The term ‘postmodernism’ is thrown around a lot by right-wing shock-jocks like Jordan Peterson, often in tandem with Marxism: although these two sets of ideas are totally opposed. In this episode, leading comrade Hamid Alizadeh takes on some of the main luminaries of this obscure, impenetrable and ultimately reactionary school including Foucault, Derrida and Lyotard.

Lyotard describes postmodernism as “incredulity towards metanarratives.” In other words: an opposition to ‘big ideas’ about history, truth, science and progress. But with these ‘big ideas’ discarded, what are we left with? As Hamid demonstrates, the answer for all the postmodernists is basically the same: we cannot know the world, let alone change it, all we can do is ‘think differently’, play around with words, and retreat to subjectivity.

They even celebrate writing in incomprehensible gibberish and ‘believing in nothing’ as a ‘radical’ act!

This cynical philosophy is a total dead-end which winds up in stasis and despair. In total contrast to Marxism, which recognises the world as made up of complex processes, and driven by an inner lawfulness towards higher and higher complexity. By knowing the world, we can organise ourselves to intervene and change it for the better.

Postmodernism is not merely a reactionary worldview, Hamid explains, it has a directly negative impact on society, serving to divide the working class through the related phenomenon of identity politics, and preserve the status quo by hampering unity of the working class.

It is our duty as Marxists to oppose these counter-revolutionary ideas, and demonstrate the vast superiority of our dialectical materialist philosophy!

📖 WORKS CITED 📖

The case for theory: why communists should study philosophy | SPECTRE OF COMMUNISM:

🔗https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBQBXX7jZYg

Marxism vs. Postmodernism, Daniel Morley and Hamid Alizadeh:

🔗https://marxist.com/marxism-versus-postmodernism.htm

Theological-Political Treatise, Baruch Spinoza:

🔗https://assets.cambridge.org/97805218/24118/excerpt/9780521824118_excerpt.htm

Hegel, G.F. W. (1975). Hegel's Aesthetics: Lectures on Fine Art [For the quote about an ignorant man not being free]

📖 WORKS CRITIQUED 📖

Gender Trouble (Tenth Edition), Judith Butler:

🔗https://selforganizedseminar.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/butler-gender_trouble.pdf

The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, Jean-François Lyotard:

🔗https://monoskop.org/images/e/e0/Lyotard_Jean-Francois_The_Postmodern_Condition_A_Report_on_Knowledge.pdf

The Subject and Power, Michel Foucault:

🔗https://www2.kobe-u.ac.jp/~alexroni/IPD2018%20readings/IPD1%202018%20No.8/Foucault%20Subject%20and%20Power.pdf

Differance, Jacques Derrida:

🔗https://mforbes.sites.gettysburg.edu/cims226/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Week-5a-Jacques-Derrida.pdf

Article about how the CIA used Foucault and postmodern ideas to their benefit:

🔗https://thephilosophicalsalon.com/the-cia-reads-french-theory-on-the-intellectual-labor-of-dismantling-the-cultural-left/

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️

00:55 - What is postmodernism?

11:40 - Is language oppressive?

25:46 - 'Differance' vs Dialectics

31:58 - Are there objective patterns in the world?

40:42 - Is there a barrier between mind and matter?

01:00:54 - Practical impact of these ideas

How did Stalin outmanoeuvre Trotsky and take power following Lenin’s death? What do Marxists mean by ‘value’? And what does it really mean to ‘master the dialectic’? We went back to social media and asked for some more burning questions from our audience, for leading communist Niklas Albin Svensson to answer in a quickfire round!

Watch our previous viewers’ questions episode with Ben Curry here:

🔗https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=korpvewBWo8&t=3561s

📖 WORKS & SOURCES CITED 📖

Wage, Labour and Capital, Karl Marx:

🔗https://marxist.com/classics-wage-labour-and-capital.htm

Value, Price and Profit, Karl Marx:

🔗https://marxist.com/classics-marxism-two-book/value-price-and-profit.htm

ABC of Materialist Dialectics, Leon Trotsky:

🔗https://marxist.com/abc-materialist-dialectics-trotsky.htm

Revolution Betrayed, Leon Trotsky:

🔗https://marxist.com/classics-the-revolution-betrayed.htm

Results and Prospects, Leon Trotsky:

🔗https://marxist.com/results-and-prospects.htm

Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism, Vladimir Lenin:

🔗https://marxist.com/classics-imperialism-the-highest-stage-of-capitalism/.htm

The Wealth of Nations, Book One, Chapter 5:

🔗https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/smith-adam/works/wealth-of-nations/book01/ch05.htm

Astronomy Is In Crisis...And It's Incredibly Exciting - 3 million views (discusses crisis in cosmology):

🔗https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zozEm4f_dlw

Reason in Revolt, Ted Grant and Alan Woods:

🔗https://marxist.com/reason-in-revolt-marxist-philosophy-and-modern-science.htm

Purchase In Defence of Marxism Issue 51 here:

🔗https://magazine.marxist.com/

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️

00:57 - What is value?

22:18 - How to master the dialectic?

52:20 - How did Stalin come to power?

1:04:23 - How did capitalism affect post-Soviet countries?

🌐 LINKS 🌐

✊ Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/

💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/

Ted Grant is not widely known outside of revolutionary circles, but he was the most important Marxist theorist since the death of Leon Trotsky, who alone predicted the course of world politics after WWII. Amongst other things, he foresaw the post-war economic upswing; the expropriation of capitalism in China and much of Eastern Europe; Stalin’s clashes with Tito and Mao; and much more besides. In this episode, his closest collaborator Alan Woods, the main leader and theorist of the RCI, reminisces about Ted’s life and works, and explains the importance of his contributions.

In today’s episode, Alan talks about Ted’s legacy. He emphasises not only Ted’s brilliant mastery of Marxism, which gave him a huge advantage over his contemporaries; but also his humanity, his indignance towards all forms of injustice, and his profound sense of optimism. While the road to revolution is long and often difficult, Ted always said, there are two indispensable traits for any revolutionary: a sense of proportion and a sense of humour!

Aside from the organisation we inherit today, Ted’s main legacy can be found in his tremendous contributions to Marxist theory and analysis. The third volume of his collected works will be released in January 2026. 

Stalinist land programme wins peasants, Chiang’s conscripts roped to prevent escape, Ted Grant:

🔗https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1949/01/china.htm 

Democracy or Bonapartism in Europe - A Reply to Pierre Frank, Ted Grant:

🔗https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1946/08/frank.htm 

Ted’s obituaries in the bourgeois press:

🔗https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1524889/Ted-Grant.html,

🔗https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/jul/27/guardianobituaries.southafrica 

Ted Grant: The Permanent Revolutionary, Alan Woods:
🔗https://wellred-books.com/ted-grant-the-permanent-revolutionary/
The degeneration and collapse of the Fourth International: in defence of our heritage, RCI:

🔗https://marxist.com/the-degeneration-and-collapse-of-the-fourth-international.htm
The TRUTH about World War 2: Marxist historian sets the record straight | SPECTRE OF COMMUNISM:
🔗https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1vobbAMUzM&t=1191s
The Changed Relationship of Forces in Europe and the Role of the Fourth International, Ted Grant:

🔗https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1945/03/changed.htm

Economic Perspectives 1946, Ted Grant:

🔗https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1946/04/economy.htm

Perspectives in Britain, Ted Grant:

🔗https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1946/07/britain.htm

Czechoslovakia: The Issues Involved, Ted Grant:

🔗https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1948/04/czechoslovakia.htm

Reply to David James, Ted Grant:

🔗https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1949/james.htm

Stalinism in the Postwar World, Ted Grant:

🔗https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1951/06/stalinism

A decade ago, Greece became the epicentre of a political earthquake. Brutal EU and IMF-imposed austerity measures provoked a revolutionary struggle by workers and youth, who vested their hopes in the left-wing SYRIZA government to take on the institutions of European capitalism. But in the end, these reformist leaders prepared a betrayal. What are the lessons of Greece that must be learned for the class struggle today?

In this episode of the Spectre of Communism podcast, Francesco Merli, leading member of the Revolutionary Communist International, takes us step-by-step through the whole process, beginning with the impact of the financial crisis of 2008 that saw Greece’s creditors inflicting economic warfare against the country. Francesco explains that the Greek workers and youth did not take this lying down, launching multiple back-to-back general strikes over the course of seven years, before finally electing SYRIZA on a radical reformist programme in 2015.

Today, class fighters around the world continue to draw inspiration from the heroism and fighting spirit that the Greek people displayed over this long struggle. We point to the experience of the SYRIZA government as a concrete illustration of the betrayal inherent in reformism. The lessons of Greece are invaluable for the victory of the future European and world revolution!

📖 SOURCES CITED 📖

‘Lessons from Greece’, In Defence of Magazine Issue 50, Summer 2025, Arturo Rodriguez:

🔗 https://marxist.com/magazine.htm

‘The class struggle in Greece’, Alan Woods:

🔗 https://communist.red/the-class-struggle-in-greece/

‘Tsipras addresses American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce’, Tovima,

🔗https://www.tovima.gr/2013/12/03/international/tsipras-addresses-american-hellenic-chamber-of-commerce/

‘Greece: SYRIZA leaders preparing for government – what is the next step?’, Fred Weston and Stamatis Karagiannopoulos:

🔗 https://marxist.com/syriza-leaders-preparing-for-government-what-is-the-next-step.htm

‘Greece: Historic victory of left - First time in history a party with roots in Communist movement wins elections’, Communist Tendency of Syriza:

🔗 https://marxist.com/historic-victory-of-the-left-in-greece-for-the-first-time-in-history-a-party-with-roots-in-the-communist-movement-has-come-to-power.htm

‘SYRIZA in power, the crisis and the Greek revolution’, Marie Frederiksen:

🔗 https://marxist.com/syriza-in-power-the-crisis-and-the-greek-revolution.htm

‘Why Greek Exit From The Euro Would Be A Very Bad Idea’, Frances Coppola, Forbes:

🔗https://www.forbes.com/sites/francescoppola/2015/02/17/why-greek-exit-from-the-euro-would-be-a-very-bad-idea/

‘Greece: No surrender to the Troika!’, Fred Weston:

🔗 https://marxist.com/greece-no-surrender-to-the-troika.htm

‘Greece: A troika by any other name would smell as rotten’, Jorge Martin:

🔗 https://marxist.com/greece-a-troika-by-any-other-name-would-smell-as-rotten.htm

‘Greece: The moment of decision’, Alan Woods:

🔗 https://marxist.com/greece-the-moment-of-decision.htm

‘Varoufakis’ mission “to save European capitalism from itself”’, Fred Weston:

🔗 https://marxist.com/varoufakis-mission-to-save-european-capitalism-from-itself.htm

‘Greek default approaching – what next?’, Fred Weston:

🔗 https://marxist.com/greek-default-approaching-what-next.htm

‘Greek crisis: the only way to break with austerity is to break with capitalism’, Jorge Martin:

🔗 https://marxist.com/greek-crisis-the-only-way-to-break-with-austerity-is-to-break-with-capitalism.htm

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  

Trotsky wrote in ‘The Tragedy of Spain’ (1939) that, despite the Spanish proletariat’s revolutionary heroism, they were “brought to ruin by petty, despicable, and utterly corrupted ‘leaders.’” In this episode, we chart the great triumphs and tragic demise of the Spanish Revolution in a complete timeline. Chapters listed below!

The Spanish Revolution that ran from 1931 to 1937 is one of the most remarkable and inspirational events in world history. The Spanish workers brought down the hated regime of King Alfonso XIII in April 1931; and strived to win freedom, dignity and a decent existence, which was continually denied to them by a procession of bourgeois and so-called Popular Front governments of class collaboration. 

The Spanish workers spontaneously rallied to repel an attempted military coup by General Franco in 1936, and established workers’ power in key cities like Barcelona. Time and again, victory was within reach. But sadly they were betrayed at every step by the bourgeois leaders of the Republic; as well as the blunders and outright crimes of the workers’ leaders: anarchists, socialists, communists and the POUM alike.

The price for these betrayals was the crushing of the revolution, with the Stalinist Communist Party (on the orders of the Comintern) playing an especially criminal role; and the eventual victory of General Franco in the Civil War, ushering in decades of military dictatorship.

Leading member of the Revolutionary Communist International, Jorge Martin, takes us through these remarkable years, month-by-month, revealing the entire process by which the Spanish Revolution rose and fell. 

--

Chapters:

00:01:27 – The importance of the Spanish Revolution

00:03:20 – Conditions prior to the Revolution

00:10:13 – Main political forces in Spain explained

00:20:45 – April 1931, start of the Revolution

00:23:03 – October 1931, beginning of Reformist Biennium

00:23:19 – June 1932, first elected government

00:26:02 – August 1932, attempted military coup

00:27:00 – November 1933, second election, CEDA the biggest party

00:30:54 – July 1934, coup in Austria 

00:35:26 – October 1934, insurrectionary general strike and Asturian commune

00:48:04 – September 1935, founding of the POUM, two black years

00:51:31 – February 1936, Popular Front government elected

00:58:07 – April 1936, president ousted from Cortes

00:59:53 – July 1936, Franco coup defeated

01:18:41 – August 1936, changing policy of Communist Party

01:20:11 – September 1936, Caballero government

01:21:58 – October 1936, militias placed under control of bourgeois army

01:27:59 – November 1936, CNT leaders join Republican government in Madrid

01:34:17 – December 1936, repression against POUM and anarchists

01:34:32 – January 1937, POUM paper closed

01:40:17 – May 1937, Red Barcelona crushed

01:45:58 – June 1937, Nin arrested, POUM crushed

01:50:20 – August 1937, Negrin's 'government of Victory' sabotages war effort

01:52:08 – January 1938, Stalin recalling International Brigades

01:52:46 – March 1939, another coup and attempted deal with Franco

01:52:58 – April 1939, Franco enters Madrid

01:53:25 – Consequences of the revolution's defeat

---

Works cited and sources:

Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Spain, Felix Morrow: https://wellred-books.com/revolution-and-counter-revolution-in-spain/The Revolution and the Civil War in Spain, Pierre Broué and Emile Témime: https://www.marxists.org/archive/broue/1961/spain/rev-spain.htmlCollected Writings on The Spanish Revolution, Leon Trotsky: https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/spain/index.htmThe Class, the Party and the Leadership: Why Was the Spanish Proletariat Defeated? [Questions of Marxist Theory], Leon Trotsky: https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1940/xx/party.htmHomage to Catalonia, George Orwell: https://www.marxists.org/archive/orwell/1938/homage-catalonia.htm

Trotsky wrote in ‘The Tragedy of Spain’ (1939) that, despite the Spanish proletariat’s revolutionary heroism, they were “brought to ruin by petty, despicable, and utterly corrupted ‘leaders.’” In this episode, we chart the great triumphs and tragic demise of the Spanish Revolution in a complete timeline.

The Spanish Revolution that ran from 1931 to 1937 is one of the most remarkable and inspirational events in world history. The Spanish workers brought down the hated regime of King Alfonso XIII in April 1931; and strived to win freedom, dignity and a decent existence, which was continually denied to them by a procession of bourgeois and so-called Popular Front governments of class collaboration. 

The Spanish workers spontaneously rallied to repel an attempted military coup by General Franco in 1936, and established workers’ power in key cities like Barcelona. Time and again, victory was within reach. But sadly they were betrayed at every step by the bourgeois leaders of the Republic; as well as the blunders and outright crimes of the workers’ leaders: anarchists, socialists, communists and the POUM alike.

The price for these betrayals was the crushing of the revolution, with the Stalinist Communist Party (on the orders of the Comintern) playing an especially criminal role; and the eventual victory of General Franco in the Civil War, ushering in decades of military dictatorship.

Leading member of the Revolutionary Communist International, Jorge Martin, takes us through these remarkable years, month-by-month, revealing the entire process by which the Spanish Revolution rose and fell.

---

Works cited and sources:

Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Spain, Felix Morrow: https://wellred-books.com/revolution-and-counter-revolution-in-spain/ 

The Revolution and the Civil War in Spain, Pierre Broué and Emile Témime: https://www.marxists.org/archive/broue/1961/spain/rev-spain.html 

Collected Writings on The Spanish Revolution, Leon Trotsky: https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/spain/index.htm 

The Class, the Party and the Leadership: Why Was the Spanish Proletariat Defeated? [Questions of Marxist Theory], Leon Trotsky: https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1940/xx/party.htm 

Homage to Catalonia, George Orwell: https://www.marxists.org/archive/orwell/1938/homage-catalonia.htm 

The Russian Revolution of 1917 was the greatest event in human history. For the first time, ordinary working people were able to win power and hold onto it. Our new season of the Spectre of Communism podcast kicks off with a complete timeline of the revolution, from January to October, charting 10 months that shook the world! 

The Russian proletariat, allied with peasantry (many of whom were soldiers who had been fighting in the Great War) successfully brought down the brutal regime of Tsar Nicholas II in February and established the soviets (mass workers’ councils).

Lenin was able, through patient work, to arm the Bolshevik Party with the correct slogans and tactics to win over the workers and peasants organised in the soviets. Under the leadership of Lenin, Trotsky and the Bolsheviks, the masses finally felled the capitalist provisional government in October and created a workers’ government: the first in history that began to carry out its programme.

Fred Weston from the leadership of the Revolutionary Communist International takes us through the events of 1917, month by month, culminating in the seizure of power. This incredible story altered the course of world history and remains an immense inspiration to revolutionaries today.

—

Works cited and sources:

History of the Russian Revolution, Leon Trotsky: https://wellred-books.com/history-of-the-russian-revolution/

The History of the Russian Revolution to Brest-Litovsk, Leon Trotsky: https://wellred-books.com/the-history-of-the-russian-revolution-to-brest-litovsk/ 

Letter to Volksrecht, V.I. Lenin: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/mar/29.htm 

The April Theses (The Tasks of the Proletariat in the Present Revolution)’, V.I. Lenin: https://marxist.com/the-april-theses-the-tasks-of-the-proletariat-in-the-present-revolution.htm 

Letters from Afar, V.I. Lenin: https://marxist.com/letters-from-afar.htm 

A History of Soviet Russia, E.H. Carr: https://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Soviet-Russia-Revolution-Constitutional/dp/014020749X 

The War, J. V. Stalin: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1917/03/16.htm 

 On Slogans, V.I. Lenin: https://marxist.com/on-slogans.htm 

In Kerensky’s Jail, Proletarskaya Revolutsia, F. Raskolnikov (not available online)

*Lenin’s ‘words not deeds’ statement is miscited in the episode as ‘The Bolsheviks Must Assume Power, A Letter to the Central Committee and the Petrograd And Moscow Committees Of The R.S.D.L.P.(B.), V.I. Lenin: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/sep/14.htm’. This was actually sent on the 24th, just before the seizure of power. The statement Fred is referencing from 16 October can be found here: https://pdfcoffee.com/ronald-grigor-suny-the-soviet-experiment-russia-the-ussr-and-the-successor-states-1997-oxford-university-press-usa-pdf-free.html 

Bolshevism: The Road to Revolution, Alan Woods: https://wellred-books.com/bolshevism-the-road-to-revolution/ 

In Defence of Lenin, Rob Sewell and Alan Woods: https://wellred-books.com/in-defence-of-lenin/ 

In Defence of Marxism Issue 51: https://marxist.com/magazine.htm 

State and Revolution, V.I. Lenin: https://wellred-books.com/state-and-revolution/ 

10 Days That Shook the World, John Reed: https://www.marxists.org/ebooks/reed/ten-days-that-shook-the-world-reed.pdf 

“Do I really need to read long theoretical books to be a communist?” This is a common question among class fighters today. In our final episode of the season, we make the case that, in order to change the world, it is first necessary to understand it. And for that, we need a philosophy!

The American trade unionist Bill Haywood once said: “I’ve never read Marx's Capital, but I've got the marks of capital all over my body!” While it’s true that working people don’t need to pick up any books to understand through bitter experience the horrors of capitalism, is life experience enough?

After all, if the experience of exploitation was sufficient to bring about revolutionary change, surely capitalism would’ve been brought down long ago?

If we look at the bafflement of the liberals and cynicism of the reformists in the face of politics today, we see the consequences of failing to scratch the surface to the deeper truth of what is going on.

Just as a surgeon would not attempt to operate through intuition and guesswork alone, if we are serious about ending capitalism, we first need to diagnose why it is in crisis and determine what we can replace it with.

Marxist philosophy is the most powerful tool we have for this purpose. But Marxism is itself the culmination of millennia of philosophical development. It is no accident that Vladimir Lenin steeled himself, not only in Marx, but also the great German philosopher Hegel!

Leading communist and host of the Against the Stream podcast, Hamid Alizadeh takes us on a whistle-stop tour of the history of thought, from Plato to Marx, to illustrate the advantages of developing a philosophical outlook, rather than relying on mere ‘common sense’.

It was precisely the worked-out philosophical perspective of the leadership of the Bolshevik Party, Lenin and Trotsky in particular, that allowed them to understand the dynamics of history that gave rise to the Russian Revolution, and play a leading role in ensuring its victory. As Trotsky wrote:

“It is historical experience that the greatest revolution in all history was not led by the party which started out with bombs but by the party which started out with dialectical materialism.”

By the end of this video, we hope you will not only be convinced of the value of studying theory, but eagre to take it up!

As Marx once said: “ignorance never yet helped anybody!”

This is the final Spectre of Communism season four. We will be back later in the year for a new season! Please like, share and subscribe, and let us know in the comments what you thought about this season, all feedback is appreciated! 

In the meantime, check out our sister show, Against the Stream, which provides rolling analysis of the world situation from a Marxist point of view every Thursday. See you soon!

— 

Sources:

Lenin Collected Works: Volume 38, (Philosophical Notebooks), https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/cw/volume38.htm 

Anti-Dühring, Friedrich Engels, https://marxist.com/classics-anti-duehring.htm 

Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy, Friedrich Engels, https://marxist.com/classics-ludwig-feuerbach-and-the-end-of-classical-german-philosophy.htm 

‘How Lenin studied Hegel’, Hamid Alizadeh, https://marxist.com/how-lenin-studied-hegel.htm 

‘Lenin in a Year: In Defence of Materialism’, Alan Woods, https://marxist.com/materialism-and-and-empirio-criticism-introduction-by-alan-woods.htm

‘In defence of theory — or ignorance never yet helped anybody’, Alan Woods, https://marxist.com/defence-theory-ignorance-never-helped.htm 

‘Marxism versus postmodernism’, Daniel Morley and Hamid Alizadeh, https://marxist.com/marxism-versus-postmodernism.htm

‘Aristotle’s Metaphysics’, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-metaphysics/

The Republic, Plato, https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html 

‘An Open Letter to Comrade Burnham’, L. Trotsky, https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/idom/dm/14-burnham.htm 

What is fascism and is it a threat today? In this episode of the Spectre of Communism podcast, we discuss the history of fascism’s rise to power in the 1930s, to learn the lessons for our movement.

Our guest, Niklas Albin Svensson, is a leading member of the Revolutionary Communist International and the editor of a brand new collection of articles by Leon Trotsky and Ted Grant: ‘Democracy, Bonapartism and Fascism: Class Struggle in the 1930s’. 

The book is available to pre-order from Wellred Books here: https://wellred-books.com/democracy-bonapartism-fascism/ 

The media is full of blood-curdling comparisons between the political situation today and the 1930s, equating current politicians with the likes of Adolph Hitler. But whatever one thinks of Donald Trump, there is a clear difference between America in 2025 and Germany in 1933! 

The main purpose of such comparisons, Niklas argues, is to prettify ’normal’ capitalist politicians and democracy under the likes of Joe Biden and Keir Starmer, who have carried out vicious attacks on working people and facilitated genocidal imperialist policies abroad. 

We must not be diverted by this scaremongering. Communists must have a sober view and a scientific understanding of what fascism is and what it is not, because this guides the way we act.

Capitalism has always treated fascism as a reserve weapon in its back pocket. In times of intense class struggle, with revolution on the cards, it is an instrument of last resort that the ruling class can deploy to physically destroy the organisations of the working class, eradicate their democratic rights, and force them into subjugation. 

Looking at the history of Mussolini and Hitler’s conquest of power, as Niklas explains, we find the primary responsibility lies with the politicians and wealthy industrialists who funded and abetted their movements as a ‘lesser evil’ to communism (as stated bluntly by no less than Winston Churchill).

But the errors and crimes of the leaders of the workers’ movement are also a factor. The Social Democrats found themselves constantly propping up the ‘lesser evil’, ultimately paving the road for the greatest possible evil. Meanwhile, the Communist leaders pursued sectarian policies that equated the Social Democrats with the fascists, preventing a united struggle against a common enemy.

While fascism is not in power or on the brink of power anytime soon, fascist groups do exist and pose a serious threat to workers and oppressed communities at a local level. They must be met with the overwhelming strength of the organised working class and driven off, wherever they raise their heads.

The tragedies of the 1930s are an object lesson in the lengths capitalism will go to preserve its rule, and in the dangers of dividing and confusing the working class at the pivotal moment. These are harrowing but invaluable insights for class fighters today. Ultimately, the only way to guarantee the nightmares of the past are never repeated is to bring down capitalism and create a socialist alternative, before it is too late.

—

Sources:

Democracy, Bonapartism and Fascism: Class Struggle in the 1930s, Leon Trotsky and Ted Grant, pre-order: https://wellred-books.com/democracy-bonapartism-fascism/ 

‘Trump's first weeks as president have been enough to give the nightmare of America's turn to fascism a feeling of reality’, Le Monde article (criticised in the podcast) https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2025/03/02/trump-s-first-weeks-as-president-have-been-enough-to-give-the-nightmare-of-america-s-turn-to-fascism-a-feeling-of-reality_6738723_23.html 

‘The rise of Fascism in Italy: 100 years since the March on Rome’, Sinistra Classe Rivoluzione, https://marxist.com/the-rise-of-fascism-in-italy-100-years-since-the-march-on-rome.htm 

‘White supremacists and militias have infiltrated police across US’, Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/27/white-supremacists-militias-infiltrate-us-police-report