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An integral part of the YCL’s role is to educate its members and young people about Communist theory. The YCL is continually developing a wide range of materials for people to use to learn about different aspects of our theory and how our analysis can be applied to the problems facing young people, and the working class in general, across the world. In this section you will find materials that can be used to further your knowledge of Marxist concepts. The vast majority of works/speeches/articles written by Marxists (including materials from the Party’s history) can be found on the Marxist Internet Archive. There are literally millions of pages so it’s difficult to know where to start. The Back 2 Basics series, which appears regularly in Challenge are an excellent place for people to start to get to grips with some of the more relevant Marxist concepts. |
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The nature of trades unions under both capitalism and socialism is a question which has occupied many sections of the international Marxist movement since the beginning of the 20th century and before. The basics are, of course, obvious. Trades unions are formed where workers unite to defend their immediate interests against those of capital. In fact, the very existence of trades unions is due to the basic contradiction between labour and capital. The primary motivation of capital is to increase the surplus value extracted from the workers. The basic motivation of labour is to receive the maximum proportion of the value they create through a day's labour. In spite of labour-saving devices, capital-saving devices, etc., ultimately, one can only be increased at the expense of the other. Therefore, there is a basic contradiction between their objective interests.
The question of oppression is one on which, despite some advances, Marxists still have a considerable amount of work to do. This issue of back to basics will look specifically at women's oppression under capitalism, and will draw in particular on the work of Engels, Angela Davis and Mary Davis. This is not to suggest that all oppressions operate in exactly the same way or can be understood through a generalisation of women's oppression. However, in spite of its specificity, there will undoubtedly be a more general application of the key conclusions and method.
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