|
NOTE:
You've come to an old part of SW Online. We're still moving this and other older stories into our new format. In the meanwhile, click here to go to the current home page.
|
|
|
SW Online's archive
Our history and tradition
SUBJECTS BELOW:
Karl Marx and the Marxists
Answering questions about socialism
Fighting for liberation
KARL MARX AND THE MARXISTS
The legacy of Karl Marx
As Duncan Hallas showed in this 1983 article, Karl Marx was an uncompromising fighter against every kind of oppression and exploitation; his whole life was devoted to the cause of the "self-emancipation of the working class"; and his ideas are fundamentally important for American workers today.
The meaning of Marxism
Excerpts from a new book by Socialist Worker columnist Paul D'Amato that provides an introduction to the ideas of Karl Marx and the tradition he founded.
The meaning of the Manifesto
Can a book published over 150 years ago still be relevant to changing the world today? Phil Gasper, editor of a new edition of the Communist Manifesto, answers yes.
The revolutionary ideas of Karl Marx
Generations of people have looked to Marxism and its vision of a better world committed to justice, democracy and equality.
Rosa Luxemburg on
Reform or revolution
Rosa Luxemburg's 100-year-old pamphlet takes up political questions about how society will be changed that are still relevant today.
Trotsky and the fight for socialism
Duncan Hallas' newly republished Trotsky's Marxism provides an important introduction to Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky's tremendous contributions to Marxism.
Kurt Vonnegut on the socialists who fought for workers
Celebrating socialism in the U.S.
Kurt Vonnegut is one of America's best-known novelists. In October, Vonnegut was given the Carl Sandburg Literary Award from the Friends of the Chicago Public Library--and used his acceptance speech to discuss Sandburg's commitment to socialism.
Eugene V. Debs and the U.S. socialist tradition
Every child in the U.S. is taught that Abraham Lincoln of Illinois freed the slaves. But few learn that Eugene Victor Debs of Indiana devoted his life to ending wage slavery.
Back to the top
ANSWERING QUESTIONS ABOUT SOCIALISM
Is violence ever justified?
Many who recoil at the violence of our world declare their opposition to all forms of violence. But what of the basic right of self-defense?
In the era of globalization:
Has the class struggle been "offshored"?
In a "globalized" world, isn't the very idea of class struggle outmoded? On the contrary, class and class struggle remain central in the U.S. today.
Can there be a revolution in the U.S.?
Sharon Smith explains that socialism isn't alien to the working-class tradition in the U.S., but has played an essential role in working-class history.
What's class got to do with it?
The stark reality of a highly stratified class society in the U.S. is often obscured by confusion about what social class actually means.
In a world ruined by war, poverty and oppression
Why socialism makes sense
Todd Chretien makes the case for socialism--and explains why you should be a part of the struggle for a different kind of society.
Ahmed Shawki
What kind of party do we need?
International Socialist Review editor Ahmed Shawki spoke on the question of revolutionary organization at the Socialism 2006 conference in New York City.
What would a socialist economy look like?
The free market is supposed to provide a measurement of what society needs. But in the real world, markets fail--repeatedly and predictably--to live up to their promise.
"The heart of a heartless world, the soul of soulless conditions"
Explaining the hold of religion
The most important point for Marxists is that human beings created religion--so religious beliefs must have social causes.
Is socialism against "human nature"?
People who want to end the oppression, poverty and war characteristic of capitalist society are regularly told that fundamental change is impossible because of human nature. Is this true?
The alternative to a system controlled by a tiny few
How will workers run society?
"Nice idea, but it will never happen." For many people, this is the common-sense response to socialism--a society based not on greed and violence, but on cooperation and fulfilling human need. But history provides many examples of workers uniting and fighting back.
Why Lenin's analysis remains relevant for activists today
What is imperialism?
The military occupation and corporate takeover of Iraq has put the Marxist understanding of imperialism back into the spotlight.
Why you should be a socialist
Why do we live in a world of such obscene inequalities and terrible violence? There is an alternative. Here we print excerpts from Alan Maass' Why You Should Be a Socialist, soon to be republished by Haymarket Books in a new and expanded edition.
Book excerpts
The madness of the free market; Wars without end; The future socialist society; "If there is no struggle, there is no progress"; Can workers change society?; The need for organization
Back to the top
FIGHTING FOR LIBERATION
The struggle for national liberation
The record of the revolutionary socialist tradition is clear--we support the struggles of oppressed nations for self-determination.
Is there a "white-skin privilege"?
One popular explanation for the persistence of racism is that all whites benefit from the oppression of all Blacks. Is it true?
New from Haymarket Books by Ahmed Shawki
Black liberation and socialism
SW prints excerpts from a new book that uncovers the history of the struggle for Black liberation in the U.S.--and reveals how socialists have been an integral part of the struggle.
Women's liberation and the fight for socialism
A new book of essays by Socialist Worker columnist Sharon Smith provides a much-needed socialist analysis of women's oppression.
Has racism always existed? Can it ever be totally abolished?
The roots of racism
For many people coming to radical politics--Blacks and whites alike--hatred of racism and a desire to get rid of it is a huge motivating factor. This is in contrast to some of the common assumptions about where racism comes from.
Why the family oppresses women
The family is the cornerstone of women's continuing oppression in our society. While the relation between men and women has changed immensely over the past few decades, women remain oppressed.
Do Marxists reduce everything to class?
At the core of the Marxist tradition is a commitment to a socialist society that would end not only economic inequalities, but all forms of oppression and discrimination. But most people on the left today doubt that commitment.
A fighting tradition that stands for international solidarity
Is Marxism relevant in the Third World?
Critics of Karl Marx often dismiss him as a "dead, white, European man" whose ideas don't apply to--or are even at odds with--the majority of people around the world who are nonwhite. But the opposite is true--Marxism offers a solution for ending poverty and suffering around the world that's even more relevant today.
Home page | Back to the top
| |
|
