How did one of the greatest civilisations in history – the Roman Empire – rise and fall? It’s a question that has vexed historians for centuries. The majestic ruins of ancient Rome are visible across Europe and the Middle East… Read More ›
Politics
Marxist theory of Historical Materialism
How has society moved on from the slave states of the ancient world to medieval feudalism and then on to industrial capitalism and where we are today? Well, Karl Marx described the process through his theory of historical materialism. Don’t… Read More ›
East Germany – how communism ended
How did communism collapse in East Germany at the end of the 1980s? For anybody growing up in the post-war era, the division of Germany into capitalist West Germany and communist East Germany seemed set in stone. But the Soviet-backed… Read More ›
Why was Stalin anti-semitic?
What lay behind the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s increasingly hostile attitude towards Jews? Was he always anti-semitic or did his anti-Jewish policies result from increasing paranoia? Let’s investigate why the head of the USSR victimised and murdered Jewish communists and… Read More ›
British communist hostility to Polish migrants
If you think the far Right is tough on migrants today, it’s worth looking back at how British communists talked about Polish exiles at the end of the Second World War. The language was hostile and uncompromising. But why were… Read More ›
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 – what happened?
At the height of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and United States, in the 1950s, a communist state tried to throw off the Soviet yoke. Workers and students in Hungary began a revolution, hoping that the Kremlin would… Read More ›
The weird socialism of Albania under Hoxha
As a teenager in the late 1970s, who was very into politics, I met somebody who had been to Albania, then a communist country. What a strange place! Young people were forbidden to wear jeans and grow their hair long…. Read More ›
How the rich get richer – according to Karl Marx
The rich are getting ridiculously richer. But Karl Marx would have told you to expect that. It’s embedded in the very nature of capitalism. Billionaire wealth has increased by 81% since 2020 and risen by over 16% in 2025 alone,… Read More ›
The Marxist theory of alienation explained
Do you ever feel detached from your job? Does it feel completely meaningless? Is there a sense that work is something imposed on you – that drains your very life force. Well, you’re not the first person to think that…. Read More ›
Can Marxism and religion be reconciled?
There is a lot of confusion and nonsense about the relationship between Marxism and religion. In recent years, some have tried to suggest that Karl Marx saw a positive role for religion in a revolutionary movement. He did not. But… Read More ›
Marxism Explained 