Ted Grant: The Permanent Revolutionary
We present here a video recording of the book launch of Ted Grant: The Permanent Revolutionary, in which Alan Woods gives an account of Ted’s struggle for and his contribution to the ideas of Marxism.
Marxist theory
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Marxism and morality
What is moral and what is amoral in the struggle for the transformation of society? 75 years ago Leon Trotsky wrote his masterpiece Their Morals and Ours, in which he explained that morality is one of the key ideological components in the class struggle. Marie Frederiksen explores the question of Marxism and morality.
The capitalist crisis and the tendency of the rate of profit to fall
The following article was originally published in the summer issue of our theoretical magazine In Defence of Marxism. In a previous article from the IDOM magazine, we polemicised against the theory of “under-consumption” as an explanation of capitalist crisis. In this article, we wish to look at Marx’s law of the tendency of the rate of profit to fall and explore the wider question of how to approach economics in a dialectical manner.
Ted Grant: the permanent revolutionary
This year marks the centenary of Ted Grant, founder of the Militant Tendency and Socialist Appeal, who was born in 1913. To celebrate this centenary, we are pleased to announce the publication of a new biography of Ted Grant, written by his friend and collaborator for more than 50 years, Alan Woods. Here we provide a review of the book by Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal.
Karl Marx and the First International
In this video from the IMT Winter School in February, Fred Weston – editor of “In Defence of Marxism”, www.marxist.com – provides a history of the International Workers’ Association, often referred to as the First International, and examines the role of Karl Marx and his ideas within this international socialist organisation.
Finance capital: a tumour on the capitalist system or a fundamental part of it?
There is a tendency amongst the leaders of the labour movement to draw a distinction between the ‘parasitic’, ‘irresponsible’ financial sector of the economy and ‘productive’, ‘responsible’ manufacturing. But is it useful to draw this distinction between financial and industrial capitalism? In this history of finance capital, Luke Wilson discusses how such a distinction is artificial: the growth of industrial capitalism was intimately bound up with the growth of finance capital.
The resilience of the ideas of Karl Marx
How many times have we heard that Marx was wrong and that although he had some insights in to the workings of capitalism he failed to see the dynamism of the capitalist system and its ability to recover from crises and move ever forward? However, in the past few years, every now and then we hear commentators pointing out that Marx was right. The latest is an article published by Time magazine, called “Marx’s Revenge: How Class Struggle Is Shaping the World”.
Historical materialism
Adam Booth, writer for www.socialist.net, discusses the Marxist conception of history, based on the dialectical materialist method. Adam contrasts the materialist method of historical analysis against the idealist view of history, and explores questions such as the role of the individual history.
The relevance of Marxism today
We present here a video of the opening speech from this year’s Winter School of the International Marxist Tendency, hosted by the UCLU Marxist Society and Socialist Appeal in London, in which Alan Woods – editor of www.marxist.com – discusses the relevance of Marxism today.
Marxism and Art
In this speech to the ULCU Marxist Society, Alan Woods – Marxist author and editor of www.marxist.com – explores the question of art from a Marxist perspective, looking at the history of art from a materialist perspective – from the early art of cave drawings, through to the revolutionary paintings of Pablo Picasso. In doing so, Alan Woods touches on questions such as “what is art?” and discusses what would be possible in terms of art under a socialist society.
130th anniversary of the death of Karl Marx
To mark the 130th anniversary of the death of Karl Marx we are republishing here a revised version of an article by the late Phil Mitchinson.
A History of Film
The last few years have seen a number of Hollywood film companies marking their centenary anniversaries. Marxists see film, as with other art forms, as providing a reflection of class society and its structures. Bob Stothard looks over the long history of film and what it can tell us.