Spectre of Communism

The Second World War is one of the most-mythologised events in history. In the West, we are led to believe that Winston Churchill and Roosevelt single-handedly led the Allies in a struggle for democracy against the fascist totalitarianism of Nazi Germany. But what’s the real story of WWII: the one they don’t teach you at school or on the History Channel?We welcome Marxist theorist, revolutionary and historian Alan Woods onto the Spectre of Communism to talk about the war, which in the last analysis came down to single combat between Nazi Germany, with all the productive forces of Europe behind it, and the might of the USSR and its planned economy. Thankfully for all of humanity, the latter emerged victorious. The fact that Soviet Russia was chiefly responsible for Hitler’s defeat is often buried in the ‘official’ histories. So too is the fact that the European imperialists (Churchill and the British ruling especially) not only allowed Hitler to run roughshod over Europe for years (indeed, many of the British elite were sympathetic with fascism), but hoped for the collapse of the USSR, whose ‘communism’ they feared more the Nazis.Alan dispels all the lies and historical mythology surrounding WWII, and explains why even today it is invoked by the bloated, half-blind imperialist politicians to puff themselves up on past glories, even as they blunder from one disaster to another on the world stage.—The latest issue of the In Defence of Marxism theoretical magazine is out now, and is focused on the Second World War. Alongside articles about the betrayed revolutionary struggles in Italy and the France; an analysis from Marxist theorist Ted Grant in 1945 about the changed balance of world relations; and an investigation into postwar Italian neorealist cinema, the issue opens with an editorial by Alan Woods which offers some more detail about the topic of this podcast episode.Buy your copy of IDoM issue 49: ‘1945: Liberation, Revolution and Betrayal’ HERE: https://marxist.com/magazine.htm Read Alan’s editorial online here: https://marxist.com/the-second-world-war-setting-the-record-straight.htm Sources:‘D-Day and the truth about the Second World War’, Alan Woods, https://marxist.com/wwii-anniversary-one210704.htm ‘Ted Grant Writings: Volume One’, https://marxist.com/ted-grant-writings.htm ‘Ted Grant Writings: Volume Two’, https://marxist.com/ted-grant-writings-world-war-two.htm ‘The Battle of Stalingrad – How the Soviet Union defeated the Nazis’, Alan Woods, https://marxist.com/seventy-years-since-the-battle-of-stalingrad-how-the-soviet-union-defeated-the-nazis.htm ‘Hitler's war on the Soviet Union and how Stalin prepared the way for it’, Andrew Wagner, https://marxist.com/operation-barbarossa-stalin-s-bloody-catastrophe.htm ‘History of British Trotskyism’, Ted Grant, https://marxist.com/history-british-trotskyism-ted-grant.htm ‘The Treaty of Versailles - the Peace to end all Peace’, Alan Woods, https://marxist.com/treaty-of-versailles-to-end-all-peace.htm 

Karl Marx was a German philosopher, economist and journalist, and above all a revolutionary. He continues to haunt the nightmares of the rich and powerful, just as he inspires workers, the poor and youth to struggle for a future without exploitation and oppression. The popular CrashCourse channel has attempted to explain Marx’s theories and their continued relevance, but we think we can do better…CrashCourse (established by the Green Brothers) is an educational YouTube channel that provides introductory videos about various topics, including politics and philosophy. A few months ago, they released a video called ‘Who Was Karl Marx? And Why Is Everyone Still Talking About Him?’ (linked below). The video correctly points out that the powers-that-be still invoke Marx’s name as a bogeyman, 150 years after his death: a fact that tells us something about the power of his ideas. CrashCourse says that we need to have an honest discussion about Marx’s actual beliefs, which they attempt to provide in an accessible form. While we agree with the sentiment, we have some issues with the way CrashCourse characterises Marxism and its so-called ‘limitations’. For example, was Marx wrong to call for revolution, when perhaps we can simply reform capitalism into a kinder, friendlier form? Are aspects of his analysis ‘outdated’? Did he focus on the plight of the working class to the point of ‘ignoring’ the oppression of women and minority groups?To fill in some of the gaps left by CrashCourse, and deal with some of their misrepresentations, we are delighted to have Josh Holroyd, a leading member of the Revolutionary Communist International, on the Spectre of Communism. Josh gives a more complete overview of what Marx really stood for, and why we communists still study his ideas today. As a body of thought, Marxism is the sharpest weapon we have in the fight against capitalism. After all, as Marx writes, “philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it!”—Listen on Spotify, Apple and anywhere else you get your podcasts here: https://linktr.ee/specom Sources:‘Who Was Karl Marx? And Why Is Everyone Still Talking About Him?’, CrashCourse, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3imIf8NAcWQ ‘A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy’, Karl Marx, https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1859/critique-pol-economy/index.htm ‘Communist replies to MORE right-wing lies’, Spectre of Communism Podcast, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKY5gL5-YvY ‘The Civil War: America's second revolution’, John Peterson, https://marxist.com/idom-the-us-civil-war-america-s-second-revolution.htm ‘The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State’, F. Engels, https://marxist.com/classics-the-origin-of-the-family-private-property-and-the-state.htm ‘Mondragon through a Critical Lens’, Jill Bamburg, https://www.fiftybyfifty.org/2017/10/mondragon-through-a-critical-lens/ ‘On Cooperation’, V. I. Lenin, https://marxist.com/on-cooperation-lenin1923.htm ‘Socialism: Utopian and Scientific’, F. Engels, https://marxist.com/classics-socialism-utopian-and-scientific.htm 

The Chinese Revolution is condemned as a bloody tragedy by bourgeois historians. But if it was all simply a disaster, then how do we explain China going from a backward colonial holding to the second world power today? In this episode, we deal with the truth about the Chinese Revolution of 1949.We welcome Daniel Morley from the Executive Committee of the Revolutionary Communist Party in Britain to talk about the history of the Chinese Revolution and Mao Zedong’s rise to power.He explains that the victory of Mao’s peasant army was based on the rottenness of the capitalist regime of Chiang Kai-shek, which looted China’s wealth, starved its masses, and utterly failed to defend it from Japanese invasion, instead obsessively hunting the communists.While Mao and the Red Army eventually soared to power on a wave of revolution that swept the country after WW2, it was not their intention to expropriate capitalism. But were compelled to do so given the utter bankruptcy of Chinese capitalism.On the basis of the planned economy, there were huge advances for the Chinese people in terms of living conditions; the rights of women, workers and peasants; and the modernisation of the country.However, the peculiar nature of the Chinese Revolution, which was not led by a workers’ party but a peasant army, meant the regime that was established (in the image of Stalinist Russia) did not base itself on workers’ democracy, but rather military-style commandism.This created many problems for China (including severe famine) that were not the result of communism, but rather the failure to establish the democratic planning necessary for real socialism and communism. This in turn laid the basis for the eventual restoration of capitalism.Despite this, we genuine Marxists defend the legacy of the Chinese Revolution, which liberated hundreds of millions from the yoke of imperialist domination and ushered China into the modern world. The tasks of the revolution today remain incomplete!Sources:‘Stalinist land programme wins peasants: Chiang’s conscripts roped to prevent escape’, Ted Grant, https://www.marxists.org/archive/grant/1949/01/china.htm‘The Chinese Communist Party 1927-37 – The development of Maoism’, Daniel Morley, https://marxist.com/chinese-comminist-party-1927-37-part-1.htm‘The Chinese Communist Party 1937-49 – The Unfolding of Historical Necessity: China’s Great Revolution’, Daniel Morley, https://marxist.com/the-chinese-communist-party-1937-49-the-unfolding-of-historical-necessity-chinas-great-revolution-part-one.htm‘Peasant War in China and the Proletariat’, Leon Trotsky, https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1932/09/china.htm‘On Contradiction’, Mao Tse-tung, https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-1/mswv1_17.htm‘Is China Communist?’, Spectre of Communism, https://marxist.com/audio-and-video/podcast-is-china-communist‘The Legacy of Mao Zedong is Mass Murder’, Lee Edwards, https://www.heritage.org/china/commentary/the-legacy-mao-zedong-mass-murder (criticised in episode)

Is communism against ‘human nature’? Would workers in charge inevitably be ‘corrupted by power’? Do communists ‘oppose free speech’? Watch a leading communist answer some more typical right-wing talking points!A couple of weeks ago, Fred Weston (a member of the International Secretariat for the Revolutionary Communist International) was on the show replying to slanders about communism from Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson, Elon Musk and Alice Weidel. But there are plenty more lies to deal with!Watch Fred face off against Charlie Kirk, Jordan Peterson (again), Peter Hitchens and Donald Trump, defending communists’ ideas and programme from common right-wing lies.Sources:Previous episode: 'Communist replies to right-wing LIES', Spectre of Communism, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOQqVXzgt2g‘The Psychological Benefits of Volunteering’, Mindstate Psychology, https://www.mindstatepsychology.com.au/blog/the-psychological-benefits-of-volunteering  ’New paper reveals impact of first lockdowns on depression and anxiety diagnosis’, University of Bath, https://www.bath.ac.uk/announcements/new-paper-reveals-impact-of-first-lockdown-on-depression-and-anxiety-diagnosis/ ‘Prehistory: The Making of the Human Mind’ (2007), Colin Renfrew ‘The Evolution of Culture: The Development of Civilisation to the Fall of Rome’ (1959), Leslie White‘The State and Revolution’, V.I. Lenin, https://marxist.com/the-state-and-revolution.htm ‘We produce enough food to feed 1.5 (times) the global population’, Thin Ink, https://news.thin-ink.net/p/we-produce-enough-food-to-feed-15 ‘Statistics on unemployment and labour underutilisation’, International Labour Organisation, https://ilostat.ilo.org/topics/unemployment-and-labour-underutilization/  ‘The 6 Companies That Own (Almost) All Media’, https://www.webfx.com/blog/internet/the-6-companies-that-own-almost-all-media-infographic/ 'British state arrests pro-Palestine communist – We won’t back down!', The Communist, https://communist.red/british-state-arrests-pro-palestine-communist-we-wont-back-down/ 'Free Mahmoud Khalil! Only class struggle can ensure freedom of speech!', Martín las Hoces, https://marxist.com/free-mahmoud-khalil-only-class-struggle-can-ensure-freedom-of-speech.htm‘Woodrow Wilson and the Decision to Intervene in Russia: A Reconsideration’, Eugene P. Train, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1878747 Max Hayward quoted in ‘Communists say: capitalism is incompatible with free speech!’, Joe Attard, https://marxist.com/communists-say-capitalism-is-incompatible-with-free-speech.htm ‘Bolshevik decriminalisation of homosexuality – intentional or oversight?’, Fred Weston, https://marxist.com/bolshevik-decriminalisation-of-homosexuality-intentional-or-oversight.htm

Who was Joseph Stalin and what is the legacy of his leadership? In this episode of the Spectre of Communism, we weigh the evidence, based on historical fact and the principles of Marxist theory, to give Stalinism a fair trial.The USSR achieved great things, thanks to the superiority of the planned economy. It defeated the Nazis, expropriated capitalism on a sixth of the earth’s surface and built a superpower in just a few decades. Genuine Marxists celebrate all of these accomplishments.However, we must also acknowledge that there were many mistakes, and many crimes. A line of blood separates Stalinism, by which we mean the bureaucratic counterrevolutionary dictatorship at the head of the workers’ state, from the real principles of Bolshevism and Marxism.Virtually the entire leadership of Lenin’s party that won power for the Russian workers and peasants in 1917 were killed in the frame ups of the 1930s, along with countless others. Meanwhile, the leaders of the USSR actively wrecked revolutionary struggles abroad and sought alliances with imperialism to secure their positions.How do we explain this? Jorge Martin, leading member of the Revolutionary Communist International, makes the case that Stalin and the clique around him were not guided by Marxist theory, but by the narrow interests of defending their privileges and positions. Their outlook was one of empiricism and cynical ‘pragmatism’, which was entirely contrary to the way Lenin built the Bolshevik Party.But in the end, we are only presenting the evidence: you can be the jury! Let us know what you think in the comments. Is Stalinism ‘guilty’ of betraying the world revolution?Sources:‘Revolution Betrayed’, Leon Trotsky https://marxist.com/classics-the-revolution-betrayed.htm‘Stalinism and Bolshevism’, Leon Trotsky https://marxist.com/stalinism-bolshevism-trotsky.htm‘Marxism and the National Question’, Joseph Stalin https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1913/03a.htm‘The April Theses (The Tasks of the Proletariat in the Present Revolution)’, V.I. Lenin https://marxist.com/the-april-theses-the-tasks-of-the-proletariat-in-the-present-revolution.htm‘Is Socialism in One Country Possible? A reply to the YCL’, Spectre of Communism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdIM6mnoBrM‘What is the Permanent Revolution?’, Spectre of Communism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z44RMQMJlRQ‘How the Spanish Revolution was betrayed’, Spectre of Communism, https://marxist.com/podcast-how-the-spanish-revolution-was-betrayed.htm  ‘Lenin and Trotsky: What They Really Stood For’, Alan Woods and Ted Grant, https://marxist.com/lenin-trotsky-stalinism-johnstone.htm‘Once Again: The USSR and its Defence’, Leon Trotsky, https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1937/11/ussr.htm‘Stalin’s responsibility in the creation of Israel and its disastrous consequences’, Fred Weston, https://marxist.com/stalin-and-the-founding-of-israel.htm

Did communism kill 100 million people? Was Hitler really a communist? Is there no difference between Lenin and Stalin? Right-wing pundits and politicians always throw blood-curdling statistics and historical ‘facts’ to prove that communism is pure evil, while capitalism is the best system that could ever exist. In this video, leading communist Fred Weston takes on three popular right-wing commentators, and separates fact from fiction.Some of these reactionary culture warriors have made entire careers out of ‘proving’ that communism could never work; and has caused chaos, death and misery whenever it has been tried. There are whole libraries of history and political theory books filled with bile ‘proving’ that communism is synonymous with terror and dictatorship. Elon Musk, the richest man on earth with the ear of the President of the USA, spends nearly all of his time demonising socialism and boosting right-wing politicians on the social media platform that he owns. Especially in times such as these, with inequality, war and poverty rampant, the capitalists need to smear and discredit any possible alternative to their rotten system: revolution and communism most of all. But looking at the facts not only demolishes these slanders, it reveals that capitalism is the deadliest system ever to exist, responsible for death on a scale that dwarfs even the most outlandish anti-communist propaganda.Watch as Fred takes on Ben Shapiro, Elon Musk, Alice Weidel and Jordan Peterson, answering their reactionary lies with communist facts and logic! Skip to:00:04:32 Ben Shapiro: “Capitalism is the best possible system and communism killed 100 million people.”00:32:53 Elon Musk and Alice Weidel: “Hitler was a communist.”00:52:28 Jordan Peterson: “Lenin was no better than Stalin.”Sources:Deaths from poverty under capitalism:https://www.cdc.gov/global-water-sanitation-hygiene/about/about-global-hygiene.htmlhttps://www.wfp.org/news/world-wealth-9-million-people-die-every-year-hunger-wfp-chief-tells-food-system-summithttps://ourworldindata.org/grapher/deaths-caused-by-vaccine-preventable-diseases-over-timehttps://www.unicef.org.uk/campaign-with-us/child-health-report/ Declassified Soviet figures on gulag deaths and purge victims:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jul/10/russia.lukeharding Eyewitness account of Trotskyist at Vorkuta:https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/isr/vol24/no03/vorkuta.htm The truth about the Black Book of Communism and the Black Book of Capitalism:https://jacobin.com/2025/01/black-book-communism-courtois-historyhttps://libcom.org/article/interview-black-book-capitalism-robert-kurz Hitler on Marxism and communism:https://famous-trials.com/hitler/2529-1923-interview-with-adolf-hitler Capitalist’s support for Hitler:https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/hitler-millionaire-backers-how-german-elite-facilitated-rise-nazis-third-reich/ https://www.economist.com/culture/2022/04/30/the-german-industrialists-who-aided-and-abetted-the-nazi-regime Political persecution of communists by Nazi regime:White, Joseph Robert (2009). "Introduction to the Early Camps". Early Camps, Youth Camps, and Concentration Camps and Subcamps under the SS-Business Administration Main Office (WVHA). Lenin on Stalin and the Soviet bureaucracy:https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1923/mar/02.htm https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1922/dec/testamnt/index.htm 

2024 has been a year of war, revolution and crisis on every continent. From the horrors of the Gaza genocide, to the revolutionary summer in Kenya and Bangladesh; from viral assassinations, to to the re-election of Donald Trump. The communists have been offering analysis and perspective at every step of the way, and now: it’s time to put this dramatic twelve months in review with 2024 WRAPPED! The above are not random or isolated incidents. They are all ultimately products of the unprecedented crisis of the capitalist system. The tensions and class anger in one country after another carry revolutionary implications. In response to the mood of profound rage against the system, we launched a new Revolutionary Communist International in 2024: the embryo of the world party of communist revolution so desperately needed by the working class! In a joint season finale, the two podcasts of the RCI – Spectre of Communism and Against the Stream – have come together to provide a round up of this turbulent year. Joe Attard, Hamid Alizadeh and Jorge Martín look at the events that have defined 2024, and the strides forward we have taken in the RCI. We would like to thank everyone who has listened to Spectre of Communism and Against the Stream this year. We’d love to hear about your favourite episodes. Stay tuned in the new year, when both podcasts will return for brand new seasons! — Recommended reading/viewing: Analysis of the Gaza and Ukraine Wars: https://marxist.com/israel-palestine.htm https://marxist.com/tag-menu-item/ukraine-russia-conflict Article and speech about Bangladesh: https://marxist.com/bangladesh-the-unfinished-revolution.htm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Z-mcO80OE Speeches from the founding Conference of the RCI: https://podcast.marxist.com/category/international-marxist-university-2020/ Manifesto of the RCI: https://marxist.com/manifesto-of-the-revolutionary-communist-international.htm

We are living through an epoch of war and revolution. In Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and countless other countries, wars and civil wars are raging, all with the backing and complicity of various imperialist powers. In these turbulent times, the ideas and methods of Lenin – who fought a relentless struggle against warmongering chauvinism during the First World War – provide the clarity that is so desperately needed in the world today. War tests all political trends to destruction. Then as now, the outbreak of war saw the same ‘socialist’ leaders who had once opposed imperialist conflict abandon their class perspective, and line up behind their respective capitalists in defence of the ‘fatherland’. Lenin waged a merciless crusade against this betrayal, and argued for a class-independent position against the horror of imperialist war. This firm line was instrumental in the Bolsheviks’ eventual seizure of power in October 1917. To discuss Lenin’s masterful approach to the questions of war and imperialism, the Spectre of Communism podcast welcomes Marie Frederiksen, leading member of the Revolutionary Communist Party in Denmark. Marie explains not only the historical development of Lenin’s ideas, but their immediate relevance to the struggle against war and imperialism today. To bring out the immense relevance of Lenin’s ideas and to transmit them to a wider layer of communists today, Wellred Books – the publishing house of the Revolutionary Communist International – has recently published a collection of Lenin’s writings on imperialism and war.  This is an invaluable tool in the theoretical arsenal of revolutionaries today, and we strongly recommend listeners get their copy today, available here in paperback, as an ebook and as an audiobook: https://wellred-books.com/on-imperialist-war-lenin-selected-writings/ We also recommend The First World War: the Great Slaughter by Alan Woods for a Marxist analysis of the causes, history and aftermath of WWI: https://wellred-books.com/the-first-world-war-a-marxist-analysis-of-the-great-slaughter/

Trotsky’s theory of the permanent revolution is one of the most important, but also amongst the most misunderstood ideas in the entire Marxist tradition. Does it really mean that revolution needs to happen everywhere, all at once? Does it ignore workers outside of the West? Is it contrary to Lenin’s views? Josh Holroyd, leading member of the Revolutionary Communist International, takes up these questions and explains the real essence of Trotsky’s remarkable contribution to our theoretical arsenal. Trotsky developed his theory based on his experience of the Russian Revolution of 1905, in which he played a leading role. He witnessed first hand the treachery of the ‘liberal’ Russian capitalists, and the immense revolutionary potential of the young Russian working class. He defined the permanent revolution as one that “makes no compromise with any single form of class rule, which does not stop at the democratic stage, which goes over to socialist measures… a revolution whose every successive stage is rooted in the preceding one and which can end only in the complete liquidation of class society.” In other words, the proletariat in underdeveloped nations, at the head of other oppressed layers, particularly the peasantry, is the only class capable of leading and winning a revolution for democratic demands (freedom of assembly, free speech, land reform etc.) Having done so, rather than hand power back to the capitalists and ‘wait their turn’ for socialist revolution, the workers will move to socialist tasks of expropriating capitalism and planning the economy. The revolution will also not limit itself to national borders, but become the spark for an international revolutionary process that can only truly end with the overthrow of capitalism in the most advanced countries. Thus, the revolution occurs not in predetermined ‘stages’, but constitutes a ‘permanent’ chain of development, ending with the victory of socialism throughout the world. This important theory was proved correct in practice, both positively with the victory of the Russian workers and peasants in October 1917, and negatively with the defeat and deformation of revolutions throughout the 20th Century and beyond. Overcoming the myths and grasping the essence of Trotsky’s analysis is critical for class fighters striving to understand the dynamics of revolution today, and bring the world socialist revolution to victory! We recommend this episode be viewed in conjunction with this one on the question of Socialism in One Country: https://marxist.com/podcast-is-socialism-in-one-country-possible-a-reply-to-the-young-communist-league.htm

Three weeks ago, to the horror of the liberal establishment in the USA and internationally, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States for the second time, defeating the hated and discredited Democrats. The capitalist media is filled with hysteria about a dire threat to democracy and the rise of ‘fascism’ posed by Trump’s presidency… just like in 2016! Communists need to cut through all the noise and understand what is really happening here. The US is facing a deep crisis of the regime, following half a century of capitalist decay. After four years of Joe Biden and the Democrats running in the interests of the rich at home, while facilitating war and genocide abroad, people have had enough. They have lost all faith in ‘official’ institutions like the state, the courts, and establishment politicians, and a growing layer is looking towards (self-proclaimed) alternatives. The liberals have nothing to offer, as they preside over a discredited system. Attempts to sell Kamala Harris through identity politics failed to wash. Reformists like Bernie Sanders have also animated millions of workers and young people with class struggle rhetoric, only to betray and disappoint. The labour movement leaders remain slavishly attached to the Democrats. Despite being a billionaire elite himself, Trump poses himself as a scrappy, unapologetic enemy of the establishment, and has been able to skillfully (albeit cynically) capitalise on some of the angry mood. Another dose of Trump’s ‘fire and fury’, coupled with a war on federal institutions, will only intensify the polarisation of US society, and further expose the limits of the so-called democratic regime, which will create huge opportunities for revolutionaries! Trump will inevitably disappoint, leading millions to question the entire capitalist system like never before. This week’s episode of Spectre of Communism Podcast welcomes Antonio Balmer, a leading member of the Revolutionary Communists of America – the US section of the Revolutionary Communist International – who explains why it has never been a better time to be an American communist! — For more from Antonio on the implications of Trump’s victory, we recommend his recent talk on this topic at the Revolution Festival in London: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cz_JGRVDOY For further analysis of what Trump’s return to power means for the establishment, we recommend this article by Alan Woods: https://marxist.com/trump-victory-2024.htm Check out the website of our US comrades in the RCA: https://communistusa.org/ New episodes of the Spectre of Communism podcast are out every Tuesday! Subscribe and listen at your preferred platform, and find us on social media, here: https://linktr.ee/specom #CommunismPodcast #booksnotbombs #civilwar #communism #marxism #podcast #leninlives