Karl Marx, the great revolutionary theoretician, philosopher, and fighter, was born on this day 198 years ago, on 5th May 1818. To commemorate the life of Karl Marx, we publish here a biography by the late Phil Mitchinson, originally written in 2003, along with links to a variety of recommended articles, videos, and audios about Marx and his revolutionary ideas.

With the recent debates in Parliament about the bombing of Syria, as well as the upcoming EU referendum and the waves of protest internationally, the question of what a socialist foreign policy could look like are high on the agenda. What kind of policies should a Corbyn-led Labour Party be putting forward?

100 years ago, on 5th September 1915, a small group of international socialists gathered in the tiny Swiss village of Zimmerwald. This was the first attempt to unite those socialists – such as Lenin and Luxemburg – who were opposed to the War, and was the embryo of the Communist International. Alan Woods explains the historical significance of Zimmerwald.