German chancellor Angela Merkel and her Christian Democratic alliance (CDU/CSU) celebrated a sweeping victory in the German federal elections held last Sunday. We must not be blinded by the temporary electoral success of the CDU/CSU. Instability will be the prevailing feature on the economic, social, and political plane in the coming period. The class struggle is far from dead and will become a central issue in German everyday life in the years that lie ahead.

Can capitalism be made “responsible”? What’s wrong with capitalism and the idea of making profits if we can convince the capitalists to then put their money to good use? We publish here an article by Mark Rahman from Socialist Appeal, USA, who looks at the question of philanthropy and highlights the contradictions and limitations of any reliance on the generosity of the capitalists.

Despite some jostling for position between the Fine Gael back-benchers and Labour TD’s, Michael Noonan’s forthcoming Budget is set to add yet more pressure and hardship on hard pressed families across the state. We publish here an article from Fightback, the Marxist tendency in Ireland, on the latest austerity budget and the crisis-ridden Irish economy.