REVOLUTION FESTIVAL
REVOLUTION FESTIVAL
THE SCHOOL OF COMMUNISM | 14-16 NOVEMBER
FRIENDS HOUSE, 173-177 EUSTON ROAD, LONDON
Frustration and anger is boiling over across Britain. Wages stagnate while prices soar, public services crumble while the rich line their pockets, and decisions that shape millions of lives are made in gilded rooms.
The British establishment is dripping from head to toe with blood and dirt, supporting genocide abroad and murder by austerity at home. People standing against genocide are being locked up, while the real terrorists sit comfortably in Whitehall.
People have a right to be angry, but anger alone is not enough. It must be sharpened by revolutionary theory and strategy. On this basis, the rising anger can become a powerful force for the overthrow of the billionaires and their corrupt system.
The Revolution Festival is a three day school of communist ideas, aimed at training a new layer of revolutionaries for the fight to end capitalism, and for the building of a society based on the interests of the masses — not the profits of a handful of useless, greedy billionaires.
Join comrades of the Revolutionary Communist Party from, 14th-16th November 2025, and help build a revolutionary force to end capitalism once and for all.
TALKS &
TIMETABLE
TALKS &
TIMETABLE
Friday 14th November
Friday 14th November
Opening plenary session — 18:30 - 21:00
Opening plenary session
18:30 - 21:00
Trump, imperialism, and the New World
Disorder
Trump, imperialism, and the New World
Disorder
Speaker: Alan Woods
The tectonic plates of world politics are shifting, causing massive earthquakes. Everywhere, it is clear that the stability of capitalism before 2008 has collapsed. The world order created after the Second World War has descended into disorder.
The US can no longer dominate the world, bending nations and continents to its will. Instead, Trump must contend with China, which is gaining influence and confidence in directing global politics.
Small nations are being used as “spare change” in the struggle for control of world markets, leaving bloodshed and barbarism in its wake.
In this plenary talk, Alan Woods, leading member of the RCI, will discuss why the world has gone mad.
Saturday 15th November
Saturday 15th November
Morning sessions
10:30 - 12:15
Morning sessions
10:30 - 12:15
Is America heading for revolution?
Is America heading for revolution?
Speaker: Fred Weston
The most powerful imperialist country on the planet is facing the deepest crisis in its history. The American Dream is well and truly over, and this is destabilising the political system of the United States. The country’s relative decline has produced the Trump phenomenon. Is this preparing a further shift to the right, as many commentators claim? Or is Trump preparing the ground for a massive backlash from the workers and youth of America?
US debt has reached unprecedented levels. Someone has to pay — but the question is, who? The workers and youth of America are seeking solutions. Trump cannot deliver. On the contrary, he is acting in the interests of the boss class. When this becomes abundantly clear through the concrete, lived experience of millions of workers, a new scenario will open up — one of intense class struggle. And that scenario is not too far down the road.
In this talk, Fred Weston, member of the RCI International Secretariat, will discuss the perspective of an American Revolution.
100 years of Malcolm X: From nation to
revolution
100 years of Malcolm X: From nation to revolution
Speaker: Fiona Lali
The name Malcolm X is synonymous with the Black liberation movement internationally. His life was dedicated to this struggle, ultimately leading to his murder in 1965.
His view that liberation should be fought for “by any means necessary” became a battle cry for oppressed masses across the globe, who could see the limits of peaceful protest and of abiding by laws designed to oppress them.
Beginning as a Black nationalist and member of the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X witnessed the development of the civil rights movement in the US and observed a wave of anti-colonial revolutions across Africa.
These experiences pushed him toward internationalist and anti-capitalist ideas. Later in his life, he famously proclaimed: “You cannot have capitalism without racism.” It is no coincidence that he was murdered when his ideas became explicitly anti-capitalist.
In this talk, Fiona Lali, member of the RCP Executive Committee, will discuss the life and ideas of Malcolm X and how we can honour his legacy by overthrowing the oppression and exploitation that still plague the world today.
Horror without end: Imperialism and
the Middle East
Horror without end: Imperialism and the Middle East
Speaker: Lubna Badi
Imperialist meddling in the Middle East dates back even before the crime of partition, when the region was divided among imperial powers through the Sykes-Picot Agreement. Since then, the region has faced continuous interference from Western imperialism, driven by profit and strategic control. Since the end of the Cold War, attempts to establish complete US dominance in the Middle East have brought wars and interventions, fueling cycles of instability, violence, sectarianism, and human suffering.
In this talk, RCP Central Committee member, Lubna Badi, will explore these developments, clarify why for so many people in the Middle East the experience has been one of endless horror, and explain how imperialism can be permanently expelled from the region.
Marx's Capital: A guide to capitalism's
inner workings
Marx's Capital: A guide to capitalism's inner workings
Speaker: Adam Booth
“It is without question the most terrible missile that has yet been hurled at the heads of the bourgeoisie.”
This was Karl Marx’s assessment of his magnum opus, Das Kapital, published in 1867.
In this incredible work, Marx sought to uncover the inner workings of the capitalist system: the contradictions and dynamics that lie behind the movements and motion of the market economy.
Basing himself on the most advanced material of the age, Marx was able to explain the mysteries that his predecessors were incapable of resolving. What is value? Where does profit come from? How are workers exploited? And why does the system face periodic crises?
In this talk, Adam Booth, co-author of Understanding Marx’s Capital, explores these questions, introduces the key concepts within Marxist economics, and outlines the relevance of these ideas in relation to today’s crisis-ridden capitalist system.
Shostakovich: The musical voice of the
Russian Revolution
Shostakovich: The musical conscience of the Russian Revolution
Speaker: Peter Kwasiborski
Classical music may seem a world apart from revolutionary politics — but it isn’t.
The legacy of Dmitri Shostakovich has been the subject of a veritable war of interpretations in the half-century since his death. As an opponent of Stalin’s regime, he is often portrayed as an anti-communist, opposed to everything the USSR stood for. Others, noting his decision to remain in the Soviet Union and compose works that resonated with the needs of society, paint him as a Stalinist stooge — a puppet of the CPSU.
Neither of these portrayals is even remotely accurate.
In this talk, Peter Kwasiborski, leading member of the RCP, will explore the life and music of Shostakovich — and his true legacy: that of the musical conscience of the genuine ideals of the October Revolution. A legacy that should be upheld and cherished by the Bolsheviks of today.
————————————————-
Early afternoon sessions
13:15 - 15:00
Early afternoon sessions
13:15 - 15:00
Militarism and the European crisis
Militarism and the European crisis
Speaker: Jorge Martin
Everywhere in Europe, the ruling class is beating the war drums. “Russia will invade! We need to rearm!” NATO has been ordered by Trump to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP. Billions are being poured into weapons production, while we are told there’s no money for books or healthcare. The European imperialist powers are in a deep existential crisis — and they want working people to pay for it. They are already paying a heavy price for having gone along with Biden’s proxy war against Russia in Ukraine.
With Trump pivoting away from Europe to concentrate on US imperialism’s main rival, China, the long-term decline of European power has been laid bare for all to see.
As communists, we must fight our own imperialist ruling class. We must oppose militarism and warfare, an enormous waste of resources that could be used to meet the needs of the majority. But that is only possible by abolishing capitalism itself.
In this talk, Jorge Martin, member of the RCI International Secretariat, will discuss why Europe is re-militarising — and the task of communists in fighting Western imperialism.
Mao Zedong: His life, legacy, and limits
Mao Zedong: His life, legacy, and limits
Speaker: Daniel Morley
There is no doubt that the Chinese Revolution was 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 product of the tremendous determination and spirit of sacrifice of the Chinese masses. At the head of this movement stood Mao Zedong.
Since Mao’s death, capitalism has been gradually restored in China by the bureaucracy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In his final years, Mao is seen to have waged a struggle against the “capitalist roaders” within the CCP. As a result, many revolutionaries, both inside and outside China, have understandably looked to Mao’s ideas as a guide for action in the struggle for a new revolution.
However, while he achieved incredible things, there were also serious 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.
In this talk, Daniel Morley, member of the RCP Executive Committee, will address key questions: Is there a connection between these serious errors and the CCP’s eventual return to capitalism? And do communists need to make use of the best of Mao’s ideas to once again abolish capitalism in China?
The Reformation: Religion, Revolution,
and the rise of the Bourgeoisie
The Reformation: Religion, Revolution, and the rise of the Bourgeoisie
Speaker: Joe Russell
“The long fight of the bourgeoisie against feudalism culminated in three great, decisive battles. The first was what is called the Protestant Reformation…” – Friedrich Engels
When Martin Luther pinned his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of a church, he set in motion a struggle on a scale he neither foresaw nor intended. What began as a theological debate over doctrine quickly escalated into an ideological battle against the Roman Catholic Church — and from there, a wave of revolutions, wars, and civil wars. This explosive chapter of history shook Europe to its core and changed the world forever.
It marked the necessary first step in the masses’ struggle against feudalism by breaking the ideological dictatorship of the Catholic Church. This struggle opened the floodgates for radical new ideas, the Enlightenment, the rise of modern science, and the revolutions that followed.
In this talk, Joe Russell, member of the RCP Executive Committee, will examine this revolutionary period as a key case study in historical materialism. How do changes in the economic base of society affect the realm of ideas, including religion? And how, in turn, can such ideas become the most powerful weapon in the struggle to change the world?
Feuerbach, philosophy, and the birth
of Marxism
Feuerbach, philosophy, and the birth of Marxism
Speaker: Nye Shaw
Dialectical materialism, the philosophy of Marxism, did not fall from the sky. Nor was it simply a good idea that Marx came up with one afternoon. As Marxists, we owe an immense debt to the philosophers of the past, in particular the German idealist Hegel.
Before Marx became a Marxist, he was a student of Hegel and was part of a group known as the Young Hegelians, who saw in Hegelian philosophy a revolutionary method for understanding the world.
This talk will explore the contributions of Hegel and the Young Hegelians to the development of philosophy. In particular, it will focus on the work of Ludwig Feuerbach, whose critique of Hegel pointed the way forward, even if it ultimately failed to reach a revolutionary conclusion. Among the Young Hegelians, it was Marx and Engels alone who fully grasped the revolutionary essence of Hegel’s philosophy.
In this talk, Nye Shaw, leading member of the RCP, will explain what set these two giants apart from the rest and how, on this basis, the revolutionary philosophy of Marxism was born.
1945: Liberation, revolution,
and betrayal
1945: Liberation, revolution, and betrayal
Speaker: James Kilby
A revolutionary wave swept across Europe towards the end of the Second World War.
In France, communists formed the backbone of the armed resistance to fascism. In Italy, workers occupied the factories, peasants seized the land, and communists led a mass, armed partisan force. In Greece, the Communist Party led the resistance movement and stood in a strong position to take power.
But in all these countries, capitalism survived.
In this session, James Kilby, member of the RCP Central Committee, will examine the revolutionary processes that unfolded in the closing stages of the war. He will explain how and why the Stalinists, in one country after another, betrayed these incredible movements, setting back the world revolution by decades.
————————————————-
Late afternoon sessions
15:15 - 17:00
Late afternoon sessions
15:15 - 17:00
Monopolies and imperialism: How
big corporations dominate our lives
Monopolies and imperialism: How big
corporations dominate our lives
Speaker: Adam Booth
Capitalism is often portrayed as the provider of ‘freedom’ and ‘choice’. But this is a complete myth. From the minute we wake up to the moment we go to sleep; from birth to death: our lives are dominated by monopolies – by gigantic corporations that control huge chunks of their respective industries. Today, capitalism means BIG: Big Oil; Big Pharma; Big Tech; Big Food; the big banks – and so on. And they keep getting bigger.
Over one hundred years ago, in his masterpiece Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism, Lenin explained how the interests of the major monopolies and financial institutions leads to competition for markets, resources, and spheres of influence – and, in turn, to war, conflict, and protectionism.
In this talk, Adam Booth, RCP Executive Committee member, discusses how the forces of monopoly capitalism and imperialism are shaping the world economy and society in modern times: from the chaos of the AI race; to the turbulence of the trade war; to the stagnation of science, innovation, and technology.
Free speech and repression: Can
capitalism still afford democracy?
Free speech and repression: Can capitalism
still afford democracy?
Speaker: Nelson Wan
Bourgeois governments across the world, including in the UK, are increasingly cracking down on fundamental democratic rights, such as freedom of speech, and the right to assembly and protest. In many cases, these so-called democratic states are behaving more and more like militarised police forces in the scale and severity of their repression.
In this talk, Nelson Wan, member of the RCP Executive Committee, will explain why liberal democracy under capitalism has only ever been democracy for the rich. In a period of stagnant growth and capitalist crisis, like today, the ruling class can no longer afford free speech and democratic rights for all.
At the end of the day, formal democracy and equality before the law cannot conceal the deep material inequality on which capitalism and the state are built. That is why the proletariat must smash the bourgeois state and replace it with a workers’ state.
Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian
Revolution
Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution
Speaker: Jorge Martin
Right wingers often raise the legacy of Venezuela as an example that socialism and communism cannot work. However, the Bolivarian Revolution is rarely understood. Hugo Chavez, leading the workers of Venezuela, comitted himself to a struggle against poverty, inequality and imperialism.
His strength in standing up to the Venezuelan ruling class, as well as US imperialists, led to massive sweeping reforms across the country which improved the lives of millions. In spite of this, the economy was still left in control of the capitalists, who when oil crisis hit, chose their profits over the lives of the Venezuelan masses. Chavez understood this and was moving towards Marxist ideas towards the end of his life.
In this talk, Jorge Martin, RCI International Secretariat member, will discuss the real legacy of the Bolivarian Revolution and what those committed to a struggle against poverty, hunger and imperialism can learn from this incredible struggle.
Progress, revolution, and reaction:
What drives history forward?
Progress, revolution, and reaction: What drives
history forward?
Speaker: Jack Tye Wilson
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 will uncover 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.
We will cover 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?
1917: How the Russian workers took
power
1917: How the Russian workers took power
Speaker: Georgina Ryan
In 1917, the Russian working class, under the leadership of Lenin and the Bolsheviks, changed the course of history. In less than a year, they courageously overthrew the repressive Tsarist regime and went on to challenge capitalism itself.
For the first time, the oppressed and exploited masses, having thrown off their chains, took control of society and began the monumental task of building a socialist system.
The titanic struggles of 1917 continue to inspire communists worldwide and offer vital lessons for our fight against capitalism today.
The Russian Revolution demonstrates how the working class can seize power, the importance of a revolutionary party and leadership, and the necessity of an international struggle.
In this talk, Georgina Ryan, member of the RCP Central Committee, will expose the lies and slander hurled at the revolution by defenders of the status quo for over 100 years.
————————————————-
Evening plenary session
17:15 - 19:00
Evening plenary session
17:15 - 19:00
The decline of British capitalism and the
British revolution
The decline of British capitalism and the
British revolution
Speaker: Rob Sewell
Nearly a century ago, Trotsky said that the British ruling class used to be able to see in centuries and continents, but now they can barely see past the end of their own noses. Both of the traditional parties in British politics are crumbling, unable to balance the books for the capitalist class while also appealing to workers. Keir Starmer’s rating is dropping by the day.
Instead, new parties like Reform, the Greens, and the possibility of a new left party around Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana are being seen as alternatives to challenge the status quo.
At the same time, millions of people are taking to the streets for Palestine, reflecting not only the anger at this genocide but also the deep rot in British society in general.
Increasingly, young people in Britain are turning to revolutionary ideas. They are watching the Gen Z revolutions across the world and asking: how can we do something like this in Britain?
In this talk, Rob Sewell, member of the RCP Executive Committee, will discuss the crisis of British capitalism, the coming British revolution, and the role of communists in preparing for it.
Sunday 16th November
Sunday 16th November
Morning sessions
10:30 - 12:00
Morning sessions
10:30 - 12:00
A history of Palestinian resistance
A history of Palestinian resistance
Speaker: Khaled Malachi
Whoever hypocritically condemns the poor and oppressed from rising up to break their chains is a defender of the existing order. For communists, the Palestinian struggle is a major source of inspiration. But for those who really support the resistance of the Palestinian people, viewing it as an indispensable part of the future Arab revolution, it is not enough to romanticise the movements of the past and present, but to draw out lessons.
In this talk, Khaled Malachi, RCP Central Committee member, will analyse the rise and fall of the Palestine Liberation Organisation: the movement that for two decades captured the imagination of the entire Arab world. The talk will explain why the PLO failed and betrayed the Palestinian cause, paving the way for the reaction found today.
Surrealism and Marxism: Dreams, art, and
class struggle
Surrealism and Marxism: Dreams, art, and
class struggle
Speaker: Will Collins
In this talk, RCP Central Committee member Will Collins will discuss Surrealism and argue that to truly liberate the mind, a life and death struggle will have to be waged against the system that enslaves it, and commit to the building of a socialist society.
Ficticious capital: Money, debt, and
bubbles
Ficticious capital: Money, debt, and bubbles
Speaker: Niklas Albin Svensson
While the economy is stagnating the stockmarket is booming. The workers are squeezed like never before and profits are at record highs. The multinational corpoartions have more money than they know what to do with while governments are indebted like never before. Inflation is stubbornly not coming down at the same time as the economy is entering recession.
For decades economists have insisted that we need to raise profits in order to grow the economy. That we needed to make investment more profitable. Yet, profits are at record highs, and investment at a record low. Instead the economy is saddled with insolvable contradictions.
Money now seem to be flowing everywhere except where it’s needed. What is it about capitalism that creates these bubbles, this mass of fictious wealth instead of real wealth? Niklas Albin Svensson from the International Secretariat of the RCI will explain how capitalism and the capitalists has become completely parastic and unable to take humanity forward.
The Modern British state: Reform or
revolution?
The Modern British state: Reform or revolution?
Speaker: Ben Gliniecki
A deep hatred of the British state permeates among workers and youth today. Whether marching for Palestine, blocking roads to protest fossil fuel use, waving an English flag, on the bus, or at the pub, conversations are often filled with anger toward the British state.
Around 70% of the British public believe the country is heading in the wrong direction. The welfare state is crumbling, all political parties and most politicians have negative approval ratings, and the Metropolitan Police is constantly embroiled in scandals.
What is the answer? Can the British state be reformed to meet the needs of workers, or does it need to be overthrown?
In this talk, Ben Gliniecki, General Secretary of the RCP, will examine how the British state functions and explain whether reform is sufficient or if a British revolution is necessary.
Capitalism and the oppression of women
Capitalism and the oppression of women
Speaker: Manon Powrie
While politicians today talk about ‘gender equality,’ conditions for women and girls across the world are worsening, with sexism, harassment, violence, and femicide becoming all too normal in society. But women have not always been in this position. Research shows that the patriarchal family structure, and the attitudes toward women we see today, have not always existed. Early human societies viewed women as equal to men and vital to the health of the community. It is not inherent in men’s nature to oppress women, but rather the rise of private property and the division of society into classes that required women’s oppression.
In this talk, Manon Powrie, leading member of the RCP, will address the fundamental question of what caused this shift between men and women, how women’s oppression arose, and why the struggle to free women from oppression is an essential part of the fight for socialist revolution.
————————————————-
Early afternoon sessions
12:45 - 14:15
Early afternoon sessions
12:45 - 14:15
Migration and borders: The communist
position
Migration and borders: The communist position
Speaker: Fiona Lali
The question of immigration is dominating politics. Whipped up by demagogic politicians and mainstream media, a climate of hysteria has pushed the topic to the forefront. The 2024 General Election saw ‘stop the boats’ as a key issue, while Labour, the Conservatives and Reform debated who would be the most effective deporters. A summer of protests outside asylum seeker hotels, culminating in the largest far right demonstration by Tommy Robinson in decades in September means it is essential for the left to come out boldly with a clear class position. Communists defend open borders.
In this talk, Fiona Lali — Campaigns Coordinator of the RCP — will explain why and how the struggle to defend immigrants is in the interest of the working class.
How to build a revolutionary party — and
how not to
How to build a revolutionary party — and how not to
Speaker: Lotta Angantyr
In 1938, Trotsky wrote: “The world political situation as a whole is chiefly characterized by a historical crisis of the leadership of the proletariat.”
These words are as true now as they were then. The objective conditions for revolution are maturing in country after country. What is needed is a leadership that can take advantage of the situation.
The role of the revolutionary party is to function as the historic memory of the working class, that has learnt the lessons from past movements, and can in a decisive way put forward the ideas of socialist revolution and how to achieve it.
The building of the party has therefore been a central question within the communist movement since its very beginning.
In this session, Lotta Angantyr, RCP Executive Committee member, will speak on the ideas, methods and traditions that the Revolutionary Communist Party bases itself on and how we can build the party capable of leading the working class to victory.
Should communists welcome a
'multipolar' world?
Should communists welcome a 'multipolar' world?
Speaker: Hamid Alizadeh
In the wake of World War Two, US imperialism forged a new international order in its interests, built upon pillars such as the United Nations, the NATO security alliance, multilateral free trade agreements, and the Bretton Woods dollar-based monetary and financial system.
In recent years and decades, however, US imperialism has undergone a relative decline. Other powers, such as China and Russia, meanwhile, have risen up and begun to exert a greater influence on the world stage.
As the tectonic plates of world relations shift, the edifice of the postwar order is beginning to crumble. American hegemony is increasingly being challenged, giving way to a new era of ‘multipolarity’, with increasing tensions and conflicts between the big imperialist powers.
In this talk, Hamid Alizadeh – host of the Against the Stream podcast and member of the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International – examines the ongoing military, economic, and diplomatic clashes taking place globally, and discusses whether a multipolar world represents a progressive step forward for the working class.
Civil war and revolution in Spain: 1931-1939
Civil war and revolution in Spain: 1931-1939
Speaker: Jack Halinski Fitzpatrick
Between 1931 and 1939, the Spanish workers could have taken power many times. However, betrayed by their leaders, eventually Franco’s brutal fascist forces were able to defeat the revolution, installing a vicious dictatorship for four decades.
During this period, anarchism, stalinism, left and right reformism as well as centrism were all shown not to be up to the task. The forces of genuine Marxism, remaining small and isolated from the movement, were unable to affect the course of events.
Today, we are living through a similar period of war, revolution and counterrevolution.
In this talk, Jack Halinski Fitzpatrick, leading member of the RCP, will discuss how we can honour the memory and fighting spirit of the Spanish workers and peasants by learning from the defeats of the past to prepare the victories of the future.
Defying US imperialism: Fidel Castro and
the Cuban Revolution
Defying US imperialism: Fidel Castro and
the Cuban Revolution
Speaker: Keelan Kellegher
The Cuban Revolution stands as one of the most revered uprisings in the history of capitalism. Fidel Castro and Che Guevara began as anti-imperialists and did not initially see the revolution as socialist.
However, during the course of the struggle, they realized that defeating imperialism required also confronting capitalism. With this understanding, they heroically ended capitalism on the island, leading to a long list of gains for Cuban workers.
As the fight against imperialism gains new importance today, the lessons of the Cuban Revolution are essential study for anyone seeking to end the barbarism created by imperialism.
In this talk, Keelan Kellegher, member of the RCP Central Committee, will draw out the key lessons of the Cuban Revolution and explain the most important insights we can learn from this inspiring event.
————————————————-
Late afternoon sessions
14:30 - 16:00
Late afternoon sessions
14:30 - 16:00
Ibrahim Traore, Sankara's legacy, and the
fight against imperialism in West Africa
Ibrahim Traore, Sankara's legacy, and the
fight against imperialism in West Africa
Speaker: Josh Holroyd
Since he came to power in September 2022, the leader of Burkina Faso’s military government, Ibrahim Traore, has attracted attention all over the world.
Echoing Thomas Sankara, the leader of the Burkinabé Revolution of 1983-87, Traore has used radical anti-imperialist and pan-Africanist rhetoric, calling for a determined struggle for genuine sovereignty and development for the people of Africa.
In the Western media, Traore is often portrayed as a brutal dictator, who is rapidly losing control of the situation. However, on social media, you can find a huge amount of support for Traore and his programme. What is the reality?
In this talk, Josh Holroyd, leading member of the RCI, will discuss what has been achieved in Burkina Faso since Traore came to power, and the way forward for the fight against imperialism in West Africa.
Republicanism and revolution: The Easter
Rising of 1916
Republicanism and revolution: The Easter
Rising of 1916
Speaker: Orla Thomas
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, Orla Thomas, RCO Central Committee member, 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.
Lenin and Trotsky: What they really stood
for — a reply to Stalinist slanders
Lenin and Trotsky: What they really stood
for — a reply to Stalinist slanders
Speaker: Olivia Ruadh
This is not just a debate between long-dead figures, but an application of genuine Marxism to the history of the revolutionary movements of the twentieth century and a demonstration of how these debates, both theoretical and tactical, remain directly relevant to the struggles of today.
Stalinist ideas rested on an anti-Marxist worldview, rooted in the privileged position of the Soviet bureaucracy. In defending this outlook, Stalin and his allies tried to manufacture a split between Lenin and Trotsky. In reality, it was Stalin and his collaborators who consistently sought to hold back revolutionary movements of the working class, failed to mount a serious fight against the rise of fascism, and ultimately paved the way for capitalist restoration in the USSR and beyond.
In this talk, Olive Ruadh, RCP Central Committee member will explain that, politically, Lenin and Trotsky had far more in common with each other than with Stalin. Only Trotskyism carried forward the genuine banner of Marxism after Lenin’s death.
People, planet, and production: What
would socialism look like?
People, planet, and production: What would
socialism look like?
Speaker: Sarah Vedrovich
What we are against is clear: poverty, war, climate catastrophe, and oppression are all everyday features of capitalism in crisis. It is because of this that young people are looking towards revolutionary alternatives.
What we are for is often discussed less. The classless, stateless society we are striving to build will bring the most sweeping gains for the masses everywhere. It will transform society from top to bottom, economically, environmentally, and culturally.
However, this will not magically come into being the day after the revolution. It must be built.
In this talk, Sarah Vedrovitch, member of the RCP Central Committee, will discuss how this world can be built and what society will look like from the day after the revolution as it moves toward a truly communist future.
Science, the crisis in cosmology, and the
Big Bang
Science, the crisis in cosmology, and the
Big Bang
Speaker: Ben Curry
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 RCI, 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.
————————————————-
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.
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.
The surrealists were not at all armchair socialists, but actively involved in the communist movement.