Bücher veröffentlicht von Wellred Books

The story of the Spanish revolution of the 1930s is quite well known to most people on the left, but there is a surprising level of ignorance concerning the events that occurred subsequently. History did not cease with the victory of Franco in 1939. And the story of how the Franco dictatorship was eventually brought down by the revolutionary movement of the Spanish workers is an inspiring one.Under the most difficult and dangerous conditions, Spanish workers launched a strike wave, which, in its intensity and duration, has no parallel anywhere. There was nothing remotely like this in Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's Italy or Salazar's Portugal. This was a genuine revolution, which could and should have gone far further than it did. If it did not finally succeed, that was no fault of the working class. The Spanish revolution of the 1970s was shamefully betrayed by the leaders of the communist and socialist parties, who entered into an agreement with former fascists in order halt the movement in its tracks.Alan Woods participated personally in the last phase of this struggle and was a witness to some of its most decisive moments. Using a wealth of documentary material from the time and also new interviews with key participants in the events, he tears away the thick veil of lies, myths and half-truths to reveal what actually occurred.With new struggles and challenges on the order of the day in Spain and the rest of the world, it is the duty of all conscious workers and revolutionary youth to study the lessons of the past as a necessary precondition for victory in the future. This book is an important contribution to a necessary learning process and is obligatory reading for anyone who is interested in the struggle for socialism today.

In this classic text, Lenin brilliantly explains the fundamental principles of the materialist philosophy of Marxism. He defends them against idealist attacks from the subjective idealism of Machism, a philosophical trend, which at Lenin's time was becoming very fashionable, even within the workers movement.Step by step, layer by layer, quoting at length from the many trendy philosophical and scientific publications of the day, the book exposes idealism in all its guises. The aim was very simple: to bring out in the open the real difference between Marxist dialectical materialism and subjective idealism, which in the last instance always leads to some form of religious world outlook.Analysing the different shades and expressions of Machism internationally, Lenin stressed that "in every philosophical question raised by the new physics, we [trace] the struggle between materialism and idealism." And he showed that: "Behind the mass of new terminological devices, behind the litter of erudite scholasticism, we invariably discerned two principal alignments, two fundamental trends in the solution of philosophical problems. Whether nature, matter, the physical, the external world should be taken as primary, and consciousness, mind, sensation (experience - as the widespread terminology of our time has it), the psychical, etc., should be regarded as secondary - that is the root question which in fact continues to divide the philosophers into two great camps."

On the bicentennial of his birth, Karl Marx's ideas are more relevant than ever. While he is perhaps best known for his writings on economics and history, anyone who wishes to have a fully rounded understanding of his method must strive to master dialectical materialism, which itself resulted from an assiduous study and critique of Hegel.Dialectical materialism is the logic of motion, development, and change. By embracing contradiction instead of trying to write it out of reality, dialectics allows Marxists to approach processes as they really are, not as we would like them to be. In this way we can understand and explain the essential class interests at stake in our fight against capitalist exploitation andoppression.At every decisive turning point in history, scientific socialists must go back to basics. Marxist theory represents the synthesized experience, historical memory, and guide to action of the working class. This new selection of writings on Marxist philosophy aims to arm the new generation of revolutionary socialists with these essential ideas.With an introduction by Alan Woods.Edited by John Peterson.

Germany 1918-33 was one of the most tumultuous periods in history. Following the revolution in Russia, the German workers and soldiers attempted to seize power in November 1918. Unfortunately, the revolution was betrayed by the Social Democratic leaders.Further revolutionary convulsions rocked Germany from 1919 to 1923. By this time, a mass Communist Party had been formed, but following advice from Zinoviev and Stalin, a classical revolutionary opportunity in 1923 was missed.This was a blow, not only in Germany, but internationally. The German defeats served to strengthen the grip of the Stalinist bureaucracy in Russia. This resulted in zig-zags of policy between opportunism and ultra-leftism, which paved the way for the 'Third Period' with the Social Democrats regarded as the main enemy.With the rise of fascism, Leon Trotsky described Germany in 1931 as "the key to the international situation". "On the direction in which the solution of the German crisis develops will depend not only the fate of Germany herself (and that is already a great deal), but also the fate of Europe, the destiny of the entire world, for many years to come," he explained.Trotsky called for a United Front against fascism, but this was rejected by the Stalinists. This paved the way for the victory of the Nazis, leading to the Holocaust and the Second World War with its 55 million dead.In this book, Rob Sewell argues that all this was not inevitable, and analyses those events, drawing out the lessons for today.

Since Leon Trotsky's My Life was first published, it has been regarded as a unique political, literary and human document.Written in the first year of Trotsky's exile in Turkey, it contains the earliest authoritative account of the rise of Stalinism and the expulsion of the Left Opposition, who heroically fought for the ideas and traditions of Lenin.Trotsky's exile is the culmination of a narrative which moves from his childhood, his education in the 'universities' of tsarist prisons, Siberia and then his foreign exile - to his involvement in the European revolutionary movement, his central role in the tempestuous 1905 Revolution, the Bolshevik victory in October 1917 and the Civil War which followed. Trotsky's work concludes with the heroic struggle against Stalinism and his eventual exile and deportation from the Soviet Union."The publication of a new edition of my grandfather's autobiography, My Life, is an important step in establishing the truth," writes Esteban (Sieva) Volkov in the preface to this book. Esteban is the last remaining survivor and witness of the last chapter of Leon Trotsky's life in Mexico.The book also contains an introduction by Alan Woods, the author of many acclaimed works on the Russian revolutionary movement.

Marx's Capital revolutionised the subject of political economy. Written over 150 years ago, it revealed for the first time the real workings of capitalism. It was, however, met with a wall of silence from mainstream economists and the establishment. Despite this, Capital became regarded in the labour movement as the Bible of the working class.Basing himself on the most advanced material of the age, Marx was able to explain the mysteries that the classical economists were incapable of resolving. What is value? Where does profit come from? How are workers exploited? Why does the system face periodic crises?Marx was able to answer these questions by analysing the main contradictions of capitalism. He was able to explain how the system would eventually reach its limits and enter into decline and demise.Like other sciences, political economy has its own terminology, which can sometimes be difficult to digest. Those prepared to overcome such hurdles, however, will find that Marx's Capital contains a veritable feast of ideas and a new way of looking at the world.Written by authors from the International Marxist Tendency, this book is intended to help guide readers through the pages of volume one of Capital. The aim is to bring out the main themes and ideas contained within Marx's economic writings.Understanding Capital allows us to understand the crisis-ridden world around us today - and, most importantly, how we can radically transform it."The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways," Marx famously asserted. "The point, however, is to change it."