We are living in an era of revolution and counter-revolution; of both reaction and radicalisation. In the famous words of Rosa Luxemburg, the future facing humanity is either socialism or barbarism.
The horrors of capitalism are playing out in real time. Our world is being ravaged by war, crisis, and climate catastrophe. The mega-rich and their representatives, meanwhile, are living on another planet from the rest of us.
In Ukraine, European leaders are helping to prolong the carnage, sending ever-more bombs and missiles to Kyiv, despite every indication that Zelensky’s NATO-backed regime has been defeated.
In the Middle East, Netanyahu is pushing ahead with his murderous campaign against the Palestinian people. And despite their occasional display of crocodile tears, politicians in London and Washington are continuing to aid and abet this slaughter: financially, militarily, and diplomatically.
This imperialist aggression abroad translates into intensified austerity and repression back home.
Welfare is being slashed to pay for warfare, with Starmer’s Labour attempting to make pensioners and disabled people foot the bill for the British establishment’s rearmament drive.
And thousands of pro-Palestine activists are being arrested and branded as ‘terrorists’ for daring to oppose the genocide. Meanwhile, the real criminals – the warmongers in Westminster and the White House – remain at large.
Britain on the brink
In Britain, years of cuts to public services and attacks on living standards are being made atop decades of decay and decline.
NHS waiting lists remain swollen. Local councils are running on empty. Hospitals, schools, infrastructure, and utilities are crumbling. Universities across the country are on the brink of bankruptcy.
And while rents and prices continue to rise for ordinary households, the landlords and bosses are laughing all the way to the bank.
Workers and their families are already shouldering the burden for capitalism’s neverending crisis. Yet things are only set to get worse.
Hammer and anvil
Every effort by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves to revive the fortunes of British capitalism has fallen flat.
The latest official figures showed that the UK economy failed to grow in July. Unemployment and inflation are stubbornly refusing to go down. And factory closures continue apace, with the instability and uncertainty of a rumbling global trade war only adding to British industry’s mounting problems.
The billionaires and bankers are therefore piling pressure on Starmer’s government, demanding that the Labour leaders commit to even deeper cuts in their upcoming Autumn Budget, in order to ‘balance the books’ and ensure that investors get their pound of flesh.
Yet Starmer and his ministers have already struggled to push their draconian austerity measures past Labour backbenchers, who are fearful of facing the wrath of local constituents.
Any attempt to implement further cuts will therefore see this crisis-ridden government pounded between the hammer of the financial markets and the anvil of an enraged working class.
Rotten establishment
The Prime Minister has reshuffled his cabinet, in advance of the coming storms. But this is a case of rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.
All of these besuited ladies and gentlemen are cut from the same cloth: whether it be war criminal David Lammy, taxdodger Angela Rayner, or Blairite Peter Mandelson – the former US ambassador and close friend of billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Cynical charlatans like Nigel Farage are capitalising on the hatred towards Britain’s rotten political establishment, alongside the burning anger in working-class communities over austerity, inequality, and deindustrialisation.
This has driven Reform UK to the top of the polls. The latest surveys put support for Farage’s outfit at 31 percent, compared to 20 percent for Labour and 16 percent for the Tories. Although this has more to do with the loathing of Britain’s traditional parties and politicians, than with any wider enthusiasm for Farage and Reform.
The upcoming Labour and Conservative party conferences are therefore set to be gloomy affairs. By contrast, there was a celebratory spirit at Reform’s recent gathering in Birmingham, with Farage and co. confidently predicting their ascendency to power at the next general election.
“They’re not fit to govern,” stated Farage in his keynote speech, referring to Starmer and his disgraced cabal. “We are the party that stands up for decent working people, and we are the party on the rise.”
Reaction on the streets
The pressures in society, combined with the absence of any real outlet on the left, have led to accumulating anger finding a distorted, reactionary expression on the right.
This graphically revealed itself on Saturday 13 September, when hundreds of thousands of flag-waving Tommy Robinson supporters took to the streets of London, outnumbering counter-protestors by at least twenty-to-one.
The composition of the right-wing demo was a motley mix: a hardened core of fascist thugs, looking for a fight; other far-right elements, hoping to whip up racism against migrants; and a broader bulk – frustrated with the status quo, disenchanted with the government and the establishment, and bought in by the culture war rhetoric of Robinson, Musk, et al.
Farage will no doubt be the main political beneficiary of these events. The Reform UK founder is more than happy to play on these tensions, opportunistically tapping into the mood of discontent with demagogic promises to fix ‘broken Britain’ by ‘stopping the boats’ and deporting migrants.
This only highlights the dismal role of the ‘left’ leaders. From the trade unions, to Corbyn and other prominent reformists, to the SWP and their ‘Stand Up to Racism’ campaign: all of these figures and organisations have completely failed to offer a clear class-based solution to the ills of capitalism – and, consequently, have been utterly incapable of mobilising workers and youth.
This has left the field wide open for Robinson and Farage to channel indignation towards asylum-seekers huddled in hotels, when it should be directed against the bosses, bankers, and billionaires occupying the City’s skyscraper offices and penthouse apartments.
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Youth in revolt
The sight of this large, reactionary ‘Unite the Kingdom’ protest will no doubt have left many feeling shaken and fearful.
It is important that we are not dazzled and paralysed by these warning lights, however. Instead, such shocks should be an impetus to get organised as revolutionaries, in order to overturn the system that breeds all this chaos and misery.
Above all, rather than fixating on developments on the right, we must recognise the untapped potential that exists on the left.
Hundreds of thousands have signed up to support Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s initiative to launch a new left party. Over the past two years, millions in Britain have demonstrated against the genocide in Gaza, and ‘our’ government’s complicity in this atrocity. And millions more are organised in the trade unions, raring for industrial action.
Amongst the youth, the mood is even more radical. According to recent surveys, almost a third of 18-24 year-olds in Britain have a positive view of communism. Amongst 25-34 year-olds, this number rises to 40 percent. And elsewhere, polling suggests that almost half of Gen Zs want a revolution.
These changes in consciousness are part of a global phenomenon. The same conditions and events that are radicalising the next generation in Britain are pushing young people in Nepal, Indonesia, and France to come out en masse against their own political elites; to burn down government buildings and blockade roads; to revolt and rebel.
Join the revolution!
If you’ve been inspired by these recent movements, or feel compelled into action by the barbarism of imperialist war, the devastation of capitalist crisis, and the menace of the far right, then you should be a communist.
Already, hundreds have joined the communists of the RCP in recent months, as part of our ‘revolution against the billionaires’ campaign. And hundreds more will be following suit this autumn at universities, colleges, and schools across the country.
It’s time to get organised. It’s time to fight back. It’s time to join us in the struggle for world revolution.
What our newest recruits say…
“Like many people, I used to avoid the news”
Before joining the RCP in June, I often felt overwhelmed by the crises unfolding around us.
Without a clear framework to understand the world, the collapse of the liberal order seemed random and incomprehensible, and the violence of the system – austerity, imperialism, police brutality – felt too vast, too entrenched, to confront.
As an ecologist, I had attended countless seminars where speakers would call for a “radical transformation” of society. Yet “capitalism” was never mentioned. After decades of international conferences and agreements, the ecological crisis is worse than ever.
As the saying goes, it seemed easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. In response, I poured my energy into individual action: my research, consumer choices, lifestyle changes. But the limited impact of these efforts was deeply demoralising.
Joining the RCP changed that. For the first time, I had a framework that made sense of the crises and injustices shaping the world. Instead of feeling constantly thrown about by events, I began to see their underlying causes and connections.
Like many people these days, I used to avoid the news. But now I engage with it differently – as part of my training to explain events and link them to the need for socialist transformation.
The RCP places a strong emphasis on personal development through both study and practice, and encourages new comrades to take real ownership of their role. No matter how busy they are, comrades always make the time to go over any questions or concerns you may have.
The theoretical level, political understanding, dedication, and ambition that comrades have is infectious. I find myself getting more passionate, more confident, and more radicalised with every meeting, public stall, or demonstration I go to.
Being part of this collective struggle has given me a sense of calm and purpose that I never felt when facing these problems alone.
Kaya Jumbe, Holborn
“My understanding of Marxism has skyrocketed”
I applied to join the RCP in June. I had already come to the conclusion that we need a revolution, but I only had a basic understanding of politics, which I wanted to change.
Within just 72 hours, I had a phone call with a local member, met them in person, and went to my first public stall and branch meeting. After this great introduction, I agreed to officially join there and then!
I got a real sense of professionalism in the party. And the comrades were exceptionally helpful in guiding my political education.
I remember my branch secretary saying to me “the more you put in, the more you get out”. From day one he has been determined for me to get out as much as possible.
Literally minutes after officially joining, I was tasked with writing a flyer to promote an open meeting, along with starting a reading group on What is Marxism?.
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I always have a constant flow of responsibilities, and because of this I am constantly learning. My understanding of Marxism has skyrocketed in an incredibly short period of time. So much so that by the end of July I gave my first speech on ‘what is capitalism?’ at a meeting.
By August, I had been elected by my comrades to be my branch’s finance officer, and I am now organising fundraising initiatives, including social events for the Manchester University Marxist Society.
To feel my knowledge grow so much in the space of three months is amazing. It’s a testament to the party’s focus on political education. My only regret is that I didn’t apply sooner!
Tom Carpenter, Manchester
“I am now filled with revolutionary optimism for the future”
I joined the RCP three months ago, as I have been angry at the state of the world ever since I can remember, and have been searching for the answer as to why there is so much horror, and more importantly, how to change it.
Horror is everywhere I look: homelessness, genocide, sexism, racism, climate disaster, and more. But why is all of this happening?
There is an answer to this question. These are symptoms of a capitalist disease, and the cure is worldwide socialist revolution.
Since joining the RCP, I have had clear explanations for why things are happening and how to actually fight the root of these issues. I have comrades fighting for communism alongside me. I am now filled with revolutionary optimism for the future.
Even more importantly, I am able to turn this optimism into action. Being organised as part of a branch has meant that I am actively talking to people from all backgrounds about communist ideas.
As a student at University of the Arts London, I have now taken on the responsibility for organising our freshers campaign at UAL. I would encourage anyone reading this to join now! We have a world to win!
Rose Reeves, North London
