Rob Turnbull looks at the rise and fall of the Vikings – a civilisation of seafarers, merchants and traders. But, just as the Vikings had their day, so capitalism has had its. The system has reached its limits. It is time for it to be overthrown and replaced with a socialist society.

In the fifth and final part of his series looking at the Marxist view of history, Alan Woods explains the significance of the Russian Revolution as the first attempt of humanity to break free from class society, and outlines the possible futures for society: socialism or barbarism.

In this fourth – and penultimate – part of his series on the Marxist conception of history, Alan Woods – editor of In Defence of Marxism – traces the history of feudalism from its rise to its inevitable downfall in the age of the bourgeois revolutions.