Labour shortage or reserve army of labour?
The bourgeois want a surplus of desperate workers who are underemployed or unemployed to drive down wages to no more than subsistence — a reserve army of labour.
Marxism
Understanding Marxism: Working Class Consciousness
The following chapter (Ch. 7 of Understanding Marxism) discusses class consciousness and the barriers to it that exist under capitalism. The chapter also suggests ways around these barriers.
Understanding Marxism: The Working Class and The Revolutionary Party
The following chapter deals with the role of the revolutionary party in relation to the working class. It discusses Marxist conceptions of the leadership of a revolutionary party, as well as some popularly-proposed alternatives (social democracy, reformism, and anarchism).
Understanding Marxism: Marxism and Other Theories
The following chapter (Ch. 5 of Understanding Marxism) debunks some other prominent theories: that society progresses and changes due to the “battle of ideas”, due to bigotry, or due to great individuals. It also discusses Marxist approaches to environmentalism and issues of sexism, homophobia, racism, and ethnic discrimination.
Understanding Marxism: Historical Materialism
This post is the third part of a biweekly series posting chapters of Frank Cunningham’s Understanding Marxism: A Canadian Introduction
Understanding Marxism: The Fall of Capitalism
This post is the second part of a biweekly series posting chapters of Frank Cunningham’s Understanding Marxism: A Canadian Introduction
Understanding Marxism: Scientific Socialism and Human Nature
This post is part of a new biweekly series posting chapters of Frank Cunningham’s Understanding Marxism: A Canadian Introduction (Toronto: Progress Books, 1981). Through these excerpts, readers will come to understand the basics of Marxist theory through a Canadian lens in a digestible, accessible, and easy-to-understand way. As 2021 marks 100 years of the communist movement in Canada, and as more young workers and students become interested in Marxism, we hope that this educational series will benefit our readers.
Álvaro Cunhal en toute transparence
“Une avant-garde qui prétend s’affirmer en montrant sa distance avec les masses et sa supériorité cesse d’être une avant-garde pour devenir un détachement isolé, sans racines, condamné à la déroute et à la destruction.” A. Cunhal