As we approach the 10th anniversary of the start of the 2007 financial crash, all the warning signs point towards the onset of a new stage in the world crisis of capitalism. For the working class, meanwhile, the crisis never ended – it has been a decade of attacks and austerity. A socialist alternative is needed to this chaos and misery.

In amongst all the confusion and panic of the capitalist class, a handful of extreme right-wing economists have begun arguing for a return to the gold standard as a way of solving the economic crisis. The reality is that the contradictions of capitalism cannot be solved by measures taken within the capitalist system.

Over ten million people in Britain are now stuck in what is deemed to be precarious work: in the gig economy; on zero-hour contracts; and in temporary employment, under-employment, or bogus self-employment. As Steve Jones reports, a vast section of the UK workforce is now living on the poverty line.