Solidarity & More

Solidarity 773, 26 August 2026. Articles: Reform is on the back foot but not beaten Trump lashes out: oppose sanctions on Iran Left unites against far-right attack on socialist stall Resisting Reform in Wakefield Andy Burnham and council housing Israeli right plans to bisect West Bank Eulogising Castro… and re-writing Cuban history Crackdown sharpens in Russia Support Ukraine; oppose targeting civilians Trump scrabbles to avoid mid-terms setback Afghan women suffer from both Taliban and Trump More money for prisons is no answer Free Lee, Chow and all HK political prisoners! Self-determination for Western Sahara Burnham is still “Labour right”. How will the left respond? How British Trotskyism began How close are the “tipping points”? Capital, chapters six and seven Apologetics ride out Making a new "philosophical movement" A wealth tax? A Zucman tax Musk and feral Trumpism Public service broadcasting and us Poor choice for Scottish Labour leader Sharon Graham re-elected in Unite Rebuilding union strength in local government Raising £15,000 by November All down to service control Arday: from questions to vilification Béla Lugosi, 1882-1956, trade union organiser Students get ready for the term Rayner agrees to meet MHCLG PCS RNLI strikers increase pressure on bosses Iran: against war, against sanctions Stop Rosebank and Jackdaw The "Right Side of History"? Strike for heatwave protection Fight this bid to ban union trans-inclusivity! Unite and the "catalogue of deficiencies" More online: https://workersliberty.org/publications/solidarity/solidarity-773-26-august-2026

Eighth part of the audiobook of Capital Volume 1 by Karl Marx. This section: Part VII: The Accumulation of Capital. Read online https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ Contents/Timestamps (see below for tables): Part VII: The Accumulation of Capital 00:00 Intro to Part VII 03:18 Chapter 23: Simple Reproduction 27:37 Chapter 24: Conversion of Surplus-Value into Capital Section 1: Capitalist Production on a Progressively Increasing Scale. Transition of the Laws of Property that Characterise Production of Commodities into Laws of Capitalist Appropriation Section 2: Erroneous Conception, by Political Economy, of Reproduction on a Progressively Increasing Scale Section 3: Separation of Surplus-Value into Capital and Revenue. The Abstinence Theory Section 4: Circumstances that, Independently of the Proportional Division of Surplus-Value into Capital and Revenue, Determine the Amount of Accumulation. Degree of Exploitation of Labour-Power. Productivity of Labour. Growing Difference in Amount Between Capital Employed and Capital Consumed. Magnitude of Capital Advanced Section 5: The So-Called Labour Fund 01:29:55 Chapter 25: The General Law of Capitalist Accumulation Section 1: The Increased Demand for labour power that Accompanies Accumulation, the Composition of Capital Remaining the same Section 2: Relative Diminution of the Variable Part of Capital Simultaneously with the Progress of Accumulation and of the Concentration that Accompanies it Section 3: Progressive Production of a Relative surplus population or Industrial Reserve Army Section 4: Different Forms of the Relative surplus population. The General Law of Capitalistic Accumulation Section 5: Illustrations of the General Law of Capitalist Accumulation The mentioned table of the distribution of certain incomes in 1864-5 https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch25.htm#S5 or summarised below: 1864 Total £95.8m | 308.4k people Of those £57.0m | 23.3k Of those £36.4m | 3.6k Of those £22.8m | 832 Of those £8.7m | 91 1865 Total £105.4m | 332.4k people Of those £64.6m | 24.3k Of those £42.5m | 4.0k Of those £27.6m | 973 Of those £11.1m | 107 The tables on Ireland at https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch25.htm#S5f the second summarised (table B/C): CHANGE IN AREA UNDER CROPS/GRASS IN IRELAND CEREAL CROPS 1861 ↓ 16k 1862 ↓ 73k 1863 ↓ 145k 1864 ↓ 122k 1865 ↓ 72k TOTAL ↓ 428k GREEN CROPS 1861 ↓ 37k 1862 ↓ 75k 1863 ↓ 19k 1864 ↓ 2.3k 1865 ↑ 25k TOTAL ↓ 108k GRASS & CLOVER 1861 ↓ 48k 1862 ↑ 6.6k 1863 ↑ 7.7k 1864 ↑ 47k 1865 ↑ 69k TOTAL ↑ 83k FLAX 1861 ↑ 19k 1862 ↑ 2.1k 1863 ↑ 64k 1864 ↑ 88k 1865 ↓ 50k TOTAL ↑ 123k TOTAL CULTIVATED LAND 1861 ↓ 81k 1862 ↓ 139k 1863 ↓ 92k 1864 ↑ 10k 1865 ↓ 28k TOTAL ↓ 330k ↓ decrease ↑ increase k = thousand acres Study notes at https://www.workersliberty.org/story/2021-09-03/marxs-capital-volume-1-12-week-course Otto Rühle's abridged version at https://workersliberty.org/capital-abridgement Eighth part of #9 of Marxist points of reference reading list: https://workersliberty.org/story/2026-01-28/marxist-points-reference-reading-list Playlist of recordings from that list at https://soundcloud.com/workers-liberty/sets/marxist-points-of-reference-a Subscribe to the podcast "Solidarity & more" by "Workers' Liberty" wherever you listen to podcasts. More info: https://workersliberty.org/audio Music and audiobook (Andrew S. Rightenburg) public domain

Sixth part of the audiobook of Capital Volume 1 by Karl Marx. This section: Part IV: Production of Relative Surplus-Value — chapter 15 (i.e. the rest of part IV). Read online https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ Figures mentioned can be found within the following sections: §5 https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch15.htm#S5 Summarised below, the UK-wide result of mechanical improvements in the cotton industry due to the USA civil war. 1857 | 1861 | 1868 Factories: 2,210 | 2,887 | 2,549 Power looms: 298,847 | 399,992 | 379,329 Spindles: 28.01m | 30.39m | 32.00m Employed: 379,213 | 451,569 | 401,064 §7 https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch15.htm#S7 Summarised, grain etc. UK imports/exports: Years: 1831–35 | 1836–40 | 1841–45 | 1846–50 | 1851–55 | 1856–60 | 1861–65 | 1866 Import: 1.10mn | 2.39mn | 2.84mn | 8.78mn | 8.35mn | 10.91mn | 15.01mn | 16.46mn Export: 0.23mn | 0.25mn | 0.14mn | 0.16mn | 0.31mn | 0.34mn | 0.30mn | 0.22mn Excess: 0.87mn | 2.14mn | 2.70mn | 8.62mn | 8.04mn | 10.57mn | 14.71mn | 16.24mn Population: 24.62mn | 25.93mn | 27.26mn | 27.80mn | 27.57mn | 28.39mn | 29.38mn | 29.94mn Corn/head: 0.036 | 0.082 | 0.099 | 0.310 | 0.291 | 0.372 | 0.501 | 0.543 §8C https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch15.htm#S8c Chief medical officer gave evidence of impacts of industries on health: Industry & # employed | Deaths/100,000 by age: 25–35 | 35–45 | 45–55 Agriculture (E&W), 958,265 employed | 743 | 805 | 1,145 London tailors, 22,301 men + 12,379 women | 958 | 1,262 | 2,093 London printers, 13,803 employed | 894 | 1,747 | 2,367 Study notes at https://www.workersliberty.org/story/2021-09-03/marxs-capital-volume-1-12-week-course Contents: Part IV: Production of Relative Surplus-Value Chapter 15: Machinery and Modern Industry Section 1 : The Development of Machinery Section 2: The Value Transferred by Machinery to the Product Section 3: The Proximate Effects of Machinery on the Workman Section 4: The Factory Section 5: The Strife Between Workman and Machine Section 6: The Theory of Compensation as Regards the Workpeople Displaced by Machinery Section 7: Repulsion and Attraction of Workpeople by the Factory System. Crises in the Cotton Trade Section 8: Revolution Effected in Manufacture, Handicrafts, and Domestic Industry by Modern Industry Section 9: The Factory Acts. Sanitary and Educational Clauses of the same. Their General Extension in England Section 10: Modern Industry and Agriculture Otto Rühle's abridged version at https://workersliberty.org/capital-abridgement Sixth part of #9 of Marxist points of reference reading list: https://workersliberty.org/story/2026-01-28/marxist-points-reference-reading-list Playlist of recordings from that list at https://soundcloud.com/workers-liberty/sets/marxist-points-of-reference-a Subscribe to the podcast "Solidarity & more" by "Workers' Liberty" wherever you listen to podcasts. More info: https://workersliberty.org/audio Music and audiobook (Andrew S. Rightenburg) public domain

Fourth part of the audiobook of Capital Volume 1 by Karl Marx. This section: the rest of Part III: The Production of Absolute Surplus-Value — chapters 8 to 11. Read online https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ Study notes at https://www.workersliberty.org/story/2021-09-03/marxs-capital-volume-1-12-week-course Contents/timestamps: Part III: The Production of Absolute Surplus-Value 00:00 Chapter 8: Constant Capital and Variable Capital Chapter 9: The Rate of Surplus-Value 35:31 Section 1: The Degree of Exploitation of Labour-Power 01:01:04 Section 2: The Representation of the Components of the Value of the Product by Corresponding Proportional Parts of the Product Itself 01:10:06 Section 3: Senior’s “Last Hour” 01:27:59 Section 4: Surplus-Produce Chapter 10: The Working Day 01:30:23 Section 1: The Limits of the Working Day 01:43:38 Section 2: The Greed for Surplus-Labour. Manufacturer and Boyard 02:09:23 Section 3: Branches of English Industry Without Legal Limits to Exploitation 02:49:58 Section 4: Day and Night Work. The Relay System 03:15:48 Section 5: The Struggle for a Normal Working Day. Compulsory Laws for the Extension of the Working Day from the Middle of the 14th to the End of the 17th Century 03:59:51 Section 6: The Struggle for a Normal Working Day. Compulsory Limitation by Law of the Working-Time. English Factory Acts, 1833 to 1864 05:00:48 Section 7: The Struggle for a Normal Working Day. Reaction of the English Factory Acts on Other Countries 05:17:53 Chapter 11: Rate and Mass of Surplus-Value Otto Rühle's abridged version at https://workersliberty.org/capital-abridgement Fourth part of #9 of Marxist points of reference reading list: https://workersliberty.org/story/2026-01-28/marxist-points-reference-reading-list Playlist of recordings from that list at https://soundcloud.com/workers-liberty/sets/marxist-points-of-reference-a Subscribe to the podcast "Solidarity & more" by "Workers' Liberty" wherever you listen to podcasts. More info: https://workersliberty.org/audio Music and audiobook (librivox) public domain

Second part of the audiobook of Capital Volume 1 by Karl Marx. This section: chapters 4 and 5 from Part II. Read online https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ Study notes at https://www.workersliberty.org/story/2021-09-03/marxs-capital-volume-1-12-week-course Article on it (particularly chapters six and seven, released as a later audio upload) https://workersliberty.org/story/2026-08-18/capital-chapters-six-and-seven Contents/timestamps: Part II: The Transformation of Money into Capital 00:00 Chapter 4: The General Formula for Capital 36:42 Chapter 5: Contradictions in the General Formula of Capital Otto Rühle's abridged version at https://workersliberty.org/capital-abridgement Second part of #9 of Marxist points of reference reading list: https://workersliberty.org/story/2026-01-28/marxist-points-reference-reading-list Playlist of recordings from that list at https://soundcloud.com/workers-liberty/sets/marxist-points-of-reference-a Subscribe to the podcast "Solidarity & more" by "Workers' Liberty" wherever you listen to podcasts. More info: https://workersliberty.org/audio Music and audiobook (librivox) public domain. Image Paris 1968 poster.

Solidarity 772, 12 August 2026. Contents: Mass council-house building now Councils defy EHRC Code of Practice Labour conference 2026 Ebola, democracy, and mining profits Arriva North buses strike over heat Burnham challenged to lift PA ban Iran: stop the war. Arrogant Trump messes up Good riddance Steve Reed. Look to Finland "Lock them up" is reactionary demagogy Left must say more about how to unify Ireland Support the binational left in Israel Clacton, Farage and “buon senso” Your Party: from inactivity to crisis East London health workers fight cuts Trump's threats to November vote The lies of capitalist fish-farming When will the 50% threshold go? How to cool your workplace Halfway to solidarity with sex workers New network launched against uni cuts A new network against university cuts Police clampdown in Bristol Schools in Belgium: how strikes change people How to win strikes, even some difficult ones Our reference points: Wages, Price, and Profit In Retrospect: "Proximity denial" - ethnic minorities in the far right Farage's outrider on the further right Wakefield's Reform council, flags, and landlords Tax the rich, says China The first 24 days of Andy Burnham Scottish Labour: a critical vote for Monica Lennon A European convoy to keep Ukraine from disappearing For Ukraine, against Russian imperialism. Against Ukraine’s attacks on civilian infrastructure Diary of a Tubeworker: Planning without enough workers Kino Eye: Billy Liar re-released PCS NEC aims to change the union Glasgow Caledonian on strike RNLI workers strike for increased redundancy payments Theatre assistants strike in Leeds Anas Sarwar: so long, suckers! More online: https://workersliberty.org/publications/solidarity/solidarity-772-12-august-2026

Solidarity 771, 15 July 2026. Articles include most of the following: PCS "lock-out" ends. For now RMT: shaping renationalised rail? Debate on the Unite general secretary election: another view Third volume of Estonian epic What kind of communism is Trump afraid of? A new phase in Iran and the Middle East Burnham: squeeze him, not cajole! More than “tax the rich” Can Ukraine defeat Russia? Workers’ voice missing on Irish unity Global and Catholic dimensions to anti-migrant far right Resisting moves to “bury” any Palestinian state Iran: Stop the war! Judicial review sought of EHRC code Climate change: adapt, and brake! Trump steps up mass deportations Palestinian families displaced in East Jerusalem A tale of two anniversaries Housing: will Andy Burnham walk the walk? SWP regroups at its “Marxism” festival Net zero not to blame on jobs Farage's "sand in your eyes" resignation Benefits: fix the system, tax the rich! Lambeth Council to stop helping immigration enforcement Turkey clamps down as Israel manoeuvres Sperm, health, and manliness Iranian monarchists attack freedom protest China: the crisis behind the hukou changes Marx on the “18th Brumaire” The Spanish revolution of 1936 Leon Trotsky on Spain What Farage wants to turn back the clock to A fight for accountability and resources Scrap the Palestine Action ban! Sudan: support the Emergency Response Rooms Letter: government by enlightened littérateurs? NHS Trusts are still cutting jobs Seeing Israel as representing male supremacy? Cover match-fixing Is “that black stuff” really safe? Students to meet 31 July-1 August Farmers, land, and developers on film PCS steps up where-to-work dispute Consultants ballot on pay and more Scottish Labour review: missing the big questions Le Pen will stand for president despite being convicted More online: https://workersliberty.org/publications/solidarity/solidarity-771-15-july-2026