The question of how to combine the struggle for reforms under capitalism with the need to go further and fight for socialism has occupied a very important part of the debates and tasks of the world communist movement since its birth.

The brutal bombing of Gaza City, with the huge numbers killed – well over 11,000 officially recorded so far, with a further 3,000 missing – and the massive destruction of infrastructure, the bombing of hospitals, schools, refugee camps, the targeting of ambulances and medical staff, all highlight the barbarism of the Israeli army’s onslaught on the Palestinian people. 

The following is an interview conducted by marxist.com with a Palestinian teacher, living in the West Bank. They provide a powerful eyewitness account of the brutal violence being enacted against Palestinians by illegal Israeli settlers, backed up by the IDF. They also express frustration towards the Palestinian Authority, and the ruling elites in the Middle East, who are abandoning Palestine to its fate; in stark contrast to huge solidarity from the masses of the region. The interviewee has asked to remain anonymous, for security reasons.

Bourgeois democracy in Austria is in a senile crisis. Like in other countries in Europe, the Hamas attacks of 7 October have been used to whip up a reactionary mood. Muslim migrants and the communists of Der Funke (the IMT in Austria) are at the centre of these political attacks, with reformist leaders of Social Democracy and Communist Party actively persecuting party members who stand in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Britain's Home Secretary Suella Braverman is out. Former Prime Minister David Cameron is back. The crisis of the Tory Party is deepening. The massive movement in solidarity with Palestine is revealing the capitalist establishment’s weakness. It is time to overthrow their system.

After the results of Argentina’s general elections last month, the two leading candidates, Peronist Sergio Massa and far-right Javier Milei, will contest the presidency in a run-off election on 19 November. The prospect of a run-off election, a device of bourgeois democracy that is meant to force working-class voters to support one of two capitalist candidates who do not represent their interests, has revealed enormous confusion among Argentina’s largest left parties.

This year’s Revolution Festival in Britain was an event like none other. One thousand communists from across the world gathered for an inspiring, historic event, energised by the momentous next step: launching the Revolutionary Communist Party. If you're in Britain, join our comrades in this venture!

On the weekend of 4 and 5 November, der Funke, the Swiss section of the International Marxist Tendency (IMT), held its 2023 Marxist Autumn School. The theme of this year’s school was The Road to Communism, and the weekend proved that communists have a plan and are bursting with drive.

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?

On 4-5 November, the national congress of the Brazilian section of the IMT took place. The congress was tasked with evaluating the development of the organisation, the developing political situation, and the success of the “are you a communist?” campaign. In light of this, the organisation decided to change its name. Previously Esquerda Marxista (Marxist Left), the Brazilian section of the IMT is now called the Internationalist Communist Organisation!

The crisis in NUPES – the ‘union’ consisting of La France Insoumise (FI), the Socialist Party (PS), the Greens and the Communist Party (PCF) – is increasingly taking on the air of a bedroom farce: shouting, declamations, doors opening, slammed, and then opened again, etc. Boredom mixed with irritation is spreading among the audience, and little by little the auditorium is emptying.

A month after the Israeli government commenced its ethnic cleansing against Palestinians, the Organisation of Port Dockers of Barcelona (OEPB), ​​has resolved “not to allow the activity of ships in our port that contain war material”. The USTP (Port Workers Union) also took the same decision on 8 November.

The Reverend Thomas Malthus gained notoriety in the 19th century as an ardent defender of poverty and inequality. He asserted that the poor were not poor because of capitalist exploitation or injustice, but because there were simply too many of them, competing over limited resources. Today, Malthus’ ideas still circulate in various different forms, and have even gained some influence on the left. In this article, Adam Booth draws on Marx and Engels’ critique of Malthus to expose the false and reactionary implications of these ideas today.

Members of Marxist Left (the Brazilian section of the IMT) and the Brazilian Communist Party – Revolutionary Reconstruction met on the afternoon of Thursday 2 November 2 at the “Rally against imperialist wars – Ukraine and Palestine”, hosted jointly by both organisations. 200 people attended, including members and guests, with political reports delivered by Jorge Martín, representing the International Marxist Tendency (IMT), Gabriel Lazzari, representing the PCB-RR, and Serge Goulart, representing the Marxist Left.

It has been two years since Myanmar’s military coup in 2021, which removed the bourgeois liberal government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The masses rose up heroically against the coup, but the liberals’ betrayal led to a painful defeat. Today, the coup regime is creating hellish, barbarous conditions. From the free-falling economy, out-of-control organised crime and human trafficking in the hundreds of thousands, to the trigger-happy junta regime that faces potential civil war, capitalism has furnished yet another bloody case proving the need for socialism.