Marx’s revolution in philosophy – reflections on the Theses on Feuerbach
Alan Woods examines the revolutionary advances made by Marx in the field of philosophy.
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1919: Britain on the brink of revolution
A revolutionary wave swept throughout Europe following the First World War. Millions of war-weary troops and workers, under the impact of the October Revolution in Russia, rose up to challenge the capitalist system. The war itself was not ended by the defeat of Germany, but by the German Revolution of November 1918. This radicalised mood had a big effect on the masses in Britain also, as Rob Sewell discusses.
Behind the Myths: The Foundations of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
There has never been a more important time for a study of the social, economic, and political origins of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the three important world religions that share a common root. Thanks to Marxist author and Socialist Appeal supporter, John Pickard, those interested in learning about these religions can read Behind the Myths: The Foundations of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in order to discover more.
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.
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.
Ted Grant at 1984 Militant rally
As part of the Ted Grant centenary celebrations, we publish here a video of Ted’s speech at the 1984 Militant rally, in which he explains the contradictions of the capitalism, and the failures of the Thatcher government, as well as the Keynesian and reformist leaders of the labour movement.
Thatcher’s legacy and the fight for socialism
On Thursday 11 April, a packed Socialist Appeal meeting at University College London saw miners’ leaders and trade unionists recall the brutality of Thatcher and the bitter lessons etched into their consciousness.
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”.