Alan Woods, editor of marxist.com and leading member of the International Marxist Tendency appeared on a well known Venezuelan programme last week, to discuss Friedrich Engels’ work “The Part Played by Labour in the Transition from Ape to Man.”

Six years of war in Yemen have brought the country to the brink of an absolute humanitarian disaster. The Saudi-led alliance, backed by the UK and the US, has imposed tremendous suffering on the Yemeni people. With 16 million suffering hunger and 400,000 children at risk of death from starvation, the situation is getting worse by the day. And the imperialists are unwilling to assist the victims. 

Plans for a US$800 million hydropower project in the Tskaltubo and Tsageri municipalities in Georgia have provoked protests from residents of the Rioni River valley, who are unwilling to see their homes and livelihoods sacrificed on the altar of profit. While different bourgeois parties and politicians squabble amongst themselves, local people fight day and night to protect their land, their homes and the environment. 

A powerful show of anger and opposition to the military coup launched at the beginning of February was evident on the streets of cities across Myanmar last Monday (February 22nd), as a general strike paralysed the country, from Myitkyina in the north, to Bhamo near the Chinese border, to Pyinmana in the centre.

To mark this year’s International Working Women’s Day, the International Marxist Tendency is organising events across the world over the next two weeks (starting today), to discuss the history of women’s oppression and the need for a revolutionary solution based on class struggle!

A universal basic income (UBI) is being seriously discussed across Canada, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the various federal benefit programs. UBI is an unconditional payment made to all citizens and is usually a guaranteed, cash-based payment that all citizens receive regardless of income or tax bracket. There are proposals for UBI coming from both the left and the right. Superficially at least, UBI proposals can look quite attractive for the left, but what position should socialists take? Note: this article was written in

Wellred Books proudly presents the new edition of Lenin’s Materialism and Empirio-criticism. In this classic text, Lenin brilliantly explains the fundamental principles of the materialist philosophy of Marxism. This edition contains a new introduction by Alan Woods, In Defence of Materialism, which is presented here. The book is available here, and also in ebook format here.

On Wednesday, 24 February, 21 unions of the South African Federation of Trade Unions went on a general strike against deep and sustained cuts in the living standards of workers, and to fight for a radical change in the country’s economic policies. Frustration runs high amongst the working class over mass retrenchments, wage freezes and brutal austerity measures in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. 

This year, on 25 February, it’s exactly 80 years ago that the February Strike took place in the Netherlands. This is without a doubt one of the most heroic events in Dutch history. The February strike is considered to be the first general strike that served as a public protest against the Nazis in occupied Europe, and the only mass protest against the deportation of Jews to be organised on a class basis. 

Coming on top of a decade of austerity and attacks, the pandemic is tearing communities apart and piling further pressures upon workers and youth. Society is ready to explode. We must channel this energy towards socialist struggle.

With the next federal election to the Bundestag on 26 September 2021 only seven months away, the German Greens are preparing for a possible return to the federal government and a coalition with the CDU/CSU, Chancellor Angela Merkel's party alliance. Founded 41 years ago out of the environmental, women and anti-war movements, the party has long since become a modern bourgeois liberal party of the 21st century, eclipsing the traditional bourgeois liberals of the FDP.

Last week, a devastating winter storm hammered Texas and wreaked havoc on 90% of the state’s energy infrastructure. The crisis caused a loss of heat, unreliable water utilities, and structural damage to homes. A projected four million people were without power at one point. Nearly 70 deaths have been attributed to this disaster, and magnitudes more are experiencing hardships and desperation.

On the anniversary of the 1981, '23-F' coup attempt in Spain, we republish a 1981 article by Alan Woods, political editor of Nuevo Claridad. This article was later translated and re-released in the Militant(UK), along with an editorial comment (also republished). Alan provides a new introduction explaining the circumstances surrounding the article's publication. First republished 23 Feb 2018.

For a whole week, demonstrations have taken place across Catalonia and Spain in protest at the jailing of Communist rapper Pablo Hasél, who was arrested on Tuesday 16 February in Lleida for political opinions expressed in his lyrics and tweets. His jailing has unleashed a groundswell of anger, particularly amongst young people, who have met vicious repression at the hands of the state.

The parliamentary elections in Kosovo on 14 February 2021 ended with a sweeping landslide victory for the left-wing "Movement for Self-Determination" Vetevendosje (VV). They scored a 20 percent increase, from 27.7 percent in the last election in 2019 to 47.85 percent according to the latest count. The centre-right PDK (Democratic Party of Kosovo), founded by Hashim Thaci, lagged far behind with 17.41 percent. The bourgeois conservative LDK (Democratic League of Kosovo), which had been in power for many years in the past, only scored 13.08 percent. Another right-wing formation, the AAK (Alliance for the Future of Kosovo), led by former UCK (Kosovo Liberation Army) commander Ramush