The ancient bastion of capitalism—Great Britain—is today descending into chaos and anarchy, driven by the intensification of class contradictions and nationalist sentiments. The streets of Great Britain has become arenas of an unequal struggle between the working masses, hungry for justice, and the bourgeois apparatus of violence, desperate to hold onto power at any cost. London, Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, and many other cities have turned into boiling cauldrons where passions never subside for a moment.
Great Britain – Causes and Preconditions of the Crisis
The roots of the current crisis lie in the inherent failure of the capitalist system, which, evolving within the framework of monopoly capitalism, has itself prepared the ground for its own decay. Great Britain, being the first country to experience the industrial revolution, long served as the “workshop of the world,” providing relatively decent living conditions for the labor aristocracy—the very skilled workers who, through privileges and high wages, became the bulwark of bourgeois society.
However, over time, Britain’s monopoly on global markets was undermined. The formerly relatively comfortable living conditions have been replaced by extreme need, driven by rising prices and stagnant wages. This exacerbated class contradictions and led to a split within the ranks of the working class, which no longer wished to tolerate the liberal policies that masked the interests of the bourgeoisie.
The crisis, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, only intensified these trends. The rapid increase in unemployment, deterioration of working and living conditions, and lack of social support—all these became catalysts for discontent among the broad masses of the population. In such conditions, bourgeois parties, both Labour and Conservative, proved unable to offer effective solutions, leading to the rise of nationalist and far-right movements eager to exploit the crisis for their own ends.
The Events in Southport and the Spread of Disinformation
On July 29, a dreadful incident occurred at a dance studio in Southport, where children were killed. This tragic event sparked a storm of outrage and protests, especially in areas where social tension had reached a critical point. However, soon after the incident, far-right nationalists spread false information on social media about the suspect, Axel Rudakubana, portraying him as an undocumented migrant. This fueled a wave of xenophobia and violence against migrants and national minorities.
The nationalist bourgeoisie, eager to maintain its power, actively used this situation to strengthen its position. Right-wing figures such as Nigel Farage and Lee Anderson stoked fears and hatred, claiming that the government was hiding the truth and ignoring the “concerns” of the British people. In reality, these statements are nothing more than an attempt to divert the attention of the working masses from the real causes of the crisis—unjust distribution of wealth and exploitation of labor.
Police Despotism and Repression
Response of the bourgeois state to the protests has been to intensify repression. The Labour government under Keir Starmer, seeking to maintain stability, allocated enormous funds to strengthen the police apparatus, granting the police extraordinary powers. The police were given the right to arbitrary arrests and searches, as well as the use of violence against demonstrators. This measure not only failed to reduce tensions but also increased dissatisfaction among the working masses, who are becoming increasingly aware of their oppressed position.
The Labour Party, which claims to defend the interests of the working class, has long turned into a liberal workers’ party dependent on bourgeois interests. It offers no real solutions and merely panders to the bourgeoisie, supporting austerity policies and cutting social guarantees. This has become especially evident in the current crisis, where the government prefers to strengthen the repressive apparatus rather than address social issues.
The Rise of Far-Right Movements and Nationalist Turn
Against the backdrop of the social crisis, far-right movements have become more active. Groups such as the “Patriotic Alternative,” the “English Defence League,” and others are exploiting the situation to incite nationalist hysteria. They spread calls for violence and pogroms, attempting to shift the blame for economic hardships onto migrants and minorities. These movements serve the interests of the bourgeoisie, which seeks to divert the attention of workers from class struggle and channel their anger towards false targets.
Especially active in spreading nationalist ideas are football fans and youth far-right groups. This is no coincidence: the bourgeoisie has always sought to use any means to distract from the fundamental problems of capitalist society. Instead of seeking solutions in class unity and the fight against exploitation, workers are offered to fight imaginary enemies.
Liberal and Democratic Reactions: The Politics of Empty Words and Tactical Silence
It is precisely here that it becomes appropriate to recall the words of Turgenev’s character, who paraphrased the lines of the great German poet: “Whoever wants to know his enemy must go to the country of that enemy.” Marxists and Bolsheviks would do well to refer to how influential political bodies, especially liberal and “democratic” bourgeois media, react to revolutions and revolutionaries. These bodies, which love to masquerade as impartial analysts and objective scholars, display characteristic duality: they are ready to pay tribute to revolutionaries only when they have already passed into history and no longer pose a threat to the existing order.
Modern liberal media and politicians claim objectivity, limiting themselves to facts and figures plucked from social media headlines. They are ready to acknowledge Marx and Lenin as “great figures,” but only in retrospect, in a safe past. It is convenient for them to talk about “new paths,” about the “necessity of evolution,” about the “modernization” of Marxism and Bolshevism, carefully avoiding specifics and dangerous topics.
These “democrats” argue that “many of Marx’s and Lenin’s constructs have been destroyed by scientific analysis and ruthless criticism of events.” They criticize the theory of class struggle as “harmful,” and the ideas of the dictatorship of the proletariat as “utopian” and “fantastic.” Their main argument is an attempt to show that social democracy can be “reasonable,” “evolutionary,” and “in agreement with the bourgeoisie.”
However, according to them, true revolutionaries should reject the “extreme” and “utopian” elements of Marxism, adapt to “real conditions,” and accept the “rules of the game” of bourgeois society. This half-measure, this compromise and appeasement before capital—this is what defines the essence of modern liberal politics. Their so-called “revisionists” merely soften revolutionary principles, offering bourgeois reforms instead.
Class Struggle and Revolutionary Prospects in Great Britain
Today’s events in Great Britain are a manifestation of the deep social and economic malaise of the capitalist system. The working class, experiencing the dismantling of former social guarantees and facing unprecedented repression, is beginning to realize the necessity of class struggle. Protests, initially sparked by specific events, are growing into a broader movement against social injustice and oppression.
However, the bourgeoisie, aware of the danger of the situation, seeks to suppress this movement using both the repressive apparatus and nationalist demagoguery. It is crucial to understand that far-right movements and bourgeois parties are two sides of the same coin, serving to maintain the capitalist system. They aim to channel the discontent of the working masses into a safe direction for themselves, preventing the unification of the working class based on revolutionary ideas.
Conclusion
The situation in Great Britain shows that the crisis of capitalism has reached its critical point. The working class stands at a crossroads: either succumb to nationalist sentiments and deepen its isolation, or unite in the struggle for its rights and interests. It is important not to fall for the illusions of liberal politics and not to trust the promises of the bourgeoisie, which seeks to maintain its dominant status.
Today, more than ever, the words of Marx on the necessity of revolutionary struggle are relevant. The working class must recognize its strength and begin to act, without looking back at bourgeois parties and nationalist movements. Only through class struggle, through the unification of all the oppressed masses, can true freedom and equality be achieved.
Today, more than ever, the words of Lenin ring true: “The British working masses are slowly but surely moving towards a new path—from defending the petty privileges of the labor aristocracy to the great heroic struggle of the masses themselves for a new social order. And on this path, the British proletariat, with its energy and organization, will establish socialism more quickly and firmly than anywhere else.”
The condition of the working class is the condition of the vast majority of the British people. The question of what fate should befall these millions of destitute individuals, who today are living off what they earned yesterday, who, through their ingenuity and labor, have created the greatness of England, who are increasingly aware of their strength and reality, is becoming a national question.
All the somewhat important parliamentary debates boil down to this question. If the British bourgeoisie and the old aristocracy do not want to recognize this, if they try to silence this question and present their own interests as “truly national,” they fail miserably. With each parliamentary session, the labor question gains more significance, while the interests of the bourgeoisie recede into the background.
Although the bourgeoisie is the main and even the sole power in parliament, the recent general elections have shown a continuous debate over the labor question. It is high time the British bourgeoisie listens to the workers, instead of treating them like cattle, further depriving them of rights and plunging them deeper into need.
However, the British bourgeoisie, in collusion with the aristocracy, who directly profit from the need of the workers, ignore this need. The bankers and industrialists of Great Britain, considering themselves the most powerful class—representing the entire nation—are ashamed to reveal this sore of England to the world; they do not want to acknowledge the dire situation of the people because it is precisely they, the propertied class, the rentiers collecting billions of pounds sterling in dividends invested in China and India, who bear the moral responsibility for the plight of the working people of Great Britain.
Hence the derisive smile with which educated Englishmen—who are, after all, the only ones, the aristocracy and bourgeoisie known in other countries—typically respond to all talk about the condition of the workers; hence the characteristic ignorance of the entire aristocracy and bourgeoisie regarding anything concerning the masses; hence the ridiculous blunders they make in parliament and outside it when it comes to discussing the condition of the workers; hence their cheerful carelessness while the ground is slipping from under their feet and may collapse any day; hence the startling fact that the English have yet to produce a single modern, comprehensive book dedicated to the condition of their workers, despite supposedly “studying” and “improving” this condition for who knows how many years.
But hence also the deep resentment of the entire working class, from Belfast to London, against the wealthy who systematically exploit workers, squeezing them dry and then heartlessly abandoning them to their fate. Today’s resentment, this resentment, in a short time—a period that can almost be calculated—will inevitably erupt into a social revolution, however impossible it may seem, however untimely it may appear to the bourgeoisie and aristocracy. The last bourgeois revolutions will seem like child’s play compared to this social revolution.
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Author of the Article
Alex Ashley
