International Marxist Tendency

Fightback, the Marxists in English Canada have taken the initiative to spread the inspiring Quebec Student strike across the country. They are doing this in solidarity with their comrades in Quebec organized around La Riposte. The comrades launched an open letter calling on the Canadian Federation of Students, the main student federation in English Canada, to organize strike ballots for free education and to support the Quebec movement.

With two-thirds of its work force in the rural sector, Bangladesh’s agriculture contributes just 19 percent to its GDP. Sixty-six percent of exports are from the garment industry that makes it the third largest clothes exporting country in the world. It is perhaps the cheapest and most profitable place for garment manufacturers. However, the conditions of the workers, mainly women, are atrocious.

The artist’s task is not merely to mirror reality in an unthinking way but to impart a special meaning and feeling to what is being depicted: “The painter who draws merely by practice and by eye, without any reason,” wrote Leonardo, “is like a mirror which copies everything placed in front of it without being conscious of their existence.” [part 1]

The attempt of the ruling class to terrorise the working masses has escalated. The majority of it appears determined to attempt to marginalise their political enemy. The “media”, subservient to the big business, broadcast daily propaganda of a civil war type. The Marxist paper, Revolution is the latest target, being publicly attacked by New Democracy MP Papathanasiou.

On Friday 18th May Alan Woods began his Italian speaking tour with an excellent meeting at the “Universita' Statale” in Milan, attended by over 120 students and workers. The tour is to launch the booklet Il marxismo e #occupy – ribellione o rivoluzione? (Marxism and occupy - rebellion or revolution?) recently published by the Marxist tendency of the PRC, Falcemartello.

As in Greece, Spain and France, in Italy every attempt by the ruling class to implement the draconian austerity measures demanded by the European Central Bank and the IMF has rapidly undermined any popular support for the ruling parties and any party which supports these measures. The recent Italian local elections fully exposed the desperate position of Italian capitalism.