The global elites gathered in Davos last week, to discuss the fate and future of capitalism. With the world economy wracked by inflation and instability, a mood of pessimism prevailed. We need a revolution to put them out of their misery.

This year’s New Year edition of Der Spiegel features an interesting piece titled, “Was Marx right after all?” Full of astute observations about the state of capitalism, it’s a piece symptomatic of the anxiety of the ruling class. But the ‘solutions’ it proposes – reactionary and utopian ideas based on keeping capitalism intact, like ‘degrowth’ and Keynesianism – are really no solutions at all.

In May 2022, the CEO of BlackRock declared that “the Russian invasion of Ukraine has put an end to the globalisation we have experienced over the last three decades”. He undoubtedly has a point. The war in Ukraine has brought to a head the conflicts that have been brewing between the major powers for some time.

The editorial board of marxist.com is very excited to announce that we are launching a new, weekly podcast series beginning early next year. Get ready to tune in to International Marxist Radio, the official podcast of the International Marxist Tendency, for the best revolutionary news, theory and analysis. Click here to subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google podcasts!

The invasion of the National Congress, the Planalto Palace and the Supreme Court yesterday (8 January) by Bolsonarista groups – in opposition to the electoral result and demanding military intervention – must be firmly repudiated and fought by the labour, popular and student movements.

The past few months have seen central banks scrambling to raise interest rates to control inflation. Yesterday, the Federal Reserve introduced another 0.75 percentage point hike, and the Bank of England will follow suit today. This spate of rate hikes caused mortgage rates to multiply, government borrowing rates to spiral, and now a recession looms. This will be painful for ordinary people, but will the ruling class achieve its aims?

William Ruto was sworn in as Kenya's fifth president on Tuesday 13 September, a week after the Supreme Court rejected a challenge by his opponent in a close-fought election, in which Ruto received 50.5 percent of the vote against 48.8 percent for Raila Odinga. Neither of these reactionary bourgeois politicians offered any way forward for the Kenyan masses, who face increasingly intolerable conditions.

In the last few days, Ukrainian forces have made significant advances on the Kharkiv front, forcing the Russians into a disorganised retreat. Where did this surprise counteroffensive come from and what is its significance for the war overall?

As the country’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II represented a bygone age of stability. Her passing marks the beginning of a new era of crisis; another crumbling pillar of the British establishment, heralding revolutionary upheavals.

After days of intensive speculation and evasion, US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi landed in Taipei, Taiwan on a US Air Force Jet yesterday. This reckless and reactionary provocation towards China by US imperialism threatens to destabilise the entire Indo-Pacific region.

The following article is based on a speech delivered by marxist.com editor, Alan Woods, at the recent, hugely successful, International Marxist University. The world situation is characterised by war, chaos and crisis at all levels, leading some to draw the most pessimistic conclusions. In reality, an old order is dying and a new one is struggling to be born. We see that with the revolutionary eruptions in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. What is missing is a clear, revolutionary leadership to lead the working class to victory and to the overthrow of this decaying capitalist system.