Growing instability in the US economy and financial markets could have serious consequences worldwide because of the central role of the US dollar and financial system, argues MICHAEL BURKE
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What is ‘market socialism’?
Social ownership and democratic control of the means of production, distribution and exchange needs to include effective feedback mechanisms to ensure that output and demand are in balance, writes the Marx Memorial Library
China considers itself a socialist country but has embraced markets and globe-spanning chains like McDonald’s
[Martin Lewison/Creative Commons]
Despite Andy Burnham’s declaration defending the continued partition of the island, all major international and internal trends are converging to make Irish reunification inevitable
The left needs a bold energy vision – because if it fails to provide one, others will shape the future in their own interests, argues ALAN SIMPSON
From Margate to Deal, mining memories are being kept alive. National co-ordinator for General Strike 100, HENRY FOWLER continued his nationwide tour of partner organisations in the Garden of England
Humans are part of the ‘animal kingdom’ – and of nature in general – but also distinct from it and labour (work) is part of what makes us unique, declared Engels. His insights 150 years ago into how our species came to be and how we differ from the rest of nature, are as important today as they were then, says the MARX MEMORIAL LIBRARY
Boxes of books, family photos and heirlooms, labour movement anniversaries, along with nostalgic memories of glorious childhood days on the Ayrshire coast still leave room for a wistful MATT KERR to hope for a better future
ON THE face of it, “market socialism” may seem a contradiction in terms.
Capitalism is sometimes characterised as a “market” economy in which supply and demand regulate prices so that production and consumption remain in balance.
The reality of course is that it is a dysfunctional system, hugely exploitative of people and our planet and today dominated by multinational companies and financial institutions. It’s anything but a “free market.”
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Dignity is important to all humans, argues the Marx Memorial Library and Workers’ School, but it does not come about automatically. In a less than perfect world, dignity can accompany suffering, but the collective dignity of working people is achieved through acting together to change the world.
Internationalism is deeply embedded in socialist theory and practice. Examination illuminates its complexity asserts the Marx Memorial Library and Workers’ School
Nature as well as society works dialectically, asserts the Marx Memorial Library and Workers’ School
The selection, analysis and interpretation of historical ‘facts’ always takes place within a paradigm, a model of how the world works. That’s why history is always a battleground, declares the Marx Memorial Library