Silvio Berlusconi, the former Prime Minister of Italy, has, after numerous trials for countless crimes, finally been convicted. This wealthy politicians and businessman has protested about being the victim of a politicised judiciary. Such an accusation raises an important question: is the judiciary under capitalism “political”? Ben Gliniecki looks at the role of judges and the law in capitalist society.

In 1949, Ted Grant, founder of the Militant Tendency and Socialist Appeal, wrote a polemical response to Tony Cliff on the class nature of the Soviet Union, arguing against Cliff’s theory of “State Capitalism”. Ted’s response provides an in-depth Marxist analysis on a range of questions, from the transition from capitalism to socialism, to the key issues of the state and the nature of Stalinism.

Standing between the working class and the socialist transformation of society is a colossal state machine. In order to carry out this transformation, we must have a clear understanding of what the state is, and what must replace it.