Revolution Festival 2022: Marx was right – starts Friday!

Image: Socialist Appeal

#RevFest2022 – a three-day festival of Marxist ideas – begins this Friday. This year’s event comes at a critical moment, with titanic events shaking society across the world. So get your ticket today, and join the revolution!

The crisis of capitalism descends deeper every day. The global economy is plunging into a new world slump, as central banks hike interest rates in an effort to subdue inflation. The war in Ukraine is escalating and intensifying, as western and Russian imperialism up the ante. And revolutionary movements are breaking out as events shake consciousness – most notably in Iran.

Only a clear Marxist perspective can make sense of this chaos, and show the way out of capitalism’s impasse.

Above all, we need to arm ourselves with the sharpest weapons at our disposal – the revolutionary ideas and experience embodied within Marxist theory.

There has therefore never been a more important time to get organised, educate ourselves, and build the forces of Marxism.

This is the purpose of the upcoming Revolution Festival: a three-day festival of Marxist ideas, hosted by Socialist Appeal, which begins this Friday.

Already, over 500 people are confirmed to be attending this year’s event. This includes comrades from over 14 countries, bringing with them the best political analysis from across the International Marxist Tendency (IMT), and demonstrating socialist internationalism in practice.

For all the details of Revolution Festival 2022 – including the full timetable, ticket sales, and logistics – please visit revolutionfestival.co.uk.

And please spread the word on social media throughout this year’s event with the hashtags #RevFest2022 and #MarxWasRight.

Explosive events

In addition to the incredible programme of talks and discussions already announced – covering a range of topics, from science and philosophy, to war and imperialism – we are pleased to highlight several sessions of significant importance.

The two plenary sessions on Friday and Saturday evenings both come at a critical moment.

Alan Woods, editor of In Defence of Marxism, will open the festival on Friday, with a talk on ‘War and revolution: A world on the brink’ – a particularly relevant discussion in the midst of the explosive events bursting to the surface across the planet.

Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal, meanwhile, will close Saturday’s proceedings with a talk on ‘Preparing for power: Perspectives for the British revolution’. This could not come at a more apt time, with mayhem gripping UK markets, Truss’ Tories being torn asunder, and bitter class battles erupting across industry.

Furthermore, we have added a number of new sessions to the schedule, covering key questions that are being raised in the movement.

This includes a talk on the militant protests of workers and youth currently shaking the Iranian regime; a session on the reactionary role of the monarchy; and two historical discussions on the 1930s Spanish Revolution and the 1949 Chinese Revolution.

Marx and Lenin walks

We are also delighted to announce a pair of excellent extra activities for attendees to join before the weekend’s discussions get going.

From 2pm on Friday (21 October), we will be running Marx and Lenin walking tours across central London.

The Marx tour – beginning at UCL’s main quad off Gower Street – will take in the places in-and-around Soho where Karl Marx lived, wrote, and politicised, including discussion on the revolutionary ideas and history associated with these locations.

Similarly, the Lenin walk – beginning outside Kings Cross station – will explore the life and ideas of Vladimir Lenin, who spent many years living in London, as he built the Bolsheviks and the forces of Russian Marxism.

Need for theory

Throughout the weekend, we will be running a number of stalls offering a full-range of Marxist literature and merchandise.

This includes our regular publications: the Socialist Appeal newspaper and our In Defence of Marxism theoretical magazine, with new editions of both available, alongside annual subscriptions.

Most impressively, we will have a fully-stocked bookshop offering a massive selection of Marxist classics, alongside other key theoretical works by authors from the IMT.

This is being provided and run by our publishing house, Wellred Books, Britain’s Marxist bookshop, which will be launching its brand new website at this year’s event.

The latest title from Wellred, also being launched at Revolution Festival 2022, is a new edition of Alan Woods’ ‘Ireland: Republicanism and Revolution’.

Covering the revolutionary ideas of James Connolly – the finest Marxist ever produced by these isles – and the history of the Irish struggle for independence, this book is a must-read socialists in Ireland and Britain, coming at a time when the national question in Ireland is firmly back on the agenda.

Author Alan Woods will also be available for book signings after the opening rally on Friday evening. So head along to this plenary to grab your personalised copy – of this new publication, or any other Wellred titles!

With all of this – and more – on offer at #RevFest2022, it is clear that this year’s festival is not one to be missed.

So get your ticket today – and join the revolution!

Originally published 14 Oct at socialist.net |

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