Capitalism

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
Workers across the US strike on May Day for their lives

Workers from Amazon and other retail companies walked out on May day to demand protective equipment and hazard pay, reports Alyssa Cassata
After failing to meet 100,000 tests target, Hancock must resign

After a campaign of deceit and blame dodging to cover up brutal incompetence and disregard for lives, Matt Hancock must walk or be pushed, argues Shabbir Lakha
Who pays? Socialists and state intervention part 2 – long read

In the second part of his article, Chris Nineham examines the recent development of the state and how the Coronavirus will impact on government policy and the left
Rebel Minds: Class War, Mass Suffering, and the Urgent Need for Socialism - book review

A Marxist critique of psychiatry puts mental-health issues in the context of the social crises created by capitalism, and argues for socialist solutions, finds Adrian Cooley
Who pays? Socialists and state intervention part 1 – long read

State intervention is back. In part one of a two-part article, Chris Nineham looks at the myths and politics behind state involvement in the economy
The hidden history of American radicalism: the campaign for the Workers' Unemployment Insurance Bill

The little-known story of working class organising for a Communist-led initiative in 1930s America challenges assumptions about US workers’ conservatism, argues Chris Wright
Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism: a short introduction

In the week of the 150th anniversary of Lenin's birth, Morgan Daniels explains the relevance of his 1917 pamphlet, Imperialism, The Highest Stage of Capitalism
Lenin and revolutionary organisation

On the 150th anniversary of Lenin's birth, John Westmoreland, in the first of a three-part series, takes on the myths and distortions to reveal the politics at the heart of the Bolshevik party up to 1917
We are not expendable: interview with Chris Smalls

Counterfire's Alyssa Cassata interviews Chris Smalls, who led a walkout at an Amazon warehouse in New York to demand protective gear and hazard pay, for which he was fired
When capitalism turns caring for the vulnerable into a burden

The resurgence of DNACPR should be challenged, the idea that one life is more worthy than another could lead to dangerous consequences, argues Elly Badcock
Value Chains: The New Economic Imperialism - book review

Capitalism remains interlocked with imperialism, and Suwandi’s Value Chains demonstrates a core aspect of international mechanisms of exploitation, argues Dominic Alexander
Coronavirus is exposing the gaping class divide in Britain

Working class people are the worst affected by the health crisis and the government's response is geared toward protecting the rich, writes Richard Allday
New horizons during Covid-19: beyond the limits of capitalist realism

Through the Covid-19 crisis we glimpse the need for change and the possibility of change, argues Mike Wayne
Engels on nature and humanity

In the third of our series on the revolutionary Frederick Engels, on the 200th anniversary of his birth, we repost this excerpt from an upcoming short book on Engels' contribution to Marxian political economy by Michael Roberts
Null and void: sport in a time of Covid-19

The Coronavirus crisis has revealed so much about sport-as-business that is bad, argues Mark Perryman of Philosophy Football
Lockdown crisis in India: a people's perspective of Covid-19

With no access to state support, healthcare or testing, India's working and poor people have been completely abandoned by the government during the lockdown
The government is prioritising protecting profits - CounterBriefing 28 March

The government should be reorienting production to the urgent needs during this crisis, but instead they’re interested in saving profits, argues Penny Hicks
Dominic Cummings vs the people - podcast

Following his article Coronavirus: the politics of Cummings' cull, Sean Ledwith speaks to Parallax Views
Supply chains: a neoliberal crisis

Alastair Cartwright explains how the current economic system is prone to failure and what needs to be done to change it
The sociopathic calculus of capitalism in a crisis

The ruling class is debating whether or not it's worth saving the lives of those it can no longer exploit; this is barbarism, writes Kevin Ovenden
Pandemic basic income is not the solution

UBI lets the bosses off the hook and does nothing to challenge a system in crisis, argues John Clarke
Coronavirus, the market and the state

The state and the market are opposite sides of the same capitalist coin, writes Dragan Plavšić
Engels' Marxism

In the second of our series on the revolutionary Frederick Engels, on the 200th anniversary of his birth, we are republishing this piece by John Rees which first appeared in the International Socialism Journal in 1994
No more gambles, put people first - CounterBriefing 20 March

Our pressure on the government is working and we must push harder, argues Shabbir Lakha
Put people before profit to fight Coronavirus

The government's response to the Coronavirus puts big business first, but we need real solutions that benefit the public instead, argues Richard Allday
Teachers in New York forced schools to close; we need to do the same

Don't play dice with people's lives. Close schools now, argues Shabbir Lakha
Laugh through the lockdown

Five of the best novels to keep you laughing while you sharpen your critical faculties from John Rees
Branson's pickle

Richard Branson tries to be a poster boy for capitalism's supposed humanity but in truth he respresents its worst depravity, argues Morgan Daniels
Coronavirus is exposing capitalism - video

Kevin Ovenden speaks to Double Down News on how the nature of capitalism is being shown for what it is in this crisis
Coronavirus, climate, and capital: capitalism's destructive irrationality

Capitalism is subjecting itself to great strain and we must be prepared to help it on its way, writes John Clarke
Coronavirus: keep calm and carry on is not a policy but an abdication of responsibility

Government response is a key factor in how the virus is affecting populations and we will all pay for the inertia of our own, argues Kevin Potter
Coronavirus: market failure

In his third note on the Covid-19 outbreak, Dr Yannis Gourtsoyannis examines the role of the market in the apparent crisis on our shelves
Coronavirus: 8 demands we should make on the government

Any effective response to the virus outbreak will require radical solutions that put human lives before profits and markets, argues Alistair Cartwright
Coronavirus – the trigger for a slump?

Michael Roberts explains why Coronavirus has destabilised the global economy
Coronavirus: how effective are facemasks?

In his second note on the political economy of the imminent Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Yannis Gourtsoyannis looks at the antinomies of facemasks
A flood of anger

Outrage at government inaction is growing in the country's flood-hit areas, reports John Westmoreland
The socialist argument against the Tory anti-immigrant offensive

The labour movement cannot give any credence to the Tories' arguments and must ferociously oppose this anti-immigration clampdown says Kevin Ovenden
Coronavirus: an effect of global agribusiness

Growing profit first and food second is the reason for the virus. Look to modern industrial farming for the culprit, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
In the Red Corner: the Marxism of José Carlos Mariátegui - book review

Mike Gonzalez, In The Red Corner, recovers José Carlos Mariátegui’s Marxist understanding of Latin America in the context of the development of capitalism, finds Orlando Hill
As Australia burns, climate strikes set for a new phase

Lucy Nichols reports on twelve months of student-led protest
Leaving the EU: this is about what sort of society we want – and it isn’t Johnson’s

As Britain leaves the EU at 11pm tonight, the future is up for grabs, and the fight continues, argues Martin Hall
How America Became Capitalist - book review

James Parisot’s How America Became Capitalist uncovers the contested and contradictory history of capitalist development in the United States, finds Dominic Alexander
Our world is burning

As the wild fires rage, Laura Morales gives a personal view of the situation in Australia
Capitalism and colonialism: hiding the past on stolen land

John Clarke reflects on the legacy of capitalism and the genocidal dispossession of indigenous peoples in Canada
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism - book review

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism raises important questions about the authoritarian use of digital technologies, but the solution needs to be radical, argues Reece Goscinski
The Coming Revolution: Capitalism in the 21st Century - book review

The Coming Revolution is an impressive guide for Marxists looking for a way to approach contemporary capitalism, argues Josh Newman
The Debt System - book review

The Debt System argues that international debt is a system of exploitation of poorer countries, which should be regarded as illegitimate, finds Phil Armstrong
Our NHS is not for sale - all out to tell Trump

With proof that the NHS is ‘on the table’, we need to make next week’s anti-Trump demo massive, argues Tom Lock Griffiths
Gold Digger - TV review

The oppression of family and class unite in this taboo-busting drama, writes Sofie Mason
Neoliberalism, the left and the Crisis of the British State - book extract

In the first of two excerpts from ‘The British State: A Warning’, Chris Nineham examines how neoliberalism has shaped our state institutions
Labour's right, billionaires shouldn't exist

Billionaires are evidence of the grotesque inequality in society and Labour is right to say a fair society wouldn't have them, writes Shabbir Lakha
The British State: A Warning

As the left prepares for the possibility of taking power, Chris Nineham's timely new book analyses the British state and what the left can expect

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Capitalism

Capitalism

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

Climate chaos will hit the poor and the working class the hardest. A fighting movement is needed to demand climate justice, argues John Clarke

John Westmoreland explains the Marxist concept of alienation

Elaine Graham-Leigh explains Marx's labour theory of value

John Clarke assesses Canada's destructive role in the world

As the climate emergency deepens, Extinction Rebellion have once again occupied the streets of London to demand action, reports Jamal Elaheebocus

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

Alberta’s provincial government abandoning all mitigating policies while infections soar is criminally reckless, argues John Clarke

The left must force the government into taking the climate crisis seriously, argues Feyzi Ismail

As fires rage and anger intensifies, swingeing cuts amid climate chaos have put the government on dangerous ground, reports Kevin Ovenden

Makoto Itoh’s Value and Crisis provides a valuable exposition of a school of Japanese interpretation of Marxist economics, finds Phil Armstrong

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

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

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

Elaine Graham-Leigh discusses the damage capitalism is doing to the planet and the social transformation needed as part of Counterfire's Revolution! Festival

The opening rally of Counterfire's Revolution! Festival of Marxist Ideas featuring Tariq Ali, Danièle Obono and Lindsey German

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

In space, no one can hear you scream with rage at the hubris of self-indulgent billionaires, writes Sean Ledwith

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

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

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 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 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

Lindsey German on the G7, the old normal and anti-racism today

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

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

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

Art is not a reflection of society but is shaped by social production and cannot escape the alienation of capitalist conditions, argues Chris Nineham

All that glitters is not gold on closer analysis of the new President’s economic and political agenda, argues Sean Ledwith

The proposed ESL is an attempt to funnel the most profits to the fewest at the expense of the many, argues Martin Hall

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

The success of the vaccine rollout has been despite capitalism, not because of it, argues Shabbir Lakha

Lindsey German looks at the proposition that more police, longer sentences and new laws are the solution to ending violence against women

On the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune, we repost this article by renowned Marxist CLR James from 1946 on Marx and the Commune

The Chancellor would like us to forget he is personally responsible for some terrible decisions made during the pandemic, writes Sean Ledwith

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

Shabbir Lakha explains what we can expect from Biden's foreign policy using a Marxist understanding of imperialism

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 Capitalismbrings competition into the centre of industrial organisation theory and shows how labour is an agent in the power struggle, finds Orlando Hill

The progress of producing good vaccines in record time is at risk from systemic capitalist and nationalist rivalries, writes Kevin Ovenden

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

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

As the Covid death toll crosses 100,000, these are some of the urgent demands the labour movement should be making on the government:

Lindsey German discusses where women's oppression comes from in capitalist society

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

Elaine Graham-Leigh traces the roots of women's oppression in this excerpt from Marxism and Women's Liberation

Shabbir Lakha reflects on a tumultuous year and what we must remember for the fight ahead

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

Mike Wayne unpicks Liz Truss’s recent speech on inequality and finds that it scores some hits against parts of the left

Counterfire's fortnightly digest rounding up the stories of working people getting organised and fighting back

John Rees looks back at the literary achievement of John Le Carré, who died at the weekend

As India’s farmers continue their fight against Modi government ‘reforms’, Susan Ram analyses the issues behind their epic uprising

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

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