What does Marxism have to say about cinema? Quite a lot in fact. For over a century now cinema has existed as a primary tool of social communication within society: one aimed directly at the people rather than an elite, reaching audiences far beyond anything previously conceived. From this has flowed TV, video, DVD, streaming and more - all features of our daily lives.
Rosa Luxemburg was an outstanding Marxist, whose life and ideas have been grossly distorted by all manner of reactionary political tendencies. This speech, coinciding with the launch of a new biography, The Revolutionary Legacy of Rosa Luxemburg (available to pre-order here), provides an answer to the myths surrounding this revolutionary martyr.
China is discovering that under capitalism, what goes up must come down. Extreme inequality is the defining feature of Chinese society, now officially more unequal than even the USA. As it stares into the abyss of capitalist crisis, the Chinese government is facing the same dilemmas as the USA over a decade ago.