by David North
The annual May Day speeches delivered by David North, between 2014 and 2024, are an extraordinary and timely year-by-year analysis of the relentless escalation of imperialist militarism and the growing danger of a nuclear Third World War.
In light of the unfolding developments in Ukraine and Gaza, North’s analyses acquire an almost prophetic character. Other issues examined by North in his May Day speeches are the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the resurgence of fascism, and the growth of the international class struggle.
As in his earlier books, Sounding the Alarm demonstrates North’s remarkable ability to locate contemporary events in their broader historical context. As historian Tom Mackaman writes in the book’s preface: “This volume provides a powerful example of Marxism as the science and politics of revolutionary action, which requires careful study by every fighter for socialism.”
170 pp. Available in paperback and EPUB formats.
Now Available
by David North
The lectures presented in this volume are both a penetrating analysis of the reactionary ideological and political foundations of Zionism, and a powerful call for international action by the working class in defense of the Palestinian people.
105 pp. Available in paperback and EPUB formats. Order your copy now
New Pamphlets from wsws.org
New Year 2024 Statement of the WSWS International Editorial Board
The contradictions that drive capitalism to destruction also set into motion the conditions for its overthrow and the reorganization of society on a new and progressive- that is, socialist, foundation.The World Socialist Web Site International Editorial Board New Year statement lays out the stark reality of capitalism today: Genocide, pandemic, massive social inequality and the growth of fascism.
Stop Israel’s Genocide against Gaza!
The Zionist state of Israel, with the backing of every imperialist power on the planet, has launched a genocidal assault on Gaza. But Israel’s war on the Palestinians is provoking an eruption of outrage across the US, Europe, the Middle East, and internationally. The urgent need of the hour is the development of a united mass movement of the international working class against the capitalist warmongers and for socialism.
by David North
Leon Trotsky remains the towering figure in the history of revolutionary socialism in the twentieth century. A careful study of his writings is essential for the elaboration of the strategy and tactics of socialist revolution in our epoch, that of imperialist clashes coalescing into a new world war and a worldwide assault on the condition of the working class.
The historic documentary of the 1917 Russian Revolution
Tsar to Lenin, one of the greatest films of the twentieth century, powerfully documents the Russian Revolution of 1917, the first ever successful socialist revolution by the working class.
Directed by Herman Axelbank (1900-1979), the 68-minute documentary reveals the political role played by Leon Trotsky as co-leader with Vladimir Lenin of the revolution
Axelbank recognised the Russian Revolution as a world historic event and spent almost 20 years working on this epic project. His ground-breaking documentary includes a stirring narration by pioneer American revolutionary Max Eastman (1883-1969) who breathes life into the film’s action.
The fight for the truth about how and why 29 workers died in New Zealand’s 2010 Pike River coal mine disaster
On November 19, 2010, an explosion rocked the underground Pike River mine in New Zealand. After a second explosion five days later, the 29 workers underground were declared dead. This was not a random accident: it was a crime caused by capitalism. Despite overwhelming evidence that Pike River Coal’s management cut costs and endangered workers’ lives, no one has been held accountable for the actions that turned the mine into a death trap. Pike River: The Crime and Cover-up is a contribution to the ongoing fight to uncover the full truth of what happened, and to draw the political lessons of the tragedy for the working class. It contains articles and analysis from the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS), examining how National and Labour Party governments, their allies, the trade unions, the judicial system and regulators have protected the company and sought to shut down the investigation into the disaster.
To order now from within New Zealand, contact the Socialist Equality Group at socialistequalitynz@gmail.com
Was There an Alternative? 1923–1927. Trotskyism: A Look Back Through the Years
This is the first in a seven-volume series by the Russian Marxist historian, Vadim Rogovin, on the history of the Soviet Union between 1922 and 1940.
Rogovin traces the complex inner-party struggles of 1923–1927, analyzing contemporaneous official documents, speeches and articles, Soviet archival material, memoirs of participants in political life, and documents by members of the Left Opposition that were suppressed in the Soviet Union for many decades.
This richly illustrated volume includes an appendix of biographies of many oppositionists who were erased from official Soviet history.
Watch the recording of the book launch webinar.
Socialism and the fight against Imperialist War
In 2016 the International Committee of the Fourth International outlined the principles on which a new movement against war must be based. They are:
- The struggle against war must be based on the working class, the great revolutionary force in society, uniting behind it all progressive elements in the population.
- The new anti-war movement must be anti-capitalist and socialist, since there can be no serious struggle against war except in the fight to end the dictatorship of finance capital and the economic system that is the fundamental cause of militarism and war.
- The new anti-war movement must therefore, of necessity, be completely and unequivocally independent of, and hostile to, all political parties and organizations of the capitalist class.
- The new anti-war movement must, above all, be international, mobilizing the vast power of the working class in a unified global struggle against imperialism. The permanent war of the bourgeoisie must be answered with the perspective of permanent revolution by the working class, the strategic goal of which is the abolition of the nation-state system and the establishment of a world socialist federation. This will make possible the rational, planned development of global resources and, on this basis, the eradication of poverty and the raising of human culture to new heights.
The books displayed here discuss the criminal wars of the past 30 years and the struggle of socialists to develop a movement in the international working class against war.
A Quarter Century of War: The US Drive for Global Hegemony 1990 – 2016
AUD13.00 – AUD30.00
150 Years since the Paris Commune
WHEN THE WORKERS TOOK POWER
Against ignorance and contempt for history promoted by the ideologists of postmodernity, the World Socialist Web Site commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune of 1871, in which the working class proved itself the new decisive force in the struggle for human liberation.
The great Marxists drew imperishable lessons for the international class struggle from the workers state achieved by the Commune, and from the reaction by the French bourgeoisie, assisted by Prussia, to drown it in blood. The “Bloody Week” in May saw over 20,000 men, women and children murdered in Paris.
In the face of the calumnies of the ruling class hurled against the Commune Karl Marx told the International Workingmen’s Association that the Communards “stormed heaven.”
In the 20th century the Bolsheviks led by Lenin and Trotsky, assimilated the lessons drawn by Marx that the next revolution must smash the bureaucratic military machine, in preparation for the taking of power in the October Revolution of 1917.
In the 21st century in which the crisis of revolutionary leadership in the working class must be resolved, the historical experience of the Paris Commune is a critical weapon in the arsenal of the revolutionary party.
Celebrating 200 years since the birth of Friedrich Engels
The political collaboration of Friedrich Engels with Karl Marx spanned over four critical decades in the 19th century, during which one of the greatest friendships in history led them to co-found scientific socialism. In anticipation of the 1848 Revolution they produced "The Communist Manifesto", which ushered the working class onto the scene of history and insisted that "workers of the world unite." Together with Marx until his death in 1883, and then until his own death in 1895, Engels continued and deepened the historical and political legacy of Marxism, which has burning contemporary relevance today.
Read more about Engels on the World Socialist Web Site.
Books on the history of the Fourth International
THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL
The Fourth International was established in 1938 in continuation of the struggle of Leon Trotsky and the Left Opposition against Stalinism from 1923 in order to resolve the crisis of revolutionary leadership in the working class. The International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) was founded in 1953 to avert the political liquidation of the Fourth International by an opportunist tendency which was named from its leader Michel Pablo. In 1985 the ICFI defended the continuity of Trotskyism against the betrayals of the British Workers Revolutionary Party which had reverted to Pabloism. What ensued was the renaissance of Marxism.
Mehring Books is the publishing and book distribution division of the International Committee of the Fourth International.
Bolsheviks Against Stalinism 1928–1933; Leon Trotsky and the Left Opposition
AUD13.00 – AUD45.00The Fourth International and the Perspective of World Socialist Revolution
AUD13.00 – AUD33.00
In Defense of Leon Trotsky (second edition)
AUD13.00 – AUD25.00
Gerry Healy and his Place in the History of the Fourth International
AUD8.00 – AUD17.00The Historical and International Foundations of the ICFI
THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE ICFI
In 2008 the Socialist Equality Party (United States) published its "Historical and International Foundations," tracing the protracted struggle for Marxism and Trotskyism and the fight for socialism in the heartland of world imperialism. Taken together with subsequent "Historical and International Foundations" by the German, Australian, British and Sri Lankan sections of the ICFI, this has formed an unrivalled international record, reviewing the political fight for socialist principles throughout the international working class across four continents to prepare the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism.
