Perspectives
Democrats’ anti-Russia hysteria prepares the ground for war
By Patrick Martin, 21 March 2017
The real target of Monday’s House Intelligence Committee hearing was Russia, not the Trump administration.
Thirteen sentenced to life imprisonment in India
Free the framed-up Maruti Suzuki workers!
By International Committee of the Fourth International, 20 March 2017
Thirteen Maruti Suzuki workers have been condemned to life in prison as the result of a monstrous frame-up mounted by the automaker, the police and judicial authorities, with the full complicity of India’s principal political parties.
US threats against North Korea and the danger of war in Asia
By Andre Damon, 18 March 2017
As the Trump administration charts a course toward war in the Asia-Pacific, there is no discussion within the American media or political establishment of the catastrophic consequences.
The UAW’s corporatist alliance with Trump
By Niles Niemuth, 17 March 2017
UAW President Dennis Williams’ appearance Wednesday with President Donald Trump and the Big Three auto bosses to promote “American First” nationalism is further confirmation of the anti-working class character of the unions.
US health care debate: A bipartisan drive to lower life expectancy
By Jerry White, 16 March 2017
The current debate obscures the basic motivation guiding both big business parties: to restrict access to affordable health care and sharply reduce the lifespan of American workers.
The Dutch elections and the danger of fascism
By Peter Schwarz, 15 March 2017
The fascistic Geert Wilders has set the tone for the entire spectrum of Dutch politics, from the conservative government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte to the ex-Maoist Socialist Party.
US ruling elite moves to repeal the 1960s
By Patrick Martin, 14 March 2017
With only token opposition from the Democrats, the Trump administration and congressional Republicans are eviscerating what remains of the gains of the working class dating from the last period of social reform.
Is the US preparing for war against North Korea?
By Peter Symonds, 13 March 2017
Amid a shrill media campaign inflating the threat posed by North Korea, the Trump administration is considering “all options” against Pyongyang.
A socialist policy for universal health care
By Niles Niemuth, 11 March 2017
Under the cover of a struggle over Obamacare, the bipartisan attack on health care for working people in America is being intensified.
FBI director: “No such thing as absolute privacy in America”
The WikiLeaks exposures and the CIA’s threat to democratic rights
By Patrick Martin, 10 March 2017
Media discussion of the WikiLeaks revelations about CIA cyberweapons takes for good coin the agency’s claim that these would never be used against Americans.
The WikiLeaks revelations and the crimes of US imperialism
By Andre Damon, 9 March 2017
The WikiLeaks documents expose the US as the greatest “rogue state,” carrying out spying, hacking, exploitation and disinformation operations all over the world in order to further the interests of the US ruling elite.
WikiLeaks reveals vast CIA spying, cyberwar operation
By Bill Van Auken, 8 March 2017
Amid Democrats’ claims of Russian hacking in support of Trump and Trump’s charge that he was bugged by Obama, WikiLeaks has revealed a vast CIA operation directed against the people of the US and the world.
India becomes “frontline” state in US war plans against China
By Deepal Jayasekera and Keith Jones, 7 March 2017
After decades of “non-alignment,” India has become a service hub for the US Seventh Fleet, marking a new stage in its integration into US imperialism’s military-strategic offensive against China.
Trump administration escalates campaign of fear and terror against immigrants
By Patrick Martin, 6 March 2017
As stories proliferate of brutal arrests and deportations, the Trump administration is planning the deliberate separation of mothers and their children as a “deterrent” to immigrants.
Sweden brings back the draft
By Johannes Stern, 4 March 2017
The reintroduction of forced military conscription in Sweden is taking place as the major imperialist powers are militarizing in preparation for a new world war.
The Snap IPO: Trump agenda fuels an orgy of speculation
By Nick Beams, 3 March 2017
The massive rise in Snap Inc. stock took place amidst a surge in US markets, which has seen $3 trillion added to share values since the election of Trump.
Wall Street, media celebrate Trump’s address to Congress
By Patrick Martin, 2 March 2017
Wall Street soared to record highs as media commentators praised Trump’s speech, which promised tax cuts for businesses, the slashing of workplace and anti-pollution regulations, and a massive military build-up.
Behind the anti-Semitic and racist attacks in the US
By Patrick Martin, 1 March 2017
The coming to power of the Trump administration has encouraged the most reactionary, racist and backward forces in American society.
The Trump administration and the crisis of American capitalism
By Joseph Kishore, 28 February 2017
It is impossible to separate the fight against the Trump administration from the fight against the social and economic order that has produced it: capitalism.
The assault on immigrants and the specter of a US police state
By Bill Van Auken, 27 February 2017
Boasting of having “taken the shackles off” of ICE and Border Patrol agents for a crackdown against immigrants, the Trump administration is preparing police state measures against the working class as a whole.
Capitalism and America’s addiction epidemic
By Andre Damon, 25 February 2017
The precipitous rise in drug overdoses is among the sharpest expressions of the profound social crisis gripping the United States.
The discovery of a system with seven “Earth-like” exoplanets
By Bryan Dyne, 24 February 2017
The discovery of the new planetary system was based on collaboration towards a common goal whose driving force was the pursuit of knowledge, not the amassing of personal wealth.
As the media hails Lt. General McMaster, the military strengthens its grip on the government
By Patrick Martin, 23 February 2017
The extravagant praise for Trump’s choice as national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, exposes the complete abandonment of such basic democratic principles as civilian control of the military.
Appointment of “Warrior-Scholar” McMaster signals intensification of anti-Russia confrontation
By Bill Van Auken, 22 February 2017
The appointment of McMaster exposes the utterly reactionary and undemocratic character of the official debate surrounding the Trump administration.
How many people would die in a war between the US and Russia?
By Andre Damon, 21 February 2017
Amidst the non-stop anti-Russian hysteria from the media and the Democratic Party, no one is posing the question: What will be the consequences of a war with Russia?
Seventy-five years after FDR’s Japanese internment order, Trump prepares mass immigrant roundup
By Eric London, 20 February 2017
The attack on immigrants has been prepared by both the Democratic and Republican parties, which have jointly cultivated a climate of anti-immigrant xenophobia to advance their policies of war and social counterrevolution.
The popular movement against Trump vs. the corporate media’s anti-Russia witch-hunt
By Andre Damon, 18 February 2017
Following Donald Trump’s extraordinary news conference, the ferocious battle over imperialist policy between contending factions of the ruling class is intensifying.
The Trump press conference: A ferocious conflict within the ruling elite
By Patrick Martin, 17 February 2017
The press conference was unlike anything seen in modern American history, as the US president traded insults with journalists and engaged in a bitter battle with his nemeses in the media.
Democrats seek to channel opposition to Trump behind anti-Russia offensive
By Joseph Kishore, 16 February 2017
Trump’s critics in the media and political establishment are seeking to disorient the opposition of workers and youth to Trump and corral it behind the war plans of the CIA.
Behind the Flynn resignation and Trump crisis: A bitter conflict over imperialist policy
By Patrick Martin, 15 February 2017
Congressional Democrats are speaking for a large section of the military-intelligence apparatus that is opposed to any lessening of US pressure on Russia.
US drumbeat for action against North Korea
By Peter Symonds, 14 February 2017
North Korea’s missile test took place amid mounting tensions between the US and China, North Korea’s ally, over trade, monetary policy, Taiwan and territorial disputes in the South China and East China seas.
Nazis in the Trump White House
By Patrick Martin, 13 February 2017
The Trump administration has brought a cabal of fascistic aides into leading roles.
Stop the attacks on immigrants! For a socialist policy of open borders and full rights for all workers!
By Barry Grey, 11 February 2017
The brutalization of immigrants is one of the most damning expressions of the bankruptcy of capitalism and the nation-state system to which it is tied.
The election of Trump and the crisis of the European Union
By Peter Schwarz, 10 February 2017
All of the tensions, conflicts and contradictions that the Treaty of Rome, laying the foundations of the European Union, was supposed to have overcome 60 years ago are emerging once again.
Week three of the Trump presidency: A crisis of bourgeois rule and turn toward dictatorship
By Joseph Kishore, 9 February 2017
Events of the past several days have exposed the acute political crisis in the United States and the breakdown of democratic forms of rule.
In speech at Florida Air Force base
Trump appeals to the military against the press and the courts
By Barry Grey, 8 February 2017
Trump gave a speech denouncing the press and suggesting the formation of a presidential-military alliance against the courts and the Constitution.
Trump blurts out the truth about US killings and the media goes wild
By Bill Van Auken, 7 February 2017
Underlying the furor over Trump’s remarks about Putin are fierce conflicts within the ruling establishment over US imperialist strategy.
The Democratic Party and the anti-Russia hysteria
By Patrick Martin, 6 February 2017
While millions who have demonstrated against Trump are motivated by opposition to national chauvinism and authoritarianism, the criticism of Trump by the Democrats is centered on their demand for aggression against Russia.
Trump browbeats Australian “ally”
By Mike Head, 4 February 2017
Just two weeks in office, Trump’s aggressive “America First” economic nationalism and militarism are sending political shockwaves around the world.
Washington’s war threat against Iran
By Bill Van Auken, 3 February 2017
It would be a dangerous mistake to believe that the actions of the Trump White House are the result of mere improvisation or impulse. Rather, they are part of a definite plan.
Trump’s nationalist threats and the response of the European ruling class
By Alex Lantier, 2 February 2017
In response to Trump’s protectionist threats against Europe and criticisms of the euro, Germany and its closest allies are preparing a major military and police buildup.
The mass protests against Trump and the role of the Democratic Party
By Bill Van Auken, 1 February 2017
While hundreds of thousands have marched in the US and around the world against Trump’s police state ban on Muslims and refugees, the concerns of the Democratic Party are focused on the strategic interests of US imperialism.
The protests against Trump's Muslim ban and the conflict within the state
By Barry Grey, 31 January 2017
The opposition of sections of the political establishment to Trump’s anti-Muslim ban is motivated not by the defense of democratic rights, but by concerns that the measure will undercut US imperialist interests and operations around the world.
The Trump-Bannon government: Rule by decree
By Patrick Martin, 30 January 2017
The Trump administration’s order against immigrants makes clear that the new government intends to utilize its control over the state to the maximum to enforce the interests of the financial oligarchy.
Week one of the Trump administration: A government of war and social reaction
By Joseph Kishore, 28 January 2017
When future historians examine this period, they will inevitably direct attention to what preceded it, to the political, social, economic and cultural factors out of which the Trump presidency arose.
Trump’s meeting with the UK’s Theresa May and the US/European conflict
By Chris Marsden, 27 January 2017
It is a measure of the deterioration in relations between the US and the rest of the world that May’s visit has prompted bitter recriminations from leading voices representing British imperialism.
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.
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