Imtv Radio - Marxist Ideas. Fighting For Revolution.

In this talk from Revolution Festival 2019, Adam Booth - editor of www.socialist.net - compares and contrasts the economic ideas of Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes, and MMT. The crash of 2008 brought all the established neoliberal economic ideas into question. As Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman told an audience at the London School of Economics in the wake of the financial crisis: “Most work in macroeconomics in the past 30 years has been useless at best and harmful at worst.” Over a decade on, and mainstream capitalist economists still have no answers or solutions. Some on the left have attempted to fill the vacuum with alternative economic theories. These include old ideas, such as those of John Maynard Keynes; and new concepts, such as 'Modern Monetary Theory'. Neither of these tendencies, however, provide a genuine, scientific analysis of capitalism. Instead, both seek to patch up and reform the broken capitalist system. In this talk, Adam looks at these economic ideas - old and new - and e

In this talk from Revolution Festival 2019, Ben Curry (of the Socialist Appeal editorial board)discusses the Marxist philosophy of dialectical materialism and its application to the natural world. Dialectics is a philosophy of change, explaining that all matter is in a state of motion and flux. But how does this change take place? Using a number of examples from science - from thermodynamics, to evolution, to chaos theory - Ben demonstrates one of the basic principles of dialectics: that change occurs through a process of 'quantity and quality'. In other words, the gradual accumulation of small quantitative changes eventually leads to the qualitative transformation of a system to a new equilibrium state. Such 'tipping points' are seen all around us in nature - and, Ben stresses, in society also, in the form of capitalist crises and revolutions. This is why an understanding of dialectics is so vital for all Marxists and revolutionary activists today.

In this talk from Revolution Festival 2019, Jorge Martin - editor of American Socialista and writer for www.marxist.com - discusses the recent revolutionary developments in Latin America, including in Chile, Ecuador, and Haiti. Until recently, commentary about Latin American politics was full of pessimism and talk about a swing to the right, with the election of the Macri and Bolsonaro governments in Argentina and Brazil, respectively; and with Trump's attempted coup against the Maduro government in Venezuela. But now the pendulum has begun to swing in the opposite direction, with a revolutionary wave sweeping across the continent. Uprisings, insurrections, and mass movements have erupted onto the streets in Ecuador, Chile, Haiti, Honduras, and elsewhere. Meanwhile, Macri has been defeated in the Argentinian elections; AMLO remains popular amongst the masses in Mexico; and workers and youth have come out en masse against Bolsonaro's reactionary programme. Jorge examines these revolutionary processes devel

In this talk from the recent Revolution Festival, Marie Frederiksen - editor of the Danish Marxist paper 'Revolution' - discusses the impact of the Berlin Wall, which was broken apart 30 years ago, on 9th November 1989. This marked the beginning of the end for the Stalinist regimes of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Subsequently, liberal commentators declared that these events marked the final victory of capitalism over Communism. As Marie explains, however, what collapsed was not genuine Communism, but a deformed caricature of Communism, strangled and suffocated by the growth of an enormous bureaucracy. Despite this, enormous gains were made as a result of the planned economy. And vice-versa, huge falls in living standards were experienced in Russia and Eastern Europe following the collapse into capitalism. The task for Marxists today is to counter the hysteria of the liberal establishment, and to understand why the Russian Revolution degenerated into Stalinism. Above all, as Marie emphasises, we m

Speaking at a day school in Manchester earlier this year, Josh Holroyd of Socialist Appeal discusses the events surrounding the Peterloo massacre of 16th August 1819, when thousands of protestors demanding political rights were brutally repressed by local representatives of the ruling class. As Josh explains, the Peterloo massacre marked a turning point for the working class in England. In the years that followed, powerful trade unions were forged in order to fight back against the attacks of the capitalists. And within decades, mass political movements such as the Chartists were on the rise, striking fear into the hearts of the bourgeoisie. 200 years on, we stand on the shoulders of giants as we attempt to build on these revolutionary traditions - fighting for socialism in Britain and internationally.

Alan Woods, editor of In Defence of Marxism, discusses the current contest between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt to succeed Theresa May as leader of the Conservative Party. As Alan highlights, it is a farce of democracy that a 160,000-strong reactionary rabble of Tory members will decide who becomes the next Prime Minister. Whilst the Tory leadership candidates out-compete each other over Brexit, the right wing of the Labour Party are once again ramping up their efforts to undermine Jeremy Corbyn. Far from being unelectable, in reality the Blairites fear that Corbyn could end up in Downing Street. Hence the endless smears and slanders - for example over antisemitism. We cannot allow this sabotage to continue. Nor can we allow a new Prime Minister to come to power in a coronation or coup. Instead, we need to fight for a general election and a socialist Labour government.

Daniel Morley, writer for Socialist Appeal, discusses the mass movement that is taking place in Hong Kong against the repressive extradition law. Millions have participated in the protests against the newly proposed extradition bill - this in a city of around 7.5 million. This shows the scale of the anger that exists towards the Hong Kong government, and the Beijing regime that stands behind them. Hong Kongers are rightly terrified of seeing their democratic rights torn to shreds, as Xi Jinping seeks to shore up China against the instability of class struggle, trade wars, and international meddling. The movement has grown in militancy since its beginning, and is now demanding the resignation of Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam. The call for a general strike has also gained an echo. The task ahead for this movement is to organise mass strike action, and to forge links with the working class internationally - particularly the workers and youth of mainland China. On this basis, the Hong Kong protests could act a

Hamid Alizadeh, writer for In Defence of Marxism, discusses the increasing friction between the USA and Iran, with Washington accusing the Tehran regime of attacking two oil tankers and shooting down an American drone. The US President, with the support of belligerent influential figures like John Bolton, has escalated tensions and threatened military strikes in retaliation. But he has been forced to pull back, for now. It is clear that the bellicose Trump administration, along with their reactionary allies in the Middle East, are looking to thwart the power and influence of Iran in the region, in order to assert their own imperialist interests. We must oppose this sabre-rattling and warmongering. The task of overthrowing the corrupt Iranian regime belongs to the Iranian masses, not the occupants of the White House.

Fred Weston, editor of www.marxist.com, discusses the revolutionary events taking place in Sudan. In April this year, after decades in power, long-standing dictator Omar al-Bashir was toppled by a mass movement. Following this, a military junta - the Transitional Military Council (TMC) - stepped into the vacuum. But workers across Sudan recently shut down the economy with a powerful general strike, aimed at wrestling control from the TMC. This terrified the regime, who know that they could lose all their power and privileges. As a result, counter-revolutionary forces have reared their head, with reactionary paramilitary groups marching through the streets of Khartoum, attacking barricades and brutally murdering activists. This, in turn, could whip the revolution forward, as rank-and-file solider defect to defend their brothers and sisters. The future of the Sudanese revolution therefore hangs in the balance. What is needed is to form revolutionary committees composed of workers and soldiers. The only way

Alan Woods, editor of In Defence of Marxism, comments on President Trump's recent state visit to Britain. With Theresa May stepping down, Tory leadership contenders have made a lot of noise about how Britain will 'reclaim sovereignty' and 'take back control' after Brexit. But the events surrounding Trump's visit expose this as a complete charade. Far from achieving a favourable trade deal with the USA, the Tory government is preparing the ground for American big business to sweep in and pick at whatever scraps are left of the British economy after Brexit. The NHS is "on the table"; regulations on food quality are under threat; and no doubt environmental standards and workers' conditions will be attacked too in order to reach a deal. This, then, is the real nature of the so-called "special relationship" between Britain and America: the relationship between a servant and his master. Trump says 'jump', and the Tories ask 'how high?' Instead of this craven fawning, we need a socialist Labour government that

In this talk from a recent London-wide meeting of the Marxist Student Federation, Daniel Morley discusses the Tiananmen student protests that shook the regime in China 30 years ago. The Tiananmen square protests were the largest student movement in history, with over 1 million involved at the height of the demonstrations. But, as Daniel explains, the protests were not confined just to students. Workers across Beijing also came out in support of the movement, and the initial wave of soldiers sent in to repress the protestors ended up sympathising with them. In the end, however, the opportunity was lost for the protests to extend and develop into a broader movement of workers and students, despite demands for a general strike being raised. As a result, the movement ebbed. Facing more intense repressive measures, the demonstrators left in the infamous Beijing central square were forced to accept defeat. Daniel outlines the history leading up to the Tiananmen movement, showing how ultimately this was a rebel

In this talk from a recent London-wide meeting of the Marxist Student Federation, Hamid Alizadeh - writer for In Defence of Marxism - discusses the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, and the links between jihadi organisations and Western imperialism. After every barbaric terrorist attack, right-wing politicians and commentators attempt to whip up the idea of a "clash of civilisations" between Muslims and the Arab world, on one side, and liberal Western democracies, on the other. But the inconvenient truth is that the ruling class in the West is behind the origins of Islamic fundamentalism as a political force. As Hamid explains, political Islamic groups like the Muslim Brotherhood were built up historically as a counter-balance to left-wing Arab nationalism in Egypt and elsewhere. In Afghanistan, meanwhile, the Taliban were originally supported by US imperialism in their fight against the Soviet Union. And the jihadi terrorism seen across the world today is an export of the reactionary Wahhabi clerics in Sa

In this talk from a recent meeting of the Marxist Student Federation in London, Francesco Merli - writer for www.marxist.com - examines the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and discusses the solution to the crisis in the Middle East. The chaotic situation in Israel and Palestine is one imperialism's worst ever crimes. By dividing up Palestine and creating the Zionist state of Israel, the imperialists transformed the region - in the words of Leon Trotsky - into "a bloody trap" for both Jews and Arabs. Over 70 years on from the creation of Israel, and the mass displacement that this caused, the oppression of the Palestinian people continues unabated. Indeed, conditions inside Gaza are deteriorating by the day, and the Israeli state's colonisation of the West Bank is growing. With Netanyahu's recent re-election, there is seemingly no end in sight to this catastrophe. Under capitalism, there is no solution to this crisis. A single state would be either an apartheid state, or would involve driving mil

Alan Woods - editor of In Defence of Marxism - discusses the battle in the Labour Party over the question of a second referendum. The Tories are torn apart over Brexit. Yet rather than uniting behind their party leader, right-wing Labour MPs are putting all of their energies into attacking Jeremy Corbyn. Sooner or later, judgement day will come for Theresa May, and the opportunity for Corbyn’s Labour to form a government will present itself. But how will Corbyn deal with the wreckers in his ranks and the question of the EU? At some point, Corbyn will face a choice: submit to the sabotage of the markets and the Blairite Fifth Column, or break with the bosses’ Europe and the capitalist system. Alan explains that the Corbyn movement must prepare for this showdown now. And that means arguing the case boldly for a radical transformation of society – for a Socialist United States of Europe.

In this video from the 2018 Revolution Festival, Francesco Merli of In Defence of Marxism (www.marxist.com) discusses the events and lessons of the 1968 Prague Spring - a revolt against the Stalinist bureaucracy that was put down by Moscow. In 1968, over 50 years ago, USSR-backed tanks rolled into Czechoslovakia to crush the Prague Spring. But could the movement have been successful? The Prague Spring was a movement with the potential to develop into a socialist political revolution against the Communist Party bureaucracy, possibly with far-reaching consequences. For this reason, over the last half century, this inspiring episode has been slandered by Stalinists, co-opted by liberals, and distorted by both. In this talk, Francesco Merli provides the real story of the 1968 Prague Spring, outlining why it was defeated, and discussing its importance for revolutionaries today.

In this talk from last year's Revolution Festival, Ben Gliniecki looks at the current collapse of the liberal status quo, providing a Marxist analysis of liberalism's rise and fall. In November 2016, American voters dispatched “the electoral equivalent of a suicide bomber to Washington”, according to the Financial Times. Only months before, the British public had delivered a shocking blow to the European establishment by voting by a narrow majority to leave the European Union. Today, nationalist parties across Europe are rising in the polls and a series of constitutional crises are opening up in Italy, Brazil and Britain (of course). These are again highlighting the weakness of the liberal political and economic order that, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, had been considered by many to be indestructible. But what exactly is liberalism? What does it represent? And why is it now in crisis everywhere? Ben Gliniecki considers these questions and discusses the possibility of a new world order based o

Speaking at the recent Peterloo day school in Manchester, Mike Hogan of Liverpool Wavertree CLP discusses the lessons from the struggles waged in the 1980s by Liverpool city against Thatcher and the cuts. With Marxist Labour councillors in the leadership, a mass movement involving the entire labour movement and working class communities was built up in Liverpool in the 80s, in order to oppose cuts and fight for socialist policies. This was part of a national campaign, with anti-cuts councils springing up across the country. But unfortunately, rather than supporting this militant movement, the Labour leadership under Kinnock preferred to spend their time conducting a witch hunt against the Marxists in the Labour Party. Without national support, councils gradually fell away and buckled one-by-one. In the end, Liverpool city council was left isolated and the movement was defeated. Today, with a Tory government once again carrying out austerity and attacks on workers and youth, it is high time that Labour cou

In this talk from the 2018 Revolution Festival, Ben Curry of the Socialist Appeal editorial board discusses the life of James Connolly: the man, his ideas, and their relevance for Marxists today. James Connolly was born in 1868 to Irish parents in Edinburgh’s Cowgate slum. He would grow to be the greatest Marxist ever produced by these islands; an iconic figure in the history of the Irish working class. Executed by the British army in 1916 following his leading role in the Easter Rising, Connolly’s courage and sacrifice stand out as an inspiration to revolutionaries everywhere. His ideas remain an important contribution to the Marxist understanding of national oppression and the struggle against it.

In this talk from the Revolution Festival 2018, Daniel Morley of the Socialist Appeal editorial board examines one of the most long-standing questions of philosophy: what is consciousness? This is a question that has become increasingly relevant with the rise of artificial intelligence. Modern technological advances have raised the idea of creating machines capable of thinking for themselves. This has generated hopes - and fears - that the next generation of robots will be able to display signs of consciousness. But is all this just the stuff of science fiction? Daniel attempts to answer these questions using the method of dialectical materialism - the philosophy of Marxism. In the process, Daniel explores the mysterious world of the human brain, examining what it is that separates our minds from machines.

In this talk from the 2018 Revolution Festival, Rob Sewell (editor of Socialist Appeal) explains the causes behind the 2008 crash and discusses the revolutionary way forward for society. September 2018 marked the 10th anniversary since the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the beginning of the deepest economic crisis in the history of capitalism. Now, over a decade on, none of the mainstream economists or establishment politicians can explain how we got here or offer a way out of the crisis. The economic ideas and analysis provided by Karl Marx, by contrast, provide a clear explanation of why crises occur under capitalism. Only by breaking with the profit system and establishing a socialist plan of production can we stop the slump and put an end to these crises once and for all.