New website for the British Marxist Tendency We are delighted to announce that Socialist Appeal, Marxist voice in the British labour movement, has a newly designed website. Check it out!
Germany: Berlin Transport Workers’ strike – another sign of growing militancy The Berlin Transport Company (BVG) has been paralysed by a long and militant strike of the drivers and the maintenance and administration workers. After years of concessions and backsliding by the unions the workers have said they have had enough.
French Marxists boost Communist vote in local elections Last Sunday's first round in the French local elections confirmed a widespread shift to the left, with Sarkozy losing significant support. The Socialist Party did well, as did forces that stand to its left. Here we wish to highlight the Marxist candidates standing for the PCF in the area around Toulouse, who significantly boosted the party's vote.
Ireland: IRSP members victimised in the South In February five members of the IRSP were brought before a court in Dublin, a clear case of state harassment. It is an attempt to silence any left criticism within the Republican movement. We publish here three articles explaining what is behind all this and we call on all our supporters to support these comrades.
We need your support for the Frederick Engels Foundation in Spain The PP controlled Guadalajara council has denied the Frederick Engels Foundation a stall at the Guadalajara Book Fair. Please sign and send a letter of protest against this attack on the freedom of expression.
Political instability, growing trade union militancy and a shift to the left in Germany Recent local elections in Germany have seen the Left Party (Die Linke) emerge as a force to the left of the SPD. At the same time we are seeing a growing level of trade union militancy. This reflects the growing malaise within German society as a layer of workers and youth look for an alternative.
Spanish workers vote Socialist to block the Right The PSOE has won a decisive general election victory after a heated and bitter campaign in which the right wing Popular Party mobilized the forces of reaction, using language that was reminiscent of the period before the Civil War in the 1930s. Alan Woods in Madrid looks at the meaning of this result.
Irish Republican Socialist Youth Movement Day School On February 23 three comrades of the International Marxist Tendency attended the Republican Socialist Youth Movement's (RSYM) winter day school in Belfast. Jim Daly, Sean McGowan and Bernadette McAliskey spoke on various aspects on the question of Republicanism and Socialism and the role of the working class. Francesco Merli spoke on Venezuela. There was keen interest in the ideas of Marxism and the school bodes well for the development of the RSYM. A HOV speaker also took part in this year’s Connolly Festival on February 22 and 23, while Labour Youth organized another talk on Venezuela in...
Editor of Marxist.com speaks at Eton Alan Woods was invited to speak at Eton, the most prestigious private school in Britain (known as a "public" school in English), by the school's Orwell Society. Alan gave a very clear explanation of why society needs to be changed and why the only direction it can go in is socialism. We believe the points raised and the answers given provide a very good outline of what Marxism stands for today.
Russian Presidential Elections: a caricature of bourgeois democracy Officially Putin's right hand man, Medvedev, has won the Presidential elections with over 70% of the vote on a turnout of more than 70%. But no one seriously believes this. Many Russians have commented on the meaninglessness of the elections. Putin will remain the boss. However, for all the pomp that surrounds Putin there is a strong undercurrent of hatred against capitalism. The fact that the CPRF yet again showed that it is the only opposition to the Kremlin, confirms this.
Molecular changes in Russian society and the CPRF As background the Presidential elections we publish an analysis of the December parliamentary elections. These reflected political consolidation following on from economic stabilization after the financial crisis of 1998. These new relations are now in turn leading to a reaction. The modest gains of the CPRF reveal both the potential for an organized opposition to Russian capitalism and the path that this opposition will take in the mass organizations.
Russian workers begin to organize fight back against capitalism We have received a very interesting interview with A. Etmanov, the leader of the trade union of Ford (Saint Petersburg). This reveals many things, not just about the Ford strike but about the state of the Russian workers' movement, the struggle of the trade unions and their attitude towards capitalism and the political parties.
Britain: Vast frauds at Northern Rock A debate in the British Parliament on the nationalisation of Northern Rock, involving John McDonnell MP, has revealed that billions of pounds are to be diverted away from the intended purpose of preventing a banking collapse, into the pockets of the Rock's management. It seems the directors of Northern Rock had set up a financial institution called Granite, the real purpose of which was to carry out tax evasion!
Ireland: Republicanism and Revolution – Second Edition The second edition of Alan Woods' book on Ireland, Ireland: Republicanism and Revolution, has just come out, the first edition having sold out. It is now available again to order from Wellred Books.
Serbian bourgeoisie raises the level of national hatred There has been a lot of media hype about the big rally in Belgrade last week after the announcement that Kosovo had declared its "independence". But the real mood in Serbia, especially among the working class, is very different. There are indications that the workers are tired of the nationalism and chauvinism being pumped out by the Serbian bourgeoisie and in particular are fed up with all the bourgeois parties. What is missing a political expression of the working class.
