Marxist Voice

In order to change the world, you must first understand it. This is why communists discuss politics, economics and the state of class consciousness.

In a world defined by economic collapse, political turmoil and growing anger at the establishment, the 3rd Congress of the Revolutionary Communist Party met to discuss this.

Here we share the introduction on World Perspectives given by Alan Woods.

Men and women have looked up at the night sky and speculated about the nature of the universe since prehistoric times. Those speculations were the first gropings towards science. But science was bound up with myth; cosmology with cosmogeny; astronomy with astrology.

Since the scientific revolution of the 16th century, however, myth has been squeezed in cosmology. But in the last century, a century of capitalist decline, it has made a comeback under the guise of a new Creation myth, the Big Bang.

Since the 1990s, this has ossified into the so-called Standard Model. Today, advances in observational astronomy are fatally undermining that model.

In this discussion, Ben Curry, leading member of the Revolutionary Communist International, will look at how the philosophical thought of an age impinges on this science where a clear philosophy is above all necessary if we are to relate the finite sphere of our observations to the infinite cosmos beyond, and the little sliver of time we are able to study its magnificent unfolding to the whole eternity that stretches behind us and ahead of us.

There is no doubt that the Chinese revolution is one of the greatest events in human history. It freed China from the shackles of imperialism after a heroic, decades-long struggle.

This revolution was the fruit of the tremendous determination and spirit of sacrifice of the Chinese masses. And at the head of this movement was Mao Zedong.

Since Mao’s death, capitalism in China has been gradually restored by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) bureaucracy.

Mao is seen to have led a struggle against ‘capitalist roaders’ in the CCP in his final years. Thus many revolutionaries both inside and outside China have understandably looked towards the ideas of Mao as a guide to action in the struggle towards a new revolution.

However, just as much as he achieved incredible things, there were not a few tragedies and horrors under his leadership that must be explained, such as the famines of the Great Leap Forward and China’s de facto alliance with the USA against the USSR.

Is there a connection between these serious errors and crises, and the CCP’s eventual return to capitalism? And do communists need to make use of the best of Mao’s ideas to abolish once again capitalism in China? In this talk, Daniel Morley, from the RCP Central Committee, will answer these questions.

“Let there be no blinking the question. These are not the times to be nice about mere words: the fact is that there is but one mode of obtaining the Charter, and that is by insurrection.” George Julian Harney

Chartism was the first time ever that British workers fixed their eyes on the seizure of political power: in 1839, 1842 and again in 1848. In this struggle, they conducted a class war that at different times involved general strikes, battles with the state, mass demonstrations and even armed insurrection. They forged weapons, illegally drilled their forces, and armed themselves in preparation for seizing the reins of government. Such were the early revolutionary traditions of the British working class, deliberately buried beneath a mountain of falsehoods and distortions.

In this talk given at the London Marxist School, Rob Sewell draws out the lessons of the Chartist movement.

You can get your copy of Rob's book here https://wellredbooks.co.uk/product/chartist-revolution/

The Easter Rising of 1916 is one of the most inspiring events in Irish revolutionary history. The rising saw Europe’s first Red Army, the Irish Citizen’s Army, fight the forces of British Imperialism on the streets of Dublin and sacrifice their lives for the cause of a free Ireland for the Irish workers and poor.

When Lenin got news of the Rising, he criticised those who wrote it off as a ‘putsch’ saying ‘Whoever expects a ‘pure’ social revolution will never live to see it. Such a person pays lip-service to revolution without understanding what revolution is.’ These comments still ring true today with the history of the rising falling victim to all kinds of distortions. In this talk from Revolution Festival 2025, Orla Thomas from the RCP Central Committee will set the record straight on the history of the Rising, discuss its lessons , and explain the importance of the Irish national question for communists in Britain today.

“The long fight of the bourgeoisie against feudalism culminated in three great, decisive battles. The first was what is called the Protestant Reformation…”  Engels

When Martin Luther pinned his ninety-five thesis to the door of a church he set in motion a struggle on a scale that he did not foresee nor desire. Starting as a theological debate on doctrine, it became an ideological struggle against the Roman Catholic Church, and from there a series of revolutions, wars and civil wars. This explosive chapter of events shook Europe to the core, and changed history forever. It was a necessary first step in the struggle of the masses against feudalism by breaking the ideological dictatorship of the Catholic Church. This struggle opened the floodgates for new radical thought, such as the enlightenment, the development of science, and further revolutions. 

In this talk from Revolution Festival 2025, Joe Russell, RCP Executive Committee member will use this period of revolution as an important case study for historical materialism. How do changes in the economic base of society affect the realm of ideas, including religion? And how in turn, do such ideas become the most powerful weapon in the struggle to change the world?

Surrealism was a revolutionary artistic movement founded in 1922 and led by writer and poet André Breton. 

The movement produced and influenced a galaxy of the 20th centuries finest artists. 

Surrealist artwork deals in the bizarre and the strange. On the surface, it can seem as if this is all it is - though, it stands for something much deeper. 

In this talk, Will Collins from the RCP Central Committee explains how surrealism grew out of the general feeling of malaise and anger that existed across Europe following the barbarism of the First World War and at the same time the inspiration from the revolutionary events that swept Europe.

This revolutionary spirit reflected itself in the art produced by the surrealists. Surrealist art seeks to express a contradictory view of reality. It reveals the violence and savagery that lurks underneath the thin veneer of bourgeois civilization. The polite manners and “good taste” of bourgeois society is really just a façade that conceals the most terrible suffering, exploitation and repression.

But really the essence of the surrealist movement, was to liberate the artist from the shackles of ‘official’ culture, the state, church and even of the mind itself. 

In its form, the surrealists developed techniques that aimed to tap into the creative well-spring of the subconscious mind - they experimented with automatic writing and painting, dream recitals and research into mental illness and recent studies in psychoanalysis.

The surrealists were not at all armchair intellectuals, but committed revolutionaries. After being ex-communicated by the Stalinist Communist Party, Breton was drawn into the orbit of Leon Trotsky who in 1937 together published a manifesto called a ‘Manifesto for an Independent Revolutionary Art.’

Here, they argue that art must remain true to itself and not degenerate into mere propaganda dictated to it by a revolutionary party yet should place itself at the service of the revolution. 

But to truly liberate the mind, a life and death struggle would have to be waged against the system that enslaves it, and commit to the building of a socialist society. 

The manifesto finishes with the slogan:

"Our aims: The independence of art — for the revolution. The revolution — for the complete liberation of art!”

Sunday March 8th marked International Working Women's Day. This day was created by Socialists and Communists to highlight the role of working women under capitalism and in overthrowing it.

Communists have always been at the forefront of the struggle against women's oppression. But what is it that we actually say on this topic? How can women's oppression be overthrown?

In this talk from Revolution Festival 2025, Manon Powrie, leading RCP member, spoke on this topic.

From the comfort of their cosy armchairs and university lecterns, the well-learned professors of bourgeois academia throw all manner of wild accusations at the Marxist view of history.

Fatalistic, teleological, economically deterministic, class reductionist, Messianic... there’s no end to the high-sounding mutilations that Marx’s ideas receive at the hands of their adversaries.

But these are all misunderstandings, distortions, and lies. The Marxist method of historical materialism is, in reality, the only way to understand the logic of history – which is driven by social relations, revolutionary upheavals, and class struggle.

In this talk, communist.red editor Jack Tye Wilson uncovers the profound insights that Marx and Engels offer into the historical process, and combat the false and one-sided interpretations their ideas have suffered over the years.

He coves questions like: Is there such a thing as progress? Does Marxism reduce everything to economics? What about the role of ideas and individuals? And is the victory of communism inevitable?

Hear the author of A Communist History of the British General Strike talk on the contents of his new book. And order your copy of the book.

In May 1926 the working class of Britain moved in its millions. Whispers of a new world — one run by the workers, without the need for bosses, bankers or politicians — were in the air. Britain, an island supposedly lacking in revolutionary traditions, was on the brink of an almighty upheaval.

For nine days, British workers defied the state and their employers to bring the country to a standstill. The General Strike had the potential to change the country forever, but it was betrayed by the very people who were supposed to lead it.

Today, a century later, there are striking similarities with Britain of the 1920s. The economy is weak. Living standards are falling. Public services are collapsing. People are angry, and class battles are close at hand.

In his book, Ben Gliniecki, General Secretary of the Revolutionary Communist Party, presents a sketch of the events of the strike and what led to it. Through it, we can study the hard-learned lessons of 1926 — about betrayal, state repression and failure of leadership. And we can be inspired by the power, initiative and unity of the working class in struggle. With this, we can turn the whispers of a new world into reality.