Trump 2.0. Tariff wars. Hot wars between India and Pakistan, Israel and Iran. Looming defeat for the ‘Collective West’ in Ukraine. Revolutionary events in Serbia, Indonesia, Nepal, Morocco, and Madagascar. General strikes in Greece, France, Belgium, and Portugal. Two internationalist, anti-imperialist general strikes for Gaza in Italy, and the crumbling of the authority of the traditional tools of capitalist rule. 2025 has been quite a year…

The bourgeoisie are steeped in despair. Occasionally, they show a glimmer of understanding that these are symptoms of their dying system. As the Financial Times commented on the growing numbers of British voters with no economic prospects and no stake in the system: “What happens to liberal democracy and the capitalist model when rising numbers question if they will ever have that stake?”.

Millions are looking for answers, and they will look in vain in the capitalist press. It’s no coincidence that this year, marxist.com has seen a record 35 percent increase in our daily readership. Over the year, we have published thousands of articles, seeking to address all of the key questions of the day, and to leave the reader with the sense that they hold the general thread of events in their hands. Our purpose is to arm revolutionaries worldwide with the ideas they need to clearly understand the march of events and to grow and educate the ranks of a powerful revolutionary communist movement.

This year, we have had hundreds of thousands of visitors from nearly every country on the planet. We have compiled below just a handful of our best-performing articles and videos.

Top 10 articles of 2025

[Article links are in the titles]

The world turned upside down – a system in crisis

This document, adopted by the First World Congress of the Revolutionary Communist International over the summer, is a communist analysis of the changed world situation, inaugurated by Trump’s return to power.

It’s no wonder this is our most-read article of the year. It explores the rise of Trump; the changed balance of forces between the imperialist powers; the race towards militarism; austerity; and the rising tide of the class struggle, and more. Even though it feels like decades have happened since it was published in June, it is just as relevant as when it was written.

‘Dot-Com Bubble 2.0’ could burst at any time

The growth of a colossal AI bubble is enormously distorting the US economy, and the world economy as a whole. Trillions and trillions of dollars are being thrown into a frenzy of speculative activity. Already, the absurd valuations are totally out of proportion to the profits that can be made. And underneath the frothing stock markets, the real economy is sliding into a recession. Eventually, the bubble will burst, with enormous implications for world capitalism when it does so. This article, which exposes what lies behind the AI hype, proved extremely popular on various online discussion forums. It’s not hard to see why.

Where is China going?

Written as the preface to the new Chinese translation of China: From Permanent Revolution to Counter-Revolution, this article analyses China’s economic and political development since 2016, when the book was first published.

The relative decline of US imperialism and the rise of China as an imperialist rival is one of the defining features of world relations today. It is therefore imperative that revolutionaries understand its history, how China went from a deformed workers’ state to the imperialist world power that we know today.

The meaning of Donald Trump: a Marxist analysis

Donald Trump’s second stint in the White House has certainly been a stormy one so far. When he was re-elected just over a year ago, the liberals and so-called ‘left’ alike descended into a state of chaos. A chorus of cries of ‘fascism’, ‘bonapartism’, and ‘dictatorship’ filled the air, as well as accusations that the American working class had, overnight, become rabid racists and reactionaries by voting for Trump in their millions.

In this article, Alan Woods provides a clear, Marxist analysis of ‘Trumpism’, where it has come from, and what that means for communists today. Far from being simply a reactionary phenomenon, Alan explains that Trump has given an albeit distorted expression to enormous class anger. He predicts that when Trump disappoints, the MAGA base will begin to crack, and the basis will be laid for new, powerful shifts to the left. We are beginning to see this confirmed before our very eyes.

The degeneration and collapse of the Fourth International: in defence of our heritage

This article, prepared for the First Congress of the Revolutionary Communist International over the summer, analyses the degeneration and collapse of the Fourth International. After Trotsky was assassinated in 1940, the leadership of the International proved to be woefully incapable of analysing the new balance of forces following the end of the Second World War, which demanded a new analysis. Ted Grant – who founded our organisation – was alone in preserving the genuine method of Marxism in incredibly unfavourable conditions. This document lays out our own origins as an organisation, and finally sets the record straight on the history of the Fourth International.

Iran war: “those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad”

2025 saw a dramatic escalation of the situation in the Middle East. In June, the Israeli Air Force – with US backing and assistance – launched an unprecedented strike on Iran, leading to the so-called 12 Day War between the two countries. The attacks left over 1,000 dead, and several thousand injured. In this article, written during the conflict, Alan Woods exposes the brutality and the hypocrisy of both the Israeli and US ruling classes, analysing the cruel imperialist logic that led to the attacks.

Jeremy Corbyn’s new party: what does it mean, and what attitude should communists take towards it?

In Britain, this year’s announcement of a new left-wing party by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana was met with great enthusiasm by a wide layer of workers and youth. In the midst of a massive political vacuum, with the establishment parties hated more than ever, the potential for such a project was immense. The emergence of mass left-reformist outfits like the Corbyn-Sultana party are inevitable in the coming period. In this article, Alan Woods sets out how communists must approach such phenomena, welcoming each step forward by the reformists, whilst criticising the limits of the reformist programme, limits which have been exposed a number of times over recent history, from Corbyn’s period in the leadership of the Labour Party, to Podemos in Spain and Syriza in Greece.

Indonesia: the wheel of revolution has turned

An immense movement rocked Indonesia earlier this year. What began as relatively isolated demonstrations escalated into a revolutionary uprising that swept the country. The masses came out in their millions, burning down police stations and government buildings, and threatening to bring down the entire regime. This article provided an initial assessment of the incredible movement and succinctly poses the tasks that the masses faced at the time.

What the stock market bubble can tell us about the state of the US economy

The US economy has, on paper, been booming. But in reality, this growth is all sound and fury. It is pinned to the speculative boom in the stock market and, in particular, the gigantic AI bubble. Meanwhile, in the real economy, things are souring. This article explains the dynamite that lies underneath the so-called bull market. The other side of the coin of the fact that huge profits are being made, that stock market valuations are at record highs, is that productive investment is at all time low, US companies are unable to resolve problems of chronic overcapacity, and therefore speculation takes the place of real investment that can deliver serious growth.

Sri Lanka to Nepal: lessons from the revolutionary wave

Over the last three years, we’ve seen a sweep of revolutionary movements hopping from one country to the next: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Kenya and, this year alone, Serbia, Indonesia, Nepal, Morocco, and Madagascar.

All of these have had strikingly similar themes. They have all demonstrated the unstoppable power of the masses in motion. In each case, we’ve seen inspiring images of a tide of fed-up people storming and burning parliaments, the houses of the rich, police stations, and symbols of the regime. But these revolutions have also had in common the fact that they have lacked leadership and a clear programme. As a result, for all the power and sacrifice of the masses, a banker governs Bangladesh, the army governs Madagascar, and a supreme court judge governs Nepal. Underneath, the regime and the structure of society – capitalism – remains unchanged. This article draws out all these lessons from the inspiring ‘Gen Z’ wave and points the revolutionary way forward.

Top 10: from the archives

Alongside analysing current affairs, marxist.com consistently publishes theoretical material on the essentials of Marxism. These are timeless articles, dedicated to history, economics, philosophy and much more, intended for readers to come back to again and again. Each year, this material is often among our most popular content.

Here is a list of this year’s 10 most popular articles available on marxist.com, which were published before 2025.

Manifesto of the Revolutionary Communist International

The launch of the Revolutionary Communist International (RCI) in June 2024 was a rallying cry for communists around the world to get organised in the fight against capitalism and imperialism. This document, approved unanimously at the RCI’s founding conference, is the International’s founding manifesto, providing a bold communist analysis of the turbulent period we are living through. The Manifesto has been read over 48,000 times in English on this website alone, translated into more than 30 languages and reproduced widely online and in print.

What is dialectical materialism?

Dialectical materialism is the philosophical foundation of Marxism. While many who are new to communism may be intimidated by the need for a serious study of philosophy, a subject that very few people have any training in these days, Rob Sewell’s engaging introduction to dialectical materialism provides an extremely accessible starting point. We are confident you will come away with a grasp of the key ideas and a desire to delve deeper!

Marxism versus postmodernism

Despite its origins in the fringes of a few universities, the amorphous philosophical trend of postmodernism has gained a substantial grip on the minds of many in academia today. Postmodernism is a clear expression of the dead-end of bourgeois thought in this era of capitalist crisis. As this article explains, postmodernism’s rejection of objective truth (of so-called ‘meta-narratives’) ultimately leads to a defence and justification of the status quo, and is utterly antithetical to the struggle to advance the position of the oppressed and exploited.

Marxism vs Identity Politics

This document, approved unanimously at the World Congress of our International in 2018, aims to clarify the differences between the genuine method and ideas of Marxism and the confused mixture of petty-bourgeois ideologies known as Identity Politics. This document is a call to arms for serious communists to defend truly revolutionary ideas from the deceptive postmodernist trends that seek to blur the lines of the class struggle, to divide the working class, and under the guise of fighting ‘oppression’, to pit different sections of the oppressed against one another.

Marxism vs. Queer Theory

There are many theories and schools in academia that take on the garb of being ‘progressive’, ‘liberatory’, or even ‘left-wing’, but which actually disguise an extremely reactionary content. One key example of this is Queer Theory, which emerged in the 1990s as an attempt to explain modern society as a product of ‘narratives’ relating to individual identity, primarily sexuality and gender. This article takes up the core arguments of Queer Theory, challenges their common philosophical basis and counterposes them to the real struggle to end all kinds of oppression.

What is historical materialism?

The materialist study of history is one of the central elements of the Marxist method. Once we have a firm grasp of the laws and processes that lie under the surface of seemingly random historical events, we are better placed to play a part in the class struggle. Alan Woods’ marvellous introduction to these ideas is a must-read for those who wish to take a serious attitude to the fight for communism today.

The Soviet economy: how it worked… and how it didn’t

Marx explained that every social system is subject to its own laws: objective dynamics, forces, and pressures that govern its motion and development. In this article, Adam Booth examines the early decades of the Soviet Union, from the first decrees passed by the Bolsheviks after seizing power in November 1917, through the retreat to the New Economic Policy, to the first Five Year Plans under Stalin, which showed the enormous potential of economic planning but also the suffocating limits of Stalinist, bureaucratic methods. By taking this valuable historical example, Adam draws out concrete lessons for our understanding of the economic laws which impose themselves in the transition towards socialism.

What is money?

Money seems to be the simplest, most common, everyday thing. On the other hand, it appears as something very strange indeed. The banks seem to be able to summon it out of nowhere. Central bankers fret endlessly about money supplies. We have new, bizarre theories of money from the advocates of crypto. The ruling class and their analysts need it, they use it, but they do not understand it. In this article, Adam Booth traces the real development of money through history and provides a clear analysis of its role under capitalism today.

Women before, during and after the Russian Revolution

The history of Bolshevism from the very early days right up to the Russian revolution contains a wealth of lessons on how it is the class struggle that provides the final answer to the women’s question. In this article Marie Frederiksen looks at the approach of the Bolshevik Party to the women’s question from its early days, right through to the revolution and after taking power.

The fall of woman: property, oppression and the family

The oppression of women and the origins of the family as we know it remain key issues facing anyone who wishes to fight for a better world today. This article by Fred Weston looks at the writings of Marx and Engels on the question of women' s oppression – in particular Engels, whose book The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State gives a materialist explanation of the origins of women’s oppression. Only by understanding its origins and roots in society, can we eradicate it.

Top 10 videos and podcasts

Alongside our written material, 2025 has been a very important year for audio and video content on marxist.com.

The Spectre of Communism podcast – which provides in-depth analysis of questions of theory, history, revolutionary strategy and much more – has gone from strength to strength this year, and has contributed much of our most popular video content in 2025. The same can be said of the RCI’s weekly current affairs podcast Against the Stream, which has continued to offer a sharp Marxist analysis of the year’s events, as they happened.

Perhaps the RCI’s crowning audiovisual achievement of 2025, however, was ‘The Communists Are Coming – A Visual Manifesto’, a feature-length documentary following the founding year of the Revolutionary Communist International, up to its inaugural conference in June 2024. The documentary is overwhelmingly our most popular video of the year, and is still attracting new viewers.

Here is a list of the 10 most popular videos produced by the RCI this year. With the exception of ‘The Communists Are Coming’, all of these are also available as podcasts.

The Communists Are Coming – A Visual Manifesto

The TRUTH about World War 2: Marxist historian sets the record straight

The truth about Mao and the Chinese Revolution

A Marxist analysis of the impending stock market crash

Stalinism on trial

Communist replies to right-wing lies: Musk, Peterson & Shapiro

Who was Karl Marx REALLY? – A reply to CrashCourse

China humiliates the West, revolution in Indonesia, French regime in crisis

2025: Where is the world going? – A Marxist analysis

The history of fascism: lessons for today