Marxism

Marxism

• 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

• Explainer: What is socialism?

  

  In the first of a series of socialist explainers, Chris Nineham looks at the concept of socialism itself

• Engels' contribution to Marxism

  

  As part of our series on the revolutionary Frederick Engels, on the 200th anniversary of his birth, we repost Tony Cliff's 1996 speech on Engels

• 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

• Fred Hampton: Black Panther and red revolutionary

  

  Fred Hampton's politics are a lesson in how to fight racism and capitalism together, argues Sean Ledwith

• 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

• Some past rank-and-file movements

  

  We republish Brian Pearce's 1959 essay on trade unions and rank and file movements with an introduction by Alex Snowdon

• 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

• Marx and the Climate Crisis - extract

  

  In the first of two extracts from her new book Marx and the Climate Crisis, Elaine Graham-Leigh looks at why individual behaviour has received so much attention and why this is an inadequate approach to the climate crisis

• Marxism and the trade unions: Strategy and Tactics

  

  An excerpt from John Rees' Strategy and Tactics: How the Left Can Organise To Transform Society

• 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

• 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

• Marxist Literary Criticism Today - book review

  

  Barbara Foley’s introduction reflects the strengths but also some of the weaknesses of contemporary Marxist writing on literature, finds Dragan Plavšić

• 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

• Neil Davidson (1957-2020)

  

  Chris Bambery remembers a giant of the Scottish left

• 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

• 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

• 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

• Tony Cliff: Strategy and Tactics

  

  We republish Chapter 14 from Tony Cliff's Lenin 1: Building the Party on the 20th anniversary of his death

• Tony Cliff: revolutionary theory and practice

  

  John Rees remembers Tony Cliff’s unique contribution to the Marxist tradition

• 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

• A World to Win: The Life and Works of Karl Marx - book review

  

  Sven-Eric Liedman’s study contains some important defence of Marx’s work, but gives way to hesitation, detracting from the coherence of Marx’s method, argues Chris Nineham

• 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

• Engels 200

• 10 years of Counterfire

  

  Marking ten years since the launch of Counterfire, Alex Snowdon reflects on why the organisation was set up and some of what we have achieved in the last decade

• Frederick Engels: life of a revolutionary

  

  In the first of our series on the revolutionary Frederick Engels, on the 200th anniversary of his birth, we are republishing this piece by Lindsey German which first appeared in the International Socialism Journal in 1994

• 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

• Why socialists oppose imperialist wars

  

  Smashing the link between militarism and the system is a fixed task for our side, argues Dominic Alexander

• After a bruising election... What next for the left? - Counterfire Freesheet January 2020

  

  Labour leadership contest, general strike in France, growing protest movement in India, why socialists oppose imperialism, a year of climate strikes and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

• Corbynism, socialists and the resistance – Counterfire’s conference

  

  Counterfire recently held its biggest annual conference yet. We report on the discussion and the decisions made

• Tony Cliff: The Jews, Israel and the Holocaust

  

  Tony Cliff was a Palestinian Jew and leading revolutionary socialist in Britain. On Holocaust Memorial Day, and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp, we republish an article that he wrote in 1998.

• 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

• Understanding Marxism - book review

  

  Richard Wolff in Understanding Marxism concisely introduces Marx’s essential arguments on exploitation in capitalism, and workers’ democracy, finds Graham Kirkwood

• 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 

• 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

• Why join Counterfire?

  

  We need a bigger, stronger extra-parliamentary left.

• Class, Party, Revolution: A Socialist Register Reader - book review

  

  A collection of classic Socialist Register articles raise vital questions about Marx, Lenin, Gramsci and revolutionary organisation, argues Alex Snowdon

• William Morris: father of socialist ecology

  

  William Morris is one of the greatest environmentalists of the socialist tradition and his work becomes more relevant by the day, writes Gabriel Polley

• What did Engels say about revolution?

  

  Engels was a revolutionary democrat and a revolutionary realist, argues Dragan Plavšić

• The problem with citizens’ assemblies

  

  As a citizens' assembly to deal with climate change is announced, Elaine Graham-Leigh looks at the idea’s limitations

• Take the fight to the Tories: they are unfit to govern - Counterfire freesheet June 2019

  

  Tory meltdown, the crisis in British Steel, how we should remember D-Day, a Marxist analysis of Game of Thrones and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

• Marxism made easy

  

  Despite the nonsense that gets talked about it, Marxism is a clear, powerful, and relevant philosophy, argues Morgan Daniels

• Marxism in 30 minutes with John Rees - video

  

  John Rees gives a presentation explaining what Marxism is and why it's still relevant at a London Counterfire public meeting

• Dump Trump: Protest the State Visit, June 3/4/5 - Counterfire freesheet May 2019

  

  Protest against Trump's state visit, austerity and record levels of inequality, Algeria in revolt, Marxism made easy, Palestine, eco-demands and more in this month's Counterfire Freesheet

• Spring into sport

  

  As one sport’s contest approaches its climax another has barely begun - Philosophy Football’s Mark Perryman reviews Spring books for those who measure their years out in seasons not months

• Thank God it's Friday: 300 years of Robinson Crusoe

  

  On the 300 year anniversary of the publishing of Robinson Crusoe, Morgan Daniels analyses what the book really tells us from a Marxist perspective

• World in Crisis: A Global Analysis of Marx’s Law of Profitability - book review

  

  Marx’s law of profitability is shown in World in Crisis to explain today’s long depression, but ending capitalism requires a political strategy, argues Dominic Alexander

• Marxists, so-called Marxists, and parliamentary socialists

  

  John Rees tries to distil some sense from recent tabloid exchanges, and looks at the real relationship between Marxism, parliament and Jeremy Corbyn

• A Marxist guide to crime drama

  

  At its best, crime drama does not simply try to terrify us with pure unblinking evil but gives us studies of dysfunctional human beings mangled by capitalism, argues Sofie Mason

• Marx and the meaning of private property

  

  Marx's stance on private property is far from the horror we're told it is, writes John Westmoreland 

• International Women's Day and revolution

  

  102 years on from the Russian Revolution, we publish Alexandra Kollontai writing on the history of International Women's Day

• Climate Leviathan and A Foodie's Guide to Capitalism - book reviews

  

  Two books on environmental crisis say that anti-capitalist politics are needed, but mistakenly reject the existing revolutionary tradition, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Conspiracy theory: the answer is more left-wing theory not less

  

  Ruling class power can’t be understood as a conspiracy, argues John Rees

• Old Gods, New Enigmas: Marx’s Lost Theory - book review

  

  Mike Davis punctures many myths about Marx and shows how important the history of working-class struggle remains for today, finds Dominic Alexander

• The revolutionary life of Sylvia Pankhurst - Counterfire Media Podcast

  

  Tom Lock Griffiths talks to biographer and activist Kate Connelly about Sylvia Pankhurst and why the militant socialist and suffragette is still powerfully relevant today in this episode of Counterfire Media's Podcast

• Marx in Engels' words

  

  Following the attack on Marx's grave in Highgate, we reprint a transcript of Engels speaking at his graveside on why he is worth remembering

• Marxism and the Brexit crisis

  

  The Brexit crisis is best understood through a strong methodological framework, argues John Rees

• Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht and the 100 year revolution

  

  One hundred years on from the murders of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, their revolution still breathes, writes Evan Sedgwick-Jell

• For a left populism - book review

  

  Mouffe’s elaboration of a left populist strategy contains some useful insights but ultimately rests on the centrist ideology that it appears to criticise, argues Josh Newman

• Rosa Luxemburg: a revolutionary for our times

  

  Rosa's commitment to her class against the greatest of odds is an enduring inspiration, writes Dana Mills

• Rosa Luxemburg was a revolutionary socialist

  

  Written in 1983, Lindsey German's introduction to Tony Cliff's book on Rosa Luxemburg gives a brief snapshot of her revolutionary life and ideas

• Standing on the shoulders of a giant: Rosa Luxemburg and The Mass Strike

  

  Marking the centenary of her assassination, Richard Allday looks at Rosa Luxemburg's The Mass Strike and the lessons it holds for revolutionary socialists today

• Rosa Luxemburg: reform or revolution?

  

  The life of the influential revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg provides inspiration and lessons for today, writes Judy Cox

• Obituary - Bruno da Ponte: 1932 - 2018

  

  Chris Bambery remembers the life of Portuguese revolutionary, Bruno da Ponte

• The limits of Keynesianism - Counterfire Media Podcast

  

  Tom Lock Griffiths talks to Dominic Alexander about his new book The Limits of Keynesianism in this episode of Counterfire Media's Podcast

• Counterfire's books of the year - part two

  

  The second instalment of the books that have inspired leading activists on the left over the last twelve months

• Marxism and Feminism - Counterfire Media Podcast

  

  Feyzi Ismail talks to Hester Eisenstein on current trends in Feminism and Marxism, #MeToo, intersectionality and reformulating issues of class as central to feminist theory and practice in this episode of Counterfire Media's Podcast

• About time to kick the Tories out

  

  This campaign by the People's Assembly will tour the country to unite those compaigning against the devastating effects of Austerity

• Stop bombing Yemen

  

  Our movement has set its sights on the UK's barbaric arms trade, reports Jonathan Maunders

• Marx, colonialism and the Global South - Counterfire Media Podcast

  

  Chris Nineham talks to American author and Marxist historian on Marx, colonialism and the Global South, and how Marx's ideas were ahead of their time in the fifth episode of Counterfire Media's Podcast

• A Marxist analysis of Eastenders

  

  More than just a sentimentalised view of working class life, Eastenders can often cut through some of the big issues facing working people argues Sofie Mason 

• Stick in the Wheel in Dublin - gig review

  

  Stick in the Wheel are an urban folk group rooted in the tradition but with a hard, forward-looking sound and attitude, reports Josh Newman

• No platform for Alice Weidel in Oxford

  

  The cancellation of Alice Weidel's visit to the Oxford Union is a victory and should help to push for a mass, anti-racist movement, argues Josh Newman

• Germany after Merkel: how the right can be beaten

  

  With the departure of Angela Merkel, centrist hopes for maintaining the status quo are withering, while the left is at a strategic cross roads, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• Britain is broken: we can't afford the Tories

  

  Campaigners are preparing for a new wave of activity to match the mood on the streets, reports Steph Pike

• The Cry: capitalism ruins families - TV review

  

  BBC One's drama The Cry paints a picture of shame and guilt associated with the family and specifically parenting under capitalism argues Sofie Mason

• Marx and the fight against climate change - Counterfire Media Podcast

  

  Elaine Graham-Leigh and Tom Lock Griffiths discuss the Marxist perspective on ecology and the fight against climate change in the third episode of Counterfire Media's Podcast

• France in 1968: myths, realities and unanswered questions

  

  50 years on from the 1968 crisis, John Mullen gives an overview of events in France, the debates historians are having and the lessons today's anticapitalists should take

• The Brazilian elections and the fight against the far right

  

  The far right threatens to do well in Brazil's elections this weekend amid a polarised climate of reaction and resistence, reports Orlando Hill

• The dialectics of Doctor Who

  

  Although a part of the establishment media, Doctor Who has always had a subversive thread running through it and today is no different, argues Sean Ledwith

• Ontario becomes a testing ground for hyper austerity

  

  Creative organising and resistance are urgently needed as a rampant, austerity-bent Tory government carves its way through Ontario, reports John Clarke

• Orange is the new black - analysis

  

  Beyond the sly humour and emotive character interactions lies a story of deep institutional repression and desire for radical new approaches to justice, argues Jago Corry

• The limits of Keynesianism

  

  A Marxist critique of Keynesian economics and what that means post-financial crisis

• Take the fight to the right and make this time ours - national meeting

  

  It's time to fightback against the smears aimed at sabotaging Corbyn

• Beyond the veil: some context in the controversy over the burqa

  

  The right instrumentalise Islamophobia but use the liberal trope of universal values to cover up a variety of political contexts, argues Floyd Codlin

• Frida Kahlo: artist and revolutionary

  

  Frida Kahlo was a revolutionary and a politically-committed artist whose art condemned the society she revolted against argues Judy Cox

• Solidarity with Bookmarks shows a united left can take on the far right

  

  The huge show of solidarity with Bookmarks bookshop on Saturday shows that the left can unite to defeat the far right argues Isabel Carr

• Interest rates, wages and the UK economy

  

  As he analyses the state of the economy, Michael Roberts finds that the capitalist sector of the British economy has failed to deliver for the needs of the people

• PCS Ballot: the fight for decent pay is hotting up

  

  The labour struggle around a fair, real wage rise in the PCS union is gathering traction, reports Floyd Codlin

• Grenfell: First the injury, now the insults

  

  With survivors and FBU firefighters now in the firing line, Julie Al-Hinai detects echoes of Hillsborough 

• Why Trump won't forget his visit

  

  Chris Nineham argues why it is important that the movements go on to the offensive against Donald Trump in the next few days

• Success for England will mean what we make it mean

  

  As England prepare to take on Colombia tonight, Philosophy Football’s Mark Perryman outlines what we might or might not be able to look forward to

• The real danger behind Trump's antics and why he is not indestructible

  

  Trump's obvious absurdity should not distract us from the very real dangers posed by his presidency and his UK visit

• To celebrate, but also to defend: be on the streets for our NHS this Saturday

  

  Join us in wishing the NHS a happy 70th Birthday and in standing up to defend it tomorrow in London

• May Days review - a fitting tribute to Grenfell and a society fighting back

  

  This staging of a potent poem of our times gives voice to a class realising its own power, finds Cameron Panting

• Marxism and human nature

  

  Mainstream conceptions of human nature are rooted in the historical development of capitalism.  Elaine Graham-Leigh argues that we can only understand nature through the dialectic method

• Socialism: utopian and scientific - an introduction

  

  Engels’ popular pamphlet offers one of the best concise accounts of capitalist development and an accessible introduction to Marx's revolutionary socialism, writes John Rees

• The Storm Clouds Gather: Is there a future for the European Union?

  

  The gathering crisis in European Union should make it clear the EU provides no haven from racism or austerity

• Culture as Politics: Selected Writings of Christopher Caudwell - book extract

  

  David Margolies gives an introduction to a new edition of writings by Christopher Caudwell 

• Karl Marx: before all else a revolutionist

  

  200 years since Marx’s birth and 170 years after the 1848 revolutions, Katherine Connelly reflects on Marx’s revolutionary contribution

• Who was Karl Marx?

  

  The world has changed dramatically since Marx's day, but his ideas could not be more relevant, writes Dragan Plavsic

• Marx200: the Paris Commune and the Marx family

  

  The Paris Commune only lasted from 28 March to 28 May 1871 but it inspired Karl Marx and continues to inspire and inform socialists today argues Judy Cox

• A win for women in Ireland, a reminder of what's holding back the North

  

  After the victory for Yes today, the reactionary politics holding Northern Ireland back is a construct of British imperialism, argues Reuben Bard-Rosenberg 

• University of Bristol students march for mental health services

  

  Students at the University of Bristol demonstrated in huge numbers this Friday to protest inadequate mental health provision, reports Steven Cooper

• Change is coming: be a part of it

  

  The upcoming National People’s Assembly, is a necessary step towards refreshing and refocusing the anti-austerity movement

• Two sides of a city: homelessness and the royal wedding

  

  We cannot turn a blind eye to the class cleansing where homeless people are moved on whilst royal wedding fans camp out unhindered

• Royal wedding alienation

  

  Marx200: Why do working class people get swept up in the orchestrated, costly drama of a Royal wedding? The answer lies in Marx’s theory of alienation.

• The limits of Keynesianism part 5: can the working class make advances within capitalism?

  

  In the final part of our series, Dominic Alexander looks at how working class advancement means moving beyond the confines of reformism

• 'Just do it': the politics of fighting precarity

  

  Richard Allday reminds us that we need to work together; we can’t be socialists on our own

• Be part of a socialist organisation committed to fundamental change

  

  We have a once in a generation chance for change, and must take it

• The limits of Keynesianism part 4: the Keynesian attack on the labour theory of value

  

  In the fourth part of our series, Dominic Alexander looks at the problems with Keynesian critiques of Marx's labour theory of value 

• After Windrush: this racist government must go - Counterfire Freesheet May 2018

  

  Windrush, May 68, Palestine, UCU strike, Marx and more - Counterfire freesheet edition 025, May 2018

• Was Marx an economist? What was his contribution to economics?

  

  In her speech at 'Why Marx Was Right', Susan Newman argues that Marx's analysis of capitalism goes against everything modern economics stands for

• Why Paul Mason is wrong about Marx

  

  On the bicentenary of Karl Marx's birth, Paul Mason writes about the relevance of Marx today. Dragan Plavšić explains where he gets it wrong

• Marx matters more than ever - weekly briefing

  

  There’s still only one thinker who not only explains the horrors of capitalism but also offers an escape route, writes Lindsey German

• The limits of Keynesianism part three: Marx, Keynes and the analysis of the trade cycle

  

  In the third part of our series on Keynesianism, Dominic Alexander looks at cycles, crisis, and why Keynesianism always looks to fix capitalism 

• Marxism in 800 words

  

  As we approach Karl Marx's 200th birthday, Alex Snowdon summarises Marx's key ideas in as few words as possible

• Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Marx on his 200th birthday

  

  On 5 May, leading Marxists are getting together to celebrate Marx’s 200^th birthday. Chris Nineham argues why the event matters so much.

• Windrush and antisemitism: who’s weaponising what?

  

  The Tories are astonishingly trying to turn the windrush scandal into a knock for Labour and Shabbir Lakha argues that it must not stick

• Systemic Islamophobia in Britain has deadly consequences

  

  The political mainstream's cynical use of Islamophobia leads directly to death and heartbreak, argues Maz Saleem

• The limits of Keynesianism part two: the assumptions Keynes makes

  

  In the second part of our series on Keynesianism, Dominic Alexander outlines the economic and philosophical underpinnings of Keynesian thought

• Marx and the national question

  

  Marx's understanding of the fight for self-determination at national level as a step on the road to socialism is useful for us today, argues Chris Bambery

• The limits of Keynesianism part one: John Maynard Keynes and orthodox economics

  

  In the first part of our series considering the merits and pitfalls of Keynesian economics, Dominic Alexander looks at the history of Keynes' contribution

• The Windrush scandal: It's time to deport Theresa May from office

  

  This terrible scandal shows us that racism is driven primarily from the top of society, not the bottom, argues Kevin Ovenden

• A pointless but dangerous display of gesture bombing in Syria

  

  The decision to bomb Syria was a pathetic display of supposed strength by declining imperial powers, argues Chris Nineham

• Brazil: Neoliberalism versus Democracy - book review

  

  The root of the constitutional coup in Brazil lay in Lula and Rousseff’s attempt to marry inclusive democracy with the exclusionary logic of neoliberalism, finds Orlando Hill

• Bloody Friday in Gaza: a great return massacre

  

  An unarmed, civilian protest from a people who have been oppressed for decades, results in bloodshed and massacre.

• When the ruling class can't rule in the old way - weekly briefing

  

  The establishment is losing control, but there is a way out for them, if the left lets its guard down, warns John Rees

• The Face of Modern Racism

  

  With a refugee crisis of epic proportions, we must be part of the solution, argues Sean Ledwith

• Did the West provoke this crisis with Russia?

  

  A US army study, 'Is the Next Global Conflict Imminent?', suggests NATO expansion is the key driver of tension with Russia

• Are we having a party or a moment?

  

  If Corbynism is to be more than a moment, Mark Perryman argues this requires new kinds of left politics

• The Young Karl Marx - film review

  

  This portrait of the most important thinker of the modern age shows a man who was much much more than the popular caricature of a grey beard

• Marx the ecologist

  

  Some criticise Marx as anti-environmental, but understanding his ecology is essential to grasping his critique of capitalism, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Environmental entropy is inescapable in capitalism

  

  No truly effective green politics can do without a coherent argument against the capitalist mode of production, argues Nathan Street

• Alternative models and silent revolutions

  

  After years on the back foot, Labour has shown that ideas of worker-led ownership are back in play

• Studies in Pre-Capitalist Modes of Production - book review

  

  This collection of studies on pre-capitalist societies develops vital debates on the application of the Marxist method to history in general, argues Dominic Alexander

• What does this week's stock market crash mean?

  

  As the stock market plunged this week and fears of a 2007 repeat spread like wildfire, Michael Roberts analyses what the crash could mean

• Frankenstein at 200

  

  Frankenstein was published 200 years ago. It's a horror story but the horrors it described are rooted in capitalism as well as the imagination

• Obituary: A Sivanandan (1923-2018)

  

  Siva’s understanding of race, class and imperialism, and of humanity in general, will continue to inspire resistance to injustice and hope for socialism

• Capitalism and technology: are robots going to take over - video

  

  At a London meeting, Marxist economist Michael Roberts discusses whether or not the robot takeover is inevitable, and would advancement lead to living standards improving or further exploitation

• Marxism, Social Reproduction and Women’s Liberation with Lindsey German and Kate Connelly - video

  

  At an important Counterfire discussion, Lindsey German and Kate Connelly speak on women's oppression and how gender roles are played out within the structure of capitalism

• Rosa Luxemburg on the politics of poverty and homelessness

  

  This winter people are dying needlessly. Rosa Luxemburg reminds us that politics is about more than negotiations between competing states.

• Istvan Meszaros and Marx's theory of alienation

  

  The late Hungarian philosopher explained how alienation can only be overcome by collective action which challenges capitalist relations of production

• How and why I write

  

  The Trumpet of Sedition blog has been running a series of articles by historians on 'How I Write'. John Rees contributes

• Arthur Ransome on the Russian Revolution

  

  100 years on from the October revolution, Judy Cox introduces Arthur Ransome's pamphlet The Truth about Russia

• Marx, Capital and the Madness of Economic Reason - book review

  

  David Harvey’s latest book, using all three volumes of Marx’s Capital, demonstrates the social irrationality of modern capitalism, finds Dominic Alexander

• Robots and AI: utopia or dystopia? - part 3

  

  Michael Roberts suggests that robots will not be taking over the world of work any time soon

• Automation and Basic Income: beyond the hype

  

  Basic Income is not a beyond left and right answer to automation, argues David Bush

• Robots and AI: utopia or dystopia? – part two

  

  Michael Roberts explains why we would never get to a robotic society under capitalism

• Robots and AI: utopia or dystopia? part one

  

  Robots will not end the contradictions within capitalist accumulation, argues Michael Roberts

• Uncertain Futures: An Assessment of the Conditions of the Present

  

  Edmund Berger’s Uncertain Futures provides an important defence of Marxist economic theory, and an analysis of crisis, argues Sean Ledwith

• Lukács, alienation and class consciousness - video

  

  The work of Hungarian Marxist Georg Lukács, who developed one of the most powerful critiques of capitalist ideology, is introduced by Chris Nineham

• Rosa Luxemburg, reform and revolution - video

  

  Rosa Luxemburg is one of the greatest Marxist activists and thinkers of all time. Elaine Graham-Leigh discusses her ideas on reform, revolution, and much else.

• What is Marxism Part 1 - video

  

  In the first of a series of meetings on Marxist theory Lindsey German introduces Marx's critique of capitalism

• Break the wheel: the politics of Game of Thrones

  

  The wildly popular series has attracted a number of interesting attempts to analyse what it tells us about the contemporary state of capitalist culture

• What is Marxism? A guide to revolutionary theory - organised by Counterfire

  

  We need to organise against an establishment that will do anything to stop radical social change. Three forums on revolutionary theory will help us understand how

• The Long Depression: How It Happened, Why It Happened, and What Happens Next

  

  An understanding of capitalist crisis needs to make use of all parts of Marx’s theory, including the declining rate of profit, argues Dominic Alexander

• The Dictator, the Revolution, the Machine: A Political Account of Joseph Stalin

  

  Tony McKenna’s compelling Marxist biography of Stalin disproves the allegation that October 1917 led directly to the dictator’s atrocities, argues Sean Ledwith

• Why you should join Counterfire

  

  We need a dynamic, combative left, fit for the 21st century

• W.E.B. Du Bois: Revolutionary Across the Color Line

  

  This biography reveals W.E.B. Du Bois as a radical and revolutionary thinker who challenged capitalism, imperialism and racism, finds Adam Tomes

• Resisting the erasure of the legacy of Georg Lukács

  

  Right-wing governments can destroy statues, but to destroy the memory and the intellectual legacy of Lukács is impossible - Anita Zsurzsan reports from The Legacy of Georg Lukács: An International Conference

• Georg Lukacs and the actuality of revolution

  

  Hungarian Marxist Georg Lukacs is under attack. We repost a talk given by Chris Nineham at the recent conference in Budapest to defend him  

• Marxism and Women's Liberation

  

  Judy Cox welcomes Marxism and Women’s Liberation as a timely and valuable discussion of the causes and consequences of women’s oppression

• Fantastic march for our NHS

  

  A huge 'Our NHS' demonstration was passionately addressed by Jeremy Corbyn. He must be a part of the movement for change, argues Lindsey German

• Revolution remembered

  

  Event commemorating the Russian Revolution, linking it to today's struggles, was big success for revolutionary left, reports Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• 5 things Orlando Figes got wrong about the Russian Revolution on BBC Newsnight

  

  Orlando Figes was enlisted by the BBC to trash the history of the Russian Revolution. In the run-up to Saturday's Revolution 1917 event, Chris Nineham corrects some matters of fact

• We can't move forward if we don't understand our past

  

  We need to talk about the Russian Revolution now more than ever, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• The British state and The City - part 3

  

  The third in a three-part series, in which Chris Bambery takes a look at the intertwined history of the state and the City of London

• 1905: The 1917 Revolution's dress rehearsal

  

  The Russian Revolution of 1917 was led by a working class who, in 1905, had already tasted their own power and experienced bitter defeat

• Medieval Europe

  

  Chris Wickham’s analysis of the European Middle Ages is a rich introduction to the development of Europe up to the 15th Century, argues Chris Bambery

• The British state and The City - part 2

  

  The second in a three-part series, in which Chris Bambery takes a look at the intertwined history of the state and the City of London

• The British state and The City - part 1

  

  The first in a three-part series, in which Chris Bambery takes a look at the intertwined history of the state and the City of London

• Revolution - Russia 1917: One Hundred Years On - event

  

  On 25 February, Counterfire is hosting an event celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, taking a closer look at the key questions of the period

• Seeing red: the wisdom of John Berger

  

  Revolutionary writer and art critic John Berger has died, aged 90. Chris Nineham reflects on his life and work 

• Red Rosa. A graphic biography of Rosa Luxemburg

  

  Kate Evans’ graphic biography, Red Rosa, is an entertaining, innovative and perceptive account of Rosa Luxemburg, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh

• Art, Literature and Culture from a Marxist Perspective

  

  Tony McKenna’s cultural essays show the rich possibilities of Marxist analysis for a range of art and literature, argues Sean Ledwith

• E.P. Thompson on how to save the university

  

  Over four decades ago, the Marxist historian called for resistance against the commercialisation of higher education

• 5 novels every revolutionary should read

  

  Some of the best pieces of fiction ever written about revolutionary experience are outlined by writer and historian John Rees

• Can neuroscience change our minds?

  

  Steven and Hilary Rose debunk the ideologically loaded claims of reductionist neuroscience in a short but clear book, finds Elaine Graham-Leigh

• No way to remember anything

  

  An analysis of the 2011 Egyptian revolution reproduces the same mistakes on the left that led to the revolution’s defeat in 2013, argues Kevin Crane

• Wall Street’s Think Tank

  

  Wall Street’s Think Tank shows that the Council on Foreign Relations is a pivotal institution for the US ruling class, finds Dominic Alexander

• Five simple reasons why you should come to Dangerous Times Festival 2016

  

  The left is in a position where it can actually win. It is essential we come together to discuss how to fight for a better world

• The Jews, Israel and the Holocaust - key texts

  

  The Blairites' crocodile tears are about defending empire, writes David Moyles in this introduction to The Jews, Israel and the Holocaust 

• Architect or Bee? The Human Price of Technology

  

  Mike Cooley’s Architect or Bee? put the case that a new organisation of technology could provide social good rather than profit. Orlando Hill welcomes the new edition

• The Communist Manifesto - key texts

  

  The Communist Manifesto is a pamphlet that refuses to die. As incendiary as the day it was published, Paul Vernell unpacks this founding document

• Rosa Luxemburg’s The Mass Strike - key texts

  

  Rosa Luxemburg argued that the majority of people would be won to socialism through struggle, writes Paul Vernell in this introduction to The Mass Strike

• Keep Lukács' work alive

  

  Hungarian writer and revolutionary Georg Lukács contribution to Marxist philosophy was unparalleled. His archives must be kept open and his work remembered

• Trotsky on the United Front - key texts

  

  Trotsky's brilliant polemic on the united front, introduced by Vladimir Unkovski-Korica in our 'key texts' series

• Why theory matters if you want to change the world

  

  Chris Nineham argues that theory is too important to be left in the hands of the enemies of change

• Rosa Luxemburg on parliament and political power - key texts

  

  Vladimir Unkovski-Korica introduces a chapter from Reform or Revolution by Polish revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg as part of our 'key texts' series

• Is Marxism still relevant? Key texts

  

  The 'S' word is back. Here Chris Nineham introduces a brilliant short defence of Marxism by Tony Cliff as part of our 'key texts' series

• Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future

  

  Can technology on its own bring about a better society, as Paul Mason’s PostCapitalism suggests, or do we need revolutionary politics, asks Sean Ledwith

• The principles of liberation: how Lenin rescued Marx

  

  Chris Nineham reviews 'Reconstructing Lenin. An intellectual biography' by Tamas Krausz

• Classic texts: a summary of Lenin’s State and Revolution

  

  Can the state be taken over because it is a neutral space or does it have to be overthrown? Paul Vernell looks at Lenin's answer

• Marxism and Feminism

  

  Marxism and Feminism explores the connections between capitalism and women’s oppression through a range of serious and perceptive arguments, finds Lindsey German

• Why Marx's Manifesto is still a revolutionary bestseller

  

  The new Penguin edition of Karl Marx’s The Communist Manifesto was an immediate bestseller. It’s even on sale in Tesco’s. Katherine Connelly explains why this book should be on your shopping list

• Communal Luxury: The Political Imaginary of the Paris Commune

  

  Communal Luxury is an effective account of the 1871 Paris Commune, and how understanding it aids our struggle for freedom within a decaying capitalism, argues John Westmoreland

• Why one Guardian writer should be heading to Tesco’s this May Day

  

  The Guardian May Day article misrepresents Marx and detracts from the critical lessons learned from his life and work argues Susan Newman