In this latest video from our series on the 1917 Russian Revolution, Alan Woods - author of "Bolshevism: from Revolution to Counter-Revolution" - discusses the failed coup attempt by General Kornilov and the impact this had on the political consciousness of the masses.

World War One broke the 2nd International, as most of the workers' parties supported their own ruling class and the war effort. Lenin and the Bolsheviks maintained a class position, opposing the war, even after the February Revolution, when many former opponents of the war became supporters. The Bolshevik war policy became a key pillar of the party's programme as it led the working masses to victory in October 1917.

Speaking at the recent World School of the International Marxist Tendency, held at the end of July 2017, Alan Woods - editor of In Defence of Marxism, www.marxist.com - discusses the current turbulence and volatility in the global economic, political, and social situation. From the crisis in the Middle East, to the election of Trump, and the rise of the Corbyn movement in Britain: everywhere the old order is crumbling and a process of polarisation and radicalisation is taking place.

"Human nature" is often described as "greedy" and presented as if it was fixed one once and for all, regardless of the material conditions under which humans are born and raised. Because of this supposedly unchangeable defect, "human nature" is often invoked as the ultimate cause preventing the concretisation of human aspiration to a more advanced form of society such as Socialism.

Fiona Lali from the SOAS Marxist explains why this is not the case.

In this talk from a recent Socialist Appeal day school, Alan Woods (editor of In Defence of Marxism) explores Trotsky's theory of the permanent revolution and how it has been vindicated throughout history - both in the positive sense, by the Russian Revolution, and in the negative, by the Chinese Revolution of 1925-27.

Alan Woods, editor of In Defence of Marxism, discusses Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East, which is taking place at a convenient time for the new president, who requires a distraction from the crisis facing his administration back home.

Alan Woods, editor of In Defence of Marxism, discusses the recent results of the first round of the French presidential elections. Above all, these results represented a shattering of the status quo, with a complete collapse of the traditional parties of the centre left and the centre right.

In the latest video from our "In Defence of October" series celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 1917 Russian Revolution, Alan Woods - editor of "Bolshevism: the Road to Revolution" - discusses the events surrounding Lenin's return to Russia on 16th April 1917.

In this video from the LSEsu Marxist Society, Jorge Martin - editor of the Marxist magazine America Socialista and secretary of the Hands Off Venezuela campaign - discusses the political developments in Latin America over the last two decades. Jorge explains the factors that lay behind the Bolivarian Revolution and other mass social movements in Latin America, examines why the Venezuelan revolution has now stalled, and explores whether there has been a shift to the Right across the continent in recent years.

Alan Woods - editor of In Defence of Marxism - discusses the political earthquakes that have shattered the status quo and shaken the Establishment in country after country: from the victory of Donald Trump, to the Brexit vote, and the prospect of a Le Pen win in the French elections. "All that is solid melts into air" - and all the old certainties are now being questioned, with the future of the European Union and the Middle East hanging in the balance. Wars, terrorism, and crisis: all of these are symptoms of the death agony of capitalism and the birth pangs of revolution.

In this talk from the Revolution 2016 Marxist festival, Hans-Gerd Öfinger discusses the rise of the Nazis in Germany, discussing how Hitler was able to come to power - in his own words - "without so much as breaking a pane of glass".

In the first part of our Russian Revolution video diary, Alan Woods examines the events of the February Revolution, when the masses entered onto the scene of history to overthrow the hated Tsarist monarchy.

In this recording from the Revolution 2016 weekend school, Daniel Morley of the Socialist Appeal editorial board discusses the idea of workers' democracy, contrasting this with the formal democracy that we have under capitalism, and explaining the ways in which the working class can take control of the wider economy.

In this video from the Revolution 2016 Marxist school, Josh Holroyd of the Socialist Appeal Editorial Board discusses the Marxist method of analysing history: historical materialism.

In the second of a series of videos celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 1917 Russian Revolution, Alan Woods - editor of In Defence of Marxism, www.marxist.com - examines the lies and slanders used to attack the Revolution, the Bolsheviks, and the ideas of Lenin and Trotsky.