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This issue takes up what has become one of the most recognised slogans of the Marxist movement: ‘socialism or barbarism’.
As the editorial notes, barbarism is not merely a future prospect; it is already spreading across large areas of the world. We explain how every mode of production has an ascending phase, which once it reaches its limits, enters into a period of decline. Yet within this decline, the seeds of a new society are developed within the old. This is precisely the situation capitalism is in ; the practical solution of which requires the building of the revolutionary party.
This process is most graphically revealed in an article by Thomas Soud on the Sudanese Revolution of 2018-21, which was one of the most powerful movements of the masses so far this century. The article explores the background to the revolution, its incredible potential, and how it was defeated – leading to the barbarism we see in the region .
We are supplementing this with an excerpt from Leon Trotsky’s article The Lessons of the Paris Commune. In it, Trotsky draws out the limitations of the leadership of the Commune, and explains the importance of a centralised revolutionary party for the victory of the socialist revolution.
The next article, by Tom Trottier, takes up the movement in the US against the Vietnam War, which mobilised millions against the government. In this context, a powerful revolutionary party could have been built to challenge the might of US imperialism from within, however this opportunity was missed by the American ‘left’ at the time. The article contains important lessons for , in the context of the Palestine solidarity movement.
Finally, we are pleased to publish a review by Daniel Morley of Thomas Mann’s ‘The Magic Mountain’. The book brilliantly encapsulates the impotence of the bourgeoisie to further take society forward, and astutely captures the decadence of a class that has outlived its historic function.
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