Marxist economics: How capitalism works - and how it doesn't

In this talk from the Revolution Festival, Nigel Warren provides an introduction to Marxist economics - discussing why capitalism goes into crisis, and explaining why socialism is the only way forward. It is over a decade now since the economic crash of 2008. And with the coronavirus pandemic paralysing production, and stock markets tumbling once again, a new slump is about to hit. The epidemic is not the cause of the crisis, however, but merely its trigger; the historical 'accident' that exposes the 'necessity' of the system's contradictions. The real cause of capitalist crisis, as Nigel outlines, is overproduction. The defenders of capitalism have no answers or solutions. By their own admission, the economic ideas they put forward have proven useless at best, and harmful at worst. Over 150 years since Karl Marx first published Capital, it remains the only work that comprehensively explains the workings of the capitalist system - and why it must be overthrown.