Has communism ever been a serious force in the Middle East? Are Marxists in favour of shrinking the economy to save the environment? Has there been a shift to the right in society?

We took to social media and asked our viewers to send in questions about communism, Marxism and revolution for leading communist, Ben Curry, to answer in a quickfire round!

Chapters:

00:00:54: The History of the Communist Movement/Parties in the Middle East

00:28:05: Marxism vs. Degrowth

00:57:33: Why is the Left so Weak?

Works and sources cited:

The 1917 Russian Revolution: A Complete Timeline | SPECTRE OF COMMUNISM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXzg544UyJ0&list=PLmkivsu9EhGABC5d-wtbSuk8D9fx55gh1  

Molotov’s telegram to Israeli Foreign Minister 1948, cited here: https://marxist.com/stalin-and-the-founding-of-israel.htm  

‘Green growth’ doesn’t exist – less of everything is the only way to avert catastrophe, George Monbiot: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/29/green-growth-economic-activity-environment  

Communism and the Iraqi Revolution, Ben Curry: https://marxist.com/communism-and-the-iraqi-revolution-part-one.htm  

Population Matters, David Attenborough: https://populationmatters.org/news/2020/10/attenborough-film-saving-our-planet-requires-ending-population-growth/  

A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, Karl Marx: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1859/critique-pol-economy/preface.htm  

The Communists Are Coming – A Visual Manifesto | RCI Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhOCEYM8LZE