Marx Talks

Marx Talks

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Marx Talks episodes

  • WWI and the struggle for an internationalist left - Mick Armstrong
    4 August 1914 was a decisive turning point for the socialist movement. The capitulation of the majority of parties of the Second International to pro-war chauvinism exposed a fundamental division between reformists and revolutionaries. This talk will examine the developments in the socialist movement that explain the abandonment of an anti-war standpoint by the leadership of key parties such as the German Social Democratic Party. It will then focus on Lenin's role in attempting to develop a principled anti-war standpoint and lay the basis for a working class movement to end both the war and the capitalist system that breeds wars.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    41 min
  • High school rebellion: from the Vietnam War to the school strike for Palestine

    Diane Fieldes, Eva Sutherland, Audra Hope


    Despite being dismissed, patronised and subject to constant discipline, high-schoolers have always been at the forefront of fighting for social change and radical politics. The recent school strikes for Palestine were only the latest in a long line of protests, rebellions and uprisings against the system that have been led by students. This session will feature stories of high school rebellion from Eva Sutherland and Audra Hope, two organisers of the School Strike for Palestine, and Diane Fieldes, a veteran socialist activist who began protesting as a high-schooler during the Vietnam War.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    37 min
  • Killer cops, racist politicians and culture wars: anti-Indigenous racism today - Oskar Martin
    Australia is a profoundly racist society: police continue to kill Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, land rights are overturned to dig up fossil fuels, the Liberals claim that Indigenous people get “unearned privileges” and that colonisation was “positive”, vigilante racists whip up attacks on Indigenous young people and the gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous people on income, health, education and housing endures. Meanwhile, the Labor party offers only symbolic recognition for Indigenous people, not structural change, and Labor state governments continue to lock up Aboriginal kids. This talk will explain why anti-Indigenous racism is still so common today, and what we can do to fight back against it.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    34 min
  • Capitalism and cities: a critique of David Harvey's theory of urban development - Josh Lees
    When it comes to a socialist analysis of cities, David Harvey is a towering figure, with decades of influential writing on the subject. He offers a searing critique of how our urban environments are shaped by the priorities of capitalism, and champions urban rebellions. However, his analysis rests on a problematic reading of Marxism and capitalist crisis, and an approach to anti-capitalist resistance which takes us away from working class struggle, in favour of more ill-defined and ultimately ineffective struggles over space. This session will offer a critique of Harvey and an alternative Marxist approach.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    39 min
  • Climate destruction and crisis: understanding capitalism and the profit motive - Lily Campbell
    The relentless drive for profit which is a defining characteristic of capitalism is condemning the world to catastrophic environmental disaster. The competition, free markets and pursuit of profit that capitalism’s apologists tell us deliver optimal outcomes are threatening to destroy the planet on which the system depends. Those with the power to act won’t. This discussion looks at why capitalism does this, why it can’t stop and why we need a new system if we want environmental security.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    29 min
  • Auto-capitalism: a political history of cars - James Plested
    It's estimated there are around 1.5 billion cars in the world today. Of the ten largest corporations of the world, three are car manufacturers and six are oil companies. There's no doubt about it – capitalism loves cars. Cars burden working-class people with debt, they mean we spend hours stuck in traffic just trying to get to work, they devour public space and poison the air. This isn't the fault of working-class people – private car ownership is promoted aggressively by the capitalist class, and cities are constructed to make cars necessary. This talk will look at the relationship of cars to industry, urban planning and social control.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    38 min
  • Prisons, police and parliaments: understanding the capitalist state - Liam Ward
    Marxists argue that the capitalist state – parliament, police, the legal system, the education system and more – enforces the interests of the rich. This goes beyond corporate lobbying, political donations, racist policing or unequal laws – but is fundamental to the nature of the capitalist state. How to understand the state is one of the core debates in the socialist movement, and shapes socialist strategy: Is it possible to reform the system through parliament? Should socialists boycott elections? What does it mean to ”smash" the state? This session will engage with all these important questions.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    33 min

About Marx Talks

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Talks from Socialist Alternative’s conferences, including Marxism Conference, Socialism Sydney & more

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