the US government shutdown over parts of the federal budget and Republican opposition to “Obamacare” is a reflection of the insoluble contradictions of capitalism. In a follow up to yesterday’s article, we publish here an in depth analysis of the economic and political background to the current shutdown and potential default in the USA.
With sections of the US Federal Government now in shutdown and the possibility of default looming, we publish here an article by John Peterson of Socialist Appeal USA, who comments on the deep divisions that are opening up with the US capitalist class and their political representatives.
With Italian politics in turmoil, we publish here a recent article by Roberto Sarti of the Italian Marxists “Falce Martello” who explains the economic, social, and political background to this current turbulent period of crisis. Although written before the recent rebellion against Silvio Berculoni by MPs in his own party and the latest vote in favour of the ruling “grand coalition”, the article provides a thorough analysis of the deep instability that exists within Italian politics due to the ongoing economic crisis and its social impacts.
In the second of two recent articles by Stamatis Karayannopoulos of the Communist Tendency of SYRIZA and member of the party’s Central Committee, Stamatis comments on the arrest of the leadership of the Golden Dawn (GD) – a neo-fascist organisation in Greece – by the Greek state in response to the assassination by a GD member of Pavlos Fyssas, a well known anti-fascist rapper – an act which has led to mass demonstrations across Greece against the GD.
We are publishing here the first of two articles by Stamatis Karayannopoulos of the Communist Tendency of SYRIZA and member of the party’s Central Committee, in which the author looks at the parlous and crisis-ridden state of the Greek economy under capitalism and analyses the political and social ramifications of continued crisis, cuts, and class struggle, including the tasks required from the SYRIZA leadership.
German chancellor Angela Merkel and her Christian Democratic alliance (CDU/CSU) celebrated a sweeping victory in the German federal elections held last Sunday. We must not be blinded by the temporary electoral success of the CDU/CSU. Instability will be the prevailing feature on the economic, social, and political plane in the coming period. The class struggle is far from dead and will become a central issue in German everyday life in the years that lie ahead.
Can capitalism be made “responsible”? What’s wrong with capitalism and the idea of making profits if we can convince the capitalists to then put their money to good use? We publish here an article by Mark Rahman from Socialist Appeal, USA, who looks at the question of philanthropy and highlights the contradictions and limitations of any reliance on the generosity of the capitalists.
Despite some jostling for position between the Fine Gael back-benchers and Labour TD’s, Michael Noonan’s forthcoming Budget is set to add yet more pressure and hardship on hard pressed families across the state. We publish here an article from Fightback, the Marxist tendency in Ireland, on the latest austerity budget and the crisis-ridden Irish economy.
The spontaneous uprising of the Syrian masses, inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, has degenerated into a sectarian bloodbath. Deprived of a revolutionary leadership, the hopeful beginnings have been transformed into a tragedy. On the other hand, US imperialism’s hypocritical and bellicose zig-zags are a complete and utter farce, and graphically illustrate the limits of US power.
Who was behind Pinochet’s coup? What interests was he defending? What were the policies of the Allende government and why was he unable to prevent the coup?
The Arab revolutions have opened up conflicts within the ruling classes of the Middle East. Along with crushing any opposition movements and the working classes in their own countries, they are also fighting amongst themselves to be the dominant power in the region. In this war of attrition, friends become foes and vice versa. The contradictions that have piled up over decades are coming to the fore and blowing away all the efforts of the ruling classes to maintain the status quo.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Dublin Lockout, we publish here an article by Gerry Ruddy – editor of the Red Plough – who looks back at this historic struggle of the Irish working class and asks: what lessons are still relevant for workers today?
The Dublin lockout, which took place from the 26th August 1913 to 18th January the following year, stands as one of the most marked episodes of entrenched class conflict in Irish history. Over 20,000 workers and 80,000 dependents were directly affected as over 400 employers locked out members of the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union (ITGWU) for refusing to sign a pledge to resign from the union and against sympathetic strike action. Eoin Gilligan looks at this heroic episode in history the Irish labour movement.
2013 marks the 100th anniversary of the Dublin Lockout, the heroic struggle of the Irish working class that began on 26th August 1913. To mark this anniversary, we are publishing an article by James Connolly, the great Irish revolutionary, written on 30th August 1913 for the Irish Worker.
The war drums in Washington are beating, announcing an imminent US attack on Syria. In the UK, Cameron is willingly echoing the call. Parliament is expected to back the military option in an emergency meeting convened for Thursday 29th August. Direct imperialist intervention marks a fundamental change in the situation in Syria since the spiralling sectarian civil war, which has wiped away the revolutionary potential of the anti-regime protests, sparked in January 2011 by the events of the Arab spring.
At this year’s IMT World School, held in Greece, Socialist Appeal supporter and member of SYRIZA London, Stella Christou, spoke to Stamatis Karagiannopoulos, member of the Communist Tendency of SYRIZA, about the economic, social, and political situation facing workers and youth in Greece today. We publish here a transcipt of this interview.
On 29th July, Socialist Appeal supporters Lee McNeish and Gavin Jackson visited the occupied headquarters of the Greek public broadcaster ERT in Athens, which – at the time – had been operating for 45 days under workers’ control. We were granted an interview with the elected spokesperson of the journalists, Nikolas Tsimpidas, who spoke about the background to the occupation and the wider political struggle in Greece.
The Egyptian security forces have bloodily crushed and dismantled the protest camps of Muslim Brotherhood (MB) supporters, set up in Cairo as focal points to regroup and mobilise their forces after the overthrow of Morsi. This marks yet another dramatic change in the situation facing the Egyptian revolution. Marxists can support neither the army generals nor the MB in this struggle, but only the revolutionary masses.
News of further Labour Party and Socialist Party resignations in Ireland has emerged over the last few days. These resignations reflect a dissatisfaction with the existing parties in the face of the social, economic and political crisis within the state. The task of Marxists is to win the working class to a revolutionary programme. There are no short cuts to this.
The dramatic events in Turkey, Brazil and Egypt are a graphic indication that we have now entered an entirely new situation on a world scale. We publish here a recent statement by the International Marxist Tendency on the process of world revolution that is rapidly unfolding before our eyes as the masses enter the scene of history globally.
Riots involving the throwing of a pipe bomb at police officers in Crumlin Road in North Belfast and other clashes involving the use of petrol bombs in East Belfast have been reported in the media. Eoin Gilligan of the Irish Marxists, Fightback, analyses the emergence of “Dissident Loyalism”.
The overthrow of Muhammad Morsi has opened up a new and turbulent period in the Egyptian Revolution. The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) still has a base in Egyptian society. It is determined to cling to power, but the multimillion masses that took to the streets to overthrow them are equally determined that they shall not return. The future of the Egyptian Revolution will be determined by the outcome of this struggle.
Opening this year’s Marxist Summer School, Fred Weston – editor of marxist.com – speaks on the perspectives for world revolution, highlighting the tremendous mass movements in Turkey and Brazil, and discussing the role of the youth, who are increasingly being radicalised by the crisis of capitalism and the devastating effects of this crisis.
Morsi has fallen. The magnificent movement of the masses has once more shown to the entire world the authentic face of the Egyptian people. Despite all the lying propaganda that tries to present the Revolution as a “coup”, this was a genuine popular insurrection, which spread like wildfire through every city and town in Egypt. This was the Second Egyptian Revolution.
After four days of mass revolutionary mobilisations by the Egyptian people and the beginning of a nationwide general strike, finally president Morsi was removed from power. What we witnessed yesterday is yet another example of the power of the masses of workers and youth, peasants and the poor when they start to move.
As we write these lines hundreds of thousands of protesters are already on the move in Egypt with one clear goal in their minds: to remove Morsi from office. The language now is that of insurrection. Jorge Martin reports on the latest developments in this renewed wave of the Egyptian revolution.
Yet again the people of Egypt have risen against dictatorship, poverty and corruption. On June 30, millions of people flooded the streets in all sizeable towns and cities stretching from the rural areas of Upper Egypt through the industrial heartland of the Nile Delta and all the way to the areas in the north. Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, once praised by the West as saviours of Egyptian capitalism, have been completely disarmed by the revolution. His destiny is now in the hands of the movement which has every opportunity to sweep him aside.
As Julian Assange and Bradley Manning have discovered, being a whistle-blower is not for the faint hearted. Now Edward Snowden has become the latest fugitive of US imperialism, his only crime being that he told embarrassing truths about the US government.
What started as a small demonstration against an increase of 20 cents (barely 9 pence) in the price of public transport fares in Sao Paulo became a national mass movement which mobilised more than a million people in 80 cities. Jorge Martin analyses the protests and demonstrations that have rocked Brazil over the last week.
The Polish economy was the only European economy to avoid a technical recession in the wake of the global collapse in 2008. But the whirlpool of capitalist crisis continues to grow and as its pull on the creaking ship of the Polish economy intensifies, the strain is beginning to show. From the capitalist point of view, the Polish ship of state appears to be in good working order – the Polish left is weak and neo-liberalism dominates. But below the waterline social unrest and eye-watering inequality reveal the real state of the rotting capitalist system.
Two days of clashes and street barricades followed the brutal police effort to clear Taksim Square and Gezi park of protesters, ahead of Erdogan’s show of strength with mass rallies in Ankara and Istanbul. Five different trade union and professional bodies called a one day protest strike today, June 17.
The declaration of Obama that the USA will step up its support for the rebels in Syria represents a change in the situation. The White House announcement means that the US is to supply direct military aid to the Syrian opposition for the first time. Alan Woods asks: what attitude should Marxists and the Labour Movement take to this?
The government in Greece has shut down all state TV and radio stations, causing extreme outrage and anger amongst the masses. This latest attack by the Samaras government has reignited the mass movement, leading to another 24-hour general strike. Georgios Diakogeorgiou looks at the latest episode in the crisis in Greece.
Early yesterday morning, when most of the protestors were asleep in their tents, riot police armed with rubber bullets, water cannons and tear gas stormed Taksim Square in Istanbul. This attack is part of a co-ordinated string of measures being pursued by the Erdogan government in an attempt to crush the mass movement of Turkish people that has been developing over the past two weeks.
June 5, the 9th day of the mass movement against the authoritarian and reactionary government of Erdogan, was marked by joint strike action by KESK and DISK trade unions, while different government figures were busy trying to contain the movement with talk of concessions. Jorge Martin looks at the latest development in the mass movements in Turkey.
The magnificent movement of the workers and youth of Turkey is an inspiration to the whole world. What began as a peaceful protest against the cutting down of trees in a park to pave the way for the construction of a shopping mall has turned into a tidal wave of mass protests against the vicious and reactionary Erdogan regime, which has acquired insurrectionary dimensions.
What started as a small scale protest against the destruction of Gezi Park that stands next to Taksim Square in Istanbul has now developed into a nationwide movement demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Erdogan, of the AK Party. Jorge Martin looks at the mass movement in Turkey and the tasks facing workers and youth.
Riots – similar to those in Britain in the summer of 2011 – have broken out recently in Stockholm, Sweden. A country that is normally regarded as a model of “responsible capitalism” has been rocked by this outburst of anger from a generation of youth that have been let down by this economic system. We publish here an article by Stefan Kangas of the Swedish Marxists “Avanti”, who outlines the underlying social tensions in Sweden and the causes behind the Stockholm riots.
After the trade unions overwhelmingly rejected the original Croke Park 2 proposals, new proposals have been made that are more or less the same as the original ones. The proposals include extensions on the distances people can be redeployed, longer hours, cuts in pay for newly qualified nurses and cuts to teacher’s allowances, as well as alterations on overtime payments. The trade unions must mobilise to defeat these attacks.
As the Syrian revolution remains locked in civil war for a third year, regional powers have begun to use the conflict as an opportunity to advance their own imperialist agendas. Syria has become a battleground for a proxy war between Iran, Israel, and the Arab states of the Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Reza Mohammadi looks at the devastating effects of imperialist meddling in the Syrian civil war.
In the wake of the recent Pakistan elections, which saw a victory for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and its party leader Nawaz Sharif, we publish here an article written before the elections by Fred Weston, editor of www.marxist.com, who takes a wider look at the economic, social, and political contradictions in Pakistan – a society pregnant with revolutionary potential.
We publish here a recent article on the tragedy at Rana Plaza, an eight-storey building in the town of Savar in Bangladesh that housed five garment factories and thousands of garment workers, which collapsed a couple of weeks ago. At the time that the article was written, over 500 had died as a result of this collapse. Latest estimates for the death toll are now over 1,000 and the Bangladeshi army are still searching through the rubble for survivors. Adam Pal looks at the horrific effects of capitalism in Bangladesh.
The epoch of the Cold War and the relative stability between two major super powers is long gone. The capitalist crisis and shrinking markets have forced the different national capitalist classes to use each of their individual state apparatuses in a fierce competition over markets, raw materials and control of the major trading routes. But such manoeuvres do not come cheap, and it is the working class that is expected to pay the bill.
We publish here two recent articles by Fightback – the Marxist tendency in Ireland – about the latest developments in the Croke Park 2 deal, which has now been rejected by several unions. An escalation of the struggle is now on the horizon.
Hugo Chávez is no more. Always a fighter, Chávez spent his last months in a life and death struggle against a cruel and implacable enemy – cancer. He fought bravely to the very end, but finally his strength gave out. On Tuesday, March 5, at 4.25 pm the cause of freedom, socialism and humanity lost a great man. We publish here a tribute to Hugo Chavez by Alan Woods, a great friend of the late Venezuelan President.
The death of Margaret Thatcher has provoked sickening images of odious politicians praising her role in British politics. She put the “Great” back into “Great Britain”, it is claimed. On the other hand there were public celebrations in some parts of Britain (and private celebrations all over Britain) and public expressions of joy in working class nationalist districts in Belfast and Derry.
Bolivarian candidate Nicolas Maduro won the Venezuelan presidential election of April 14 by a narrow margin. With 99.12% of the votes counted, there was a 78.71% turn out, with Maduro receiving 7,505,378 votes (50.66%), and Capriles 7,270,403 votes (49.07%). Capriles declared that he does not recognise the result and demanded an audit of 100% of the vote. Jorge Martin discusses the election results and the future of the Venezuelan Revolution.
With the presidential elections in Venezuela due to take place this weekend on 14th April, we publish here an article on the legacy of Hugo Chávez by Jorge Martin, the International Secretary of the Hands Off Venezuela campaign, which originally appeared in the April edition of Labour Briefing. It is almost an impossible task to sum up the legacy of Hugo Chávez in 650 words, but that was the space which was available.
In the last week of March, Alan Woods, founder of the Hands off Venezuela campaign and leading figure of the International Marxist Tendency (IMT) was in Venezuela. He was invited to participate in the Meeting of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Humanity. We publish here a report of the week’s events at this crucial turning point for the Bolivarian Revolution, with the presidential elections due to take place on 14th April.
Marx wrote in the 18th Brumaire that history repeats itself first as a tragedy and then as a farce. This is what is happening in Cyprus. We are witnessing a situation similar to two years ago when the EU put pressure on Greece to accept a bail-out, but this time around 56 Cypriot politicians have created a huge problem for capitalists across Europe.
The question of the border and the national question in the North have played an enormous role in the history of Ireland. As such the question of a border poll is of great importance. Fightback – the Marxist tendency in Ireland – examine the national question in Ireland and put forward the socialist alternative.
The Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, once said that it was not rational to start a bank run but rational to participate in one once it started. These words of wisdom have once again become reality. Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal, looks at Cyprus and the latest crisis in the Eurozone.
The leader of Syriza, Alexis Tsipras, visited London last week for a series of meetings, concluding with a public lecture at the Friends Meeting House, organised by the Syriza branch of London, which attracted over 500 people into a packed venue. Georgios Diakogeorgiou of Syriza London reports.
News that five trade unions the INMO, IMO, Unite, ASTI and the Civil Public and Services Union have recommended rejection of the proposed Croke Park Deal will be welcomed by workers across the State affected by the proposals. Tony Healy reports.
The class struggle in Greece continues. In the last three years, Greece has seen no fewer than twenty-one 24-hour hour general strikes and three 48-hour general strikes. The government remains firm, while the fighting spirit of the workers is gradually dissipating. The mood is as angry and bitter as ever, but it is also confused. The question in everybody’s mind is: “What do we do now?”
It is over a week now since the death of Hugo Chávez and there are still kilometer long queues of people coming from all over the Venezuela to pay their last respects. Presidential elections have been called for April 14 and the mood is turning angry at the provocations of the oligarchy. Jorge Martin looks at the latest events in Venezuela and the future for the Bolivarian Revolution.
Alan Woods, Marxist author and writer for Socialist Appeal, appeared on BBC’s Newsnight on Wednesday 6th March to speak about the late Hugo Chavez and the Venezuealan Revolution. We publish here links to this interview along with a letter from a supporter of Socialist Appeal.
The Arab Revolution brought down several despotic regimes, but due to the lack of a clear revolutionary workers’ alternative, the vacuum was filled by Islamist parties. But once in power, these forces soon began to expose their true reactionary nature, and thus prepared the ground for a second wave of mobilisations.
Hugo Chavez is no more. The President was just 58, and had been 14 years in power. He has been battling cancer for the last two years, but when news of his death was announced, it came as a shock. The cause of freedom, socialism and humanity has lost a courageous champion.
In a period of crisis and decline of capitalism, to many people religion is the one certainty to cling on to. But if the Pope himself is no longer convinced he can keep his position until his death, this illusion of solidity begins to break down. The effect of the surprise announcement of his retirement by Pope Benedict XVI on the consciousness of over a billion Roman Catholics is going to be that of a spiritual earthquake, and it is surely going to have political consequences too.
Whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad, goes the saying. It is an apt description of the warring factions of the US political establishment, especially the Republicans, who are engaged in a ferocious battle over the government budget, and to hell with the consequences. This fiscal “war” between the Establishment parties threatens near paralysis in the world’s largest economy
Yesterday, March 5, at 4.25 pm local time, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez died after battling cancer for the last two years. This was announced by Vice President Maduro. We publish here a short statement by the Hands Off Venezuela campaign.
In Ireland a deal has been reached about another round of redundancies and pension and wage cuts called Croke Park II. Over the next few weeks the debate within the unions and in the press will be fierce. All of the forces of the ruling class and the government will be unleashed to try and sell this deal through the press and the media and through management pressure. We publish here two articles from the Fightback website on the question.
Two years since the Egyptian revolution and we have seen many killed on the streets of Cairo in clashes between the revolutionary youth and workers and the Islamists of the regime. This is an indication of the situation as it stands today in the Arab world. The revolution brought down the Mubarak and Ben Ali regimes, but did not solve any of the underlying social problems that were the fundamental cause of the revolution. We publish here a statement on the Arab revolution based on a discussion at the International Executive Committee of the International Marxist Tendency from its meeting in January 2013.
At its recent meeting in January the International Executive Committee of the IMT discussed the situation in Europe, highlighting the growing level of class struggle on the continent as the effects of the austerity measures being applied everywhere begin to be felt by the workers and youth. We are publishing the second part of a slightly edited version of the points raised in the discussion.
The National Basketball Arena in Tallaght has 2,500 seats. All these were filled earlier this week for the 24/7 Frontline Alliance National Rally, not to mention that more than 1,000 other people were standing in the aisles and around the doors. The mood from the rally was clear; no more pay cuts.
At its recent meeting in January the International Executive Committee of the IMT discussed the situation in Europe, highlighting the growing level of class struggle on the continent as the effects of the austerity measures being applied everywhere begin to be felt by the workers and youth. We are publishing a slightly edited version of the points raised in the discussion.
On the morning of February 6th, the prominent left wing leader Chokri Belaïd was assassinated in front of his house in Tunis. Thousands have taken to the streets, attacked offices of the ruling Ennahda party, which they consider responsible for the assassination, and a general strike has been called for tomorrow, February 8th. This could be the incident that sparks a much needed second revolution, two years after the overthrow the hated Ben Alí regime.
While the opening skirmishes in the renegotiation of the Croke Park Agreement have played out behind closed doors, the battle lines have been drawn for some time. Within months of the General Election, Fine Gael TD’s were baying for Croke Park to be torn up or at least savaged. The employers organisations, and of course all the fine ladies and gentleman of the press have all weighed in. Tony Healy reports.
With the news from David Cameron that the UK will now provide 330 military personnel to Mali and West Africa, we publish this recent article by Roberto Sarti of the Italian Marxists Falce Martello, who provides an analysis of the imperialist motives behind events in Mali.
Contrary to the statements of François Hollande and his government, the intervention of the French army in Mali has nothing to do with the stated “French values”, “human rights” or any other humanitarian preoccupations. It is an Imperialist intervention aiming to protect the interest of French multinationals in the region. La Riposte, the paper and website of the French Marxists, reports on the situation in Mali.
On January 23, Caracas was once again the scene of a huge mass mobilization in defence of the revolution. January 23 is a national day of struggle in Venezuela. It was the day that the infamous Marcos Pérez Jímenez dictatorship fell in 1958, overthrown by the mass movement from below. The opposition tried to cynically take advantage of Chávez illness and called for a demonstration to protest against “the unconstitutional situation”, i.e. against the postponement of the swearing in of Chávez. The PSUV leaders responded by calling on the masses to take the streets on the same day.
Once again Irish workers, faced with redundancy have been forced to take action to fight for what is due to them. HMV staff in Limerick, Cork and Dublin occupied their workplaces in an effort to ensure that they receive pay owed to them by the company. These are but the latest example of workers with their backs to the wall taking sit in action. After discussions with the Administrators the occupations in Limerick have now ended and the workers will receive their back pay. Why? Because they disobeyed their master’s voice.
The general elections in Japan, held on December 16, 2012, led to the victory of the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), amidst the lowest voter turn-out in Japanese history. Arash Azizi takes a look at the current political situation in Japan, as well as analysising the historical processes that have led to these latest events.
Taking advantage of Chavez’s ill health, the Venezuelan oligarchy and imperialism have renewed their campaign of destabilisation against the Bolivarian Revolution. They risk unleashing the wrath of the workers and the poor. Jorge Martin analyses the latest developments in Venezuela.
It is now some six weeks since protestant demonstrations began after Belfast City Council decided to fly the Union flag over Belfast City Hall only on specific days, rather than on every day of the year. Last night and again today loyalists clashed with catholics near the Short Strand, a catholic area in East Belfast that has been subjected to many sectarian attacks over the years. Tony Healy reports on the latest conflicts in Ireland.
Candidates of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won the governor elections on December 16 in 20 out of the country’s 23 states, including in 5 which were ruled by the opposition MUD. The regional elections came after the victory of Hugo Chávez in the October 7 presidential elections. It is time for the working class and the poor to go on the offensive and complete the Venezuelan Revolution.
The tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut has prompted a public outcry and heartfelt mourning across the country. The media will surely be flooded with every minute detail of the killer’s life in the coming weeks, and the issue of gun control will once again come to the fore. But what will not be seriously discussed is the root cause of shootings like this, and why they have become so commonplace.
British Prime Minister, David Cameron uses words such as “shocking” to refer to the activities of his own security forces then you know something is up. He was responding to the publication of the de Silva report, a review of the papers accumulated from different investigations carried out by different agencies of the British state into the death of Pat Finucane, which show that there was indeed collusion between the British state and those who murdered him back in 1989.
The imperialists are struggling for control of the Arctic. This plundering of resources, accompanied by a huge waste of money on military spending, will not bring prosperity to the peoples of the Arctic.
On Saturday, December 8, Venezuelan
president Chávez announced that he would have to undergo another
surgical intervention in Cuba. Adding that “there are always risks in
processes like this” he explained that “if anything happens to me that
hinders me [from performing as president]”, vice president Maduro is his
preference to replace him.
Events in Greece are once again in the
headlines, after another day of militant strike action and the new
‘deal’ agreed by the EU today (Tuesday 27 Nov). This deal to reduce Greece’s debt is
completely inadequate to solve the problem and is an insult to the Greek
working class, who have now endured years of brutal cuts whilst the EU
dithers. The only real solution to Greece’s problems is for the debt to
be cancelled and for the expropriation of capitalism in Greece and
Europe.
Anger was simmering on Tahrir Square yesterday as hundreds of thousands poured in to the square to protest against Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi and his ruling Muslim Brotherhood (MB). Across the square large banners were inscribed with slogans such as “The Muslim Brotherhood has stolen the revolution” and “The Muslim Brotherhood are liars”. Throughout the day a seemingly never-ending stream of marches reached the square from all over the ancient city. In size and radicalism yesterday’s protest was equalled only by those that overthrew the hated dictator Hosni Mubarak in January 2011.
At the moment, the Chinese capitalist
class, on the whole, is happy to go along with the status quo. They see
no alternative, and are terrified of lifting the lid on the anger of the
working class, therefore they seek stability at all costs.
Xi Jinping, relatively unknown in the
West, will be China’s President for the next ten years, that is, if he
can keep a lid on the simmering pot of anger that China has become. The
new Prime Minister is Li Keqiang, apparently the outgoing President’s
favoured successor
Two funeral processions turned into
mass protests on the streets of Egypt today. Over the last 5 days
thousands of people have taken to the streets in order to protest
against a decree announced by the Egyptian president, Mohammed Morsi,
allowing him to rule more or less autocratically. The events have
publicly displayed the true nature of the Muslim Brotherhood who once
claimed to be representatives of democracy in Egypt. At the same time
these events show that none of the contradictions which led to the
revolution have been solved and that under the surface a new wave of
revolution is being prepared.
Once again the Israeli military machine has carried out another
extra-judicial execution. This time, the IAF blew up Hamas military
leader Ahmed Jabari in a helicopter attack, along with a number of
civilians whose only “crime” was that of living in “the world’s largest
open-air prison”. Why is this happening now?
$6 billion and over a year of
campaigning later, and it would appear that the status quo remains.
Obama is still the president; the Democrats control the Senate; and the
Republicans control the House of Representatives. On the surface,
"nothing has changed."
In the past two months a handful of tiny Islands off the coast of China have been making headlines across the world. But why are these seemingly irrelevant islands so significant?
News that Enda Kenny has been chosen as “European of the year” by a
group of German Magazine Publishers makes sense only in the context that
recently the European Union itself recently won the Nobel peace prize.
We would have to ask the question “European what of the year?”
We have received the following report
from a Spanish comrade living in Edinburgh, Julia S. Vidania, on her
recent visit to her home city of Madrid. She gives a vivid account of
the almost revolutionary tension in the city as the European austerity
programme and the crisis of capitalism erodes the veneer of stability in
society, exposing the deep fault-lines of the class struggle.
Ireland: The decision of the Workers and Unemployed Action Group to withdraw
from the United Left Alliance is an unwelcome symptom of the growing
impasse within the ULA, previously reflected in the controversy over
Mick Wallace and the departure of Clare Daly from the Socialist Party.
The WUAG has a long standing base in South Tipperary and its departure
will have an influence on the development of the ULA at a national
level.
Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez has
won, yet again, the presidential elections on Sunday October 7, with a
comfortable margin of 54.84% against the 44.55% of his opponent Henrique
Capriles. This is another victory for the Bolivarian revolution which
should be used in order to carry out the revolution to the end.
Across Europe it is the sick the old and especially the young that
are being forced to pay for the economic crisis. In Spain and Greece
youth unemployment stands at over 50%. In Ireland although that figure
is somewhat lower at 17.9% but this still means nearly 1 in 5 youth are
workless.
USA: One year ago, Occupy Wall Street burst
into the public consciousness. Similar actions had been tried just
months earlier, but failed to take root. Up until its second week, OWS
itself seemed to be yet another localized action that would fail to make
a real splash.
The presidential election due on
October 7 represents a decisive moment in the history of Venezuela. The
outcome of this election will have a major impact throughout the
continent and internationally. It goes without saying that the Hands Off
Venezuela campaign is actively supporting the Bolivarian candidate Hugo
Chavez and fighting against any attempt of the oligarchy and
imperialism to sabotage the elections. The IMT stands firmly for the
re-election of Hugo Chávez. Why have we taken this position?
A cheap, crude, anti-Islamic film entitled The Innocence of Muslims,
produced and promoted by reactionary Christian fundamentalists in the
United States and posted on the internet in July, has led to
demonstrations in many countries around the world, including attacks on
US embassies and in the case of Libya to the killing of four US
diplomats at the US Consulate in Benghazi. We look into why all this is
happening?
The picture of the Chinese economy painted by commentators in the West is often one of strength; an economy dominated by exports, with unstoppable growth and development; in short, a model to emulate. Recent figures released by the International Monetary Fund, however, describe a very different situation; a situation where contradictions are intensifying below the surface; a situation that is pregnant with crisis and revolutionary consequences.
The persecution of Julian Assange
represents an all-out assault on democratic rights. For what “crime” is
this man being persecuted? The Swedish authorities are trying to get him
extradited on a trumped up “rape” case that has long been exposed as
fraudulent. No serious person will believe for a single moment that this
is the real reason for the witch-hunting of the founder of Wikileaks.
Many politically active workers and young people in Ireland and beyond will be scratching
their heads over this weekend’s spat between the leadership of the
Socialist Party and former Socialist Party TD Clare Daly. A series of
statements and counter statements have done little to clarify what are
the real political differences between the SP and Daly who is widely
acknowledged as a hard working and respected TD. Unfortunately, the issues
aren’t going away easily, the right wing press will make sure of
that.
Ireland: The formation of a left tendency in the Labour Party is a welcome
development. After 18 months of coalition government it’s clear that
Eamon Gilmore’s claim to defend working people by working with Fine Gael
was not worth the paper upon which it was written.
There has been a certain feeling over
the past three or four years that we are living through history, the
sort of history, that is, which people pick over many years into the
future when they try to explain the factors that led to a war or a
revolution for example.
As fighting has spread into the two
main Syrian cities of Damascus and Aleppo, generally speaking, the mass
movement has greatly ebbed in the last few months giving way to a
guerrilla-like armed struggle lead by the militias of the Free Syrian
Army. So, where is Syria going and what is the revolution, or, quite
arguably, what remains of the revolution, going to produce?
RTÉ and the Irish press report fairly
regularly about the workings of the Troika and the discussions Enda
Kenny (leader of Fine Gael) and Michael Noonan (Minister of Finance)
hold with European Union and the IMF, although the edited highlights and
the “communiqués” don’t mention the small print. As many people behind
on the mortgage will have found out to their cost over the last few
years, the devil is in the detail.
As the Spanish government got its
€65bn austerity package passed in Parliament, millions of people took to
the streets in unprecedented demonstrations against cuts on July 19.
The day after, as the Valencian regional government asked for a central
government bailout (of 3.5bn euro), the risk premium on Spanish bonds
hit a new record, while 10 year bonds were yielding 7.3%. The Spanish
economy is on the verge of a full bailout.
Following the declaration of
independence by South Sudan – which is dependent on financial and
military aid from American imperialism – tensions between Khartoum and
Juba have been steadily ramped up over the past year and have brought
death and destruction both sides of the border.
Yesterday the media reported that one of the cuts introduced by the
Rajoy government in Spain was the abolition of the Christmas bonus for
civil servants. The reports give the impression that civil servants in
Spain have enjoyed privileges not available to other workers and
therefore they are an easy target for cuts.
The prospect of a Syriza government
caused a wave of panic in the bourgeoisie of Greece and internationally.
They organized a massive campaign to drive people away from Syriza,
warning of economic catastrophe if they came to power. That was
sufficient to panic wide sections of the middle class, older people and
backward layers into voting for the New Democracy.
Hundreds of coal miners have arrived
in Madrid today, after having walked between 400 and 500 km from the
different mining regions in Spain (Asturias, León, Aragón and
Puertollano). The determination and militancy of their struggle,
entering now day 43 of an all out strike, have captured the imagination
of wide layers of Spanish workers and youth who will come out today and
tomorrow for a massive demonstration of working class solidarity
The crisis of the euro resembles a long drawn-out death agony. There is one “decisive” summit after another, each proclaiming a definitive end to the euro crisis. The markets rally for a few hours or days and then fall once more. The index of the European stock markets resembles a thermometer that tracks the process of a terminally sick patient.
Over the past month, thousands of students across Canada have joined in massive displays of solidarity with the Quebec student movement. In this article from the Marxists in Canada we look at how the struggle has developed and where it should go.
One of the most critical elements highlighted by the recent Greek elections is the explosive class polarisation taking place
In the best traditions of international solidarity, ex-miners and trade
supporters, organised around the Miners’ Info informal e-mail list, have
formed a support committee – the Spanish Miners’ Support Committee –
for the Spanish miners who are on strike against savage austerity cuts
that could spell the end for their jobs and are now bearing the brunt of
brutal police attacks.
With the long-running Republican Party primaries finally winding down, it looks like millionaire front-runner Mitt Romney will face President Obama in the November elections. Not surprisingly, the topic that will likely dominate the elections is the economy. One area where Obama and Romney have already begun debating is over the auto industry. But are the two parties’ policies really that different?
The Greek and international bourgeois media orchestrated a huge terror campaign, painting a picture of economic chaos and collapse if Syriza were to win the elections. Thus by a small margin New Democracy (ND) scraped into first place. However, the rise of Syriza, despite all this, indicates the continuing shift to the left in Greek society. Now ND will attempt to form a coalition government with the PASOK, which will be one of continued austerity. Nothing has been solved; the problem has only been postponed. All the conditions are being prepared for a victory of Syriza in the near future. Here we publish an analysis on the elections, written by the Greek Marxists as the election results became clear .
The following letter of support has been sent from miners here in the UK to the Spanish miners now out on strike.
The second round in Egypt’s fraudulent
presidential elections will be taking place on June 16th and 17th. In
the
election, Ahmad Shafiq, one of Mubarak’s old ministers, will face
Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Marxists can offer no
support to either of these candidates, both of whom represent the forces
of counter-revolution. However, the Revolutionary Socialists group
(sister organisation to the UK Socialist Workers Party) in Egypt
have decided to do just that and it is a grave mistake.
One of the main features of a
revolutionary situation is the suddenness with which the mood of the
masses can change. The workers learn quickly on the basis of events. And
the events of the last 24 hours (2 June) show that the workers and youth of
Egypt are learning fast.
May ended in Spain with frantic
attempts to prevent the collapse of the banking system, saddled with a
massive amount of toxic loans linked to the housing bubble. The
government attempted to involve the European Union in the rescue of
Bankia, while there were rumours of IMF plans for a bail out of Spain.
Meanwhile miners have gone out an all out strike in defence of jobs.
The flurry of articles in the Irish press over the last few days
attacking the Croke Park Deal should not come as any surprise. However,
it is noteworthy that these ladies and gentlemen chose the days after
the referendum vote to start putting the boot in.
The Irish Times reports that as soon as the result of the referendum
on the treaty appeared to be in the bag, Enda Kenny was on the phone to
Angel Merckel presumably for a pat on the head as he reported on the
completion of his mission.
On Monday May 21, there was a foiled
attempt against the life of comrade Abraham Rivas. Rivas is General
Secretary of the National Union of Workers of Helados EFE (SINATRASOHE)
as well as General Secretary of the recently created National Federation
of Workers in Food, Beverages and Other Companies (FENACTRALBECA),
which organizes workers in 21 different companies belonging to Grupo
POLAR. He is also a revolutionary Bolivarian activist and a supporter of
the Marxist tendency Lucha de Clases.
The ruling class is scaling up its
dirty war against SYRIZA, and is drawing together its various political
fractions in the hope of preventing a potential electoral victory of
SYRIZA in the elections on June 17. From the point of view of SYRIZA, in
order to achieve our aim of a Left government, we need to correct eight
grave errors and weaknesses.
With two-thirds of its work force in
the rural sector, Bangladesh’s agriculture contributes just 19 percent
to its GDP. Sixty-six percent of exports are from the garment industry
that makes it the third largest clothes exporting country in the world.
It is perhaps the cheapest and most profitable place for garment
manufacturers. However, the conditions of the workers, mainly women, are
atrocious.
Over the past two weeks, the student
strike in Quebec has entered a new stage. What originally began as a
strike against a 75% increase in tuition fees has rapidly progressed
into a movement against the Liberal government itself. Premier Jean
Charest’s government has clumsily fallen over itself, trying to suppress
or divide the movement, with little success. Instead of killing the
movement, every action by the government has only given the movement new
life.
The
elections in France and Greece represent a fundamental change in the
situation. The crisis of European capitalism has entered a new and
turbulent stage. A mood of anger is sweeping across Europe. Of course,
we understand that election results do not reflect the psychology of the
masses with complete accuracy. They are like a snapshot of the mood at a
given moment. But it is necessary to analyse election results
carefully, since they do show certain trends in society.
We continue our analysis of the Greek elections of last week with a look at the critical role of the leadership of the Greek CP.
We publish here the first of a two
part article written by the Editorial Board of Marxistiki Foni) The
results of Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Greece – a political
earthquake –are a clear indication of the growing radicalisation of
society on the basis of the historic deadlock of capitalism and the
movement towards an openly revolutionary situation.
The defeat of Nicolas Sarkozy in the
presidential elections opens a new phase of the class struggle in
France. The socialist candidate, François Hollande, won 51.62 % of the
vote. However, this overall score tends to conceal the social basis of
the election result. Practically all the major towns and cities voted
massively for Hollande – or, to be closer to the truth, to get rid of
Sarkozy.
The Argentinian government of Cristina Kirchner decided to renationalise the oil company YPF from Spanish multinational REPSOL. The Financial Times described it as “economic piracy” and thundered that her actions should not go unpunished. The Venezuelan government has supported the re-nationalisation and offered support on the basis of “sovereign control over natural resources”. To discuss the issues involved we are screening “Memoria del Saqueo” (Social Genocide http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0400647/), a documentary film by Argentinian director Pino Solanas (http://www.pinosolanas.com/memoria.htm), describing the process by which the country’s wealth was looted by the multinationals and Argentinian capitalists during the 1990s, including the privatisation of YPF to Repsol. The film, 114 minutes long, is in Spanish with English […]
The results of the first round of the presidential elections in France
mean that the second round will be fought out between Nicolas Sarkozy
and the Socialist Party candidate, François Hollande.
All the talk about the European crisis finally “turning the corner” has gone up in smoke as crisis ruturns big time to Europe.
On April 12th, around 70 people
gathered at a Hands Off Venezuela meeting at Bolivar Hall in London to
commemorate the 10 year anniversary of the defeat of the
counter-revolutionary coup against Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela.
The meeting served as the premiere of ‘Cuarto Poder’, a documentary
summarising the negative portrayal of the President Chavez in the
Spanish media and the reasons for this negative bias.
Ten years after the defeat of the coup
in Venezuela by the revolutionary mobilisation of the masses it is
worth looking back at the forces that were behind the coup, the reasons
why it was defeated and what happened afterwards, as those events hold
the clue to the class dynamics of the Venezuelan revolution.
The most striking feature of the presidential election campaign in France is the massive support shown for the Front de Gauche
(Left Front) under the leadership of Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Long before
the campaign was really underway, there were clear signs that the most
conscious and active layer of the working class was mobilising around
the Front de Gauche.
This year as every year there will be
marches and commemorations attended by the various strands of Irish
socialism and republicanism to mark the anniversary of the Easter
Rising. There will be a remembrance of those who fell in the struggle
for national liberation and socialism in 1916, during the War of
Independence and since then. Attention is already being given to the
possible events to mark the centenary of the rising in 2016
At Easter every year in every parish
in Ireland and in many places around the world Irish Republicans gather
to pay homage to those men and women who died in the struggle for
independence. This year, 2012, will be no different. However, whereas 50
years ago there was only one Republican Movement, today there are at
least seven different republican traditions that have emerged out of the
northern struggle.
On Sunday February the 12, the
long-awaited opposition primary elections took place in order to select
the candidate who will face Hugo Chavez in the presidential elections
due for October this year. Cápriles Radonski, the present governor of
Miranda state won a clear victory with 62% of the vote, compared to only
28.9% for his contender Pablo Perez, present governor of Zulia state.
Last Saturday’s rally in Ireland organised by the Campaign against Household and Water
Taxes (CAHWT) demonstrated clearly that the opposition to the Household
Taxes is likely to be a major thorn in the side of Fine Gael and Labour
over the next period. The immediate problem for the Department of the
Environment, Community and Local Government however is not the 3,000
people who attended the rally at the National Stadium and those who
attended the other rallies. It’s the fact that only 328,201 households
have registered for the Household tax, from a total of more or less 1.6
million.
The cliché that ‘a week is a long time in politics’ can sometimes seem
inapplicable to China, with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP)
vice-like grip on the political life of the country. But the truth is
that such a system is, for all its appearance of serenity, actually more
like a pressure cooker. Dramatic political events and factional turmoil
can spring up as if from nowhere and in these moments the stage-managed
consensus can suddenly unravel.
Much confusion exists on the left as
to the real nature of the Syrian regime because of what it was in the
past.
It is a year since the Syrian masses
rose up against the Assad regime. Since March 2011, the Syrian people
have faced the open brutality of the state in wave after wave of mass
demonstrations, strikes and civil disobedience. These movements arose in
response to the stifling dictatorship, and against the massive
inequality, unemployment and poverty in Syrian society.
Despite having a constitution that
enshrines equality between the sexes, the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) is home to some of the most extreme and brutal oppression of
women. This demonstrates in a very vivid manner that women’s oppression
cannot be eliminated simply through legal rights, but requires certain
material conditions, which in turn must be fought for in the shape of a
class struggle.
We begin today the publication of the
IMT’s analysis of the world situation. This is a draft document that is
the basis of discussion within the Tendency and will be voted on with
possible amendments at this year’s world congress of the IMT. Part One
deals with the general crisis of world capitalism, to be followed by an
analysis of specific areas of the world.
The decision of the Cameron government
to deploy HMS Dauntless off the coast of the Falklands Islands in the
South Atlantic represents a gratuitous provocation to the people of
Argentina.
The French and German governments have been hard at work over the last
few weeks berating the Greeks for being unable to organise their
finances. Now, according to reports in today’s press, it turns out that
these self same governments have been pushing hard to get the Greek
government to spend like mad – on arms.
Conditions in Greece are becoming
desperate as unemployment continues to rise, wages and pensions are
slashed, many small businesses close and the country slides towards a
likely disorderly default. The pressure on ordinary working people is
relentless.
February 11 saw 300,000 people march
in the Portuguese capital Lisbon against the reform of the labour law
and the austerity measures proposed by the government as part of the
bailout agreed with the troika. The CGTP trade union, which
organised the demonstration under the slogan of “no to exploitation,
inequality and impoverishment”, described it as the largest in 30 years.
The Greek crisis has now reached the point of a pre-revolutionary
situation. On Sunday we saw the biggest demonstration in the history of
Greece. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered to protest the
reactionary deal before the Athens parliament. Here was the real face of
the Greek people: workers and students, pensioners and shopkeepers,
young and old, came onto the streets to express their rage.
Saturday February 11 marks the one year
anniversary of the fall of Mubarak. Summer, Autumn and Winter have
passed since the beginning of the “Arab spring”, and the Egyptian masses
are still taking to the streets. Despite all that has happened over the
past 12 months, nothing has fundamentally changed for the majority of
ordinary Egyptians. There have been a series of victories and defeats
for the workers and youth of Egypt, but now, with the anniversary of the
Revolution, the movement is entering a new phase.
For many of us older comrades who were
politically active in the Labour Party Young Socialists in Coventry in
the late 1960s and 1970s, Fernandez Montes was the living embodiment of
the Spanish Civil War.
IRELAND: The nineteenth century was
proving to be another age of poverty, oppression and starvation for the
mostly Catholic tenant farmers. They were still at the mercy of the
landlords who charged increasingly exorbitant rents and would not
hesitate to evict any family who could not pay. Keeping his tenancy was a
matter of life or death to the farmer and his family.
One year after the revolutionary
overthrow of Ben Ali, Tunisia faces a wave of strikes, regional
uprisings, sit-ins and protests of all sorts. For hundreds of thousands
of Tunisian workers and youth who bravely defied the bullets of the
dictatorship to get jobs and dignity nothing has fundamentally changed.
It is not ruled out that if the
democratic facade of imperialism creates a crisis that threatens to
unravel the economic system, the imperialist bosses would not hesitate
to revert back to military dictatorship.
The Syrian revolution has entered a
higher stage in the last few weeks. The number and size of
demonstrations have reach record numbers, towns are falling under the
control of defecting soldiers- including areas surrounding the
capital of Damascus and embryonic forms of popular power are appearing in the form of popular councils.
William of Orange allied himself to
two popes: Pope Innocent XI (1676/89) and Pope Alexander VIII (1689/91).
These two Popes were more than happy to support William III in his
fight against the Catholic James II, and he was equally happy to support
them in their war against France’s Louis XIV.
When the Irish Catholic priest Fr. Hugh O’Donnell decided it was time to
build a Catholic church in Belfast he had a problem: it costs a lot of
money to build a church. The Catholic population of Belfast was too
small and too poor to provide enough money, so if he had to rely on the
Catholics alone it would take forever. He had to seek help elsewhere. So
he asked the Protestants of Belfast to help him out. As you do.
“Marx was right!” For Marxists, this is not a particularly profound revelation. We have long known that the German revolutionary’s analysis of capitalism was as fundamentally sound as the capitalist system itself is fundamentally unsound. But let’s face it: for decades, we’ve been in a small minority, fighting against the stream and against the odds. After spending a long time in the “wilderness,” that is beginning to change. The fact that the more serious capitalist economists are forced to admit the correctness of ideas they once ridiculed is an important symptom of a transformation in public consciousness./(Editorial for Socialist Appeal […]
There are many ways to judge the health of a society. The speculators
in the European Bond Markets judge the health of nations by the state
of their public finances; socialists and trade unionists point to the
way that old people and children are treated and especially the position
of women in society. Economists look at the volume of imports and
exports and at the rate of economic growth. One measure looks at the
scale of inequality within society.
The world is changing rapidly before our eyes.
Over the last 12 months events have been unfolding with breathtaking
speed.
Today, Saturday, 17th December, marks
the first anniversary of the Arab Revolution. On this day, one year
ago, Mohammad Bouazizi, a young Tunisian fruit vendor, driven by
desperation, poverty, and anger, set himself on fire in the city of Sidi
Bouzid. The revolutionary wildfire that began after his death — first
in southern Tunisia, then the entire country, then erupting across the
entire Arab-speaking world—marked a turning point in human history
In the recent period, the so-called
Tea Party movement has laid claim to the legacy of the American
Revolution. With their tri-corner hats and abstract appeals to
patriotism and freedom, they have seized headlines, aided by generous
coverage by the corporate media. This has led to tremendous confusion
when it comes to the real class roots of this world-shaking event.
Unfortunately, for many Americans, the Revolution has been reduced to a
summer barbecue on the 4th of July, flag-waving, fireworks, and images
of George Washington heroically crossing the Delaware River.
For
the NZ Labour Party the 2011 general election defeat was the worst since
1928. The main factor for this was the historic low turnout as many
workers stayed at home and were not enthused enough by the right-wing
leadership of the Labour Party to go out and vote. The turn out was down
from (what was considered then a low turnout) 79.46% at the 2008
general election to 73.83%. This was the lowest turnout since 1878!
The parliamentary elections in Russia
on Sunday, December 4, were seen as a popularity test of Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin, who is running for the presidency in March. The result
was a blow to Putin, registering a sharp fall in support for his United
Russia party. According to the official results, which are undoubtedly
rigged, United Russia obtained just under half of valid votes cast,
which gives it a very small majority in the State Duma.
While between 2 and 3 million struck in Britain, in the North of Ireland about
200,000 people took part in the Public Sector strike action on 30th
November. Schools and civil service offices were shut, as were job
centres and council services. Rail and bus services were non-existent.
Union members held marches, pickets, and rallies throughout the country
over the issue of pensions. The main rally took place in Belfast city
centre, where around 15,000 gathered and several thousands spread
over Craigavon, Omagh, Armagh, Ballymena, Derry and other towns.
On Friday more than a million Egyptian
youth, workers and poor yet again assembled in Tahrir Square. The
masses have once again risen in an attempt to remove the remnants of the
Mubarak regime, which are still in power. Not far from Tahrir, in
Abbassiya Square, not more than a couple of thousand people gathered in a
pathetic demonstration in support of the SCAF. To the sceptics who did
not believe in the revolution, this should be a clear demonstration of
the real balance of forces. But at the same time the revolution clearly
faces obstacles, not from external forces, but in its own internal
contradictions.
After overtaking Japan, this year
China became the second largest economy in the world. Some experts have
even predicted that by the end of this decade China may become the
largest economy bypassing the United States. However, that is based on a
mechanical, empirical approach that sees China maintaining its present
levels of growth uninterruptedly for years to come. In the past Japan
was also supposed to keep on growing, but then its apparent meteoric
rise was cut across by a long period of stagnation.
The results of the Spanish elections on Sunday November 20
represented a massive defeat for the Socialist Party (PSOE) which had
introduced austerity measures to make the workers pay for the capitalist
crisis, rather than a victory for the right wing Popular Party (PP)
which will now have to introduce even more savage austerity cuts in the
face of the acute crisis of Spanish capitalism.
Events in Egypt are developing at
lightning speed. Similarly to the last days of Mubarak in February this
year, we see daily battles on the streets of Cairo and elsewhere. The
Egyptian masses are determined to see the revolution carried through to
the end. The clash between revolution and counter-revolution is
provoking a crisis inside all political forces, as the rank and file
instinctively move towards revolution and the leaderships vacillate and
try to hold the masses back.
The Eurozone is passing through the
most serious crisis in its entire history. After Greece comes the
Italian crisis. This places a big question mark over the future of the
euro. We predicted long ago that in a serious crisis all the national
contradictions come to the fore, as we now see with the fractious
relations between Greece, France, Germany and Italy. The European Union
is facing the day of reckoning.
Workers have not only been balloting for action in Britain but also in Northern Ireland, where the Tory-led Coalition’s attacks on pensions will also apply if carried out. Fightback – the voice of Marxism in Ireland – reports on the ballot results in the North.
The bourgeoisie has never,
anywhere, been able to find the key to unlock the mysteries of their own
economic system. The only way to understand capitalism is to accept and
to explain its contradictory, crisis-ridden nature. It cannot be
perfected; its riddle will never be solved from within its confines.
Precisely because the apologists of capitalism can never accept this
fact, they are forever shifting from one side of the problem to the
other.
Berlusconi has lost his majority in
the lower house of the Italian parliament. Although he won a vote on the
latest round of austerity measures included in the budget, he did so
with less than half the votes of the MPs in parliament. The result of
the vote was 308 in favour, 1 abstention, but with the majority of MPs
not voting. This means the budget was approved but now Berlusconi stands
naked having lost his parliamentary majority. His days are numbered and
the pressure is mounting for him to go – something we are told he has now promised.
As we write these lines the Papandreou government is staggering towards
collapse. In a matter of days the whole situation has been thrown into
turmoil. Only
last week, eurozone leaders were congratulating each other on agreeing a
100bn-euro loan to Athens and a 50% write-off of its mountain of debt.
Governments cheered. Stock exchanges rose on the announcement of the
deal. And politicians breathed a sigh of relief. A few days later and
everything turned into its opposite.
Last Thursday’s by election in Dublin
West came down to a three horse race between Councillor Patrick Nulty of
Labour who won and Councillor Ruth Coppinger of the Socialist Party who
came third, while Fianna Fáil (FF) squeezed into second place after a
tie for second and third place – on the basis that they had more first
preference votes.
As Europe teeters once more, staring
financial collapse and slump in the face, we provide an analysis of what
happened in Iceland, the first country to go under as a result of the
global crisis of capitalism.
October 28 is a National holiday in Greece marking ΟΧΙ (No) Day – the refusal of Greece
in 1940 to accept the Italian ultimatum advanced by Mussolini, to allow
the Italian fascist troops to enter the country. Not only did Greek
forces stop the Italian invasion, but actually forced Mussolini’s troops
back into Albania. Every year it is celebrated as a day of “national
pride”. Not so this year! The masses took over the celebrations and used
them to express their anger at the Greek ruling class. Here we publish a
report from Athens written on the day of the “celebrations”
On October 25, people on the streets
were confronted by hundreds of riot police launching anti-riot grenades.
Plumes of tear gas rose as protesters fled from the rubber bullets of
the police. The scene we have described was not in the streets of Tunis,
Cairo or Homs, but occurred in the streets of Oakland, California in
the United States. On that Tuesday, the police forcefully evicted the
occupation taking place in Oscar Grant plaza, renamed so after the
police killing of Oscar Grant on New Year’s Eve 2009 in the city of
Oakland.
USA: The mainstream media has made much ado
about the fact that #OccupyWallStreet does not have a unified, cohesive
message. In trying to belittle it, they smugly point out that the
occupy movement is an amorphous and heterogeneous mix of people. Every
shade of political opinion and ideology is present: Makhno anarchists
and Ron Paul libertarians; Trotskyist socialists and New Age
neo-hippies; Anonymous and Zeitgeist; atheists and hard core believers;
the homeless and those who have quit their jobs to become full time
protesters against unemployment.
On Thursday in Athens during the mass
workers’ protests we saw the state collaborating with hooligans and
provocateurs against the labour movement. What is now required is a
political general strike! Here we publish a statement by the Greek
Marxists of Marxistiki Foni.
The death of Gaddafi and the final collapse of his regime closes one chapter. However, this merely marks one turning point in the situation. Now that the old regime is finally gone, a struggle will open up over the future of Libya. In this struggle we will see the forces of both revolution and counter-revolution trying to get the upper hand. Here we publish an analysis of the situation by Alan Woods.
Today
(October 19), the first day of the 48-hour general strike in Greece was
sensational. Apart from the government and public utilities workers that
participated in the strike massively, hundreds of thousands of workers
from the private sector came out on strike for the first time, and also
joining the millions of striking workers were tens of thousands of small
businesspeople and shopkeepers who closed the shutters to their shops
in solidarity.
As
Portugal’s right-wing government announced the harshest austerity cuts
in the country’s history, economic forecasts were revised down and the
main trade union confederations CGTP and UGT announced the calling of a
general strike.
On October
15, Rome saw one of the biggest demonstrations of the last few years in
Italy. Up to half a million people flooded the streets of the capital.
Not only was this a huge demonstration in terms of the numbers taking
part, but even more significantly you could hear the most radical
slogans of the last decade. The masses, inspired by Athens, Madrid and
New York, chanted “we don’t want to pay the debt”, “No to austerity”,
“No to the dictatorship of the ECB and the banks”, etc.
The decision of the Secretary Of
State to revoke Marian Price’s release from prison has been met with
widespread opposition from the Republican movement. The justification
given was that the threat that she poses has “significantly increased”
and that she had been encouraging support for an illegal organisation
based on her involvement in an Easter comm
Today ULU Marxists received a letter from a student at New York University (NYU),
Cecilia Gingerich, who was a member of the University of London Marxist
Society while studying in London in the spring of 2010. She is now a
participant in Occupy Wall Street and in her letter gives a first hand
account of her experience of the movement from the beginning, her
narrowly escaping the mass arrest of the 700 protestors on October 1st
and the impact that had on the movement in the following days. Now the
unions have joined the protestors on Wall Street, along with walk-outs
from high schools and colleges, which Cecilia has participated with
students from her own university.
The
financial crisis in Greece is constantly in the headlines and focusing
everyone’ attention on what it could lead to. As we have explained
before, the reason for this is not due to the objective economic weight
of the Greek economy within European and world capitalism. In absolute
terms Greece only accounts for 2% of the European Union’s GDP and even
its public debt is only 3% of the total public debt of the Eurozone. The
point is, however, that Greece is the weakest link in European
capitalism which is now at the centre of the global capitalist crisis.
Last week Wall Street was rocked by a mass demonstration of over 15,000 people
protesting against “corporate greed.” The crowd jammed the square and
stretched for blocks along Broadway. This unprecedented protest was a
manifestation of the mood of anger, bitterness and frustration that has
been accumulating for years in American society, which had already
previously erupted in the big demonstrations and walkouts in Madison,
Wisconsin, culminating in the occupation of the Capitol.
“Enough is enough! We are the 99%!”
This is the sentiment being expressed by the brave youth now occupying
Freedom Plaza in New York City, just a few feet away from Wall Street.
This is the pent-up feeling of millions—no—billions of people around the
world. Enough unemployment! Enough war! Enough poverty! Enough
discrimination!" The Wall Street campaign is growing – here is what the US Marxists have to say.
The 24 hour strike by UNISON members to defend Health and
Education Services in Northern Ireland is an indication of the scale of the
crisis in the public sector. But its also the most significant trade
union struggle to hit the North since the onset of the current economic
crisis.
Back at the start of this year, Socialist Appeal (Issue 193) published a
little item in its ‘Left and Right’ about the so-called Ghost Estates
of Ireland
With the
re-introduction of the emergency law, the military junta is desperately
trying to strangle the revolution and return to the “normality” of the
Mubarak era. But the workers are on the move. The recent upsurge in
strikes and protests could spell the end for the SCAF regime.
The euphoria amongst the Egyptian masses that followed the fall of
Mubarak in February has disappeared. The hard reality of the situation –
in which political, social, and economic conditions have barely changed
– has set in. The revolution has not ended, however, but has, after a
brief lull, transitioned from the streets to the workplaces. The working
class in Egypt – the motor force of the revolution – is organising and
is on the move.
According to press reports the Fine Gael and Labour
parliamentary “think ins” this week were upbeat and confident. Although
the Irish Times reports that both parties were warned “to brace
themselves for the bumpy ride ahead”. There has been talk
about Enda’s “honeymoon period” over the last few months. Although in
large measure the new coalition is benefitting from not being Fianna Fáil or the Green Party, while Enda Kenny is doing well in the polls for being neither Brian Cowen nor Brian Lenihan.
On the tenth anniversary of the attack on the Twin Towers millions of
people will relive the horrors of that fateful day. The television
screens are filled with shocking images of death and destruction.
As part of our coverage on the 10th anniversary of the "9/11" events, we republish here an interesting article by
Dr Tomasz Pierscionek, first published on the London Progressive
website, which compares the events of 11th September 2001 with that of
the 11th September 1973 – the other 9/11.
It is ten
years today since in 2001 an outrageous attack killed 3000 innocent
people and maimed hundreds of others in New York. This anniversary will
be commemorated at a grand ceremony in New York where the US elite will
gather in an outpouring of more pseudo-patriotism and chauvinism to dupe
the working classes of the mightiest empire in history which is now
plagued with economic disaster and social decay
The social
protest movement in Israel, after a hiatus, is now planning to gather
one million people in Tel Aviv on September 3. The ruling class is
certainly worried by this prospect and the Israeli railways have
announced that they will shut down train services between Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem, and between Tel Aviv and Be’er Sheva, supposedly for "for
maintenance work". Clearly this is a manoeuvre to try and weaken the
mobilisations that are being prepared
While I was in Venezuela a number of comrades asked me about some
manifesto against “Chavez’s attacks on trade union rights” and also
about the controversy over a letter Noam Chomsky had signed which the
bourgeois media had used in their campaign in defence of “human rights”
in Venezuela.
TUESDAY: Twenty four
hours ago, the streets of Tripoli were full of the sounds of rejoicing.
Now they are filled with the sounds of gunfire. The real battle for
Tripoli has commenced.
In the Horn of Africa, a famine is raging that has claimed the lives of
tens of thousands of people. For the first time in 30 years, the UN has
officially declared a famine. The drought in East Africa has resulted in
a food crisis across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya that has affected over
12 million people; hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia have
fled to neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia, where unsanitary and crowded
conditions await, leading to thousands more deaths. But this seems to go
almost unreported in the media, which is dominated by stories of
rioting, phone hacking and the economic crisis.
The end came suddenly and without warning. In the moment of truth the Gaddafi regime fell like a house of cards.
Last
night the streets of Tripoli were filled with wild rejoicing as rebel
forces occupied Green Square in Tripoli. Libyan rebels waved opposition
flags and fired shots into the air in jubilation after reaching the
central square of the capital in the early hours of Monday. Until now
the vast square was reserved for carefully orchestrated rallies praising
Moammar Gaddafi. Now it erupted in celebration after rebel troops
pushed into the centre of the Libyan capital.
One recent evening, whilst fumbling through a collection of
documentaries by acclaimed journalist and film maker John Pilger, I came
across ‘Heroes’. This short film, produced in 1981, shone a spotlight
on the treatment of Vietnam veterans in the aftermath of the conflict by
an administration that had sent them to war.
The recent
brutal and outrageous attack in Norway on the Scandinavian and
international workers’ movement was a huge shock, not only for those
members of the Norwegian Labour Party Youth (AUF) who were at the summer
cap at the island of Utøya, but also for the whole population of
Scandinavia.
A deal to
raise the debt ceiling has now been reached, after weeks of incredible
fear-mongering on the part of both bosses’ parties and Wall Street, and
will reach the President’s desk by the deadline on August 2nd. The
contents of the final agreement remain rather vague, but the broad
outline is enough to make clear what it means for workers in the U.S.
As the
earthquake of economic crisis sweeps across the globe, the political
establishment in country after country is being shaken to the core.
“Strong” governments have been exposed as, in fact, being extremely
weak, both at the ballot box and on the streets. The ruling class is
beginning to lose its political grip on society and people are beginning
to question the traditional pillars that society has rested upon for
centuries.
The world has been shocked by the
news of the bloody massacre in Norway. At least 91 people have been
killed, including 84 members of the Labour Youth Organization (AUF) in a
summer camp.
Socialist Appeal joins others in the British Labour and trade union movement in sending condolences and solidarity to the friends and families of those killed and injured in the horrific attack in Norway yesterday. In particular we mourn the loss of so many young members of the Labour youth group and wish a speedy and full recovery to those injured or otherwise affected.
The
classical view of how capitalism develops is that within feudal society a
class emerges made up of merchants, bankers, early industrialists, i.e.
the bourgeoisie, and that for this class to be able to develop its full
potential a bourgeois revolution is required to break the limits
imposed by the landed feudal aristocracy. That is how things developed,
more or less, in countries like France and England, but not in Japan.
Last weekend in Ireland, a Labour minister used the Sunday press to launch an attack on unemployed youth. Readers here will recognise the same arguements she makes as those which have been made over the years by assorted Tories and Blairites in our own movement. They must be opposed. Fightback, the Irish Marxist voice, reports on this disgraceful attack.
As ratings
agency Moody’s considers the possibility of cutting the US AAA debt
rating, concerned that the US could default on its debt obligations, we
publish a recent editorial statement of the US Socialist Appeal on the
forthcoming wave of massive cuts in public spending in the United
States. As the article points out, “the capitalists must impose a new
normality on the U.S. working class. The crisis of their system means
that small cuts or adjustments are no longer enough. The hatchet is out
now…”
In spite of a
massive mobilisation of the workers and youth, a movement of
revolutionary dimensions, the PASOK government managed to push through
parliament its austerity measures. This comes at a price, however, for
now the masses have had a taste of their own strength and have been
deeply politicised. The Greek Marxists of Marxisti Foni and Revolution provide here a balance sheet of the situation.
Friday 8th
July saw the largest protests since the departure of Hosni Mubarak as
tens of thousands took to the streets of Cairo, and thousands more came
out to protest in other cities across Egypt, such as Alexandria and
Suez. Material conditions have not improved for the workers and youth of
Egypt, and Tahrir Square has once again become a visible epicentre of
the revolution.
The
authors of this article visited Egypt last month to see the state of
the country after the fall of Mubarak and to get a first hand view of
the revolution. What they saw was a society still fraught with
contradictions that were barely concealed. All these contradictions have
now burst to the surface once more.
PSNI sources as saying that
there was no “paramilitary” involvement in Friday night’s rioting in
Belfast’s Castlereagh Street and Albertbridge Road, but it’s
clear also that events a couple of weeks ago in the Short Strand have
contributed to what looks like an explosive situation moving into the
marching season, no matter whether the loyalists were there or not.
The scathing remarks of Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against Barak Obama for suggesting that the
‘two state solution’ should be based upon the pre-1967 borders, just
before boarding the plane to Washington for a state visit, exposed the
diplomatic weakness of the imperialist leaders.
Yesterday
the Greek parliament approved the austerity measures required to get
further lending from the European Union. The PASOK government is
determined to force through its austerity measures, even though 75% of
the population is totally opposed to any further austerity being imposed
on them.
Today (Tuesday) the
Greek trade unions embarked on a 48-hour general strike against the
austerity measures which are being debated today and are to be voted on
tomorrow. Papandreou says the cuts and privatisations are the only way
of rebalancing Greece’s finances, but the workers and youth on the
streets have other ideas.
The introduction of capitalism, accompanied by rapid industrialisation
over the last 30 years, has turned China into a seething cauldron of
discontent. Conditions faced by the workers, many of them migrants with
no rights, are similar to Victorian times in Britain. “Masses of
labourers, crowded into factories, are organised like soldiers”,
explained Marx and Engels in the Communist Manifesto, which is a fitting
description of working life in China today. The scene is being set for a
massive social explosion.
Greece stands on the threshold of a revolutionary situation. In the last
period two million workers and youth have repeatedly taken to the
streets to say that enough is enough. Capitalism, which has become a
world-wide and interdependent system, today manifests itself in a global
crisis which is in turn generating an international movement. For this
reason the developments in Greece cannot be viewed in isolation, but as
the latest flashpoint in what is an interlinked chain of events.
The powerful 24-hour general strike
and the mass demonstrations of June 15 in Greece demonstrated how deep
the anger of the Greek working masses runs. It served to send the ruling
class a warning: that this is no ordinary protest movement, but one
with revolutionary connotations. That is why they hurriedly patched
together a new government, in the hope of cutting across the movement.
But to no avail!
Ireland: There have been a number of reports in today’s media that the
Irish economy has grown by 1.3%. Although this is no bad thing, as it
will help to rebuild the confidence of working people, the real picture
is somewhat more complicated than the headlines might indicate on the
first examination. Certainly any economic perspective that doesn’t make a
sober assessment taking into account everything that is happening in
Europe and particularly Greece just now will not stand up to much
challenge.
The UVF
attacks on the Short Strand area of Belfast over the last days and the
clashes between Catholic and Protestant youth demonstrate that despite
the claims of the various ministers at Stormont, the underlying tensions
and conflicts in the North have neither been resolved nor overcom
GREECE: Yesterday, hundreds of thousands of workers and youth participated in a
24-hour general strike called by the GSEE and ADEDY (private and public
sector trade union confederations), marching in demonstrations to the
main squares in seventy cities and towns across Greece. From early
morning the participation in a mass gathering to encircle the Houses
of Parliament was enormous.
IRELAND: The scenes broadcast from
Athens will have sent a shiver down the spine of An Taoiseach, An
Tánaiste and their counterparts throughout Europe. The reaction of the
Greek workers to the meltdown in the Greek economy will be of particular
concern in Leinster House. Ireland is not so far behind Greece and
sooner or later Ireland will become the tail ender in the bond markets
again, that is unless the Greek Government defaults and then all bets
are off.
Greece: From early
this morning (Wednesday), hundreds of thousands of workers and youth participated in
the mass rallies during today’s 24-hour general strike, encircling the
Houses of Parliament. There is no doubt that had it not been for the
outbreak of rioting, with such a huge level of participation the numbers
concentrating on Syntagma Square would have exceeded one million.
Recent opinion polls show that a majority of Hungarians find life so
miserable that they would like to live somewhere else. Many consider
that life was much better before 1989 when people enjoyed full
employment and an advanced welfare system. Capitalism has destroyed all
that. However, as our correspondent points outs, what existed before was
not genuine socialism, but a Stalinist regime that people rose up
against. What is required is state ownership and planning, but under the
democratic control of the workers themselves.
Further to the earlier appeal for
solidarity, we are publishing an account of the anti-union activities
at Dangote Pasta which led to the victimisation of the union organisers
at the plant, including the firing of 200 workers who refused to leave
the union.
We call on all our readers to support
the Public Campaign in defence of over 200 workers of Dangote Pasta at
Ikorodu, Lagos (Nigeria) sacked for refusing to resign their membership
of the in-house workers’ union since August 2010. We underline the fact
that the main trade union organisers were severely beaten in the process
and the families of these workers are suffering terribly as a
consequence of these actions on the part of management.
IRELAND: It’s now almost 100 days
since Enda Kenny took office at the head on the FG/Labour Coalition. The
election result was heralded as an historic defeat for Fianna Fáil, a
victory for Fine Gael and a major breakthrough for Labour. But despite the Independent description of Enda’s “ageing
matinee idol looks and good manners”, the election was no beauty
contest. The Irish economy and the Irish working class have been put
through the wringer over the last 3 or more years and it was the serious
impasse in the economy and within society also that defeated Brian
Cowen and the late Brian Lenihan.
Here are some videos so you can have a better feel of what is going on
in Athens. As you can see the struggle is continuing to develop!
Yesterday a
milestone was passed in the social and political situation in Greece and
throughout Europe. Impressive mobilizations rolled across the country:
half a million in Athens and rallies of thousands of people gathered in
Thessaloniki, Patras, Larissa, Volos, Heraklion, etc. This places
Greece on the threshold of a revolutionary situation. It means that, for
the first time in decades the developed capitalist countries of Europe
are faced with the prospect of a revolution with continental dimensions.
The ferocity
of irregularly regular terrorist attacks in Pakistan has become a
festering wound on the body politic of the country. Malaise and despair
stalk the land. Yet for the masses at large the ever-raging futile
debate amongst the dominant intelligentsia on this issue has only served
to confuse rather than clarify this curse. It is, therefore, crucial to
separate the essential from the inessential and grasp the core of the
problem.
On May 28th,
Mel Zelaya, the Honduran president removed by a coup in June 2009
returned to Honduras where he was met by a massive crowd. On June 1, the
Organisation of American States voted to readmit Honduras as a member,
with only Ecuador voting against. The agreements that made this possible
have provoked a lot of discussion amongst Honduran revolutionaries in
the Resistance Front (FNRP) and throughout Latin America.
Within the last couple of weeks there has
been yet another outbreak of youth protest internationally with the huge
movement in Spain which encompasses some 80 cities and now a new
movement in Greece has erupted. Meanwhile in North Africa and the Middle
East new waves of struggle are being prepared. However, if the Irish
press are to believed the waves of struggle that are affecting
everywhere else will barely cause a ripple in good ould Ireland. After
all, with the royal and presidential distractions of the last few weeks,
the only revolting youth to get any coverage in Ireland were Jedward.
The situation in Greece is growing day
by day, and is moving in the direction of a revolutionary situation.
Starting on Wednesday, 120-150,000 people thronged Syntagma Square and
other central squares in all the main Greek towns. The masses protested
the austerity policies of the government and the brutal aggression of
the European Union against the people of Greece.
This leaflet was issued as part of the intervention of the Greek
Marxists of Marxistiki Foni in the demonstrations over the weekend. We
publish it here in English for the benefit of our readers.
The tactless
intervention of the EU officials in Greek politics has put the cat
among the pigeons here. Until now the pretence was maintained of
“political consensus” as a condition for any funding from the IMF and EU
loan. There was even talk of a possible "soft restructuring” of
subsequent instalments of the € 110 billion loan or a new loan of € 50 –
€60 billion. It was hinted that they might lengthen the repayment of
the older debt.
IRELAND: News that Labour Ministers and TD’s have
been involved in a concerted campaign to attack Richard Bruton’s attacks
on low paid workers through changing the mechanisms of the Joint Labour
Committee has been denied by Pat Rabbitte who has claimed that the
suggestion is “utter nonsense”.
The Euro zone is in a mess. After a
year of huge financial bail outs intended to calm the markets, the
latter are very unstable, with a marked downward tendency. Signs of
slowing global growth, and the continuing euro zone debt crisis, have
caused the markets to slump. The nervousness of the markets is an
accurate reflection of the growing anxiety of the bourgeois about the
economic prospects for Europe.
On Tuesday
May 25, the US imposed penalties against Venezuelan state-owned company
PDVSA, and another 6 companies from other countries, for conducting
business with Iran. The sanctions are part of an attempt by Washington
to step up the pressure against Iran in relation to its nuclear program.
They are also an act of blatant bullying directed against Venezuela.
The last few
weeks have seen an unprecedented public dispute between the president
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the supreme leader Ali Khamenei. The dispute
officially erupted over Ahmadinejad’s dismissal of Heydar Moslehi, the
minister of intelligence who was fired by Ahmadinejad (officially he
resigned himself) on April 17, but was then reinstated later the same
day by a direct decree from Khamenei.
Options
are starting to run out for the Irish ruling class, already this week
they have deployed Jedward, Jack Charlton and the British Queen, while
Obama is waiting in the wings. Sooner
or later Bono and Geldof will appear and then it’ll be back to normal,
maybe they’ll even take the seals off the post boxes. Normal of course
is the IMF/EU, the Croke Park agreement and trying to reduce the
interest rates on the bailout.
It leaps across frontier,
defying all barriers, it laughs at the threats and curses of the ruling
class and it sweeps aside the forces of the state. It cannot be halted.
The mass protests that are spreading from one country to another have
caught all the forces of the old society by surprise. They do not know
how to react. If they do nothing, the movement grows, but if they
attempt to crush it, it will grow much more rapidly.
Latin American activists and supporters of the Bolivarian struggle gathered together in London on Saturday for this year’s HOV conference.
First it was
Tunis, then Cairo, then Wisconsin, and now Spain. The crisis of
capitalism has set in motion a tsunami that is impossible to control.
All the representatives of the old order have combined to halt it:
politicians and police, judges and trade union bureaucrats, the hired
press and the television, priests and “intellectuals”. But the tsunami
of revolt rolls on from one country to another, from one continent to
another.
If anyone was under any illusion that the mere detail of a
general election would have made any difference to the prospects for the
Irish economy and for unemployment in the state then by now their
illusions will have been severely tested.
How the
mighty have fallen! Whatever the truth of the allegations of sexual
assault and rape brought against him in New York, Dominique Strauss-Kahn
is guilty of horrific crimes. As the head of the IMF, he is guilty of
the political rape of the working people and the poorest sections of
society in many underdeveloped countries. He is guilty of the rape of
Greece and Portugal. Before finding himself in prison, he contributed to
locking millions of people into a living hell. His brutal “remedies”
inflict suffering and hardship on the poor in order to protect the
interests of the bankers, the capitalists, the rich.
The
revolutionary wave sweeping through the Middle East has acquired a new
dimension with the eruption of the Palestinian masses along Israel’s
borders last weekend. Every 15 May, Palestinians commemorate the Nakba
(catastrophe) of the declaration of independence of the state of Israel
on 15 May 1948. In recent years, protests have been marked by clashes
between Israeli security forces and stone-throwing Palestinian youths,
but Sunday was the first time the commemorations took on a more
widespread and militant character.
On 21st May the 2011 National Conference of Hands Off Venezuela in
Britain will be taking place in London. Free to members, or join on the
day, and hear speakers coming from Venezuela as well as debate and wider
discussion in solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution. After the conference we will be joining a picket against the visit of Alvaro Uribe (the former
Colombian president) who is here to speak at a meeting of "investors" looking to make a quick buck at the expense of working people.
Last
Thursday’s elections in the North saw a further swing towards both the
DUP and Sinn Féin. This reflects a drawn out process that has gradually
eroded the support for the Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP since the
signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
Alan Woods, Political Editor of the In Defence of
Marxism website and a leading cadre of the International Marxist
Tendency, and Muayad Ahmed a leading cadre of the Worker Communist
Party of Iraq & Editor of the ‘Alsheoiya Al-Omalya’ (Worker
Communism) monthly paper, spoke on the way forward for the Revolution
in the Arab world at a meeting in London.
The arrest
in Venezuela of Colombian political refugee Joaquín Pérez Becerra and
his hand over to the Colombian authorities by the government of
president Chávez has raised deeper questions about the strategy of the
Venezuelan revolution.
The
political landscape of Canada has changed, potentially in an irrevocable
way. The Liberal Party, formerly Canada’s “natural governing party”,
has been reduced to a rump of 34 seats, having received only 19% of the
vote. The separatist Bloc Quebecois, which has dominated Quebec since
the party’s foundation 20 years ago, has been swept aside by the NDP’s
“orange wave” and has been left with only four seats. The New Democratic
Party, Canada’s labour party, has leapt into second place with a
record-breaking 102 seats, and 31% of the vote.
“A middle-aged nonentity, a
political failure outstripped by history – by the millions of Arabs
demanding freedom and democracy in the Middle East – died in Pakistan
yesterday. And then the world went mad.” (Robert Fisk, 3 May, 2011)
As
advanced capitalist countries embark on austerity programs, cutting
spending on health care, education, increasing tuition fees, etc.
Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution has massively increased spending in
health care, created hundreds of thousands of free university places and
stood up to the pressures of imperialism. Come to the HOV conference in London on Sat 21st May.
The Syrian revolution has taken a
significant and possibly key turn today after what has been a very
bloody week. As thousands of protesters once again took to the streets,
the regime has unleashed the most barbaric repression, no doubt gambling
on the idea that total repression can stop the movement. But cracks are
now appearing within the armed forces.
The British government, along with their French and Italian
counterparts, is stepping up its aggressive action in Libya by sending
military advisers to help secure its interests. Slowly, but surely, they
are being dragged into sending ground troops under the guise of “all
necessary means”.
A recent edition of The Economist
(April 7, 2011) complained about “Capitalism’s waning popularity”. One
does not have to be a genius to understand that thirty years or more of
cuts in welfare, large scale privatizations and constant pressure on
workers in the workplace was sooner or later going to end up with
ordinary working people questioning the system that is responsible for
these policies, i.e. capitalism.
As we approach the 95th
anniversary of the Easter Rising many Irish socialists and republicans
will go out as they do every year to marches to celebrate the
anniversary of the episode which asserted Ireland’s right to national
self-determination. It was, however, also a revolution which saw the
working class prove itself in the words of Connolly as “the incorruptible inheritors of the fight for freedom in Ireland.”
As we mark the 95th anniversary of the easter Rising in Dublin, Ireland,
we republish an article written 10 years ago by Alan Woods and Ted
Grant.
In this article, written on the 50th anniversary of the Easter Uprising, Ted Grant writes that it is impossible to understand this heroic event without understanding the ideas of its leader, James Connolly – who considered himself a Marxist and based himself on the ideas of Internationalism and the class struggle.
The young activist from the 25th February
group, Ala’a Nabiel was released on Saturday, April 16th, after being
arrested on Friday, April 8th.
Firas Ali, an Iraqi political
activist, was detained at the office of the Federation of Workers’
Councils and Unions in Iraq, Baghdad, at about 2pm on 13 April. A
protester, Haidar Shihab Ahmad Abdel Latif, is believed to have been
detained on 1 April on Tahrir Square, Baghdad. Alaa Nabil, another youth
leader of the February 25 Group, was also arrested on April 8, and
remains in custody. It is feared that they and other detained activists
are at high risk of torture.
These days, Iraqi authorities feel free to carry out
arbitrary arrests, physical assault and torture of Iraqi citizens who
participate in peaceful demonstrations. In fact, they have begun to
recruit and utilize of the expertise of the masterminds who were part of
the horrific Baathist regime of Saddam.
The French army has bombed the residence
of Laurent Gbagbo, to "protect civilians" we are told. One is struck by
the wide variety of means used to achieve this so-called “humanitarian”
objective!
There is no future without the past.
An empirical, mechanistic and a pragmatic approach to the revolution
sweeping across the region from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea
would end up in a flawed analysis and a disastrous fate for the mass
upheaval.
What started as a genuine revolution
against Gaddafi, has been taken over by reactionary bourgeois elements.
In the Interim Council, and now the newly formed Interim Government,
direct representatives of imperialist interests have been promoted to
leading positions.
The announcement that the Irish banking sector needs another
€24 billion, that’s €24,000,000,000 in real numbers or another €5,500
for every Irish man, woman and child, is another sign of the capitalist
crisis in the state. Standard and Poor’s one of the main international
credit agencies has now downgraded Ireland by a further point.
In Belfast on March 26th, a twin demo to the London protest took place. Here is a report.
A new momentum has been reached by the
protest movement in Morocco. The call for a new Day of Action on March
20 was a test. Would the King’s shadowy reforms succeed in demobilising
the masses or on the contrary push the movement forward? As we predicted
the latter happened. Possibly twice as many people came out on the
streets than a month earlier.
It is the worst disaster for Japan
since the war, since Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This triple whammy of a
force-9 earthquake, a tsunami, followed by a nuclear disaster, has
shaken the country to its very foundations. And the consequences of this
multifaceted catastrophe are widening by the day.
On Saturday afternoon French warplanes
were the first to bomb Libya, in what one can only describe as open
imperialist aggression. This was followed by US and UK ships and
submarines launching 110 Tomahawk Cruise missiles. The French are
strengthening their position by sending their Charles de Gaulle aircraft
carrier into waters off the Libyan coast
Yesterday the United Nations Security
Council voted by 10 votes in favour against 5 abstentions to impose a
no-fly zone over Libya. The resolution authorises UN member states "to
take all necessary measures… to protect civilians and civilian
populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,
including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any
form on any part of Libyan territory".
To say that a revolution has begun is
not to say that it has been completed, much less that victory is
assured. It is a struggle of living forces. Revolution is not a one-act
drama. It is a complicated process with many ebbs and flows. The
overthrow of Mubarak, Ben Ali and Gannouchi marks the end of the first
stages, but the Revolution has not yet succeeded in completely
overthrowing the old regime, while the latter has not yet succeeded in
re-establishing control.
In the first instance the demands of the Revolution are democratic. Of
course! After 30 years of a brutal dictatorship the youth long for
freedom. Naturally, their desire for democracy can be abused by
bourgeois politicians who are only interested in their future careers in
a “democratic” parliament. But we are obliged to take up the democratic
demands and give them a sharply revolutionary content. This will
inevitably lead on to the demand for an even more fundamental change in
society.
After taking one town after another in
the early days of the Libyan revolution, now the insurgents are having
to come to terms with the fact that Gaddafi has managed to hold together
a significant section of his special security forces and is hitting
back. How does one explain this dramatic turnaround?
We publish this statement by Hands Off
Venezuela Britain on the recent attempt by imperialism to spread
misinformation about the relationship between Gaddafi and the Bolivarian
revolution.
The Arab Revolution is a source of
inspiration to workers and young people everywhere. It has rocked every
country in the Middle East to their foundations and its reverberations
are being felt all over the world. The dramatic events in North Africa
and Egypt mark a decisive turning point in human history. These events
are not isolated accidents apart from the general process of the world
revolution.
We are in a period of deep capitalist crisis, where many rights
acquired through tough struggle in the past years are under threat in
all areas of society. One of them is the free, state-run school. The new
“reforms” being introduced in Greece are putting the rights of teachers
and students in the firing line too.
Wisconsin, USA: Weeks after Governor Scott Walker’s
union-busting bill was introduced, mass demonstrations by public and
private sector workers, students, and community supporters continue,
and the spirit of class struggle is spreading across the country.
100,000 demonstrated in Madison on Saturday. The only way to defeat
Walker is to mobilize the full power of the labor movement, starting
with an all-out one day general strike in Wisconsin and to mobilize
labor for mass demonstrations and solidarity actions around the
country!
Here are some images from the ULU Marxists meeting held in London on Thursday evening
IRELAND: Friday’s election saw Labour gain the most
votes and seats in its history. But Fine Gael came out as the largest
party. Eamon Gilmore and Enda Kenny have established negotiating teams
to prepare the way for a coalition government. While Labour’s leaders
have given the negotiations the go ahead any final decision must be made
by the party conference which meets on Sunday. Fightback is wholly
opposed to such a deal.
SAT UPDATE: The
picture emerging in the results from yesterday’s Irish General Election
is becoming clearer as the evening goes on. The outcome represents an
historic defeat for Fianna Fáil, the main bourgeois party
in the state. FF have been in power for 61 of the last 79 years. They
have been the largest single party in Dáil Éireann
since 1932 until… today. Although only around a third of seats have
been announced it is clear that FF are destined to come in third place
not far ahead of SF. Fine Gael will become the biggest party for the
first time although they will still fall short of an overall majority.
Labour however has made the biggest strides forward with around 20% of
first preference votes. This is double what the party achieved in 2007.
The wave of revolution that started in
Tunisia is now also reaching Iraq, where the Kurdish areas had already
flared up last week. But the protests are not limited to these areas. On
Friday an anti-government rally named the Day of Rage, was organised in
Baghdad and other cities with thousands taking part.
Hundreds of thousands marched today in
the streets of the main cities and towns of Tunisia against the
Gannouchi government and demanding a Constituent Assembly
The mighty power of revolution has
been demonstrated with the resignation of Mubarak. It has shown that the
staunchest, most vicious and stubborn of despots can be overthrown when
the masses enter the arena of struggle and their resolve becomes
absolute. But the most unique feature of this movement is that even
after the tyrant has gone it refuses to relent.
Power is rapidly slipping out of the
hands of Muammar Gaddafi, as anti-government protests continue to sweep
the African nation despite a brutal and bloody crackdown. As city after
city falls to the anti-Gaddafi forces his only base is now Tripoli. The
East is in the control of the insurgents and most of the West has fallen
into the hands of the rebels, including cities very close to the
capital.
In nature an earthquake is followed
by aftershocks. These can be as catastrophic in their effects as the
original explosion. What we are now witnessing is the same phenomenon
in terms of society and politics. The revolutionary earthquake in Egypt
and Tunisia has sent seismic shocks to the most distant parts of the
Arab speaking world. Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Sudan, Bahrain, Jordan,
Iraq, Yemen, Kuwait, Djibouti — the list is growing longer, not by the
day but by the hour.
The Egyptian military top brass have
taken over the running of the country and, while they are promising a
transition to “democracy” at some stage, they are more concerned in the
short term about what they see as “chaos and disorder”. That is, not
just the rallies that have gripped all of Egypt’s major cities, but
something far more dangerous in their view, the growing strike wave.
Contrary to what the bourgeois media claim, revolutions
are not made by individual agitators or small groups. They are made by the mass
of people and they are prepared for years by the decay of the old system which is
no longer able to take society forward. On the other hand, when a society is ripe
for revolution, that is, when all the contradictions have accumulated to a critical
degree, a small force can play a large role in the events that are about to
unfold.
Today (February 14th) marks one month since the
revolutionary overthrow of the hated dictator Ben Ali in Tunisia on
January 14. The last month has been a constant struggle between the
ruling class which wants to return to bourgeois normality and workers
and youth who carried out the revolution and who are struggling to stop
the old regime from trying to make a comeback.
IRELAND: While the political arithmetic of the next Dáil won’t be clear until after February the 25th,
the battle lines in the state have been drawn for some time. The Irish
bourgeois are well aware that Fianna Fáil are a dead duck. Now Enda
Kenny has decided to concentrate his fire on the Labour Party. There is
one reason alone for this. The bourgeois want full control of the levers
of power and to all intents and purposes they want a continuation of
Cowen and Lenihan’s austerity programme, regardless of whoever leads the
government.
The tyrant has fallen! As I write
these lines, Hosni Mubarak has resigned. This is a great victory, not
just for the people of Egypt, but for the workers of the entire world.
After 18 days of continuous revolutionary mobilizations, with 300 dead
and thousands injured, Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year tyranny is no more.
History is indeed being written with
the fall of Mubarak and as the whole of the Middle East and North Africa
erupts in one revolutionary upheaval after another. This is also now
having an impact in Iran as the lines are once again being drawn for a
new round of battles since the eruptions that started one and a half
years ago. The focus is now on the call for a demonstration on Monday,
February 14.
According to news sources, Mubarak may be on the point of being forced
out of office. The army have issued a statement about how they intend to
"support the legitimate demands of the people" which many are
interpreting as code for "Mubarak – time to go!" Sources predict that this may be
confimed later tonight (UK Time).UPDATE: he says he is not going yet – we have arrived at a critical point!
There are situations in which mass
demonstrations are sufficient to bring about the fall of a regime. But
Egypt is not one of them. All the efforts of the masses to bring about
the overthrow of Mubarak through demonstrations and street protests have
so far failed to achieve their principal objective.
As the Irish General Election approaches, the Labour Party
leadership continues getting rid of the most radical aspects of its
election programme. And, Labour Party members only get to know about
these changes through the media. The Irish Times revealed the
last of such policy modifications on Monday, 31 Jan.
The Egyptian revolution, following on
rapidly from the Tunisian uprising, has sent shockwaves across the whole
of the Arab world. All the serious strategists of capital are
discussing the “domino effect” of the events unfolding in Egypt. None of
them, however, had anticipated any of this.
The posters are going up on the lamp posts
and the tourists and the European lorry drivers are starting to drive
round in circles looking for road signs obliterated by the airbrushed
smiles of party hopefuls. But this is no ordinary election. The election
on February 25th will represent a snapshot of the political fallout
from the economic collapse and the farcical slide into chaos of the
Fianna Fáil/Green Party coalition. Farcical that is, except
for the calamity that the government’s policies have created for the
working class people of Ireland.
One of the salient features of a
revolution is that the masses conquer the fear of the state and
repression. This has been graphically demonstrated on the streets of
Egypt. At the same time the surge of a mass upheaval breaks the taboos
in the psychology of the soldiers and the army begins to cleave on a
class basis. A rare fraternity between the security forces and the
masses, whom they are supposed to crush, develops as the revolution
blossoms.
“The sky was filled with rocks. The
fighting around me was so terrible we could smell the blood.” With these
words Robert Fisk describes the dramatic events in Tahrir Square, where
the forces of the Revolution met the counterrevolution head-on. All day
and all through the night, a ferocious battle raged in the Square and
the surrounding streets.
The revolution in Egypt is reaching a
critical point. The old state power is collapsing under the hammer blows
of the masses but revolution is a struggle of living forces. The old
regime does not intend to surrender without a fight. The
counterrevolutionary forces are going onto the offensive. There is
ferocious fighting on the streets of Cairo between pro- and anti-Mubarak
elements.
The
whole of Egypt is now in a precarious balance. That same precariousness
applies to the role of the armed forces, the sole remaining fulcrum of
the regime. On paper it is a formidable force, as solid as the
aforementioned pyramid. But armies are composed of human beings, and are
subject to the same pressures as any other social stratum or
institution.
According to the Bundesbank, German
GDP grew by 3.6% in 2010. This comes after the steep 4.7% drop in 2009,
when the recession hit Germany hard. Unemployment has gone down from the
10.5% peak of 2005 to 7%. It now stands at just under three million.
Volkswagen is taking on 3,000 workers, BMW and Daimler 400 each.
Lufthansa has announced plans to take on an extra 4,000 staff this year.
The same picture can be seen in chemicals, electronics and other
industries. When the rest of Europe is facing lay-offs and sluggish
growth, what is different about Germany?
After a much criticized silence, Hosni Mubarak has finally made a
statement regarding the protests. The initial reaction to the speech was
one of anger. Mubarak’s speech was quite predictable, basically
praising the poor, promising reform and what not. Even though these
blatant lies that reek of condescension are enough reason to ignite the
streets of Egypt with fury, it was Mubarak’s last statement that angered
the people the most.
The popular uprising against the Hosni
Mubarak government continues. On Sunday morning the sun rose over
another tense day following a night of mass defiance and anti-government
protests that turned the curfew into a dead letter. This fact
strikingly exposes the real situation.
Day five of the revolution and the
movement continues to grow in size and intensity. Last night’s curfew
was ignored, and today there are more people on the streets than
yesterday. A new curfew was called for four o’clock Egyptian time, but
this is no more effective than the previous one. Even before the curfew
came into effect, larger numbers of protestors were gathering on the
streets.
Friday, 28 January 2011. The
flames of anger are spreading through all Egypt and nothing can stop
them. The fate of the Mubarak regime hangs in the balance. Today there
were violent clashes on the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities
as the struggle for power has entered into a new stage. The call went
out for mass protests after Friday prayers. The regime warned that any
protests will be met with the full force of the state. The stage was set
for a dramatic confrontation.
Finally, after a long wait, prime
minister Gannouchi announced changes in the government of national unity
which was formed in Tunisia after the overthrow of Ben Ali. The masses
of workers and youth, for two weeks, have been demanding the overthrow
of this government, which they consider as a continuation of the old
regime. They have staged massive regional strikes and demonstrations and
a sit-in outside the government’s office. This new government of
Gannouchi must also be rejected and the people take power into their own
hands.
The mass demonstrations demanding the
resignation of President Hosni Mubarak have continued to rage since
Tuesday across several cities, including Cairo and Suez. Debkafile’s
sources report that the situation in Cairo Wednesday was extremely tense
after thousands of demonstrators poured into the streets and made for
the Tel Talat Harb Square on the way to Liberation Square city centre,
where 30,000 protesters demonstrated on Tuesday.
UK readers of this site should note that there is a demonstration outside the Eygptian embassy (26 South Street, London, W1K 1DW) in London planned for 12.00 midday on Saturday.
Wednesday, January 26 was marked by
yet more massive demonstrations throughout Tunisia against the “national
unity” government, whose key ministers come from the government of the
hated dictator Ben Ali. The same dictator that the masses forced to flee
two weeks ago.
A tense calm settled over Cairo after Tuesday’s street demonstrations. But if there is a truce it will not
last long. That night some 15,000 protesters decided to stage a
vigil in Liberation Square in protest against police violence. News
reports speak of three people killed yesterday, of which one was a
policeman. The real figure may be higher.
The thousands of leaked documents ("The Palestinian Papers") relating to
the negotiations between the representatives of the Palestinian Authority and
Israel over the past few years blows out of the water any remaining credibility
that the so-called ‘peace process’ might have had.
Dramatic events are unfolding in the
Middle East. Today (Tuesday) Egypt was rocked by a wave of nationwide
demonstrations demanding the end of the Mubarak regime, which has
oppressed the people of this proud nation for nearly 30 years. This was
the biggest protest movement Egypt has seen for decades. In Cairo and
other cities thousands of anti-government protesters demonstrated on the
streets and fought with police.
The news has just broken that Brian Cowen has resigned as Fianna Fáil
leader, but insists that he intends to fight the General Election as
Taoiseach. FF is split from top to bottom and those among the leadership
who aren’t intending to resign with a fat pension in a few weeks time
are maneouvering for position.
Amid scenes of confusion embattled
Taoiseach Brian Cowen finally has finally hauled up the white flag and
announced the General Election date for March 11th. His intention to get the finance bill passed through the Dáil was in serious trouble this morning after his attempt to organise
a cabinet reshuffle threatened to be the final straw for the Green
Party who despite supporting the government through thick and thin over
the past period have suddenly developed a survival instinct.
Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th saw the
continuation of mass demonstrations all over Tunisia against the “new”
national unity government and demanding an end to the RCD ruling party.
Tens of thousands marched throughout the country under the slogan “RCD
degagé” (Out with the RCD), clearly identifying the national unity
government as a continuation of the old regime.
As soon as Ben Alí was on the plane to
Saudi Arabia on Friday, January 14, ousted by the mass revolutionary
movement of the Tunisian workers and youth, the Tunisian ruling class
and its imperialist puppet masters started manoeuvring to make sure that
they remained in control of the situation.
In the past days, Tunisia has
witnessed rapid developments, the most important of which was the
announcement by Prime Minister, Mohammad Al-Ghannoushi, that he was
taking over temporarily as President due to Ben Ali’s inability to carry
out his duties, and the announcement of a state of emergency in all
areas of the country. We publish here a translation of an Arabic
language article published on marxy.com as the dramatic events in
Tunisia were unfolding.
The marvellous revolutionary movement of the Tunisian workers and youth is an inspiration and an example to the whole world. For more than one week Tunisia has been living through a revolution of epic dimensions. The mass uprising in Tunisia has ended in the overthrow of the hated dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali after 23 years in power.
Events in Tunisia are unfolding by the hour. The news services are carrying reports of the Tunisian president’s hurried departure from power.
Does private healthcare work? According to the Tories it does. However, we only have to look at the state of play in the USA to see the grim reality as this article from the US edition of Socialist Appeal shows.
Jimmy Kelly’s call for a General Strike against the cuts and austerity in the four year plan and the budget which it is to be discussed by ICTU this
week should be welcomed by all trade unionists and socialists in the
state. The scale of the measures that are being proposed and the long
term implications will have a huge effect on working people and “social
partnership” won’t stop the attacks. The cuts in the minimum wage and
the tax increases on the lowest paid workers are examples which
demonstrate that unlike the cuts directed against the public sector
workers the four year plan means that all workers are under threat.
Yesterday, December 15, Greece was
shaken by yet another powerful general strike, which saw at least 80,000
workers march through the streets of Athens, with many more
demonstrating in other cities against the latest round of austerity
measures introduced by the government. A very angry mood is developing
among workers and youth, which will inevitably lead to a major
confrontation between workers and the capitalist class.
In October we witnessed a massive
mobilisation of the French workers and youth against Sarkozy’s attacks
on pensions. All the potential was there for the government to be
defeated. The overwhelming majority of the population supported the
protests. So what was missing? We are publishing an a analysis by the
French Marxists of La Riposte to explain what happened and why it
happened
The small print at the bottom of the EU/IMF
Bailout would be an enough to make an Asset Stripper’s hair curl. If
anyone in the state was labouring under the delusion that all this snow
meant that Santa had come early then the announcement last night of the
conditions attached to the loans would have put paid to that.
100,000 marched from Wood Quay to the
GPO today (Monday) in protest against the austerity measures outlined in the
four year plan despite the cold wintery weather. A few even
demonstrated in a curagh on the Liffey – the workers navy has arrived.
Meanwhile the government are behind closed doors discussing the
bailout package with the officials.
After weeks of dancing the seven veils,
trying to hide what they were up to, the government, the EU and the IMF
announced on prime time television today (Sunday)that they have signed up to an €85 billion bailout. The money which has 5.8% interest rate attached to it will go to recapitalise the banks( €10bn); fund the budget (€50bn) and deal with “banking contingencies” (€25bn). So in other words the whole lot is going to bail out the banks and keep the government finances going.
The buzz word is “contagion”, the fear that
the financial crisis will spread. With the Irish economy on the brink of
collapse, the government has been forced to introduce even more
draconian cuts
to the tune of £20bn to pave the way for an EU/IMF bail-out package. All
eyes
are now turning to Portugal and even Spain as the speculators move from
one
country to another.
IRELAND: The four year plan has been announced, the
cuts have been declared and the working class, particularly the poorest
sections,
are in the firing line once again.
News that
the Coalition are in discussions with the EU and IMF won’t come as a
shock. Reports have been circulating for days now that the EU and the
Finance Ministry have been locked in discussions and some have even
claimed that the IMF have been briefing the heavyweight financial
bourgeois press internationally in an attempt to pressurise the
coalition and the opposition parties into seeking a deal.
IRELAND: The Soldiers of Destiny are floundering out to sea far from
the coast of Donegal; or at least they don’t seem to be in the same
place as the voters. A report in the Irish Times today
quotes a RedC poll carried out on behalf of Paddy Power which indicates
that FF support in Donegal South West has collapsed from 51% to around
19% since 2007.
The biggest crash in the history of
capitalism in 2008 has created a new “normality” across the planet. This
has led to vicious cuts and severe attacks upon the workers in most
countries. The welfare states in Europe and elsewhere are being
aggressively dismantled. After the failure of Keynesianism the
neo-liberal model of capitalism, known as trickle-down economics,
Thatcherism or Reaganomics, has been an even bigger disaster.
In the recent midterm elections, the
Republicans made a dramatic comeback after their electoral routing just
two years ago. They gained several governorships, seats in the Senate,
and took full control of the US House of Representatives. How was this
possible?
A contribution to the discussion on property and the tasks of the revolution.
The September elections in Venezuela have posed some
serious questions before the Bolivarian Revolution. The opposition has
organized a noisy campaign in the media to present themselves as
"winners", despite the fact that they lost. What is the purpose of this
campaign?
Comrades on holiday in France get a taste of the protests taking place there!
On Friday, October 22, finally the
French government managed to get the pensions reform passed through the
Senate. The increasingly unpopular government of Sarkozy, faced with an
unprecedented movement of strikes, demonstrations, road blockades, mass
pickets and general assemblies, hoped that this, together with the
beginning of the All Saints school holidays, would bring the mass
movement to a halt. This does not seem to be happening, however.
After October 12th, the movement against
the attack on pensions has reached a critical threshold. The great days
of action are no longer the centre of gravity, although they are still
massive and increasingly militant, as shown by October 19th. Now, the
central axis of the struggle has shifted onto open-ended strikes and
pickets blockading different sectors of the economy.
On Saturday, October 16, more than 3 million people took to the streets
of France in hundreds of demonstrations in cities and towns throughout
the country in the latest national day of action against the proposed
counter-reform of the pensions system. The number was on a similar scale
as October 2, the last time the trade unions called a day of action on a
Saturday but the movement has certainly developed further. The
demonstrations were another show of strength of this movement which has
lasted for months and seen 5 national days of action since the end of
the summer holidays.
The magnificent movement of the French
workers is an inspiration to the workers of all Europe. It shows the
real face of the French working class. Yesterday (Wednesday) strikers were
continuing their action for a second day running, following an
impressive day of action on Tuesday.
Last week, for several days running, the government in Romania faced stiff
opposition on the streets to its package of austerity measures. So much
so that the interior minister was forced to resign, while the prime
minister was also called on to resign. So tense was the situation that
the police held emergency talks with the president.
Dramatic events unfolded in Ecuador last week when a sizeable group
of the country’s police forces tried to overthrow the left-wing
government of Rafael Correa. The official reason for the rebellion of
the police forces was a law passed by Congress on Wednesday that would
end the practice of giving members of Ecuador’s military and police
medals and bonuses with each promotion.
The result of the elections to Venezuela’s National Assembly
elections on Sunday was greeted by jubilation in the bourgeois media
internationally. It is too early to make a definitive judgment about
the results, and it has not been confirmed the right wing has overtaken
the PSUV in votes. However, the deafening chorus of triumph in the
international media is premature.
The
mood at the Miraflores presidential palace on Sunday night was one of
cautious waiting and one could even feel a slight nervousness in the
air as thousands of Bolivarians had gathered to hear the first results
of the country’s parliamentary elections
The leaders of British trade unions representing more than 5 million
workers sign Hands Off Venezuela appeal in support of the Bolivarian
revolution and the PSUV candidates for the National Assembly elections.
HOV STATEMENT: The National Assembly elections in Venezuela, which will take place on
September 26, will mark a turning point for the Bolivarian revolution.
What is at stake is not only who will have a majority in the National
Assembly, but the future of the revolutionary process itself. We invite you to read this statement and add your name to it.
On September 26 the people of Venezuela will be electing a new
National Assembly. The reactionary Oligarchy, backed by imperialism, is
taking advantage of the shortcomings of the revolution to strengthen
its position and prepare for the counter-revolution. The Venezuelan
revolution has gone a long way, but key economic levers are still in
the hands of the Oligarchy. What is required is to fully carry out the
socialist revolution and expropriate the capitalists and landlords.
That is the only way of making the revolution irreversible
South Africa was moving towards a general strike type situation as
the public sector strike that started on August 18 was building up
momentum. Now the strike has been suspended by union leaders because of
some concessions on the part of the government. This has angered many
workers who wanted to step up action, not take a step back.
The strike by 1.3 million public sector workers in South Africa has
entered its third week after angry union members rejected the latest
offer from the government.
Recently, TV and talk radio have been obsessed with stopping the
construction of an “Islamic Center and Mosque” which will be located
two blocks away from where the World Trade Center used to be. The right
wing, including former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and NY
Republican Gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio, have seized on this
issue, attempting to gain political support…What Gingrich, Lazio,
Reid and other right-wing commentators are practicing is a well known
method known as “divide and rule.”
As
the strike by more than a million public sector workers in South Africa
enters its second week, the government has launched an all out attack
against the unions using all powers at its disposal, including the
courts, the police, the Army and the media. The unions have replied by
threatening solidarity action which could involve the police and the
army.
China has been making news due to its powerful
economic growth. The other side of this story, however, is to be found
in the terrible conditions and low pay that many of its workers have to
suffer. Here is one example of a milkman.
The Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign
has launched Revolutionary Flood Relief and Protest Committees across
Pakistan, especially in the intensely affected areas, to conduct an
efficient and effective rescue and relief effort. Fifty seven camps from
this campaign have been set up in various regions and the PTUDC is appealing for
help.
On Thursday, July 22, Venezuelan
president Chávez decided to put the
border with Colombia on maximum military alert, after Colombian
president Alvaro Uribe made accusations that Venezuela was harbouring
FARC guerrillas and demanded an “international commission of enquiry”.
The FIAT plant at Pomigliano d’Arco
(Naples) has become the centre of attention for all militant trade
unionists in Italy. The bosses are trying to implement new draconian
work conditions and in the process have used all kinds of bullying
methods. But they can push too far and the workers are reaching the
limit and preparing to fight back.
The recent G20 summit in Toronto brought
to the surface all the
contradictions of global capitalism. Every capitalist nation wants to
climb out of the crisis at the expense of its competitors. Everyone is
calling for demand to be kept up, while at the same time applying cuts
in public spending at home. At the heart of this are the mountains of
debt that have accumulated everywhere.
The public clash between Obama and his
top general in Afghanistan
highlight the difficulties US imperialism is facing in what is clearly
an unwinnable war. What the general has done is to express in public
what is normally reserved for private conversation, but it does bring
out clearly the impasse the US is facing in Afghanistan.
The mood leading up to this weekend’s G20
summit and the protest
against it became increasingly tense throughout the week. The police
and the state spent plenty of time informing the public of its vast
arsenal, troop numbers, facilities, and readiness to defend the
fence—itself a graphic symbol of the growing class divide not only here
in Canada, but around the world. Rob Lyon reports on the action on the streets.
Alan Woods concludes his analysis of the unfolding crisis of capitalism
in Europe and how it is impacting on the organisations of the working
class.
Alan Woods continues his analysis of the crisis facing European capitalism and their institutions.
After months of build up, the World Cup is finally underway. As it
approaches the end of the first week, in what is a month-long bloated
competition, something has become rather clear. Hype is
everything.
Marxists in the US have just finished discussing and agreeing a new perspectives doument on the ongoing crisis of the system in America. Given the importance of what happens in the most powerful capitalist country on earth, we are reproducing that document for UK readers.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, June 1 and
2, most workers returned to work at the Honda plant in Foshan, China,
after strike action which had started on May 17. As www.marxist.com reported
earlier, the workers were fighting for substantial wage increases.
Last Saturday’s HOV conference, held in London, was a great event. Here are some photo’s by HOV’s resident snapper, Will.
When watching
Comic Relief or any other sort of international aid fundraiser, viewers
are
often startled with images of starving children, and an attempt is made
to
portray the African continent as a complete humanitarian disaster,
composed of
destitute countries that are plagued by famine, drought, disease,
corruption,
and civil war. Whilst it is true that natural disasters and adverse
conditions have
hindered the development of many African countries, these media sources
do not
attempt to address why the continent is prone to civil war and
corruption and
no effort is made to explain the root cause of the problem: imperialism.(Photo: Paul Shaffner)
A decisive battle has been going on within the PSUV in Venezuela, a
battle over who are to be the parliamentary candidates for the party in
the elections later this year. The left have been fighting an unequal
battle, where more right-wing candidates have had much more resources
and official backing locally than candidates who genuinely represent
the workers and poor. It is a key battle in the Venezuelan revolution.
Since the crisis in Greece has hit
the headlines there have appeared in the bourgeois media many stories
about how Greece has too many civil servants, how the working week is
very short, how people retire early on fat pensions, and so on, as if
this were the cause of the crisis. Facts and figures, however, can be
very stubborn things and they tell a completely different story.
Come to the 2010 national conference of Hands Off Venezuela, taking place in London on May 22nd. Hear speakers from Venezeula updating you on what is happening and how you can support the revolution.
The downgrading of Greece’s credit
ratings by Standard & Poor’s
has sent shockwaves around the world’s financial markets, with stock
exchanges seeing significant falls over the last few days. The fear is
that Greece
could default and drag the rest of the eurozone into a severe crisis,
putting immense pressure on the euro. The problem the bourgeois face is
the Greek working class, which is not taking this lying down.
The Cuban revolution is once more being attacked by the imperialists.
They raise a hue and cry about “democratic rights”, but what they are
really concerned about is a country where private property of the means
of production has been abolished, where the revolution has survived, in
spite of many mistakes and difficulties, and which continues to be a
point of reference for the downtrodden masses of Latin America. In
this,
the International Marxist Tendency stands firmly in support of the
Cuban revolution against the attacks of imperialism.
In 2008 the people of Pakistan voted
into office the PPP, hoping that this would bring genuine change, i.e. a
real improvement in their living conditions. Instead we have a
worsening economic situation, real suffering of the millions of poor,
and warfare killing many innocent civilians. Meanwhile the PPP
leadership is busying itself applying the IMF-imposed policies of cuts
and privatisations. In these conditions it is not surprising that many
are asking themselves what democracy has meant for them.
The eurozone countries in particular are caught in a vice. After the
binge comes the hang-over. The Common Market was set up to develop a
European-wide market as a means of overcoming the narrow constraints of
the
nation state.
The world economy is gradually emerging from the biggest economic crisis
since the 1930s. In Britain last year we saw the biggest fall in
economic
output in any single year since 1921. Now there are signs of a slow
painful
recovery. However, there will be no return to “normality”. The crisis
marks the
end of an epoch economically and politically. We are now entering the
age of
austerity.
After eight years of war in
Afghanistan, the inability of Western imperialism to quell the
insurgency has entered into a period of crisis. Cracks and divisions
within the central government are becoming more and more critical as
the military and political situation becomes ever more unstable. Major
conflicts within Afghanistan’s Western-backed ruling clique were first
brought to a head in August during the presidential elections. The
accusations of fraud have left Karzai’s grip on power extremely
strained and have left Karzai wondering whether the NATO mission is more
hindrance than help.
The Venezuelan revolution is at a
crossroads – either it proceeds to expropriate the bourgeoisie and do
away with the bourgeois state or the right-wing reactionary oligarchy
will start to gain ground and threaten all that has been achieved so
far. In this context the PSUV is the key. It must adopt a Marxist
programme. That is why the Marxists have launched Lucha de Clases
(Class Struggle) as a tool for the transformation of the PSUV into a
Marxist revolutionary party capable of leading the socialist revolution.
The recent death of Eugene Terre
Blanche, leader of the AWB (Afrikaner Resistance Movement), at the
hands of two farm workers, has highlighted the situation that exists
today in South Africa, on the one hand the many unresolved problems of
the huge majority of black workers and poor, and on the other a
minority within the white population who cannot reconcile themselves to
the end of Apartheid, upon which their privileges depended.
The government of Kyrgyzstan has
fallen! According to reports this morning President Kurmanbek Bakiyev,
who opened fire on his own people, has fled. The government has been
dissolved and opposition forces have begun to assume power. Yesterday
www.marxist.com
received a report from a comrade in Russia, which gives a graphic
account of these events.
In the build up to the September
elections, the right-wing opposition is preparing on several fronts.
Economic sabotage is one of them, as are the manoeuvres on the part of
right-wing elements within the Bolivarian movement itself. Meanwhile,
all this is having a radicalising effect on the left.
The call issued by President Chavez to
set up a new revolutionary
international, the Fifth International, has provoked a passionate
discussion in the ranks of the workers’ movement in Latin America and on
a world scale. It is impossible for Marxists to remain indifferent to
this question. What attitude should we take towards it?
The call issued by President Chavez to
set up a new revolutionary
international, the Fifth International, has provoked a passionate
discussion in the ranks of the workers’ movement in Latin America and on
a world scale. It is impossible for Marxists to remain indifferent to
this question. What attitude should we take towards it?
Last week, on March 11, Greece was
shaken by an even bigger general strike than on February 24. As the
government announced its third austerity package the mood of Greek
workers has become one of growing anger and militancy. All the
conditions are there for a massive escalation of the conflict.
Last week, on March 11, Greece was
shaken by an even bigger general strike than on February 24. As the
government announced its third austerity package the mood of Greek
workers has become one of growing anger and militancy. All the
conditions are there for a massive escalation of the conflict.
When
the process of capitalist restoration in China started, some 30 years
ago, Deng Xiaping issued the slogan “to get rich is glorious” and he
added “let some get rich first”. And some have certainly gotten themselves obscenely rich. The destruction of the planned economy in China has created a
massive and widening gap between rich and poor and at the same time a
deep seated hatred against the new rich.
When
the process of capitalist restoration in China started, some 30 years
ago, Deng Xiaping issued the slogan “to get rich is glorious” and he
added “let some get rich first”. And some have certainly gotten themselves obscenely rich. The destruction of the planned economy in China has created a
massive and widening gap between rich and poor and at the same time a
deep seated hatred against the new rich.
The crisis of capitalism is creating an unstable social and
political situation in Germany. Tensions are emerging within the
coalition government, elected only last year. Most interestingly, this
is having a radicalising effect inside DIE LINKE, which is being pulled
both left and right, with some of the leaders attracted by coalition
politics while the more radical ranks react against and seek an
alternative to the left.
A storm erupted in policy circles in South Africa after Julius
Malema the leader of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL)
boldly proclaimed the need for the mining industry in South Africa to
be nationalized. The demand was predicated on fulfilling the vision of
the Freedom Charter, which was adopted at Kliptown in 1955 as the
‘manifesto’ of the liberation struggle.
The
crisis of Greek capitalism is clear for all to see. The bosses want
draconian economic policies to be implemented, but the workers have
already given more than they can afford to give. Bosses and workers are
on a collision course as the call for a 24-hour general strike on
February 24 clearly demonstrates.
Greece, like all the other capitalist
countries afflicted by the recession, is running a big deficit on its
government budget. Tax revenues have
collapsed and more benefits are having to be paid out to the unemployed.
Deficits for the European Union countries as a whole tripled from 2.3% to 6.9%
from 2008 to 2009 because of the slump.
Greek capitalism is in a deep crisis.
It is the weak link in the chain and it is beginning to break. The
country risks defaulting on its debt repayments, posing a serious
threat to the stability of the euro. Severe austerity measures are
being imposed and these are provoking a working class backlash.
In just over two years time London will be staging the 2012 Olympic
Games. However, before then we have the Winter Olympics, taking place
this year in Canada. So how does the Canadian working class view this
‘great event?’
The Capitalist crisis has plunged the
state of California into its worst budget crisis in history. Billions
of dollars have been already slashed from the budget and billions more
will be cut this year in order to“fix” the shortfall of $20.7 billion.
Unable to find any other solution on the basis of Capitalism, workers
and students will bear the brunt of these cuts. The students have
already fought back on several occasions with strikes and occupations.
Recently we have seen many important events
happening in Venezuela, such as the devaluation of the bolívar and the
nationalisations in the banking sector, which needs to be analysed
carefully. The movement of occupied factories made important steps
forward last year, but still faces sabotage by counter-revolutionary
managers and workers are still struggling for nationalisation under
workers’ control. In order to defend the conquests already made, the
revolution must put the nationalisation of the commanding heights of
the economy on the agenda. Only this can destroy capitalism and provide
the necessary prerequisites for a socialist planned economy.
The nation of Haiti was hit with a
devastating earthquake. The governments of Cuba and Venezuela responded
within hours with medical brigades, firefighters, fuel and supplies,
and there has been massive sympathy, generosity and volunteerism from
workers around the world. What a difference compared to the response
from the United States. The U.S. government has pledged assistance
in the way of one hundred million dollars – less than is spent on the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in just two days.
There is a manmade element to the
catastrophe now confronting the Haitians. The country doesn’t just happen to be
poor; it has been made poor and kept poor. Haiti is the poorest country
in the Western hemisphere, with the worst infrastructure and a people
most vulnerable to disaster and disease, because of the machinations of
imperialism. Although the earthquake could not be avoided, the scale of
death and destruction clearly could have been.
Just about a month ago in
Coventry we were treated to a public meeting on the Road to Peace in
Afghanistan with local MP Bob Ainsworth, MoD, versus Bruce Kent of CND. For Bob
the issue was simple. We are there to help the Afghan people, to stop the
country becoming a failed state, to protect British interests, to fight
terrorism and to stop Pakistan collapsing as withdrawal of UK forces would mean
precisely that. Members of the audience asked a number of questions, all of
which failed to get an adequate answer.
Exploitation and robbery – colonial style – is alive and well and now, more than ever
mercenary soldiers are doing the dirty work. Unaccountable and secretive,contracted armies are the preferred method powerful western states use to destabilize governments and secure control of natural resources. With state complicity, soldiers for hire are uninhibited by fear of prosecution and use what ever means necessary to undermine national liberation movements and impose imperialist chains and the rule of Western big business.
At a public meeting organized by
various trade union, political organizations, and solidarity campaigns
(including Hands Off Venezuela), more than 3,000 people in Copenhagen
heard President Hugo Chávez correctly point out that a socialist
revolution is the only solution to the problems of humanity.
The Canadian occupation of Afghanistan
is on its last legs. Richard Colvin’s testimony, admitting that
Canadian soldiers were complicit in the torture of prisoners, is the
finishing touch. We reproduce an article published by the Marxist site Fightback which looks at the Afghan war from a Canadian perspective.
With the news this week of the100th death this year of a British soldier in
Afghanistan, this imperialist adventure will once again dominate the
news. In a article published in the current issue of Socialist Appeal
published at the end of November, Rob Sewell looks at the latest
situation and its background.
Just one year ago, in the midst of the meltdown on Wall Street,
millions of Americans, many of whom had never voted before, came out
for Barack Obama, energized by his message of hope and change. His
victory marked a turning point in U.S. politics, a clear rejection of
Bush’s blatantly anti-worker and imperialist policies. The streets
overflowed with joy and the promise of a new era. Around the world,
cries of “yes we can!” could be heard as a collective sigh of relief
swept the planet. The Bush years were over! Surely things would now get
better! But what is the reality?
At the opening session of the PSUV
congress Chavez made a very radical left-wing speech, calling for the
setting up of a new international, explaining that it was necessary to
destroy the bourgeois state and replace it with a revolutionary state,
but also referring to the bureaucracy within the Bolivarian movement
itself. It was clearly a speech that reflects the enormous pressure
from the masses below who are getting tired of talk about socialism,
while real progress towards genuine change appears to be frustratingly
slow. Alan Woods reports on the start of the PSUV congress in Venezuela.
We reproduce here a translation of an interview with Alan Woods published in a daily newspaper in Venezuela during his current visit to the country
The working masses and poor of South Africa overthrew the old hated
Apartheid regime as a means of improving their living and working
conditions. Instead what we have is a party in power, the ANC, which
was created by the working masses but which is presently carrying out
policies in the interests of the rich. This contradiction must be
resolved and the only way is for the working people to take back
control of the party they created.
Honduras: In a previous article we pointed to
the fact that the Tegucigalpa/San José Accord signed on October 30 was
a farce. Events have now confirmed that we were right. To accept the
agreement now would be a betrayal of the mass movement. What is
required now is an active boycott, combined with mass mobilisation for
the overthrow of the present illegitimate regime
“Poor Mexico! So far from God, so near to the United States.” The
famous words of Porfirio Díaz are truer today than at any time in the
tempestuous history of this country. The crisis of world capitalism has
hit Mexico hard. And its extreme dependence on the USA, which
previously was presented as something beneficial to the Mexican
economy, has turned out to be a colossal problem.
A lot of noise had been made about
the so-called “reinstatement of Zelaya”, but is that what is really
happening? So far a lot of wheeling and dealing has taken place, but no
concrete steps to put Zelaya back as the legitimate president. We will
see in the coming days how real this agreement is.
Cynicism is a very useful tool for
those in power. Although it inherently expresses a sense of
dissatisfaction, it offers nothing as a way out. The charade of the
two-party system has done a lot of damage to American workers’
perception of politics in general, and created a situation where
cynicism and apparent apathy is widespread. What is needed in the US is
a party that represents working people. Such a party would go far in
combatting the cynical and apathetic attitudes of many toward politics,
as there would finally be a force led by workers in the interests of
workers.
Venezuela: The PSUV congress has now been called
and Marxists will fight shoulder to shoulder with left-wing
delegates for a genuine socialist programme in the struggle against
bureaucracy and against the right-wing in the party.
The recent elections in Greece saw a
massive shift to the left in Greek society, with a total of 56% of the
electorate voting for the left parties. The PASOK alone received almost
44%. This is a vote that rejects the austerity measures of the outgoing
conservative ND government. The problem is that the PASOK leaders are
promising more of the same. For the workers this vote was a victory –
but they did not vote for more cuts. This now opens up the prospect of
renewed
class struggle in the coming period.
Socialists, trade unionists and activists are invited to an emergency
picket of the Honduras Embassy this Monday, 5th October between 4.00pm
and 6.00pm.
Sunday’s elections in Germany reveal an enormous
shift within the electorate. Of particular importance is the
massive decline of the SPD vote, mirrored by a huge increase in support
for DIE LINKE which stands to its left. The victory of the right-wing
parties means the German capitalists are preparing for an offensive
against the biggest and most powerful working class in Europe.
Yesterday morning police and army
forces violently attacked thousands of supporters of Honduran president
Mel Zelaya and removed them violently from outside the Brazilian
embassy in the capital Tegucigalpa. However, this brutal repression did
not crush the will of the Honduran working people to resist against the
coup. Following the lead given by the National Front of Resistance,
there were mass demonstrations and barricades in all of the working
class neighbourhoods of the capital and in the main cities throughout
the country. Jorge Martin from www.marxist.com continues his analysis of the unfolding events in Honduras.
Yesterday morning it was confirmed
that Mel Zelaya was in the capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa. He made an appeal to
the people to come out to protect him. The masses responded by the tens
of thousands. The next few hours will be decisive. The balance of
forces is on the side of the masses. They can deal the last blow to the
coup regime and start the building of a new political regime based on
the organisation of the masses.
The coup in Honduras and the stepping
up of a US military presence in Colombia are serious warnings to the
masses of Latin America. On top of this the present world economic
crisis is having an impact on the Venezuelan economy. All this is
posing very sharply the need for a turn to a genuine revolutionary
programme on the part of the Bolivarian movement.
During his election campaign,
President Barack Obama promised to be all things to all people. After
eight years of Bush and Cheney, Americans desperately wanted to believe
that real change was coming. In this statement from the Editorial Board of the US Marxist paper, Socialist Appeal, they ask – what change and who is benefiting?
With our own NHS once again under attack, not least from the Tories who see huge profits for their big business
chums in the private healthcare sector once they are back in office, many health workers have been
looking at the debate taking place in the USA over the future of their
healthcare system. Paul Poposky from In Defence Of Marxism takes a stateside look at how things are actually shaping up and whether Obama is delivering on his election promises.
It would seem that the force of the wind, which was blowing at more
than 60 km/hr in the Neuquén capital, was an omen of what was to come.
26 deputies supported the expropriation and this sealed the
declaration that the factory was of public interest and confirmed the transfer of
Cerámica Zanon to the Fasinpat cooperative.
We are publishing here an appeal (first posted on www.marxist.com ) which we
have received from the workers at IMPA, an occupied factory in
Argentina, campaigning against their possible eviction. We ask all our readers to
circulate it widely and to make sure that resolutions are sent and
signed by as many trade unionists, workers and students as possible.
The war in Afghanistan
has re-emerged in the headlines as casualty rates for American and British
forces have now reached their highest since the invasion of Afghanistan.
Already more than one hundred American troops have been killed since the
beginning of this year alone, whilst in Britain the news has been dominated
by the deaths of eight soldiers who were killed in twenty four hours over the
weekend.
As the Pakistani army continued to be
bogged down in a ferocious battle against the Taliban inside its own borders
and yet another British soldier is killed in Afghanistan, to date the one
hundred and seventy-sixth since 2001, it is evident that the British military
is engaged in a war it cannot win.
All kinds of manoeuvres are taking place
after the coup in Honduras. The coup organisers want to hold on, but
pressure is being brought to bear for some kind of compromise solution,
which however cannot satisfy the masses. The only real answer lies in
the full mobilisation of the Honduran workers and peasants.
A
second lively picket against the coup in Honduras took place in London
on July 3rd. Members of the Latin American community, solidarity and
left wing activists gathered outside the embassy to demand the
reinstatement of president Zelaya
The coup in Honduras highlights once
again that even mild reforms within the capitalist system cannot be
tolerated by the local oligarchies in Latin America and their
imperialist masters. But Venezuela teaches that if the masses mobilise
reaction can be stopped. Now is the time to mobilise the full force of
the Honduran workers and poor.
As workers and trade unionists continue to be attacked by the Colombian state, we look at the involvement of Britain in assisting in this murderous process.
Almost 3 months
after the mistaken decision of the Irish trade union leaders to call off the March 30th
strike action, the discussions around a recovery plan are still floundering.
The trade union leaders will have to show some progress at the ICTU conference
next month, so they need something concrete to report on. But, given the severe
economic crisis that the state is experiencing it seems unlikely that anything
substantial will emerge. However there is the possibility that some sort of
deal will be done. But, as we explained recently, it’s likely to have more
holes in it than a Swiss cheese.
In the first of two articles being posted to mark the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen events in China, Heiko Khoo looks at the significance of what happened for the workers of today
Today marks 20 years since the tragic
defeat of the movement of workers and students in Tienanmen Square. The
massarce (also known in China as the June 4 incident) remains a
sensitive subject for the Chinese officialdom. In the second of two articles being posted on the anniversary, we are republishing an analysis by Rob
Lyon, first posted on www.marxist.com in 2004.
This Thursday will see elections for the European Parliament taking place. For many of those who can be bothered to vote, the election will be seen as a chance to send a message about the UK MPs Expenses scandal.But are the MEPs immune from this scandal?
Comrades from eleven states across
Venezuela, including youth leaders and important factory
representatives, gathered over the weekend to attend the sixth congress
of the CMR, a congress that highlighted the immense work done over the
past year and the important steps forward in building the Marxist
tendency within the Venezuelan labour and youth movement.
The media make out that the Taliban have genuine mass support in
Pakistan, but in this article we see how they are actually promoted by
forces within the state that see them as a useful instrument in
terrorising the local people and as a means of maintaining their own
corrupt rule. And we shouldn’t forget the role of US imperialism in
promoting them in the first place!
The mass panic which has gripped Britain and the rest of the world
arising from the ‘Swine Flu’ outbreak has occupied the media for nearly a
fortnight now. Schools have been shut and people are being urged to
wash their hands like crazy. However those who have contracted the flu
have described the symtoms as being like a ‘bad cold’ and all seem to
be recovering OK. Yet in Mexico – where the flu outbreak evidently
started – many have died. Why is this? Marxist.com ‘s Mexican correspondent has sent this report on who is really to blame.
In 1919, the workers of Limerick undertook a two-week long general strike, in which a strike committee or ‘soviet’ made steps to establish workers’ control. However, due to the betrayals of the reformist labour leaders and petty bourgeois nationalists, this inspiring episode proved to be short-lived.
The United States of America is the greatest capitalist economy in the world. What does capitalism bring? Does it bring better standards of living? Does it bring happiness? Does it bring justice and fairness? Those questions have been answered elsewhere, but the short answer is ‘no’. But one thing it definitely does not bring is equality of income and wealth.
Today is May Day – International Workers Day. Mick Brooks looks at the origins and traditions of May Day and why it matters.
One the events board are just some of the events taking place today and over the weekend to celebrate May Day. In London workers will be assembling at 11.30 at Clerkenwell Green to march to Trafalgar Square – see you there!
The workers and poor of South Africa voted massively for an ANC that had
been purged of its right wing. Now that the ANC is once more in office,
the bourgeois – having failed to stop this – are putting enormous
pressure on its leaders to steer away from any radical pro-worker
policies. What is required is a struggle within the South African
labour movement to anchor its organisations to genuine socialist
policies. David van Wyk in South Africa looks at the election results and what they mean for the working class.
One of the issues confronting the G20, and one the official communiqué is likely to duck, is the threat of climate change making parts of the globe uninhabitable. Nowhere is the peril more present and manifest than Bangladesh, home to more than 130 million people. The G20 leaders may smile for the cameras as their conflab closes, but the working people of Bangladesh are at the sharp end of capitalism’s failure to deal with threat of climate change
The G20 is in process as we go to print. Yet we can already make predictions as to the outcome of the talks. The poor will gain nothing from the summit. The Global Monitoring Report from Unesco estimates that as a result of the slump the 390 million poorest Africans will see their income drop by around 20% – far more than in the developed world.
As the leaders of the ‘free world’ at the G20 summit sit down to champagne, caviar and the grand task of ‘solving the economic crisis’, the last thing likely to be on their minds are the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The new administration in Washington triumphantly tells us that Iraq is stabilising and that the conflict in Afghanistan is ‘winnable’. Two shattered countries with no infrastructure and over one million dead and they tell us that ‘the objectives have nearly been achieved’!
Today, April 1st 2009, leaders of the G20 nations meet in London. The G20 covers two thirds of the world’s population, 80% of all trade and collectively produces 90% of the world’s income. Their leaders will dine well, enjoy fine wines and strut the public stage. They are here to discuss the world economic crisis and how to solve it. We confidently predict they will achieve nothing.
Under capitalism there is a steady unremitting pressure on workers’ living standards from the capitalist class, particularly as they compete with one another, and with bosses all around the world, to cut costs – especially labour costs. This need for employers to attack the wages and conditions of European workers has been intensified by the onset of crisis. There are huge discrepancies between national rates of pay within the European Union. Naturally bosses would like to exploit these differences. And the European Court of Justice is trying hard to help them.
In Pennsylvania last month judge Mark Ciavarella, and the judge of the juvenile court Michael Conahan, pleaded guilty to having accepted $2.6m (£1.8m) from the co-owner and builder of a private prison where children aged from 10 to 17 were locked up.The cases of up to 2,000 children put into custody by Ciavarella and Conahan over the past seven years are now being reviewed in a scandal called "kids for cash".
French students are out of the classroom and back on
the street. On Thursday, 29th January, students and teaching staff
joined in the national strike that had an estimated 2.5 million French workers
marching in the major cities to prove to President Sarkozy that his provocative
remark in the summer of 2007- ‘These days, when there’s a strike in France,
nobody notices,’ was as wrong as it was rash.
Last November we
reported how Binyam Mohamed had been tortured with the enthusiastic participation
of the British security services.
Miliband has
slapped a gagging order on the High Court to hush up the incident on the ground
that it endangers national security. It is quite clear is all that is really endangered
is the Miliband’s reputation How can the man possibly posture before the world as
a democratic and defender of civil liberties if this shameful secret comes out?
In
the
afternoon of Wednesday, January 29 (Venezuelan time), two workers
were killed by police in the state of Anzoategui, Venezuela. The
workers killed are Pedro Suarez from the Mitsubishi factory and José
Marcano from nearby auto parts factory Macusa. They were killed when
regional police of Anzoategui was attempting evict hundreds of workers
who had been occupying the Mitsubitshi (MMC) factory.
‘Shock therapy’, or rapid mass
privatisation, in the former Soviet bloc 1990s was responsible for the early
deaths of 1m people. This is the principal conclusion of a paper published in the
medical journal ‘The Lancet’ (15.01.09). Not
only did privatisation devastate the economy and the means of feeding, clothing
and housing their people; it also shredded the social welfare system and all
the social support mechanisms built up over decades. As a result unemployed, desperate
people with no hope just went to pieces.
On December 5, 2008 over 200
recently-fired workers at the Republic Window and Doors factory in Chicago occupied
their plant, demanding that they be paid their vacation and severance checks.
The occupation ended victoriously six days later when the Bank of America and
other lenders to Republic agreed to pay the workers the approximately $2
million owed to them.But the workers didn’t stop there. They are now
seeking ways to restart the factory and potentially operate it as a worker-run
cooperative.
The food crisis has pushed the
number of hungry, undernourished people
in the world to almost 1bn, in what
the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation described on Tuesday as a
“serious setback” to global efforts to
reduce mass starvation.
Jesus Pino, a representative of the Revolutionary Front of Steel Workers
in Venezuela, visited Britain at the end of November 2008, invited by the Hands
Off Venezuela campaign to attend its National Conference in London. Jorge Martin interviewed him.
Hands Off Venezuela Britain held its 4th annual conference on Saturday November 22nd at Birckbeck College, London. Read the full report on Hands Off Venezuela.
We
have received news of the assassination of three prominent trade union leaders
in Venezuela. Their comrades point the finger at the bosses in the Colombian
owned Alpina factory, where the workers are on struggle and where the three
killed comrades were coming from. They also point out the responsibility of
Didalco Boliviar, former governor of Aragua, defeated in the regional elections
last week. Didalco, was elected on a Bolivarian ticket but then joined the
opposition, and was known for his support for the bosses and the use of the
regional police against the workers.
Five
years into the occupation of Iraq
and seven years after the war in Afghanistan started the Americans
and their allies are bogged down in an unwinnable situation. Even if they
withdraw from Iraq
in the medium term future, the political and social repercussions of the war
will go on for decades. The attempt to carve out a new sphere of influence in
the Middle East, and thus guarantee oil
supplies has proven to be a lot more difficult than the American Imperialists
imagined, and serves to demonstrate the limits to the power that they can
wield. The New World Order has become disorder and the economic and financial
crisis in America
brilliantly confirms Trotsky’s analysis when he explained that the cost of the
growth of American Imperialism was to accumulate “dynamite in its foundations”.
The U.S. has elected a new president,
Barack Hussein Obama. Along with the dramatic turn in the economic situation,
this marks a definite turning point in the history of the country and of the
world. Big illusions have been created that Obama will provide “change”. What
American workers have voted for is an end to policies that benefit the rich,
but Obama does not represent real change. In the coming years workers will
learn from real life experience that what is required is a genuine voice of the
US working class, and that can only be a mass party of labor.
Elections can reveal a lot about a country, and the fast-approaching
U.S. presidential election is proving to be no exception. Above all,
the current election shows just how much working Americans need their
own political representation. This fact is expressed and cynically
taken advantage of by Barack Obama’s campaign slogan: “Change We Can
Believe In.” Even the “old guard” represented by John McCain has had to
raise the idea of change in his campaign rhetoric.
Millions have hoped against hope that Barack Obama represents real
change. But these sincere hopes were dealt another blow with the
selection of Senator Joseph Biden from Delaware as Obama’s vice
presidential running mate. Biden has had a long career in politics, and
is often portrayed as a “liberal.” However, a brief look at his
policies only goes to show the sorry state that bourgeois liberalism
finds itself in!
“The
Icelandic economy is prosperous and flexible” (IMF 4 July 2008)
(There
is) “a very real danger…that the Icelandic economy, in the worst case, could
be sucked with the banks into the whirlpool and the result could be national
bankruptcy.” (Iceland’s Prime Minister Geir Haarde – address to the nation 6
October 2008)
What happened to Iceland in the period of three
months to explain this change?
Communism is
suddenly back in fashion in Japan. The reason is not hard to seek. ‘Lifetime
employment’ is a thing of the past for young workers, who face a casualised and
insecure future. One in three is temping. Some 44% of country’s workforce are
part-time only, while a profusion of short-term contracts has created a
generation of freelancers who are often ‘between jobs’. They have already worked
out that, as recession bites, they will be first in the firing line. They are
drawing political conclusions in increasing numbers.
China’s urbanization process has
reached a critical juncture. Inequality between town and country is producing
explosive revolts surrounding the cities. The problem of how to contain these
revolts is at the core of policy making and is reflected in conflicts inside
the Central Committee of the ruling Communist Party.
The background to this is that rural
rebellions have escalated over recent years. Yu Jianrong director of the Rural
Development Institute’s Social Issues Research Center at the Chinese Academy of
Social Sciences gave explicit warnings to the Chinese leadership of a revolutionary crisis developing in
the countryside and new proletarian zones in the interior provinces.
The disarray among ruling circles in the
European Union could hardly have been more clearly depicted than at the
‘summit’ over the weekend of October 4th and 5th. In
reality the event was little more than a photo-shoot. The meeting brought
together the Prime Ministers of Britain, Germany, Italy and France. The Prime
Minister of Spain clearly had his nose put out of joint by the lack of an
invitation. The other EU members (currently 27 nation states) also may well
have asked why they weren’t to be asked to take part in decisions that could
profoundly affect their futures.
The only realistic reply could be that the
meeting would have been even more of a shambles. Europe cannot get its act
together. First the participants at the summit swore to unite in action in the
teeth of the crisis. Secondly, when it came to pumping money in to the European
banking system (which must come if the plan is serious) they all got cold feet.
National interests came first. German finance minister Peer Steinbruck blew the
gaff. “We as Germans do not want to pay into a big pot where we do not have
control and do not know where German money might be used,” he complained. Since
the EU nations are not hanging together, they will hang separately.
Yesterday saw an impressive show of
solidarity for the Miami Five in front of the US embassy at London’s
Grosvenor Square. About five hundred people turned up to the annual
candlelit vigil organised by the Cuba Solidarity Campaign in Britain.
Hands Off Venezuela joined the protest, which marked the 10th
anniversary of the arrest of these five courageous men.
Our
lives, those of our children, our health and living are subjected to the whims
of the gambling table, otherwise known as the ‘world financial system’. In what
way can betting on the prices of stock and shares benefit humankind? Rather, it
inevitably leads, at some stage, to crisis, as the blind bets get called in.
Now,
with the crisis of the capitalist system unfolding, the poverty, hunger and
homelessness experienced by some sections of working class people is spreading
to wider and wider layers. This is initially being expressed in foreclosures on
home loans and an increase in homelessness.
Join us for a picket of the US embassy and public meeting on Wednesday,
September 17, in London to defend the Bolivian and Venezuelan
revolutions! Download and print off this A4 leaflet and distribute it as widely as possible.
Two-thirds of U.S. corporations paid no federal
income taxes between 1998 and 2005, according to a new report from Congress.
The study by the Government Accountability Office, said about 68% of foreign
companies doing business in the U.S. avoided corporate taxes.
"It’s shameful that so many corporations make big profits and pay nothing
to support our country," said
Senator Byron Dorgan.
As food prices
soar world-wide it was reported recently on the BBC that ‘Ethiopia has launched an urgent
appeal to international donors for more than $300m (£154m) of emergency aid’.
According the news item, ‘a
total of 4.6 million people are now thought to need food aid, because of the
drought which struck most of the country in the early part of this year. In
some parts of the country, health centres and feeding clinics are already being
overwhelmed with large numbers of severely malnourished children. Existing
stocks of food aid will cover June, but the crunch will come in July.’
The following statements were
unanimously passed at the World Congress of the International Marxist Tendency. A detailed report about the congress will follow in the coming weeks.
In a television programme broadcasted to
the whole of the country on July 31st, President Chávez announced the nationalisation
of Banco de Venezuela, the Venezuelan bank owned by the Spanish banking
multinational Grupo Santander.
After years of Bush’s open-ended war on working people at home and
abroad, many on the “left” are desperate for an alternative. For many,
that alternative is Barack Obama, a Democratic Senator from Illinois. However,
far from being a “progressive” alternative, Obama is at his core a
typical representative of the bosses’ political parties.
The death of Manuel Marulanda, the legendary leader of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), reopens a debate over the perspectives
for the FARC and for the class struggle in Colombia.
Tarragona, one of the industrial hearts of Spain, is one of the areas where unemployment is going to hit hard as the current crisis deepens. The region’s high percentage of industrial workers in the petrochemical industries and the big tourism sector is going to make September a difficult time, as hotels close and tourists return home.
There are about 1 billion people in the world subsisting on
$1 a day or less. These people typically spend 80% of their income on food. For
them the present food price rises mean catastrophe. Why are so many going hungry? Why are food prices going up
all the time? These are the questions the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organisation has been asking at its meeting this June. So far it hasn’t come up
with any solutions.
Lal Khan was speaking
in Birmingham on June 1 at a meeting organised
by the local PTUDC, where he outlined the developing crisis in Pakistan and
highlighted the need for socialism as the only answer to the problems of the
workers and peasants.
There is no such thing as a natural disaster. That may come as a surprise to those of you who were wibble-wobbled out of bed over much of the south of England at the end of February by the UK’s largest ever earthquake, which went over 6 on the Richter scale in some areas.
Following a massive earthquake measuring
7.9 of the Richter scale, a collective shock and grief has gripped China. The
epicentre of the quake was Wenchuan County in the Ngawa
Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture; the majority of people here are ethnic
Tibetans. A new mood of mutual solidarity has been born throughout the
nation, strengthened by the fact that the quake was felt as far away as
Beijing. Present figures are; over 20,000 dead, 25,000 buried under rubble,
14,000 missing, and 64,000 injured. The death toll looks set to rise to over
50,000.
Food prices have gone up worldwide by 75% since 2005. Since Gordon
Brown became prime minister (not that long ago) milk prices have gone
up by 17%, eggs by 28% and bread by 34% in this country. Other items
have shown even sharper increases. There’s no sign of any letup. In the same way as we seem to have seen
the end of cheap oil, this could be the last of cheap food.
Present-day economic
conditions demand that the working class fight back. The interests of the
ruling class and the working class are irreconcilable. The bourgeois are
screaming, "more cuts, more cuts" and the workers shout back
"Enough is enough". The stage has been set for a "Hot
Spring" in Europe.
“While many are worrying about filling their gas tanks, many
others around the world are struggling to fill their stomachs,” says Robert Zoellick, head of the World Bank. We are
confronted with actual starvation. He warns that the present food crisis will
give us “seven lost years.” It means “lost learning potential for
children…stunted intellectual and physical growth.” His colleague at the IMF,
Dominique Strauss Kahn, concurs. He foresees that “hundreds of thousands of
people will be starving.”
The present impasse in Zimbabwe is a direct result of the
so-called Structural Adjustment Plans so dear to imperialism, imposed on the
Zimbabwean people in collaboration with Mugabe after he came to power. Now they
have turned against him, but he is a creature of their own making.
On Monday the 21st of April 2008 a leftist former
Bishop, Fernando Lugo, won the elections to the Paraguayan presidency. Lugo,
dubbed by many as the “Red Bishop” or the “Bishop of the poor” ousted the 61
year ruling party – the Colorado Party. The Colorado Party’s reign in power was
bourgeois democratic in its latter years and took the form of the military
dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner prior to 1989, the year when he was deposed.
Two giant firms employing two of the most brilliant teams of workers on
the planet could be helping to make the world a better place. Instead
they are producing killing machines. That’s capitalism for you.
Instead of co-operating, they are squabbling over market share. As Karl
Marx said, “It’s one thing to share out profits and quite another to
share out losses.” Could this be the start of a trade war?
After the cement industry, now Chavez has nationalised SIDOR
with its 15,000 workforce. This has come about thanks to the pressure of the
SIDOR workers who were able to contact Chavez directly. The decision is a
correct one. It must now be followed by a general nationalisation of the
commanding heights of the Venezuelan economy and finally complete the
revolution.
In a bizarre but brilliant turn of editorial line, BBC’s
Newsnight has launched an apparently socialist documentary series on China. At
least, that was how it appeared on the basis of Paul Mason’s excellent report
on Wednesday 26th March, to be followed up the following week.
Imagine you have a known terrorist in your custody. He holds
the information that could be used to disarm a bomb. With this information you
can save the lives of thousands, perhaps millions of innocent people. But he
will not give you the information. What do you do?
A London High Court judge on Tuesday suspended a court order
which froze 12 billion dollars (7.6 billion euros) of assets owned by Venezuela
state oil firm PDVSA in a dispute with US energy giant ExxonMobil.
Hands Off
Venezuela activists present in London expressed their joy at the ruling. "This
was part of a campaign of intimidation and threats by imperialism against the
Venezuelan revolution".
Tibet erupted in ethnic based rioting over the past few
days. Undoubtedly there is some outside interference, but this alone cannot
explain what is going on. At the root of the problem is the uneven spread of
wealth, which has been made worse by the introduction of market economics,
compounding the feeling of national oppression of the Tibetans.
The date is the
second of November 2007. Trade unionists from the Sinaltrainal food industry union walk into the central
cafeteria of the Universidad Pontificia, to find an envelope addressed to them from the Black Eagles’ Front of the
AUC, the supposedly disbanded right-wing paramilitary organization. The
contents of this letter were as follows…
An analysis of the growing political and social turbulence in Europe,
the United States, Latin America with an emphasis on Venezuela, the
Middle East and Asia with particular emphasis on the explosive
situation in Pakistan and ends with an appeal to help build the
International Marxist Tendency in all countries. At this stage it is a
discussion document.
This is the first part of a draft document on World Perspectives as approved at the recent meeting of the leadership of the International Marxist Tendency. At this stage it is a discussion document.
On Tuesday, February 19, Fidel Castro announced he was no longer going to stand for the position as President of Cuba. All the talk in the bourgeois is
of the need to remove the regime, but there is no mention of the real social
gains of the Cuban Revolution. We do not stand with these vultures. We defend
the Cuban Revolution by working for an all-Latin American and international
revolution.
Before the results had come in, President
Musharraf appeared on the state-run Pakistan Television, calling the vote "the
voice of the nation" and the "mother of elections" must be accepted. But in
fact this was the Mother of all Frauds.
We are in the final stages of the election campaign in Pakistan. The
masses are clearly backing the PPP in large numbers. Reaction is also preparing.
Blatant rigging cannot be ruled out, but this would only serve to enrage the
masses. In this context the Marxists are standing in several constituencies,
where they are running a revolutionary election campaign that is having a big
impact among the workers and poor.
The crisis in the garments sector goes unabated in
Bangladesh. On January 30, 2008 two workers in World Dresses Ltd, Mirpur,
Dhaka, were attacked and beaten by management staff at the end of an evening shift. One died at 3am, the other is still
hospitalised with broken limbs. Fearing unrest
management closed the factory on Thursday. When knowledge of the attack
reached the company’s workers, hundreds demonstrated outside the factory.
More than 13,000 tonnes of food have been seized in the last two weeks
in Venezuela as part of the Food Sovereignty Plan launched in order to
fight speculation, hoarding and sabotage in the food distribution
chain. The main lesson is that food soverignty is not compatible with
capitalism.
Until recently
Kenya
was held up as a glowing example of the success of the free market
economy. It was supposed to be a shining example of democracy, a
beacon of hope for what Europeans used to call "the dark continent."
Now all these dreams lay in ashes. In recent weeks Kenya has been
torn asunder by a wave of ethnic and tribal violence that has claimed
nearly a
thousand lives.
The largest human migration
in the world gets under way every Chinese
New Year, as China’s 120
million strong army of migrant workers make
their annual trip home. This
year heavy snows led to railways and
roads being overburdened and
transport bottlenecks wreaked sudden
nationwide chaos.
For years Socialist Appeal
and the International Marxist Tendency have been arguing that the world is an
increasingly unstable place, where war threatens on many fronts
and revolution and counter-revolution hang in the air. The bourgeois and the Labour
right wing basically argue that it’s all down to evil people and that nice
President Bush and the generals keep us all safe by attacking terrr’sts and
keeping the world safe for freedom and ‘mockracy.
Even before panic hit the financial markets
the UK press was determinedly ignoring the big victory of German train drivers
last week. The train drivers won an
11% pay increase! Yet the emergence of what amounts to a five party system shows
Germany is entering a period of increased political instability.
Panic! The world’s
stock markets had their sharpest fall since 9/11 on Monday 21 January. Stock markets have had their worst start in the UK since records began! The UK is the most dependent of all the big seven
economies on finance, property and professional services rather than
productive sectors like manufacturing and transport.. So this world
downturn will hit it hardest of all.
In Bangladesh politics revolves round
the prices of staple foods. The price of rice in Bangladesh has a correlation with
poverty, economic and political stability. In 2000, a wage labourer could buy
6-7 kg of rice with his daily income (Taka 60 per day, about 43 p). Now, less
than half of that can be bought, even though the income has risen over time. Rising food prices stand out as a problem that, if left
unresolved, could derail all political predictions and spell disaster for the
country in 2008.
As the New Year begins Alan Woods comments on the state of world
affairs, highlighting the impasse facing humanity, a direct consequence of
capitalism in its phase of senile decay. At the root of the present world
turmoil is private property of the means of production, a system based on greed
for profit. In the next period the workers of the world are faced with the task
of removing the system.
We have just received this extremely important report from
the comrades in Pakistan. It indicates that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto
has had the effect of a catalyst that is impelling the masses onto the
revolutionary road. The situation is now beginning to resemble that of tsarist
Russia after Bloody Sunday in 1905. The Pakistan Marxists of The Struggle
are playing a leading role in the mass movement, as this report clearly shows.
The Writers Guild of America strike continues in the US, winning
an important victory with the cancellation of the Golden Globe awards show through union solidarity. The strike shows that it is not only industrial workers who are able to organise effectively. How this strike unfolds will have implications for unions throughout the US.
The murder of Benazir Bhutto has led to an explosion of popular anger. Pakistan is convulsed by rioting and mass protests. Society has been stirred up to the depths. Raw human emotion has spilled over onto the streets of every city, town and village. The army and police are powerless to halt the tide of indignation. The government is shaken to the core.
The following leaflet of the Pakistani comrades of The Struggle was distributed on a grand scale in which they demand an end of the cruel capitalist system, its cruel institutions, imperialist hegemony, and religious terrorism.
Benazir Bhutto has been killed in a suicide bomb attack. The leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had just addressed a rally of PPP supporters in the town of Rawalpindi when the attack took place. First reports talked of at least 100 killed in the attack, but more recent news put the figure at 20. This murderous onslaught on the PPP came in the middle of an election campaign where, after years of military dictatorship, the masses were striving for a change.
Today’s cold-blooded assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi has once again thrown Pakistan into political turmoil, less than two weeks before national elections. Thirty more people have died and 40 injured in the bomb blast after the assassin blew himself up. Millions of supporters of the Pakistan Peoples Party are in a state of shock, disbelief and grief. But they are also angered by this murderous act by the forces of black counter-revolution.
On the evening
of December 18 two comrades putting up posters and canvassing in Karachi were threatened by
10 armed activists of the MQM organization. They attempted to abduct one of the
comrades but failed to do so thanks to the intervention of local people. All
comrades must be put on alert for any immediate mobilization of support that
may be requested.
On Friday, December 7th, Al Jazeera’s programme The Listening Post
analysed the world’s media biased coverage of the constitutional reform
referendum. Amongst those interviewed was Alan Woods, founder of Hands
Off Venezuela.
The
proposals for constitutional change have been defeated by 50.7% to 49.3%. The
opposition hardly increased its absolute vote, but there was a high level of
abstention. This is a warning. The masses are demanding decisive action not
words! It may be that this defeat will have the opposite effect. It can rouse
the masses to new levels of revolutionary struggle.
This week, a CIA memo has been discovered that confirms the existence of a coup plan, which is code-named Operation Pliers.
On Sunday, we will be rallying against the CIA coup attempt outside
Bolivar Hall, where the Venezuelan community in London will be voting,
from 5pm once the poll has closed.
Production at the
American dream factory has slowed down as workers organised in the Writers
Guild of America just completed their third week on strike. 4,000 marched in
support of the strike down the famous Hollywood Boulevard.
Although Dieterich does his best to cloud the issue, the facts speak
for themselves – Baduel has broken with the revolution, and now stands
on the side of the counterrevolution. To propose the unity of the two
forces – revolution and counterrevolution – is like hoping to unite
fire and water.
The Marxists have long argued that the only way forward for the
Venezuelan revolution is to strike blows against the
counterrevolutionary bourgeoisie, by expropriating the bankers,
landlords and capitalists, etc. However, there are other voices saying
rather different things. One of the most persistent of these voices is
that of Heinz Dieterich, who has been waging a noisy campaign in favour
of what he calls "Socialism of the XXI Century" – a strange kind of
socialism indeed in that it differs very little from capitalism.
On Saturday the "Der
Funke" Marxist tendency organised a big event with Trotsky’s grandson, Esteban
Volkov, as special guest, to commemorate and celebrate the 90th anniversary of
the 1917 Russian Revolution. Around 200 people came to listen to the speeches in
defence of "Red October" and between 400-500 celebrated all night long at the
party that was organised after the meeting.
When you watch a Michael Moore film, it doesn’t take long to realise just why the US bosses find him so irritating and why his films have never been shown on US mainstream TV.
Today, 7th of November a big meeting organised by the Danish
Marxist tendency, Socialistisk Standpunkt, will take place in Copenhagen to
celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. However,
2007 marks another anniversary, and one with special importance for Denmark. It
is 75 years since Leon Trotsky held his last public speech in November 1932,
which was held at a huge meeting in Copenhagen, where Trotsky was invited by
the Social-Democratic Students Association.
On Saturday November 3 President Pervez
Musharraf declared virtual martial law, imposing a state of emergency
throughout Pakistan,
suspending the Constitution and replacing superior courts. This amounts to his
second coup d’etat after he seized power in October 12, 1999. It is a desperate
move that underlines the extremely unstable nature of the regime, which is
losing support by the day.
The December 2006 re-election of Chávez marked a new shift to the left
in the Bolivarian revolution. One of the key features of this was the
initiative to launch a United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
Last Saturday, October
20th, hundreds of thousands workers and youth marched through the
streets of Rome, called out by the main left papers to put pressure on
the Prodi government to change its policies in favour of working people.
The Indian Hindustan Times published an interview with Lal Khan in its
Sunday edition of 21st October. In this newspaper, which claims to be
the largest in the world with a circulation of 35 million, Lal Khan
openly defends the ideas of socialist revolution.
The British media has been giving enormous coverage to the manoeuvres of Benazir Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People’s Party and former Prime Minister, in seeking to negotiate a return to Pakistan from her comfortable exile in London. In this extract from a wider analysis (see Whither Pakistan on Marxist.com ), Lal Khan, leading figure of the Marxist tendency, The Struggle, explains what is going on.
A critical
comment by Moroccan Marxists on the line of thought developed in the article,
The
victory of Hamas in Gaza and the questions facing Israeli and Palestinian
workers by Yehuda Stern in Jerusalem, that we
published on Wednesday, 11 July 2007. It is the opinion of the Editorial Board
that the Moroccan Marxists are absolutely correct in their criticisms.
More
people have been killed in Myanmar (Burma) as the military try and hold back
the wave of protest. But pressure is building up on the regime. Whether it will
clamp down firmly or move in the direction of negotiations depends on the power
of the movement in the coming days.
On Thursday pickets were
organised outside Mexican embassies around the world, calling for the release
of Adan
Mejia (an APPO activist and supporter of the Marxist Tendency Militante) and of
all the other political prisoners presently being held in Mexican jails. The
campaign will continue until everyone is released and all charges are dropped.
Last year’s war in Lebanon ended in defeat for Israel, but it also
shook up Lebanese society. The general strike that took place shortly
afterwards is testimony to this fact. Luke Wilson interviewed a student
activist in Beirut on how he sees the situation now.
Today the death of nearly 3000 people during the September 11 attacks will
be officially commemorated once again. But will anyone at those commemorations
mention how those deaths were cynically exploited by the Bush administration to
carry out a plan hatched by the US oil lobby for its own greedy interests?
From July 29 until August 3 the International
Marxist Tendency held its World School in Barcelona. Present were 300 comrades
from 26 countries, including Russia, Pakistan, Venezuela, Brazil,
El Salvador, Mexico, Argentina and most European countries. Over half of the 40-strong British delegation
was youth, most attending for the first time.
Hands Off Venezuela has produced a new podcast that will be available
monthly, containing news from Venezuela as well as the campaign’s
activities around the world. Our first
show contains news on socialist cities, an interview with one of the
film makers of No Volveran, a new documentary on the Venezuelan revolution, along with news from HoV Finland and Brussels, plus
Venezuelan music and lots more.
The commemoration meeting in memory of Leon
Trotsky was an outstanding success. 300 people gathered in the Jose Felix Rivas
hall of the Teresa Carreño Theatre in Caracas to hear the first ever public
event organised by a government ministry on the life of Leon Trotsky.
Authorities in Venezuela have organised a public
meeting to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the assassination of Leon
Trotsky. For the first time since that date, Trotsky’s death is being
commemorated officially by a government institution. Estaban Volkov, Celia
Hart, and Ricardo Napurí are participating in events around the commemoration,
which also include television and radio appearances, where the ideas and life
of Trotsky are discussed.
Showing tonight on ITV1 is The War on Democracy , John Pilgers documentary that analyses the relationship between Latin America and the US, focusing on Washingtons attitude to
countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile. Pilger pays special attention to the developing situation in Venezuela, including an interview with President Hugo Chavez.
After the successful demonstration to the
presidential palace on August 8th, the campaign for the release of the student
activists from the CLEP-CEDEP and the
MENA arrested on August 6th while demanding
more university places continued with more demonstrations and actions.
We
call on workers throughout the world to protest against the capitalist
government of Iran and for the unconditional release of Mansour Osanloo
and Mahmoud Salehi and all other imprisoned labour activists in Iran.
After the recent resurgence of the mass
movement in Oaxaca
the authorities have responded by launching a wave of brutal repression. Many
activists have been arrested. Among these is APPO activist and comrade of our sister organisation the Militante Marxist
Tendency. Workers and youth in all countries should protest strongly!
One year after the
revolutionary events in Oaxaca, Mexico, the movement has erupted again. The
Mexican ruling class thought they had put an end to the movement with a wave of
repression, but they were wrong. The underlying problems that provoked the
movement have not gone again. See also in Spanish.
The ruling class of El Salvador is gearing up
for major class battles. Feeling the heat of the Latin American revolution, and
finding itself in a weak position, the state has moved to intrigues to launch a
dirty war against the left of the FMLN.
In September last year the
Conservative party came to power in Sweden. Now Swedish workers have a tough
fight ahead of them to defend the remnants of the Swedish welfare
state. Should the next general election return a Conservative
government, British workers would do well to study the Swedish
experience.
Alan Woods was recently interviewed by the Humania del Sur magazine, published by the Universidad
de Los Andes, in Mérida, Venezuela. They asked him his opinions about the Bolivarian revolution
unfolding in Venezuela
today, touching on questions such as freedom of the media, the stage the
revolution is at, and the need to complete the revolution.
Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State last week launched another frontal attack against the Venezuelan Revolution by criticising Venezuelan government’s decision not to renew the broadcast license of RCTV, the television channel that was involved up to its neck in the Washington-backed coup of April 2002.
Hands off Venezuela recently interviewed CMR (Revolutionary
Marxist Current) activist Yonie Moreno about the current situation in
Venezuela. Yonie discusses a range of issues, from the question of the PSUV to
the question of workers' control and the struggle at Sanitarios Maracay.
The non-renewal of the broadcasting licence to private TV
station RCTV in Venezuela
has been used by the oligarchy and imperialism to unleash the coup-plotting
campaign they were unable to launch at the time of the December 3rd elections.
Despite all the hue and cry over "freedom of expression" the real aim of the
oligarchy in Venezuela
is to create a situation of chaos, violence and confusion.
In
the advanced capitalist countries people take water almost for granted, or at
least they did until recently. Now more and more of us have to pay huge bills
for our water. In the underdeveloped countries, however it is much worse, with
over one billion having no access to safe water. Water will become a source of
class conflict, as the experience of Bolivia has confirmed.
John Pilgers first outing as a documentary film-maker covers the revolution which is taking place in Latin America, despite US imperialisms attempts to wreck a process that is bringing hope to countless ordinary peoples everyday lives.
Chavez has announced sweeping measures of nationalisation. This represents a big step forward for the Venezuelan revolution and would be a serious blow against capitalism and imperialism. Big enemies are lining up to stop this process, the most dangerous being inside the Bolivarian movement itself. It is now time to go all the way and put an end to capitalism in Venezuela and spread the revolution to the rest of Latin America.
In his weekly TV programme Aló Presidente, broadcast on Sunday April 22 from Urachiche in Yaracuy, president Chávez advised all Venezuelans to read and study the writings of Leon Trotsky, and commented favourably on The Transitional Programme, which was written by Trotsky for the founding congress of the Fourth International in 1938.
In January, Chavez said he defended the line of Leon Trotsky's theory of the Permanent Revolution. But how does this theory, developed in 1905, relate to what's happening in Latin America at the present time? Yesterday 40 people packed the NUJ Headquarters in London to find out. Alan Woods, author and editor of the In Defence of Marxism website was invited to speak at the Hands Off Venezuela meeting to explain the theory and it's relevance today.
Marxist International Review – Special Edition on China, now available!
Yesterday was the 4th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Rob Sewell takes a look at the political fall-out and its implications for New Labour.
With the stroke of a pen, the multi-millionaires who run Airbus have thrown out tens of thousands of workers into anxiety. An international appeal has been launched demanding the unconditional withdrawal of the Power 8 plan and the nationalisation of Airbus-EADS, without compensation to the big shareholders.
Airbus workers throughout Europe
have reacted with anger to the announcement on 28 February of the axing of
10,000 jobs at its plants in Europe as part of
its "Power 8" plan. Following the announcement, Airbus workers responded with
walk-outs and stoppages in France and Germany.
Hands Off Venezuela member Melanie McDonald reports on the delegation sent in December to observe the Presidential elections. They were everywhere, at the Co-ops, in the meetings, at the occupied factories and all over the media.
With a resounding victory over its rival, Rafael Correa was elected president of the Republic of Ecuador in the elections on November 26. This represented a political earthquake.
Despite the bitter cold, hundreds of thousands once again filled the massive Zocalo Square in the Mexican capital on November 20th. They were there to participate in the ceremony of the swearing in of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO), of the left wing PRD, as the legitimate president of Mexico, in a clear act of rejection of the electoral fraud which robbed him of his victory in the July 2nd presidential elections.
"Trabajadores arrechos, exigen sus derechos!" (Angry workers demand their rights!). "We cannot choose between winning or dying, we must win!" and "Sanitarios Maracay under workers' control and cogestión NOW!" These were some of the slogans written on the banners of the workers of Sanitarios Maracay who took to the streets of Maracay, the capital of the industrial region Aragua.
The campaign for Venezuela's presidential election on December 3rd is
already well under way. But this is far from a normal election. On
December 3rd what is really at stake is the future of the Bolivarian
Revolution. In November's Socialist Appeal Jorge
Martin analyses the current situation in Venezuela and explains why the
elections represent a vital turning point for the revolution
A remarkable document written by a Republican Socialist, Ta Power, while in gaol in Ireland in the mid-Eighties. The significance of the conclusions drawn by this young thinker and fighter, who made a careful study of Marxism whilst imprisoned, will not be lost on our readers. Above all the demand that politics and ideology must play the central role in the struggle for national liberation and socialism, in the building of a revolutionary party of the working class, will come as a surprise to many, especially knowing the period and the circumstances in which this document was written. With an introduction by Gerry Ruddy.
This long document by Alan Woods provides a
comprehensive answer to many key questions for
the European labour movement. What is Maastricht? Why
are they introducing all these cuts?
Would it be better without Maastricht? Will it succeed? And
most important of all, how do
we fight it and what is our alternative.