The following is the Domestic section of the Main Political Report from the 6th Congress of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization. The Economic section has been previously published, and the section on the international situation is forthcoming.
Decline of American Power, Leftward Shift Define New Period
For the past three years, the conditions shaping domestic politics in the United States have been marked by the economic crisis, a qualitative shift away from the free market capitalism of Ronald Reagan on the part of the bourgeoisie, and a leftward political shift amongst the people. The massive economic and financial crisis, which began in December 2007, and the continuing decline of U.S. imperialism globally, have come together to judge the Reagan Era and its aftermath as a failure. The economic crisis swept from power the party of George Bush and brought into office the first African-American President of the United States–Barack Obama.
This set of qualitative changes is in part the foundation of and in part manifestations of a new period. It is this new set of conditions which sets the context for the peoples struggle against U.S imperialism.