Leon Trotsky: the life of a revolutionary
To mark the centenary of the Russian Revolution, we present this original documentary by the IMT celebrating the life and accomplishments of one of the revolution’s main leaders: Leon Trotsky.
Theory
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Marx’s Capital: Chapter 23-31 – The dynamics and origins of capitalism
In the final video from our Capital in a Day series, commemorating the 150th anniversary of Karl Marx’s Das Kapital, Ben Curry looks at the question of accumulation and inequality within capitalism.
The Death of Stalin: skewering the Stalinist bureaucracy
With his latest film, the Death of Stalin, British director and comic writer Armando Iannucci continues with his recurring motif of the cynicism and self-interest of the professional political class. This time, however, the incompetent politicians being lambasted are not those of the Western establishment, but of the Stalinist bureaucracy.
The Putney Debates, the Levellers, and the English Revolution
370 years ago this weekend, the Putney Debates of 1647 took place: meetings of elected representatives from the Army ranks, chaired by Oliver Cromwell himself, which discussed the future direction of England. The demands put forward by the Levellers were revolutionary. To commemorate this anniversary, we republish here an extract from a longer series on the English Revolution by David Brandon.
Why we are Marxists
Capitalism is in its deepest crisis in its history. It is an economic, social and political crisis, which is now expressing itself in political turmoil and growing class struggle across the globe. While the ruling class attempts to bury Marxism, it has in fact never been so relevant as it is today. In this updated article, Alan Woods explains the essence of Marxism and its role today.
Marx’s Capital: Chapter 4-11 – Exploitation, wages, and profits
In part three from our “Capital in a Day” series, Natasha Sorrell – a teacher in Sheffield – discusses where profits come from within capitalism: the unpaid labour of the working class.
Marx’s Capital: Chapters 2-3 – Money
In this video from our recent “Capital in a Day” event, Ben Gliniecki discusses the origins, societal role, and future of money.
Che Guevara: 50 years after his death
Fifty years ago today, Che Guevara was brutally executed by Bolivian soldiers, so ending the life of one of the great revolutionary figures of the 20th Century. To commemorate Che’s life and ideas, we republish here an in-depth article by Alan Woods, originally written ten years ago, discussing Che’s experiences and what he really stood for.
Marx’s Capital: Chapter 1 – Commodities and the Labour Theory of Value
In this first of a series of videos from Socialist Appeal’s recent “Capital in Day” event – held to celebrate the 150th anniversary of volume one of Karl Marx’s Capital – James Kilby discusses the concept of the commodity.
The Lucas Plan at 40: When workers planned production
Debates rage in the labour movement these days about how to eliminate socially unnecessary and harmful industries – such as Trident, nuclear energy, or arms manufacturing – whilst preserving jobs. Ben Curry looks back at a clear historical example that provides a socialist answer to this question: the Lucas Plan, made 40 years ago by aerospace workers in Britain.
Myths of marxism: can we fight for women’s liberation and socialism at the same time?
In this latest video from the Marxist Student Federation’s Myths of Marxism series, Lilly from the Sheffield Marxists explains the causes behind sexism and women’s oppression and discusses how the fight for the liberation and emancipation of women is linked to the fight for socialism.
The role of the state and social democracy
This month marks the 100th anniversary of the writing of Lenin’s great work The State and Revolution, written in the midst of the Russian Revolution to prepare the working class for taking power. To mark this important anniversary we reproduce here key extracts from an introduction of a new edition of this pamphlet, written by Alan Woods.