Spectre of Communism: Recent Episodes
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Are you a communist? Think we need a revolution? Tune into the official podcast of the International Marxist Tendency, for communist theory, analysis and history, every week!
Under the crisis-ridden capitalist system, humanity lurches from one disaster to another. War, poverty and precarity are facts of life for millions.
Given the circumstances, it is no surprise that an unprecedented number of workers and young people are being drawn to the revolutionary banner of communism.
But what does it mean to be a communist? What is the communist perspective on the most pressing questions facing humanity: like armed conflict, the climate crisis, technological development, inequality, and so on?
In what philosophical and historical traditions do we stand? How do we answer typical right-wing objections to communism?
The purpose of this podcast is to arm our listeners with the ideas and arguments necessary to defend the principles of communism, to win others over to a revolutionary perspective, and develop their own mastery of Marxist theory.
Imperialism threatens humanity. Our burning task is to overthrow it – but how? Many revolutionaries have turned to Mao and Stalin for answers, as they are associated with the biggest blows to imperialism in world history: the Russian and Chinese revolutions. But did Stalin and Mao really fight imperialism? And what would we have done differently? These are the questions we set out to answer in the latest episode of Spectre of Communism.
As communists, we aim to learn the lessons of the past in order to conquer the future. In the 20th century, no lessons are more important and controversial than those of Stalinism and Maoism. On the one hand, they are associated with anti-imperialist liberation struggles. On the other, they are accused of betraying and undermining those same struggles in their own interests.
Brushing aside the vicious lies and attacks of the capitalists, who use Stalin and Mao to slander communism in general, we invited Daniel Morley, member of the Executive Committee of the Revolutionary Communist Party, to set the record straight.
📺 Related episodes 📺
The truth about Mao and the Chinese Revolution – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXZR5t4Bo4k
The Spanish Revolution and Civil War: A Complete Timeline – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjMcYaCMBSY
Stalinism on trial – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JevkQNg98E
📖 Texts cited 📖
SPEECHES ON WAR AND PEACE AT A MEETING OF THE C.C. OF THE R.S.D.L.P.(B.). JANUARY 11 (24), 1918 – https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1918/jan/11.htm
Out of the Night, Jan Valtin – https://files.libcom.org/files/2025-02/Out%20of%20the%20Night%20(Jan%20Valtin)%20(Z-Library).pdf
The Third International After Lenin, Leon Trotsky – https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1928/3rd/index.htm
West European Unity Against Hegemonism ls a Historical Necessity (Peking Review 1978 no.9 p.20) – https://www.marxists.org/subject/china/peking-review/1978/PR1978-09.pdf
📖 Recommended reading 📖
Stalinist land programme wins peasants – Chiang’s conscripts roped to prevent escape, by Ted Grant – https://marxist.com/ted-grant-china-jan-1949.htm
Reply to David James, by Ted Grant – https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1949/james.htm
On Imperialist War: Lenin Selected Writings – https://wellred-books.com/on-imperialist-war-lenin-selected-writings/
China: From Permanent Revolution to Counter-Revolution – https://wellred-books.com/china/
⏱️ Timestamps ⏱️
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:59 Why are we so critical?
00:06:43 Comintern: Lenin, Trotsky and the Bolsheviks
00:17:38 Stalin, Zinoviev and the German Revolution
00:23:40 Socialism in One Country + Stalin's Foreign Policy
00:36:19 The Spanish Revolution + Popular Front
00:40:57 WWII
00:48:49 Stalin and the Founding of Israel
00:51:15 Mao's Foreign Policy and the Sino-Soviet Split
01:08:08 China and Western Europe (1960s–1970s)
01:15:00 The Indian Subcontinent
01:21:31 Southeast Asia
01:22:26 Angola
01:26:50 Conclusion
🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm
📚 Marxist literature: https://wellred-books.com/
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A stereotype holds that British workers have always been conservative and averse to radical class struggle. But a century ago, they waged a general strike that reached revolutionary proportions, threatening the very foundations of capitalist society. The Guardian newspaper declared on 10 May 1926: “It is just a week since Civil War was declared in this country. It is not a war of arms; it is not yet even a war of tempers; it is a trial of strength.” But the strike ended suddenly after 9 days: at its peak. What happened?
Shamefully, little has been written to mark the centenary of the 1926 general strike, and the accounts that do exist completely misrepresent it in various ways.
Right-wing historians say the unions were simply a ‘boil that needed lancing’ and the workers’ case was a hopeless one (despite the terror the strike struck into the hearts of the establishment at the time).
Meanwhile, some left-wingers deny the workers were actually defeated! Which rather raises the question of why they were forced to accept brutal wage cuts, lengthened hours and targeting sackings, leading to a whole period of paralysis on the industrial front.
The real story of the 1926 general strike reveals a tragic failure of leadership. Despite the immense power and courage of the British workers – who paralysed the country, established their own embryonic seats of power and even developed a rival press – they were ultimately sold out by the trade union leadership.
This major episode in the British and world class struggle is full of lessons for class fighters today, at a time when the capitalist system is one more in an historic crisis and trying to force ordinary people to shoulder the burden.
We are delighted to welcome onto the show Ben Gliniecki, General Secretary of the Revolutionary Communist Party and author of A Communist History of the British General Strike, to set the record straight.
📖 RECOMMENDED READING 📖
A Communist History of the British General Strike, Ben Gliniecki: https://wellredbooks.co.uk/product/a-communist-history-of-the-british-general-strike/
Accounts critiqued:
The 1926 General Strike: revolutionary potential, reformist betrayal, and the lessons for today, Dylan Murphy: https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/1926-general-strike-revolutionary-potential-reformist-betrayal-and-lessons-today
How the 1926 General Strike shaped trade union solidarity, Aslef general secretary David Calfe: https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/how-1926-general-strike-shaped-trade-union-solidarity
“Their Greatest Effort Ever”: The British General Strike at 100, Cal Winslow: https://jacobin.com/2026/05/general-strike-britain-labor-history
General Strike was 'the boil that needed lancing', BBC (citing David Torrance, author of ‘The Edge of Revolution: The General Strike that Shook Britain’): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7057jy14j1o
Reflections on the General Strike, 100 years on, Paul Nowak, General secretary of the Trades Union Congress: https://www.tuc.org.uk/blogs/reflections-general-strike-100-years
Did you know that Adam Smith, the poster child of free-market capitalism… was also a major influence on Karl Marx?
While Smith is celebrated today as the father of capitalism and Marx as the founder of communism, they are actually part of the same theoretical tradition of political economy.
Unlike the lunatic libertarians and hired guns for capitalism who lay claim to Smith’s legacy today; in his day, he actually aimed to scientifically understand the workings of “commercial society”.
Although the apologists of capitalism don't like to admit it, Smith identified labor – not trade or crafty entrepreneurs – as the true source of a nation's wealth. In so doing, he elaborated on the labor theory of value: the idea that a commodity's worth is determined by the labor required to produce it.
But his analysis was incomplete and inconsistent, leaving him fundamentally unable to understand the mysteries of the burgeoning capitalist world, with all its inequality, chaos and crisis.
By taking Smith's insights and pushing them to their logical conclusions, most notably by distinguishing between labor and labor-power, Marx unlocked the secret of profit: workers produce more value than they receive in wages, with the difference – surplus value – falling to the capitalist.
By combining the labor theory of value with dialectical materialism, Marx revealed the fundamental laws governing capitalism and demonstrated why the system inevitably generates crises and exploitation.
In this episode of Spectre of Communism, Adam Booth (leading member of the Revolutionary Communist Party and co-author of Understanding Marx’s Capital) joins Joe Attard to explore how two seemingly opposed economists are connected.
📖 RECOMMENDED READING 📖
From Adam Smith to Karl Marx: The Wealth of Nations and Das Kapital
https://marxist.com/from-adam-smith-to-karl-marx-the-wealth-of-nations-and-das-kapital.htm
Understanding Marx's Capital
https://wellredbooks.co.uk/product/understanding-marxs-capital/
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️
0:00 — Intro — Who was Adam Smith?
8:56 — Division of labour
21:37 — The labour theory of value
43:58 — Exchange-value and price
55:04 — 'The invisible hand of the market'
1:00:36 — Profit and surplus value
1:12:44 — Decay of bourgeois economics
🌐 LINKS 🌐
✊ Join the Revolutionary Communist International:
https://marxist.com/join-us.htm
🎧 Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/68nGNHz5lB8UZXICGIDMva?si=682ef70551644443
📱 Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/against-the-stream/id1777793987
📸 Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/
💬 Twitter:
https://x.com/revcomintern/
Spectre of Communism – the theoretical podcast of the RCI – kicks off a new season by exploring one of the most fundamental and important topics of today: imperialism 💵First explained by Vladimir Lenin in his 1916 book of the same name, imperialism has come to define the past century. From countless wars to the economic dominance of giant monopolies, it has destroyed the lives of billions of people 🦅Much has changed since Lenin put pen to paper, but the core ideas and developments he described remain as relevant as ever. In fact, the parasitic features of imperialism have only become more pronounced, with monopolisation and the concentration of capital reaching truly obscene levels 📈Today, three asset management firms – BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street – control over $22 trillion in assets and hold major stakes in 88% of S&P 500 companies. The world's richest 1% own more wealth than 95% of humanity, while developing countries pay $487 billion to foreign lenders every single year. Meanwhile, the number of wars and conflicts is at its highest since the Second World War, as rivalry between the major imperialist powers intensifies 🧨In this episode, Joe Attard is joined by Jorge Martín, leading member of the RCI, to discuss why understanding imperialism is a prerequisite for fighting it. That means grasping concretely how imperialist conflicts are bound to unfold in the period ahead – and how the class struggle that imperialism creates will provide immense opportunities to strike blows against the capitalist system the world over ✊Tune in, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, so you don't miss any future episodes of Spectre of Communism 📺
“A spectre is haunting Europe — the spectre of communism!” These immortal words from the Communist Manifesto (and the title of this podcast!) herald the most important piece of political literature ever written. In our final episode of the season, we go through the Manifesto chapter-by-chapter, and explain the ongoing relevance of this amazing document.
In just a few dozen pages, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels describe the development and dynamics of capitalist society, explain the revolutionary role of communists, and issue a battlecry to the workers of the world. They draw the incredibly profound conclusion that the (written) history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles, a discovery that Engels later said had the same impact on political economy as Darwin’s theory of natural selection did on biology.
While the Manifesto was written in 1847, in reality it more accurately describes the world of today!
As Josh Holroyd, leading member of the Revolutionary Communist International, explains in our detailed chapter breakdown, the Manifesto predicts a world in which the entire population is made part of the capitalist machine, and periodically plunged into chaos by crises of overproduction. Marx and Engels fend off bourgeois slanders that communism crushes ‘freedom’ and would ‘make people lazy’. They point to the treacherous role of reformism, and teach communists how they should relate to the wider workers’ movement. And much more besides.
These theoretical insights have only gained in relevance in the 150 years since the Manifesto was published. And in practice, the ideas contained in this text have transformed the course of world history, inspiring victorious revolutions and continuing to haunt the nightmares of the capitalists and their agents.
We are delighted to end this season of the podcast with a deep dive into the foundational document of our movement. Workers of the world, unite!
📖 WORKS CITED 📖
Manifesto of the Communist Party, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (with prefaces):
🔗https://marxist.com/communist-manifesto-chapter-1.htm
Purchase a physical copy here as part of Classics of Marxism Volume One:
🔗https://wellred-books.com/classics-volume-one/
Address of the Central Committee to the Communist League, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels:
🔗https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/communist-league/1850-ad1.htm
[Podcast] How Marx became a Marxist:
🔗https://marxist.com/podcast-how-marx-became-a-marxist.htm
The term ‘postmodernism’ is thrown around a lot by right-wing shock-jocks like Jordan Peterson, often in tandem with Marxism: although these two sets of ideas are totally opposed. In this episode, leading comrade Hamid Alizadeh takes on some of the main luminaries of this obscure, impenetrable and ultimately reactionary school including Foucault, Derrida and Lyotard.
Lyotard describes postmodernism as “incredulity towards metanarratives.” In other words: an opposition to ‘big ideas’ about history, truth, science and progress. But with these ‘big ideas’ discarded, what are we left with? As Hamid demonstrates, the answer for all the postmodernists is basically the same: we cannot know the world, let alone change it, all we can do is ‘think differently’, play around with words, and retreat to subjectivity.
They even celebrate writing in incomprehensible gibberish and ‘believing in nothing’ as a ‘radical’ act!
This cynical philosophy is a total dead-end which winds up in stasis and despair. In total contrast to Marxism, which recognises the world as made up of complex processes, and driven by an inner lawfulness towards higher and higher complexity. By knowing the world, we can organise ourselves to intervene and change it for the better.
Postmodernism is not merely a reactionary worldview, Hamid explains, it has a directly negative impact on society, serving to divide the working class through the related phenomenon of identity politics, and preserve the status quo by hampering unity of the working class.
It is our duty as Marxists to oppose these counter-revolutionary ideas, and demonstrate the vast superiority of our dialectical materialist philosophy!
📖 WORKS CITED 📖
The case for theory: why communists should study philosophy | SPECTRE OF COMMUNISM:
🔗https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBQBXX7jZYg
Marxism vs. Postmodernism, Daniel Morley and Hamid Alizadeh:
🔗https://marxist.com/marxism-versus-postmodernism.htm
Theological-Political Treatise, Baruch Spinoza:
🔗https://assets.cambridge.org/97805218/24118/excerpt/9780521824118_excerpt.htm
Hegel, G.F. W. (1975). Hegel's Aesthetics: Lectures on Fine Art [For the quote about an ignorant man not being free]
📖 WORKS CRITIQUED 📖
Gender Trouble (Tenth Edition), Judith Butler:
🔗https://selforganizedseminar.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/butler-gender_trouble.pdf
The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, Jean-François Lyotard:
🔗https://monoskop.org/images/e/e0/Lyotard_Jean-Francois_The_Postmodern_Condition_A_Report_on_Knowledge.pdf
The Subject and Power, Michel Foucault:
🔗https://www2.kobe-u.ac.jp/~alexroni/IPD2018%20readings/IPD1%202018%20No.8/Foucault%20Subject%20and%20Power.pdf
Differance, Jacques Derrida:
🔗https://mforbes.sites.gettysburg.edu/cims226/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Week-5a-Jacques-Derrida.pdf
Article about how the CIA used Foucault and postmodern ideas to their benefit:
🔗https://thephilosophicalsalon.com/the-cia-reads-french-theory-on-the-intellectual-labor-of-dismantling-the-cultural-left/
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️
00:55 - What is postmodernism?
11:40 - Is language oppressive?
25:46 - 'Differance' vs Dialectics
31:58 - Are there objective patterns in the world?
40:42 - Is there a barrier between mind and matter?
01:00:54 - Practical impact of these ideas
How did Stalin outmanoeuvre Trotsky and take power following Lenin’s death? What do Marxists mean by ‘value’? And what does it really mean to ‘master the dialectic’? We went back to social media and asked for some more burning questions from our audience, for leading communist Niklas Albin Svensson to answer in a quickfire round!
Watch our previous viewers’ questions episode with Ben Curry here:
🔗https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=korpvewBWo8&t=3561s
📖 WORKS & SOURCES CITED 📖
Wage, Labour and Capital, Karl Marx:
🔗https://marxist.com/classics-wage-labour-and-capital.htm
Value, Price and Profit, Karl Marx:
🔗https://marxist.com/classics-marxism-two-book/value-price-and-profit.htm
ABC of Materialist Dialectics, Leon Trotsky:
🔗https://marxist.com/abc-materialist-dialectics-trotsky.htm
Revolution Betrayed, Leon Trotsky:
🔗https://marxist.com/classics-the-revolution-betrayed.htm
Results and Prospects, Leon Trotsky:
🔗https://marxist.com/results-and-prospects.htm
Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism, Vladimir Lenin:
🔗https://marxist.com/classics-imperialism-the-highest-stage-of-capitalism/.htm
The Wealth of Nations, Book One, Chapter 5:
🔗https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/smith-adam/works/wealth-of-nations/book01/ch05.htm
Astronomy Is In Crisis...And It's Incredibly Exciting - 3 million views (discusses crisis in cosmology):
🔗https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zozEm4f_dlw
Reason in Revolt, Ted Grant and Alan Woods:
🔗https://marxist.com/reason-in-revolt-marxist-philosophy-and-modern-science.htm
Purchase In Defence of Marxism Issue 51 here:
🔗https://magazine.marxist.com/
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️
00:57 - What is value?
22:18 - How to master the dialectic?
52:20 - How did Stalin come to power?
1:04:23 - How did capitalism affect post-Soviet countries?
🌐 LINKS 🌐
✊ Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/
💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/
Ted Grant is not widely known outside of revolutionary circles, but he was the most important Marxist theorist since the death of Leon Trotsky, who alone predicted the course of world politics after WWII. Amongst other things, he foresaw the post-war economic upswing; the expropriation of capitalism in China and much of Eastern Europe; Stalin’s clashes with Tito and Mao; and much more besides. In this episode, his closest collaborator Alan Woods, the main leader and theorist of the RCI, reminisces about Ted’s life and works, and explains the importance of his contributions.
In today’s episode, Alan talks about Ted’s legacy. He emphasises not only Ted’s brilliant mastery of Marxism, which gave him a huge advantage over his contemporaries; but also his humanity, his indignance towards all forms of injustice, and his profound sense of optimism. While the road to revolution is long and often difficult, Ted always said, there are two indispensable traits for any revolutionary: a sense of proportion and a sense of humour!
Aside from the organisation we inherit today, Ted’s main legacy can be found in his tremendous contributions to Marxist theory and analysis. The third volume of his collected works will be released in January 2026.
Stalinist land programme wins peasants, Chiang’s conscripts roped to prevent escape, Ted Grant:
🔗https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1949/01/china.htm
Democracy or Bonapartism in Europe - A Reply to Pierre Frank, Ted Grant:
🔗https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1946/08/frank.htm
Ted’s obituaries in the bourgeois press:
🔗https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1524889/Ted-Grant.html,
🔗https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/jul/27/guardianobituaries.southafrica
Ted Grant: The Permanent Revolutionary, Alan Woods:
🔗https://wellred-books.com/ted-grant-the-permanent-revolutionary/
The degeneration and collapse of the Fourth International: in defence of our heritage, RCI:
🔗https://marxist.com/the-degeneration-and-collapse-of-the-fourth-international.htm
The TRUTH about World War 2: Marxist historian sets the record straight | SPECTRE OF COMMUNISM:
🔗https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1vobbAMUzM&t=1191s
The Changed Relationship of Forces in Europe and the Role of the Fourth International, Ted Grant:
🔗https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1945/03/changed.htm
Economic Perspectives 1946, Ted Grant:
🔗https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1946/04/economy.htm
Perspectives in Britain, Ted Grant:
🔗https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1946/07/britain.htm
Czechoslovakia: The Issues Involved, Ted Grant:
🔗https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1948/04/czechoslovakia.htm
Reply to David James, Ted Grant:
🔗https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1949/james.htm
Stalinism in the Postwar World, Ted Grant:
🔗https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1951/06/stalinism
A decade ago, Greece became the epicentre of a political earthquake. Brutal EU and IMF-imposed austerity measures provoked a revolutionary struggle by workers and youth, who vested their hopes in the left-wing SYRIZA government to take on the institutions of European capitalism. But in the end, these reformist leaders prepared a betrayal. What are the lessons of Greece that must be learned for the class struggle today?
In this episode of the Spectre of Communism podcast, Francesco Merli, leading member of the Revolutionary Communist International, takes us step-by-step through the whole process, beginning with the impact of the financial crisis of 2008 that saw Greece’s creditors inflicting economic warfare against the country. Francesco explains that the Greek workers and youth did not take this lying down, launching multiple back-to-back general strikes over the course of seven years, before finally electing SYRIZA on a radical reformist programme in 2015.
Today, class fighters around the world continue to draw inspiration from the heroism and fighting spirit that the Greek people displayed over this long struggle. We point to the experience of the SYRIZA government as a concrete illustration of the betrayal inherent in reformism. The lessons of Greece are invaluable for the victory of the future European and world revolution!
📖 SOURCES CITED 📖
‘Lessons from Greece’, In Defence of Magazine Issue 50, Summer 2025, Arturo Rodriguez:
🔗 https://marxist.com/magazine.htm
‘The class struggle in Greece’, Alan Woods:
🔗 https://communist.red/the-class-struggle-in-greece/
‘Tsipras addresses American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce’, Tovima,
🔗https://www.tovima.gr/2013/12/03/international/tsipras-addresses-american-hellenic-chamber-of-commerce/
‘Greece: SYRIZA leaders preparing for government – what is the next step?’, Fred Weston and Stamatis Karagiannopoulos:
🔗 https://marxist.com/syriza-leaders-preparing-for-government-what-is-the-next-step.htm
‘Greece: Historic victory of left - First time in history a party with roots in Communist movement wins elections’, Communist Tendency of Syriza:
🔗 https://marxist.com/historic-victory-of-the-left-in-greece-for-the-first-time-in-history-a-party-with-roots-in-the-communist-movement-has-come-to-power.htm
‘SYRIZA in power, the crisis and the Greek revolution’, Marie Frederiksen:
🔗 https://marxist.com/syriza-in-power-the-crisis-and-the-greek-revolution.htm
‘Why Greek Exit From The Euro Would Be A Very Bad Idea’, Frances Coppola, Forbes:
🔗https://www.forbes.com/sites/francescoppola/2015/02/17/why-greek-exit-from-the-euro-would-be-a-very-bad-idea/
‘Greece: No surrender to the Troika!’, Fred Weston:
🔗 https://marxist.com/greece-no-surrender-to-the-troika.htm
‘Greece: A troika by any other name would smell as rotten’, Jorge Martin:
🔗 https://marxist.com/greece-a-troika-by-any-other-name-would-smell-as-rotten.htm
‘Greece: The moment of decision’, Alan Woods:
🔗 https://marxist.com/greece-the-moment-of-decision.htm
‘Varoufakis’ mission “to save European capitalism from itself”’, Fred Weston:
🔗 https://marxist.com/varoufakis-mission-to-save-european-capitalism-from-itself.htm
‘Greek default approaching – what next?’, Fred Weston:
🔗 https://marxist.com/greek-default-approaching-what-next.htm
‘Greek crisis: the only way to break with austerity is to break with capitalism’, Jorge Martin:
🔗 https://marxist.com/greek-crisis-the-only-way-to-break-with-austerity-is-to-break-with-capitalism.htm
Has communism ever been a serious force in the Middle East? Are Marxists in favour of shrinking the economy to save the environment? Has there been a shift to the right in society?
We took to social media and asked our viewers to send in questions about communism, Marxism and revolution for leading communist, Ben Curry, to answer in a quickfire round!
Chapters:
00:00:54: The History of the Communist Movement/Parties in the Middle East
00:28:05: Marxism vs. Degrowth
00:57:33: Why is the Left so Weak?
Works and sources cited:
The 1917 Russian Revolution: A Complete Timeline | SPECTRE OF COMMUNISM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXzg544UyJ0&list=PLmkivsu9EhGABC5d-wtbSuk8D9fx55gh1
Molotov’s telegram to Israeli Foreign Minister 1948, cited here: https://marxist.com/stalin-and-the-founding-of-israel.htm
‘Green growth’ doesn’t exist – less of everything is the only way to avert catastrophe, George Monbiot: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/29/green-growth-economic-activity-environment
Communism and the Iraqi Revolution, Ben Curry: https://marxist.com/communism-and-the-iraqi-revolution-part-one.htm
Population Matters, David Attenborough: https://populationmatters.org/news/2020/10/attenborough-film-saving-our-planet-requires-ending-population-growth/
A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, Karl Marx: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1859/critique-pol-economy/preface.htm
The Communists Are Coming – A Visual Manifesto | RCI Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhOCEYM8LZE
Trotsky wrote in ‘The Tragedy of Spain’ (1939) that, despite the Spanish proletariat’s revolutionary heroism, they were “brought to ruin by petty, despicable, and utterly corrupted ‘leaders.’” In this episode, we chart the great triumphs and tragic demise of the Spanish Revolution in a complete timeline. Chapters listed below!
The Spanish Revolution that ran from 1931 to 1937 is one of the most remarkable and inspirational events in world history. The Spanish workers brought down the hated regime of King Alfonso XIII in April 1931; and strived to win freedom, dignity and a decent existence, which was continually denied to them by a procession of bourgeois and so-called Popular Front governments of class collaboration.
The Spanish workers spontaneously rallied to repel an attempted military coup by General Franco in 1936, and established workers’ power in key cities like Barcelona. Time and again, victory was within reach. But sadly they were betrayed at every step by the bourgeois leaders of the Republic; as well as the blunders and outright crimes of the workers’ leaders: anarchists, socialists, communists and the POUM alike.
The price for these betrayals was the crushing of the revolution, with the Stalinist Communist Party (on the orders of the Comintern) playing an especially criminal role; and the eventual victory of General Franco in the Civil War, ushering in decades of military dictatorship.
Leading member of the Revolutionary Communist International, Jorge Martin, takes us through these remarkable years, month-by-month, revealing the entire process by which the Spanish Revolution rose and fell.
--
Chapters:
00:01:27 – The importance of the Spanish Revolution
00:03:20 – Conditions prior to the Revolution
00:10:13 – Main political forces in Spain explained
00:20:45 – April 1931, start of the Revolution
00:23:03 – October 1931, beginning of Reformist Biennium
00:23:19 – June 1932, first elected government
00:26:02 – August 1932, attempted military coup
00:27:00 – November 1933, second election, CEDA the biggest party
00:30:54 – July 1934, coup in Austria
00:35:26 – October 1934, insurrectionary general strike and Asturian commune
00:48:04 – September 1935, founding of the POUM, two black years
00:51:31 – February 1936, Popular Front government elected
00:58:07 – April 1936, president ousted from Cortes
00:59:53 – July 1936, Franco coup defeated
01:18:41 – August 1936, changing policy of Communist Party
01:20:11 – September 1936, Caballero government
01:21:58 – October 1936, militias placed under control of bourgeois army
01:27:59 – November 1936, CNT leaders join Republican government in Madrid
01:34:17 – December 1936, repression against POUM and anarchists
01:34:32 – January 1937, POUM paper closed
01:40:17 – May 1937, Red Barcelona crushed
01:45:58 – June 1937, Nin arrested, POUM crushed
01:50:20 – August 1937, Negrin's 'government of Victory' sabotages war effort
01:52:08 – January 1938, Stalin recalling International Brigades
01:52:46 – March 1939, another coup and attempted deal with Franco
01:52:58 – April 1939, Franco enters Madrid
01:53:25 – Consequences of the revolution's defeat
Works cited and sources:
Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Spain, Felix Morrow: https://wellred-books.com/revolution-and-counter-revolution-in-spain/The Revolution and the Civil War in Spain, Pierre Broué and Emile Témime: https://www.marxists.org/archive/broue/1961/spain/rev-spain.htmlCollected Writings on The Spanish Revolution, Leon Trotsky: https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/spain/index.htmThe Class, the Party and the Leadership: Why Was the Spanish Proletariat Defeated? [Questions of Marxist Theory], Leon Trotsky: https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1940/xx/party.htmHomage to Catalonia, George Orwell: https://www.marxists.org/archive/orwell/1938/homage-catalonia.htm
The Russian Revolution of 1917 was the greatest event in human history. For the first time, ordinary working people were able to win power and hold onto it. Our new season of the Spectre of Communism podcast kicks off with a complete timeline of the revolution, from January to October, charting 10 months that shook the world!
The Russian proletariat, allied with peasantry (many of whom were soldiers who had been fighting in the Great War) successfully brought down the brutal regime of Tsar Nicholas II in February and established the soviets (mass workers’ councils).
Lenin was able, through patient work, to arm the Bolshevik Party with the correct slogans and tactics to win over the workers and peasants organised in the soviets. Under the leadership of Lenin, Trotsky and the Bolsheviks, the masses finally felled the capitalist provisional government in October and created a workers’ government: the first in history that began to carry out its programme.
Fred Weston from the leadership of the Revolutionary Communist International takes us through the events of 1917, month by month, culminating in the seizure of power. This incredible story altered the course of world history and remains an immense inspiration to revolutionaries today.
—
Works cited and sources:
History of the Russian Revolution, Leon Trotsky: https://wellred-books.com/history-of-the-russian-revolution/
The History of the Russian Revolution to Brest-Litovsk, Leon Trotsky: https://wellred-books.com/the-history-of-the-russian-revolution-to-brest-litovsk/
Letter to Volksrecht, V.I. Lenin: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/mar/29.htm
The April Theses (The Tasks of the Proletariat in the Present Revolution)’, V.I. Lenin: https://marxist.com/the-april-theses-the-tasks-of-the-proletariat-in-the-present-revolution.htm
Letters from Afar, V.I. Lenin: https://marxist.com/letters-from-afar.htm
A History of Soviet Russia, E.H. Carr: https://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Soviet-Russia-Revolution-Constitutional/dp/014020749X
The War, J. V. Stalin: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1917/03/16.htm
On Slogans, V.I. Lenin: https://marxist.com/on-slogans.htm
In Kerensky’s Jail, Proletarskaya Revolutsia, F. Raskolnikov (not available online)
*Lenin’s ‘words not deeds’ statement is miscited in the episode as ‘The Bolsheviks Must Assume Power, A Letter to the Central Committee and the Petrograd And Moscow Committees Of The R.S.D.L.P.(B.), V.I. Lenin: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/sep/14.htm’. This was actually sent on the 24th, just before the seizure of power. The statement Fred is referencing from 16 October can be found here: https://pdfcoffee.com/ronald-grigor-suny-the-soviet-experiment-russia-the-ussr-and-the-successor-states-1997-oxford-university-press-usa-pdf-free.html
Bolshevism: The Road to Revolution, Alan Woods: https://wellred-books.com/bolshevism-the-road-to-revolution/
In Defence of Lenin, Rob Sewell and Alan Woods: https://wellred-books.com/in-defence-of-lenin/
In Defence of Marxism Issue 51: https://marxist.com/magazine.htm
State and Revolution, V.I. Lenin: https://wellred-books.com/state-and-revolution/
10 Days That Shook the World, John Reed: https://www.marxists.org/ebooks/reed/ten-days-that-shook-the-world-reed.pdf
“Do I really need to read long theoretical books to be a communist?” This is a common question among class fighters today. In our final episode of the season, we make the case that, in order to change the world, it is first necessary to understand it. And for that, we need a philosophy!
The American trade unionist Bill Haywood once said: “I’ve never read Marx's Capital, but I've got the marks of capital all over my body!” While it’s true that working people don’t need to pick up any books to understand through bitter experience the horrors of capitalism, is life experience enough?
After all, if the experience of exploitation was sufficient to bring about revolutionary change, surely capitalism would’ve been brought down long ago?
If we look at the bafflement of the liberals and cynicism of the reformists in the face of politics today, we see the consequences of failing to scratch the surface to the deeper truth of what is going on.
Just as a surgeon would not attempt to operate through intuition and guesswork alone, if we are serious about ending capitalism, we first need to diagnose why it is in crisis and determine what we can replace it with.
Marxist philosophy is the most powerful tool we have for this purpose. But Marxism is itself the culmination of millennia of philosophical development. It is no accident that Vladimir Lenin steeled himself, not only in Marx, but also the great German philosopher Hegel!
Leading communist and host of the Against the Stream podcast, Hamid Alizadeh takes us on a whistle-stop tour of the history of thought, from Plato to Marx, to illustrate the advantages of developing a philosophical outlook, rather than relying on mere ‘common sense’.
It was precisely the worked-out philosophical perspective of the leadership of the Bolshevik Party, Lenin and Trotsky in particular, that allowed them to understand the dynamics of history that gave rise to the Russian Revolution, and play a leading role in ensuring its victory. As Trotsky wrote:
“It is historical experience that the greatest revolution in all history was not led by the party which started out with bombs but by the party which started out with dialectical materialism.”
By the end of this video, we hope you will not only be convinced of the value of studying theory, but eagre to take it up!
As Marx once said: “ignorance never yet helped anybody!”
This is the final Spectre of Communism season four. We will be back later in the year for a new season! Please like, share and subscribe, and let us know in the comments what you thought about this season, all feedback is appreciated!
In the meantime, check out our sister show, Against the Stream, which provides rolling analysis of the world situation from a Marxist point of view every Thursday. See you soon!
—
Sources:
Lenin Collected Works: Volume 38, (Philosophical Notebooks), https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/cw/volume38.htm
Anti-Dühring, Friedrich Engels, https://marxist.com/classics-anti-duehring.htm
Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy, Friedrich Engels, https://marxist.com/classics-ludwig-feuerbach-and-the-end-of-classical-german-philosophy.htm
‘How Lenin studied Hegel’, Hamid Alizadeh, https://marxist.com/how-lenin-studied-hegel.htm
‘Lenin in a Year: In Defence of Materialism’, Alan Woods, https://marxist.com/materialism-and-and-empirio-criticism-introduction-by-alan-woods.htm
‘In defence of theory — or ignorance never yet helped anybody’, Alan Woods, https://marxist.com/defence-theory-ignorance-never-helped.htm
‘Marxism versus postmodernism’, Daniel Morley and Hamid Alizadeh, https://marxist.com/marxism-versus-postmodernism.htm
‘Aristotle’s Metaphysics’, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-metaphysics/
The Republic, Plato, https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html
‘An Open Letter to Comrade Burnham’, L. Trotsky, https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/idom/dm/14-burnham.htm
What is fascism and is it a threat today? In this episode of the Spectre of Communism podcast, we discuss the history of fascism’s rise to power in the 1930s, to learn the lessons for our movement.
Our guest, Niklas Albin Svensson, is a leading member of the Revolutionary Communist International and the editor of a brand new collection of articles by Leon Trotsky and Ted Grant: ‘Democracy, Bonapartism and Fascism: Class Struggle in the 1930s’.
The book is available to pre-order from Wellred Books here: https://wellred-books.com/democracy-bonapartism-fascism/
The media is full of blood-curdling comparisons between the political situation today and the 1930s, equating current politicians with the likes of Adolph Hitler. But whatever one thinks of Donald Trump, there is a clear difference between America in 2025 and Germany in 1933!
The main purpose of such comparisons, Niklas argues, is to prettify ’normal’ capitalist politicians and democracy under the likes of Joe Biden and Keir Starmer, who have carried out vicious attacks on working people and facilitated genocidal imperialist policies abroad.
We must not be diverted by this scaremongering. Communists must have a sober view and a scientific understanding of what fascism is and what it is not, because this guides the way we act.
Capitalism has always treated fascism as a reserve weapon in its back pocket. In times of intense class struggle, with revolution on the cards, it is an instrument of last resort that the ruling class can deploy to physically destroy the organisations of the working class, eradicate their democratic rights, and force them into subjugation.
Looking at the history of Mussolini and Hitler’s conquest of power, as Niklas explains, we find the primary responsibility lies with the politicians and wealthy industrialists who funded and abetted their movements as a ‘lesser evil’ to communism (as stated bluntly by no less than Winston Churchill).
But the errors and crimes of the leaders of the workers’ movement are also a factor. The Social Democrats found themselves constantly propping up the ‘lesser evil’, ultimately paving the road for the greatest possible evil. Meanwhile, the Communist leaders pursued sectarian policies that equated the Social Democrats with the fascists, preventing a united struggle against a common enemy.
While fascism is not in power or on the brink of power anytime soon, fascist groups do exist and pose a serious threat to workers and oppressed communities at a local level. They must be met with the overwhelming strength of the organised working class and driven off, wherever they raise their heads.
The tragedies of the 1930s are an object lesson in the lengths capitalism will go to preserve its rule, and in the dangers of dividing and confusing the working class at the pivotal moment. These are harrowing but invaluable insights for class fighters today. Ultimately, the only way to guarantee the nightmares of the past are never repeated is to bring down capitalism and create a socialist alternative, before it is too late.
—
Sources:
Democracy, Bonapartism and Fascism: Class Struggle in the 1930s, Leon Trotsky and Ted Grant, pre-order: https://wellred-books.com/democracy-bonapartism-fascism/
‘Trump's first weeks as president have been enough to give the nightmare of America's turn to fascism a feeling of reality’, Le Monde article (criticised in the podcast) https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2025/03/02/trump-s-first-weeks-as-president-have-been-enough-to-give-the-nightmare-of-america-s-turn-to-fascism-a-feeling-of-reality_6738723_23.html
‘The rise of Fascism in Italy: 100 years since the March on Rome’, Sinistra Classe Rivoluzione, https://marxist.com/the-rise-of-fascism-in-italy-100-years-since-the-march-on-rome.htm
‘White supremacists and militias have infiltrated police across US’, Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/27/white-supremacists-militias-infiltrate-us-police-report
The Second World War is one of the most-mythologised events in history. In the West, we are led to believe that Winston Churchill and Roosevelt single-handedly led the Allies in a struggle for democracy against the fascist totalitarianism of Nazi Germany. But what’s the real story of WWII: the one they don’t teach you at school or on the History Channel?
We welcome Marxist theorist, revolutionary and historian Alan Woods onto the Spectre of Communism to talk about the war, which in the last analysis came down to single combat between Nazi Germany, with all the productive forces of Europe behind it, and the might of the USSR and its planned economy. Thankfully for all of humanity, the latter emerged victorious.
The fact that Soviet Russia was chiefly responsible for Hitler’s defeat is often buried in the ‘official’ histories. So too is the fact that the European imperialists (Churchill and the British ruling especially) not only allowed Hitler to run roughshod over Europe for years (indeed, many of the British elite were sympathetic with fascism), but hoped for the collapse of the USSR, whose ‘communism’ they feared more the Nazis.
Alan dispels all the lies and historical mythology surrounding WWII, and explains why even today it is invoked by the bloated, half-blind imperialist politicians to puff themselves up on past glories, even as they blunder from one disaster to another on the world stage.
—
The latest issue of the In Defence of Marxism theoretical magazine is out now, and is focused on the Second World War.
Alongside articles about the betrayed revolutionary struggles in Italy and the France; an analysis from Marxist theorist Ted Grant in 1945 about the changed balance of world relations; and an investigation into postwar Italian neorealist cinema, the issue opens with an editorial by Alan Woods which offers some more detail about the topic of this podcast episode.
Buy your copy of IDoM issue 49: ‘1945: Liberation, Revolution and Betrayal’ HERE: https://marxist.com/magazine.htm
Read Alan’s editorial online here: https://marxist.com/the-second-world-war-setting-the-record-straight.htm
Sources:
‘D-Day and the truth about the Second World War’, Alan Woods, https://marxist.com/wwii-anniversary-one210704.htm
‘Ted Grant Writings: Volume One’, https://marxist.com/ted-grant-writings.htm
‘Ted Grant Writings: Volume Two’, https://marxist.com/ted-grant-writings-world-war-two.htm
‘The Battle of Stalingrad – How the Soviet Union defeated the Nazis’, Alan Woods, https://marxist.com/seventy-years-since-the-battle-of-stalingrad-how-the-soviet-union-defeated-the-nazis.htm
‘Hitler's war on the Soviet Union and how Stalin prepared the way for it’, Andrew Wagner, https://marxist.com/operation-barbarossa-stalin-s-bloody-catastrophe.htm
‘History of British Trotskyism’, Ted Grant, https://marxist.com/history-british-trotskyism-ted-grant.htm
‘The Treaty of Versailles - the Peace to end all Peace’, Alan Woods, https://marxist.com/treaty-of-versailles-to-end-all-peace.htm
Karl Marx was a German philosopher, economist and journalist, and above all a revolutionary. He continues to haunt the nightmares of the rich and powerful, just as he inspires workers, the poor and youth to struggle for a future without exploitation and oppression. The popular CrashCourse channel has attempted to explain Marx’s theories and their continued relevance, but we think we can do better…
CrashCourse (established by the Green Brothers) is an educational YouTube channel that provides introductory videos about various topics, including politics and philosophy. A few months ago, they released a video called ‘Who Was Karl Marx? And Why Is Everyone Still Talking About Him?’ (linked below).
The video correctly points out that the powers-that-be still invoke Marx’s name as a bogeyman, 150 years after his death: a fact that tells us something about the power of his ideas. CrashCourse says that we need to have an honest discussion about Marx’s actual beliefs, which they attempt to provide in an accessible form.
While we agree with the sentiment, we have some issues with the way CrashCourse characterises Marxism and its so-called ‘limitations’. For example, was Marx wrong to call for revolution, when perhaps we can simply reform capitalism into a kinder, friendlier form? Are aspects of his analysis ‘outdated’? Did he focus on the plight of the working class to the point of ‘ignoring’ the oppression of women and minority groups?
To fill in some of the gaps left by CrashCourse, and deal with some of their misrepresentations, we are delighted to have Josh Holroyd, a leading member of the Revolutionary Communist International, on the Spectre of Communism. Josh gives a more complete overview of what Marx really stood for, and why we communists still study his ideas today.
As a body of thought, Marxism is the sharpest weapon we have in the fight against capitalism. After all, as Marx writes, “philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it!”
—
Listen on Spotify, Apple and anywhere else you get your podcasts here: https://linktr.ee/specom
Sources:
‘Who Was Karl Marx? And Why Is Everyone Still Talking About Him?’, CrashCourse, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3imIf8NAcWQ
‘A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy’, Karl Marx, https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1859/critique-pol-economy/index.htm
‘Communist replies to MORE right-wing lies’, Spectre of Communism Podcast, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKY5gL5-YvY
‘The Civil War: America's second revolution’, John Peterson, https://marxist.com/idom-the-us-civil-war-america-s-second-revolution.htm
‘The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State’, F. Engels, https://marxist.com/classics-the-origin-of-the-family-private-property-and-the-state.htm
‘Mondragon through a Critical Lens’, Jill Bamburg, https://www.fiftybyfifty.org/2017/10/mondragon-through-a-critical-lens/
‘On Cooperation’, V. I. Lenin, https://marxist.com/on-cooperation-lenin1923.htm
‘Socialism: Utopian and Scientific’, F. Engels, https://marxist.com/classics-socialism-utopian-and-scientific.htm
The Chinese Revolution is condemned as a bloody tragedy by bourgeois historians. But if it was all simply a disaster, then how do we explain China going from a backward colonial holding to the second world power today? In this episode, we deal with the truth about the Chinese Revolution of 1949.
We welcome Daniel Morley from the Executive Committee of the Revolutionary Communist Party in Britain to talk about the history of the Chinese Revolution and Mao Zedong’s rise to power.
He explains that the victory of Mao’s peasant army was based on the rottenness of the capitalist regime of Chiang Kai-shek, which looted China’s wealth, starved its masses, and utterly failed to defend it from Japanese invasion, instead obsessively hunting the communists.
While Mao and the Red Army eventually soared to power on a wave of revolution that swept the country after WW2, it was not their intention to expropriate capitalism. But were compelled to do so given the utter bankruptcy of Chinese capitalism.
On the basis of the planned economy, there were huge advances for the Chinese people in terms of living conditions; the rights of women, workers and peasants; and the modernisation of the country.
However, the peculiar nature of the Chinese Revolution, which was not led by a workers’ party but a peasant army, meant the regime that was established (in the image of Stalinist Russia) did not base itself on workers’ democracy, but rather military-style commandism.
This created many problems for China (including severe famine) that were not the result of communism, but rather the failure to establish the democratic planning necessary for real socialism and communism. This in turn laid the basis for the eventual restoration of capitalism.
Despite this, we genuine Marxists defend the legacy of the Chinese Revolution, which liberated hundreds of millions from the yoke of imperialist domination and ushered China into the modern world. The tasks of the revolution today remain incomplete!
Sources:
‘Stalinist land programme wins peasants: Chiang’s conscripts roped to prevent escape’, Ted Grant, https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1949/01/china.htm
‘The Chinese Communist Party 1927-37 – The development of Maoism’, Daniel Morley, https://marxist.com/chinese-comminist-party-1927-37-part-1.htm
‘The Chinese Communist Party 1937-49 – The Unfolding of Historical Necessity: China’s Great Revolution’, Daniel Morley, https://marxist.com/the-chinese-communist-party-1937-49-the-unfolding-of-historical-necessity-chinas-great-revolution-part-one.htm
‘Peasant War in China and the Proletariat’, Leon Trotsky, https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1932/09/china.htm
‘On Contradiction’, Mao Tse-tung, https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-1/mswv1_17.htm
‘Is China Communist?’, Spectre of Communism, https://marxist.com/audio-and-video/podcast-is-china-communist
‘The Legacy of Mao Zedong is Mass Murder’, Lee Edwards, https://www.heritage.org/china/commentary/the-legacy-mao-zedong-mass-murder (criticised in episode)
Is communism against ‘human nature’? Would workers in charge inevitably be ‘corrupted by power’? Do communists ‘oppose free speech’? Watch a leading communist answer some more typical right-wing talking points!
A couple of weeks ago, Fred Weston (a member of the International Secretariat for the Revolutionary Communist International) was on the show replying to slanders about communism from Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson, Elon Musk and Alice Weidel. But there are plenty more lies to deal with!
Watch Fred face off against Charlie Kirk, Jordan Peterson (again), Peter Hitchens and Donald Trump, defending communists’ ideas and programme from common right-wing lies.
Sources:
Previous episode: 'Communist replies to right-wing LIES', Spectre of Communism, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOQqVXzgt2g
‘The Psychological Benefits of Volunteering’, Mindstate Psychology, https://www.mindstatepsychology.com.au/blog/the-psychological-benefits-of-volunteering
’New paper reveals impact of first lockdowns on depression and anxiety diagnosis’, University of Bath, https://www.bath.ac.uk/announcements/new-paper-reveals-impact-of-first-lockdown-on-depression-and-anxiety-diagnosis/
‘Prehistory: The Making of the Human Mind’ (2007), Colin Renfrew
‘The Evolution of Culture: The Development of Civilisation to the Fall of Rome’ (1959), Leslie White
‘The State and Revolution’, V.I. Lenin, https://marxist.com/the-state-and-revolution.htm
‘We produce enough food to feed 1.5 (times) the global population’, Thin Ink, https://news.thin-ink.net/p/we-produce-enough-food-to-feed-15
‘Statistics on unemployment and labour underutilisation’, International Labour Organisation, https://ilostat.ilo.org/topics/unemployment-and-labour-underutilization/
‘The 6 Companies That Own (Almost) All Media’, https://www.webfx.com/blog/internet/the-6-companies-that-own-almost-all-media-infographic/
'British state arrests pro-Palestine communist – We won’t back down!', The Communist, https://communist.red/british-state-arrests-pro-palestine-communist-we-wont-back-down/
'Free Mahmoud Khalil! Only class struggle can ensure freedom of speech!', Martín las Hoces, https://marxist.com/free-mahmoud-khalil-only-class-struggle-can-ensure-freedom-of-speech.htm
‘Woodrow Wilson and the Decision to Intervene in Russia: A Reconsideration’, Eugene P. Train, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1878747
Max Hayward quoted in ‘Communists say: capitalism is incompatible with free speech!’, Joe Attard, https://marxist.com/communists-say-capitalism-is-incompatible-with-free-speech.htm
‘Bolshevik decriminalisation of homosexuality – intentional or oversight?’, Fred Weston, https://marxist.com/bolshevik-decriminalisation-of-homosexuality-intentional-or-oversight.htm
Who was Joseph Stalin and what is the legacy of his leadership? In this episode of the Spectre of Communism, we weigh the evidence, based on historical fact and the principles of Marxist theory, to give Stalinism a fair trial.
The USSR achieved great things, thanks to the superiority of the planned economy. It defeated the Nazis, expropriated capitalism on a sixth of the earth’s surface and built a superpower in just a few decades. Genuine Marxists celebrate all of these accomplishments.
However, we must also acknowledge that there were many mistakes, and many crimes. A line of blood separates Stalinism, by which we mean the bureaucratic counterrevolutionary dictatorship at the head of the workers’ state, from the real principles of Bolshevism and Marxism.
Virtually the entire leadership of Lenin’s party that won power for the Russian workers and peasants in 1917 were killed in the frame ups of the 1930s, along with countless others. Meanwhile, the leaders of the USSR actively wrecked revolutionary struggles abroad and sought alliances with imperialism to secure their positions.
How do we explain this? Jorge Martin, leading member of the Revolutionary Communist International, makes the case that Stalin and the clique around him were not guided by Marxist theory, but by the narrow interests of defending their privileges and positions. Their outlook was one of empiricism and cynical ‘pragmatism’, which was entirely contrary to the way Lenin built the Bolshevik Party.
But in the end, we are only presenting the evidence: you can be the jury! Let us know what you think in the comments. Is Stalinism ‘guilty’ of betraying the world revolution?
Sources:
‘Revolution Betrayed’, Leon Trotsky https://marxist.com/classics-the-revolution-betrayed.htm
‘Stalinism and Bolshevism’, Leon Trotsky https://marxist.com/stalinism-bolshevism-trotsky.htm
‘Marxism and the National Question’, Joseph Stalin https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1913/03a.htm
‘The April Theses (The Tasks of the Proletariat in the Present Revolution)’, V.I. Lenin https://marxist.com/the-april-theses-the-tasks-of-the-proletariat-in-the-present-revolution.htm
‘Is Socialism in One Country Possible? A reply to the YCL’, Spectre of Communism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdIM6mnoBrM
‘What is the Permanent Revolution?’, Spectre of Communism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z44RMQMJlRQ
‘How the Spanish Revolution was betrayed’, Spectre of Communism, https://marxist.com/podcast-how-the-spanish-revolution-was-betrayed.htm
‘Lenin and Trotsky: What They Really Stood For’, Alan Woods and Ted Grant, https://marxist.com/lenin-trotsky-stalinism-johnstone.htm
‘Once Again: The USSR and its Defence’, Leon Trotsky, https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1937/11/ussr.htm
‘Stalin’s responsibility in the creation of Israel and its disastrous consequences’, Fred Weston, https://marxist.com/stalin-and-the-founding-of-israel.htm
Did communism kill 100 million people? Was Hitler really a communist? Is there no difference between Lenin and Stalin? Right-wing pundits and politicians always throw blood-curdling statistics and historical ‘facts’ to prove that communism is pure evil, while capitalism is the best system that could ever exist. In this video, leading communist Fred Weston takes on three popular right-wing commentators, and separates fact from fiction.
Some of these reactionary culture warriors have made entire careers out of ‘proving’ that communism could never work; and has caused chaos, death and misery whenever it has been tried. There are whole libraries of history and political theory books filled with bile ‘proving’ that communism is synonymous with terror and dictatorship. Elon Musk, the richest man on earth with the ear of the President of the USA, spends nearly all of his time demonising socialism and boosting right-wing politicians on the social media platform that he owns.
Especially in times such as these, with inequality, war and poverty rampant, the capitalists need to smear and discredit any possible alternative to their rotten system: revolution and communism most of all. But looking at the facts not only demolishes these slanders, it reveals that capitalism is the deadliest system ever to exist, responsible for death on a scale that dwarfs even the most outlandish anti-communist propaganda.
Watch as Fred takes on Ben Shapiro, Elon Musk, Alice Weidel and Jordan Peterson, answering their reactionary lies with communist facts and logic!
Skip to:
00:04:32 Ben Shapiro: “Capitalism is the best possible system and communism killed 100 million people.”
00:32:53 Elon Musk and Alice Weidel: “Hitler was a communist.”
00:52:28 Jordan Peterson: “Lenin was no better than Stalin.”
Sources:
Deaths from poverty under capitalism:
https://www.cdc.gov/global-water-sanitation-hygiene/about/about-global-hygiene.html
https://www.wfp.org/news/world-wealth-9-million-people-die-every-year-hunger-wfp-chief-tells-food-system-summit
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/deaths-caused-by-vaccine-preventable-diseases-over-time
https://www.unicef.org.uk/campaign-with-us/child-health-report/
Declassified Soviet figures on gulag deaths and purge victims:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jul/10/russia.lukeharding
Eyewitness account of Trotskyist at Vorkuta:
https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/isr/vol24/no03/vorkuta.htm
The truth about the Black Book of Communism and the Black Book of Capitalism:
https://jacobin.com/2025/01/black-book-communism-courtois-history
https://libcom.org/article/interview-black-book-capitalism-robert-kurz
Hitler on Marxism and communism:
https://famous-trials.com/hitler/2529-1923-interview-with-adolf-hitler
Capitalist’s support for Hitler:
https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/hitler-millionaire-backers-how-german-elite-facilitated-rise-nazis-third-reich/
https://www.economist.com/culture/2022/04/30/the-german-industrialists-who-aided-and-abetted-the-nazi-regime
Political persecution of communists by Nazi regime:
White, Joseph Robert (2009). "Introduction to the Early Camps". Early Camps, Youth Camps, and Concentration Camps and Subcamps under the SS-Business Administration Main Office (WVHA).
Lenin on Stalin and the Soviet bureaucracy:
https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1923/mar/02.htm
https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1922/dec/testamnt/index.htm
2024 has been a year of war, revolution and crisis on every continent. From the horrors of the Gaza genocide, to the revolutionary summer in Kenya and Bangladesh; from viral assassinations, to to the re-election of Donald Trump. The communists have been offering analysis and perspective at every step of the way, and now: it’s time to put this dramatic twelve months in review with 2024 WRAPPED!
The above are not random or isolated incidents. They are all ultimately products of the unprecedented crisis of the capitalist system. The tensions and class anger in one country after another carry revolutionary implications. In response to the mood of profound rage against the system, we launched a new Revolutionary Communist International in 2024: the embryo of the world party of communist revolution so desperately needed by the working class!
In a joint season finale, the two podcasts of the RCI – Spectre of Communism and Against the Stream – have come together to provide a round up of this turbulent year. Joe Attard, Hamid Alizadeh and Jorge Martín look at the events that have defined 2024, and the strides forward we have taken in the RCI.
We would like to thank everyone who has listened to Spectre of Communism and Against the Stream this year. We’d love to hear about your favourite episodes. Stay tuned in the new year, when both podcasts will return for brand new seasons!
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Recommended reading/viewing:
Analysis of the Gaza and Ukraine Wars:
https://marxist.com/israel-palestine.htm
https://marxist.com/tag-menu-item/ukraine-russia-conflict
Article and speech about Bangladesh:
https://marxist.com/bangladesh-the-unfinished-revolution.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Z-mcO80OE
Speeches from the founding Conference of the RCI:
https://podcast.marxist.com/category/international-marxist-university-2020/
Manifesto of the RCI:
https://marxist.com/manifesto-of-the-revolutionary-communist-international.htm
We are living through an epoch of war and revolution. In Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and countless other countries, wars and civil wars are raging, all with the backing and complicity of various imperialist powers. In these turbulent times, the ideas and methods of Lenin – who fought a relentless struggle against warmongering chauvinism during the First World War – provide the clarity that is so desperately needed in the world today.
War tests all political trends to destruction. Then as now, the outbreak of war saw the same ‘socialist’ leaders who had once opposed imperialist conflict abandon their class perspective, and line up behind their respective capitalists in defence of the ‘fatherland’. Lenin waged a merciless crusade against this betrayal, and argued for a class-independent position against the horror of imperialist war. This firm line was instrumental in the Bolsheviks’ eventual seizure of power in October 1917.
To discuss Lenin’s masterful approach to the questions of war and imperialism, the Spectre of Communism podcast welcomes Marie Frederiksen, leading member of the Revolutionary Communist Party in Denmark. Marie explains not only the historical development of Lenin’s ideas, but their immediate relevance to the struggle against war and imperialism today.
To bring out the immense relevance of Lenin’s ideas and to transmit them to a wider layer of communists today, Wellred Books – the publishing house of the Revolutionary Communist International – has recently published a collection of Lenin’s writings on imperialism and war.
This is an invaluable tool in the theoretical arsenal of revolutionaries today, and we strongly recommend listeners get their copy today, available here in paperback, as an ebook and as an audiobook: https://wellred-books.com/on-imperialist-war-lenin-selected-writings/
We also recommend The First World War: the Great Slaughter by Alan Woods for a Marxist analysis of the causes, history and aftermath of WWI: https://wellred-books.com/the-first-world-war-a-marxist-analysis-of-the-great-slaughter/
Trotsky’s theory of the permanent revolution is one of the most important, but also amongst the most misunderstood ideas in the entire Marxist tradition. Does it really mean that revolution needs to happen everywhere, all at once? Does it ignore workers outside of the West? Is it contrary to Lenin’s views? Josh Holroyd, leading member of the Revolutionary Communist International, takes up these questions and explains the real essence of Trotsky’s remarkable contribution to our theoretical arsenal.
Trotsky developed his theory based on his experience of the Russian Revolution of 1905, in which he played a leading role. He witnessed first hand the treachery of the ‘liberal’ Russian capitalists, and the immense revolutionary potential of the young Russian working class. He defined the permanent revolution as one that “makes no compromise with any single form of class rule, which does not stop at the democratic stage, which goes over to socialist measures… a revolution whose every successive stage is rooted in the preceding one and which can end only in the complete liquidation of class society.”
In other words, the proletariat in underdeveloped nations, at the head of other oppressed layers, particularly the peasantry, is the only class capable of leading and winning a revolution for democratic demands (freedom of assembly, free speech, land reform etc.) Having done so, rather than hand power back to the capitalists and ‘wait their turn’ for socialist revolution, the workers will move to socialist tasks of expropriating capitalism and planning the economy.
The revolution will also not limit itself to national borders, but become the spark for an international revolutionary process that can only truly end with the overthrow of capitalism in the most advanced countries. Thus, the revolution occurs not in predetermined ‘stages’, but constitutes a ‘permanent’ chain of development, ending with the victory of socialism throughout the world.
This important theory was proved correct in practice, both positively with the victory of the Russian workers and peasants in October 1917, and negatively with the defeat and deformation of revolutions throughout the 20th Century and beyond.
Overcoming the myths and grasping the essence of Trotsky’s analysis is critical for class fighters striving to understand the dynamics of revolution today, and bring the world socialist revolution to victory!
We recommend this episode be viewed in conjunction with this one on the question of Socialism in One Country: https://marxist.com/podcast-is-socialism-in-one-country-possible-a-reply-to-the-young-communist-league.htm
Three weeks ago, to the horror of the liberal establishment in the USA and internationally, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States for the second time, defeating the hated and discredited Democrats. The capitalist media is filled with hysteria about a dire threat to democracy and the rise of ‘fascism’ posed by Trump’s presidency… just like in 2016! Communists need to cut through all the noise and understand what is really happening here.
The US is facing a deep crisis of the regime, following half a century of capitalist decay. After four years of Joe Biden and the Democrats running in the interests of the rich at home, while facilitating war and genocide abroad, people have had enough. They have lost all faith in ‘official’ institutions like the state, the courts, and establishment politicians, and a growing layer is looking towards (self-proclaimed) alternatives.
The liberals have nothing to offer, as they preside over a discredited system. Attempts to sell Kamala Harris through identity politics failed to wash. Reformists like Bernie Sanders have also animated millions of workers and young people with class struggle rhetoric, only to betray and disappoint. The labour movement leaders remain slavishly attached to the Democrats.
Despite being a billionaire elite himself, Trump poses himself as a scrappy, unapologetic enemy of the establishment, and has been able to skillfully (albeit cynically) capitalise on some of the angry mood. Another dose of Trump’s ‘fire and fury’, coupled with a war on federal institutions, will only intensify the polarisation of US society, and further expose the limits of the so-called democratic regime, which will create huge opportunities for revolutionaries! Trump will inevitably disappoint, leading millions to question the entire capitalist system like never before.
This week’s episode of Spectre of Communism Podcast welcomes Antonio Balmer, a leading member of the Revolutionary Communists of America – the US section of the Revolutionary Communist International – who explains why it has never been a better time to be an American communist!
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For more from Antonio on the implications of Trump’s victory, we recommend his recent talk on this topic at the Revolution Festival in London: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cz_JGRVDOY
For further analysis of what Trump’s return to power means for the establishment, we recommend this article by Alan Woods: https://marxist.com/trump-victory-2024.htm
Check out the website of our US comrades in the RCA: https://communistusa.org/
New episodes of the Spectre of Communism podcast are out every Tuesday! Subscribe and listen at your preferred platform, and find us on social media, here: https://linktr.ee/specom
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The meteoric rise and catastrophic fall of the Corbyn movement represented a major turning point in British and world politics. It was an object lesson in the betrayals inherent in reformism and the pitfalls of opportunism: i.e. when left-wing leaders make ‘pragmatic’ concessions to the class enemy – with fatal consequences. This week, the Spectre of Communism speaks to Matt Zarb-Cousin, former spokesperson for Jeremy Corbyn, who saw this process unfold from the inside…
The election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the British Labour Party in 2015 was an earthquake. Massive support for Corbyn’s left-wing programme from workers and young people, in particular, showed the desperation for an alternative after years of grinding capitalist austerity following the 2008 crash. Corbyn was almost elected as Prime Minister in 2017; but was eventually crushed and the Labour left routed, with the pro-capitalist, genocide-supporting Keir Starmer firmly in the driver’s seat.
What happened, and what are the lessons to be learned? Listen to Zarb-Cousin providing an inside perspective on the errors that ultimately spelled doom for the Corbyn movement, which so terrified the British ruling class for a period. We also welcome Sean Hodges, a leading member of the Revolutionary Communist Party, whose own experiences of that period led him towards Marxism and communism, as the only road forward for working people and the youth.
The Labour Party in its current guise is totally sewn up by the right wing, but the return of popular left-reformist trends is not ruled out. As the crisis of capitalism continues unabated, similar developments to the Corbyn phenomenon will undoubtedly emerge in the future. It is therefore vital that communists and class fighters make a serious study of the failure of Corbynism, and especially the threat posed by opportunism in particular.
New episodes of the Spectre of Communism podcast are out every Tuesday! Subscribe and listen at your preferred platform, and find us on social media, here: https://linktr.ee/specom
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Right-wingers and reactionaries often hold up Venezuela as an example of why “socialism never works” (notwithstanding the disastrous state of capitalism today). In fact, the Venezuelan Revolution was an inspiring episode in recent history, which showed the immense power of the masses and the potential of workers to run their workplaces without bosses. But it also demonstrated that you cannot have half a revolution: once the process has begun, it must end with the expropriation of capitalism and socialist reconstruction – as our comrade Luis Romero from Caracas explains!
The oppressed masses, rallying behind the figure of Hugo Chávez, mobilised to fight imperialism and oligarchy, who used the immense oil of the country for the betterment of the working class and the poor. When the bosses and oil barons tried to sabotage the revolution by halting production, the workers took over the companies and land themselves, and began running them under workers’ control. Luis talks all about these experiences.
Despite all his strengths, Chavez never fully broke with the state bureaucracy and did not help the workers manage the economy under a common, national plan. However, the ingenuity of the masses and the power of workers’ management were demonstrated in practice during the Bolivarian Revolution, which is full of lessons for class fighters today!
For more on the Venezuelan Revolution, we recommend this selection of articles available on the In Defence of Marxism website: https://marxist.com/theory-venezuelan-revolution.htm
We also recommend this recent podcast by the US section of the Revolutionary Communist International: https://communistusa.org/audio-what-happened-in-the-venezuelan-revolution/
New episodes of the Spectre of Communism podcast are out every Tuesday! Subscribe and listen at your preferred platform, and find us on social media, here: https://linktr.ee/specom
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With so much crisis and chaos in the world today, more and more people are turning to the internet for answers about what communism really is. But there’s a lot of propaganda and misinformation out there, so this week we’ve brought on leading RCI member Fred Weston for the Communism Autocomplete Interview: answering the most common questions people are typing into Google about what communists believe, what we want, and how we’re fighting for it!
Millions of people around the world are actively looking towards communism to put an end to the misery and barbarism of capitalism. If you are one of them, join the Revolutionary Communist International in the fight for communism!
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New episodes of the Spectre of Communism podcast are out every Tuesday! Subscribe and listen at your preferred platform, and find us on social media, here: https://linktr.ee/specom
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The idea of building socialism in one country alone was alien to Marx, Engels and Lenin. But after the latter’s death, Stalin and his supporters raised the possibility of constructing socialism in the USSR amidst a sea of capitalism. The Young Communist League – the youth wing of the Communist Party of Britain – recently advanced the theory of socialism in one country, as opposed to Trotsky’s Permanent Revolution. Where does the RCI stand on the matter? Was the USSR socialist? Is China today socialist? Is it possible to build socialism in a single country?
This week’s episode of Spectre of Communism Podcast welcomes Niklas Albin Svensson from our International Secretariat. He explains that the survival of the Russian Revolution was always dependent on a European and eventual world revolution. Lenin was under no illusions about this. The idea of building socialism in economically backward Russia reflected the narrow interests of the Stalinist bureaucracy, in a period of temporary defeat for the world revolution.
The notion of achieving socialism within any single nation’s borders – even a very advanced one – was and remains a utopian fantasy; as attested by the experience of the USSR: a workers’ state encompassing a huge geographical area and vast resources, that lasted far longer than expected, yet still ultimately collapsed.
Modern capitalist production is global: with supply chains and manufacturing processes for all manner of commodities, from smartphones to aeroplanes, distributed across the world. Socialism can only be built based on the highest possible level of productivity, harnessing the full potential of the international working class. Therefore, socialism being built anywhere depends on a victorious revolutionary process overthrowing capitalism in one counter after another!
While the YCL heavily quotes Lenin, the ‘theory’ of socialism in one country represents a total break with his ideas and the authentic traditions of Marxism. We must return to these traditions if we hope to overthrow capitalism and achieve socialism in our lifetimes!
Niklas’ article on socialism in one country is available in issue 47 of the In Defence of Marxism magazine, available to purchase now: https://marxist.com/magazine.htm
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New episodes of the Spectre of Communism podcast are out every Tuesday! Subscribe and listen at your preferred platform, and find us on social media, here: https://linktr.ee/specom
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The American Civil War, unlike the conflicts that plague the world today, was just and historically progressive. The Union north smashed the Confederacy of southern slave states and carried out the biggest expropriation of private property in history at the time, with the emancipation of 4 million enslaved people. The Union cause was praised by Karl Marx, who said Lincoln’s battle cry should be: “death to slavery!” With elections in the US just a few weeks away, the American bourgeoisie once again has civil war on its mind….
With recent polls showing nearly half of Americans believe that a new civil war is on the horizon, it is vital that revolutionaries study this period of history to prepare for the third, socialist revolution.
This week, Spectre of Communism Podcast welcomes John Peterson – executive editor of The Communist, the organ of the Revolutionary Communists of America. John discusses the enduring lessons and contemporary relevance of the Civil War, which communists consider the Second American Revolution.
For more from John Peterson on the US Civil War, we recommend issue 38 of In Defence of Marxism magazine, which includes a detailed article on this topic.
John has also presented a series of podcasts on this topic, as part of the regular podcast of the Revolutionary Communists of America, the US section of the Revolutionary Communist International.
This year marks 40 years since the release of the film Threads, one of the clearest and most harrowing depictions of the consequences of nuclear war ever produced. With wars and conflicts escalating around the globe, the stark message of this film has never been more relevant. The fight against the barbarity of militarism and imperialism is an existential struggle that communists have a duty to take up.
This week’s episode of Spectre of Communism Podcast welcomes Alan Woods, lead editor of marxist.com and leading member of the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International.
Alan discusses not only the powerful artistic impact of Threads, but also its vital message for us today. With Netanyahu hell-bent on escalation in the Middle East, and Zelensky intent on provoking Russia with the West’s help, the possibility of an open confrontation between nuclear powers is closer than ever. If we are to avoid the horrors that Threads so brilliantly depicts, we must wage a relentless struggle against war and imperialism, and fight to bring an end to the capitalist system that engenders them.
It is for this reason that the RCI has launched its Books not Bombs campaign, and we encourage listeners to read the opening statement of the campaign here: https://marxist.com/fight-imperialism-and-war-workers-of-the-world-unite-rci-statement.htm
People in the UK can watch Threads on BBC iPlayer here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p02kgkkg/threads
For more on the threat of escalation in the world today, we recommend this recent article by Alan Woods on the risk of World War III: https://marxist.com/are-we-facing-world-war-iii.htm
Around the world, the capitalist establishment is increasingly obsessed with the so-called ‘Culture War’, with conservative journalists and politicians scaremongering about the ‘woke agenda’, while liberals drape rainbow flags on war and austerity and call it ‘liberation’. How can communists cut through this reactionary nonsense and get to the heart of the issues facing us today?
To answer this question, this week’s episode of Spectre of Communism Podcast welcomes Yola Kipcak, a leading member of Der Funke, the Austrian section of the Revolutionary Communist International. Yola explains why communists oppose the toxic division sown by identity politics, and instead fight for a class-based approach to fighting for the liberation of humanity.
For more from Yola on how communists should fight for liberation, read her article “Marxism vs Queer Theory” here: https://marxist.com/marxism-vs-queer-theory.htm
For a longer read on this topic, we recommend the Revolutionary Communist International’s document from 2018, “Marxism vs Identity Politics”: https://marxist.com/marxist-theory-and-the-struggle-against-alien-class-ideas.htm
The situation in the Middle East is escalating dramatically. Israel’s current invasion of Lebanon has sent shockwaves throughout the region and represents a further step towards the outbreak of a region-wide conflict, risking open war with Iran. As the Middle East grows more unstable, communists need a clear understanding of these events and what we can do to fight against militarism and imperialism wherever we are.
This week’s episode of Spectre of Communism Podcast welcomes Fred Weston, from the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International. Fred discusses recent events in Israel’s escalating military campaign, and explains the need for communists to fight for the real interests of workers and youth, which has nothing to do with the hypocritical warmongering of the ruling class internationally.
For further reading on Israel’s war on Lebanon, we recommend this article published on 1 October: https://www.marxist.com/israel-invasion-of-lebanon-starts-fight-war-fight-imperialism.htm
For more from Fred on recent events in the Middle East, we recommend his latest article on the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah: https://www.marxist.com/the-killing-of-nasrallah-netanyahu-is-provoking-iran-to-enter-war.htm
For decades, undercover police officers with Britain’s Metropolitan Police systematically infiltrated numerous political organisations, posing as activists. These SpyCops not only gathered information on supposed enemies of the state, but went as far as entering romantic relationships and even having children with political activists, in order to maintain their cover.
A public inquiry into the outrageous and despicable behaviour of these Spy Cops has been underway since 2015, revealing the depths that the British state is willing to sink to, in order to defend its interests.
This episode of Spectre of Communism Podcast welcomes Tom Fowler, presenter of The Spycops Info Podcast, as well as Jorge Martin from marxist.com’s editorial board, to discuss the details of the case and what it shows about the role of the police in the capitalist state.
For more on the ongoing SpyCops inquiry, check out Spycops Info Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Ro2fbJDChepIcpCgz48x5
Also on Twitter: @SpyCopsInfo
Follow Tom Fowler on twitter: @tombfowler
Are we on the edge of a third World War? The Spectre of Communism podcast is back for a new season. Our first episode welcomes Hamid Alizadeh, a leading comrade of the Revolutionary Communist International (RCI), to discuss the two central conflicts in the world today: the Middle East and Ukraine, and the madmen driving them forward.
We are in a period of wars, revolutions and counter-revolutions. As we release this episode, Israel has unleashed a mass terror attack in Lebanon in an attempt to drag the US into a wider Middle Eastern war. Zelensky is also trying to get the US involved in a direct clash with nuclear-armed Russia.
The main imperialist powers could stop both of these wars tomorrow by withdrawing their support. They don’t really want an all-out clash: it would be bad for business. And yet, they drag us closer and closer to the brink. How are we to explain the insanity of the ruling class? As Hamid explains, their actions are symptoms of a senile system, which must be put to an end.
At the same time trillions of dollars are wasted on the arms industry, countless people are condemned to poverty and starvation. Capitalism is squandering the world’s plentiful resources on tools for death and destruction. This is why the RCI has launched a new campaign against imperialism and militarism, because only a war against the billionaires and the bosses can ensure a real, lasting peace for the masses.
Read the RCI’s statement launching this campaign here: https://www.marxist.com/fight-imperialism-and-war-workers-of-the-world-unite-rci-statement.htm
BooksNotBombs #CommunismPodcast
Fiona Lali recently shot to prominence, and stunned former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman, when she publicly branded Suella a “war monger” and a “liar” for her support for the genocide in Gaza. Fiona’s words chimed with millions of workers and youth who have seen this clip, and who are sick and tired of this rotten imperialist system, of the hypocrites who run it, and of the commentators, media and ‘opposition’ that do nothing to challenge it.
In this exclusive interview, Fiona presents the communist approach to war and imperialism, and explains why we need to kick out not only individual Tory politicians, but the whole capitalist system.
Fiona Lali is national campaigns coordinator of the Revolutionary Communist Party (the British section of the International Marxist Tendency), which will be holding an important national online meeting this Thursday, to coordinate the immense wave of student protests sweeping British universities. Register for the event here: https://communist.red/palestinemeeting
If you’re a communist in Britain and you agree with Fiona, join the RCP today in the fight against the war mongers in Parliament and the system they represent: https://communist.red/
For those beyond Britain, the IMT is a worldwide, fighting, communist organisation, and this June, we are founding a new Revolutionary Communist International (RCI). You can join us! Find your section of the IMT at https://marxist.com/ and sign up to attend the founding conference of the RCI, which you can join online at: https://schoolofcommunism.com/
Finally, we recommend listeners check out the podcast of the RCP in Britain, where Fiona will be hosting daily news updates starting tomorrow: https://communist.red/category/marxist-voice/
As the horrors of Israel’s war on Gaza continue to escalate, a wave of student protests has erupted in solidarity with the Palestinians: drawing comparisons with the anti-Vietnam War movement. Starting in the USA, the encampments quickly spread internationally, meeting with press slander and brutal police repression. In this special episode, we speak with four student communists from Canada, the UK, Austria and the USA, who have been active in encampments at various universities, to hear about their experiences of this inspiring struggle.
What is the mood at these encampments? What kind of opposition have they faced from university authorities and state forces? What sort of demands are being raised? We cover all of this and more! Offering context and our general perspective, we welcome back as well Fred Weston from our International Secretariat to talk about the situation in Gaza, Israel’s operations in Rafah, and what is necessary for this movement to escalate.
We recommend this statement on a communist programme for the encampments.
Here is our latest statement on Rafah, which also contains our proposed strategy for escalating the protest movement.
We also suggest recent articles on the repression and attacks against students in Canada and the United States.
Divest and disclose: open the books!
Not a cent, not a bullet for the Israeli war machine!
Free Palestine!
Intifada until victory, revolution until victory!
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Register now for the founding conference of the Revolutionary Communist International! https://schoolofcommunism.com/
Subscribe and listen at your preferred platform, and find us on social media, here: https://linktr.ee/specom
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In June, the International Marxist Tendency will take the monumental step of founding a new Revolutionary Communist International (RCI), to provide communist workers and youth around the world with a bold rallying point in the struggle to overthrow capitalism. In doing so, the RCI will build on the immense revolutionary legacy left behind by the Third (Communist) International, founded by Lenin and the Bolsheviks as the world party of revolution. Register now for the founding of the RCI!
This week’s episode of Spectre of Communism podcast welcomes Fred Weston, a leading comrade of the International Marxist Tendency, to explain the historic revolutionary importance of the Communist International. In doing so, Fred demonstrates the palpable need for a similar organisation in the world today.
You can watch a video recording of this discussion on YouTube.
This episode will be the finale of the first season of the podcast, which will return with new weekly content after a short break.
In addition to registering for the founding conference, we also recommend reading the recently published Manifesto of the Revolutionary Communist International (available in 20 languages), which will constitute the founding document of the RCI.
We also recommend Ted Grant’s 1943 article, ‘The Rise and Fall of the Communist International’ (cited in the episode).
Advances in artificial intelligence continue to make headlines, as AI has begun to play a role in everything from art and journalism to conspiracy theories and unemployment. While AI is clearly here to stay, it is equally clear that the capitalist class has no interest in using it to its fullest. Once again, capitalism’s brutal inefficiency and systematic misuse of such technology is profound evidence of the need for communism and economic planning.
To discuss the real potential of AI and how this is squandered by the ruling class, this week’s episode of Spectre of Communism podcast welcomes Daniel Morley, a leading member of the Communists in Britain. Countering both the excessively jubilant and the existentially morbid approaches to AI that are common from capitalist commentators, Daniel gives a concrete appraisal of this technology in the class struggle today, and brings out some of the possibilities for the use of AI under a planned economy.
For more on artificial intelligence and its role under capitalism, we recommend this article.
And for more on the recent speculative bubble in the AI sector, see this article.
Communism is often presented by its enemies as being at best uninterested in art and culture, and at worst openly hostile to anything but the crudest propaganda. This is completely at odds with the approach of Lenin and the Bolsheviks, and genuine communists today. The Russian Revolution ushered in an explosion of artistic creativity, which for the first time was unshackled from the constraints of class society. This is the legacy that communists must defend. Watch the video episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QILJ_lXw6U
To discuss the important place of art and culture in the Russian Revolution, this week’s episode welcomes Nelson Wan, a leading member of the International Marxist Tendency in Britain. Nelson explains the communist approach to art and culture, and describes some of the immense achievements in this field made by figures such as Sergei Eisenstein, Konstantin Stanislavski and El Lissitzky.
This episode is the most recent part of a series of podcasts celebrating the life and ideas of Lenin, 100 years after his death in 1924. For a complete defence of the incredible achievements of history’s greatest revolutionary, we recommend In Defence of Lenin by Alan Woods and Rob Sewell, now available from Wellred Books.
Manifesto of the RCI:https://www.marxist.com/manifesto-of-the-revolutionary-communist-international.htm
Register to attend the RCI conference:https://schoolofcommunism.com/
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Communists are often slandered by our enemies as wanting to violently suppress and ‘ban’ religion. While Marxism is a materialist philosophy, and therefore uncompromisingly atheist, the policy of Marxists towards religion bears absolutely no resemblance to this crude caricature.
As Marx explained, the oppressed and exploited masses turn to religion not for abstract reasons, but as a protest against the real suffering they endure in the land of the living. In a world that offers no hope, the promise of paradise is a balm to the otherwise unconsoled.
For this reason, religion is a powerful tool in the hands of the ruling class, who use the religious establishment as an ideological and spiritual lever over the workers and poor.
Communists do not conceal their views, but neither do we seek to drive a wedge between ourselves and the masses by denouncing or belittling their religious faith. Instead, we strive to build a society that can give people the paradise on earth, that they are currently only offered after death.
This week’s episode of Spectre of Communism podcast welcomes Jack Halinski-Fitzpatrick to explain how communists should approach religion.
Yesterday, the International Marxist Tendency proudly published the Manifesto of the Revolutionary Communist International: a call to arms for all communists who want to put an end to the rotten capitalist system once and for all. If you agree with our analysis, register now for the founding conference of the RCI in June, and help us build an organisation in the traditions of Leninism and Bolshevism. This episode of Spectre of Communism podcast welcomes Alan Woods, who was instrumental in drafting the document, to introduce the Manifesto.
The RCI aims to unite communist workers and youth in all countries under a clean banner in the tradition of Lenin and Trotsky. As capitalism continues to die on its feet, more and more people are realising that the only solution is to do away with it in its entirety, so that the working class can finally liberate itself from the endless horrors of the world today.
The Manifesto of the RCI is a weapon in the arsenal of communists everywhere. Currently, the text is available in 15 languages, with more soon to be announced. We encourage listeners and readers to circulate the text as widely as possible, so that all who want to fight to end capitalism may join us in this task.
Read the Manifesto of the RCI here, and register now for the founding conference of the RCI in June. When sharing on social media, please use the hashtags #Communism and #SchoolOfCommunism
On 25 February, 25-year-old US airforce serviceman, Aaron Bushnell, took his own life by self-immolation outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, in protest at US imperialism’s support for the crimes being carried out by the IDF. His last words, livestreamed to the world, were: “Free Palestine!” Just days later, IDF soldiers murdered over 100 civilians at an aid convoy in Gaza, embodying the horror and injustice that inspired Bushnell’s act.
Bushnell’s ‘extreme protest’ sent shockwaves around the world, eliciting much sympathy from workers and youth feeling angry and powerless about the plight of the Palestinians, and indignant at the complicity of their imperialist governments in the slaughter.
This week’s episode of the Spectre of Communism podcast welcomes Fred Weston, a leading member of the International Marxist Tendency, for an update on Israel’s war on the Palestinians. Fred discusses the threatened all-out attack on Rafah, the prospect of a wider war or revolutionary explosion in the Middle East, as well as the powerful and tragic sacrifice of Bushnell, explaining its profound effect. An explosive mood is building everywhere and communists must understand and respond to these developments.
For more by Fred on the situation in Palestine, we recommend his recent article on Israel’s strangulation of the Palestinian economy and the situation in Rafah.
Further reading on Aaron Bushnell’s self-immolation and the mood of anger and frustration it expresses can be found here.
Finally, you can read about the legal persecution of our Austrian comrades for their revolutionary stance on the situation in Palestine and the region here.
Few people in history are more slandered than Vladimir Lenin. From school textbooks to the capitalist press, the ruling class are desperate to blacken Lenin’s name wherever they get the opportunity. But how should communists respond?
100 years after his death, the capitalist smear campaign against the greatest revolutionary that has ever lived has not abated. Communists have a duty not just to study Lenin’s life, but to fight back against the slanders by boldly emphasising Lenin’s achievements for all to hear.
To help debunk some of the myths surrounding Lenin’s life and work, this week’s episode features Fiona Lali – a leading comrade of the International Marxist Tendency in Britain. Fiona helps answer some typical slanders about Lenin, such as the claim that he was a dictator, or that he laid the basis for Stalin’s rise to power.
The questions for this week’s discussion were taken from submissions to the Lenin Liveswebsite, which brings together invaluable resources that can be used to understand and defend the ideas of this great revolutionary. You can watch the video version of this episode on YouTube.
For a complete and thorough defence of Lenin’s life and ideas, get your copy of In Defence of Lenin now!
We are often told that capitalism is the most efficient economic system; that markets are rational tools for distribution; and that only under capitalism can people live free and fair lives. However, while capitalism might enrich a parasitic handful, it is fundamentally a system of oppression and exploitation for the vast majority of humanity. But what actually is this system? How does it work, and not work? How do we bring it down; and what can we replace it with?
While the right-wing, liberals and even much of the so-called left still fail to grasp the essence of capitalism, Marx elaborated on this in extreme detail over 150 years ago. It is crucial that communists today follow in his example, and grasp the real nature of the capitalist system: how it functions, and why it goes into crisis.
This week’s episode of Spectre of Communism podcast welcomes Niklas Albin Svensson, a leading member of the International Marxist Tendency. For more by Niklas on capitalism today, we recommend this article on the looming global recession.
This week’s special episode was recorded during the recent meeting of the global leadership of the International Marxist Tendency in Italy. We hear reports from the front lines of the class struggle from five leading comrades involved in building revolutionary communist organisations in: South Africa, Argentina, Pakistan, France and the United States.
The class struggle is heating up everywhere! As workers and youth internationally struggle to make ends meet, the capitalist class is leading the world down a blind alley of war, crisis and destruction. On all continents, an increasing layer is drawing the inevitable conclusion: we need communism!
You can watch a video recording of this episode on our Youtube channel.
If you are a communist, then get organised! For more information on our sections in these countries, check out these links:
South Africa
Argentina
France
Pakistan
United States
If you’re based elsewhere, find the communists where you are via our main website: https://www.marxist.com/
Note: this video was recorded at the end of January, before the results of the Pakistan elections that Paras discusses.
The Cuban Revolution is rightly considered an inspiration by communists worldwide. This tremendous movement threw off the chains of capitalism and US imperialism, opening the way for incredible social, economic and technological advances in what had previously been a brutally oppressed society. Today, however, the Cuban Revolution faces a number of perils.
This week’s episode welcomes Jorge Martin, a leading member of the International Marxist Tendency, to discuss the past, present and future of the Cuban Revolution. Isolated and bullied by US imperialism, it is now more important than ever to defend the gains of the Cuban Revolution and fight to overthrow capitalism internationally.
For more by Jorge on the situation today, we recommend this article from last year on the threat of capitalist restoration.
A textbook argument against communism is that, although it may sound nice, it is fundamentally “against human nature”. Many communists will be sick and tired of hearing this accusation, but what actually is ‘human nature’? How should communists respond to this claim?
This week’s episode of Spectre of Communism welcomes Ben Curry, writer and editor for marxist.com, to answer one of the most prolific myths about communism. In reality, the idea that human beings are inherently ‘greedy’ and that this makes capitalism an inevitable fact of life could not be further from the truth.
Ben considers the wide variety of ideas and systems that have been considered inevitable and natural throughout human history, only to fall by the wayside; and speculates about how humanity will change and develop in a future communist society.
For further reading, we would recommend Alan Woods’ editorial for issue 41 of In Defence of Marxism magazine, which looks at human nature and alienation.
With capitalism in its deepest-ever crisis, it is more important than ever for communists to defend the immortal achievements of one of the greatest revolutionaries the world has ever seen. For this reason, 2024’s first episode of Spectre of Communism looks at the real life and ideas of Lenin.
The episode welcomes Rob Sewell, editor of The Communist and co-author of a new biography, In Defence of Lenin: an extensive political biography and vindication of Lenin’s revolutionary legacy. Get your copy now!
We would also like to draw listeners’ attention to the recent launch of lenin.red. The website includes a number of resources for communists to study and understand Lenin’s life and work.
100 years after his death, the ruling class still wastes no opportunity to slander and malign Lenin. The website also includes a submission form, for sending any such slanderous myths that you might have heard, and want answered on a future episode of the podcast!
You can also send us your myths via any of our social media channels, with the hashtag #LeninLives!
By popular demand, here is our intro (and outro) theme. Credit to composer Comrade David (Insta: @hiimdavej).
Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza is undoubtedly the defining political event of 2023. The entire political establishment has lined up behind Israel, justifying a brutal military campaign of collective punishment against the Palestinians (which has killed around 20,000 civilians so far) as “self defence.” While liberals, reformists and even some self-proclaimed “communists” parrot the rhetoric of the bourgeoisie, or descend into utopian moralising, genuine communists must boldly proclaim a revolutionary solution for the liberation of Palestine.
The IDF onslaught against Gaza has awakened an immense wave of anger among the masses around the world, with millions hitting the streets in protest. Comrades of the IMT have faced McCarthyite attacks from the establishment for our solidarity action for Palestine, yet we will not back down. It is the duty of communists to stand on the side of the oppressed: supporting the struggle for a Palestinian homeland, against Western imperialism-supported Israeli aggression.
But what does a genuine communist approach to Palestinian liberation look like? Where next for the solidarity movement?
For the final episode of 2023, the Spectre of Communism Podcast welcomes two speakers on this important topic: Khaled Malachi, a leading member of Socialist Appeal, the British section of the International Marxist Tendency (who has personal experience of state repression towards the Palestine solidarity movement); and Hamid Alizadeh, editor for marxist.com.
The podcast will be taking a short break over the New Year, but will return in January 2024 with a wealth of new and exciting content.
More articles on the current and historical situation in Israel and Palestine, as well as our comrades’ activities in the solidarity movement, are available here.
Pre-order In Defence of Lenin, a new biography by Rob Sewell and Alan Woods, today!
It’s the festive season, and the Spectre of Communism podcast is welcoming Alan Woods (marxist.com editor-in-chief) onto a special live episode to discuss the origins of Christianity from a Marxist perspective. This is a fascinating story of revolution and counter-revolution in the ancient world.
Despite the reactionary nature of Christianity today, the first Christians were revolutionary fighters against the brutality of the Roman Empire. Crushed by the oppressive fist of the Roman military, the early Christians sought messianic leadership to bring them liberation on earth, not just in Heaven. This had a profound impact on the class struggle in the Roman Empire at the time, which contains many lessons for communists today. Also instructive is the way Christianity was eventually co-opted by precisely the ruling class the early Christians railed against.
It’s the festive season, and the Spectre of Communism podcast is welcoming Alan Woods (marxist.com editor-in-chief) onto a special live episode to discuss the origins of Christianity from a Marxist perspective. This is a fascinating story of revolution and counter-revolution in the ancient world. We will broadcast the episode tomorrow (12 December) at 7pm British time via our YouTube channel.
Despite the reactionary nature of Christianity today, the first Christians were revolutionary fighters against the brutality of the Roman Empire. Crushed by the oppressive fist of the Roman military, the early Christians sought messianic leadership to bring them liberation on earth, not just in Heaven. This had a profound impact on the class struggle in the Roman Empire at the time, which contains many lessons for communists today. Also instructive is the way Christianity was eventually co-opted by precisely the ruling class the early Christians railed against.
A recording will be made available afterwards on YouTube, and all our usual podcast platforms.
Ridley Scott’s recent biopic Napoleon has evoked much criticism for its shallow narrative and plethora of historical inaccuracies. But who was the real Napoleon Bonaparte? How did a young Corsican from a relatively modest background become the strongman behind an empire that would dominate Europe?
This week’s episode of the Spectre of Communism Podcast welcomes Keelan Kellegher, a leading member of Socialist Appeal, to fill in the many gaps in Scott’s portrayal of Napoleon. We discuss the revolutionary and counter-revolutionary movements that swept France in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Napoleon’s role in them.
For further reading on the historical figure of Napoleon Bonaparte from a Marxist perspective, we recommend this article by Alan Woods.
We also recommend this report on the recent Revolution Festival, which featured a talk by Keelan on the French Revolution.
Here is Keelan’s review of the film.
Many people think of the state as a huge collection of bureaucratic offices and institutions that have little to do with our daily lives. Some have illusions in the state as a neutral arbiter over society, operating on the basis of universal principles of ‘democracy’ and ‘rule of law’. But for countless workers and youths on the receiving end of police violence, legal victimisation or military oppression, the real nature of the capitalist state is clear.
For communists, the task is not to reform or adjust the capitalist state, but to understand its role as a violent, repressive tool for the ruling class, and then to smash it. Despite what the reformists and the liberals may think, it is only through class struggle and revolution that the brutality of the capitalist state can be overcome.
This week’s episode of the Spectre of Communism podcast welcomes Ben Gliniecki, National Secretary of Socialist Appeal, the British section of the International Marxist Tendency. Ben explains the fundamental nature of the state in general, as well as its specific role under capitalism, and discusses how communists propose to smash the capitalist state once and for all, as well as what we would replace it with.
The Chinese Communist Party and its defenders claim that China is building a successful socialist society, and is at the forefront of an anti-imperialist struggle against the West. But is China communist? Does the legacy of the Chinese Revolution live on today in the CCP?
In reality, despite the enormous achievements of the Chinese Revolution, China today is one of the largest capitalist powers on the planet. The growth of Chinese capitalism has created an immense working class in China, and when it moves towards revolutionary struggle, it will unleash a force that will shake the world.
This week’s episode of the Spectre of Communism podcast features Daniel Morley, a leading comrade of Socialist Appeal, the IMT in Britain. Daniel discusses the incredible conquests of the Chinese Revolution (the second-greatest event in history, after the Russian Revolution) as well as China’s subsequent return to capitalism and how communists should view China today.
For more on the history and events of China’s 1949 revolution, we recommend this article by Daniel.
Right-wingers claim that communism would be a dictatorial hellscape: nothing could be further from the truth. Communism means a society free from money, social classes, poverty and oppression, where people live “from each according to their ability, each according to their needs.” But what would such a society look like, and how do we get there?
Capitalism has created a world of poverty and precarity, in which people must struggle simply to survive, let alone reach their full potential. Socialism and communism will for the first time in history rationalise production, meet all human needs and give space for culture and the arts to flourish in ways never seen before. But this cannot be started while capitalism stands, and there is much work to do on the way!
In this week’s episode of Spectre of Communism, Adam Booth – editor of socialist.net – discusses the economic and social impact of a successful revolution, and explains how society might look as we strive to build communism.
For more information about historical attempts to begin these tasks, we recommend Adam’s article in the latest In Defence of Marxism magazine on the Soviet Economy, available now!
7 November (in the New Style calendar) marks the anniversary of the 1917 October Revolution in Russia. For communists, the Russian Revolution is the greatest event in human history. But for many right-wing, liberal and reformist critics of Lenin and the Bolsheviks, it was an anti-democratic catastrophe that condemned Russia to murderous dictatorship. It’s time we set the record straight.
The workers and peasants of Russia achieved something that many thought impossible: not only bringing down the hated Tsar Nicholas ‘The Bloody’, but going on to overthrow capitalism itself, and begin the task of building a society free of exploitation, oppression and want. The monumental events of the Russian Revolution are rich with lessons for the struggle for communism today.
The first episode of the International Marxist Tendency’s new podcast, Spectre of Communism,welcomes Alan Woods – author and editor of marxist.com – to discuss this remarkable event.
Alan deals with the historic importance of 1917, the role of the Bolshevik party under the leadership of Lenin and Trotsky, answers the lies hurled against the revolution, and explains what communists today can take away from this incredible struggle.
New episodes of the Spectre of Communism podcast will be available every Tuesday! Listen on your preferred platform here: https://linktr.ee/specom
For those wanting to learn more about the Russian Revolution, we recommend Bolshevism: The Road to Revolutionby Alan Woods.
A spectre is haunting all major podcast platforms… The International Marxist Tendency (IMT) is launching a new weekly podcast, the Spectre of Communism, to coincide with the anniversary of the Russian Revolution (7 November). The first episode will feature Alan Woods, editor-in-chief of marxist.com and author of Bolshevism: The Road to Revolution. Subscribe today, and tune in every Tuesday!
Under the crisis-ridden capitalist system, humanity lurches from one disaster to another: from economic turmoil and soaring inflation; to the inter-imperialist war in Ukraine; to the incalculable suffering inflicted by imperialist-backed Israel on the Palestinians.
Given these circumstances, it is no surprise that an unprecedented number of radicalised workers and young people are being drawn to the banner of communism.
The IMT’s highly successful ‘Are You a Communist’ campaign testifies to the hunger for revolutionary ideas amongst growing layers of society. They are rejecting the propaganda of the ruling class and seeking a total break with the old order. They are saying: “we are communists, and we want to get organised!”
But what does it mean to be a communist? What is the communist perspective on the most pressing questions facing humanity: like armed conflict, the climate crisis, technological development, inequality, and so on? In what philosophical and historical traditions do we stand? How do we answer typical right-wing objections to communism, like the supposedly insurmountable obstacle of ‘human nature’?
Communist ideas and struggle: on the digital airwaves!The purpose of this podcast is to arm our listeners with the ideas and arguments necessary to defend the principles of communism, to win others over to a revolutionary perspective, and to help our listeners master Marxist theory for themselves.
If you enjoyed the IMT’s previous podcast series, International Marxist Radio, you will be in familiar territory! Every week we will invite on a different speaker, covering a different aspect of theory, history or analysis. We will also comment on world events, so you can get the communist perspective on the latest developments in the news.
Our first episode will deal with the greatest event in human history: the October Revolution of 1917. For communists, the Russian Revolution is a beacon of inspiration, as the first time in human history when the working masses prevailed over their ruling class.
Under the leadership of Lenin, Trotsky and the Bolshevik party, the Russian workers and peasants brought down the rule of the capitalists and landlords, which had cloaked itself behind the cover of the pro-war Provisional Government of Kerensky after the Tsar was brought down in February 1917. On the basis of a new regime of rule through democratically-elected workers’, soldiers’ and peasants’ soviets (i.e. councils), they began the process of rebuilding society on socialist foundations.
Alan will discuss these momentous events, and the enormous lessons they hold for revolutionaries today.
Spread the word!Our first episode will appear on all major podcast platforms: please follow/subscribe if you haven’t already, and give all our episodes a positive review! A short advert is already live.
We will also upload to marxist.com’s YouTube channel.
We’ll also be sharing updates on social media. Give the new podcast a follow on X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok to stay fully up to date!
We are relying on all our comrades, readers and supporters to make this important new IMT show a big success.
Help us get the word out!
Share the advert, teaser and our social media posts as widely as possible, with the hashtag #SpeComPodcast!
On Saturday 7 October, Hamas forces in Gaza launched an unexpected attack on Israel, triggering an immediate response from the Israeli Defence Force. Fundamentally, this is a conflict between unequal forces, as the Palestinian masses have for decades been the victims of a regime of terror promoted by the likes of Netanyahu and Israel’s imperialist backers in the west.
In this special episode, International Marxist Radio returns before the launch of the International Marxist Tendency’s new podcast in coming weeks. Fred Weston – a leading comrade of the IMT from the editorial board of marxist.com – analyses this sudden turn in events in Palestine and explains how communists around the world should respond.
While bourgeois commentators reel in shock and denounce any and every act of violence by the oppressed Palestinians, they turn a blind eye to the crushing dominance of the Israeli military.
First and foremost, the task of Marxists is to understand the current situation, which is why we would recommend this recent article, written shortly after Hamas’ initial attack:
https://www.marxist.com/israel-palestine-no-to-the-invasion-of-gaza.htm
Today marks 50 years since the coup that overthrew the government of Salvador Allende in Chile. To remember the revolutionary struggles of this period and to emphasise the invaluable lessons contained therein, International Marxist Radio is back for a special episode.
Allende’s Popular Unity government, which carried out a series of major reforms for workers and the poor (but which maintained a naive belief in the loyalty of the state’s armed forces), was brutally crushed by a reactionary military conspiracy, led by General Augusto Pinochet and backed by international imperialism.
Carlos Cerpa Mallat, a leading member of the International Marxist Tendency in Chile, explains how Allende came to power, how the workers were ultimately defeated, and why the events of 1973 show the need for revolution, rather than having illusions in a route to socialism through bourgeois democratic channels.
For more by Carlos on the 1973 coup, we recommend his recent article, which provides a detailed account of the history and lessons of the period, available here in English and here in the original Spanish.
We would also like to draw readers’ attention to two articles by Alan Woods, recently republished on marxist.com. Firstly, Chile: the threatening catastrophe, written two years before the coup, warns of the imminent risk of armed counter-revolution, if the Allende regime failed to mobilise the masses to carry out a socialist programme. Secondly, Lessons of Chile 1973, written in 1979, looks at the history of the Chilean labour movement and explains why Allende was unable to stop the coup, despite the many warnings.
PODCAST FINALE! Watch a video of the discussion on YouTube, premiering 2 August 15:00 British time: https://youtu.be/ew7oKxdvm5I More and more workers and youth all over the world are being drawn to the ideas and banner of communism, much to the anger and anxiety of the bosses, bankers and bourgeois politicians. With capitalism at a total […]
A quick special announcement to inform our listeners that next week’s episode of International Marxist Radio (released 2 August) Wednesday will be our last. As a send-off, the discussion, ‘Why We Are Communists’, has also been filmed. In addition to posting the audio here as usual, we will upload the video to In Defence of […]
The Roman Republic was a society characterised by great social and political upheaval. This is a period of well-documented and important class struggle, which has many parallels with the situation today. If we are to avoid making the mistakes of history, a close study of the past is absolutely crucial for all Marxists. This week’s […]
The Spanish Revolution and Civil War (which began this week in 1936) represent a profoundly heroic period of struggle by the Spanish working class and peasantry. The masses gave their all in the fight against Franco, only to be failed by their leadership. Both the anarchists and the Stalinists at the head of the fight […]
David Graeber and David Wengrow’s anthropological opus, The Dawn of Everything, claims to offer an entirely new, radical view of the development of human society (implicitly: one that knocks down Marx and Engels’ historical materialism). This is no small task, but is the book as earth-shattering as the immodest title suggests? Despite making waves in […]
Last week, a French policeman shot an unarmed French-Algerian teenager (Nahel M.) in the chest after a traffic stop. Before pulling the trigger, Nahel was told “I will lodge a bullet in your head”. A video of the brutal slaying was uploaded to social media, resulting in a massive outpouring of rage that swept the […]
Last weekend, Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the infamous Russian mercenary company Wagner, led an apparent mutiny. After withdrawing his troops from the front line of the Ukraine War, Prigozhin took control of the military bases at Rostov-on-Don and began what he called “march for justice” (albeit a heavily armed one), heading towards Moscow. Within a […]
175 years ago, a wave of revolutions swept across the European continent, in which the working class played a key role in challenging the might of the feudal order. From France to Germany to Italy, the masses led a struggle for democratic and economic demands, winning significant concessions from the decrepit ruling classes of Europe. […]
The relative decline of US imperialism is leaving a void that is starting to be filled by other powers. In recent years, this has led to a rise of rival imperialist nations such as China and Russia, which are increasingly trying to challenge the domination of the US. What are the implications of this for […]
The recent period in the USA has been highly eventful. From the Trump presidency, to the Sanders movement, to BLM and the George Floyd protests, to the storming of Capitol Hill, the ‘Land of the Free’ is more polarised than it has been for decades. Poverty, racism and inequality are rampant; and seemingly not a […]
Is human population growth to blame for poverty and climate change? Plenty of pundits and politicians on the right and left alike seem to think so. Knowingly or not, they repeat the reactionary ideas of the Reverend Thomas Malthus, whose economic and social theories Marx and Engels demolished nearly 200 years ago. Yet today, the […]
This week’s episode of International Marxist Radio concludes our two-part series looking at the class struggle in Sub-Saharan Africa. This week, Ben Morken, a leading comrade of the International Marxist Tendency based in South Africa, discusses the broader context that has led to the current state of affairs across the continent.
Historically ravaged by colonialism, Africa today continues to be cynically exploited by imperialism. In addition, many African nations find themselves ground between rival imperialist powers in their pursuit of raw materials and political influence, supported by quisling local rulers. But at the same time, the continent is characterised by proud revolutionary traditions, which are beginning to re-emerge under the pressure of the capitalist crisis.
Note: This episode was recorded before the recent clashes between different factions of the counter-revolutionary forces in Sudan, which have claimed many lives and revealed the tragic consequences of the masses’ inability to take power in the 2018-19 Sudanese revolution.
A Marxist analysis of these events can instead be found here:
http://www.marxist.com/sudan-bloody-clash-erupts-within-counter-revolution.htm
This week’s episode of International Marxist Radio is the first of a special two-part series looking at the class struggle in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ben Morken, a leading comrade of the International Marxist Tendency based in South Africa, discusses the current political situation in a number of African countries, which constitute a bubbling cauldron of class struggle.
From the revival of radical traditions in post-Apartheid South Africa, to explosive political developments in Nigeria, to human catastrophes in the Horn and Great Lakes region, Ben offers an overview of a continent deeply scarred by the legacy of colonialism and capitalism, but ripe with revolutionary potential.
Note: This episode was recorded shortly after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a ‘state of disaster’ across the nation following mass blackouts, described here: https://www.marxist.com/eskom-crisis-how-south-african-capitalists-plunged-the-country-into-darkness.htm
Despite this, the crisis of South African capitalism endures, and none of the contradictions Ben describes have been resolved.
This week’s episode of International Marxist Radio welcomes Daniel Morley, a leading comrade of Socialist Appeal, the British section of the International Marxist Tendency, to discuss so-called identity politics, and why Marxists oppose its influence on the class struggle.
In many countries today, identity politics (i.e. the idea that one’s racial, sexual, gender identity etc., rather than social class, determines one’s fundamental interests and worldview) is exploited by right-wing figures in politics and the media. By whipping up controversy around oppressed groups, the so-called culture war has been used to distract people from the ongoing crisis of capitalism and prevent a unified class struggle against the bosses.
More specifically, identity politics has been a favoured weapon of the right against the left: smearing socialists and left-wingers on cooked-up charges of racism, sexism and so on, rather than engaging with their ideas. Shamefully, as the case of Jeremy Corbyn in the British Labour Party demonstrates, the reformist left has permitted these false charges to pass unanswered, and allowed themselves to be crushed under a barrage of bile.
With identity politics commanding a degree of influence among young people and even a layer of the labour movement, it is important that Marxists have a clear understanding of its reactionary character. Ultimately, only through a united class struggle against capitalism, which benefits from the division of working people, can all forms of oppression be abolished once and for all.
Read an article by Daniel on this subject: https://www.marxist.com/identity-politics-the-ruling-class-favoured-weapon-against-the-left.htm
The following is a document by the International Marxist Tendency setting out our position on identity politics: https://www.marxist.com/marxist-theory-and-the-struggle-against-alien-class-ideas.htm
In this week’s episode of International Marxist Radio, Josh Holroyd, a leading comrade of the International Marxist Tendency and editor of In Defence of Marxism magazine (issue 41 available now), discusses the early life, works and revolutionary career of Karl Marx, whose 205th birthday we mark on Friday!
Born on 5 May 1818 in Trier, Marx’s formative years were shaped by the explosive events of the society in which he lived, one that existed in the shadow of the Great French Revolution of 1789. He was also influenced by many thinkers in the socialist tradition, borrowing the best of their contributions and sharpening his own ideas against their shortcomings.
Living at a time when the working class was beginning to make its mark upon history, Marx derived the key lessons of the period, and actively participated in and corresponded with the radical labour struggles of his day – including Chartism in Britain.
From this foundation, in collaboration with his friend and comrade Friedrich Engels, Marx developed the school of thought that came to be known as Marxism, and began the mammoth task of building a revolutionary organisation to bring these ideas into the wider movement under the immortal banner, penned at the dawn of the 1848 revolution: workers of the world, unite!
This week on International Marxist Radio, Tom Trottier, a leading comrade of Socialist Revolution, the US section of the International Marxist Tendency, speaks about exciting developments in the labour movement in the United States of America!
After a long period of relative inactivity, the US working class is beginning to move. As the ongoing crisis of capitalism continues to worsen living conditions for the vast majority, workers in the US, as elsewhere, are looking to the mass organisations. This has taken the form of a significant growth of the trade unions, as the working class seeks to defend their standard of living against stagnant wages and rising prices.
It has also seen an explosive development of radical new unions, set up by fresh layers: Amazon workers, Starbucks workers, and so on. New leaders like Chris Smalls of the Amazon Labour Union, and a left-wing layer at the top of the Teamsters, are also being pushed forward and tested by events. Shawn Fain (mentioned in the episode, which was recorded a few weeks ago) has also been elected to the leadership of the UAW on a class struggle programme.
Given the dominance of the US as both an economic and an imperialist giant, the strengthening of the labour movement in the belly of the beast is of decisive importance for workers’ struggles internationally.
On this week’s episode of International Marxist Radio, Fred Weston, a leading comrade of the International Marxist Tendency, discusses the historical roots of women’s oppression.
While we are often told that the oppression of women is innate to human relations, this could not be further from the truth. In reality, in pre-class societies, hunter-gatherer men and women generally existed in an egalitarian relationship. These were arguments raised by Lewis Henry Morgan, a materialist anthropologist whose work informed Engels’ writings, particularly his classic text The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State.
The emergence of the patriarchal family did not occur randomly, or as merely the product of a shift in people’s ideas, but was the result of the development of private property, inheritance and class society. And if we can point to a time before these things existed, we can imagine (and fight for) a world where they are consigned to the dustbin of history!
We would like to draw readers’ attention to the issue 41 of In Defence of Marxism magazine, which includes an excellent article by Fred that formed the basis for this discussion. Get your copy of the latest IDoM here: https://www.marxist.com/magazine.htm
This week’s episode welcomes Adam Pal, leading comrade of Lal Salaam, the Pakistani section of the International Marxist Tendency, to discuss the ongoing turmoil in Pakistan.
In the midst of a deep political crisis, the Pakistani ruling class is split, with different factions leaning on sections of the military high command to maintain their position. This has led to the immense social instability that has characterised the country in the recent period.
On top of this, the Pakistani economy is on the ropes. Economists are already comparing the situation in Pakistan to that of Sri Lanka, which earlier this year saw a social explosion that brought the government to its knees. Without doubt, such a movement of the masses in Pakistan is on the cards.
This week’s episode welcomes back Niklas Albin Svensson, a leading member of the International Marxist Tendency, to discuss the ongoing turmoil in the global banking system.
A few weeks ago, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed, but the failure of SVB was not the end of the story. Rather, what we have seen is a sudden flurry of bank collapses, which has so far culminated in the forced merger of Credit Suisse into UBS and the dramatic fall in Deutsche Bank’s share price.
While a total collapse of the banking system has so far been avoided, this does not mean that the situation is stable. In reality, crises like this are inevitable under the capitalist system, and the ruling class have only managed to temporarily alleviate the worst of this crisis by laying the grounds for a deeper one.
Read Niklas’ latest on the banking crisis:
https://www.marxist.com/banking-system-on-the-brink.htm
https://www.marxist.com/the-svb-collapse-shows-the-fragility-of-the-capitalist-economy.htm
This week’s episode discusses the perspectives for class struggle in Germany, with Alex Kalabekow, a leading comrade of Der Funke, the German section of the International Marxist Tendency.
Note: this podcast was recorded before the 27 March ‘Mega-Strike’ which brought hundreds of thousands of transport workers onto the streets in the largest strike in Germany since 1992. While this turning point in the class struggle is not discussed directly, Alex points towards the growth of the unions, and the beginning of an uptick in strike action this year, which foreshadowed the explosive movement we are now seeing.
In a period of so-called ‘polycrisis’ impacting all of Europe, Germany stands out as a nation that has rapidly gone from a pillar of stability to a centre of social turmoil. Traditionally the main political and economic power in the EU, years of pandemic, war and economic crisis, have turned Germany’s strengths into their opposite.
Crushed economically and politically between the USA and China, Germany has recently sought to assert itself as an independent imperialist power by massively expanding military expenditure. As Alex explains, however, the contradictions of capitalism both in Germany and on a world scale mean that there is no way out for the German ruling class.
Read the following by our German comrades, published shortly before the ‘mega-strike’: https://www.marxist.com/germany-mega-strike-on-27-march-all-wheels-stand-still-fully-enforce-wage-demands.htm
This week’s episode welcomes Jules Legendre, a leading comrade of Révolution, the French section of the International Marxist Tendency, to discuss the developing situation in France concerning Macron’s hated pension reforms.
Having bypassed the National Assembly and forced through a rise in the retirement age from 62 to 64, this week Macron narrowly survived a no-confidence vote in the French parliament. While Macron still barely clings on to power in the National Assembly, the masses have taken to the streets to express their anger.
After two months of strike action and countless demonstrations involving all the major cities across the country, the anger of the masses is going nowhere. With the mass movement beginning to challenge Macron’s position, it is vital that the mobilisations do not simply act to end the pension reform, but bring down the whole government with it.
Jules explains the current situation in France, as well as the events leading up to this critical moment, and provides a Marxist perspective on how the labour movement can carry the struggle forward – to bring down the pension reform, bring down Macron and bring down the capitalist system.
This week’s episode welcomes Niklas Albin Svensson, a leading comrade of the International Marxist Tendency, to discuss the legacy of Stalinism, 70 years after the death of Joseph Stalin in March 1953.
While many associate Stalin and his crimes with socialism or communism, this could not be further from the truth. As Niklas explains, Stalinism is nothing else but a bloody caricature of the genuine traditions of Marxism, which are done an infinite disservice by their association with Stalin. Rather than a continuation of the ideas of Marxism, Stalinism was an expression of the bureaucratic degeneration of the Soviet Union – which undermined and ultimately destroyed the accomplishments of the planned economy.
We would also like to draw readers’ attention to Leon Trotsky’s biography of Stalin, the definitive edition of which was published by Wellred Books in 2016. This edition was painstakingly put together over a period of ten years, using the source material from the Harvard Archives. Containing 86,000 more words than the original 1946 edition, the comrades who contributed to this edition have restored Trotsky’s masterful analysis to its rightful condition.
Get your copy of Trotsky’s Stalin from Wellred Books here: https://wellred-books.com/stalin/
This week’s episode of International Marxist Radio welcomes Ylva Vinberg, leading comrade of Revolution, the Swedish section of the International Marxist Tendency, and Fred Weston, co-author of Wellred Books’ latest publication, Women, Family and the Russian Revolution – available to pre-order now: https://wellred-books.com/women-family-and-the-russian-revolution/
To mark International Working Women’s Day, this episode focuses on the Marxist position on the struggle for women’s liberation, and the positive example embodied by the tremendous advances accomplished by the Russian Revolution.
Rather than ignoring the question of women’s liberation, or delaying it until some distant time after the revolution, Marxists take an active interest in fighting for emancipation. Combatting women’s oppression, therefore, is not a secondary issue, but rather forms a vital part of the class struggle.
We would also like to draw readers’ and listeners’ attention to Women, Family and the Russian Revolution by John Roberts and Fred Weston, which is now available from Wellred Books. This book provides fascinating insights into the radical measures taken by the Bolsheviks to emancipate women after the Russian Revolution. These measures transformed women’s access to abortions, healthcare, education and many other basic rights that are yet to be generalised even 100 years later under capitalism.
Pre-order your copy of Women, Family and the Russian Revolution now: https://wellred-books.com/women-family-and-the-russian-revolution/
This week’s episode of International Marxist Radio (IMR) welcomes back Jorge Martin – this time to speak about the continuing war in Ukraine, which recently passed the one-year anniversary mark.
The war has caused untold misery, not just for people caught in the conflict, but also for millions of workers around the world, as energy and food prices have shot up to intolerable levels, under a capitalist crisis aggravated by the war.
The deluge of propaganda from the ruling class has been deafening, with many on the so-called left falling shamefully behind their respective imperialist camps
As Jorge explains, the International Marxist Tendency (IMT) has maintained an internationalist position from the beginning, opposing this war and supporting the independent struggle of the working class against the warmongers.
To mark 10,000 streams, this week’s special episode of International Marxist Radio (IMR) features a gem from the archives: a rare recording of a 1974 speech by Ted Grant – celebrated Marxist theoretician and founder of what was to become the International Marxist Tendency.
This fascinating speech on the world political situation came at a key juncture in history, when the decades of postwar capitalist upswing were drawing to a close – marking the beginning of a new world crisis, and revolutionary developments in one country after another.
Included amongst these developments were revolutionary movements in Europe, such as the Portuguese revolution of 1974 – which, as Ted points out, had the potential to spark an all-Iberian, all-European and possibly even world revolution, given the right leadership.
Although not every detail of this speech was borne out by events, the general thrust is remarkably prescient, offering comrades a valuable example of the Marxist method in practice, which, as Trotsky once said, provides us with “the advantage of foresight over astonishment”.
This week’s episode of International Marxist Radio (IMR) features marxist.com writer and editor Ben Curry speaking about the current crisis in cosmology, which has been intensified by the first images released by the James Webb Space Telescope.
These stunning images, which are the most far-reaching ever obtained by humanity, pose serious problems for some well-established theories in modern physics – most notably the Big Bang Theory.
As Ben explains, such mystical theories are a consequence of the influence of idealist philosophy in the natural sciences – which, as a means of explaining the material world, must base themselves on materialist philosophy if they are to ever truly expand human knowledge.
This discussion is based on an article from issue 39 of ‘In Defence of Marxism’ magazine.
Purchase and subscribe to the magazine here: https://www.marxist.com/magazine.htm
Read the article online here: https://www.marxist.com/the-james-webb-telescope-an-eye-onto-a-universe-infinite-in-time-and-space.htm
This week’s episode of International Marxist Radio (IMR) features presenter Joe Attard speaking to Socialist Appeal writer Ben Gliniecki about the crisis of liberalism – and specifically about whether this crisis is now abating, as some bourgeois commentators have claimed. This is merely wishful thinking.
Events in recent years – such as the reelection of Macron in France, the imposing of Sunak in Britain, the election of Biden in the US among others – point to an uptick in fortunes for the institutions of liberal capitalism, or so the argument goes.
But as Ben explains, these examples demonstrate nothing of the sort; rather, it is only the absence of a convincing alternative on the left that allows this ailing system to go on at all.
Disclaimer: this discussion was recorded at the end of 2022. We are publishing it as it is still relevant now, despite some of the particulars having moved on somewhat.
This week’s episode of International Marxist Radio (IMR) features presenter Joe Attard speaking to socialist.net editor Adam Booth about the world economy – in particular, about the latest annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Davos, Switzerland.
Whilst some attendees attempted to highlight a few ‘green shoots of hope’, the overall tone of the event was sombre. ‘Polycrisis’ was this year’s buzzword, with everything going wrong all at once from the perspective of global capitalism.
Will interest rate hikes save the world economy? Protectionism? China? One thing seems certain: whichever path the ruling class takes from now on will be the wrong one. It is high time they were relieved of their duties.
Read Adam’s article on Davos here: https://www.marxist.com/davos-2023-capitalism-s-polycrisis-strikes-fear-into-the-ruling-class-hearts.htm
International Marxist Radio (IMR) will this week be covering recent developments in Peru, which in December saw democratically elected president Castillo deposed by a capitalist coup. Last week’s guest Jorge Martín returns to speak to presenter Joe Attard about the situation in the country – which has been escalating since Castillo’s removal – and what could be next for the movement.
While usurper president Dina Boluarte has doubled down on repression since introducing a state of emergency last month, the workers and peasants have also refused to back down, showing enormous bravery in resisting the illegitimate regime up to this point.
What will happen next? And what can socialists around the world do to support the masses of Peru against this barefaced attack?
This week’s episode of International Marxist Radio (IMR) covers a pivotal period in the development of global capitalism: the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Presenter Joe Attard talks to America Socialista editor Jorge Martín about the brutal plunder of the continent, which began 500 years ago, and which set in motion the development of the world market, and the rise of capitalism on the global stage.
The episode also delves into the background of the conquered civilisations – their historical development, class content, and reaction to the European invaders. These included complex and powerful societies such as the Mexica and the Incas, which at one point covered 3,000 square kilometres, with about 12 million inhabitants in total.
The process of primitive accumulation which razed these societies to the ground led Marx to declare: “If money comes into the world with a congenital blood-stain on one cheek, then capital comes dripping from head to toe, from every pore, with blood and dirt.”
The discussion is based on the cover article of issue 40 of the In Defence of Marxism theoretical magazine, available now: https://www.marxist.com/magazine.htm
The International Marxist Tendency (IMT) is pleased to announce the launch of its new podcast, International Marxist Radio (IMR). The first episode of this new series features presenter Joe Attard speaking to In Defence of Marxism (IDOM) editor-in-chief Alan Woods.
They discuss perspectives for the world situation going into 2023: will there be a return to normality for capitalism, or will the class contradictions continue to sharpen, as the bosses’ system lurches from crisis to crisis? Will there be a global recession? Where is the war in Ukraine heading?
Alan delves into the history of capitalism to help explain these processes going on today – and why a socialist revolution is the only way forward for humanity.
A new podcast from the International Marxist Tendency (marxist.com). Revolutionary news, theory and analysis every single week, starting Jan 2023. Spread the word with #IMR!