This year marks the centenary of the 1917 Russian Revolution and the 25th anniversary of the first ever publication of Socialist Appeal. To celebrate these historic milestones, we are moving forward to publishing Socialist Appeal as a fortnightly paper. Help us reach this landmark achievement by donating to our fighting fund – with a total target of £10,000.
This year marks the centenary of the 1917 Russian Revolution and the 25th anniversary of the first ever publication of Socialist Appeal. To celebrate these historic milestones, we are moving forward to publishing Socialist Appeal as a fortnightly paper. Help us reach this landmark achievement by donating to our fighting fund – with a total target of £10,000 to raise for our upcoming national conference of Socialist Appeal supporters in March, where we will be officially launching the fortnightly.
This year, the world will mark the centenary of the 1917 Russian Revolution. One hundred years ago, in the midst of the carnage of the First World War, the workers of Russia stormed heaven. In the space of a single year, the Russian masses threw off the centuries-old monstrosity of Tsarism and took power, unleashing a revolutionary wave which would sweep the world, end the imperialist slaughter and even threaten to topple the decrepit system which forced it upon the world. For the first time, the oppressed masses, the wretched of the Earth, took their fate, and that of all humanity, into their hands and changed the course of history. The reverberations of this Promethean act can be felt to this day. It is for this reason that we proudly celebrate the Russian Revolution as the greatest event in human history.
It is for the same reason that the capitalists and their paid mouthpieces around the world will stop at nothing to besmirch the name of Lenin, the Bolsheviks, and the Revolution itself. A torrent of hysterical slander has already begun to pour from the pages of the ‘respectable’ press. It is imperative that we stand in defence of the Russian Revolution, and the Bolshevik party which led the Russian workers to power. Over the course of 2017, we will take up this important task online and in the pages of Socialist Appeal.
History is back with a vengeance
This year, we will also be celebrating 25 years since Socialist Appeal was first published. Whilst countless politicians and so-called historians were crowing over the collapse of the USSR and the final victory of capitalism, our comrades launched this paper in defence of the revolutionary ideas of Marxism, and as an appeal to the workers and youth of Britain to join us in the fight for socialism.
Twenty-five years on from the publication of our first issue, not one stone is left upon another of the “liberal world order” which appeared so triumphant in the 1990s. The world economy is locked in an insoluble crisis of overproduction, throwing the capitalist system into complete disarray.
Everywhere, the masses look upon the status quo and its corrupt institutions with utter disgust and eagerly snatch at any alternative being presented. It is this which has delivered the shocks of Brexit and Trump, and will deliver greater shocks in the not-too-distant future. However, despite their anti-establishment rhetoric, billionaire charlatans like Trump offer nothing but racism, lies, and attacks on the working class, which will only further destabilise the situation as the masses learn harsh lessons through experience.
Just as in 1917, the continuation of capitalism offers nothing but horror without end for the working class. Just as in 1917, the ruling class is wracked with indecision, pessimism and splits. And, just as in 1917, only a Bolshevik organisation, steeled in the ideas of Marxism can galvanise the revolutionary strivings of the masses into the fundamental transformation of society, which is the only way forward for humanity.
Forward to the fortnightly!
The building of such an organisation is the raison d’etre of our tendency, and it is in pursuance of this goal that we will take the momentous step of publishing a fortnightly paper.
For this reason, we have set ourselves the target of raising £10,000 at our upcoming National Conference of Socialist Appeal supporters in March this year. The money we raise will allow us to expand our apparatus and obtain the resources necessary for the production of the fortnightly and the high standard of Marxist analysis which we provide. But also, it will help us in the building of an organisation capable of changing history, as the Bolsheviks did in October 1917.
We would therefore like to appeal to all of our comrades and readers to donate to our paper and to our cause. If you enjoy and agree with our material and recognise the need for a strong Marxist tendency in British politics, then please help us build it.
We cannot do this with ideas alone; our ability to give these ideas flesh and blood ultimately derives from the support and sacrifice of our supporters. Help us make this an even more special year to remember!
Bank details for BACS transfer:
- Socialist Appeal Supporters Club
- HSBC
- Sort code: 40-01-18
- Account number: 5184 3176
Cheques, made payable to Socialist Appeal Supporters Club, can be sent to:
PO Box 50525, Poplar, London, E14 6WG
