Britain: capitalism is racist – COVID-19 and BAME deaths Coronavirus has exposed all of society’s systemic inequalities. Most glaringly, black and Asian communities in Britain have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. The social conditions created by capitalism are to blame.
The Merthyr Rising 1831: rage, rebellion and the red flag In June 1831, a community of Welsh miners rose up against the ironmasters and defied the might of the British state, seizing control of their town for a full week, and flying the red flag for the first time on British soil as a symbol of workers' insurrection.
[Video] Uprising in Minneapolis: an eyewitness account Interview with Erika Roedl, an International Marxist Tendency activist in Minneapolis and writer for Socialist Revolution, where she explains the movement against the racist police murder of George Floyd, the role of the Democrats, the emergence of neighbourhood committees and the perspectives for the movement.
Sign up for Marxist University 2020 – In Defence of Marxism! The International Marxist Tendency invites you to Marxist University 2020 – In Defence of Marxism: a four-day online school on July 25-28. The event will be devoted to defending revolutionary socialist ideas, and educating workers and youth in Marxist theory! Read more about the event, and sign up on our dedicated page: university.marxist.com!
[Video] Uprising in America: the school of revolution 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.
Taiwan: Tsai administration attempts to maintain status quo under crisis On 20 May, Tsai Ing-wen officially began her second term as Taiwan’s president. Against the backdrop of the world capitalist system rapidly descending into a historic crisis, Tsai’s inauguration speech betrays her and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s intention to maintain the status quo for Taiwan as per usual. Yet, in the context of the unabating pandemic, the collapsing global economy, and the class struggles that inevitably will follow, the Tsai government, with its “progressive” image, could only pursue the course of attacking the workers to protect the status quo for the capitalists. The workers and youth of Taiwan must be prepared for these attacks ahead.
[Video] Racism, police violence and the socialist revolution The cold-blooded murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police is yet another horrific act of racist violence against an unarmed black man in broad daylight. This has yet again sparked protests across the country, showing that people are fed up with the systemic racism of the capitalist system. When the great revolutionary martyr Malcolm X said, “You can’t have capitalism without racism,” he summed up a profound truth about the world we live in. This racist brutality is hardwired into the capitalist system. This Saturday at 7PM ET, Antonio Balmer (Socialist Revolution editor) will speak on racism, police violence, and the need for revolution.
Insurrectionary anger sweeps the USA The police murder of George Floyd—an unarmed black man, who was handcuffed by four police officers in Minneapolis before being choked to death—has unleashed a wave of protests across the country, escalating out of control in several cities. Following the murders of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, this latest in an endless string of police killings was the straw that broke the camel’s back, unleashing a tsunami of pent-up fury at all the injustices in American society. Necessity has been expressed through accident – although Floyd’s murder was no accident.
USA: anger explodes at police murder in Minneapolis The racist capitalist system has yet again produced the same tragedy—right down to the pleading final words shared by both George Floyd and Staten Island’s Eric Garner. This has sparked some of the largest protests the Minneapolis area has ever seen, and similar actions have already spread to other cities like Los Angeles and Memphis.
Algeria: where next for the Hirak movement? The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is just beginning to be felt in Algeria. Earlier this month, the government announced that the national budget would be slashed in half due to the global collapse of oil prices. Simultaneously, the much-discredited government is cynically manoeuvring to bury the popular Hirak movement under the cover of this healthcare crisis. But this coronavirus has brought to the fore the contradictions of a bureaucratically-ruled country, corrupted to the core by ‘le pouvoir’. These repressive measures cannot be allowed to asphyxiate the militant mood for change that has once again gripped the country.
Canadian capitalism is mortally wounded According to federal officials, the Trudeau government has finished with the emergency response phase to COVID-19 and now is moving onto the “recovery” phase. But the prospects for a healthy recovery are not looking good. The fact is that the coronavirus pandemic has only served as the knockout punch to a weak and feeble system.
Spain: reactionary, anti-government demonstrations polarise political mood In December, left-wing party Unidas Podemos (UP) entered the Spanish government as junior partners of the Social Democratic PSOE. This coalition rested on a slim and shaky parliamentary majority comprising a motley assortment of nationalist and regionalist forces. Two years of rudderless Spanish politics after the fall of Mariano Rajoy thus came to an end. Pablo Iglesias, the leader of UP, hailed this coalition as “the most-progressive government” in recent Spanish history. Yet recent events have dispelled this euphoria. Spain gazes into the abyss...
Marxism, the State, and the Tributary Mode of Production In this article, Josh Holroyd discusses the so-called Tributary Mode of Production, which has gained traction in academic circles as an alleged ‘update’ to Marx’s conception of historical development. However, a close inspection of this theory, its method and origins reveals less a development of Marxism than a retreat from it, in the face of attacks from its reactionary opponents in the universities.
Britain: a government of liars, crooks and conmen 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.
‘Lenin and Trotsky - What they really stood for’ in Chinese We are proud to announce the very first Chinese language edition of Lenin and Trotsky - what they really stood for, making these ideas available to the workers and youth in the Chinese-speaking world: a vital section of the international working class.