Marxist Audio Archive

It’s easy to feel powerless as individuals. Everywhere we look, society tells us that there’s nothing we can do to change the world. It can seem like the world is governed by malevolent forces beyond our control or understanding. But history is made by people, and a cursory glance at history shows that individuals can play a giant role at certain points. The problem is not that we’re powerless; it...

The Russian Revolution was the greatest event in history. Lenin, Trotsky, and the rest of the Bolsheviks led the working class to take power and hold it for the first time in history. October was living proof that the oppressed do not need their oppressors; that a better world is possible. It inspired a worldwide revolutionary wave in its wake, and remains a beacon of hope to the oppressed today....

Across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, workers, shopkeepers, and youth are mobilizing by the hundreds of thousands against the repressive Pakistani regime. Under the leadership of the Joint Awami Action Committees, months long general strikes and mass sit-ins show that the people are ready to democratically seize power and intervene into the course of history. The next step is for the Awami Action Comm...

For years, the Canadian state has pushed for land acknowledgements, tearful apologies, “equity partnerships”, and identity politics to try to paper over centuries of oppression. This has not worked. For all of this country’s history, Indigenous people have suffered all of the worst features of capitalism. The conditions of Indigenous communities have lagged far behind the rest of the country. Now,...

In October, Alberta will vote on whether or not to have a binding referendum on separating from Canada. Separatists have latched on to the idea that the Federal government is impeding Alberta’s prosperity, after years of the UCP making these same arguments. Danielle Smith wanted to leverage western alienation against the federal government, but now that the movement has evolved, she is like a sorc...

The rise of AI has lead to widespread concern, ranging from fears of job losses and environmental destruction, to a total replacement of humanity. This has raised important (though hardly new) questions for science and philosophy, surrounding the future of humanity, the feasibility of creating “Generalized Artificial Intelligence,” and the nature of consciousness itself. In this presentation, Jere...

Engels once called dialectics “the science of the general laws of motion, both of the external world and of human thought”. It is the philosophy of motion and change. It was on the foundations of this philosophy that Marx and Engels developed their analysis of class society, of the rise and the inevitable fall of the capitalist system. But motion and change are ubiquitous, not only to human life b...

“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” This presentation by Joel Bergman outlines the key processes shaping the class struggle in Canada. The changing world situation, and in particular the relative decline of US Imperialism, leaves Canadian capitalism in a dead end. Mounting government debt, a looming recession, inflation, and low productivity weigh h...

"For our demands most moderate are, We only want the earth." - James Connolly, 1907 James Connolly is often portrayed as simply an Irish nationalist. This couldn't be further from the truth. The leader of the Easter rising, he was a revolutionary Marxist. His study of Marx and Engels guided his fight for an Irish socialist republic, independently bringing him to similar conclusions a...

The global crisis of capitalism is shaking the world order, bringing about imperialist wars, class struggle, and revolution. In this presentation, Ben Curry (from the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International) explains the processes underneath the events unfolding on the world stage. He explains that the nation state and private property relations - the very things whi...

Most textbooks and documentaries would like us to believe that all historical progress is the product of ‘Great Men and Women’ with ‘Great Ideas’, in which the masses are merely the passive recipients of charismatic, determined, and resolute individuals. Marxism is opposed to this unscientific approach. Many academic critics attempt to paint Marxism as being rigid and mechanical, accusing the theo...

As the crisis of capitalism deepens, millions of people are looking for a way out. This has caused many on the left to look to the ideas of mutual aid. But what is mutual aid, and can it help us end capitalism? In this video, Josie Seaton (from the Central Committee of the RCP) explains the Marxist approach to mutual aid, its historical role, and what we can do today in to build a force that will...

Canada is often painted as a calm country of polite compromise. Confederation is presented as the bright, hopeful moment when this friendly land of peace, order, and good government was born. The real history is very different. Confederation was a rotten deal for the majority of people, achieved through the putting down of revolutions, the genocide of Indigenous peoples, and underpinned by ruthles...

The Venezuelan Revolution and the unprecedented upsurge of the Venezuelan people in the early 2000s was one of the most inspiring events in recent history. The oppressed masses, rallying behind Hugo Chávez, waged a heroic struggle against imperialism. They carried out vast land seizures and nationalizations, and showed that it is possible for workers to run their workplaces without bosses. But the...

In 2012, Quebec students went on a months-long strike to reverse a planned 75 per cent tuition increase. At its height, hundreds of thousands of students refused to attend class, making it one of the largest movements in Canada’s history. It ended with the fall of the provincial government and the cancellation of the tuition hike. Quebec students had fought and won. Today, post-secondary education...

The rich are killing the planet. Millions of students and youth have taken to the streets worldwide to confront this existential threat. Millions have concluded that the crisis cannot be solved without a radical break with the capitalist system. Communists call for exactly this—an end to capitalism and for building a communist society of superabundance. At the same time, many people, even self-des...

As Carney said in his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, “We know the old order is not coming back. We shouldn’t mourn it.” The Munich Security Conference this year also echoed this, stating: “more than 80 years after construction began, the US-led post-1945 international order is now under destruction.” But what new order will take its place? And what place will Canada take in it? In th...

Trotsky’s theory of permanent revolution is one of the most important—and most misunderstood—ideas in the theoretical arsenal of Marxism. Drawing on the experience of the 1905 Russian Revolution, Trotsky explained that the capitalists in undeveloped or colonized countries could not play a progressive role; they would be a barrier in the fight for agrarian reform, parliamentary democracy, and natio...

New left-wing figures like Zohran Mamdani in New York and Zarah Sultana in the UK are generating tremendous enthusiasm. These self-described socialists denounce capitalism and billionaires and propose bold reforms to alleviate the immediate problems of workers. These reforms can appear more realistic or practical than the messy business of revolution. Yet all over the world, capitalism is in an ex...

As U.S. imperialism once again circles Iran with the threat of intervention, those who oppose Washington’s reach often mistake the Islamic Republic for an anti-imperialist ally. This perception is rooted in the regime’s origins in the revolution of 1979. To understand the republic’s true character, however, communists must seriously study this history and draw the correct lessons. In 1979, in one...

The Minneapolis general strike marked a turning point in the American class struggle. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary people have begun realizing that they cannot trust the cops, politicians or any arm of the state, and are taking matters into their own hands. This is extremely significant. The only force capable of bringing down American capitalism and imperialism — the American working class i...

European capitalism is in crisis. Faced with industrial and economic decline, a deep rot within the system has been exposed. This presents massive opportunities for the workers of Europe to overthrow this decaying system. Social movements have exploded across the continent, and "anti-establishment" populist politicians are on the rise. Josh Holroyd explains the underlying processes behin...

On January 3, the United States bombed cities across Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Donald Trump has clearly exposed the reality of the ‘rules-based international order’, which is nothing but a fig leaf for the interests of western imperialism. This is only the beginning of a drawn out, bloody process for the masses of Venezuela and all Latin America, as Trump looks t...

The first episode of our new podcast The Class Line is out now! Check it out here: tinyurl.com/5n6huxz5

The trade union movement faces a crisis. From mass layoffs to austerity measures and attacks in the right to strike the class struggle is back. This week, Joel is joined by Donovan Ritch to discuss the crisis facing the labour movement and what needs to be done about it. Related Article - Labour movement at a crossroads Register for the Montreal Marxist Winter School here Join the Revolutionary Co...