Communists of America

What is the meaning of the "culture war"? Why is this racist, sexist, transphobic right-wing frenzy being whipped up, and is there an effective way to cut across it? In this talk from the 2022 NYC Marxist School, Laura Brown provides a perspective for how the working class can fight against these right-wing attacks and struggle collectively to end all forms of oppression. Watch full video here: bit.ly/vClassWar. Join the fight for socialism in our lifetime: srev.org/join.

After a period of ebb in the class struggle, the US labor movement is taking the initial steps to reclaim the militant traditions of the past. In this talk from the 2022 NYC Marxist School, Mark Rahman provides an overview of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and draws on the lessons of this inspiring period of US history referred to as the "labor wars." Watch full video here: bit.ly/strike1877. Join the fight for socialism in our lifetime: srev.org/join.

In this episode, we take a look at how the impasse of capitalism is paving the way for a revolution in the US. This talk by Socialist Revolution editor Antonio Balmer was one of the sessions from the 2022 NYC Marxist School. This event brought together 130 socialists from across the US Northeast, Canada, and Puerto Rico, for a weekend of discussions on revolutionary theory and strategy. Watch full video here: bit.ly/us-revolution. Join the fight for socialism in our lifetime: srev.org/join.

The inspiring struggles in Iran today are waking people up to the revolutionary potential of the Iranian working class. In this episode of Socialist Revolution podcast, we aim to provide an objective portrayal of what actually happened in the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which is quite different from the stereotypes shown in the movies and on TV. Join the fight for socialism in our lifetime: srev.org/join.

With the 2022 midterms more or less behind us, the opening shots of the next presidential election campaign are already being fired. While the results shed some light on some processes, the political waters are, in many ways, even muddier than before. Editorial for issue 36 of Socialist Revolution. Subscribe to the magazine: srev.org/subscribe. Read article online: srev.org/2022-us-midterms. Join the fight for socialism in our lifetime: srev.org/join.

The US government recently released a report on the horrific abuses in the American Indian boarding schools. While some seek to mend these travesties via “reconciliation” with the American government, Marxists believe that only a socialist revolution can lay the basis for genuine reparations for the genocide and oppression suffered at the hands of the capitalist state. Read the article: bit.ly/indian-schools. Join the fight for socialism in our lifetime: srev.org/join.

Judging by the liberal press, the only way forward for humanity is to ensure the Democrats maintain control of Congress in the midterms. But an even more urgent crisis faces our species: climate change. Editorial for issue 35 of Socialist Revolution. Subscribe to the magazine: srev.org/subscribe. Join the fight for socialism in our lifetime: srev.org/join.

What is the Marxist position on mutual aid? Can it play a role in transforming society? What political tasks should revolutionaries prioritize today? In this round table discussion, Socialist Revolution editors Antonio Balmer, Bryce Gordon, and Tom Trottier take up some of these questions and more to clarify our views on the important topic of socialist strategy. FAQ Article: srev.org/faq-mutual-aid. Join the fight for socialism in our lifetime: srev.org/join.

Only the conscious efforts of the working class can ensure the victory of the world socialist revolution and bring order out of capitalism's chaos. Editorial for issue 34 of Socialist Revolution. Subscribe to the magazine: srev.org/subscribe. Join the fight for socialism in our lifetime: srev.org/join.

The US Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the historic 1973 decision protecting a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction. While this is a particularly egregious attack against working-class women, it is part of a broader assault on basic democratic rights and an attack on all workers and oppressed people. Editorial for issue 33 of Socialist Revolution. Subscribe to the magazine: srev.org/subscribe. Join the fight for socialism in our lifetime: srev.org/join.

With capitalism in its death agony, the world is experiencing turmoil: from the war in Ukraine, to the unresolved pandemic, to runaway inflation, and the threat of a new recession. In the following talk from the April national conference of Socialist Appeal, Fred Weston explains the fundamental driving factors of this crisis and how it is transforming consciousness, preparing the ground for an era of revolutionary upheaval. Watch video of the talk: srev.org/video-world-in-crisis. Join Socialist Revolution: srev.org/join.

The Supreme Court’s position on Roe v. Wade would ban abortion access for millions of people in the US. This attack on abortion rights is a stark wake up call for all workers—an injury to one is an injury to all! In this episode, Laura Brown of Socialist Revolution discusses with Joel Bergman of Fightback. Episode republished from Fightback, the Canadian section of the International Marxist Tendency. Join the fight for socialism in our lifetime: srev.org/join

Our comrade outlines her journey from feminism to a revolutionary, communist struggle against women's oppression. This is part of an ongoing series on membership in the IMT, in which comrades explain what drove them to reject the capitalist system and embrace revolutionary Marxism. Read the full article: bit.ly/feminism-marxism.

As the war in Ukraine drags into a new month, revolutionary Marxists must be crystal clear on the fundamental class dynamics of the situation. Lurking behind the lofty lies and rhetoric, the cruise missiles and the artillery, lie the class interests of the capitalists: the pursuit of markets, spheres of influence, natural resources, labor power, and profits. Editorial for issue 32 of Socialist Revolution. Subscribe to the magazine: srev.org/subscribe.

In this episode, Antonio Balmer discusses the polarized debate over Critical Race Theory, the history of the mass struggles against racism in the US, and the fight against racism today. Read our article on this topic: bit.ly/marxism-crt. The episode is based on a session at the 2022 Montreal Marxist Winter School.

Since 2021, 137 bills have been proposed limiting what schools can teach. What does this say about the capitalists' confidence in their system? Editorial for issue 31 of Socialist Revolution magazine. Subscribe to our magazine: srev.org/subscribe.

Postmodernism is an amorphous philosophical school of thought that has grown to become one of the dominant schools of bourgeois philosophy. This article, first published in the IMT’s theoretical journal, In Defence of Marxism, is the first in a series of articles analyzing the different aspects of postmodernism from a Marxist perspective. Read it on our website at bit.ly/marxpomo.

The war in Ukraine, with the human misery and death it will cause, is a stark reminder of the sharp and sudden changes we will continue to see in this epoch of capitalist crisis—which coincides with the relative decline of US imperialism. Read the full article: bit.ly/war-ukraine.

A tidal wave of class anger is building just beyond the horizon, and when the tsunami hits, the very shoreline will be transformed. Editorial for issue 30 of Socialist Revolution magazine, read it in full at srev.org/history-aint-over-yet.

By harnessing the colossal potential of science and technology, freeing them from the chains of private ownership and the nation state, it will be possible to solve all the problems that oppress our world and threaten it with destruction. Read the article on our website: bit.ly/whymarx.

How can Marxists reach the masses? This is a pressing and fundamental question which has been at the center of revolutionary debate since the birth of the socialist movement. The following article contrasts the Bolshevik method to the modern-day iteration of base-building. Read it on our website: bit.ly/base-bolsh

In this episode, comrade Kiara joins us from Philadelphia after a very successful event series with her university's Socialist Revolution club, Temple Marxists. She will explain the ideas of revolutionary Marxism and why we are communists, giving a taste of the kinds of revolutionary propaganda work and discussions our comrades are carrying out in colleges, workplaces, and neighborhoods in dozens of cities from coast to coast.

Socialist Revolution recently held its US Congress. Comrades from every corner of the country met for a weekend of discussions and voted on the US Perspectives document. In this episode, John Peterson gives an updated recap of this discussion document, which draws a balance sheet of the profound transformation of the political landscape in the US and analyzes the major factors that are shaping mass consciousness today. Read the full US Perspectives: bit.ly/usp-21. Read a report of the National Congress: bit.ly/USIMT21. Join Socialist Revolution: srev.org/join.

We present the revolutionary Marxist position on how to adapt to climate change. In the final analysis, the climate catastrophe is a product of capitalist exploitation and domination, and the solution to this problem is intimately connected to the class struggle. This is a crisis that the working class didn’t create, but which only we as a class can resolve by taking control over society.

Jorge Martin, a comrade in the International Marxist Tendency and editor for Marxist.com, appeared on Rupture Radio to discuss the Cuban Revolution, the recent protests that have broken out in the country, the imperialist blockade, and the tasks facing revolutionaries. Read Jorge's most recent article on Cuba: bit.ly/CubanRev. Both Rupture Radio and Rupture Magazine are produced by members of RISE, a network within People Before Profit in Ireland.

For decades, the Israel-Palestine conflict has been one of imperialism's most blatant acts of oppression—with the systematic annihilation of the rights and lives of the Palestinian people at the hand of the Israeli state. Under capitalism, both the one-state and two-state solutions are utopian and can only lead to barbarism. Marxists have a radically different proposal. In this talk from the 2019 Revolution Festival in London, Fred Weston (editor of marxist.com) puts forward a socialist, working-class, internationalist perspective: to fight for the revolutionary mobilization of the Middle Eastern masses against capitalism and imperialism, and for a Socialist Federation of the Middle East.

On May 31, 1921, 100 years ago, a mob of enraged white vigilantes descended on Tulsa's black district of Greenwood, slaughtering hundreds of black people—the largest mass killing since the Civil War. These events are a tragic example of how American capitalism uses the poison of bigotry to “divide and rule.” Once unleashed on the world, the monster of racism took on a life of its own and has left many corpses in its wake. Read the full article: srev.org/the-racist-terror-of-tulsa-1921

This article argues that the historical pendulum is swinging toward a resurgence of the labor movement. What needs to be in place for a future revolution to succeed? What kind of organization and program can lead the working class to victory? Read it on our website at bit.ly/3u6Kp3Q.

Alan Woods gives an introduction on Marxist philosophy, dialectical materialism, in the 2018 book launch of The Revolutionary Philosophy of Marxism. As Lenin said, without revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary movement. All revolutionaries must make an effort to study the ideas of Marxism, which is a powerful weapon in our hands to transform society. Get the book: bit.ly/3od3sba. Video presentation: bit.ly/3tKFqpH. Alan Woods's book intro: bit.ly/3fmutoS.

This document was approved unanimously at the 2018 IMT World Congress, and its aim is to intensify the theoretical and political struggle against identity politics, postmodernism, and other alien class ideas. Read it on our website at srev.org/marxism-vs-idpol.

Our fourth episode on the American Civil War covers the course of events from Emancipation Proclamation to the end of the war. After a brief hiatus, we will be back with more episodes to cover the convulsive period of Reconstruction. Full transcript: bit.ly/3mzD0rJ. Part 1: bit.ly/3aWMvg6. Part 2: bit.ly/3tmb8JP. Part 3: bit.ly/3w5sOLF. Music: "Battle Cry of Freedom", University of California, Santa Barbara Library (CC BY-NC 2.5).

In this episode of our Civil War series, John Peterson analyzes the events of the war itself, all the way from secession to the Emancipation Proclamation. Full transcript: bit.ly/3w5sOLF. Part 1: bit.ly/3aWMvg6. Part 2: bit.ly/3tmb8JP. Part 4: bit.ly/3mzD0rJ. Music: "Battle Cry of Freedom", University of California, Santa Barbara Library (CC BY-NC 2.5).

In the second episode of our Civil War miniseries, John Peterson takes a closer look at the Constitutional foundations of the crisis, the economics of slavery, the abolitionists, the political scene at the time, and provides a brief timeline of events leading up to secession and the war itself. Full transcript: bit.ly/3tmb8JP. Part 1: bit.ly/3aWMvg6. Part 3: bit.ly/3w5sOLF. Part 4: bit.ly/3mzD0rJ. Music: "Battle Cry of Freedom", University of California, Santa Barbara Library (CC BY-NC 2.5).

Socialist Revolution editor John Peterson kicks off our miniseries on a Marxist analysis of the American Civil War. He lays out the basic theoretical foundations for understanding the events of the War, which Marxists see as the second American Revolution. Full transcript: bit.ly/3aWMvg6. Part 2: bit.ly/3tmb8JP. Part 3: bit.ly/3w5sOLF. Part 4: bit.ly/3mzD0rJ. Music: "Battle Cry of Freedom", University of California, Santa Barbara Library (CC BY-NC 2.5)

On January 28, at a meeting of leading members of the International Marxist Tendency, Alan Woods provided an overview of the dramatic events unfolding at the start of 2021. The crisis of world capitalism is causing ruptions, dislocation, and class polarization in one country after another. Alan explains that, in this context, the task of Marxists is to present a revolutionary socialist program to the millions of radicalizing workers and youth. Video and Transcript: https://bit.ly/2Z0Hixf

This weekend, Socialist Revolution editor Antonio Balmer addressed a meeting of our British section, Socialist Appeal. He explained that the storming of Capitol Hill by a mob of Trump supporters on January 6 is a graphic illustration of the deep crisis of American bourgeois democracy and American capitalism. At the same time, Antonio explained that Joe Biden and the Democrats offer no way forward for American workers and youth. The working class needs its own party—a mass socialist party that will fight to transform society. Read more: https://bit.ly/39qGQgH

The storming of the US capitol—egged on by the president himself—marks an unprecedented crisis of the regime less than a week into 2021. Listen to our latest article on this topic, published on socialistrevolution.org.

The whole world is in crisis. The events of 2020 have made it clear that capitalism is at an impasse and offers no way forward for humanity. The choice is one between socialism or barbarism—get organized now and join us in the fight for socialism in our lifetime! In this session from our online Marxist School, we explain what the International Marxist Tendency is and why you should join. We also brought in organizers from across the world (from Pakistan, to France, to Brazil, to South Africa, and more) to share their experiences of building the revolutionary organization in their countries. Read a report from the event: https://bit.ly/35ETXtN

Not a wheel turns, not a phone rings, not a light bulb shines without the kind permission of the working class. And yet, unionization rates are at a historic low in the US, while homelessness climbs and wages continue to stagnate. How can workers organize to fight back? Socialist Revolution editor Tom Trottier provided an introduction to this question at our online Marxist School. He explained that, in order to win against capital, workers need to organize on the basis of class struggle methods and a fighting, revolutionary outlook. Read a report from the event: https://bit.ly/35ETXtN

The George Floyd uprising this summer was the largest protest movement in US history. Starting in Minneapolis, it spread to thousands of cities and towns across the country, with 10% of the population participating. Erika Roedl is an IMT organizer in Minneapolis who was there when the movement started, and she came to our online Marxist School to provide a first-hand account of the protests, as well as a perspective for the way forward in the fight against racism and police violence. Read a report from the event: https://bit.ly/35ETXtN

Over the past several years Mexico has seen a huge increase in violence against women and femicides, with hundreds of women and girls killed every year. We brought in Karen Campos—organizer with the IMT in Mexico, La Izquierda Socialista—to speak on this topic at our recent online Marxist School. Karen explains that the rise of violence against women in Mexico and around the world is evidence of a sick, oppressive system that must be transformed, root and stem, through united class struggle. Read a report from the event: https://bit.ly/35ETXtN

Record forest fires, droughts, and heat waves have devastated the US, but the capitalist system remains paralyzed in the face of climate catastrophe. In this session from our recent online Marxist School, Socialist Revolution editor Antonio Balmer presents the revolutionary socialist solution to climate change. Read a report from the event: https://bit.ly/35ETXtN

The election is finally over and Trump has been defeated in the polls this time around. Still, Trumpism is alive and well and the US is more polarized than at any other time living memory. At the same time, COVID-19 infections are rising uncontrollably and the crisis of capitalism continues to deepen. What will the election results mean for the US working class? What should socialists do in the aftermath of the 2020 election? John Peterson, editor of Socialist Revolution, takes up these questions at our recent US Marxist School. Read a report from the event: https://bit.ly/35ETXtN

Election night has come and gone and, as expected, there are no clear results. Trump has all but declared victory, while the Biden camp calls for patience. The general picture is one of polarization and political crisis. Socialist Revolution editor John Peterson provides an analysis of where things stand one day into the post-election chaos. Episode video and transcript: bit.ly/electoral-chaos. Register for our post-election event: socialistrevolution.org/election2020.

What is the Marxist take on the 2020 election? Should socialists vote for Biden? Listen to our panel discussion where we address these questions and much more! Full video at https://youtu.be/JQqUs3dc7F8?t=608. Host: K. Khan (Bay Area, writer for Socialist Revolution). Panelists: Tom Trottier (New York City, editor for Socialist Revolution), Nick Brancaccio (Phoenix DSA Vice-Chair, writer for Socialist Revolution), Erika Roedl (Twin Cities, writer for Socialist Revolution).

These days, we go from one crisis after another. From the death of RBG, to the so-called presidential "debate," to the spread of COVID-19 to Donald Trump and the White House, events are moving so quickly that you can hardly keep up. What should socialists make of all this? Socialist Revolution editor John Peterson provides a Marxist perspective.

In the midst of a devastating global pandemic, the US population faces a coming wave of foreclosures, evictions—and hunger—unlike anything experienced since the Great Depression. What is at the root cause of all this? How can we fight the looming eviction wave? Joe Lang, Socialist Revolution organizer and contributing author, explores these questions. Read our article: https://bit.ly/eviction-wave. Solidarity with our comrades at Esquerda Marxista: https://bit.ly/brazil-solidarity. Intro music credit: Toasted Tomatoes (from "lofi hip​-​hop beats to organise​/​seize means to").

From May to August of 1934, Minneapolis was rocked by a strike that would forever change the course of US labor history. This was the strike of Teamsters Local 574, a union led by Trotskyists. Today, as the US working class regains its pulse after decades of lull in the class struggle, these events can provide us with many practical lessons for how labor can fight back and win through militant action. Steve Iverson of Boston Socialist Revolution presents on this topic. Intro music: "There is Power in a Union" (Version by Joe Glazer and Bill Friedland). "Bella Ciao" remix (Toasted Tomatoes from "lofi hip​-​hop beats to organise​/​seize means to").

Learn about Villa, Zapata, and the inspiring events of the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920. 100 years since the end of the revolution, what are its legacy and lessons for today? Presentation by John Peterson, editor of Socialist Revolution. Intro music: "La Toma de Zacatecas" (Antonio Aguilar). "Bella Ciao" remix (Toasted Tomatoes from "lofi hip​-​hop beats to organise​/​seize means to").

Socialist Revolution hosted an online National Marxist School on June 27 and 28. John Peterson, the editor of Socialist Revolution, introduced the school with an address on the revolutionary ferment in the United States. The school was a great success—revolutionary socialist ideas are on the rise as workers and youth seek a revolutionary path out of the crisis of capitalism. If you enjoy this talk, we encourage you to register for Marxist University 2020—an online event on July 25–28 devoted to defending revolutionary socialist ideas: university.marxist.com. Intro music credit: Toasted Tomatoes (from "lofi hip​-​hop beats to organise​/​seize means to").