Marxist Audio Archive

What does communism actually look like? Could it work in Canada?A July 2026 poll found that 26% of 18-29 year old Canadians have a positive view of communism. This is damning condemnation of capitalism in this country. Young people are feeling their lives get worse, and their futures are looking bleaker by the day. In this context, many are looking to socialism as the way forward.In this presentation, Joel Bergman outlines what a Communist Canada would look like, and why it's not just a good idea—it's the only way out of this failing system.📖 Further reading:Should Canada go communist?Recorded on September 9, 2026 in Toronto.🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist Party📰Subscribe to Communist Revolution▶️YouTube📱Apple Podcasts📸 Instagram💬X💻Facebook

It’s easy to feel powerless as individuals. Everywhere we look, society tells us that there’s nothing we can do to change the world. It can seem like the world is governed by malevolent forces beyond our control or understanding.But history is made by people, and a cursory glance at history shows that individuals can play a giant role at certain points. The problem is not that we’re powerless; it’s that we don’t understand the relationship between our efforts and the great forces that govern the movement of history. Marxism uncovers this relationship. Using this understanding, ordinary people can find their place in the historical process and play a vital role in changing the world.In this presentation from the Western Canadian Marxist Summer School, Daniel DaRosa explains the Marxist understanding of the individual's hole in history. 📖 Further reading:On the Role of the Individual in HistoryThe individual and the Marxist view of historyThe Decisive Role of the Individual in HistoryWhat is historical materialism? [Buy the book here]Recorded July 4, 2026 in Edmonton.

The Russian Revolution was the greatest event in history. Lenin, Trotsky, and the rest of the Bolsheviks led the working class to take power and hold it for the first time in history. October was living proof that the oppressed do not need their oppressors; that a better world is possible. It inspired a worldwide revolutionary wave in its wake, and remains a beacon of hope to the oppressed today.No party has sunk deeper roots among ordinary people than the Bolsheviks, and no victory has ever been more decisive or transformative than the one the Bolsheviks led them to achieve.This is why the ruling class will never forget the Bolsheviks, and it’s why we must seek to study them. The Russian Revolution of 1917 still contains the most urgent lessons for revolutionaries today.In this presentation from the Western Canadian Marxist Summer School, Joel Bergman explains the lessons communists can draw from this inspiring event, in order to change the world today.📖 Further reading:The Bolsheviks and the Russian Revolution: An introductionThe Lessons of October[Buy the booklet here]Russia: From Revolution to Counter-Revolution[Buy the book here]🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist Party📰Subscribe to Communist Revolution▶️YouTube📱Apple Podcasts📸 Instagram💬X💻Facebook wherever you get your podcastsRecorded July 5, 2026 in Edmonton.

Across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, workers, shopkeepers, and youth are mobilizing by the hundreds of thousands against the repressive Pakistani regime.Under the leadership of the Joint Awami Action Committees, months long general strikes and mass sit-ins show that the people are ready to democratically seize power and intervene into the course of history.The next step is for the Awami Action Committees, the organization at the head of the revolution, to officially take power.In this presentation, Renu Brar of the RCP explains the situation.📖 Further reading:Mass movement of AAC in Pakistan-administered Kashmir defies brutal state repression to write a new chapter in historyEmergency resolution in solidarity with the struggle of the people of Azad Kashmir15 July Long March in ‘Azad’ Kashmir: All power to the committees!🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist Party📰Subscribe to Communist Revolution▶️YouTube📱Apple Podcasts📸 Instagram💬X💻FacebookListen wherever you get your podcastsRecorded July 23, 2026, in Toronto.

For years, the Canadian state has pushed for land acknowledgements, tearful apologies, “equity partnerships”, and identity politics to try to paper over centuries of oppression. This has not worked.For all of this country’s history, Indigenous people have suffered all of the worst features of capitalism. The conditions of Indigenous communities have lagged far behind the rest of the country. Now, governments are trying to claw away the few protections Indigenous people have, in the interests of mining companies and oil giants.Events are proving what Marxists have always stated: there can be no reconciliation under capitalism.Not only Indigenous communities but the broader working class will be drawn into struggle against the ruling class and its state. What will it take for these struggles to win, and ultimately, to overthrow the system entirely?In this presentation from the 2026 Western Canadian Marxist Summer School, Rob Lyon explains the Marxist approach to Indigenous liberation.📖 Further reading:Indigenous liberation: capitalism or communism?DRIPA, private property, and Eby’s betrayal of Indigenous peopleIndigenous Struggle and the Fight for Socialism: Revolution, Not Reconciliation![Buy the booklet here]Louis Riel and the Métis Revolution[Buy the booklet here]🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist Party📰Subscribe to Communist Revolution▶️YouTube📱Apple Podcasts📸 Instagram💬X💻FacebookListen wherever you get your podcastsRecorded on July 4, 2026 in Edmonton.

In October, Alberta will vote on whether or not to have a binding referendum on separating from Canada. Separatists have latched on to the idea that the Federal government is impeding Alberta’s prosperity, after years of the UCP making these same arguments. Danielle Smith wanted to leverage western alienation against the federal government, but now that the movement has evolved, she is like a sorcerer who’s lost control of her spells.After the victory of Brexit, Meloni, and Trump (twice), the lesson that status quo establishment politics cannot defeat anti-establishment movements should be clear. And yet, the leadership of the labour movement is joining hands with establishment politicians of every stripe, and aligning against separation behind Canadian nationalism. This is dissolving the struggle of the working class into the same camp as the federal liberals, conservatives, the bosses, and every other discredited figure.The workers of Alberta need a class based approach to fight the reactionary separatist project.In this presentation from the 2026 Western Canadian Marxist Summer School, Laine Sheldon-Houle explains the communist position.📖 Further reading:The working class response to Smith’s referendumHow should socialists vote in Jason Kenney’s pointless referendum?The Alberta Federation of Labour must prepare for a general strikeWhy would Alberta separate?🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist Party📰Subscribe to Communist Revolution▶️YouTube📱Apple Podcasts📸 Instagram💬X💻FacebookListen wherever you get your podcastsRecorded live at in Edmonton on July 5, 2026.

The rise of AI has lead to widespread concern, ranging from fears of job losses and environmental destruction, to a total replacement of humanity.This has raised important (though hardly new) questions for science and philosophy, surrounding the future of humanity, the feasibility of creating “Generalized Artificial Intelligence,” and the nature of consciousness itself.In this presentation, Jeremy Swinarton explains the problem of consciousness, what science tells us, and how Marxist philosophy can help us understand the question.📖 Further reading:Ted Grant & Alan Woods — Reason in Revolt: Marxist Philosophy and Modern Science (Chapter 13: The Genesis of Mind)(Buy a copy)Engels — The Part played by Labour in the Transition from Ape to ManDaniel Morley — Artificial Intelligence: doomsday for humanity, or for capitalism? Karl Marx — Theses On Feuerbach🫵 Jointhe Revolutionary Communist Party📰 Subscribe to Communist Revolution, the newspaper of the RCP▶️ YouTube📱 Apple Podcasts📸Instagram💬 X💻FacebookRecorded live in Toronto on June 12, 2026.

Engels once called dialectics “the science of the general laws of motion, both of the external world and of human thought”.It is the philosophy of motion and change. It was on the foundations of this philosophy that Marx and Engels developed their analysis of class society, of the rise and the inevitable fall of the capitalist system.But motion and change are ubiquitous, not only to human life but also to nature as a whole. Everything from the evolution of species to the formation of our solar system is governed by constant transformation. To better understand the world in which we live, we must learn to apply dialectical materialism to all spheres of life, above all to the natural world.This talk by Ben Curry focuses on the scientific philosophy of Marxism, dialectical materialism.📖 Further reading:Rob Sewell — What is dialectical materialism?Available in “What is Marxism?”Ben Curry — Scientific revolution and materialist philosophy Engels — Dialectics of NatureGet a copy herePreface by Rob SewellAdam Booth — The crisis in science: progress, stagnation, and revolution 🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist Party📰Subscribe to Communist Revolution, the newspaper of the RCP▶️ YouTube📱 Apple Podcasts📸 Instagram💬 X💻FacebookRecorded live in Montreal on May 14, 2026.

“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”This presentation by Joel Bergman outlines the key processes shaping the class struggle in Canada. The changing world situation, and in particular the relative decline of US Imperialism, leaves Canadian capitalism in a dead end. Mounting government debt, a looming recession, inflation, and low productivity weigh heavy on Canada's economy. Carney is stuck with an economy which is uncompetitive and which requires massive investment. In order to invest, the capitalists are demanding cuts to wages, social programs, and public spending. This will inevitably push the working class to defend against attacks on their standard of living. The road is being prepared for class battles ahead. The fault lines of capitalism are beginning to crack. This is being expressed through the rise of separatism in Alberta, renewed talk of Quebec independence, and the heating up of the Indigenous movement. Everywhere, people are looking for ideas, for answers. Canada is broken, and someone will be made to pay for the crisis. The question is, "who pays?"This presentation served as the introduction to a discussion on "Canada and the new world order", as part of the Third congress of the RCP. The discussion was based around our 2026 perspectives document (linked below), which was amended and approved by the congress.📖 Further reading:Perspectives document - Canada and the new world order (2026 Perspectives)Read more about the Congress - Third RCP Congress: A party up to the taskWatch more from the Congress🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist Party📰Subscribe to Communist Revolution, the newspaper of the RCP▶️ YouTube📱Apple Podcasts📸 Instagram💬 X💻FacebookRecorded live in Toronto on May 16, 2026.

"For our demands most moderate are, We only want the earth." - James Connolly, 1907James Connolly is often portrayed as simply an Irish nationalist. This couldn't be further from the truth. The leader of the Easter rising, he was a revolutionary Marxist. His study of Marx and Engels guided his fight for an Irish socialist republic, independently bringing him to similar conclusions as Lenin and the Bolsheviks. From the question of national liberation, to international socialism, and the struggle for working class unity, Connolly's legacy offers invaluable lessons for revolutionaries today.In this presentation, Ben Curry (from the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International) explains the impact of Connolly's life and ideas. Connolly's unfinished work - for an Irish socialist republic, and a socialist world - is up to us to complete. Armed with his ideas, as well as those of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky, the working class will win.This presentation was recorded live in Toronto on May 19, 2026.Further reading:James Connolly and the Easter RisingIreland: Republicanism and Revolution Buy the book!Join the Revolutionary Communist Party