A solid understanding of Marxist theory is vital in order to cut through the propaganda of the ruling class and come to a class perspective and class solution for the problems facing workers and youth today. This section deals with the major aspects of Marxist theory: dialectical materialism, historical materialism, Marxist economics, the class nature of the USSR, the colonial revolution, and more. See also Marxist Classics and Study Guides.

Arranged by topic:

• What is Marxism?
• Marxism FAQ
• Glossary of Marxist Terms
• The Communist Manifesto
• Marxism for Beginners - articles by V.I. Lenin
• Other basic introductions to the ideas of Marxism
• Marxist Philosophy: Dialectial Materialism
• The Marxist Conception of History: Historical Materialism
• Marxism and Art
• Human Evolution
• The Russian Revolution and Stalinism
• Marxism and the State
• Marxism and War
• Anarchism
• Fascism
• The Holocaust
• Marxism and Women
• The Colonial Revolution and Imperialism
• The National Question
• The Kronstadt Revolt
• Religion
• Charity
• Marxism and Terrorism
• Marxist Economics
• Work in the Mass Organizations

Marxism for Beginners - Articles by V.I. Lenin:

• The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism
  This short piece explains the basic background and origins of Marxism.
• The State and Revolution - an absolute must read!
• Tasks of the Youth Leagues

Back to top

Other basic introductions to the ideas of Marxism:

• The Marxism FAQ
  There is probably no body of ideas that is more slandered or misinterpreted than those of Marxism. This section addresses many of the recurring questions and misconceptions about Marxism. If you don't see your question answered here, or if you have any suggestions for additions, let us know! See also the Glossary of Marxist Terms.

• The Relevance of Marxism Today
  The fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the bureaucratic Stalinist regimes of Russia and Eastern Europe provoked a wave of euphoria in the West. The demise of Stalinism was heralded as the "end of Socialism." The final victory of the "free market" was trumpeted from the pages of learned journals from Tokyo to New York. The strategists of capital were exultant. Francis Fukuyama even went so far as to proclaim the "end of history." Henceforth, the class war would be no more. Everything would be for the best in the best of all capitalist worlds. History has proved them incredibly wrong. Written as an introduction to the publication of Trotsky's Marxism in Our Time. Also available in Serbo-Croatian.

• How the Workers are Robbed
  Who produces the wealth and who gains most from its production? In a pamphlet written 97 years ago, John Wheatley described an imaginary court case, with a coalmaster, a landowner and several others being charged with "having conspired together and robbed an old miner, Dick McGonnagle." Its basic class analysis remains valid for workers today as they are still being robbed.

• Don't Spread Yourself Too Thin
  A great, short piece by Leon Trotsky on how to make the best use of your time when studying the often difficult ideas of Marxism.

• Workshop Talks
  This marvellous little pamphlet by James Connolly has introduced millions of workers to the basic ideas of socialism. Workshop Talks remains one of the best simple rebuttals of all the arguments that come up over and over again against socialism, on buses, in works canteens, and in pubs and clubs. "Socialism is not practical"... "Socialism is contrary to religion"... "Socialism will destroy freedom"... "Socialism means confiscation". Here are the answers!

Back to top

Marxist Philosophy: Dialectial Materialism:

• Basic Points of Dialectical Materialism
  Excellent summary of the basic points of Dialectical Materialism. Covers concepts such as the transformation of quantity into quality, negation of the negation, the unity and interpenetration of opposites, and more. By John Pickard

• ABC of Materialist Dialectics
  Trotsky's 'ABC of Materialist Dialectics' is a brilliant short explanation of Marxist philosophy. It was written as part of a defense of Marxism against a middle class revisionist tendency in the American Trotskyist movement in the late 1930s, which attempted to challenge its basic principles. As opposed to pragmatism and empiricism, Trotsky defended dialectical materialism as a richer, fuller, more comprehensive view of society and life in general. By Leon Trotsky. Also there is an introduction by Rob Sewell.

• History of Philosophy
  This text was originally written by Alan Woods as a part of the book Reason in Revolt: Marxist Philosophy and Modern Science, but eventually the book became too long and this part had to left out. With chapters on: Do we Need Philosophy?, The First Dialecticians, Aristotle and the End of Classical Greek Philosophy, The Renaissance, Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz, and Philosophy in the 20th Century.

• Reason in Revolt: Marxist Philosophy and Modern Science (Dialectical Materialism)
  This book, by Ted Grant and Alan Woods published in 1995 coinciding with Engel's centenary, defends the validity of the philosophical writings of Marx and Engels using the most important scientific discoveries of the twentieth century as a proof. The book has already been published in Spanish and has also been translated into Italian, Greek, Urdu and Flemish.

Back to top

The Marxist Conception of History: Historical Materialism:

• Historical Materialism
  An introduction to Historical Materialism covering the following topics: What is historical materialism?, Primitive communism, The Asiatic mode of production, Ancient Greece: slavery and democracy, Roman slavery, Decline of the Roman empire, The transition to feudalism, Medieval towns, Class struggle under feudalism, Capitalism, The Capitalist World Market, Imperialism, Revolutionary role of the Working Class and Capitalist Crisis. By Mick Brooks.

• The Materialist Conception of History
  A very good exposition of Historical Materialism.  A little formalistic and the language is complicated, but good overall.

Back to top

Marxism and Art

• Introduction to Trotsky's Writings on Art and Culture
  Together with this article by Alan Woods we are providing our readers with the on-line sources of Trotsky's writings on Art, Culture and Revolution. Where these are not available we give the reference to the printed text.

Back to top

Human Evolution

• Engels and Human Development
  John Pickard looks at Engels' work The Part Played by Labor in the Transition from Ape to Man in light of modern anthropologocal and paleontological evidence. His conclusion? It was way ahead of its time! In his general conclusions, Engels was fundamentally correct in spite of the lack of hard evidence available in 1876.

Back to top

Marxism and War

• From: A reply to the RSL, Chauvinism and Revolutionary Defeatism
  A brilliant exposition of the Marxist attitude towards war. Written during World War II, this article addresses the petty-bourgeois ideas of pacifism as well as examining Lenin and Trotsky's writings on war and imperialism. From the selected writings of Ted Grant The Unbroken Thread. (June 1943)

• Marxism and War
  An excellent look at some of the fundamental questions facing Marxists in regard to war. By Phil Mitchinson

• The Roots of Modern War
  A great, brief piece on the Marxist perspective on modern imperialist war. By James Connolly

Back to top

Anarchism

• Why we must further Marxism and not Anarchism
  John Fisher takes a brief look at the flaws in Anarchist theory, based on Lenin's State and Revolution. Also, an excerpt from Ted Grant's On the Mass Organizations: Letter to the Russian Marxists. (January 7, 2001)

• Marxism and Direct Action
  The recent anti-capitalist demonstrations have brought together many different groups protesting against the destruction of the environment, racism, the exploitation of the third world, and also many ordinary young people protesting at the state of things in general. Phil Mitchinson looks at the anarchist ideas of the groups that are organizing these events. (May, 2000)

• Anarchism and Socialism
  This outstanding little book by the founder of Russian Marxism G. V. Plekhanov, is essential reading in order to combat the ideas of Anarchism. Marx's Daughter Eleanor Marx Aveling says in her preface: "Unfortunately, there are many of the younger, or of the more ignorant sort, who are inclined to take words for deeds, high-sounding phrases for acts, mere sound and fury for revolutionary activity, and who are too young or too ignorant to know that such sound and fury signify nothing. It is for the sake of these younger, or for the sake of the more ignorant, folk, that men like Plechanoff deal seriously with this matter of Anarchism, and do not feel their time lost if they can, as this work must, help readers to see the true meaning of what is called 'Anarchism.' This little book of Plechanoff will assuredly convince the youngest even that under any circumstances Anarchism is but another word for reaction; and the more honest the men and women who play this reactionist game, the more tragic and dangerous it becomes for the whole working class movement."

Back to top

The Holocaust

• The Holocaust - An attempt to explain the inexplicable
  We are publishing an article by Inge Eriksson, University lecturer in 'European studies with a historical orientation', at Malmö University, Sweden. The article analyses the roots and conditions that led to the Holocaust under Nazi Germany.

Back to top

Fascism

• Trotsky and the Fight Against Fascism
  A brief look at Trotsky's tremendous contribution in the struggle against fascism.

Back to top

The Kronstadt Revolt:

• Hue and Cry Over Kronstadt
  In this article from 1938, Trotsky gives an excellent summary of the controversial Kronstadt uprising. He explains the social roots of the uprising, and makes clear the counter-revolutionary character of the mutiny.

Religion:

• Marxism and Religion
  We have received quite a few e-mails from our subscribers asking about the attitude of Marxists to religion, relating not only to Marxism and Christianity, but also to Islam. For example, we have received several communications from sympathetic people who support liberation theology, in the Philippines. We are also in contact with groups who describe themselves as Islamic Marxists. This is clearly an interesting and important question, which deserves serious treatment. As an initial contribution, we are publishing an article by Alan Woods which is actually based on his replies to such letters. (July 22, 2001) By Alan Woods.

• Socialism and Religion
  A look at the Marxist view of religion and religious people in the socialist movement. By V.I. Lenin.

Back to top

Charity

• Charity or Socialism?
  Pakistani journalist Munoo Bhai examines the real meaning of charity under the capitalist system. (January, 2000)

Back to top

Marxism and Terrorism:

• Why Marxists Oppose Individual Terrorism
  An excellent outline of the basic reasons why Marxism and individual terrorism are not compatible. Our power is in our mass, united action against the oppressor, not in individual acts of terror which serve as an excuse for increased state repression and which alienate the masses from the cause of socialism.

Back to top

Marxist Economics:

• Marxism and the theory of 'Long Waves'
  As part of the Trotsky year web site we publish this article by Alan Woods which discusses Kondratiev's theory of the long waves. Trotsky answered Kondratiev back in the 1920s. Alan Woods points out that the movement of the capitalist cycle since then further disproves Kondratiev's ideas.

• Fashion Victims - Textile and Clothing Workers Worldwide
  There's a saying among girls in the slums of Bangladesh: if you're lucky, you'll be a prostitute - if you're unlucky, you'll be a garment worker. The fashion industry is big business. It makes a lot of money - but the workers in the industry don't see much of it. All over the world, textile and clothing workers are poor. Yet they work hard. They say nobody ever got rich though hard work. But it's not true. The people who work hard never got rich through working hard. But the rich got rich by getting other people like us to work hard for them. That's the way of the world under capitalism. (March 17, 2000)

• Marxism in Our Time
  Leon Trotsky's introduction to the book "The Living Thoughts of Karl Marx" has long been out of print. The book itself, complied by Otto Ruhle in 1939, was an abridged version in Marx's own words of volume one of Capital. Trotsky's introduction took up the defence of Marxism, analysing the development of capitalism in the Twentieth century and showing the continuing relevance of Marx's writings and theories. It represents a brief, but brilliant exposition of Marxism. In order to bring Trotsky's defence of Marxism up to date, this pamphlet was published in 1994 with an introduction by Alan Woods and Ted Grant, which draws upon extensive contemporary material. In addition, we include a supplementary article by Trotsky entitled "Once Again on the 'Crisis of Marxism'".

Back to top

Work in the Mass Organizations:

• On the Mass Organizations
  "The entire history of the international workers' movement in the twentieth century has furnished us with a wealth of material to show the way in which the working class and its organisations develop. From the study of the workers' movement over several decades, I drew the following inescapable conclusion: that when the mass of the workers enter the arena of struggle to change society, they inevitably gravitate, in the first instance, to the traditional mass organisations. The mass of the workers--and even the greater part of the advanced elements of the class--do not learn from books, but only from experience, and particularly the experience of great events. Where a strong and educated Marxist tendency is present, the process can be considerably shortened. This was the case with the Bolshevik Party in 1917." By Ted Grant (April 26th, 1999). Also available as a pamphlet!

Back to top