Perspectives
Trump launches war against immigrant workers
By Bill Van Auken, 26 January 2017
Signing an executive order to build his wall on the Mexican border, Trump signaled that immigration officials and the Border Patrol will be given free rein to violently repress one of the most oppressed layers of the working class.
Trump threats on South China Sea heighten risk of nuclear war
By Peter Symonds, 25 January 2017
The only means of barring China from access to its islets in the South China Sea is a naval and air blockade, an act of war.
Sanders backs Trump’s “America First” economic nationalism
By Jerry White, 24 January 2017
After Trump signed an executive order to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, Bernie Sanders praised him and said he would be “delighted” to work with the new president.
The way forward in the fight against Trump
By the Socialist Equality Party, 23 January 2017
The only social force that can settle accounts with the capitalist oligarchy is a politically conscious working class, armed with a socialist and internationalist program.
Trump’s fascistic diatribe: On the road to World War III
By Patrick Martin, 21 January 2017
Trump’s inaugural address combined nationalistic chest-thumping against foreign countries with bullying demands for patriotism and conformity at home.
The inauguration of Donald Trump: An event that will live in infamy
By the Socialist Equality Party, 20 January 2017
History has caught up with American capitalism. The protracted process of economic and social decay has been covered over for decades with democratic phrases that served to disguise the gap between the official political myths and the underlying reality. But the mask has now come off.
The Trump presidency and the coming conflict between Europe and America
By Chris Marsden, 19 January 2017
Never before has a US president set as his explicit goal the breakup of the European Union.
Wealth distribution in the United States and the politics of the pseudo-left
By Eric London, 18 January 2017
An analysis of statistics on economic stratification in the United States reveals the material basis of identity politics.
Oxfam issues report on eve of Davos conference
Eight billionaires control as much wealth as the bottom half of the world’s population
By Nick Beams, 17 January 2017
The report, released as the world’s billionaires converge on Davos, Switzerland, reveals that global inequality is even more pronounced than previously recognized.
From Selma to the CIA
John Lewis, Donald Trump and the demise of the “civil rights” establishment
By Patrick Martin, 16 January 2017
The former civil rights leader and longtime Democratic congressman has now joined the campaign to prepare US public opinion for war with Russia.
Washington invokes the language of war against Russia
By Joseph Kishore, 14 January 2017
Over the past several weeks, top Democratic and Republican officials have denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “war criminal,” following a script used before every previous act of military aggression.
Trump’s China policy threatens nuclear war
By James Cogan, 13 January 2017
President-elect Donald Trump and the cabal of billionaires and ex-generals who will comprise his cabinet have signaled they will substantially intensify the United States’ conflict with China.
Trump press conference: The oligarchy rules
By Patrick Martin, 12 January 2017
Trump’s press conference Wednesday morning was an hour-long demonstration of oligarchic arrogance and contempt for democratic principles that has no parallel in modern American history.
Economic nationalism and the breakdown of the post-war order
By Nick Beams, 11 January 2017
The United States was the guarantor of the post-war economic order based on the lowering of tariffs and trade barriers under the rubric of “free trade,” but Trump’s “America First” agenda signals the collapse of that order.
Obama's legacy of war, repression and inequality
By Joseph Kishore, 10 January 2017
For Obama and the privileged social layers that surround the Democratic Party, a legacy can be crafted with honeyed phrases and clever marketing. Millions of people, however, will judge the administration by its actions.
The media campaign on Russian hacking and the US debacle in Syria
By Andre Damon, 9 January 2017
Despite the absence of any factual evidence in the report released last week by US intelligence agencies on alleged Russian hacking, the media campaign for war shows no signs of abating.
Trump’s coming confrontation with China
By Peter Symonds, 7 January 2017
No longer having the economic muscle to lay down the international trade rules, the US has begun a dramatic military build-up in Asia to assert its dominance, even if that leads to war with China.
Congress grovels before the CIA as it escalates “Russian hacking” hysteria
By Patrick Martin, 6 January 2017
At Thursday’s congressional hearing, US Senators seemed to be in competition to demonstrate the most abject loyalty to the intelligence agencies.
Protests against gas price hikes spread across Mexico
By Eric London, 5 January 2017
The Mexican government’s decision to cut gas subsidies has provoked widespread demonstrations, road blockades and gas station occupations, sparking fears within the ruling class of a social explosion.
The class struggle in the US in 2017
By Jerry White, 4 January 2017
This year promises to be one of increasing class struggle in the United States and around the world.
Socialism and the centenary of the Russian Revolution: 1917-2017
By David North and Joseph Kishore, 3 January 2017
A specter is haunting world capitalism: the specter of the Russian Revolution. This year marks the centenary of the world-historical events of 1917, which began with the February Revolution in Russia and culminated in October with the conquest of political power by the Bolshevik Party, under the leadership of Lenin and Trotsky.
The lying campaign on Russian hacking
By Andre Damon, 31 December 2016
The US media, led by the New York Times, has embraced Obama’s retaliatory measures against alleged Russian hacking despite the fact that the White House has put forward no evidence to substantiate its claims.
Israel-Palestine and the “two-state solution”
By Nick Beams, 30 December 2016
John Kerry’s speech defending US abstention on a UN resolution criticising Israel’s expansionist policies was a warning that abandonment of the “two-state solution” could have explosive consequences.
Obama signs his last Pentagon budget: A legacy of war and reaction
By Bill Van Auken, 29 December 2016
The Democratic president’s signing of the National Defense Authorization Act ensures that the infamous prison at Guantanamo will be handed over intact to Donald Trump.
Panic at America’s malls: Class tensions at the breaking point
By Eric London, 28 December 2016
There were scenes of panic across the US on Monday as thousands of shoppers, fearing mass shootings, fled shopping malls, revealing an acute level of social tensions as 2016 comes to a close.
No “Peace on Earth” in 2016
By Andre Damon, 24 December 2016
The vast scale of global violence this past year will be eclipsed only by what next year threatens to bring.
Trump’s tweet and the danger of nuclear war
By James Cogan, 23 December 2016
Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested the use of nuclear weapons to achieve American imperialist ends and impose Washington’s dictates.
Mosul, Iraq and Obama’s legacy of war
By James Cogan, 22 December 2016
There is no doubt as to the overriding motive behind the 1991 Gulf War, years of sanctions on Iraq, the 2003 US invasion and the blood-letting in Mosul—oil.
Christmas on Wall Street: The Dow closes in on 20,000
By Barry Grey, 21 December 2016
The American corporate elite anticipates that Trump will remove all constraints on its ability to plunder American society for personal gain.
The United States of Inequality
By Andre Damon, 20 December 2016
A new study by economists Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman gives the most complete picture to date of social inequality in America.
Ahead of Electoral College vote: Democrats intensify McCarthyite campaign against Russia
By Patrick Martin, 19 December 2016
The campaign by the Democrats against Trump is not over the far-right character of his cabinet, but his insufficiently aggressive attitude toward Russia.
Obama, Clinton stoke anti-Russia campaign
By Patrick Martin, 17 December 2016
In his final press conference, Obama reiterated claims of Russian government hacking against the US election while refusing to provide any evidence.
The US media’s neo-McCarthyite campaign for war against Russia
By Andre Damon, 16 December 2016
The ferocious denunciations of Russia that have dominated the American media are aimed at poisoning public sentiment and paving the way for war.
Washington’s hypocrisy over the fall of Aleppo
By Bill Van Auken, 15 December 2016
The hysterical denunciations by Western governments and media of alleged atrocities in eastern Aleppo are a measure of the debacle for US imperialism in Syria.
Trump picks oil mogul as secretary of state
By Patrick Martin, 14 December 2016
The nomination of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson puts the finishing touches on Trump’s government of billionaires.
US coal miners face cutoff of health, pension benefits
By Jerry White, 13 December 2016
More than 120,000 retired coal miners are threatened with the cutoff of health and pension benefits over the next several months as the United Mine Workers Health and Retirement Fund runs out of money.
Study on pay for young adults highlights plunge in US living standards
By Niles Niemuth, 12 December 2016
It is the social catastrophe, rooted in the decline of American capitalism, that underlies the political crisis of both big-business parties and will lead to immense social convulsions.
Obama’s parting shot at Russia
By Bill Van Auken, 10 December 2016
While Obama and the Democrats bow to Trump as he assembles the most right-wing administration in US history, they remain concerned that he is insufficiently bellicose toward Moscow.
A Trump junta?
By Bill Van Auken, 9 December 2016
The growing number of recently retired generals joining the Trump cabinet is an expression of the ever-growing power of the military over political life.
The political issues in the Standing Rock protests
By Patrick Martin, 8 December 2016
It is impossible to defend the environment or the rights of Native Americans within the straitjacket of the Democratic Party and the capitalist system.
The Oakland fire tragedy and the housing crisis in America
By Kate Randall, 7 December 2016
At the root of the tragedy lies the dysfunctional character of American capitalism, including a housing crisis born of poverty, social inequality and years of neglect by government authorities.
Trump’s phone call with Taiwan: A provocation against China
By Peter Symonds, 6 December 2016
Trump’s policy in the Asia-Pacific of “peace through strength” is a strategy not of peace, but of war.
Trump picks General “Mad Dog” Mattis for secretary of defense
By Patrick Martin, 5 December 2016
The selection of retired General James Mattis has been greeted with approval across the political and national-security establishment and in the major organs of the corporate-controlled media.
Vote no on the Italian constitutional referendum!
By Joint statement of the Socialist Equality Party (Britain), Parti de l'égalité Socialiste (France) and Partei für Soziale Gleichheit (Germany), 3 December 2016
The referendum would give the prime minister virtually unchecked powers to impose his party's agenda, in a major step towards authoritarian forms of rule.
Mosul and imperialist “human rights”
By James Cogan, 2 December 2016
The attitude of the imperialist powers to war crimes is determined by whether they benefit from them.
President-elect Trump on flag-burning: The crisis of American democracy
By Joseph Kishore, 1 December 2016
Trump’s statement on flag-burning reflects not only the authoritarian disposition of the president-elect, but the far-reaching decay of bourgeois democracy in the United States.
New York Times vents Washington’s rage over debacle in Syria
By Bill Van Auken, 30 November 2016
The Times has churned out countless lying editorials and columns justifying the bloodbath instigated by US imperialism in Syria as a “human rights” crusade.
The political issues in the campaign for a recount in the US elections
By Joseph Kishore and David North, 29 November 2016
Three weeks after the US presidential election, the political crisis triggered by the initiative to recount the vote in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania is escalating.
The political legacy of Fidel Castro
By Bill Van Auken, 28 November 2016
Castro’s legacy cannot be evaluated solely through the prism of Cuba, but must take into account the impact of his politics internationally and, above all, in Latin America.
Growing concerns in Europe over Trump agenda
By Nick Beams, 26 November 2016
The European Central Bank has warned of increased financial turbulence as a result of the rise in interest rates and the trade policies of a Trump administration.
Election of Donald Trump foreshadows trade war in Asia
By Peter Symonds, 25 November 2016
Trump has not only sunk the Trans Pacific Partnership but called into question the entire basis of the post-World War II order in the Asia Pacific.
Thanksgiving 2016 and the social crisis in America
By Andre Damon, 24 November 2016
For millions of American families, the Thanksgiving holiday will only underscore the economic insecurity and social misery they confront.
King Donald meets his media courtiers
By Patrick Martin, 23 November 2016
Trump gave the media executives and anchors a tongue-lashing, creating an atmosphere that one cowed participant compared to a “firing squad.”
Popular vote margin against Trump hits 1.7 million
By Patrick Martin, 22 November 2016
Trump lost the popular vote more decisively than any previous winner of the Electoral College vote.
Trump’s authoritarian government of nationalism and war
By Joseph Kishore, 21 November 2016
As the Democratic Party seeks to normalize the transfer of power to Trump, the appointments of the president-elect confirm the historically unprecedented character of the incoming US administration.
Trump’s election as seen from Europe
By Alex Lantier, 19 November 2016
Well before the content of Trump’s foreign policy has come into focus, it is clear that his election marks a historic shift in world affairs, raising the specter of global conflict.
After the election of Trump: The realignment of US politics
By Patrick Martin, 18 November 2016
The Democratic Party leadership is moving very rapidly to align itself with Trump, based on a program of economic nationalism and trade war.
As anti-Trump protests spread, Democrats scramble to contain opposition
By Barry Grey, 17 November 2016
An entire generation of youth is entering into politics and being radicalized by the advent of the most right-wing government in American history.
Mass student protests against Trump election: The way forward
By The Socialist Equality Party and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality, 16 November 2016
The opposition expressed by students and young people in demonstrations across the US stands in sharp contrast to the abject capitulation of the Democratic Party to Donald Trump.
Trump’s appointment of Stephen Bannon: A new stage in the crisis of American democracy
By Joseph Kishore, 15 November 2016
Trump's rise to power signals a drastic political realignment within the American ruling class.
From “political revolution” to collaboration: Sanders and Warren pledge to work with Trump
By Patrick Martin and Joseph Kishore, 14 November 2016
As Trump assembles his administration, the Democratic Party and the media seek to normalize a government of the extreme right the likes of which has never been seen in American history.
The myth of the reactionary white working class
By Eric London, 12 November 2016
The claim that the election of Trump was due to the racism of the “white working class” is a false narrative exploded by the most basic analysis of the data.
From monster to Mr. President-Elect: Democrats grovel before Trump
By Andre Damon, 11 November 2016
In rushing to support Trump, the Democrats and the media are largely remaining silent about a significant fact of the election: the president-elect lost the popular vote.
Race, class and the election of Trump
By Barry Grey, 10 November 2016
The lack of enthusiasm for Clinton was fundamentally a class response to a crony of Wall Street with a record of militarism and corruption.
Trump’s victory and the debacle of American democracy
By Joseph Kishore, 9 November 2016
Such is the level of political crisis in the United States that it has elevated an obscene charlatan and billionaire demagogue to the highest office in the land.
The nightmare election campaign staggers to its end
By Joseph Kishore and David North, 8 November 2016
The contempt felt toward the two candidates expresses a deeper alienation from the entire structure of official capitalist politics.
On the eve of the 2016 US election
By Patrick Martin, 7 November 2016
The election campaign has plumbed new depths of filth and reaction, sparking concerns in ruling circles that it has done lasting damage to the credibility of the United States, both internationally and at home.
US election campaign reveals mass alienation from two-party system
By Patrick Martin, 5 November 2016
A New York Times/CBS poll found that voters, by a six-to-one margin, were disgusted by the Clinton-Trump contest.
Class struggle in US intensifies on eve of election
By Jerry White, 4 November 2016
There is growing opposition among American workers to corporate and government demands for endless rollbacks in wages, health care and pension benefits.
Build an international movement against imperialist war!
By Socialist Equality Party, 3 November 2016
The conference this Saturday in Detroit, Michigan, “Socialism vs. Capitalism and War,” will outline a political strategy for building a socialist movement of the international working class against the danger of a Third World War.
New York Times promotes war hysteria over Estonia
By Bill Van Auken, 2 November 2016
The Times piece amounts to war propaganda, echoing the hysterical claims of the Baltic states that a Russian invasion is imminent and glorifying the legacy of Nazism.
The 2016 US election and the crisis of the two-party system
By Barry Grey, 1 November 2016
The bitter conflict within the political establishment following FBI Director James Comey’s intervention in the election has exposed the deep crisis of bourgeois rule in the US.
Political warfare explodes in Washington
By Patrick Martin and Barry Grey, 31 October 2016
The FBI's announcement of new “investigative steps” against Hillary Clinton has brought to the surface a raging conflict within the American state and ruling elite.
The FBI intervenes in the 2016 election
By Patrick Martin, 29 October 2016
The FBI’s announcement of new “investigative steps” related to Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, made only 11 days before the election, is both extraordinary and unprecedented.
Aleppo, Mosul and “war crimes”
By Bill Van Auken, 28 October 2016
Those denouncing Russia for “war crimes” in Aleppo have carried out atrocities over the course of the past three quarters of a century that vastly eclipse the events in the embattled Syrian city.
Obamacare: The reality hits home
By Andre Damon, 27 October 2016
On Monday, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced that premiums for health insurance plans sold under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will increase on average by 25 percent in 2017, raising health care costs of millions of working people by thousands of dollars.
US “pivot to Asia” in disarray
By Peter Symonds, 26 October 2016
Far from making a retreat, Washington’s response to its setbacks will be to escalate its diplomatic intrigues and military provocations in the Asia Pacific.
Social inequality and the fight against capitalism
By Nick Beams, 25 October 2016
Facts and figures featured in the analysis conducted by French political economist Thomas Piketty underscore that there is no possibility of combating ever-growing social inequality other than by means of socialist revolution.
The 2016 elections and the dead-end of “lesser evil” politics
By Patrick Martin, 24 October 2016
Republican Donald Trump is a billionaire demagogue seeking to lay the basis for a fascistic movement; Hillary Clinton is the representative of Wall Street and the military-intelligence apparatus.
What is behind the anti-Russia campaign in the US?
By Andre Damon, 22 October 2016
A major theme of the 2016 US presidential campaign has been the campaign to depict Russia as intent on manipulating the election through cyber warfare.
The 2016 elections: American democracy in shambles
By Joseph Kishore, 21 October 2016
In condemning statements by Trump that he might not accept the results of the elections, the media and political establishment are rushing to defend a political system that is deeply corrupt and undemocratic.
The siege of Mosul and the crimes of US imperialism
By Bill Van Auken, 20 October 2016
The offensive against Mosul is the latest in a series of US war crimes that have killed, maimed and displaced millions across the Middle East.
Washington moves to silence WikiLeaks
By Bill Van Auken, 19 October 2016
The US political establishment is prepared to use whatever measures are required to prevent a further exposure of the real social and political interests underlying the grotesque 2016 presidential contest.
Is the US election rigged?
By Barry Grey, 18 October 2016
The reactionary character of Trump’s claims that the US election is “rigged” does not lend any credibility to the self-righteous and hypocritical response of the Democratic Party.
The US-directed assault on Mosul and imperialist hypocrisy
By James Cogan, 17 October 2016
In both Syria and Iraq, US objectives are the same: asserting its dominance over the key oil-producing region of the world.
The great diversion: Democrats focus on sex scandal as conflict with Russia escalates
By Andre Damon, 15 October 2016
Behind the scandal-mongering that dominates the presidential election campaign, the United States is weighing a major military escalation against Syria and Russia.
US launches missile strikes against Yemen
By Bill Van Auken, 14 October 2016
Without any debate, the American people are being dragged into an ever-widening war with catastrophic consequences.
Haiti’s hurricane devastation: A tragedy rooted in capitalist oppression
By Bill Van Auken, 13 October 2016
Nearly seven years after the catastrophic earthquake of 2010, Hurricane Matthew has again exposed the historic oppression of the Haitian masses.
The November 5 conference, “Socialism vs. Capitalism and War,” and the building of a new movement against imperialist war
By Eric London and Joseph Kishore, 12 October 2016
Despite the extreme dangers facing the population of the entire world, outside of the International Committee of the Fourth International, there is no organized movement against imperialist war.
Billionaires back Black Lives Matter
By Gabriel Black, 11 October 2016
The $100 million allocated by the Ford Foundation is an acknowledgment by a powerful section of the ruling class that the aims of the Black Lives Matter movement are aligned with its interests.
The Trump scandal and the US gutter election
By Patrick Martin, 10 October 2016
The generally degraded state of American politics entered a new low this weekend following the release of video showing Republican candidate Donald Trump boasting of his ability to use his position of wealth and celebrity to assault women.
One month to the US presidential election—what lies ahead
By Patrick Martin, 8 October 2016
The next president will oversee a deepening global crisis of capitalism, mounting attacks on jobs, living standards and social services at home, and the escalation of military conflicts in the Middle East and against Russia and China.
Fifteen years of the war in Afghanistan
By James Cogan, 7 October 2016
The US has been the central instigator of the Afghan tragedy for a period that now spans 38 years, with a toll in dead and wounded that numbers well over a million people.
Beating the drums for war with Russia
By Bill Van Auken, 6 October 2016
The New York Times and other major media are weighing in on the side of escalating the US intervention in Syria and militarily confronting Russia.
Sanders’ campaign for Clinton: A “political revolution” in defense of the status quo
By Joseph Kishore, 5 October 2016
Sanders’ bid to drum up support for Clinton in a series of campaign appearances this week is based on sophistries and lies.
Trump’s taxes: Capitalist corruption and class privilege
By Patrick Martin, 4 October 2016
The tax dodges that Trump employed provide a glimpse of the real nature of the “free market” system, in which working people are systematically exploited to boost the wealth of the super-rich.
The “major and deadly” wars to come
By Andre Damon, 3 October 2016
A report by a leading geopolitical strategy think tank makes clear that the US military is engaged in intensive planning for wars involving massive casualties.
Deutsche Bank and the global financial crisis
By Nick Beams, 1 October 2016
The contradiction between booming financial markets and intractable slump in the underlying economy is assuming an ever more explosive form.
New York Times brands Russia an “outlaw state”
By Bill Van Auken, 30 September 2016
The Times’ hysterical rhetoric reflects a debate within ruling circles over whether to launch a major escalation of war before or after the US election.
Corbyn’s capitulation to the right wing and the lessons of the UK Labour leadership contest
By Chris Marsden, 29 September 2016
Corbyn’s defence of the Labour Party’s grip on the working class and his continued opposition to any struggle against the right wing is a vindication of the political stand taken by the Socialist Equality Party.
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