Editor's note: A Spanish translation of this article is available here. Introduction Our understanding of the state lies at the heart of our struggle to create a new society and fundamentally eliminate the oppression, exploitation, war, and environmental destruction...
What does it take to make a socialist revolution?
Editor’s note: A Spanish translation of this article is available here. “The passing of state power from one class to another is the first, the principal, the basic sign of a revolution, both in the strictly scientific and in the practical political meaning of that...
Understanding and fighting gentrification: A revolutionary orientation
Introduction Cities across the U.S. are rapidly transforming. “Gentrification-style” luxury developments are replacing neighborhood landmarks and low-income housing. Sky-high rents are pushing poor residents increasingly further from city centers. These trends are...
What is alienation? The development and legacy of Marx’s early theory
Editor’s note: A Spanish translation of this article is available here. Introduction Offering a brief introduction to Marx’s theory of alienation is not a straightforward task. This is due, in part, to conflicting interpretations of key aspects of Marx’s project...
The base-superstructure: A model for analysis and action
Introduction Although Marx himself only mentioned the “base” and “superstructure” in (by my count) two of his works, the base-superstructure “problem” remains a source of serious contention for Marxists, our sympathizers, and our critics. Despite its outsized role in...
Marxism, capitalism, and nature-society relations: An introduction
Introduction Environmentalists have long stressed limits to human interaction with nature. It’s commonly argued that transgressing “natural limits” caused the environmental crises we face today. While this sentiment might direct our attention to the severity and scale...
What is imperialism? An introduction
Editor's note: A Spanish translation of this article is available here. In the suffering of the Global South, the brutality of capitalism lies bare. In a footnote toward the end of Capital, Marx wrote that the colonized subject reveals “what the bourgeois makes of...
What is ideology? An introduction to the Marxist theory of ideology
Editor’s note: A Spanish translation of this article is available here. Introduction Marxist ideology is one of the most potent weapons the working and oppressed classes have, a weapon that our class can and has used to not only win reforms but to build revolutionary...
Relative surplus value: The class struggle intensifies
Introduction Toward the end of our earlier introduction to surplus value, the heart and motor of the class struggle, we wrote that: “The rate of surplus value for the capitalist is the rate of exploitation for the worker. By merely prolonging the working day, the...