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At the beginning of the 21st century, science and philosophy are at
the crossroads. The achievements of science and technology in the
previous century are unparalleled in history. They provide the
potential for the solution of all the problems faced by the planet,
and equally for its total destruction. Allegedly scientific
theories are being used to "prove" that criminality is caused, not
by social conditions, but by a "criminal gene." Black people are
alleged to be disadvantaged, not because of discrimination, but
because of their genetic make-up. Similar arguments are used for
poor people, single mothers, women, and so on. Of course, such
"science" is highly convenient for right wing politicians intent on
ruthlessly cutting welfare. In the field of theoretical physics and
cosmology there is a growing tendency towards mysticism. The "Big
Bang" theory of the origin of the universe is being used to justify
the existence of a Creator, as in the book of Genesis. For the
first time in centuries, science appears to lend credence to
religious obscurantism. Yet that is only one side of the story. A
growing number of scientists are becoming discontented with the old
outlook. The rapid rise of the theory of chaos and complexity is
one of the most significant developments in science at the present
time. Many of the ideas expressed by this new trend are strikingly
similar to the theories of dialectical materialism worked out by
Marx and Engels over 160 years ago. A significant part of this
present work is devoted to an explanation of the relationship
between Marxist philosophy and the new theories. Will this
encounter provide the basis for a new and exciting breakthrough in
the methodology of science?
In 2007, French fascist Le Pen won almost four million votes. In
2009 the British National Party won almost a million votes while
Germany's fascist NPD won over 750,000. In 2010, fascist-led
organisations like the Engish Defence League and Italy's Future and
Freedom party emerged. To help activists understand this
twenty-first century wave of fascism, this book gathers together
the most important analyses from the 20th century.In "Building
unity against fascism" you can read: * German socialist Clara
Zetkin, Bolshevik leader Karl Radek and Italian communist Antonio
Gramsci on the birth on fascism in the early 1920s* Leon Trotsky's
article, including "Fascism: What It Is and How To Fight It,"
explaining why neither capitalist nor Stalinist parties were able
to stop fascism in Italy, Germany and Spain in the 1930s.* Maurice
Spector's detailed analysis of German fascism in power* Daniel
Guerin's 1939 "Fascism and Big Business" and his 1945 preface to
its French edition* Ted Grant's booklet, "The Menace of Fascism,"
which discussed British fascism, the second World War and the
Jewish community in Britain* Analysis by Felix Morrow, James P
Cannon and Farrell Dobbs of the rise and fall of fascist
organisations in the USA in the 20th century.
Felix Morrow's book, written in the white heat of the struggle,
remains a Marxist classic on the Spanish Civil War. The 1930s was a
period of revolution and counter-revolution in which Spain was at
the very epicenter of events. It remains the clearest account of
the movement of the Spanish proletariat, which took power in
Catalonia, but was betrayed by the Popular Front government. It
describes the heroic struggles waged by the workers and peasants,
which, in the words of Leon Trotsky could have carried through ten
revolutions. Morrow describes in detail the failure of the
anarchists, whose leaders entered the bourgeois government, as well
as that of the POUM, the centrist party of the revolution. In
particular, the book describes the role of the Stalinists, who
under the orders of Moscow supported the bourgeois republic's
suppression of the revolution. In the wake of the Moscow frame-up
trials, the GPU, Stalin's secret police, sent agents to Spain to
murder Spanish revolutionaries, which prepared the way for the
eventual victory of Franco. Few books of the period have stood the
test of time better than Morrow's, supplemented in this edition by
an earlier article, The Civil War in Spain. We also include a
foreword by Ted Grant written in 1973, which covers the same
periods and provides a valuable addition to this work. A study of
these tragic events will help arm a new generation of workers and
youth with the lessons of the bitter defeats of the 1930s and equip
them with the knowledge to finally carry through the struggle began
so many years ago. In the great words of Spinoza, "ours is not to
laugh or to weep, but to learn."
This is the second volume of Ted Grant's Writings, which covers the
period from 1943 to the end of the Second World War in 1945, when
he was involved in establishing the genuine forces of Trotskyism in
Britain. As editor of the Socialist Appeal and political secretary
of the Workers' International League, he became the principal
theoretician of the British Trotskyist movement and drafted its
main documents and resolutions throughout this period. Ted's
participation in the revolutionary movement was to span a period
from 1928, when he was introduced to Marxism, through to his death
in 2006. For all those who knew him, he was a truly remarkable and
inspiring figure. The articles and documents contained in this
second volume of his Writings coincided with the emergence of WIL
as one of the most successful Trotskyist groups in the world. In
1944 it fused with the remains of the old Revolutionary Socialist
League to form the Revolutionary Communist Party, and was
recognised as the official section of the Fourth International in
Britain. The first two volumes cover a decisive period in history.
It was the most testing time for British and world Trotskyism. As
Hitler occupied Europe, the WIL was alone on the continent in
applying the proletarian military policy that had been outlined by
Trotsky. This it managed to do in the most successful fashion,
allowing the WIL to establish an important proletarian base. By the
end of the war, revolutionary events had swept Europe, as Trotsky
had predicted, but were derailed by the Stalinists and social
democrats. The writings in this book constitute an essential and
rich part of the theoretical heritage of Marxism, which can serve
to educate the new generation of workers and youth who are entering
into political activity at this time of deep capitalist crisis.
A collection of the writings of Ted Grant (1913-2006) covering the
period from the 1930s up to the middle of the Second World War.
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R383
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Discovery Miles 3 180
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