Alex Callinicos

Over 100 years ago, Rosa Luxemburg argued that the future of humanity was “socialism or barbarism”. In this excellent book, Alex Callinicos shows that we are still faced with that choice today.

In the twentieth century, capitalism gave the world the barbarism of two world wars, countless other wars, the Great Depression, famine, Stalinism, fascism and the Holocaust.

Callinicos shows that today we are faced with similar threats in a “New Age of Catastrophe”. He examines in great detail show more the climate crisis, the destruction of nature, the threat of more Covid-like viruses, economic stagnation and crisis, imperialist wars, the danger of nuclear war, the growth of the extreme right, and the struggle against racism and sexism.

All these problems are linked to the underlying nature of the capitalist system, which is based on the exploitation by the ruling class of the working class (and of nature), and also on the competition between rival units of capital (businesses and states) in pursuit of profit.

Before anyone starts saying that there is no alternative to capitalism other than the Stalinist tyranny of the so-called “communist” states, I must point out that Callinicos belongs to the genuine Marxist tradition for which democracy is an essential part of socialism; for which, as Marx said, socialism is the “self-emancipation of the working class”; which sees the Stalinist states as bureaucratic state capitalist, not socialist; and which, during the Cold War, put forward the slogan: “Neither Washington nor Moscow, but International Socialism”.

But how can capitalism be overcome, especially when the ruling classes of the world control, either directly or indirectly, the mass media? (As Marx said, “The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas.”) What comes into play here is an essential insight of Marxism: that ideas change in struggle. When workers start to collectively fight back against the attacks of the capitalists and their tame governments, then workers’ attitudes can shift rapidly to the left. Recent strikes in the UK and France show how this can happen.

A recent interview (April 2023) with a French striker backs up Callinicos’s view on this. The striker said, “We have forged links with employees from other sectors and that is very valuable in leading the fight. When we stop working, we take the time to think about the social and political organisation of the world, the wealth we create, and what society gives back to us, which is to say almost nothing… And that’s why the strike is liberating.”

The author is a leading member of the Socialist Workers’ Party (Britain), which is in turn affiliated to the International Socialist Tendency. Callinicos has always written two types of books. Firstly, there are those aimed at a general readership. An example of this is his excellent “The Revolutionary Ideas of Karl Marx”. Secondly, he has written books which are aimed more at an intellectual/academic audience. The latter are more difficult for the non-specialist reader.

This book is MAINLY an accessible read. But my only criticism of it is that parts of it sway over towards the academic side. I myself have been a Marxist for approaching 50 years, and in my working life I was a social science teacher. But when I read some of the quotes that the author cites from people like Foucault and Adorno, I found myself thinking: What the heck does THAT mean? But don’t let that put you off. This an important book, and it’s well worth putting in the effort required.

Finally, what are the actual chances of us stopping capitalism from dragging us all over a cliff? Callinicos sees plenty of reasons for hope, despite the odds. And, as Gramsci said, we need: “Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will.” show less

Despite a life-long left-leaning political inclination, it is only recently that I've started to engage with the underlying theory and philosophy of socialism. This 1983 review of the socialist movement from inception to contemporary position is necessarily brief, given its seventy-seven pages, but nontheless provides a clear and inciteful introduction.

The betrayal by Stalin of the Russian socialist revolution isn't news to me, but the nature of that betrayal in his formation of a state show more capitalist economy is, and makes sense of the USSR's and China's position on the world stage, and moreso that of the present-day Russian Federation and China.

The East-West tensions that Callinicos saw at the time as possibly moving towards another world war were, it seems to me, to some extent resolved by the acceptance of global capitalism by Gorbachev and Yeltsin in Russia, and more gradually in China by its increasing openness to global markets. However, it feels like those tensions are again rising due to the global financial crisis, the typical reaction of scapegoating an external threat and the increasing alienaton and disenranchisement of the mass of people who are afflicted by their governements with policies of ideological austerity, widening the gap between rich and poor.

The tensions are already playing out in increasing militarism and conflict. My hope is that the majority of people won't be drawn to the phony patriatism and jingoism that seems rife amongst the political classes around the world and that an escalation of military conflict is averted. show less

The late Duncan Hallas, along with Tony Cliff and about 30 others, was a founder-member in 1950 of the small, anti-Stalinist Marxist political group in Britain which later grew and developed into the present-day Socialist Workers’ Party (Britain), which has links with similar groups in many other countries in the International Socialist Tendency. This great book contains selected writings BY Hallas, and also sections written by others ABOUT him and his ideas.

Duncan Hallas was my favourite show more political speaker: he addressed meetings with marvellous clarity and sharpness. This book has reminded me that this clarity of expression applied to his writing as well as to his speaking skills.

In relation to this clarity, Alex Callinicos wrote in an obituary: “Not for Duncan the abstractions and obscurities of academic Marxism. He wrote plain English, punctuated by short pithy sentences.” And Paul Foot said that: “He was the most coherent socialist I ever knew, whether he was writing or speaking.”

Marx wrote that: “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it.” And Duncan certainly tried to change it. He was a lifelong activist as well as a theoretician, speaker and writer. An early example was when he played a part in a mutiny in the British army in Egypt after WWII in 1946, when soldiers were demanding to be demobbed and sent home.

Like Marx, Duncan’s view of socialist revolution was that it involved the “self-emancipation of the working class”. That is, it meant a movement of the majority, collectively and democratically taking power from the hands of the exploiting minority of capitalists. (The working class today, of course, includes “white collar”/non-manual workers as well as manual workers.)

This belief that democracy and socialism are inseparable meant that Duncan did not see the so-called “communist” states as in any way genuinely socialist or Marxist. Orthodox Trotskyists also criticised the USSR etc, but they followed Trotsky’s view that Russia under Stalin was a “degenerated workers’ state”. Hallas argued - correctly in my view - that Trotsky was mistaken in this. Much more convincing is the theory that was first fully developed by Tony Cliff: that Stalinist Russia was a bureaucratic state capitalist tyranny, as were the other so-called “communist” regimes that appeared later.

But why is a revolution necessary to achieve socialism? Again, Duncan followed Marx in saying that there were two reasons for this. Firstly, because of the undemocratic power of the ruling class through its control of the economy, the media and the repressive machinery of the state. This power closes off any parliamentary road to socialism. And secondly, because it is through the process of class struggle itself that workers’ ideas change and they become open to socialist arguments. This is how a majority can be won for socialism.

In relation to this last point, Duncan would have been really pleased to see the recent revival in class struggle, with many groups of workers going on strike and starting to see through the lies and distortions of the capitalist media. But he would also have pointed to the danger of these struggles being dampened down and sold out by the full-time bureaucrats who lead the unions.

One final point. This book is not just aimed at “old-timer” socialists like myself, who met Duncan. As it says on the back of the book, “This book is a tribute to a remarkable life and a call to a new generation to enrich and deepen their understanding of revolutionary socialism through Duncan’s work.” show less

I picked this up to prep myself for starting a Socio PhD in the fall, and while Callinicos is certainly very thorough in tying together relevant authors, ideas, schools, and general movements, this book wasn't the easiest to just sit down and understand. It's densely written, and I'm going to say that this isn't a true "introduction"-- I suspect that it would be ideal for, say, a graduate seminar, but as a literate and intelligent person who just doesn't have background with the topic, it show more wasn't as self-explanatory as I was hoping it would be.

That being said, while I did skim the final 1/3 of this book, I suspect it'll be one that I return to once I'm in school and in conversations where this kind of subject matter comes up more often. Well-organized, helpful reading lists in the back, and the index looks useful. So, while it wasn't my piece of pie this time around, overall it does what it needs to do. show less