Ridley Scott’s recent biopic Napoleonhas evoked much criticism for its shallow narrative and plethora of historical inaccuracies. But who was the real Napoleon Bonaparte? How did a young Corsican from a relatively modest background become the strongman behind an empire that would dominate Europe?

Many people think of the state as a huge collection of bureaucratic offices and institutions that have little to do with our daily lives. Some have illusions in the state as a neutral arbiter over society, operating on the basis of universal principles of ‘democracy’ and ‘rule of law’. But for countless workers and youths on the receiving end of police violence, legal victimisation or military oppression, the real nature of the capitalist state is clear.

The Chinese Communist Party and its defenders claim that China is building a successful socialist society, and is at the forefront of an anti-imperialist struggle against the West. But is China communist? Does the legacy of the Chinese Revolution live on today in the CCP?

Right-wingers claim that communism would be a dictatorial hellscape: nothing could be further from the truth. Communism means a society free from money, social classes, poverty and oppression, where people live “from each according to their ability, each according to their needs.” But what would such a society look like, and how do we get there?

We are celebrating this year’s anniversary of the greatest event in human history – the Russian Revolution of 1917 – with the launch of the International Marxist Tendency’s brand new podcast, Spectre of Communism. In this special first episode, editor of marxist.com Alan Woods, discusses this great event, when workers and the oppressed, for the first time on the scale of an enormous nation, threw off capitalist rule and took the running of society into their own hands.

A spectre is haunting all major podcast platforms… The International Marxist Tendency (IMT) is launching a new weekly podcast, the Spectre of Communism, to coincide with the anniversary of the Russian Revolution (7 November). The first episode will feature Alan Woods, editor-in-chief of marxist.com and author of Bolshevism: The Road to Revolution. Subscribe today, and tune in every Tuesday!