Capitalism

Egypt: A sharp expression of the global debt crisis

Egypt’s debt crisis is a symptom of the global impact the multiple crises of capitalism are having on the worlds’ poor, argues John Clarke
Cop27: From a fragile win to a wasted year

Elaine Graham-Leigh looks at the results of the Cop27 conference in Egypt, and argues that lack of action on climate change is not accidental, but a result of failings in the system
The Decade the Rich Won - review

Maura Framrose challenges the priorities of neoliberalism in a review and analysis of the BBC documentary The Decade the Rich Won
Future on Fire: Capitalism and the Politics of Climate Change - book review

Future on Fire offers a compelling argument that only mass movements can bring about a solution to the climate crisis, finds John Clarke
Elon Musk’s Twitter storm and the great tech wreck

All the sound and fury of Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter hides a real financial crisis for the big tech companies, argues Kieran Crowe
Goods, labour and markets: the politics of immigration

Capitalism creates displacement, and the left must be for equality of movement and the freedom of sending-countries, argues Hannah Cross
Social democracy sides with fossil fuels: British Columbia’s NDP blocks green leadership challenger

The pattern of vicious attacks on left challenges to social-democratic leaderships continues in British Columbia, Canada, argues John Clarke
The IMF’s ‘solutions’ to the cost-of-living crisis

The IMF’s report on the inflation crisis prescribes an assault on working-class living standards, which must be resisted, argues John Clarke
Out of the frying pan into the fire: The crisis of neoliberalism

Dominic Alexander assesses the crisis of neoliberalism and argues that there is an alternative in the potential of working-class power to replace capitalist relations of production altogether
Marx and the Robots. Networked Production, AI and Human Labour - book review

A new collection of essays provides important sceptical discussions of the impact of robotics and AI on the economy, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh
Marxism and Class part three: Class analysis or identity politics?

In the third part of the series on class, Chris Nineham explains why a class analysis is needed to understand and fight oppression
A love letter to billionaires

This vindictive class-war budget will worsen inequality while doing nothing to stem the problems of British capitalism, argues Dominic Alexander
Green capitalism does not work - book review

Capitalist measures to fix the climate have not worked, as two recent books show, so the key is to link working-class and ecological movements, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
World Bank seeks a safe passage for global capitalism

In this critical assessment of an important new World Bank Report that attempts to make sense of the crisis and save capitalism from a global slump, John Clarke argues the real solutions will have to be won in struggle
The monarchy, the state and our democracy

Chris Bambery explains the anti-democratic role of the monarchy in maintaining a system of hierarchy and privilege
Who put the ‘con’ in the constitution? The ‘Glorious’ Revolution of 1688

The British constitution exists to resist democratic demands, writes John Westmoreland
Cracked: Why Psychiatry is Doing More Harm than Good - book review

Lucette Davies reviews an already classic argument by James Davies on the damage that capitalism and profit seeking has done to the practice of psychiatry
Gorbachev: the bureaucrat who opened Pandora’s Box

The last Soviet leader discovered the most dangerous time for a bad government is when it begins to reform, writes Sean Ledwith
The free market has failed: Nationalise energy now

Dominic Alexander analyses the energy cost crisis and explains why the solutions cannot be found within the neoliberal free market model
Feast amidst famine: The rich parasites profiting from the world's misery

Millions are facing extreme poverty because a handful of the richest people on the planet are making astronomical profits, writes John Clarke
Be prepared: Politics will resume shortly

David Jamieson argues that Tory complacency will not last. Soon the British state will wade into conflicts emerging around the cost of living.
Forces of Production, Climate Change and Canadian Fossil Fuel Capitalism - book review

Nicolas Graham’s book on forces of production and fossil-fuel capitalism gives an important analysis of why fundamental change is needed to solve the climate crisis, finds John Clarke
Salman Rushdie attack: Bitter fruits of a carnival of reaction

Following the attempted murder of Salman Rushdie, Kevin Ovenden discusses the clash of fundamentalisms at the heart of the global system and how the left should respond
The climate battle is the fight of the haves against the have-nots – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on environmental crisis and the holiday tailback blame-game
Uber: The more disruptive they come, the harder they fall

The Uber leak has exposed the shady relationships between Big Tech and the political elite and the role of companies like Uber in “disrupting” laws and regulations for the benefit of the capitalist class, writes Kieran Crowe
Capitalism and catastrophe: Profits, pandemics and climate chaos - video

Feyzi Ismail and Kevin Ovenden discuss the multiple, overlapping and global crises we face and the systemic solutions needed
Confronting crisis: Next steps for the left - video

Danièle Obono, Eddie Dempsey, John Rees and Jeremy Corbyn on the interlocking crises we face and strategy for the left at Counterfire's Revolution! Festival
The Critique of Commodification: Contours of a Post-Capitalist Society - book review

An analysis of commodification in The Critique of Commodification provides useful insights, but the exploitation of labour remains key to the system, argues Dominic Alexander
The worst of both worlds: stagflation explained

Dominic Alexander explains the unfolding economic turmoil and how socialists should respond
Interest rates, class war and ‘creative destruction’

John Clarke on capitalism’s unfolding crisis and the attempts to rescue it
Stuck Nation - book review

Robert Hennelly’s Stuck Nation is a vigorous and well-researched analysis of the exploitative and racist nature of US capitalism, but falls short of a convincing way to be rid of it, argues John Clarke
Capitalism in crisis: World Bank report paints grim picture

The World Bank's latest report gives an insight into the intensifying crises within capitalism internationally, writes John Clarke.
Poverty and the law: How the state regulates the poor

John Clarke on the devlopment of the working class and the law and how the latter is a tool of the capitalist state to control the former
Airport chaos: How the airline industry's greed is wrecking the holidays

In the pursuit of maximising profit, airlines sacked thousands of workers and holidaymakers are now paying the price for their greed, writes Terina Hine
The bubble pops: Why cryptocurrencies are crashing

David Bush explains how the rise of cryptocurrencies is rooted in the capitalist class' response to the financial crisis and the pandemic and why it's now in freefall
Global predators: Canada’s brutal mining companies

The destructive greed and predatory role of Canada’s mining companies has led to horrific events in the Perkoa Mine, writes John Clarke.
Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism: a short introduction

Ahead of Counterfire's discussion on Lenin on Imperialism, we repost Morgan Daniels' introduction to Lenin's 1917 pamphlet, Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism
Capitalism’s questionable conscience

The notion of a more ethical and socially responsible version of capitalism is a cosmetic illusion which does not alter the fundamental nature of the system, argues John Clarke
Global capitalism and the disaster facing poor countries

After decades of neoliberalism and a devastating pandemic, conditions of acute global crisis are emerging and poor countries will be hit hardest, writes John Clarke
Michael Roberts: Capitalism, cost of living and the coming slump - video

Counterfire's Yonas Makoni spoke to Marxist economist Michael Roberts about the real drivers of the cost of living crisis, the failures of the capitalist system and the alternatives we must fight for
Sedated: How Modern Capitalism Created Our Mental Health Crisis - book review

In Sedated, James Davies makes a powerful case that the marketisation of mental health ignores the social causes of distress, harming us while serving capitalism, finds Lucette Davies
Capitalism and Slavery - book review

Over seventy years since publication, the first British edition of Eric Williams’ classic Capitalism and Slavery remains vital, despite establishment critics, argues John Westmoreland
The many crises of capitalism and how we can overcome them

Understanding the nature of the contradictions and crises of capitalism is central to the question of building a socialist alternative, writes John Clarke
Nationalise P&O now! Hull shows solidarity with sacked workers

Protesters in Hull hit the streets against P&O's sacking of 800 workers, reports John Westmoreland
Solidarity with P&O workers: this is a fight for us all

The sacking of ferry workers in British ports is an attack on workers’ rights, argues Richard Allday, and we must unite to defeat the employers
Socialist Register 2022: New Polarisations, Old Contradictions, The Crisis of Centrism - book review

Socialist Register 2022 discusses the impasse in the neoliberal consensus, the rise of authoritarian politics, and the prospects for the left, finds Dominic Alexander
Why do we still have a gender pay gap?

On International Women's Day, Terina Hine looks at why the gender pay gap is still as wide as it was 25 years ago
Climate change and war: The whole social structure needs to be overturned

The latest IPCC report points to the structural change needed to avert disaster. Our leaders driving war at this time is further proof that they don't have the solutions, writes Feyzi Ismail
Sexual Revolution: Modern Fascism and the Feminist Fightback - book review

Laurie Penny’s Sexual Revolution offers an eclectic argument full of inconsistencies, while omitting any understanding of how class underpins oppression, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Living with the virus: The worst instincts of capitalism

The reworked herd immunity strategy of governments telling us to live with the virus is once again driven by their need to protect profits, writes John Clarke
Climate change and the cost of living: why we must nationalise energy

Don’t blame green policies for market failure, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Will racism always be with us? - explainer

Yonas Makoni explains the socialist perspective on where racism comes from and how we can eradicate it
Why is the labour theory of value so important? - explainer

Dominic Alexander explains the Marxist theory of where value comes from and why it's central to understanding how capitalism functions
What freedom means under capitalism

John Clarke dismantles the myths around ‘freedom’ in capitalist society and traces the role of state violence in upholding a system based on exploitation
Why is housing so expensive? - explainer

As house prices continue to rise amid a wider cost-of-living crisis, Reuben Bard-Rosenberg and Dominic Alexander explain how the housing crisis is rooted in the logic of the capitalist system
Comets, climate and capitalism: what we can take from Don’t Look Up

Adam McKay's Don't Look Up highlights how the capitalist class’s relentless pursuit of profit is leading us to disaster, argues Lucy Nichols
Is capitalism in decline? - explainer

Dominic Alexander examines the state of capitalism and the ever-deepening multi-faceted crises it finds itself in
The roots of violence against children

Following the shocking murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson, Michael Lavalette explains how the system lets down vulnerable children
The Darker Angels of our Nature: Refuting the Pinker Theory of History and Violence - book review

Historians in Darker Angels of our Nature deliver a devastating debunking to Steven Pinker’s liberal imperialist theory of violence in history, finds Dominic Alexander
Amazon: time the bosses reaped the whirlwind

The death of Amazon workers in tornadoes underlines the need for workers to organise and confront the bosses’ disregard for human life, argues Shabbir Lakha
Vaccine imperialism: A global threat

Leaving a vast section of the world’s population unvaccinated can only create the basis for the virus to spread and mutate, argues John Clarke
Bubbling over: Canada's housing market on the edge

Canada’s inflated housing market is a testimony to the greed and irrationality of capitalism, argues John Clarke
The Last Witches of England. A Tragedy of Sorcery and Superstition - book review

A study of the last witchcraft executions in England is very revealing about the roots of witch-panics in conflicts fuelled by capitalism and the state, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Philosophers with No Clothes: A Review of The War Against Marxism

Tony McKenna’s new book is an important defence of Marxism, against thinkers who have confused and obscured its revolutionary core, argues Chris Nineham
Capitalism will cost us the earth - Counterfire Freesheet November 2021

Climate briefing for activists, more Tory Covid failure, Clarks strikers fight fire-and-rehire, Scotland's wider crisis, socialism explained and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet
Climate and growth: Why driving down living standards won’t stop climate chaos

Averting climate catastrophe demands reorganising production, not ‘de-growth’, argues Dominic Alexander.
It's not Brexit, it's a broken system: The inside story of the supply chain meltdown

Supply-chain worker Chris Neville gives us his view on shortages, supply chains and a changing balance of power
Socialist Explainers: Short Answers to Big Questions

In this collection of socialist explainers, we’re giving quick responses to the questions that loom largest for us today
Can we avert climate chaos and meet people’s needs? - explainer

As Cop26 approaches, Feyzi Ismail explains why it looks unlikely to deliver and outlines a socialist approach to averting climate catastrophe
How do we put out the flames? Bad science and good sense on the climate crisis

Elaine Graham Leigh weighs up the solutions and non-solutions on offer to deal with the climate emergency.
Race, class, and the limits of identity

Neither liberal-conservative ideas of equal opportunity, nor identity politics, understand the interrelationships of race, class and capitalism, argues Yonas Makoni
Who sleeps in the unmade bed: A response to John Molyneux on the nature of conceptual art

While some laud conceptual art as radical, its tendency is to reproduce in culture the extremities of a finance dominated capitalism, argues Tony McKenna
The Robbery of Nature. Capitalism and the Ecological Rift - book review

The Robbery of Nature raises important questions about means and strategy for solving the ecological crisis, and the role of work in society, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Climate and Class Struggle

Climate chaos will hit the poor and the working class the hardest. A fighting movement is needed to demand climate justice, argues John Clarke
The Marxist theory of alienation - video

John Westmoreland explains the Marxist concept of alienation
Wages, prices and profits: the labour theory of value - video

Elaine Graham-Leigh explains Marx's labour theory of value
Canada's role as a global exploiter

John Clarke assesses Canada's destructive role in the world
Demand the impossible: Extinction Rebellion take the streets

As the climate emergency deepens, Extinction Rebellion have once again occupied the streets of London to demand action, reports Jamal Elaheebocus
Socialist Register 2021. Beyond Digital Capitalism. New Ways of Living - book review

Contributors to Socialist Register 2021, on digital capitalism, show that the system hasn’t changed its essential nature, and scepticism is needed, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Capitalism vs life: Alberta’s ‘just give up’ approach to the pandemic

Alberta’s provincial government abandoning all mitigating policies while infections soar is criminally reckless, argues John Clarke
Code red for the climate: how should the left respond?

The left must force the government into taking the climate crisis seriously, argues Feyzi Ismail
Greece is on fire: capitalism, crisis and climate chaos

As fires rage and anger intensifies, swingeing cuts amid climate chaos have put the government on dangerous ground, reports Kevin Ovenden
Value and Crisis: Essays on Marxian Economics in Japan - book review

Makoto Itoh’s Value and Crisis provides a valuable exposition of a school of Japanese interpretation of Marxist economics, finds Phil Armstrong
Will extreme weather be a wake-up call?

The extreme weather experienced across the globe recently is a direct result of a climate crisis caused by the capitalist mode of production and activists must pressure world leaders to act, writes Nathan Street
The East End is drowning and capitalism doesn't care

Lucy Nichols reflects on the recent flooding in East London, arguing that it is working people who suffer the consequences of extreme weather events, while the wealthy and property developers adapt
Tokyo Olympics: Lighting the flame of a Covid disaster – CounterBlast

Faster, higher and stronger infections are imminent in Japan due to profit-driven officials and politicians, argues Sean Ledwith
Capitalism and the climate emergency

Elaine Graham-Leigh discusses the damage capitalism is doing to the planet and the social transformation needed as part of Counterfire's Revolution! Festival
Covid, crisis and the fight for a new normal - video

The opening rally of Counterfire's Revolution! Festival of Marxist Ideas featuring Tariq Ali, Danièle Obono and Lindsey German
Capitalism’s Benign Conscience or a Witting Guardian of Power?

Capitalism’s Conscience gives a range of critiques of The Guardian and its liberal world view, outlining and explaining why it so often betrays the left, finds Michael Bailey
Bezos, Branson and Musk: Invasion of the Space Parasites - CounterBlast

In space, no one can hear you scream with rage at the hubris of self-indulgent billionaires, writes Sean Ledwith
The ruling class isn't going to solve the climate crisis, we need radical change - video

As the movement prepares to mobilise for the Cop26 Summit, Jamal Elaheebocus speaks to author and activist Elaine Graham-Leigh on the role of the left
Killer capitalism: climate change and the North American heat wave

The record-breaking heatwave in the US and Canada is the latest example of the deadly consequences of climate change and the urgent need for systemic change, argues John Clarke
Fight the Fire: Green New Deals and Global Climate Jobs - book review

Jonathan Neale’s Fight the Fire shows that solving climate change requires a movement based in the working class to succeed, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
The war on woke: how socialists should respond to the culture wars

The Tories are trying to further divide the working class by fuelling culture wars, socialists must fight back on our own terms, argues John Westmoreland
The crisis isn't going away and the G7 have no solutions

The G7 fantasy of returning to the pre-pandemic 'normal' isn't going to solve the economic crisis or the breakdown of the climate, argues Michael Roberts
The Cornish clearances are under way – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on the G7, the old normal and anti-racism today
The Railway: An Adventure in Construction - book review

The post-war experiences of the young E.P. Thompson working on a railway in Tito’s Yugoslavia cannot be taken at face value, finds Dragan Plavšić
Migration Beyond Capitalism - book review

Hannah Cross’s analysis of the role of migration in capitalism is a guide for the left on how to set an agenda for the global emancipation of all workers, argues Yonas Makoni
Vaccine imperialism: an indictment of global capitalism

The ongoing debate on waiving vaccine patents so poorer countries can have access tells you everything about capitalism putting profit ahead of lives, argues John Clarke
Culture under capitalism: Why art is alienated – The Dialectics of Art review

Art is not a reflection of society but is shaped by social production and cannot escape the alienation of capitalist conditions, argues Chris Nineham
Biden’s 100 days: US capitalism might be getting a facelift but it’s still rotten

All that glitters is not gold on closer analysis of the new President’s economic and political agenda, argues Sean Ledwith
European Super League: is capitalism killing football?

The proposed ESL is an attempt to funnel the most profits to the fewest at the expense of the many, argues Martin Hall
Jazz and Justice: Racism and the Political Economy of the Music - book review

Gerald Horne’s Jazz and Justice is an illuminating history of the material conditions of African-American Jazz musicians in its classic decades, finds Martin Hall
Capitalist greed got us into this mess, it won’t get us out

The success of the vaccine rollout has been despite capitalism, not because of it, argues Shabbir Lakha
How do we end violence against women? - video

Lindsey German looks at the proposition that more police, longer sentences and new laws are the solution to ending violence against women
CLR James on the Paris Commune: They showed the way to labour emancipation

On the 150^th anniversary of the Paris Commune, we repost this article by renowned Marxist CLR James from 1946 on Marx and the Commune
The strange reinvention of spreader Sunak – CounterBlast

The Chancellor would like us to forget he is personally responsible for some terrible decisions made during the pandemic, writes Sean Ledwith
The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from Pandemics or Itself - book review

Richard D. Wolff in The Sickness is the System exposes the flaws and failures in the capitalist economic system, and argues for workplace democracy, finds Phil Armstrong
Imperialism under Biden - video

Shabbir Lakha explains what we can expect from Biden's foreign policy using a Marxist understanding of imperialism
CPTPP: More freedom for capitalists, more exploitation for workers

Behind the rhetoric of ‘liberalisation’, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is nothing more than vehicle for exploitation and global inequality, writes John Clarke
Monopsony Capitalism: Power and Production in the Twilight of the Sweatshop Age - book review

Monopsony Capitalismbrings competition into the centre of industrial organisation theory and shows how labour is an agent in the power struggle, finds Orlando Hill
Vaccine nationalism: a plague on all our houses

The progress of producing good vaccines in record time is at risk from systemic capitalist and nationalist rivalries, writes Kevin Ovenden
False hopes: the crisis will not be solved by slightly nicer capitalism

Promises of enlightened policies by the likes of Trudeau and Biden fly in the face of the harsh reality of a system in deep crisis, argues John Clarke
Dead Epidemiologists. On the origins of COVID-19 - book review

Rob Wallace in Dead Epidemiologists shows that the Covid pandemic is not random, but a product of recent change in industrialised agribusiness, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Covid crisis: 10 demands unions should be making now

As the Covid death toll crosses 100,000, these are some of the urgent demands the labour movement should be making on the government:
Marxism, the family and women's oppression - video

Lindsey German discusses where women's oppression comes from in capitalist society
The Dawning of the Apocalypse: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism, and Capitalism in the Long Sixteenth Century - book review

Horne’s history of early colonialism in the Americas reveals how structures of racism were constructed to support the development of capitalism, finds Jamal Elaheebocus
Where does sexism come from? - Marxism and Women's Liberation excerpt

Elaine Graham-Leigh traces the roots of women's oppression in this excerpt from Marxism and Women's Liberation
2020: the year the mask fell off

Shabbir Lakha reflects on a tumultuous year and what we must remember for the fight ahead
The perfect storm: Covid and Brexit merge in Kent - CounterBlast

Terina Hine looks at the growing crisis around sky-rocketing Covid transmissions and the miles of backed up lorries on the M20 ahead of the Brexit deadline
When Liz Truss speaks a truth, beware

Mike Wayne unpicks Liz Truss’s recent speech on inequality and finds that it scores some hits against parts of the left
Workers fighting back: the new mood continues unabated - News from the Frontline

Counterfire's fortnightly digest rounding up the stories of working people getting organised and fighting back
The spy who never came in from the cold

John Rees looks back at the literary achievement of John Le Carré, who died at the weekend
India: Insurrection at the gates of Delhi

As India’s farmers continue their fight against Modi government ‘reforms’, Susan Ram analyses the issues behind their epic uprising
Philip Green: greed and profit personified - CounterBlast

As Arcadia collapses, Phillip Green will continue to live the high life while the burden falls on the workers who put him there, argues Lucy Nichols
The problem with the Shock Doctrine: Socialists and Crisis - video

Crises are inherently moments of weakness for the ruling class and an organised left can play a role in shaping the outcome, argues Chris Nineham
The China question

Dragan Plavšić replies to criticisms of his recent article ‘China: a socialist force for good or an imperial superpower in the making? An historical evaluation’
Rosa Luxemburg: an interview with Dana Mills

Katherine Connelly interviews Dana Mills, author of a new biography on Rosa Luxemburg, on her crucial contribution to revolutionary thought
Why does the Labour Party fail? - explainer

Alex Snowdon dissects the root of Labour's failures as a party that's meant to represent working people
Covid disparities: race is a factor but so is class

Structural racism is why ethnic minorities are more vulnerable to the virus, and it's a feature of class society not separate from it, argues Yonas Makoni
How Amazon workers are taking on billionaire Bezos - video

Speaking at a recent Counterfire meeting, Chris Smalls describes the conditions at Amazon and how he's a part of organising workers against a rigged system
No country for old men? – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on systemic inequality and Labour’s identity problem
Whose crisis is it anyway? The problem with the shock doctrine

The ruling class is ruthless in trying to exploit crises, but we shouldn’t underestimate the turmoil it's in and the opportunities to advance the struggle, argues Chris Nineham
Capitalism costs lives: the Boeing disasters

The coronavirus pandemic has shone a blinding light on how capitalism measures and values our social priorities, argues Tony Dowling
8 Reasons to reject Sunak’s scheme and keep fighting for the furlough - Counterblast

Sunak’s scheme will mean millions are made jobless and the movement should reject it, argue Susan Newman and Chris Nineham
'Greatness' In A Time Of Covid

A poem by Tayo Aluko
China: a socialist force for good or an imperial superpower in the making? An historical evaluation - long read

Dragan Plavšić considers what China’s modern history tells us about the nature of the Chinese state today
No to the exam factory: what kind of education do we want? - video

Lindsey German discusses the state of education and what the alternatives could look like
The London Dream: Migration and the Mythology of the City - book review

Chris McMillan knows the London Dream all too well, and his book shows how the city exploits labour whatever the form of capitalism it has hosted, finds Morgan Daniels
What is imperialism? - explainer

Dragan Plavšić examines the roots of imperialism and how to oppose it
Where does racism come from? - video

As part of a series on Marxism in the Modern World, Shabbir Lakha looks at the roots of racism and what that means for the struggle against it
Is revolution possible in the twenty-first century? – explainer

Katherine Connelly looks at the continuing possibility of revolution for transforming society today
Why does capitalism go into crisis? - video

As part of a series on Marxism in the Modern World, Susan Newman explains the regular crises faced by capitalism
The beautiful game?

The vicarious passion for football highlights the contradictions of life under capitalism, argues Roy Wilkes
What went wrong in Russia? - explainer

Vladimir Unkovski-Korica analyses what went wrong in post-revolution Russia
What is the working class today? - video

As part of a series on Marxism in the Modern World, Lindsey German discusses what the working class is today and what that means for socialists
Sunak’s ‘hard times’ – choice not necessity

The chancellor’s plans work for his class, not ours, writes Chris Nineham
Stop blaming individuals for Coronavirus spikes

The drive to get people back to work is responsible for a rise in infections, not individual behaviour, argues Kevin Potter
The pandemic profit bonanza

Big pharma profits from disaster, as capitalism shows its inability to act in the public interest, argues John Clarke
Why class matters - explainer

David McAllister explains what the working class is and why it's central to transforming society
BLM and the labour movement come together - Chris Smalls interview

Shabbir Lakha speaks to Chris Smalls in the US about the Strike for Black Lives, his organisation The Congress of Essential Workers and the possibilities for fundamental change
'It will be over by Christmas' is a dangerous delusion - CounterBlast

The prime minister has recklessly heralded a renewed push back to the workplace for millions of people, writes Alex Snowdon
The great stay at home and why it is entirely rational - CounterBlast

Michael Gove and Boris Johnson are desperate to get us back to work. 'Work from home if you can' has morphed into 'get to work unless you really can't', says Chris Nineham
England's dreaming: under Sunak there's no hope of a v-shape recovery

The chancellor's plan for recovery is doomed to fail, argues Michael Roberts
Can economic planning work? - explainer

Dominic Alexander takes on the idea that a planned economy cannot work
The global picture: Covid cases and deaths continue to rise sharply

World leaders like Trump and Johnson trying to get back to business as usual while the virus continues to spread are deliberately sacrificing public health, writes John Clarke
Ten reasons Roosevelt’s New Deal was more myth than reality

FDR’s reputation as a workers’ President should be rejected along with Boris Johnson’s attempt to channel his legacy, argues Sean Ledwith
It’s official: there’s no science behind lifting the lockdown - CounterBlast

Focused on boosting profits for their mates, health is just not on the Tories’ agenda, argues Penny Hicks
Sunak's 'Green Homes Grant' only scratches the surface

Neither the government nor Starmer's Labour party are taking the climate crisis seriously - real action must be led from outside parliament, argues Jamal Elaheebocus
The coming jobs slaughter

The government will pass the blame anywhere they can but now, more than ever, we must fight for an economy that works for us, argues Richard Allday
Does human nature make socialism impossible? - explainer

Lucy Nichols dissects the idea that humans are inherently selfish
The NHS is 72: why we must fight to defend it

As the NHS turns 72, it is under threat from the free-market dogma that has been underfunding and privatising it, writes John Westmoreland
Far-right nationalism in Poland: persecution and resistance

Poland's right-wing populists owe their success to liberal capitalism's failure, writes Reece Goscinski
Garment workers in South India rise up against Covid-linked retrenchment

Hundreds of unionised women workers are combating efforts by the fashion industry to pass the costs of Covid-19 onto the world’s most vulnerable, reports Susan Ram
The South Sea Bubble: England's first stock market crisis 300 years ago

The South Sea Bubble was not an exceptional event but the first of many crises produced by the inescapable tendencies of capitalism, argues Dominic Alexander
What is socialism? - explainer

In the first of a series of socialist explainers, Chris Nineham looks at the concept of socialism itself
Essential workers today; garbage tomorrow.

As the economic turmoil starts to bite, Goldstar Transport workers show how to organise to fight back, reports Richard Allday
Five films on the black struggle

As Black Lives Matter continues to make gains, Counterfire writers discuss a personal selection of films concerning race and class in the US and UK
Liberalism At Large: The World According to the Economist - book review

Zevin’s history of the Economist magazine opens up a rich angle from which to observe the nature and development of liberalism across 180 years, finds Dominic Alexander
Racism is systemic, so why are we still talking about privilege?

Locating racism as rooted in capitalism is key to building the kind of movement that can end it, argues Shabbir Lakha
Black history you can’t be without: Nine books on the struggle

A reading list of nine essential books on black history and the struggle against racism
Limits: Why Malthus Was Wrong and Why Environmentalists Should Care - book review

Giorgos Kallis criticises Malthus’ ideas and their modern influence, but sustainability requires structural change to move beyond capitalism, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
How Bolsonaro can be beaten - a Brazilian socialist speaks out

Thousands have taken to the streets in Brazil against Bolsonaro's misgovernment. Orlando Hill introduces an assessment from Leonardo Pericles of Unidade Populare
'Are there no food banks?' The Poor Laws and Charles Dickens at 150

Dickens’s acute observations of social inequality illuminate the cruelty of our government 150 years after his death, says Katherine Connelly
Invisible Leviathan: Marx’s Law of Value in the Twilight of Capitalism - book review

Marx’s labour theory of value and the analysis of the falling rate of profit receive a robust defence in Murray Smith’s Invisible Leviathan, finds Dominic Alexander
Coronavirus: death rate higher if you’re poor and BAME

The report into disproportionate BAME deaths from Covid-19 confirms that structural racism is at the heart of the problem, writes Lucy Nichols
Brazil: crises, crises and more crises

Covid-19 is yet another crisis to haunt Bolsonaro argues Orlando Hill (in London) and Lilian Hill (in Rio de Janeiro)
It’s a big deal that the outrage expressed over George Floyd’s death was massive and multiracial

Class struggle doesn’t go away in a pandemic, writes August Nimtz
The Equal Pay Act at 50: a bittersweet celebration

That women workers’ pay in the UK continues to lag significantly behind that of men underlines the limits of legal change under capitalism, argues Susan Ram
The Monster Enters: Covid-19, Avian Flu and the Plagues of Capitalism - book review

Mike Davis’ The Monster Entersupdates his earlier book on capitalism and pandemic disease to reflect on the current failure of the neoliberal state, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh
The China syndrome: why Trump’s obsession could lead to war – long read

The US policy to counter the growing economic and political strengths of China have taken a dangerous turn, says Chris Nineham
Neither a rigged market nor Vera Lynn will pick the crops

The crop picking crisis is revealing the fundamental failures of free-market capitalism and invoking national spirit won't fix it, argues Kevin Ovenden
Capitalism as a dynamic system: Marx and the Climate Crisis - extract

In the second of two extracts from her new book Marx and the Climate Crisis, Elaine Graham-Leigh explains why climate destruction is a structural feature of capitalism
Lives before profit: learning from the struggle for health and safety in the 1970s

John Westmoreland conducted a series of interviews with workers on the front line struggling for health and safety in the 1970s
The Unknowers: How Strategic Ignorance Rules the World - book review

The Unknowersis a fascinating exploration of the many ways in which our societies are built on strategic lack of knowledge, writes Joshua Newman
Laura Smith: why we should listen to our teaching unions

Teaching unions are right to set tests for the government to meet to protect their members, children, and families, says Laura Smith
A failed government in a failed system – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on capitalism committing to its priorities and how we can fight back
Crisis capitalism: why state intervention is not socialism

Capitalism hasn't been suspended. Change that benefits ordinary people can only come by pressure from below, argues Dominic Alexander
Engels was right, class society and women's oppression aren't inevitable or irreversible

As part of our series on the revolutionary Frederick Engels, on the 200th anniversary of his birth, Elaine Graham-Leigh looks at Engels' The Origins of the Family, Private Property and the State
Austerity reloaded: Tories want us to pay for crisis

The Tories are talking about more austerity and we need to shut it down, argues Kevin Potter
Why are the police racist?

Racism is an indispensable tool in the police’s mission to protect a deliberately exploitative system, argues Lucy Nichols
Marx and the Climate Crisis

Elaine Graham-Leigh shows how Marx's analysis of capitalism explains the climate breakdown and how we fight for system change to protect people and the planet
The Lie of Global Prosperity - book review

Donnelly’s The Lie of Global Prosperity shows how global institutions use bad data to promote the idea that poverty has declined due to neoliberal globalisation, finds Orlando Hill
Why are key workers so low paid?

The work of key workers is immensely valuable for a community but not so to a surplus-driven capitalist economy, says Dominic Alexander
The imperialism pandemic

Imperialism is part and parcel of global capitalism and it can be seen very clearly in the coronavirus crisis, writes David Bush in this repost from Spring Magazine
To the slaughter: back to work in a pandemic

The reopening of workplaces with no regard for the safety of workers shows the deadly determination of capitalism to protect profits, argues John Clarke
Reading the Labour Party: book recommendations by and for socialists

How can we explain what has happened in the Labour Party? We asked eight Counterfire authors to tell us about the books that have helped them to understand what the Labour Party is and how socialists should engage with it
No return to pre-lockdown air pollution

The lockdown is confirming just how damaging air pollution has been, we must demand a Green New Deal to make sure we don't go back, argues Jamal Elaheebocus
Government failures laid bare by highest death toll in Europe - CounterBlast 5 May

News that the UK has the worst death rate in Europe is a grimly unsurprising indictment of Government inadequacy, argues Mona Kamal
Corona and the food crisis: how the markets failed us

Corona crisis has exposed how market forces cannot be trusted with our food production, says Kevin Potter

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Capitalism

Capitalism

Egypt’s debt crisis is a symptom of the global impact the multiple crises of capitalism are having on the worlds’ poor, argues John Clarke

Elaine Graham-Leigh looks at the results of the Cop27 conference in Egypt, and argues that lack of action on climate change is not accidental, but a result of failings in the system

Maura Framrose challenges the priorities of neoliberalism in a review and analysis of the BBC documentary The Decade the Rich Won

Future on Fire offers a compelling argument that only mass movements can bring about a solution to the climate crisis, finds John Clarke

All the sound and fury of Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter hides a real financial crisis for the big tech companies, argues Kieran Crowe

Capitalism creates displacement, and the left must be for equality of movement and the freedom of sending-countries, argues Hannah Cross

The pattern of vicious attacks on left challenges to social-democratic leaderships continues in British Columbia, Canada, argues John Clarke

The IMF’s report on the inflation crisis prescribes an assault on working-class living standards, which must be resisted, argues John Clarke

Dominic Alexander assesses the crisis of neoliberalism and argues that there is an alternative in the potential of working-class power to replace capitalist relations of production altogether

A new collection of essays provides important sceptical discussions of the impact of robotics and AI on the economy, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh

In the third part of the series on class, Chris Nineham explains why a class analysis is needed to understand and fight oppression

This vindictive class-war budget will worsen inequality while doing nothing to stem the problems of British capitalism, argues Dominic Alexander

Capitalist measures to fix the climate have not worked, as two recent books show, so the key is to link working-class and ecological movements, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

In this critical assessment of an important new World Bank Report that attempts to make sense of the crisis and save capitalism from a global slump, John Clarke argues the real solutions will have to be won in struggle

Chris Bambery explains the anti-democratic role of the monarchy in maintaining a system of hierarchy and privilege

The British constitution exists to resist democratic demands, writes John Westmoreland

Lucette Davies reviews an already classic argument by James Davies on the damage that capitalism and profit seeking has done to the practice of psychiatry

The last Soviet leader discovered the most dangerous time for a bad government is when it begins to reform, writes Sean Ledwith

Dominic Alexander analyses the energy cost crisis and explains why the solutions cannot be found within the neoliberal free market model

Millions are facing extreme poverty because a handful of the richest people on the planet are making astronomical profits, writes John Clarke

David Jamieson argues that Tory complacency will not last. Soon the British state will wade into conflicts emerging around the cost of living.

Nicolas Graham’s book on forces of production and fossil-fuel capitalism gives an important analysis of why fundamental change is needed to solve the climate crisis, finds John Clarke

Following the attempted murder of Salman Rushdie, Kevin Ovenden discusses the clash of fundamentalisms at the heart of the global system and how the left should respond

Lindsey German on environmental crisis and the holiday tailback blame-game

The Uber leak has exposed the shady relationships between Big Tech and the political elite and the role of companies like Uber in “disrupting” laws and regulations for the benefit of the capitalist class, writes Kieran Crowe

Feyzi Ismail and Kevin Ovenden discuss the multiple, overlapping and global crises we face and the systemic solutions needed

Danièle Obono, Eddie Dempsey, John Rees and Jeremy Corbyn on the interlocking crises we face and strategy for the left at Counterfire's Revolution! Festival

An analysis of commodification in The Critique of Commodification provides useful insights, but the exploitation of labour remains key to the system, argues Dominic Alexander

Dominic Alexander explains the unfolding economic turmoil and how socialists should respond

John Clarke on capitalism’s unfolding crisis and the attempts to rescue it

Robert Hennelly’s Stuck Nation is a vigorous and well-researched analysis of the exploitative and racist nature of US capitalism, but falls short of a convincing way to be rid of it, argues John Clarke

The World Bank's latest report gives an insight into the intensifying crises within capitalism internationally, writes John Clarke.

John Clarke on the devlopment of the working class and the law and how the latter is a tool of the capitalist state to control the former

In the pursuit of maximising profit, airlines sacked thousands of workers and holidaymakers are now paying the price for their greed, writes Terina Hine

David Bush explains how the rise of cryptocurrencies is rooted in the capitalist class' response to the financial crisis and the pandemic and why it's now in freefall

The destructive greed and predatory role of Canada’s mining companies has led to horrific events in the Perkoa Mine, writes John Clarke.

Ahead of Counterfire's discussion on Lenin on Imperialism, we repost Morgan Daniels' introduction to Lenin's 1917 pamphlet, Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism

The notion of a more ethical and socially responsible version of capitalism is a cosmetic illusion which does not alter the fundamental nature of the system, argues John Clarke

After decades of neoliberalism and a devastating pandemic, conditions of acute global crisis are emerging and poor countries will be hit hardest, writes John Clarke

Counterfire's Yonas Makoni spoke to Marxist economist Michael Roberts about the real drivers of the cost of living crisis, the failures of the capitalist system and the alternatives we must fight for

In Sedated, James Davies makes a powerful case that the marketisation of mental health ignores the social causes of distress, harming us while serving capitalism, finds Lucette Davies

Over seventy years since publication, the first British edition of Eric Williams’ classic Capitalism and Slavery remains vital, despite establishment critics, argues John Westmoreland

Understanding the nature of the contradictions and crises of capitalism is central to the question of building a socialist alternative, writes John Clarke

Protesters in Hull hit the streets against P&O's sacking of 800 workers, reports John Westmoreland

The sacking of ferry workers in British ports is an attack on workers’ rights, argues Richard Allday, and we must unite to defeat the employers

Socialist Register 2022 discusses the impasse in the neoliberal consensus, the rise of authoritarian politics, and the prospects for the left, finds Dominic Alexander

On International Women's Day, Terina Hine looks at why the gender pay gap is still as wide as it was 25 years ago

The latest IPCC report points to the structural change needed to avert disaster. Our leaders driving war at this time is further proof that they don't have the solutions, writes Feyzi Ismail

Laurie Penny’s Sexual Revolution offers an eclectic argument full of inconsistencies, while omitting any understanding of how class underpins oppression, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

The reworked herd immunity strategy of governments telling us to live with the virus is once again driven by their need to protect profits, writes John Clarke

Don’t blame green policies for market failure, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

Yonas Makoni explains the socialist perspective on where racism comes from and how we can eradicate it

Dominic Alexander explains the Marxist theory of where value comes from and why it's central to understanding how capitalism functions

John Clarke dismantles the myths around ‘freedom’ in capitalist society and traces the role of state violence in upholding a system based on exploitation

As house prices continue to rise amid a wider cost-of-living crisis, Reuben Bard-Rosenberg and Dominic Alexander explain how the housing crisis is rooted in the logic of the capitalist system

Adam McKay's Don't Look Up highlights how the capitalist class’s relentless pursuit of profit is leading us to disaster, argues Lucy Nichols

Dominic Alexander examines the state of capitalism and the ever-deepening multi-faceted crises it finds itself in

Following the shocking murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson, Michael Lavalette explains how the system lets down vulnerable children

Historians in Darker Angels of our Nature deliver a devastating debunking to Steven Pinker’s liberal imperialist theory of violence in history, finds Dominic Alexander

The death of Amazon workers in tornadoes underlines the need for workers to organise and confront the bosses’ disregard for human life, argues Shabbir Lakha

Leaving a vast section of the world’s population unvaccinated can only create the basis for the virus to spread and mutate, argues John Clarke

Canada’s inflated housing market is a testimony to the greed and irrationality of capitalism, argues John Clarke

A study of the last witchcraft executions in England is very revealing about the roots of witch-panics in conflicts fuelled by capitalism and the state, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

Tony McKenna’s new book is an important defence of Marxism, against thinkers who have confused and obscured its revolutionary core, argues Chris Nineham

Climate briefing for activists, more Tory Covid failure, Clarks strikers fight fire-and-rehire, Scotland's wider crisis, socialism explained and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

Averting climate catastrophe demands reorganising production, not ‘de-growth’, argues Dominic Alexander.

Supply-chain worker Chris Neville gives us his view on shortages, supply chains and a changing balance of power

In this collection of socialist explainers, we’re giving quick responses to the questions that loom largest for us today

As Cop26 approaches, Feyzi Ismail explains why it looks unlikely to deliver and outlines a socialist approach to averting climate catastrophe

Elaine Graham Leigh weighs up the solutions and non-solutions on offer to deal with the climate emergency.

Neither liberal-conservative ideas of equal opportunity, nor identity politics, understand the interrelationships of race, class and capitalism, argues Yonas Makoni

While some laud conceptual art as radical, its tendency is to reproduce in culture the extremities of a finance dominated capitalism, argues Tony McKenna

The Robbery of Nature raises important questions about means and strategy for solving the ecological crisis, and the role of work in society, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh