Spectre of Communism IMT - www.marxist.com

Fiona Lali recently shot to prominence, and stunned former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman, when she publicly branded Suella a “war monger” and a “liar” for her support for the genocide in Gaza. Fiona’s words chimed with millions of workers and youth who have seen this clip, and who are sick and tired of this rotten imperialist system, of the hypocrites who run it, and of the commentators, media and ‘opposition’ that do nothing to challenge it.







In this exclusive interview, Fiona presents the communist approach to war and imperialism, and explains why we need to kick out not only individual Tory politicians, but the whole capitalist system.







Fiona Lali is national campaigns coordinator of the Revolutionary Communist Party (the British section of the International Marxist Tendency), which will be holding an important national online meeting this Thursday, to coordinate the immense wave of student protests sweeping British universities. Register for the event here: https://communist.red/palestinemeeting







If you’re a communist in Britain and you agree with Fiona, join the RCP today in the fight against the war mongers in Parliament and the system they represent: https://communist.red/







For those beyond Britain, the IMT is a worldwide, fighting, communist organisation, and this June, we are founding a new Revolutionary Communist International (RCI). You can join us! Find your section of the IMT at https://marxist.com/ and sign up to attend the founding conference of the RCI, which you can join online at: https://schoolofcommunism.com/







Finally, we recommend listeners check out the podcast of the RCP in Britain, where Fiona will be hosting daily news updates starting tomorrow: https://communist.red/category/marxist-voice/

As the horrors of Israel’s war on Gaza continue to escalate, a wave of student protests has erupted in solidarity with the Palestinians: drawing comparisons with the anti-Vietnam War movement. Starting in the USA, the encampments quickly spread internationally, meeting with press slander and brutal police repression. In this special episode, we speak with four student communists from Canada, the UK, Austria and the USA, who have been active in encampments at various universities, to hear about their experiences of this inspiring struggle.



What is the mood at these encampments? What kind of opposition have they faced from university authorities and state forces? What sort of demands are being raised? We cover all of this and more! Offering context and our general perspective, we welcome back as well Fred Weston from our International Secretariat to talk about the situation in Gaza, Israel’s operations in Rafah, and what is necessary for this movement to escalate.



We recommend this statement on a communist programme for the encampments: https://www.marxist.com/not-a-cent-not-a-bullet-for-the-israeli-war-machine-statement-on-wave-of-gaza-solidarity-student-protests.htm



Here is our latest statement on Rafah, which also contains our proposed strategy for escalating the protest movement: https://www.marxist.com/stop-the-attack-on-rafah-fight-imperialism-on-the-home-front.htm



We also suggest recent articles on the repression and attacks against students in Canada and the United States:



https://www.marxist.com/united-states-zionist-goons-and-cops-unleash-violence-workers-and-students-unite-and-fight-back.htm



https://www.marxist.com/police-violently-crush-encampments-in-alberta.htm



Divest and disclose: open the books!



Not a cent, not a bullet for the Israeli war machine!



Free Palestine!



Intifada until victory, revolution until victory!



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Register now for the founding conference of the Revolutionary Communist International! https://schoolofcommunism.com/



Subscribe and listen at your preferred platform, and find us on social media, here: https://linktr.ee/specom



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In June, the International Marxist Tendency will take the monumental step of founding a new Revolutionary Communist International (RCI), to provide communist workers and youth around the world with a bold rallying point in the struggle to overthrow capitalism. In doing so, the RCI will build on the immense revolutionary legacy left behind by the Third (Communist) International, founded by Lenin and the Bolsheviks as the world party of revolution. Register now for the founding of the RCI! https://schoolofcommunism.com/



This week’s episode of Spectre of Communism podcast welcomes Fred Weston, a leading comrade of the International Marxist Tendency, to explain the historic revolutionary importance of the Communist International. In doing so, Fred demonstrates the palpable need for a similar organisation in the world today.



This episode will be the finale of the first season of the podcast, which will return with new weekly content after a short break.



In addition to registering for the founding conference, we also recommend reading the recently published Manifesto of the Revolutionary Communist International (available in 20 languages), which will constitute the founding document of the RCI: https://www.marxist.com/manifesto-of-the-revolutionary-communist-international.htm



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Ted Grant’s 1943 article, ‘The Rise and Fall of the Communist International’ (cited in the episode): https://www.marxist.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-communist-international.htm



New episodes of the Spectre of Communism podcast are out every Tuesday! Subscribe and listen at your preferred platform, and find us on social media, here: https://linktr.ee/specom

Advances in artificial intelligence continue to make headlines, as AI has begun to play a role in everything from art and journalism to conspiracy theories and unemployment. While AI is clearly here to stay, it is equally clear that the capitalist class has no interest in using it to its fullest. Once again, capitalism’s brutal inefficiency and systematic misuse of such technology is profound evidence of the need for communism and economic planning.



To discuss the real potential of AI and how this is squandered by the ruling class, this week’s episode of Spectre of Communism podcast welcomes Daniel Morley, a leading member of the Communists in Britain. Countering both the excessively jubilant and the existentially morbid approaches to AI that are common from capitalist commentators, Daniel gives a concrete appraisal of this technology in the class struggle today, and brings out some of the possibilities for the use of AI under a planned economy.



For more on artificial intelligence and its role under capitalism, we recommend this article: https://www.marxist.com/artificial-intelligence-doomsday-for-humanity-or-for-capitalism.htm



And for more on the recent speculative bubble in the AI sector, see this article: https://www.marxist.com/artificial-intelligence-capitalism-s-salvation-or-another-bubble.htm

Communism is often presented by its enemies as being at best uninterested in art and culture, and at worst openly hostile to anything but the crudest propaganda. This is completely at odds with the approach of Lenin and the Bolsheviks, and genuine communists today. The Russian Revolution ushered in an explosion of artistic creativity, which for the first time was unshackled from the constraints of class society. This is the legacy that communists must defend.



To discuss the important place of art and culture in the Russian Revolution, this week’s episode welcomes Nelson Wan, a leading member of the International Marxist Tendency in Britain. Nelson explains the communist approach to art and culture, and describes some of the immense achievements in this field made by figures such as Sergei Eisenstein, Konstantin Stanislavski and El Lissitzky.



This episode is the most recent part of a series of podcasts celebrating the life and ideas of Lenin, 100 years after his death in 1924. For a complete defence of the incredible achievements of history’s greatest revolutionary, we recommend In Defence of Lenin by Alan Woods and Rob Sewell, now available from Wellred Books: https://wellred-books.com/in-defence-of-lenin/



Manifesto of the RCI: https://www.marxist.com/manifesto-of-the-revolutionary-communist-international.htm



Register to attend the RCI conference: https://schoolofcommunism.com/



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#Communism



#SchoolOfCommunism



#LeninLives



#LeninLives

Communists are often slandered by our enemies as wanting to violently suppress and ‘ban’ religion. While Marxism is a materialist philosophy, and therefore uncompromisingly atheist, the policy of Marxists towards religion bears absolutely no resemblance to this crude caricature.



As Marx explained, the oppressed and exploited masses turn to religion not for abstract reasons, but as a protest against the real suffering they endure in the land of the living. In a world that offers no hope, the promise of paradise is a balm to the otherwise unconsoled. 



For this reason, religion is a powerful tool in the hands of the ruling class, who use the religious establishment as an ideological and spiritual lever over the workers and poor.



Communists do not conceal their views, but neither do we seek to drive a wedge between ourselves and the masses by denouncing or belittling their religious faith. Instead, we strive to build a society that can give people the paradise on earth, that they are currently only offered after death.



This week’s episode of Spectre of Communism podcast welcomes Jack Halinski-Fitzpatrick to explain how communists should approach religion.