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Standing between the working class and the socialist transformation of society is a colossal state machine. In order to carry out this transformation, we must have a clear understanding of what the state is, and what must replace it.
Standing between the working class and the socialist transformation of society is a colossal state machine. In order to carry out this transformation, we must have a clear understanding of what the state is, and what must replace it.
Today, July 20th, is the fourth anniversary of the death of Ted Grant, Marxist, Revolutionary, defender of the banner of Trotskyism. In the next few days we will be publishing the first volume of the collected writings of Ted Grant cover the period from 1938 to 1942.
This year marks the hundredth
anniversary of one of the great events in modern history. On November
20th of 1910 Francisco I. Madero denounced the electoral fraud
perpetrated by President Díaz and called for a national insurrection.
This marked the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. Today, the
conditions have matured for another revolution, this time with a mighty
proletariat at its head.
In the first of a regular
column where we look at DVDs which may be of interest to socialists, we pick up
on a DVD reissue of the classic film, Battle of Algiers.
Anarchism is a confused political creed. In fact some anarchists
take pride in the fact that it is difficult to pin their ideas down
almost as a point of principle. But their watchword has always been a
struggle against ‘authority.’ Some may find this slogan attractive,
but Engels’ brilliant essay shows that some class always wields
authority in society – the question is which one.
Ted Heath’s plans went very "agley" in the early 1970s, and he had a Tory
parliamentary majority that Cameron can only dream of. The volatility
of the world in 2010 means that this new Tory/Lib Dem government will be a
government of crisis. Certainly the story of Ted Heath’s demise has a
lot of lessons for trade unionists and socialists today.
After the Second World War the advanced capitalist world went through a prolonged period of boom, rising working class living standards and relative class peace. By 1970 it was clear that the boom was coming to an end. The ruling class saw the need to confront the working class and drive down living standards in order to restore their profits. Their chosen instrument in Britain was the Tory government under Heath, elected in 1970.
Copyright is in crisis. Photocopying, scanning, audio and video
recording, computers and now the internet have all made it increasingly
difficult for the owners of copyright to enforce their rights. There
has been a renewed effort, such as the Digital Economy Bill, to restore
the balance of power in favour of big business, but levies and legal
penalties only serve to patch holes in an already leaky system. The
flaw lies not in the technology, or in piracy or file-sharing, as
corporations would have us believe, but in the very notion of copyright.
The House of
Lords has just approved the Digital Economy Bill. It has caused ripples
across
the technology world, most notably because of its proposals regarding
the
suspension of repeat file sharers’ internet connections, and gives the
courts
power to issue injunctions against websites accused of hosting
copyright-infringing material. Internet freedom campaigners have reacted
with
dismay.
On Saturday, March 27, Kenny McGuigan
died after six years of fighting Motor Neurone Disease. Kenny was a
class fighter, a Marxist and a leading Scottish supporter of Socialist Appeal. We send our deepest condolences to
Kate, Paula, Laura, Cara, and all the family, and will not forget our
comrade as we continue the struggle he dedicated so much time and
energy to.
It is with great sadness that we have to report the death of comrade
Kenny McGuigan following a long struggle against an increasingly
debilitating illness. We will post a full tribute to him shortly but in
the meantime we join with many others in expressing our condolences to
his family and friends at this dificult time. He was a great and much
loved comrade, Marxist and class fighter who truly will be missed.