Spectre of Communism

Dec 10 2024 67 ep. 52 mins 208

Spectre of Communism Podcast artwork

Are you a communist? Think we need a revolution? Tune into the official podcast of the Revolutionary Communist International, for communist theory, analysis and history, every week! Under the crisis-ridden capitalist system, humanity lurches from one disaster to another. War, poverty and precarity are facts of life for millions. Given the circumstances, it is no surprise that an unprecedented number of workers and young people are being drawn to the revolutionary banner of communism. But what does it mean to be a communist? What is the communist perspective on the most pressing questions facing humanity: like armed conflict, the climate crisis, technological development, inequality, and so on? In what philosophical and historical traditions do we stand? How do we answer typical right-wing objections to communism? The purpose of this podcast is to arm our listeners with the ideas and arguments necessary to defend the principles of communism, to win others over to a revolutionary perspective, and develop their own mastery of Marxist theory.

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Lenin’s crusade against imperialist war – lessons for today

Dec 10 2024 58 mins

We are living through an epoch of war and revolution. In Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and countless other countries, wars and civil wars are raging, all with the backing and complicity of various imperialist powers. In these turbulent times, the ideas and methods of Lenin – who fought a relentless struggle against warmongering chauvinism during the First World War – provide t

What is the Permanent Revolution?

Dec 03 2024 63 mins

Trotsky’s theory of the permanent revolution is one of the most important, but also amongst the most misunderstood ideas in the entire Marxist tradition. Does it really mean that revolution needs to happen everywhere, all at once? Does it ignore workers outside of the West? Is it contrary to Lenin’s views? Josh Holroyd, leading member of the Revolutionary Communist Internationa

Trump and the crisis of liberal democracy

Nov 26 2024 67 mins

Three weeks ago, to the horror of the liberal establishment in the USA and internationally, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States for the second time, defeating the hated and discredited Democrats. The capitalist media is filled with hysteria about a dire threat to democracy and the rise of ‘fascism’ posed by Trump’s presidency… just like in 2016! Communis

Corbyn spokesman: “Why we lost” – reformism & the perils of opportunism

Nov 19 2024 67 mins

The meteoric rise and catastrophic fall of the Corbyn movement represented a major turning point in British and world politics. It was an object lesson in the betrayals inherent in reformism and the pitfalls of opportunism: i.e. when left-wing leaders make ‘pragmatic’ concessions to the class enemy – with fatal consequences. This week, the Spectre of Communism speaks to Matt

Venezuelan communist discusses revolution, Hugo Chavez and workers’ control

Nov 12 2024 45 mins

Right-wingers and reactionaries often hold up Venezuela as an example of why “socialism never works” (notwithstanding the disastrous state of capitalism today). In fact, the Venezuelan Revolution was an inspiring episode in recent history, which showed the immense power of the masses and the potential of workers to run their workplaces without bosses. But it also demonstrated t

Communist answers the web’s most searched questions

Nov 05 2024 69 mins

With so much crisis and chaos in the world today, more and more people are turning to the internet for answers about what communism really is. But there’s a lot of propaganda and misinformation out there, so this week we’ve brought on leading RCI member Fred Weston for the Communism Autocomplete Interview: answering the most common questions people are typing into Google about

Is socialism in one country possible? A reply to the Young Communist League

Oct 29 2024 64 mins

The idea of building socialism in one country alone was alien to Marx, Engels and Lenin. But after the latter’s death, Stalin and his supporters raised the possibility of constructing socialism in the USSR amidst a sea of capitalism. The Young Communist League – the youth wing of the Communist Party of Britain – recently advanced the theory of socialism in one country, as opp

US Civil War: America’s Second Revolution

Oct 22 2024 52 mins

The American Civil War, unlike the conflicts that plague the world today, was just and historically progressive. The Union north smashed the Confederacy of southern slave states and carried out the biggest expropriation of private property in history at the time, with the emancipation of 4 million enslaved people. The Union cause was praised by Karl Marx, who said Lincoln’s battl

Threads: a terrifying vision of nuclear annihilation

Oct 17 2024 59 mins

This year marks 40 years since the release of the film Threads, one of the clearest and most harrowing depictions of the consequences of nuclear war ever produced. With wars and conflicts escalating around the globe, the stark message of this film has never been more relevant. The fight against the barbarity of militarism and imperialism is an existential struggle that communists h

What is ‘woke’? Culture war vs. class war

Oct 10 2024 53 mins

Around the world, the capitalist establishment is increasingly obsessed with the so-called ‘Culture War’, with conservative journalists and politicians scaremongering about the ‘woke agenda’, while liberals drape rainbow flags on war and austerity and call it ‘liberation’. How can communists cut through this reactionary nonsense and get to the heart of the issues facing