Is human population growth to blame for poverty and climate change? Plenty of pundits and politicians on the right andleft alike seem to think so. Knowingly or not, they repeat the reactionary ideas of the Reverend Thomas Malthus, whose economic and social theories Marx and Engels demolished nearly 200 years ago. Yet today, the spectre of Malthusianism still endures.

The victory of the right in the regional and municipal elections has caused a political earthquake in Spain that has resulted in Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez calling early elections for Sunday 23 July. What are the perspectives at this junction?

Whatever its scale, the 14th “day of action” against Macron’s rotten pension reform, scheduled for 6 June, will have no more effect on the government than did the 13th. Even if Macron did not really obtain the ‘appeasement’ he was hoping for, he can conclude that, on the pension reform, he has undoubtedly won the battle, at least temporarily. However, from the point of view of the French bourgeoisie, it is a Pyrrhic victory in which the winner emerges much weaker, overall, than the loser.

On 7 March, the bosses of the Delhaize Group – Belgium’s largest supermarket chain – announced a plan to franchise their 128 stores across the country. As a consequence, 6,500 out of the company’s 10,000 workers risk losing their jobs. The remaining workers will see their wages seriously reduced (by up to a quarter), be robbed of other hard-won benefits, and stripped of union representation. The existing collective bargaining agreement will be unilaterally torn apart. In response, thousands of Delhaize workers have begun an exemplary fight to save their jobs and working conditions. 

A former leading paramilitary officer has given explosive, public testimony on the close collaboration between the right-wing thugs under his command and the Colombian capitalists and landowners, who for decades relied on these forces to terrorise the workers and peasants.

Joining the massive wave of labor action on campuses throughout the country, academic workers at New Jersey’s largest public university went on strike on April 10. Over 9,000 workers represented by three unions took to the picket lines in Camden, Newark, and New Brunswick. A first since the school’s founding in 1766, the strike lasted five days with energetic rallies and pickets, before a tentative framework, brokered by Democratic Governor Phil Murphy, put the strike on ice, diverting the struggle to the bargaining table. As of May 8, some 93% of members had voted to ratify their contracts. Enormous potential was on display during this inspiring strike and important lessons for the

A quarter of century ago, on 21 May 1998, the much-hated dictator of Indonesia, Suharto, was overthrown by a mass revolutionary uprising. Although this moment is widely known as Reformation (Reformasi), it was truly a revolution. The masses, held in deep slumber for decades, were suddenly awakened into political life and pounded against the door of the established power. The New Orderregime, which had ruled comfortably and confidently for 32 years, and appeared immovable, collapsed like a house of cards when faced with the mass uprising of the Indonesian youth and workers.

In recent times, land disputes and struggles over land seizures have intensified in Vietnam, as large corporations rake in huge profits building factories and homes on stolen land, assisted by local government officials. This in turn has led to intense riots, demonstrations, protests and conflict with the police.

The result of the May 21 national election saw victory for the traditional party of the Greek ruling class, New Democracy (ND), and a crushing defeat for SYRIZA, the main party of the left over the last decade. 

Around 250 revolutionaries gathered in Toronto on May 20-22 for the 2023 Congress of Fightback and La Riposte socialiste, the Canada and Quebec section of the International Marxist Tendency (IMT). The latest congress took place as global capitalism faces unprecedented crisis on all fronts, from rampant inflation and debt to the war in Ukraine to the

This week’s episode of International Marxist Radio concludes our two-part series looking at the class struggle in Sub-Saharan Africa. This week, Ben Morken, a leading comrade of the International Marxist Tendency based in South Africa, discusses the broader context that has led to the current state of affairs across the continent.

With the party’s electoral prospects languishing, the Tories are once again tearing themselves to pieces. The headbangers are looking to ‘take back control’, just as the establishment is seeking stability. Explosive events are being prepared.

On 14 May, almost 40 million Thais stepped up to the ballot box. The result: a clear rejection of the ruling royalist-military junta. Unofficial figures from the election commission show the two main opposition parties, Pheu Thai and the Move Forward Party, collectively received 25 million votes. A royalist coalition of Palang Pracharath, Bhumjaithai, and Democrat parties, along with a handful of smaller parties, including the new United Thai Nation Party of incumbent Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, were soundly defeated.

In recent days, a series of public announcements have been made about Russian investments in Cuba. "They are giving us preferential treatment, the path is clear," declared Boris Titov, the head of the Russian delegation at the closing of the Cuba-Russia Business Economic Forum. The conditions offered to Russian capitalists are very favourable to them: 30-year land concessions – longer than those that have been in place until now – tax exemptions on machinery imports, and the repatriation of profits.

The deadline for reaching a deal on the US debt ceiling is just days away, and Capitol Hill is deadlocked. On or around 1 June, the federal government will no longer have the money to continue paying its bills, potentially resulting in an unprecedented default that would send catastrophic shockwaves across the world economy.