The first known revolution took place 9,200 years ago in a Neolithic settlement in eastern Anatolia – present-day Turkey. There are no written records, but we know about it from archeological remains at a site called Çayönü. Çayönü began about 8800 BC as a settlement of hunters and gatherers. Seeds indicate the start of farming about […]

With the closure of China’s consulate in Houston and the American consulate in Chengdu, the confrontation between China and the United States moves up another notch.  Not such a big deal, you say? But other recent developments are more worrying. Following her re-election in May, Taiwan President Tsai Ingwen made it clear that Taiwan is […]

What is the significance of the mass movement of social protest? A powerful and moving commentary from the group Internationalist Perspective.

Who and what do the police protect? Three articles on the Black Lives Matter movement from the July 2020 issue of The Socialist Standard

The United States is in the midst of a massive social movement against police violence and racism. As socialists we support this movement wholeheartedly and without reservation.

When a group of people are stranded on an uninhabited island after a shipwreck, what sort of society do they form among themselves? And how does this affect their chances of survival? The historical record shows that groups based on cooperation and equality fare best.

Why is Trump reopening the US economy — and forcing Mexico to reopen its economy too — when the pandemic is still on the rise?

Ten nurses have been suspended at Providence St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California for refusing to work without the protection of N95 respirator masks. Are they really in short supply?

The Covid-19 pandemic exposes the cruel and absurd results of relying on markets for the satisfaction of human needs. In Las Vegas homeless men sleep on a parking lot on a street full of empty hotels.

Interim results of trials of the drug Remdesivir on Covid-19 patients are very encouraging. But could the drug be reaching those who desperately need it more quickly?

Why are medical supplies in such short supply? This study explains the main reasons and presents three case studies: respiratory face masks, ventilators, and vaccines.

A Marxian analysis of the pandemic, its origin, and its economic impact. Reposted from the magazine Internationalist Perspective.

What is the point of studying the history of early socialism?

Maybe the question itself is rather pointless. After all, nothing really needs to have a point…

But I do think that there is a special value in studying the early period of socialist history, prior to the Russian Revolution. I say this because the “common sense” among many socialists in that era is quite different from the way of thinking that has prevailed since then. Above all, the understanding of what socialism itself means changed radically in the subsequent years.

What is a coronavirus? Where does the latest one come from? Why do we now face, about once every decade, an epidemic of some ‘new’ disease? In this article I answer these questions and demonstrate the link between COVID-19 and what might appear an unrelated issue — deforestation.

Including a response from Comrade Paddy Shannon and a counter-response from the author.

In this feature, members of the World Socialist Party of the US share personal stories of how they became socialists. More stories will be added as they become available.

What if there was a way to make capitalism environmentally friendly and more economically robust, in a way that benefited workers in particular? Liberals like Bernie Sanders and congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are claiming that a ‘Green New Deal’ would do just that. Can it? Or is it the very nature of capitalism that makes it so destructive to the environment?

As rents soar and swallow up more and more of the earnings of working people, landlords face a problem — how to pack an increasing number of tenants into a given space. A San Francisco developer has the answer.

Joe the Dolphin pleads for more dolphin-friendly fishing methods and against the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Mekong.

Strictly speaking, the United States is already at war with Iran. By the rules of international law, the drone attack that killed General Soleimani and other high-ranking figures was an act of war. Iran will now retaliate against an American asset. How long can this crazy game of tit for tat go on without triggering […]

Whenever out-of-towners imagine Las Vegas, they’ll usually think of the extravagance of downtown and the strip. Glistening lights, risqué showgirls, exquisite food – It’s like a never-ending party that grossed over $19.5 Billion in the fiscal year 2018 alone.[1] Settled in 1905, Vegas became the most populated American city founded within the 20th century. Like […]

The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution abolished slavery in 1865. Or did it? Has slavery ever been abolished?

Can a Green New Deal within capitalism resolve the climate crisis? The author of this article, reproduced from the journal Internationalist Perspective, argues that any such program would be either inadequate or incompatible with the capitalist drive for growth.

Exactly 100 years ago today the Armistice that ended World War I was signed and came into force. It was signed between 5 and 6 am but did not come into force until 11 am. Fighting continued in many places right up to the last minute: nearly 11,000 men were killed or wounded on that last morning of the war.

Are police killings of unarmed citizens a matter of race, class, or both?

In fighting to survive as a species in a bearable climate, we are up against a broad range of capitalist interests. Ultimately we shall need to halt the endlessly expanding ‘growth machine’ of capitalism.

In a new pamphlet published by the World Socialist Party of the United States, our comrade Jordan Levi (known to some as Swami Netero) explains the meaning of basic terms like ‘capitalism’ and ‘socialism.’ He shows why reforms within the existing capitalist structure of society cannot solve the main problems facing humanity and the working class and why it is necessary to replace capitalism by a fundamentally new society — world socialism.

What sense does it make for a big city to exist in the middle of a scorching desert? What contribution does Las Vegas make to human wellbeing?

The resources spent by a billionaire on a single residence or yacht would suffice to eradicate trachoma — a painful tropical eye disease that leads to blindness.

John Ayers of the Socialist Party of Canada examines how capitalist firms put profit before people, taking plane crashes as examples of the tragic consequences. But, he explains, capitalist firms HAVE to operate that way.

A recently rediscovered essay by an early 20th century socialist theorist demonstrates that ecological thinking has always been part of the socialist worldview.

‘Patriotic’ appeals to ‘support our troops’ are based on lies and emotional blackmail. We support US troops by seeking to free them from military slavery.

The Electoral College is an archaic contraption designed to thwart the will of the people. It’s high time to abolish it.

The idea of “workers’ control” or “industrial democracy” is now being  discussed in American political circles. Even some of the more far-sighted employers now support the idea of “workers’ participation” or “worker directors”. Bernie Sanders, the progressive presidential hopeful, is set to introduces plan that encourage employee-owner businesses and would require corporations to reserve a […]

I have lived more years in Japan than in my native country, the United States. My impressions of American life come from visiting Chicago for a couple of weeks every year. One thing that strikes me immediately, from the moment I arrive at O’Hare Airport, is just how little the basic infrastructure has changed over […]

An American war against Iran has appeared imminent on previous occasions. Eleven years ago we saw similar military and political preparations for a US attack on that country. Fortunately, it never came. Now Iran is again in the crosshairs. War may again be avoided. However, even establishment analysts acknowledge that the confrontation in and around […]

From the May 2019 issue of the Socialist Standard ‘The Winnipeg Strike will go down in history as a magnificent example of working-class solidarity and courage’ (Bill Pritchard). In February 1919, Seattle workers engaged in the general strike tactic, with 30,000 workers in 130 unions walking out for 5 days in sympathy with 38,000 shipyard workers. The city’s […]

From the May 2019 issue of the Socialist Standard Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democrat member of the US House of Representatives who calls herself a socialist, tweeted in February:  ‘Workers are often paid for less than the value they create.’ The American financial magazine, Business Insider, picked this up, commenting ‘this is essentially a restatement of Karl Marx’s “Labour Theory of […]

Opinion polls suggest that the younger age groups in the United States – colloquially referred to as ‘millennials’1– are much more open to socialist ideas than their elders. At least the taboo that used to surround the word ‘socialism’ is rapidly disappearing. The figures are quite striking. A poll conducted in April 2009 found that […]

The Material World Column from the August 2013 issue of the Socialist Standard Dear Material World,  My life’s dream is to become a fully paid-up member of the capitalist class. Do you have any advice? How much money do I need to join? I am willing to work hard, but I need some guidance.  Greed is good!  […]

By Alan Johnstone The wheels of justice turn slowly. Lead poisoning also acts slowly, but is no less pernicious for that. The city of Flint’s water crisis began in April 2014. In a cost-saving measure to save around $5m the state-appointed city manager changed the city’s water source from treated Detroit Water and Sewerage Department […]

Dancing round the Maypole on the First of May is an ancient custom. Only in 1891, however, did May Day become an occasion for workers’ demonstrations. The date was chosen to commemorate a police massacre during a rally at Haymarket Square in Chicago on May 4, 1886. The rally was in support of a strike […]

On February 5 our great flag-hugging president Donald Trump stood before Congress and delivered his State of the Union Address. Among other things he said: Here, in the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country. America was founded on liberty and independence — not government coercion, domination, and […]

From the December 2018 issue of the Socialist Standard The word ‘socialism’ is more attractive than scary these days—and that has the White House worried. Two hundred years after the birth of Karl Marx, socialism is making a comeback in the United States. That is not our optimistic claim, but rather the view expressed by the Trump […]