Month: November 2024

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Against the Stream

Netanyahu and the “rules-based order”; The Lebanon ceasefire; Macron sitting on top of a volcano

This week, the Middle East has once again dominated the news, with the ICC issuing an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as the announcement of a supposedly ‘lasting’ ceasefire in Lebanon. In Europe, meanwhile, explosive events are being prepared in France, as the tottering National Assembly is set to face off against a rising tide of class struggle.

Everywhere, the response of the capitalist press to these events has been hysterical and hypocritical. For that reason, in this episode of Against the Stream, Hamid Alizadeh and Jorge Martín – from the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International – analyse the stormy events of the week and draw out the key processes that the capitalist media try to obscure.

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Spectre of Communism

Trump and the crisis of liberal democracy

Three weeks ago, to the horror of the liberal establishment in the USA and internationally, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States for the second time, defeating the hated and discredited Democrats. The capitalist media is filled with hysteria about a dire threat to democracy and the rise of ‘fascism’ posed by Trump’s presidency… just like in 2016! Communists need to cut through all the noise and understand what is really happening here.

The US is facing a deep crisis of the regime, following half a century of capitalist decay. After four years of Joe Biden and the Democrats running in the interests of the rich at home, while facilitating war and genocide abroad, people have had enough. They have lost all faith in ‘official’ institutions like the state, the courts, and establishment politicians, and a growing layer is looking towards (self-proclaimed) alternatives. 

The liberals have nothing to offer, as they preside over a discredited system. Attempts to sell Kamala Harris through identity politics failed to wash. Reformists like Bernie Sanders have also animated millions of workers and young people with class struggle rhetoric, only to betray and disappoint. The labour movement leaders remain slavishly attached to the Democrats. 

Despite being a billionaire elite himself, Trump poses himself as a scrappy, unapologetic enemy of the establishment, and has been able to skillfully (albeit cynically) capitalise on some of the angry mood. Another dose of Trump’s ‘fire and fury’, coupled with a war on federal institutions, will only intensify the polarisation of US society, and further expose the limits of the so-called democratic regime, which will create huge opportunities for revolutionaries! Trump will inevitably disappoint, leading millions to question the entire capitalist system like never before.

This week’s episode of Spectre of Communism Podcast welcomes Antonio Balmer, a leading member of the Revolutionary Communists of America – the US section of the Revolutionary Communist International – who explains why it has never been a better time to be an American communist!

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For more from Antonio on the implications of Trump’s victory, we recommend his recent talk on this topic at the Revolution Festival in London: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cz_JGRVDOY

For further analysis of what Trump’s return to power means for the establishment, we recommend this article by Alan Woods: https://marxist.com/trump-victory-2024.htm

Check out the website of our US comrades in the RCA: https://communistusa.org/

New episodes of the Spectre of Communism podcast are out every Tuesday! Subscribe and  listen at your preferred platform, and find us on social media, here: https://linktr.ee/specom 

#CommunismPodcast #booksnotbombs #civilwar #communism #marxism #podcast #leninlives 

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Against the Stream

Biden escalates Ukraine war, Trump vs the ‘deep state’, and the death of the American dream

In this episode of Against the Stream, Hamid Alizadeh and Niklas Albin Svensson, from the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International, discussed the reckless escalation of the Ukraine war by Biden, Trump’s controversial picks for his administration, and the death of the American Dream.

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind in world politics. As the hosts of Against the Stream have discussed, the German government has collapsed, the Spanish monarch has been pelted with mud, Trump has returned to power, and Biden has now escalated the Ukraine war by permitting the Ukrainians to strike into Russia with American long-range missiles.

In order to penetrate the fog created by the hysterical media and liberal establishment, Hamid and Niklas focused on the incoming Trump presidency and its implications for world imperialism relations.

As we have discussed in previous weeks, Trump’s victory was based on his demagogic appeal to the working class, as well as his promise to pull the US out of the costly war in Ukraine. Now, months away from power, he has started to appoint a coterie of loyalists, all set on purging the state of any opposition to Trump’s programme of tariffs and deportations.

In the meantime, Biden has tried to undermine his arch nemesis Trump by enabling Ukraine to strike into Russia with American missiles, to which Russia has responded with the launch of an ICBM.

All this chaos, on the backdrop of the crisis of the world economy will usher in mighty class struggles which will shake American imperialism to its foundations. 

We’ll be back next week for a special episode on the world economy. As per usual, we’ll be streaming live to YouTube from 3pm GMT.

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Spectre of Communism

Corbyn spokesman: “Why we lost” – reformism & the perils of opportunism

The meteoric rise and catastrophic fall of the Corbyn movement represented a major turning point in British and world politics. For all that it inspired millions of workers and youth, it was an object lesson in the betrayals inherent in reformism and the pitfalls of opportunism: i.e. when left-wing leaders make ‘pragmatic’ concessions to the class enemy – with fatal consequences. This week, the Spectre of Communism speaks to Matt Zarb-Cousin, former spokesperson for Jeremy Corbyn, who saw this process unfold from the inside…

The election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the British Labour Party in 2015 was an earthquake. Massive support for Corbyn’s left-wing programme from workers and young people, in particular, showed the desperation for an alternative after years of grinding capitalist austerity following the 2008 crash. Corbyn was almost elected as Prime Minister in 2017; but was eventually crushed and the Labour left routed, with the pro-capitalist, genocide-supporting Keir Starmer firmly in the driver’s seat. 

What happened, and what are the lessons to be learned? Listen to Zarb-Cousin providing an inside perspective on the errors that ultimately spelled doom for the Corbyn movement, which so terrified the British ruling class for a period. We also welcome Sean Hodges, a leading member of the Revolutionary Communist Party, whose own experiences of that period led him towards Marxism and communism, as the only road forward for working people and the youth.

The Labour Party in its current guise is totally sewn up by the right wing, but the return of popular left-reformist trends is not ruled out. As the crisis of capitalism continues unabated, similar developments to the Corbyn phenomenon will undoubtedly emerge in the future. It is therefore vital that communists and class fighters make a serious study of the failure of Corbynism, and especially the threat posed by opportunism in particular.

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Against the Stream

The implications of Trump’s victory, the Ukraine war, and protests in Spain

This week on Against the Stream, Hamid Alizadeh and Jorge Martin from the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International sat down once again to discuss the implications of Trump’s victory on the class struggle in America, the Ukraine war, and the floods in Valencia, Spain, which have led to protests of hundreds of thousands of people against the regime.

Every week, members of the International secretariat pick a number of flashpoints in current affairs to discuss, using articles from the billionaire press as a starting point.

Contrary to the liberals, who respond to these events with hysteria and confusion, we, as Marxists, seek to explain and understand what is going on beneath the surface, and what is driving these events forward.

Tune in to Against the Stream every Thursday at 3pm (GMT). New episodes are streamed live to YouTube. We’d love to hear your feedback along with any articles or questions you want discussed on the podcast.

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Spectre of Communism

Venezuelan communist discusses revolution, Hugo Chavez and workers’ control

Today, Venezuela is used as a horror story by right-wingers and reactionaries, who hold it up as an example of why “socialism never works”. In fact, the Venezuelan Revolution was an inspiring episode in recent history, which showed the immense power of the masses and the potential of workers to run their workplaces without bosses. But it also demonstrated that you cannot have half a revolution: once the process has begun, it must end with the expropriation of capitalism and socialist reconstruction – as our comrade Luis Romero from Caracas explains!

The oppressed masses, rallying behind the figure of Hugo Chávez, mobilised to fight imperialism and oligarchy, who used the immense oil of the country for the betterment of the working class and the poor. When the bosses and oil barons tried to sabotage the revolution by halting production, the workers took over the companies and land themselves, and began running them under workers’ control. Luis talks all about these experiences.

Despite all his strengths, Chavez never fully broke with the state bureaucracy and did not help the workers manage the economy under a common, national plan. However, the ingenuity of the masses and the power of workers’ management were demonstrated in practice during the Bolivarian Revolution, which is full of lessons for class fighters today!

For more on the Venezuelan Revolution, we recommend this selection of articles available on the In Defence of Marxism website: https://marxist.com/theory-venezuelan-revolution.htm

We also recommend this recent podcast by the US section of the Revolutionary Communist International: https://communistusa.org/audio-what-happened-in-the-venezuelan-revolution/

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Against the Stream

Rage against the ruling class in Spain, Trump and the class struggle in the US, and the German government collapses!

Closely following our special episode with Alan Woods covering Trump’s victory in the US election, Against the Stream went live again this week for another discussion. This time, Hamid Alizadeh and Fred Weston from the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International met to talk about the devastating floods in Spain and the resulting  rage of the masses against the ruling class, the abrupt collapse of the German government, and more on the implications of Trump’s victory.

Read the articles discussed by Hamid and Fred here:

Trump victory: a kick in the teeth for the establishment / https://marxist.com/trump-victory-2024.htm

How Trump Won the Economy-Is-Everything Election / https://www.wsj.com/economy/economy-election-trump-voters-c4c2e9a3

Germany’s coalition government falls apart — how it happened / https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-coalition-government-falls-apart-how-it-happened/a-70717066

Spain: monarchs pelted with mud as rage over avoidable deaths boils over in Valencia / https://marxist.com/spain-monarchs-pelted-with-mud-as-rage-over-avoidable-deaths-boils-over-in-valencia.htm

Feijóo and Sánchez take note of the social discontent and order to “calm down” the public battle / https://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/2024-11-05/feijoo-y-sanchez-toman-nota-hartazgo-social-ordenan-serenar-combate-publico_3997241/

The king surrounds himself with employers and unions with the message of avoiding the political battle after the altercation in Paiporta / https://www.eldiario.es/economia/rey-rodea-patronal-sindicatos-mensaje-evitar-batalla-politica-altercado-paiporta_1_11797536.html

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Against the Stream

Trump’s victory: What does it mean? – A communist analysis with Alan Woods

This week, Against the Stream podcast went live for a very special episode. Now that the results of the US election have come in, Hamid Alizadeh and Alan Woods from the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International (RCI) sat down to discuss the implications of Trump’s victory and what it means to communists. Alan is the editor of marxist.com, the author of numerous books on Marxist theory and the lead theoretician of the RCI.

This year’s election has been one of the most turbulent in US history. It comes amidst rising class contradictions and great instability on the world stage.

Never before has American bourgeois democracy been so discredited, and never has it been so confronted with so many challenges to its position as the world imperialist power. Trump’s victory – against the hysterical attacks of the liberal establishment and media – will mark a milestone in the US’s tumble towards further crisis and instability.

A Marxist analysis of this election, and its implications on the already fragile world situation, is of huge importance to communists.

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Spectre of Communism

Communist answers the web’s most searched questions

With so much crisis and chaos in the world today, more and more people are turning to the internet for answers about what communism really is. But there’s a lot of propaganda and misinformation out there, so this week we’ve brought on leading RCI member Fred Weston for the Communism Autocomplete Interview: answering the most common questions people are typing into Google about what communists believe, what we want, and how we’re fighting for it!

Millions of people around the world are actively looking towards communism to put an end to the misery and barbarism of capitalism. If you are one of them, join the Revolutionary Communist International in the fight for communism!

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Against the Stream

Spanish floods, war in the Middle East, and the US elections

This week, Jorge and Hamid sat down to discuss three flashpoints in the world crisis of capitalism: the floods that are devastating Spain, the spiralling conflict in the Middle East, and the impending US election.

In each episode of our new podcast Against the Stream, members of the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International meet to talk about the most pressing events in the world today. With the help of a few articles selected from the capitalist press, they reveal the interests and processes guiding these developments which the mainstream media won’t talk about.

This week, Jorge and Hamid look at the current flooding in Spain, a symptom of climate catastrophe made dramatically worse by the short sighted, profit driven policy of the government; the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, and Israel’s missile strikes on Iran, which for the first time put Iran and Israel in open, direct conflict; and the American election, the discrediting of the mainstream media, and the economic crisis in the USA which is driving deep polarisation.

This episode was streamed live to YouTube, and you can catch new episodes of Against the Stream weekly at 3pm (GMT). We’d love to hear your feedback along with any articles or questions you want discussed on the podcast.

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