Tagged with Communism

Inspiration from the anonymous revolutionary, aged 16

Cd6mbSwW4AADy30If you need inspiration, try this. The words of published author (of The Anonymous Revolutionary) and blogger (on the themes of Marxism, communism, their significance and their relevance today) and Tweeter, Max Edwards, diagnosed with terminal cancer 5 months ago, aged 16, published yesterday in the Guardian.

Readers of this blog won’t necessarily agree with every word Max says. His views are described in his own words as follows:

I am a Marxist, Leninist, Bolshevist and internationalist. I’d consider myself a Marxist in the orthodox sense, which is to say that I uphold the traditional view that the tyrannies of capitalism shall only be quashed through class struggle. In that sense, I’m also an anti-revisionist and am opposed to tendencies like Post-Marxism.

They are set out in weekly postings on his blog. But beware, as he admits, they change over time: “For example, I once referred to myself as a Trotskyist. No longer the case.” Continue reading →

Karl Marx for Today

On this very day, 130 years ago, Karl Marx died in his house in Chalk Farm Road, London.

Shortly after the death of Jenny Marx, his wife, in late 1881, Marx developed a catarrh, making him very ill for at least the final 15 months of his life. What eventually came to kill the old philosopher was bronchitis and pleurisy. He would then be buried in Highgate Cemetery three days later, with only a handful of friends gathering at his funeral.

But Marx enjoyed posthumous life as one of the most controversial theorists and political thinkers the world has ever seen – his political and economic tracts being some of the most talked about, abused, and often misunderstood works that have ever entered public dialogue. Continue reading →

An age of revolt – in an age without a left

I remember the exact moment when I realised that I was living in a different era from the politically tranquil times I grew up in. It was in a lecture theatre at University College London, a week or so after the 52,000-strong student march. An impromptu ‘what next?’ meeting had been called, and the room was absolutely packed with undergrads. Baby-faced though I am, I was probably one of the oldest people there. Continue reading →