An article by our British comrades at Socialist Appeal (‘Storytelling, “culture wars” and the Left’) has drawn the ire of ‘left-wing’ journalist Paul Mason. He said that our “mouldering” organisation needs to abandon its outdated worldview. Alan Woods explains that the thin gruel of Mason’s post-modernism is no substitute for the science of Marxism.

A massive explosion caused untold destruction and bloodshed in the Lebanese capital yesterday. This tragedy was a disaster waiting to happen, and will provoke the anger of the masses against the corrupt clique at the top of society. Only working-class struggle can put an end to this intolerable situation, Alan Woods writes.

In this opening speech from the 2020 International Marxist University, Alan Woods (editor of In Defence of Marxism) discusses the historic significance of the coronavirus crisis and the perspectives for world revolution.

It is said that revolution has never come to the British Isles. In fact, modern British democracy was born out of a violent revolution and a bloody Civil War, which saw the king lose his head. Today, we are witnessing one of the most turbulent periods in British history, and the ruling class fears the nation’s revolutionary past, which is why they seek to bury it under falsehoods. This is the complete video series with Alan Woods, The English Revolution: the world turned upside down. 

We publish the following interview with Alan Woods (editor of marxist.com), conducted by the Exit Theatre Group in Iran. Over the course of a long discussion, Alan talks about the role of culture and the arts in society, politics and revolution.

Alan Woods comments on the uprising in the USA, which was sparked by the police murder of George Floyd, and has become the catalyst for an explosion of anger by the downtrodden in America that has sent shockwaves throughout the world. What is the way forward?

Watch Alan Woods (editor of marxist.com) discussing the explosive events in the USA. The appalling murder of George Floyd has unleashed a mighty wave of pent-up fury across the cities of the USA. A wave of indignation has brought thousands of people onto the streets.

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the cynicism, incompetence and brazen dishonesty of the tiny clique who run Britain. The mask has been torn away to expose the ugly face of class privilege. As Alan Woods explains, the public are sick of being treated with contempt. Johnson, Cummings and the rest are destined for the dustbin of history.

Hieronymus Bosch was one of the most remarkable and original painters of all time. His works were painted five hundred years ago, yet they seem astonishingly modern, anticipating surrealism. This is the art of a world in a state of turbulence, torn by contradictory tendencies – a world in which the light of reason has been extinguished and where animal passions have gained the upper hand. A world of terror, violence and plague: a living nightmare. In short – a world very like our own, particularly given the current pandemic. Alan Woods examines Hieronymus Bosch from the standpoint of historical materialism. Originally published 23 December 2010.

We publish here an interview with Alan Woods, conducted by a Russian news source, about the legacy of Vladimir Lenin, 150 years after his birth.

The speech we publish today was given at a meeting of the leadership of the International Marxist Tendency, held yesterday by video link with the participation of comrades from 25 different countries. The IMT is a Marxist revolutionary organisation with sections all over the world. Read more about us and how you can join!

Watch Alan Woods (editor of marxist.com) discuss the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the worst-ever crisis of capitalism.

We republish here an article Alan Woods wrote on 9 February 2002 as a polemic with the Argentinean Partido Obrero (PO - Workers’ Party) on the question of the slogan of a Constituent Assembly. The debate took place in the aftermath of the Argentinazo: the powerful uprising on 19-20 December 2001 against the government of De la Rúa, under the slogan of ¡Que se vayan todos! (Kick them all out). The mass uprising managed to overthrow one president after another and clearly posed the question of who ruled Argentina: the official institutions or the masses on the streets.

There are some people who leave an indelible mark on the lives of everyone they ever met. To have known such a person is something that enriches one’s life and makes it a fuller and more rewarding experience. The passing of such individuals always leaves an immense empty space that can never be filled.

In his article entitled 'Long Economic Cycles', Kondratiev argued that, in addition to the normal trade cycle of capitalism of between seven and eleven years, there existed longer cycles, the average duration of which was fifty years. He concluded that the capitalist system passes through "long waves", in which each downswing is followed by an upswing which can last for decades. It is this latter assertion that was rebutted by Trotsky. And though it has regularly made its reappearance, enjoying a temporarily fashionable status, it has no solid basis either in fact or in theory. In this article, originally published in 2000, Alan Woods explains why.