We are very happy to publish a video of In Defence of Marxism editor Alan Woods speaking on the prospects for revolution in Europe and North America. This video comes from his talk at the University of Toronto back in October, which attracted over 100 people on a Saturday evening.

The discovery of E. Coli in meat from XL Foods has prompted the largest beef recall in Canadian history. Like any capitalist enterprise, XL Foods has one key goal: increasing profit. While corporate consolidation grew and agriculture and meat production became more concentrated, the role of factory farming in agribusiness became more prominent. Today over 95% of animals raised and slaughtered for food in Canada are mass-produced on factory farms. As animals rights groups have pointed out, conditions for animals there tend to be overcrowded and unsanitary, allowing disease to spread easily.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Occupy movement in many Canadian cities.  Occupy captured the imaginations of thousands of youth, and even though the occupations themselves are no longer around, the ideas and language of the Occupy movement persist today.  The key factor in making movements such as Occupy successful is to bring in the labour movement who hold the real power in society.  Today, we publish a recent editorial from our sister paper in the USA, Socialist Appeal.

A recent report by the consultancy firm, McKinsey, reveals that treasure troves of cash are being held in off-shore, tax-free havens. This does not come as news for many; what is notable of the report is the sheer magnitude of wealth that the ultra-rich of the world have accumulated in off-shore accounts for decades.

Fightback recently co-organized a central Canadian tour with Fred Weston, the managing editor of the popular website, In Defence of Marxism.  Fred spoke about the impasse that capitalism is in, particularly in Europe, and what effect this will have on the world economy.  Fred also spoke on the effect that the European crisis is having on the working class, and how the ongoing student strike in Quebec is part of that challenge to capitalism. Here, we provide a video of his talk in Toronto.

Twelve months ago, we contrasted the attitude of the bourgeoisie and the working class as the effects of the capitalist crisis played out.  The bourgeois have no confidence in their own system, only seeing a dead end.  The working class, on the other hand, are beginning to realize their own strength.  In the past year, the working masses around the world have risen up and begun to challenge the status-quo.  What can revolutionaries look forward to in 2012?

Europe’s economic crisis is being transformed by the day into a deep political crisis. Italy and Greece both have new governments – governments of “national unity”, pledged to solve the economic and financial crisis that has rocked Europe to its foundations. What are these so-called technocratic governments and what do they represent?

The Canadian corporate media commentators were all united with a single opinion — the #Occupy movement would have no traction north of the border due to Canada’s “stable banks that never needed a bailout”. Despite the fact that this is a lie, thousands of ordinary Canadians showed the press just how out of touch they are. After being ignored and belittled, the movement that began in New York has taken firm root in Canada. The very notion of criticizing corporate rule and capitalism has been ridiculed in the mainstream media, so much so that large numbers were silenced. Now these people have said they will not be shut up and have burst onto the political scene.

Europe is standing on the edge of a precipice. This is the judgement, not just of the Marxists, but of the most serious strategists of Capital. Barely six weeks have passed since the latest Greek rescue package, and it is already unravelling. There is now a general crisis of confidence in the ranks of the bourgeoisie internationally. The panic, which is reflected in the wild gyrations of the stock exchanges, has spread rapidly from Europe to America. It is a kind of deadly contagion that has infected all the euro zone’s big countries.

A recent commentary piece by Matt Fodor, published in The Bullet, the e-paper of the Toronto group Socialist Project, raised an interesting issue that has been much debated within the workers’ movement—the role of taxation. Fodor argues that the manner in which the NDP is opposing the HST in BC and Ontario dovetails with the arguments of the right-wing—that taxes are evil and that this foments an “anti-tax sentiment among the general population.” Fodor argues that we should instead support the HST as a means for paying for more programs and services. Fightback believes that this is a dangerous idea that drives workers into the arms of right-wing populists.