RCP 2024 Wrapped

Trump reentering the White House, imperialist tensions intensifying, and capitalism stumbling from dilemma to disaster, the New Year is set to bring even more chaos and crisis.

On the economic plane, the past twelve months have been a rollercoaster ride. The main engines of the world economy have all been spluttering.

Stock markets in the USA, fuelled by spivs and speculators, have been more frothy than a fancy cappuccino. China is in the midst of an almighty property bubble, which threatens to burst and plunge the country into a downturn.

And the European economy is grinding to a halt, with German capitalism in particular being hammered by a combo of inflation, protectionism, and global overproduction.

Turmoil

All of this turmoil finds its reflection in society and in politics.

The old world order continues to fracture. Globalisation is slowing down, and even going into reverse, giving way to economic nationalism. NATO – the western imperialist military alliance – is on the verge of a humiliating defeat in Ukraine. And all the while, the elites are fiddling as the planet burns.

It is Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, and the expansion of Netanyahu’s military campaign into Lebanon, however, that has undoubtedly captured the most attention.

From the explosive encampment movement, which spread from American universities to campuses across the globe; to huge protests in the face of state repression and media lies: the struggle against the imperialist warmongers in Washington and Westminster has shown no sign of letting up.

Over the last year, meanwhile, the majority of the world’s adult population had the opportunity to vote in national elections, making 2024 the largest election year ever.

And in almost all cases, voters delivered a blow against establishment incumbents: from the turfing out of the Tories in July after 14 years of rule; to the embarrassing defeat suffered by Macron’s party in the French legislative elections the same month; to November’s wipeout of the Democrats across the board in the USA.

Beyond the ballot box, governments were also booted out through revolutionary means – most notably with the overthrow of the hated Hasina regime in Bangladesh.

Broken status quo

These events demonstrate the anger against the broken, decrepit status quo, which is desperately searching for an outlet.

In the absence of a clear, genuine alternative to the left, however, this same indignant mood has found a partial, distorted expression on the right – with the victory of Trump, the rise of Le Pen in France, and growing support for the AfD in Germany.

Within weeks of coming to power, meanwhile, Starmer’s government was being rocked by a reactionary wave of racist riots, causing havoc on the streets of Britain. This fascist menace was quickly crushed, however – not by the forces of ‘law and order’, but by the mass mobilisation of workers and youth.

This highlights the enormous potential strength of the working class, if organised.

Unfortunately, the leaders of the left and the labour movement have completely failed to harness this latent power. The result has been defeats and rotten deals for workers – with special mention for the Port Talbot steelworkers, sacrificed on the altar of profit by the plant’s fat-cat owners.

Red beacon

Amidst this maelstrom, a clear red beacon was lit this year.

January saw the launch of The Communist, our new revolutionary paper for revolutionary times. This was followed by the founding of the Revolutionary Communist Party in May, alongside the Revolutionary Communist International in June.

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Within weeks, the RCP was hitting the news: with the viral video of comrade Fiona Lali taking down former home secretary Suella Braverman, and with Fiona’s subsequent campaign in the general election.

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This bold campaign resonated not only with the residents of Stratford & Bow, but with thousands of radicalised workers and young people across the country, helping to put the RCP firmly on the map.

The RCP will be building on these foundations and milestones in 2025. But we need your help.

We need our readers and supporters to subscribe to The Communist, and to donate to the party. And we need a new generation of communists to join us.

So if you’re a communist, it’s time to follow through on this New Year’s resolution: get in touch, get organised, and join the RCP in the fight for revolution.

2024 in numbers

377,000 users have visited communist.red (increase of 28% compared to 2023)
1.5m views on communist.red (increase of 80%)
124% increase in daily users
116% increase in weekly users
£270,000 fighting fund raised
1,210 RCP members
14% membership growth from Jan-Dec
130 RCP branches
1,000+ Revolution Festival 2024 attendees
45,000+ copies of The Communist sold

Your favourite front covers

According to our readers’ survey (which you can take here) your top 5 favourite Communist front covers were…

Issue 13

Issue 1

Issue 2

Issue 5

Issue 4

Your favourite centre-page articles…

Every issue of The Communist has an in-depth ‘centre-page’ article on Marxist theory, revolutionary history, or perspectives. Here were some of your favourites…