Friday 12th June saw the Queen’s Birthday Honours list published – a festival of self-congratulatory propaganda on the part of the British Establishment, which this year saw 1,163 people nominated. Notably amongst those on the list are a whole host of Tory donors and capitalist fat-cats – all rewarded by the Establishment for services rendered.
The protracted negotiations between Greece and the troika which started after the election of Syriza on January 25 this year have seemingly reached a dead end. Withdrawal of deposits from the banks have accelerated, bringing the Day of Judgment closer. The troika is tightening the noose, and unless the victim manages to break free it will choke.
To the shock and surprise of mainstream political commentators, Jeremy Corbyn, the left-wing Labour MP, has emerged as the clear winner in the first televised Labour leadership hustings. The Blairites are becoming concerned by the popularity of Corbyn’s anti-austerity message and the possibility that he could actually win the leadership contest.
Marxist students and youth will be at the End Austerity Now demonstration on Saturday 20th June, marching under the banner “The system is broken: fight for revolution”. We publish here a statement by the Marxist Student Federation, along with comments from revolutionary youth across the country, explaining why we are marching with thousands of others at this Saturday’s protest.
Alan Woods looks at the Battle of Waterloo – fought 200 years ago, on 18th June 1815: the last major event that marked the end of the historical process begun in 1789 by the Great French Revolution. With the defeat of Napoleon, the last flickering embers of the fires lit by revolutionary France were extinguished. The forces of triumphant reaction seemed firmly in the saddle.
The recent FIFA corruption scandal has adorned the front pages over the past few weeks. Already, president Sepp Blatter has stood down, after 17 years in the position and just a few days after being re-elected. More heads may roll. But corruption at FIFA is hardly a new story. So why is this news emerging with such force now?
The Greek philosopher Plato believed that the best paid in society should not have an income of more than five times the lowest earners. Under a workers’ democracy, Lenin and the Bolsheviks said the pay gap should not be greater than four to one. But the realities under capitalism have more in kin with Marx’s theory of increasing misery, as the latest figures show.
“Watch out”, alarmed the Economist in this week’s main headline. “It is only a matter of time before the next recession strikes. The rich world is not ready.” The front cover picture said it all: the knight in shining armour of the ruling class, looking backwards at the vanquished beast of the financial crisis, fails to notice that he is walking straight into the salivating jaws of an even bigger monster – and this time without any weapons left at his disposal.
Thousands came out to cheer the swearing in of new mayors in Spain on Saturday June 13, in scenes not seen since 1979 or perhaps 1931. The May 24 municipal and regional elections represented a serious setback for the ruling right wing PP – and, importantly, an important gain for the alliances to the left of social democracy.
Jeremy Corbyn, the left wing Labour MP, has got on the ballot paper for Labour leader, with a last-minute surge of nominations. This is a remarkable and welcome turn of events, despite being achieved by the slimmest of margins. Corbyn’s challenge serves to break the right-wing mould and at last allows left-wing ideas to be aired throughout the movement.
The EU and IMF sharks have dropped their mask and revealed their real intentions, removing any illusions that an “honourable compromise” with the Greek government was somehow possible. The question is: what should be done now? What programme and policy should the Syriza-led government adopt in breaking with the creditors? Here we provide a statement by the Communist Tendency of SYRIZA.
“ONE SOLUTION – REVOLUTION!”: this has become the rallying cry of radicalised youth across Britain, reflecting the profound change that has taken place over the last few years, but especially since the Scottish independence referendum. There is a developing mood of anger, bitterness and disenchantment – a desire to overthrow this rotten system and fundamentally transform society.