A reprint of 1979 pamphlet originally published as a Militant pamphlet, 1979 as a contribution towards the question: Can Corbynomics lead to socialism?

We are republishing the late Andrew Glyn’s pamphlet Capitalist Crisis as a result of new layers of activists looking for an alternative to capitalism, expressed at the time of publication in the mass waves of support behind Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party, as well as the massive disillusionment with the existing economic and social model capitalism offers following the financial crash of 2008-9.

Hungarian Revolution – an inspiration for the socialist struggle today

For a few days at the end of October 1956, power was in the hands of the working class in Hungary. An insurrection and general strike was in progress. The old politicians and their hated system of government had been pushed aside. Revolutionary councils had been formed in the factories, in the countryside, in the universities and inside the army and police forces. The state machine had crumbled.
Few, if any, wanted a return to capitalism. Real socialism was firmly on the agenda. A revolutionary party like the Bolsheviks in Russia, 1917, could have lead this workers' rising to victory. With an international appeal to the workers of the world, the revolution could have spread so far and wide that both Stalinism and capitalism would have been wiped from the face of the earth.
Fifty years later, the struggle for genuine socialism is still hampered by the crimes of Stalinism and the way the capitalists use them to discredit the whole idea struggling against their system. But the Committee for a Workers’ International, with sections, groups and individual members in 45 countries, on all continents, is striving to reach new sections of young people and workers, to convince them that the struggle for socialism is as vital today as ever.
The burning need to cleanse the world of capitalism and landlordism, of war, poverty and environmental destruction means we cannot rest. The heroism of the millions of youth and workers in Hungary who made a revolution against Stalinist dictatorship and for real workers' democracy remains an inspiration to all who want to change the world.

- From back cover of pamphlet

This pamphlet is aimed as a ccontribution towards the discussion around the question of the food crisis under capitalism. It traces how these issues are linked to the very nature of the capitalist system itself, and thereby the impossibility of any of the solutions offered within that system to fundamentally remedy the problem. It concludes with a brief exploration of the possibilities lodged within a society organised on the basis of need rather than profit, a socialist society.

This general election campaign will see a choice for those opposed to Tory austerity. The battle within Labour rages over Tony Blair’s legacy and those seeking to continue it, and supporters of Corbyn who want to see working-class political representation. In this battle, the influence of Militant has been a touchstone, showing how it is possible for working-class people to organise and win.

From Militant to the Socialist Party covers developments from the New Labour takeover to the first rumblings of the world economic crisis of 2007-08, and is the sequel to The Rise of Militant. In the aftermath of the collapse of the Stalinist regimes, capitalism’s representatives proclaimed ‘the end of history’. But the struggles of workers and young people continued. From the Liverpool Dockers’ strike to the mass movements against the invasion of Iraq, From Militant to the Socialist Party charts the fightback, and highlights the lessons of these movements for today.

As Blair and New Labour implemented neo-liberal policies, the fight for working-class political representation is a fundamental battle charted out here. As right-wing trade union leaders preached partnership with the bosses, trade union militants showed that a fighting strategy was possible. 

This book is not written from the point of view of the sidelines, but by an active participant. From Militant to the Socialist Party offers unique insight into how Marxists organised, the programme and strategy put forward at key stages of the struggle. The crucial discussions and debate among socialists as to the best way forward are drawn out here, to provide key lessons for those who want to build socialist ideas today.

Peter Taaffe is the former editor of Militant newspaper, and the general secretary of the Socialist Party. He was a founding member of the Committee for a Workers’ International, which now organises in over 40 countries, on every continent. As well as playing an active role in the struggles charted here, Peter is the author of several books, including the Rise of Militant, Liverpool a City that Dared to Fight, Cuba Socialism and Democracy, and Marxism in Today’s World.

The Russian revolution of 1917 removed the brutal tsarist dictatorship and saw workers and peasants take charge of their destiny. The impact was felt around the world, inspiring a wave of revolutionary movements throughout Europe and beyond.
While the new workers’ state successfully defended itself from the invading armies, bent on snuffing out workers’ rule, the western revolutionary movements tragically failed and Russia was left isolated.
In Lessons of October, Leon Trotsky – together with Lenin a leader of the revolution – sought to draw out why the Russian revolution had succeeded, while other revolutionary moments had been missed. In particular, Trotsky looks at the role of the Bolshevik party and offers an insightful and frank examination of the difficulties and successes of developing a political programme offering a way forwards in the midst of the tumultuous and fast-moving events of 1917.
Writing to aid the fight for international socialism, Lessons of October provoked a series of attacks from the developing bureaucracy around Stalin, whose past mistakes Trotsky was exploring. Lessons of October is essential reading to understand the real history of the Bolsheviks and the October revolution, as well as the first-hand experience vital for the fight for socialism today.

Includes a new introduction by Judy Beishon

Trotsky in 1917 is a collection of new translations, many translated for the first time, of Leon Trotsky’s writings from 1917, the year of the Russian revolution.
Trotsky, together with Lenin, was a leading figure in the revolution, chairing the Petrograd Soviet and playing a key role during October, and the building of the new soviet power.
These articles, essays, speeches and resolutions give a keen insight and feel for the revolution and one of its leaders. This collection is an essential reference for any who want to understand the 1917 Russian revolution.

Workers' control and workers' management is a new book by Ted Mooney, leader of the 1960 apprentices' strike - in which 100,000 young workers took part - and member of Merseyside Socialist Party.

Police strikes have taken place on numerous occasions around the world and the stormy period at the end of the First World War, saw movements amongst police officers in a number of countries, with two of the most dramatic strikes taking place in Britain in 1918 and 1919, being the subject of this book.

Most book-length accounts of this and other police strikes are written by those who view such events as warnings against the moral danger of allowing full democratic rights, of association and to strike, to sections of the state, such as the police, prison officers and the army.

This book takes a different approach. It approaches these events from the position of believing that a different kind of society, is both possible and necessary, a socialist society run in the interests of the 99%. Events that break down the ability of the ruling capitalist class to hamper movements in that direction are welcome and should be learned from.

By the early nineteenth century, Manchester was England’s second largest city and world’s first industrial city. But it was run like a mediaeval market town with no real democracy and brutal poverty for the working class.

A mass movement developed among working-class and middle-class people, for universal manhood suffrage, annual parliaments and ‘the ballot’ i.e. a secret vote. The working-class part of this movement saw winning democratic rights as part of the struggle for better living and working conditions.

The huge demonstration on St Peter’s Fields on the 16 August 1819 was the high point of the working-class part of this movement. Estimates of the turnout vary up to 150,000 but academia is agreed that there were over 60,000 people. In a population of 400,000, there were up to half the adults on the march.

Women and Irish migrant workers were prominent on the demonstration as all sections of the working class poured out on protest in the world’s first mass working-class movement. The ruling class used army regiments and volunteer soldiers to smash the demonstration, killing 15 and wounding hundreds.

This new pamphlet, produced by the Socialist Party north-west region, brings together four new articles about “The Massacre,” “Revolution, War and Struggle,” “The run-up to Peterloo,” and “After Peterloo,” together with previously published material on the Pentrich Uprising and the Great French Revolution.

This pamphlet by Socialist Party Scotland has been produced to mark and celebrate the 100th anniversary of the momentous events that rocked British capitalism to its core in January 1919. The echos of Red Clydeside still reverberate today, and their lessons, above all the potential power of the working class to change society, are as relevant as they were a century ago.