Capitalist crisis, the reactionary wave and revolutionary potential
From July 26-30, over 120 Marxists descended on the northern German town of Kiel for International Socialist Alternative’s World School. Participants (including dozens more who participated online) came from 16 different countries and regions – Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, England, Wales and Scotland, Germany, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Norway, Quebec, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United States.
The school was made up of both veteran Marxist fighters and younger members at their first ever international event, including important young delegations from Germany and Sweden. The World School, which is a vital aspect of the internationalist tradition of ISA, is aimed at improving the political understanding, cohesion and education of members of ISA around the globe. All of this in order to prepare our forces for coming struggles, and to fight to fulfill the crucial necessary tasks of revolutionary socialists in this tumultuous epoch.
2025’s school was notably marked by both a high level of political discussion, and a greater depth of analysis than was the case in the recent past. A painstaking focus on consolidating our understanding of Marxist perspectives, theory and practice is more important than ever amid the tumultuous churn of world events which has disoriented and shipwrecked many others on the international left. A constant revisiting of our guiding principles and their application to the current situation is fundamental today. Recommended preparatory readings circulated to participants before the school spanned from contemporary material from ISA and our sections to classics from Trotsky, Lenin, Ted Grant and others.
ISA and its forerunners have always noted that a revolutionary party is first of all a perspective and a programme, and that ultimately our perspective starts not at the national or local scale but from the global bigger picture, seeking to understand the driving forces of change and crisis which are at play within the international capitalist system. The school was kicked off with a discussion on World Perspectives entitled Trump 2.0 and the class struggle amid the reactionary turn of global capitalism, with the title pointing at some integral features of the new period. This discussion, led off by Danny B and Anna B and replied to by Per-Åke W, all members of ISA’s International Political Committee (IPC), lasted 1.5 days and still wasn’t long enough to fully deal with the manifold features marking the era.
As Anna noted in her introductory speech “Capitalism has become a fetter on the development of society in every sense”. This was borne out through the session with contributions focusing on the disastrous militaristic turn of ruling classes which has taken the world into a new ‘pre-war’ epoch much like that preceding World War I. Different features illustrated this – from the genocide in Gaza to the on-going meatgrinder in Ukraine, the war in Congo and recent clashes between India & Pakistan, as well as the massive escalation in global military spending by the ruling class.
As comrade Katja from Sweden related, this is part of a general rightward shift among traditional capitalist parties as well as the rise of new far-right and right populist forces. Others explained how this is rooted in the bankruptcy of the capitalist system, which is also expressed in the anemic and crisis-ridden nature of the world economy. This crisis stems from both the long-term contradictions of capitalism – in particular the national contradictions which are coming to the fore in trade wars and economic nationalism wreak economic havoc – and newer factors such as China’s deep economic malaise.
Other comrades noted that though reaction may have momentum at this particular juncture, many struggles and movements have emerged seeking to push back against the reactionary onslaught. Trump’s first six months in office have already seen the biggest day of protest in US history and mass protests have been crucial parts of recent Nigerian and Kenyan history. This has been echoed in new phenomena on the political plane for example with the surge of Die Linke in Germany.
The most important and inspiring event to take place during the school was the explosive launch of the new Left party led by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana in Britain which over the course of a few days grew to 700,000 registered supporters – the biggest party, by this metric, in the whole of Europe. The new bloody age into which we have entered poses not just new challenges for these fights but also the potential for them to proceed onto a higher level.
Developing a Marxist Program
The second plenary session was entitled What is a Marxist program and why ISA needs one. It flows from a decision at the ISA World Congress last November that one of the major tasks for our international over the next period is the elaboration of an international program, which will be the first such document produced by ISA since its foundation (as the Committee for a Workers’ International) in the 1970s. A Marxist programme sets out a view of the crises of capitalism and the state of the labour movement and outlines the strategy, methods and core demands necessary to bring about revolutionary socialist change. The discussion on this theme at the World School was just the starting point in a process, which will lead up to ISA’s next World Congress.
It was introduced by Tom C and Andre F from the ISA International Political Committee. Andre began by outlining the essential role of a program and its place in revolutionary internationals since the time of Karl Marx. He noted that failures on this front had led many a revolutionary astray in complex waters. This is because the program is not just a list of demands dropped from the heavens but also a method and a strategy that coheres a party’s cadres and guides its intervention into the movement. Tom underlined the importance of program in the founding of our tradition, as it served to define the necessary existence of CWI/ISA as a separate organized international tendency distinct from the wayward conceptions of other tendencies on the international left.
Comrades made important points on this score from our orientation to the trade union movement to specific themes around democratic demands, socialist feminism, national liberation and Marxists’ attitude to new waves of reformism and specific areas of acute focus like the Middle East.
Bumper Finance Appeal!
On Sunday evening, a financial appeal given by Mike F (EWS), Hannah S (US) and Daniel A (Nigeria) was a smashing success which reflected the inspiration and enthusiasm of ISA members. All three spoke to the critical role of international solidarity in the work of all our sections, from both a political and a practical sense. Daniel in particular very powerfully related its importance in the campaign against his persecution and imprisonment by the Nigerian state (which is still on-going). The ambitious target for this financial appeal – €25,000 – was bulldozed through by the incredible sacrifice of ISA members – raising over €32,000, with more still coming in at the time of writing! ISA members and supporters who have not yet been able to pledge can still contribute to the appeal here.
Dozens of Commissions
On Monday and Tuesday, participants broke down into a number of smaller commissions with the goal of more in-depth conversation on topics of perspectives, theory, history and building the organization. In Monday’s session Africa: Crisis of bourgeois democracy and struggle against imperialism, Dagga T of ISA’s Nigerian section and IPC laid out the history of imperialism’s role in Africa since the 1960s independence movements. This commission ran alongside others on the character of China’s state and economy, the war in Ukraine, attacks on trans people internationally, and the re-emergence of mass reformist parties of the Left.
A special Monday evening forum was dedicated to the Middle East. No other area in the world has had such an effect on events as of late. The last few years have seen a fundamental rebalancing of power and relations within the region. The genocidal assault in Gaza by Israel has also become a flashpoint around the world, interacting with the global imperialist battle for supremacy and laying the seeds for revolutionary developments in neighboring nations. Leon P of Socialist Alternative in the US, laid out the long history which prepared the ground for the current developments and the role of imperialism, nationalism and Stalinism in reaching today’s impasse. Many comrades came in on different aspects of the discussion including on different elements of confusion and debate within the left including pressures around Palestinian nationalism. In his reply, Per-Åke W of ISA’s IPC emphasized the scale of the horror, a refutation of the idea of one or two capitalist states as a solution, and the need for revolutionary socialist change across the region as part of a Marxist program for the situation.
In one of Tuesday’s commissions – titled What is the legacy of the CWI/ISA? – comrades discussed the origins and unique traits of our tradition, as well as a balance sheet of the many internal debates which have taken place within it over the decades. At the same time, comrades were attending equally illuminating discussions on socialist feminism, Lenin’s Imperialism today, racism and migration, a Marxist understanding of economic crisis, and Bonapartism, fascism and authoritarianism.
From Words to Action – Building ISA
As well as history, theory and contemporary events, revolutionary party building was an indispensable element of the school, translating words into action. Commissions were held which covered the topics of revolutionary finances, publications, recruitment, political education and consolidation, trade union work and internal safeguarding practices.
On Wednesday, the first of two final plenaries provided space for a more general exchange on the tasks and priorities for building ISA and our sections. In an introduction which reviewed progress of the goals set out at 2024’s World Congress, Elan A from the US gave a positive balance sheet: this included the debut of the International Marxism journal, regular meetings of the international leadership, the role and functioning of different committees and so on.
His introduction, and the subsequent discussion also noted a number of steps forward in the evolution of ISA sections. For instance, Swedish comrades spoke of the impressive increase in the number of youth members in the section. Similar progress was reported in Germany, where comrades are also playing a role amid the explosive growth of Die Linke. In a similar vein, the pioneering work of Socialist Alternative members in England, Wales & Scotland in the steps leading up to the launch of the new Left party, inspired comrades throughout the event. Comrades from Nigeria spoke about important strides taken there despite the attacks by the state, including establishing a branch at Lagos State University.
Finally, a short plenary was held to round off the school: Imperialist militarism and the need for a global socialist antiwar movement. The four comrades who spoke explained the inextricable connection between capitalism, imperialism and war, connecting that to our earlier perspectives discussions. It was laid out that because of this intimate connection, the only thing that can actually stop the current global militarist drive and end wars for good is connecting the struggle against them to a struggle against capitalism. With the rise of reactionary nationalism, now more than ever that struggle needs to be an international one. Unfortunately, the leaders of the workers movement have often either stood aside from struggle, or even capitulated to this march towards massive conflict. The need for a genuine, socialist alternative to war and imperialism is dire. Thus, in line with World Congress decisions, it was decided that ISA would intensify its common campaigning across different countries to raise the profile for this over the next period.
Things move quickly these days so we must move even quicker. The goal of events like this is to prepare our members to play the role of revolutionaries capable of independent thought and action as the time calls for it. A constant flow of discussion, review and bold initiatives are the only combination which can ensure the future success of the forces of Marxism against the increasingly vicious and reactionary capitalists. Along that road, ISA’s 2025 World School will be an important stepping stone for a generation of revolutionaries.
