Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
ℹ️ This video is from the wold congress of the Revolutionay Communist International, which is translated live to several languages. The edits throughout are from removing breaks for translation.
***
The Fourth International was founded by Trotsky in 1938. By that point, the Second ‘Socialist’ International and the Third ‘Communist’ International had completely betrayed their historic missions and acted as traitorous obstacles in the way of the victory of the working class. A new revolutionary leadership was required worldwide, one founded upon the Marxist ideas long since abandoned by the other internationals.
Despite the historic task that faced the Fourth International, after Trotsky’s assassination, many of its ‘leaders’ played a lamentable role. Amidst a sea of confusion, Ted Grant – founder of the organisation that is now the Revolutionary Communist International (RCI) – stands out as the only consistent defender of the genuine, revolutionary method of Marxism.
After years of omissions and slanders that have obscured the truth, this presentation brings out the real history of the Fourth International and the role of Ted Grant.
***
To read more about the issues discussed in this presentation, including Ted Grant's own writings from the time, visit our reading guide on the collapse of the Fourth International:
marxist.com/the-collapse-of-the-fourth-international-a-reading-guide.htm
🌐 LINKS 🌐
► Join the Revolutionary Communist International: marxist.com/join-us.htm
► Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/68nGNHz5lB8UZXICGIDMva?si=682ef70551644443
► Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/against-the-stream/id1777793987
► Instagram: instagram.com/revcomintern
► Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern
ℹ️ This video is from the wold congress of the Revolutionay Communist International, which is translated live to several languages. The edits throughout are from removing breaks for translation.
***
The Fourth International was founded by Trotsky in 1938. By that point, the Second ‘Socialist’ International and the Third ‘Communist’ International had completely betrayed their historic missions and acted as traitorous obstacles in the way of the victory of the working class. A new revolutionary leadership was required worldwide, one founded upon the Marxist ideas long since abandoned by the other internationals.
Despite the historic task that faced the Fourth International, after Trotsky’s assassination, many of its ‘leaders’ played a lamentable role. Amidst a sea of confusion, Ted Grant – founder of the organisation that is now the Revolutionary Communist International (RCI) – stands out as the only consistent defender of the genuine, revolutionary method of Marxism.
After years of omissions and slanders that have obscured the truth, this presentation brings out the real history of the Fourth International and the role of Ted Grant.
***
To read more about the issues discussed in this presentation, including Ted Grant's own writings from the time, visit our reading guide on the collapse of the Fourth International:
marxist.com/the-collapse-of-the-fourth-international-a-reading-guide.htm
🌐 LINKS 🌐
► Join the Revolutionary Communist International: marxist.com/join-us.htm
► Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/68nGNHz5lB8UZXICGIDMva?si=682ef70551644443
► Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/against-the-stream/id1777793987
► Instagram: instagram.com/revcomintern
► Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern





![Will the US go to war? / Trumpism unravelling | AGAINST THE STREAM
[Due to technical difficulties, this episode was published late. Apologies!]
This week, the turmoil in the Middle East reached new heights as Israel launched a series of attacks on Iran, targeting its military leadership and striking several of its nuclear facilities. This has since escalated dramatically with further attacks on Iran and Iranian retaliations against Israel.
Israel’s latest war represents a dramatic turn in the situation both in the Middle East and globally, as Trump is currently weighing up US involvement in the strikes against Iran. Despite a layer of the Republican establishment frothing at the mouth over the chance to deal a blow to a longstanding enemy, many prominent voices within Trump’s camp oppose US intervention as a betrayal of his initial promise to be the ‘peace President’ and bring an end to US support for ‘forever wars’.
With splits emerging within Trumpism over the future of US foreign policy, it is unclear how these events in the Middle East will develop. As Marxists, we cannot predict the course of events with absolute certainty, but this makes it all the more crucial to engage in a meticulous study of such twists and turns in the world situation.
For this reason, this week’s episode of Against the Stream welcomes Fred Weston and Hamid Alizadeh from the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International, to pick apart this week’s developments and what they mean for the situation in the Middle East and the US.
This is the last episode of Against the Stream until the first week of September. Catch up on all of our previous episodes on Youtube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Chapters:
00:00 – Israel attacks Iran
1:01:00 – Trumpism begins to unravel
1:19:00 – Why we produce Against the Stream Will the US go to war? / Trumpism unravelling | AGAINST THE STREAM](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mSMW5Vq0XNY/mqdefault.jpg)




