Socialism is far from discredited, and I think it won't be long before we see a resurgence of interest in Marxism as the false promise of consumererism is revealed.

In my opinion (and you know what Clint said about them) the capitalist sytem is on the verge of failing. In the Western world, and increasingly across the rest of the globe citizens are being turned into consumers. We are simply becoming targets to buy more and more junk we don't need - we are bombarded with advertising and are made to pay for everything - the banks refer to us as 'lemons' becuase we're there to be squeezed for profit.

Capitalism fails because the benefits don't filter down to the lower castes of society (although the politicians would have us believe this is the case). The gap betwen rich and poor grows wider at a steady pace, and the underclasses that inhabit cities globally are increasingly disenfranchised from the democratic process as they struggle to keep up with the demads where money is the only passport to freedom.

Capitalism fails to combat climate change, fails to address the gross injustices visited on the third world, especially Africa (remember the vacuous crap the G8 leaders spouted last week - all words, no action). This is mainly because we have no politicians of any integrity left any more - they are all so in the pockets of their various private sector benefaactors that no decision is made that takes into account the interests of citizens over business.

But changes are afoot - there is a growing realisation that to protect the most vulnerable members of society, to make sure we have a planet left for our children and everyone gets a chance to earn a living free of exploitation, we have to change, and socialism and Marxism provide some answers. Heck, even Tony Blair said the 'S' word on the telly the other day.