In this talk from the International Marxist University, Josh Holroyd - a leading activist with Socialist Appeal - demonstrates and defends the method of Marxist historical materialism. Visit podcast.marxist.com for the full recordings. Bourgeois, liberal and postmodern historians alike tend to reject the Marxist view that history is driven by material laws and processes. Some also reject the idea of progress, saying this is merely a point of view. They say that history is basically random, punct...
Oct 21, 2020•38 min
In this talk from last year's Revolution Festival, Josh Holroyd discusses the rise of the working class in Britain, and the lessons from the revolutionary movement of the Chartists. Find out more on this fascinating topic by getting a copy of Rob Sewell's new book on 'Chartist Revolution', out now through Wellred Books. wellredbooks.net/chartist-revolution.html ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Peterloo massacre took place over 200 years ago in Manchester. Thi...
Oct 16, 2020•49 min
In this talk from the International Marxist University, John Peterson of Socialist Revolution USA explores the differences between Marxism and anarchism. Marxists and anarchists share many of the same objectives in common: fighting oppression; smashing the bourgeois state; creating a society without class exploitation and so on. However, there are also important differences in our ideas and methods - particularly relating to the nature of power in general, and of state power in particular. These...
Oct 14, 2020•41 min
In this talk from the recent International Marxist University, Rob Sewell - editor of Socialist Appeal - outlines the fundamentals of Marxist economics, and explains why only these revolutionary ideas can offer a way out of the impasse of capitalist crisis. As Rob explains, many attempts have been made over the years to ‘update’ Marx’s economic theories. Inevitably, these ideas jettison the revolutionary core of Marxist economics. Instead of applying a dialectical and materialist method to the e...
Oct 09, 2020•40 min
In this online talk organised by the Marxist Student Federation as part of Black History Month, Fiona Lali (national organiser of the MSF) explains why the fight against racism must be a fight against capitalism. In the coming weeks, the MSF will be publishing a series of articles and videos on the origins of slavery; the roots of racism; the black power struggle; from Windrush to the refugee crisis; and how we must fight against capitalism, racism, and all forms of oppression. In the wake of th...
Oct 08, 2020•37 min
Alan Woods – editor of In Defence of Marxism – comments on the situation in the USA, where it was announced last week that President Donald Trump has contracted COVID-19, amidst a farcical presidential election and the greatest crisis in the history of US capitalism. Trump’s reckless response to the pandemic has led to the USA having 7.5m COVID-19 cases and 200,000 deaths: the highest in the world. This catastrophe has caused Trump’s polling figures to plummet, leading him to furiously point the...
Oct 06, 2020•43 min
In this talk from the recent International Marxist University, Daniel Morley, a leading activist and writer with Socialist Appeal, provides a Marxist critique of postmodernism - an idealist philosophy that is in vogue amongst certain left-wing activists and academic. Postmodernism is very popular on university campuses, and has also gained an echo in the workers’ movement. This school of thought denies the very idea of historical progress. It echoes Henry Ford, saying “history is just one damn t...
Oct 02, 2020•47 min
In this talk from the International Marxist University, Claudio Bellotti - a leading activist of Sinistra Classe Rivoluzione, Italian section of the IMT - discusses the question of sectarianism. Visit podcast.marxist.com for the full recordings. In the socialist movement, there are those who compromise on political principles opportunistically in order to find a short-cut to the masses; and there those who place themselves outside the main workers’ struggle, spending their time attacking other o...
Sep 23, 2020•45 min
In our podcast series 'The World Turned Upside Down', Alan Woods (editor of In Defence of Marxism) discusses the English Revolution: a colossal event in world history that dealt an irreparable blow to feudal absolutism. In the final episode of this series, Alan Woods explains how Oliver Cromwell - a man who embodied the contradictions of his class - went from revolutionary to counter-revolutionary; how a revolution that overthrew the monarchy ended in its restoration and the lessons of these eve...
Sep 18, 2020•1 hr 1 min
In this talk from the recent International Marxist University, Jack Halinski-Fitzpatrick - the director of Wellred Books, the official bookshop of the IMT - discusses the Marxist solution to climate change. Visit podcast.marxist.com for the full recordings. Capitalism’s rampant exploitation of the earth’s resources is wreaking havoc on the natural world: with a spike in freak weather events, floods, wildfires and so on. In recent years, the struggle against climate change has erupted with explos...
Sep 16, 2020•32 min
In our podcast series 'The World Turned Upside Down', Alan Woods (editor of In Defence of Marxism) discusses the English Revolution: a colossal event in world history that dealt an irreparable blow to feudal absolutism. In the penultimate episode of this series, Alan Woods discusses how the great English Revolution, which embodied the hopes and democratic aspirations of so many ordinary people, ended with the dictatorship of one man: Oliver Cromwell. But the regime over which he ruled was very d...
Sep 11, 2020•34 min
In this talk from the recent International Marxist University, Niklas Albin Svensson - a leading activist of the International Marxist Tendency - explains why reformism is a dead end and only revolutionary struggle can improve the lives of working people. Visit podcast.marxist.com for the full recordings. Marxists are frequently attacked as unrealistic utopians. Rather than talking about revolution, the reformists say we should focus on winning achievable goals for workers. But all over the worl...
Sep 09, 2020•45 min
In our podcast series 'The World Turned Upside Down', Alan Woods (editor of In Defence of Marxism) discusses the English Revolution: a colossal event in world history that dealt an irreparable blow to feudal absolutism. In this latest episode, Alan explains how, with the death of King Charles and the defeat of the Presbyterian counter revolution, Oliver Cromwell moved to crush the most radical wing of the New Model Army. With the Last Stand of the Levellers in 1649 and the suppression of the Dig...
Sep 04, 2020•39 min
In this talk from the recent International Marxist University, Ben Curry - a leading activist of Socialist Appeal - discusses Marxism and modern science. Visit podcast.marxist.com for the full recordings. On the anniversary of Engels’ birth, we highlight one of Engels’ greatest works, Dialectics of Nature. With his masterful grasp of dialectics, Engels pre-empted scientific discoveries like the equivalence of matter and energy and the role of labour in the development of modern humans. Ben Curry...
Sep 02, 2020•46 min
In our podcast series 'The World Turned Upside Down', Alan Woods (editor of In Defence of Marxism) discusses the English Revolution: a colossal event in world history that dealt an irreparable blow to feudal absolutism. In this episode, Alan explains how the split between the New Model Army and parliament was widening, as the former became increasingly radical, particularly the Levellers faction. At the famous Putney Debates, revolutionary ideas (including universal suffrage) were openly discuss...
Aug 28, 2020•52 min
In this talk from the recent International Marxist University, Adam Booth - a leading activist of Socialist Appeal - discusses the contradictions of capitalism and explains why it is in crisis. Visit podcast.marxist.com for the full recordings. Apologists for capitalism argue that it is the best, most-efficient system that could ever possibly exist. But the current period of crisis and chaos prove otherwise. Today, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an economic collapse that threatens to throw ...
Aug 26, 2020•34 min
In our podcast series 'The World Turned Upside Down', Alan Woods (editor of In Defence of Marxism) discusses the English Revolution: a colossal event in world history that dealt an irreparable blow to feudal absolutism. In this episode, Alan's discusses how, with the victory of Cromwell's army at the Battle of Naseby, the first English Civil War came to an end. The defeated King handed himself over to the Scots, hoping to play the New Model Army (likened to a combination of the Soviets, the Red ...
Aug 21, 2020•29 min
In this talk from the recent International Marxist University, Alan Woods - editor of the In Defence of Marxism website and author of a long list of books on Marxist theory - discusses perspectives for the world revolution. Visit podcast.marxist.com for the full recordings. The year 2020 will enter the annals of history as a decisive turning point. The coronavirus pandemic, the economic collapse and the corresponding wave of popular anger and revolts have brought all the contradictions in capita...
Aug 19, 2020•39 min
The Lebanese masses are moving once again. In the wake of the August 4th Beirut blast which devastated much of the city, the masses have taken to the streets to hold those responsible to account. Rightfully, they have aimed their anger at the corrupt government of Lebanon which caused the blast through their neglect and corruption. In the wake of this powerful movement, the government has resigned for the second time in less than a year. This is a great achievement, but the revolution must go fu...
Aug 17, 2020•36 min
In our podcast series 'The World Turned Upside Down', Alan Woods (editor of In Defence of Marxism) discusses the English Revolution: a colossal event in world history that dealt an irreparable blow to feudal absolutism. In this episode, Alan discusses how, after some losses at the hands of the Royalists, Oliver Cromwell and his new army scored a decisive turning point with a crushing victory at the battle of Marston Moor. But divisions were opening up on the parliamentary side between the radica...
Aug 14, 2020•34 min
In our podcast series 'The World Turned Upside Down', Alan Woods (editor of In Defence of Marxism) discusses the English Revolution: a colossal event in world history that dealt an irreparable blow to feudal absolutism. In our latest episode, Alan discusses how, with the Parliamentarians in a favourable position at the outbreak of the Civil War, thousands of men enlisted to fight on their side. The Royalists, relying on the less economically developed regions, were dependent on superior cavalry ...
Aug 07, 2020•28 min
In our podcast series 'The World Turned Upside Down', Alan Woods (editor of In Defence of Marxism) discusses the English Revolution: a colossal event in world history that dealt an irreparable blow to feudal absolutism. Alan continues his series by explained how, by leaving London, King Charles set in motion a chain of events that would lead inevitably to civil war... A careful study of the English Revolution is obligatory for every class-conscious worker, Leon Trotsky noted. So tune in every we...
Jul 31, 2020•36 min
In this talk from Revolution Festival 2019, Ben Gliniecki - writer for Socialist Appeal - discusses the beginnings of the Communist Party of Great Britain, which was founded 100 years ago on 31 July 1920. The founding of the British Communist Party in 1920 took place during a period of heightened class struggle, marking an important milestone in the development of Marxism. Although only a few thousands strong, it attracted the most militant sections of the working class and led key struggles, su...
Jul 31, 2020•55 min
In our podcast series 'The World Turned Upside Down', Alan Woods (editor of In Defence of Marxism) discusses the English Revolution: a colossal event in world history that dealt an irreparable blow to feudal absolutism. In our latest episode, Alan discusses how, after King Charles' patience with his rebellious parliament ran out, he launched an attempted coup d'état, leading to one of the most famous scenes in English history, with Charles arriving at parliament with a list of names for arrest, ...
Jul 24, 2020•32 min
In our podcast series 'The World Turned Upside Down', Alan Woods (editor of In Defence of Marxism) discusses the English Revolution: a colossal event in world history that dealt an irreparable blow to feudal absolutism. In our latest episode, Alan looks at the developments following the execution of Strafford. If King Charles thought Strafford's execution would calm the situation in England, he was dead wrong. Aside from continued opposition from Pym and parliament, the masses were becoming bold...
Jul 17, 2020•57 min
In our podcast series 'The World Turned Upside Down', Alan Woods (editor of In Defence of Marxism) discusses the English Revolution: a colossal event in world history that dealt an irreparable blow to feudal absolutism. In the latest episode, Alan outlines how King Charles's maneuvers forced him to recall parliament yet again. This however, gave an outlet for the pent up anger of the masses. A new period of turmoil opens up as the conflict pours out onto the streets. Petitions and political agit...
Jul 10, 2020•41 min
From the archive: In this talk from 2013, Fred Weston (editor of www.marxist.com) explains the formation and later collapse of the Fourth International, led by Leon Trotsky in opposition to the Stalinist ComIntern. Fred will be speaking about the history of the International Marxist Tendency at Marxist University 2020. Get your ticket today at https://university.marxist.com/en/
Jul 09, 2020•59 min
In this talk from Socialist Appeal's "Marx in a Day" event in 2018(which celebrated Karl Marx's 200th birthday), Josh Holroyd discusses the contribution made by the great revolutionary thinker towards our understanding of history. With their ideas of "scientific socialism", Marx and Engels provided the first real materialist analysis of how history develops, explaining that the motor force behind society's evolution is the class struggle and the drive to increase the humankind's productive force...
Jul 06, 2020•43 min
In our podcast series 'The World Turned Upside Down', Alan Woods (editor of In Defence of Marxism) discusses the English Revolution: a colossal event in world history that dealt an irreparable blow to feudal absolutism. In this latest episode, Alan explained how the English Revolution began in Scotland. After 11 years of tyranny under King Charles and his court clique, their attempt at religious reform in Scotland proved a serious mistake. A riot at a Cathedral turned into a revolutionary moveme...
Jul 03, 2020•33 min
In our latest episode of Marxist Voice, Labour activist and Socialist Appeal writer Joe Attard joins us to discuss Keir Starmer's dismissal of Rebecca Long-Bailey, and what this means for the fight inside the Labour Party. Last week, Starmer crossed the Rubicon by sacking Long-Bailey from the Shadow Cabinet, based on spurious charges of anti-semitism. This is a declaration of war on the left. Join us to discuss the ongoing battle inside the Labour Party, and how activists should get organised to...
Jun 30, 2020•34 min
