Taken from the May 2026 edition of The Socialist Standard.

World Socialist Radio is the official podcast of The Socialist Party of Great Britain. We have one single aim: the establishment of a society in which all productive resources – land, water, factories, transport, etc. – are taken into common ownership, and in which the sole motive for production is the fulfilment of human needs and wants.

To read more news, views, and analysis please visit: worldsocialism.org/spgb

or, for a free three-issue subscription to The Socialist Standard: spgb.net/podcast

Featuring music: ‘Pushing P (Instrumental)’ by Tiga Maine x Deejay Boe. Source: Free Music Archive, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0

In modern capitalism, so-called “Davids” (like startups) often win by using strategies backed by huge financial power, such as venture capital. Companies deliberately sell at a loss to undercut competitors, drive them out, and dominate the market—after which they worsen their service or raise prices, a process described as “enshittification.” These outcomes aren’t exceptions but built into capitalism itself: success tends to come not from better products but from access to capital and market control. What looks like an underdog victory is often just another form of concentrated power, meaning consumers and workers ultimately lose out as competition disappears and conditions deteriorate.

Taken from the April 2026 edition of The Socialist Standard.

World Socialist Radio is the official podcast of The Socialist Party of Great Britain. We have one single aim: the establishment of a society in which all productive resources – land, water, factories, transport, etc. – are taken into common ownership, and in which the sole motive for production is the fulfilment of human needs and wants.

To read more news, views, and analysis please visit: worldsocialism.org/spgb

or, for a free three-issue subscription to The Socialist Standard: spgb.net/podcast

Featuring music: ‘Pushing P (Instrumental)’ by Tiga Maine x Deejay Boe. Source: Free Music Archive, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0

This episode argues that a small global elite of billionaires effectively operates within a “closed world” of power, where wealth translates into disproportionate influence over politics, economies, and decision-making. Rather than governments or democratic institutions being in control, real power lies with those who own and control major corporations and financial systems, allowing them to shape policies and outcomes in their own interests. This concentration of power is presented as a structural feature of capitalism, not an accident.

It also suggests that this system perpetuates inequality and limits meaningful change, since those at the top benefit from maintaining the status quo. Even when reforms are proposed, they tend to leave underlying power relations intact. Only a fundamental transformation of ownership and control, away from private wealth and toward common ownership, can break this closed circle of elite power.

Taken from the April 2026 edition of The Socialist Standard.

World Socialist Radio is the official podcast of The Socialist Party of Great Britain. We have one single aim: the establishment of a society in which all productive resources – land, water, factories, transport, etc. – are taken into common ownership, and in which the sole motive for production is the fulfilment of human needs and wants.

To read more news, views, and analysis please visit: worldsocialism.org/spgb

or, for a free three-issue subscription to The Socialist Standard: spgb.net/podcast

Featuring music: ‘Pushing P (Instrumental)’ by Tiga Maine x Deejay Boe. Source: Free Music Archive, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0

This episode uses the example of Tourette’s syndrome to challenge how capitalist society understands personal responsibility. It argues that capitalism assumes individuals are fully rational and in control of their actions, so behaviour – especially speech – is judged as intentional and morally accountable. However, conditions like Tourette’s, where speech can be involuntary, expose a flaw in this assumption: society often ignores medical or material explanations and still treats actions as deliberate. This creates a contradiction where conformity is praised as virtue, but inability to conform is condemned as moral failure, even when control is limited.

It also critiques how capitalism polices language and constructs ideas of acceptable behaviour. While opposing genuinely harmful speech is valid, the article argues that moral judgement should depend on whether real agency exists. Treating involuntary and deliberate actions the same undermines both justice and understanding. More broadly, it claims capitalism only tolerates disability when it can be framed as “inspirational” or manageable; when it cannot, individuals are excluded or condemned. Ideas of responsibility under capitalism are inconsistent and fail to account for the social and material conditions shaping human behaviour.

Taken from the April 2026 edition of The Socialist Standard.

World Socialist Radio is the official podcast of The Socialist Party of Great Britain. We have one single aim: the establishment of a society in which all productive resources – land, water, factories, transport, etc. – are taken into common ownership, and in which the sole motive for production is the fulfilment of human needs and wants.

To read more news, views, and analysis please visit: worldsocialism.org/spgb

or, for a free three-issue subscription to The Socialist Standard: spgb.net/podcast

Featuring music: ‘Pushing P (Instrumental)’ by Tiga Maine x Deejay Boe. Source: Free Music Archive, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0

The episode critiques the economic ideas associated with Green Party leader Zack Polanski, arguing that his proposals – such as wealth taxes, public ownership, and increased government spending – reflect a reformist belief that capitalism can be reshaped to serve people and the environment. This is an illusion, similar to earlier Labour policies, because capitalism is fundamentally driven by profit-making. According to the author, governments – regardless of intentions – must prioritise profits to keep the system functioning, or risk economic downturns and being forced into policy reversals. As a result, simply electing “better leaders” cannot overcome the structural constraints of capitalism.

Taken from the March 2026 edition of The Socialist Standard.

World Socialist Radio is the official podcast of The Socialist Party of Great Britain. We have one single aim: the establishment of a society in which all productive resources – land, water, factories, transport, etc. – are taken into common ownership, and in which the sole motive for production is the fulfilment of human needs and wants.

To read more news, views, and analysis please visit: worldsocialism.org/spgb

or, for a free three-issue subscription to The Socialist Standard: spgb.net/podcast

Featuring music: ‘Pushing P (Instrumental)’ by Tiga Maine x Deejay Boe. Source: Free Music Archive, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0

Peter Mandelson exemplifies a lifelong “careerist” within the Labour Party. His political trajectory was driven more by personal advancement than by principled commitment to socialism. He rose through the party not from grassroots activism but via roles in communications and media management, becoming a key architect of “New Labour.”

This episode uses Mandelson as a case study to criticise Labour, arguing that figures like him demonstrate how the party is dominated by professional politicians focused on power and status, rather than pursuing genuine socialist change.

Taken from the March 2026 edition of The Socialist Standard.

World Socialist Radio is the official podcast of The Socialist Party of Great Britain. We have one single aim: the establishment of a society in which all productive resources – land, water, factories, transport, etc. – are taken into common ownership, and in which the sole motive for production is the fulfilment of human needs and wants.

To read more news, views, and analysis please visit: worldsocialism.org/spgb

or, for a free three-issue subscription to The Socialist Standard: spgb.net/podcast

Featuring music: ‘Pushing P (Instrumental)’ by Tiga Maine x Deejay Boe. Source: Free Music Archive, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0

This episode argues that ideas about “race” and “nation” are largely social and political myths rather than clear scientific or natural realities. It connects the myths of race and nation to political and economic interests, particularly under capitalism. Ruling groups often promote ideas of racial or national unity to distract ordinary people from their shared class interests. By encouraging workers to identify with a nation or racial group, elites can divide the working class and prevent them from recognising their common position as exploited labourers. From this perspective, nationalism and racism function as ideological tools that maintain existing social systems, while a socialist viewpoint emphasises the common interests of people worldwide rather than divisions based on race or nationality.

Taken from the March 2026 edition of The Socialist Standard.

World Socialist Radio is the official podcast of The Socialist Party of Great Britain. We have one single aim: the establishment of a society in which all productive resources – land, water, factories, transport, etc. – are taken into common ownership, and in which the sole motive for production is the fulfilment of human needs and wants.

To read more news, views, and analysis please visit: worldsocialism.org/spgb

or, for a free three-issue subscription to The Socialist Standard: spgb.net/podcast

Featuring music: ‘Pushing P (Instrumental)’ by Tiga Maine x Deejay Boe. Source: Free Music Archive, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0

This episode uses a recent film about nuclear war as a starting point to discuss the continuing danger of nuclear weapons. It notes that films and stories about a leader pressing a “big red button” highlight how catastrophic nuclear conflict would be, but the real concern is that such destructive power is concentrated in the hands of political leaders and military systems. Even though the popular image of a literal button is exaggerated, governments still maintain complex systems that could launch nuclear weapons very quickly, making the risk of accidental or deliberate war a persistent threat.

The continued existence of nuclear weapons is linked to the structure of the global system of competing nation-states under capitalism. Military competition and geopolitical rivalry encourage countries to maintain and modernise nuclear arsenals despite the catastrophic risks. As long as this system persists, the threat will remain; therefore, a socialist society based on global cooperation and common ownership would remove the conditions that produce nuclear arms and the possibility of their use.

Taken from the March 2026 edition of The Socialist Standard.

World Socialist Radio is the official podcast of The Socialist Party of Great Britain. We have one single aim: the establishment of a society in which all productive resources – land, water, factories, transport, etc. – are taken into common ownership, and in which the sole motive for production is the fulfilment of human needs and wants.

To read more news, views, and analysis please visit: worldsocialism.org/spgb

or, for a free three-issue subscription to The Socialist Standard: spgb.net/podcast

Featuring music: 'Pushing P (Instrumental)' by Tiga Maine x Deejay Boe. Source: Free Music Archive, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0