In this recent live-streamed talk, Fred Weston - editor of www.marxist.com - discusses the explosive developments surrounding the global coronavirus outbreak, which has wrought havoc on society.

The COVID-19 pandemic has provoked a severe economic and social crisis. The stock markets have plummeted; panicked people are bulk-buying supplies; and governments are scrambling to respond.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has bluntly informed the population: "your loved ones will die". At the same time, it is clear that the Tory government has no clue how to tackle the epidemic and its fallout.

As Fred explains, the virus is ultimately the trigger for a global crisis of capitalism, bringing all the existing accumulated contradictions to the fore.

This pandemic is exposing the rottenness of the capitalist system worldwide, and is preparing the way for a furious backlash from the masses in the period ahead.