World Socialist Radio

Recent online claims portraying the Fabian Society as a secretive conspiracy are greatly exaggerated. These accusations gained traction after a judge connected to the society ruled against the UK government in a high-profile case, leading some commentators to suggest that Fabians had infiltrated key institutions. The society is neither secret nor hidden: it openly describes itself as a socialist m...

The episode argues that recent developments in artificial intelligence reveal how autonomous AI systems can behave in unexpected and potentially dangerous ways. Using examples such as AI agents tasked with buying paperclips, running online businesses, or handling confidential information, the author describes how these systems often pursue their goals with relentless persistence while disregarding...

In this episode, written by Pablo Wilcox, it is argued that Autistic thinking seeks universal principles and coherent systems, contrasting sharply with the contradictions and unwritten social hierarchies of capitalist society. The author reflects on how, from a young age, he viewed political and social progress as a clear logical trajectory, only to find that many people communicated through ambig...

Reflections on the visible decline of a once-thriving city-centre shopping street, where many traditional businesses have closed and been replaced by charity shops, betting offices, convenience stores, or empty premises. This pattern is not unique, but part of a broader decline affecting towns and cities across the UK and elsewhere. Beyond the economic impact on shop owners and workers who may hav...

Reflections on the centenary of the 1926 British General Strike. Millions of workers joined the strike in solidarity with coal miners facing wage cuts and worsening conditions, but despite its enormous scale, the strike ultimately failed to produce lasting political or social transformation. The general strike demonstrates a broader lesson about the limits of reformist labour politics and trade un...

The original moon race captured imaginations because it seemed to represent a dramatic leap into the future, even though it was fundamentally driven by Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. By contrast, today’s moon missions present a far more muted and divided public response, with many people more concerned about economic hardship and crises on Earth than space explora...

In modern capitalism, so-called “Davids” (like startups) often win by using strategies backed by huge financial power, such as venture capital. Companies deliberately sell at a loss to undercut competitors, drive them out, and dominate the market—after which they worsen their service or raise prices, a process described as “enshittification.” These outcomes aren’t exceptions but built into capital...

This episode argues that a small global elite of billionaires effectively operates within a “closed world” of power, where wealth translates into disproportionate influence over politics, economies, and decision-making. Rather than governments or democratic institutions being in control, real power lies with those who own and control major corporations and financial systems, allowing them to shape...

This episode uses the example of Tourette’s syndrome to challenge how capitalist society understands personal responsibility. It argues that capitalism assumes individuals are fully rational and in control of their actions, so behaviour – especially speech – is judged as intentional and morally accountable. However, conditions like Tourette’s, where speech can be involuntary, expose a flaw in this...

The episode critiques the economic ideas associated with Green Party leader Zack Polanski, arguing that his proposals – such as wealth taxes, public ownership, and increased government spending – reflect a reformist belief that capitalism can be reshaped to serve people and the environment. This is an illusion, similar to earlier Labour policies, because capitalism is fundamentally driven by profi...

Peter Mandelson exemplifies a lifelong “careerist” within the Labour Party. His political trajectory was driven more by personal advancement than by principled commitment to socialism. He rose through the party not from grassroots activism but via roles in communications and media management, becoming a key architect of “New Labour.” This episode uses Mandelson as a case study to criticise Labour,...

This episode argues that ideas about “race” and “nation” are largely social and political myths rather than clear scientific or natural realities. It connects the myths of race and nation to political and economic interests, particularly under capitalism. Ruling groups often promote ideas of racial or national unity to distract ordinary people from their shared class interests. By encouraging work...

This episode uses a recent film about nuclear war as a starting point to discuss the continuing danger of nuclear weapons. It notes that films and stories about a leader pressing a “big red button” highlight how catastrophic nuclear conflict would be, but the real concern is that such destructive power is concentrated in the hands of political leaders and military systems. Even though the popular...

An account of how state repression is always accompanied by deceptive attempts to control the narrative and preserve legitimacy. Taken from the February 2026 edition of The Socialist Standard. World Socialist Radio is the official podcast of The Socialist Party of Great Britain. We have one single aim: the establishment of a society in which all productive resources – land, water, factories, trans...

A letter to the editor. Environmental destruction is rooted in the global money-based economic system, where production is driven by profit rather than human need. It claims that businesses must expand and compete to survive, leading to overproduction, resource depletion, and pollution. Even well-intentioned reforms—such as green technologies, regulations, or ethical consumer choices—are presented...

This episode critiques superficial “girl-boss” empowerment narratives, arguing that flashy media representations of strong women mask the harsher realities many women face under capitalism—persistent pay gaps, gendered expectations, and widespread violence. Research on women’s advancement reveals a structural double bind: behaving in socially approved “feminine” ways may earn status but rarely rea...

This episode argues that Venezuela’s economic and social crisis reflects the limits of reformist political projects that try to improve capitalism rather than replace it. It traces how governments associated with Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro pursued policies such as nationalisation, welfare expansion, and price controls while still operating within a capitalist framework dependent on oil exports...

A fraudster exploits a moment of uncertainty by pretending to be a familiar figure, relying on the victim’s embarrassment and hesitation to question their own memory. The example shows how easily social cues, expectations, and politeness can override critical thinking, revealing how recognition is not purely about memory but also about social pressure and assumed roles. The episode then expands to...

The Socialist Party of Great Britain refuses to support the newly founded political organisation “Your Party,” launched in November 2025 under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana. “Your Party” promotes a reformist programme that seeks gradual change within capitalism through taxation, nationalisation, and expanded public services, rather than advocating the abolition of capitalism it...

This episode reflects on life before smartphones and social media, describing how children in the 1990s experienced the world directly, without digital pressures such as FOMO (fear of missing out), sexting, cyberbullying, and addictive “attention economy” features designed to maximize engagement. It highlights growing concerns about the mental health impacts of ubiquitous device use among young pe...

This episode argues that fascism and fascists are symptoms of deeper social and economic decay under capitalism — not just isolated groups of extremists or caricatures of “jackbooted thugs.” It dismisses simplistic responses like beating up racists on the streets, noting that violence alone won’t change the underlying conditions that breed fascist sentiment. Instead, it emphasises that many people...

Recent media attention has focused on the Socialist Rifle Association (SRA), a US-based left-wing organisation promoting firearms training and “working-class armed self-defence,” after a Democratic Senate candidate in Maine was criticised for past posts encouraging people to join it. Reports suggest growing gun ownership among LGBTQ and left-liberal Americans driven by fear of political repression...

This episode situates debates over transgender identity within a Marxist analysis of capitalist society, arguing that rigid gender roles are historically constructed and reinforced by capitalism’s need to reproduce labour power. It draws on Marx’s base-and-superstructure framework to explain how patriarchal and gender norms originate in earlier modes of production and persist under capitalism to s...

This episode article uses recent public comments by authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, and the broader enthusiasm among billionaires and tech elites for life-extension research, to highlight the hubris of the rich attempting to “cheat death.” It points out the absurdity of autocrats and Silicon Valley figures treating ageing as a technical problem to solve, despite biologica...

This episode is a recording of a talk given by Johnny Mercer at The Socialist Party's Head Office on 30th November 2025. The speaker outlines the Socialist Party of Great Britain’s case for abolishing the wage system, arguing that capitalism is rooted in minority ownership of the means of production and in production for profit rather than human need. They reject the idea that capitalism emerged n...