Issue 44 of In Defence of Marxism magazine, the quarterly theoretical journal of the International Marxist Tendency, is available to buy now! To commemorate the centenary of the death of one of history’s greatest communists, this issue focuses on the life and work of Lenin.

Once again, it’s Valentine’s Day. For weeks, businesses have been adorned with flowers, hearts, and a thousand shades of pink. Yet, for many, this atmosphere doesn’t really reflect the actual feelings in the air. The overall mood isn’t love, but loneliness and isolation. 

At the end of January, around 100 comrades of the International Marxist Tendency (IMT) from across the globe came together for a leadership meeting that represented a decisive landmark in our history.

Experienced trade unionist John McInally introduces Wellred Books’ latest publication: a fascinating biography examining Lenin’s life and ideas by Rob Sewell and Alan Woods. With support for communism on the rise today, we say: Lenin lives!

What is the role of China today? While some on the left have celebrated China’s ambitions as a counterweight to the United States, Jorge Martín explains that capitalism has long been restored in China, and today it has all the features of a rising imperialist power. “Multipolarity” will not benefit the workers of the world, who must trust solely in their own strength to throw off the chains of imperialism and capitalism internationally.

Written in 1916, in the middle of the First World War, Lenin’s Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism is an essential work for understanding the phenomena of war and imperialism today.

“The world political situation as a whole is chiefly characterized by a historical crisis of the leadership of the proletariat.” These lines, which date back to 1938 with Trotsky’s Transitional Program, could have been written yesterday. The present epoch is marked by a glaring contradiction: the immense revolutionary energy, yet the total absence of a political leadership capable or even willing to channel it into the struggle against the capitalists and their bankrupt system.

Keith Haring’s commitment to “art for everybody” ran deep, permeating not only the style but the political content of his work. Some of Haring’s most iconic works are those which make bold calls for change, engaging with social crises like South African apartheid, Reaganism, the oppression of LGBTQ people, and the AIDS epidemic which would eventually take Haring’s own life. But today, the appropriation of Haring’s legacy by elite art auctions and ritzy brands poses an important question: under capitalism, can art really be for everyone?

Today marks 100 years since Lenin’s death, and a knowledge of the genuine ideas of Lenin is still essential for anyone wishing to see a victorious communist revolution today.

One of the most common misconceptions about the Russian Revolution is that the ideas and methods of Vladimir Lenin’s Bolshevik Party led inevitably to the Stalinist regime and all the crimes that went with it.