Category: Spectre of Communism

To mark 10,000 streams, this week’s special episode of International Marxist Radio (IMR) features a gem from the archives: a rare recording of a 1974 speech by Ted Grant – celebrated Marxist theoretician and founder of what was to become the International Marxist Tendency.

This fascinating speech on the world political situation came at a key juncture in history, when the decades of postwar capitalist upswing were drawing to a close – marking the beginning of a new world crisis, and revolutionary developments in one country after another.

Included amongst these developments were revolutionary movements in Europe, such as the Portuguese revolution of 1974 – which, as Ted points out, had the potential to spark an all-Iberian, all-European and possibly even world revolution, given the right leadership.

Although not every detail of this speech was borne out by events, the general thrust is remarkably prescient, offering comrades a valuable example of the Marxist method in practice, which, as Trotsky once said, provides us with “the advantage of foresight over astonishment”.

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This week’s episode of International Marxist Radio (IMR) features marxist.com writer and editor Ben Curry speaking about the current crisis in cosmology, which has been intensified by the first images released by the James Webb Space Telescope.

These stunning images, which are the most far-reaching ever obtained by humanity, pose serious problems for some well-established theories in modern physics – most notably the Big Bang Theory.

As Ben explains, such mystical theories are a consequence of the influence of idealist philosophy in the natural sciences – which, as a means of explaining the material world, must base themselves on materialist philosophy if they are to ever truly expand human knowledge.

This discussion is based on an article from issue 39 of ‘In Defence of Marxism’ magazine.

Purchase and subscribe to the magazine here: https://www.marxist.com/magazine.htm

Read the article online here: https://www.marxist.com/the-james-webb-telescope-an-eye-onto-a-universe-infinite-in-time-and-space.htm

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This week’s episode of International Marxist Radio (IMR) features presenter Joe Attard speaking to Socialist Appeal writer Ben Gliniecki about the crisis of liberalism – and specifically about whether this crisis is now abating, as some bourgeois commentators have claimed. This is merely wishful thinking.

Events in recent years – such as the reelection of Macron in France, the imposing of Sunak in Britain, the election of Biden in the US among others – point to an uptick in fortunes for the institutions of liberal capitalism, or so the argument goes.

But as Ben explains, these examples demonstrate nothing of the sort; rather, it is only the absence of a convincing alternative on the left that allows this ailing system to go on at all.

Disclaimer: this discussion was recorded at the end of 2022. We are publishing it as it is still relevant now, despite some of the particulars having moved on somewhat.

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This week’s episode of International Marxist Radio (IMR) features presenter Joe Attard speaking to socialist.net editor Adam Booth about the world economy – in particular, about the latest annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Davos, Switzerland.

Whilst some attendees attempted to highlight a few ‘green shoots of hope’, the overall tone of the event was sombre. ‘Polycrisis’ was this year’s buzzword, with everything going wrong all at once from the perspective of global capitalism.

Will interest rate hikes save the world economy? Protectionism? China? One thing seems certain: whichever path the ruling class takes from now on will be the wrong one. It is high time they were relieved of their duties.

Read Adam’s article on Davos here: https://www.marxist.com/davos-2023-capitalism-s-polycrisis-strikes-fear-into-the-ruling-class-hearts.htm

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International Marxist Radio (IMR) will this week be covering recent developments in Peru, which in December saw democratically elected president Castillo deposed by a capitalist coup. Last week’s guest Jorge Martín returns to speak to presenter Joe Attard about the situation in the country – which has been escalating since Castillo’s removal – and what could be next for the movement.

While usurper president Dina Boluarte has doubled down on repression since introducing a state of emergency last month, the workers and peasants have also refused to back down, showing enormous bravery in resisting the illegitimate regime up to this point.

What will happen next? And what can socialists around the world do to support the masses of Peru against this barefaced attack?

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This week’s episode of International Marxist Radio (IMR) covers a pivotal period in the development of global capitalism: the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Presenter Joe Attard talks to America Socialista editor Jorge Martín about the brutal plunder of the continent, which began 500 years ago, and which set in motion the development of the world market, and the rise of capitalism on the global stage.

The episode also delves into the background of the conquered civilisations – their historical development, class content, and reaction to the European invaders. These included complex and powerful societies such as the Mexica and the Incas, which at one point covered 3,000 square kilometres, with about 12 million inhabitants in total.

The process of primitive accumulation which razed these societies to the ground led Marx to declare: “If money comes into the world with a congenital blood-stain on one cheek, then capital comes dripping from head to toe, from every pore, with blood and dirt.”

The discussion is based on the cover article of issue 40 of the In Defence of Marxism theoretical magazine, available now: https://www.marxist.com/magazine.htm

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The International Marxist Tendency (IMT) is pleased to announce the launch of its new podcast, International Marxist Radio (IMR). The first episode of this new series features presenter Joe Attard speaking to In Defence of Marxism (IDOM) editor-in-chief Alan Woods. 

They discuss perspectives for the world situation going into 2023: will there be a return to normality for capitalism, or will the class contradictions continue to sharpen, as the bosses’ system lurches from crisis to crisis? Will there be a global recession? Where is the war in Ukraine heading?

Alan delves into the history of capitalism to help explain these processes going on today – and why a socialist revolution is the only way forward for humanity.

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