Revolution

Days of hope - the 1918 German Revolution

A revolution in Germany that erupted 100 years ago this month rocked Europe’s rulers and put a socialist world on the agenda. Tomáš Tengely-Evans looks at how the revolt showed the power of workers to liberate themselves—and to end bloody war.

Kathe Kollwitz—powerful images of loss and struggle

KAthe Kollwitz (1867-1945)lived through some of the most turbulent years of the 20th century. They were years of great hope and terrible tragedy.

The Russian Revolution was worth it—it gives hope of a better future

The revolution of 1917 showed another world is possible, what that world could look like—and how we can make it happen

The Russian Revolution was democratic. Holding it back was not

The October uprising had broad support from workers—unlike the parliamentary efforts to hold it back

The Russian Revolution saw workers transform society—and themselves

Ideas can change fast in a revolution, as ordinary people start to take control of their own lives and the world around them

Poking fun at Egypt's rulers and refusing to be silenced

Anne Alexander looks at Tickling Giants, a documentary film about Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef who refused to be a mouthpiece for the counter-revolution, just one of many award-winning films at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in London next month

Who were the Mensheviks?

07 February 2017
The Mensheviks were revolutionaries, but ended up siding with forces opposed to the Russian Revolution. How did this happen?

Why it’s better to be Bolshie

07 February 2017
Revolts repeatedly break out, but they don’t always win. The Bolshevik party in Russia showed how socialist organisation plays a critical role in driving revolutions forward to victory

John Berger was a firm Marxist who transformed art history

03 January 2017
John Berger, who died on Monday at the age of 90, was the most important writer on art in the last 60 years or more.

There are better reads than 1919 on Britain’s year of revolution

13 December 2016
The 1917 Russian Revolution was a flaring beacon of hope for working and oppressed people across the globe.

What does socialism look like?

23 August 2016
Reforming capitalism is not the same as socialism, argues Sadie Robinson. Another society is possible—but can only come about through a revolution by working class people

Trotsky was right - we need a revolution

16 August 2016
Tom Watson’s dossier on “Trotsky entryists” into the Labour Party has been used as an attack on the whole left.

Syria Speaks is an art book so subversive it can get you arrested

16 August 2016
Reading about art and culture from the frontline of Syria’s revolution was enough to get Faizah Shaheen, a Muslim woman from Leeds, held under the Terrorism Act last month.

Real change comes when the masses act

19 July 2016
For our rulers, ordinary people are best seen and not heard. They want us to accept politics as a spectator sport, and to take as little part in it as possible.

How did Malcolm X think we could defeat racism?

28 June 2016
Antony Hamilton’s new book A Rebel’s Guide to Malcolm X holds vital lessons for all revolutionaries, Nadia Sayed and Naima Omar told Alistair Farrow

World in turmoil and workers' struggles fuel interest in socialism

31 May 2016
Hundreds have been debating the way forward for the left at a series of rallies organised by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). Alistair Farrow listened to the debate in Birmingham

Big rally for socialism in Sheffield brings campaigners together

24 May 2016
Some 110 people attended a Socialist Workers Party rally in Sheffield last week. It asked, “Is socialism possible?”

Kienthal - the small beginnings of the anti-war tradition

26 April 2016
In 1916 socialists arguing against war were a minority, but change was coming. Alistair Farrow looks at how it started

Revolt and war in Syria five years on

08 March 2016
Five years ago Syrians rose up against the regime. Socialist Worker explains how the revolution’s defeat led to horror, and Razan Ghazzawi looks back at its hopeful beginnings

Topple the system to disarm Trident warheads

23 February 2016
The war on Syria is just one of the 42 conflicts raging across the globe. Amid the quagmire of the US and Russia’s shifting imperialist alliances, the conflict could rapidly escalate.