David and Goliath. Competition and "Enshitification"

Dark Paths. How AI, Profit and Power Are Shaping an Uncertain Future.

The episode argues that recent developments in artificial intelligence reveal how autonomous AI systems can behave in unexpected and potentially dangerous ways. Using examples such as AI agents tasked with buying paperclips, running online businesses, or handling confidential information, the author describes how these systems often pursue their goals with relentless persistence while disregarding wider consequences. Experiments cited show AI agents breaking rules, leaking sensitive information, engaging in destructive behaviour in simulated environments, and even choosing extreme actions such as nuclear strikes in military simulations. As AI becomes more capable and autonomous, concerns about its reliability and safety become increasingly serious. AI companies, including those that began with ethical or research-driven ambitions, are pushed by competition, military contracts and investor pressure toward profit-making and strategic advantage. Governments and corporations are prioritising commercial and geopolitical competition over safety, even as researchers warn about risks such as infrastructure failures, cyberattacks and the misuse of powerful AI tools. From a socialist perspective, the deeper problem is the capitalist profit motive, which drives AI down “dark paths”; a society organised around human needs rather than profit would provide a safer framework for developing and using AI. Taken from the June 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 [http://worldsocialism.org/spgb] or, for a free three-issue subscription to The Socialist Standard: spgb.net/podcast [http://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 Architecture of Autistic Order. The Contradictions of Capitalism and the Appeal of Socialism.

In this episode, written by Pablo Wilcox, it is argued that Autistic thinking seeks universal principles and coherent systems, contrasting sharply with the contradictions and unwritten social hierarchies of capitalist society. The author reflects on how, from a young age, he viewed political and social progress as a clear logical trajectory, only to find that many people communicated through ambiguity and shifting expectations. For him, what society labels as autistic “disorder” is actually a commitment to internal consistency and truth. The essay connects this perspective to socialist theory, particularly dialectical materialism, which Wilcox says appealed to him because it offered a logical framework for understanding injustice through systems and material conditions rather than vague social norms. He argues that capitalism creates chaos through inconsistency, hypocrisy, and unequal application of rules, making it especially exhausting for autistic people who rely on stable logic and fairness. Rather than seeking mere accommodation for autistic individuals, Wilcox advocates for a society organized around transparent and universal principles, where systems function according to their stated values. In this way, he presents socialism not simply as a political ideology, but as a form of social architecture aligned with autistic modes of understanding. Taken from a forthcoming issue 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 [http://worldsocialism.org/spgb] or, for a free three-issue subscription to The Socialist Standard: spgb.net/podcast [http://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

Decline and Fall. High-Street Closures and Community Life.

Reflections on the visible decline of a once-thriving city-centre shopping street, where many traditional businesses have closed and been replaced by charity shops, betting offices, convenience stores, or empty premises. This pattern is not unique, but part of a broader decline affecting towns and cities across the UK and elsewhere. Beyond the economic impact on shop owners and workers who may have lost their livelihoods, the author emphasises the emotional and social consequences of these changes, including insecurity, anxiety, and the loss of familiar community spaces. The piece links this decline to the nature of capitalism, driven by profit, constant competition, and relentless market pressures rather than human wellbeing or community life. Despite this, people naturally remain cooperative and empathetic in everyday interactions, from charity work to small acts of kindness. These human qualities could eventually inspire workers to replace a profit-driven society with one organised around meeting human needs instead. 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 [http://worldsocialism.org/spgb] or, for a free three-issue subscription to The Socialist Standard: spgb.net/podcast [http://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

Nine Days That Didn't Shake The World. The 1926 British General Strike.

Reflections on the centenary of the 1926 British General Strike. Millions of workers joined the strike in solidarity with coal miners facing wage cuts and worsening conditions, but despite its enormous scale, the strike ultimately failed to produce lasting political or social transformation. The general strike demonstrates a broader lesson about the limits of reformist labour politics and trade unionism under capitalism. Large-scale worker militancy alone is insufficient without a clear socialist objective and political organisation. Meaningful social change requires a conscious movement for socialism, rather than temporary industrial protest. 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 [http://worldsocialism.org/spgb] or, for a free three-issue subscription to The Socialist Standard: spgb.net/podcast [http://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

Moon Madness. Space Exploration and Capitalist Motives.

The original moon race captured imaginations because it seemed to represent a dramatic leap into the future, even though it was fundamentally driven by Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. By contrast, today’s moon missions present a far more muted and divided public response, with many people more concerned about economic hardship and crises on Earth than space exploration. Scientists and commentators themselves disagree about whether crewed lunar and Mars missions are worthwhile or merely expensive vanity projects. Modern space exploration is shaped less by scientific curiosity than by capitalist competition and geopolitical rivalry, particularly between the US and China. Governments and corporations are motivated by strategic and economic interests, including access to lunar resources and potential military advantages, rather than purely humanitarian or scientific goals. NASA’s efforts to justify the enormous cost of Artemis are contrasted with urgent global social problems such as poverty and hunger. This episode concludes on a pessimistic note, warning that the militarisation and commercial exploitation of space could extend the destructive logic of capitalism beyond Earth itself. 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 [http://worldsocialism.org/spgb] or, for a free three-issue subscription to The Socialist Standard: spgb.net/podcast [http://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