In this instalment of our series, Lenin in a Year, we take a look at a short but very interesting text by Lenin, written in 1919, The Third International and its Place in History. This year represented the high water mark of a European-wide wave of revolutions. The foundations of capitalism were shaking. And to lead the European and world proletariat, Lenin led the founding of a new Third Communist International.

50 years ago, after the long postwar boom, the world economy experienced its first truly global crisis. Falling output and spiralling inflation combined to devastate the working class. Today, capitalism faces similar turmoil. It must be overthrown.