In the wake of his recent humanitarian visit to Cuba, RICHARD BURGON points to the now urgent need to defend the island’s political sovereignty and its right to self-determination
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Does a ‘ruling class’ still exist?
This week, the MARX MEMORIAL LIBRARY explains that, while the ruling class might look somewhat different from Marx’s day, its fundamental nature remains unchanged
Thousands of jobs are at risk across higher education, yet government funding appears only when universities can be linked to military objectives, says JO GRADY, in the run-up to the Stop the War International Conference this Saturday
The Wye, Usk, Arrow and Lugg were once treasured for their clean waters – today, pollution and corporate excess are fuelling demands for a return to public ownership, says MARK SEDDON
The new Employment Rights Act is a step forward, but restoring collective bargaining and union power remains essential to tackling insecurity, outsourcing and low pay, says PAUL WHITEHOUSE
Rising support for Farage’s party reflects Labour’s failure to defend working-class living standards or offer a credible alternative to neoliberal decline, says JOSEPH MILLS
Trade unionists are mobilising to support Cuban workers and public services, amid escalating US pressure on the socialist island. RONAN OGILVY explains
YES, it does, though it’s changed a bit since Marx’s time. Most industrial and commercial capital — factories, machinery, distribution and communication systems — the means whereby wealth is created (with a little help from workers, of course) is rarely any longer owned directly by individuals but by companies.
Though most land is still privately owned (and that’s excluding the house and garden that you and I may own — land becomes “capital” only when it can be used to make a profit) increasing amounts are held as investment by financial institutions.
However despite the significant sums that are held by pension funds, local authorities, universities and other institutions that you and I may feel we have a stake in, capital — stocks, shares, bonds and other “investments” — are overwhelmingly in the hands of a relatively small number of individuals.
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