One of capitalism's oldest myths is that of the efficiency of the so-called 'free-market' and its superiority to a socialist planned economy. Defending economic planning, in this talk from the 2021 Revolution Festival, Adam Booth responds to the libertarian ideas of the Austrian School of economics, whose 'theories' amount to vitriolic support of the unrestricted rule of capital at the expense of the needs of society.

Dialectical materialism is the philosophy of Marxism. It is our method for understanding nature, history and society. This nine-episode podcast series, ‘The ABCs of Marxist philosophy’, will provide listeners with a valuable introduction to the basics of dialectical materialism, explaining all its aspects in a clear and accessible way.

It has now been two weeks since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Since then, the hypocritical Western imperialists and their lackeys in the media have been pouring forth endless denunciations of Russia's actions.

The Ukraine crisis has confirmed the dictum that "the truth is the first victim of war". In this talk given to British Marxists on Tuesday 1 March, Jorge Martín of the International Marxist Tendency cuts across the lies and war propaganda. He explains the real causes of this war, its background, the imperialist ambitions of both Russia and the West, and the hypocrisy of western imperialism throughout the course of this conflict.

We’re often told that the British monarchy is little more than harmless pompery, the equivalent of a shiny ornament atop the solid Christmas tree of British democracy. It is there to look nice, but does not actually affect how the country is run. And after all, isn’t the Queen a lovely lady who works mightily hard?

In November 1918, Germany exploded into revolution. In the spring of 1919, the working class succeeded in seizing power and declaring a Bavarian Soviet Republic. In its short, heroic lifetime, the republic had to fight not only against open counter-revolution, but also against the results of its own inexperience. This article was first published in the theoretical magazine ‘In Defence of Marxism’. Get your copy of the latest issue here.

What does Marxism have to say about cinema? Quite a lot in fact. For over a century now cinema has existed as a primary tool of social communication within society: one aimed directly at the people rather than an elite, reaching audiences far beyond anything previously conceived. From this has flowed TV, video, DVD, streaming and more - all features of our daily lives.

Rosa Luxemburg was an outstanding Marxist, whose life and ideas have been grossly distorted by all manner of reactionary political tendencies. This speech, coinciding with the launch of a new biography, The Revolutionary Legacy of Rosa Luxemburg (available to pre-order here), provides an answer to the myths surrounding this revolutionary martyr.

China is discovering that under capitalism, what goes up must come down. Extreme inequality is the defining feature of Chinese society, now officially more unequal than even the USA. As it stares into the abyss of capitalist crisis, the Chinese government is facing the same dilemmas as the USA over a decade ago.

At this festive time of year, we share the following lead off by Alan Woods on the origins of Christianity, which provides a Marxist answer to 2,000 years of myths, lies and distortions.

The Cuban Revolution was one of the most inspiring events in history. For the first time in the Western hemisphere, a workers' state was created. The enormous achievements of the revolution in healthcare, education and in securing independence for Cuba from the clutches of US imperialism continue to be a beacon for the oppressed masses of Latin America and the whole world. This video from our British comrades’ hugely successful Revolution Festival explains where the struggle for socialism in Cuba must go from here.

COP26 - the latest UN Climate Change Conference - began last Sunday in Glasgow. Politicians from across the world, along with business leaders, will be holding two weeks of negotiations, panel discussions and press conferences on the question of climate change. But, far from saving us, capitalism is killing the planet. We need a revolution.

Marxists and anarchists share many of the same objectives in common: fighting oppression, smashing the bourgeois state, creating a society without class exploitation and so on. However, there are also important differences in our ideas and methods, particularly related to the nature of power in general, and of state power in particular.

In this talk at the International Marxist Tendency’s 2021 World Congress, Fred Weston defends the philosophy of Marxism against all the reactionary and counter-revolutionary trends assailed against it: particularly the recent vogue of ‘postmodernism’.

Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal and author of Chartist Revolution, recently appeared on A People’s History podcast talking about the Chartist movement, alongside John McDonnell, Emma Griffin and Katrina Navickas. The Chartist movement represented the first time the organised working class fixed its eyes on the seizure of power. The Chartists unashamedly fought for radical, socialist changes. Today, the Marxist movement stands on the shoulders of the great Chartist fighters – a revolutionary tradition to which we owe a tremendous debt.