The internationalists

Harry Patch died on Saturday 25 July 2009, only three days short of the ninety fifth anniversary of the start of the First World War (1). Just surviving the trenches and living to the age of 111 is remarkable enough, but as many people know his uniqueness does not stop there. The war for this particular Tommy was over on 22 September 1917.

At the heart of the many vexed questions which divide the working class groping towards a comprehension of the conditions it faces, and the many political expressions which vie for influence and leadership of the class struggle, is the analysis of political power both under capitalism and beyond. The clarity achieved by the leading theoretical founders of the communist movement, Marx and Engels,...

Behind the scenes lies only exploitation and environmental degradation · A devastating social and economic crisis, a land tormented by natural disaster but made worse by speculative construction, where politicians who have put people and places hit by the earthquake under military control in order to carry out their so-called reconstruction without too many prying eyes.

Is the economic crisis over? Many capitalists think it is. World stock markets have been rising, some banks are trying to pay parts of their government bailouts back and investment banks are now claiming they are making a profit again. The economic pundits of capitalism are so relieved that they are now arguing whether the international bail out was necessary in the first place.

The System is Bankrupt in Every Sense · Previously in the pages of Revolutionary Perspectives we have described the inevitable link between the economic crisis of capitalism and the social crisis as relentless pressure has undermined the most basic structures of capitalist society, including the family, the education system and obviously the world of work.