In the months since the summer launch of this year’s Revolution Festival, the vital importance of our flagship event – taking place from 10-12 November in central London – has become ever clearer.
Across the world, one crisis is piling atop another. The pandemic; the Ukraine war; the menace of inflation; Britain’s year-long strike wave; a string of ill-fated Tory prime ministers; and now the latest imperialist catastrophe in the Middle East.
Already, millions of workers and youth were drawing communist conclusions. And now the horror playing out in Gaza has become a catalyst for further dramatic shifts in consciousness – as reflected in the massive demonstrations taking place on Britain’s streets week after week.
It is clear that the capitalist system is at an impasse. But it will not collapse by itself. Nor will protests alone bring it down. What is needed is revolutionary leadership, capable of channelling this burning anger and energy towards the struggle for socialism.
And this, in turn, requires that we, as revolutionaries, arm ourselves with clear ideas – the ideas of Marxism. We must educate, agitate, and get organised. That is the purpose of Revolution Festival.
🔗 https://t.co/QoVe4tIORQ pic.twitter.com/fwTdpZQd92
— Socialist Appeal (IMT) (@socialist_app) September 29, 2023
Why we are communists
The incredible array of sessions on offer at this year’s festival aim to provide answers to all the key questions that we, as communists, face in our revolutionary activity.
Alan Woods will open the event on Friday evening with a talk on ‘why we are communists’.
Building on his editorial in the latest In Defence of Marxism magazine, the quarterly theoretical journal of the International Marxist Tendency, Alan will discuss the historical roots of the communist movement – from Marx and Engels to today – and explain why we urgently need to build a revolutionary organisation across the world.
Rob Sewell will continue on this theme at our Saturday rally, outlining the tasks facing us in the building of communism in Britain.
Socialist Appeal, the British section of the IMT, has seen spectacular growth in recent months, thanks to our ‘Are you a communist?’ campaign, with hundreds joining on the back of our determined drive to recruit for revolution.
And at this inspiring plenary, Rob will outline the next exciting steps in our development. Trust us – you don’t want to miss this special, historic announcement!
Talks I want to go to this #RevolutionFestival
– How Marx became a communist
– Was Mao really communist?
– Fanon’s Wretched of the Earth: A Marxist critique
– The Soviet economy: How it worked, and how it didn’t
– The Iranian revolution of ’79
– The Great French Revolution🧵
— harrykt (@harrykt1917) November 1, 2023
Other sessions throughout the weekend will cover historical questions such as ‘was Mao really communist?’, the Soviet economy, and the Iranian Revolution of 1979 – all full of important lessons for communists today.
And there will also be fascinating talks on key topical events: from the Israel-Palestine conflict; to the fall of French imperialism in West Africa; to the rising geo-political tensions between US imperialism and its rivals in Russia and China.
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Come to #RevFest2023, hosted by @socialist_app from 10-12 Nov
in London, where I’ll be speaking about the Soviet economy – trying to cram all this reading into a rollercoaster 30 min talk!Check out all the other amazing discussions and get you ticket at: https://t.co/pYmY27uvc3 pic.twitter.com/ZDDKV9txMj
— Adam Booth (@adamtbooth) October 24, 2023
Educate yourself
Time is limited, however. There’s only so much that we can fit into each session. But hopefully the discussions at #RevFest2023 will whet your appetite to educate yourself further on all these subjects. And that’s where our fully-stocked stall of Marxist literature – provided courtesy of our publishing house, Wellred Books – comes in.
Alongside a wide range of classic Marxist texts, we’ll also have new titles available from IMT authors. This includes Alan Woods’ book on The class struggles in the Roman Republic – a must read for anyone who wants to understand the past in order to fight for revolution today.
And for those who want to be able to say ‘I was there, and I bought the t-shirt’, we’ll have a huge selection of Marxist merchandise available: from a wardrobe’s-worth of clothing; to badges, notebooks, and tote bags; to posters, prints, and paintings.
Finally, if you’re free on Friday afternoon, before the official opening of the festival, then come along to one of our revolutionary walking tours of the city, where Socialist Appeal comrades will guide you around the locations in London where Marx and Lenin lived, wrote, and organised. (Meeting points are at UCL Quad or Kings Cross station, at 2pm.)
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Join the revolution!
With one week to go, we already have 800 confirmed attendees. But there’s still time to join communists from across the world at this year’s festival.
And it will truly be an international audience, with IMT comrades flying in from all over the globe, including: Ireland, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Catalonia, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Poland, Yugoslavia, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, and the USA.
Whatsmore, there’ll be plenty of opportunities to discuss with comrades between sessions. This includes our Saturday night social, complete with musical acts, food and drink, and full-throated singing. With a 700-strong capacity, this will be the perfect space to celebrate the communists’ successes in Britain and beyond.
So don’t hesitate – get your ticket today, and join the revolution!
11 days to go until the #RevolutionFestival
The majority of youth understand the need for revolution. All we have seen of capitalism is war, poverty, and climate crisis.
If you’re a school/college #communist, get a free Revolution Festival ticket today!https://t.co/QoVe4tJmHo pic.twitter.com/TsjAjaMVNr
— Socialist Appeal (IMT) (@socialist_app) October 30, 2023
