Perspective
Perspective
Perspective
The RWDSU’s debacle at Amazon
The crushing defeat for the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union at Amazon’s Bessemer, Alabama plant exposes the extent of workers’ alienation from the pro-corporate unions.
Top Stories
The budget exposes the hollow promises of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who claimed that a Biden presidency would be a departure from the militarism and warmongering of former president Donald Trump.
Andre Damon•
The sending of US warships to the Black Sea is the latest in a series of extraordinarily provocative moves by NATO-backed Ukraine and the US in the crisis.
Clara Weiss•
The Turkish government is debating whether to cancel a key international treaty, potentially allowing NATO to deploy warships directly to Russia’s Black Sea coast.
Barış Demir•
Coal miners in central Alabama delivered a massive blow to the United Mine Workers, rejecting its pro-company deal by a vote of 1,006 to 45.
Jerry White•
The subject of the series is Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961), one of the most prominent American novelists and short-story writers of the 20th century, and a literary figure with an immense global influence and following.
David Walsh•
Canada is rapidly emerging as a global epicentre of the pandemic, with a surge in cases due to the new more contagious and lethal COVID-19 variants.
Roger Jordan•
“What is currently being implemented is a policy of contagion,” stated virology professor Melanie Brinkmann.
Gregor Link•
The conflicts of the past week are the deliberate outcome of a campaign led by the Democratic Unionist Party with the active support of large sections of the Tory government.
Robert Stevens•
The Macron government’s intervention is part of a wider attack on Muslims, which is designed to promote an extreme-right movement and justify attacks on the working class’s democratic rights.
Clémence Roiti•
Securing Assange’s freedom is inseparable from the fight of the international working class against capitalism and the struggle to put the real criminals, the imperialist warmongers and torturers, in the dock.
Thomas Scripps•
The New York Times’ 1619 Project and the Racialist Falsification of History: A significant political and intellectual event
For its powerful explication of major themes related to the American Revolution, the Civil War and the emergence of the working class, this book will be of interest to all readers of American history, teachers, students and workers.
James McDonald•
Republican state legislators move to ban the New York Times’ 1619 Project from schools
Republican lawmakers, taking advantage of the racialist falsifications of the 1619 Project, are seeking to promote their own backward and chauvinistic version of US history.
Dominic Gustavo•
The Trump Administration’s 1776 Report: The far-right attempts to seize opening from the 1619 Project
Attacking the New York Times’ 1619 Project where it is weakest, the Trump Administration’s “1776 Report” responds to the controversy with its own brand of flag-waving “America First” demagoguery.
Tom Carter•
A politically motivated smear: Canada’s Globe and Mail blames “Marxists” for discredited racialist 1619 Project
In an act of political censorship, Canada’s “newspaper of record” has refused to publish a letter from WSWS Chairman David North answering its smear.
Roger Jordan, Keith Jones•
Dominic Gustavo•
David North•
Renae Cassimeda•
Niles Niemuth•
David Walsh•
What has been revealed in the trial of Derek Chauvin?
The criminal trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, charged with the murder of George Floyd, has provided a glimpse into the grim reality of American society.
Trévon Austin•
Frankfurt Airport ground workers’ struggle at the crossroads
In their struggle against the WISAG corporation, the ground workers at Frankfurt Airport have torn the mask off the media, the establishment parties and the Verdi trade union and revealed social conditions as they are.
Statement of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party of Germany)•
An emergency program to stop the global new wave of COVID-19!
With a new wave of COVID-19 infections engulfing the world, governments are abandoning even the limited public health measures previously adopted to contain the disease.
Statement of the WSWS International Editorial Board•
The true toll of the coronavirus pandemic
The official death count in the COVID-19 pandemic is just a small reflection of the massive social and health disaster caused by the disease.
Bryan Dyne•
Niles Niemuth•
Dan Conway•
International Amazon Workers Voice•
Bryan Dyne•
Shannon Jones•
WSWS Online Meeting
150 years since the Paris Commune
A discussion about the first time in history that the working class took power.
Watch the video
The historic and contemporary significance of the 1871 Paris Commune
On April 3, the International Committee of the Fourth International held a meeting commemorating 150 years since the Paris Commune, the world’s first workers’ state.
Joseph Kishore•
150 years since the Paris Commune
On March 18, 1871, the armed working class districts of Paris rose up and established the first workers state in world history, the Paris Commune.
Alex Lantier•
Lessons of the Paris Commune
This essay by Leon Trotsky was first published in French as a preface to the book by C. Talès, La Commune de 1871. It was written in the town of Zlatoust, on February 4, 1921, in the lead up to the 50th anniversary of the Paris Commune.
Leon Trotsky•
Paris Workers’ Revolution and Thiers’ Reactionary Massacres
Armed Paris was the only serious obstacle in the way of the counter-revolutionary conspiracy. Paris was, therefore, to be disarmed.
Karl Marx•
Karl Marx•
Friedrich Engels•
Vladimir Lenin•
Barry Grey•
Vladimir Lenin•
COVID-19 spreads at Stellantis Jefferson North as safety protocols break down
The World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter recently had a conversation with a JNAP worker, who reported unsafe conditions and widespread COVID-19 cases at the plant.
Shannon Jones•
As details of the sellout deal emerge, Oregon nurses union cynically claims “historic” victory in Bend medical technicians strike
While details of the agreement between the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals and St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, Oregon have not been made public, it appears to be the same rotten deal workers rejected when they first walked out.
Angelo Perera•
UK: Unite online meeting for Go North West strikers promotes cost cutting and alliance with Johnson government
The April 7 Facebook event, “Manchester Bus Strike: End Fire and Rehire,” was an occasion for empty rhetoric and platitudes, aimed at hoodwinking Unite members into believing Go North West, its parent company Go Ahead, and Boris Johnson’s Conservative government could be persuaded to mend their ways.
Tony Robson•
Judge blocks lawsuit against OSHA over refusal to inspect Pennsylvania Maid-Rite food processing plant during pandemic
A lawsuit brought by workers at a Maid-Rite meatpacking plant in Pennsylvania against the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration for failing to enforce safety guidelines related to COVID-19 has been thrown out by a federal judge.
Cordell Gascoigne, Karim Habib•
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Jerry White•
Tom Hall•
Robert Stevens•
150 years since the birth of Rosa Luxemburg
The meeting examined Luxemburg’s role as a Marxist theoretician and political leader, and discussed the significance of her legacy to the contemporary struggle to build a Marxist leadership.
Watch the video
Sri Lankan plantation company terminates 38 Alton estate workers
The frame-up, arrest and sacking of the estate workers is part of an escalating anti-democratic assault by the government and big business.
K. Ratnayake•
Sri Lankan Navy brutally arrests 30 fishermen in militarily occupied North
Navy operations are escalating repression targeting fishing communities, 11 years after the war in Sri Lanka ended in the massacre of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
our reporters•
Australian government moving on from war crimes in Afghanistan to prepare war against China
Five months after an official inquiry revealed “credible evidence” of Australian atrocities in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Peter Dutton declared that his government “has the back” of all soldiers and will focus on “rebuilding morale” in the military.
Oscar Grenfell•
Financial speculation threatens Australia’s Whyalla steelworks
Citibank, acting on behalf of Credit Suisse, has filed an insolvency application against GFG’s OneSteel Manufacturing, which operates the Whyalla steelworks and GFG’s Tahmoor Coal.
Nick Beams•
Peter Symonds•
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John Braddock•
our correspondent•
Wimal Perera•
Biden unveils proposed $769 billion domestic budget
The $1.52 trillion discretionary budget proposal released on Friday increases defense and domestic spending without any new significant tax increases on the wealthy.
Jacob Crosse•
Number of deaths counted from Texas blackout catastrophe approaches 200
The elderly, disabled and poor needlessly suffered after losing power without warning for days on end during extreme winter weather.
Chase Lawrence•
Washington state Supreme Court allows right-wing recall campaign to proceed against Kshama Sawant
Last Thursday, the Washington state supreme court allowed the right-wing recall petition against Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant to move forward.
Claude Delphian, Julio Patron•
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland: The integration of the Native American elite with the Democratic Party
On March 15, the US Senate voted 51-40 to confirm Democratic Representative Deb Haaland as the Interior Department’s secretary under the Biden administration, making her the first Native American to hold any cabinet position.
Kayla Costa•
Kevin Reed•
Genevieve Leigh•
Alex Findijs•
Trévon Austin•
Patrick Martin•
US teachers denounce Biden’s deadly school reopening drive amid pandemic surge
The WSWS received statements of opposition from teachers across the US opposing the ongoing drive by the Biden administration to reopen schools as the COVID-19 pandemic surges once again.
Renae Cassimeda•
As fourth wave of infections arrives
Chicago Public Schools, teachers union prepare to reopen high schools
The reopening of high schools is set to take place amid an escalating political crisis for the Democratic Party in Chicago.
Kristina Betinis•
Ontario teacher calls on education workers across Canada: “Join the struggle to make our schools safe!”
An Ontario teacher sent a letter to the World Socialist Web Site explaining why they will participate in the inaugural public meeting of the Cross-Canada Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee this Sunday.
our reporter•
São Paulo’s state government, media promote bogus data to drive school reopenings
There has been a concerted effort by the leading daily Folha de São Paulo and São Paulo’s state government to distort COVID-19 data before the reopening of schools set for April 12.
Eduardo Parati•
Ken Lagerfeld•
Alexandra Greene•
Benjamin Mateus•
Angelo Perera•
Carl Bronski•
European panel concludes AstraZeneca vaccine is linked to blood clots in rare cases
The European Medicines Agency found the clots occurred in 86 cases among 25 million people who were vaccinated, and that 18 people died as a result.
Benjamin Mateus•
Australia’s shambolic vaccine rollout continues
Concerns over rare AstraZeneca side effects have created further chaos.
Martin Scott•
Meeting of the Network of Rank-and-File Committees for Safe Education
Workers and youth in Germany demand general strike for a “strict lockdown”
While the capitalist program keeps demanding mass infections and death, workers and youth are beginning to fight for a general strike to shut down schools and all non-essential production.
Florian Hasek, Tamino Dreisam•
Michigan signals the emergence of a B.1.1.7 pandemic in the United States
The CDC has stated that the B.1.1.7 variant, also known as the UK variant, is driving the current surge in coronavirus in the United States. It has become the dominant variant in hard-hit states in the Northeast and Midwest.
Benjamin Mateus•
Linda Rios•
Alexandra Greene•
Alan Gilman•
Bryan Dyne•
Winfred Rembert, artist whose work was rooted in the Jim Crow US South, is dead at the age of 75
The artist was one of only a few who survived a threatened lynching. He went on to raise a family and develop his craft in following decades.
Fred Mazelis•
Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal and the blight of social inequality
The Netflix docudrama recounts the college admissions scandal in the US. The criminal conspiracy involved influencing undergraduate admissions decisions at numerous elite American universities.
Joanne Laurier•
The art world in 2021: Artists struggle for rent and food, billionaire collectors thrive
The COVID-19 pandemic has acted on the art world as it has in every other important sphere of life, to accelerate or amplify processes already well under way.
David Walsh•
Turner’s Modern World at the Tate Britain: J.M.W. Turner’s artistic depiction of early capitalism
The exhibition shows how Turner’s work is imbued with ideas of progress, democracy and freedom.
Paul Mitchell•
David Walsh•
James Clayton•
Fred Mazelis•
Joanne Laurier•
Margaret Rees•
Socialist publisher Mehring Books launches Australian website
Mehring Books Australia will feature works by the great socialist fighters and theoreticians of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Leon Trotsky, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Georgi Plekhanov and Rosa Luxemburg.
For more information
Russia conducts nationwide military exercises as Ukraine, NATO prepare for war
Moscow is assessing its own fighting capacity and readiness, as Ukraine prepares for war and NATO conducts massive military exercises across Europe.
Andrea Peters•
Spanish premier Sanchez pledges to end social distancing as COVID-19 rises
Spain’s Socialist Party-Podemos government has pledged to end social distancing measures in order to fully reopen Spain’s economy, even as COVID-19 cases rise.
Alice Summers•
Europe’s billionaires’ wealth surges in a year of the coronavirus pandemic
The pandemic saw increased mass death, hardship, unemployment, poverty, social isolation, and suffering for Europe’s workers, and unprecedented wealth for its billionaires.
Will Morrow•
Election exacerbates political crisis in Bulgaria
The overwhelming majority of voters rejected the politics of the right-wing Borisov government and showed no confidence in the other establishment parties.
Markus Salzmann•
Robert Stevens•
Samuel Tissot•
Clara Weiss•
Johannes Stern•
Jason Melanovski•
Sri Lankan IYSSE to commemorate 150th anniversary of Rosa Luxemburg’s birth
The IYSSE meeting will discuss Luxemburg’s revolutionary struggle for Marxism in the German and international working class and its lessons for today.
IYSSE•
Columbia graduate workers: Organize opposition to the UAW strike “pause”!
The decision of the bargaining committee to accept a “pause” in the strike was in clear and direct opposition to the will of the 3,000 rank and file members.
International Youth and Students for Social Equality (US)•
Columbia graduate worker strike at a crossroads
The bargaining committee is employing many well-known mechanisms to try to browbeat the students into accepting a sellout proposal.
International Youth and Students for Social Equality (US)•
Support grows among workers for striking Columbia University graduate students
Autoworkers and others support the fight of Columbia graduate student-workers as the strike begins its third week.
Josh Varlin•
our reporters•
International Youth and Students for Social Equality at New York University•
International Youth and Students for Social Equality at University of Michigan•
John Conrad, Genevieve Leigh•
James Langley•
Semiconductor shortage continues to roil global auto industry, fueling geopolitical tensions
The ongoing microchip shortage is intensifying, disrupting production at virtually every major automaker.
Steve Filips•
IMF upgrades growth forecast but “vulnerabilities” remain
The World Economic Outlook report said “high uncertainty” surrounded the prospects for the global economy primarily related to the path of the pandemic.
Nick Beams•
Big Dirty Money: “White-collar crime” and the nature of capitalism
This recent book describes many outrages, even while it is unable to explain or indicate how to end them.
Fred Mazelis•
IMF chief warns of debt crisis for developing countries
Kristalina Georgieva said while the overall economic outlook had improved, “prospects are diverging dangerously not only within nations but also across countries and regions.”
Nick Beams•
Nick Beams•
Nick Beams•
Nick Beams•
Nick Beams•
Saman Gunadasa•
The campaign over racism at General Motors and the class character of identity politics
A campaign by African American media millionaires over charges of racism at General Motors concluded last week with an agreement from giant to quadruple its advertising spending with black-owned media over the next four years.
Shannon Jones•
Southern California mass shooting leaves four dead, including nine-year-old boy
On March 31, in America’s 20th mass shooting in 15 days, a 44-year-old man entered a business office in Orange, California and fatally shot three members of the business owner’s family, plus an employee.
Shawn Velia•
Torrential rain and flash floods kill seven people in Nashville and middle Tennessee
The flood revealed the growing class divisions and income inequality in the “It” city, as Nashville has come to be known, as a result of its rapid growth and the increasing presence of major corporations.
Warren Duzak•
Biden seeks to deploy federal employees to immigrant detention facilities
The deployment of federal civilian employees is aimed at facilitating, not changing, a brutal policy of incarcerating children fleeing violence and poverty, which has led to thousands of child migrants being packed into cages along the US-Mexican border.
John Jaccobs•
Chase Lawrence•
Kevin Reed•
Brian Brown, Alexander Fangmann•
Trévon Austin•
Jacob Crosse•
This week in history: April 5–11
On April 6, 1996, fighting broke out between rival militias in Liberia. Some 20,000 civilians took refuge at the United States embassy to escape the bloody battles, and in the following weeks hundreds of civilians were killed and much of downtown Monrovia was destroyed.
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Illinois Democrats race bait Abraham Lincoln—again
Chicago mayor targets monuments to Civil War, American Revolution
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has formed a committee to review the potential removal of five statues of Lincoln, along with monuments to Washington, Franklin, and Grant.
Tom Mackaman•
150 years since the birth of Rosa Luxemburg
Rosa Luxemburg, who was born on 5 March, 1871, was among the most important revolutionary Marxists of the 20th century, and her work contains vital lessons for today.
Peter Schwarz•
Watch lecture video “Three Grenades in August: Fifty Years since the Bombing of Plaza Miranda in the Philippines”—another devastating exposure of Stalinism
Scalice demonstrated that the “overwhelming weight of evidence” suggested that the Communist Party of the Philippines was responsible for the bombing and indicted its claims that fascism and martial law are “good for revolution.”
our reporter•
Peter Schwarz•
Fred Mazelis•
Alejandro López•
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January 6 fascist thug has been working with FBI since 2018, lawyer claims
Florida Proud Boy Joe Biggs is the latest participant in the January 6 storming of the Capitol to claim a long-term working relationship with the domestic intelligence agency.
Jacob Crosse•
House Speaker Pelosi names D.C. National Guard Commander William Walker new Sergeant-at-Arms
The appointment of Walker marks the first time both the House and Senate sergeant-at-arms will be members of military.
Jacob Crosse•
During Fox News interview
Trump reiterates support for January 6 Capitol siege
Trump’s comments come as federal prosecutors reveal further communications between indicted members of the neo-fascist Oath Keepers and founder Stewart Rhodes as the assault was underway.
Jacob Crosse•
Prosecutors release online chats detailing ‘alliance’ between fascist groups ahead of January 6 assault on US Capitol
The Facebook logs confirm that far-right militia groups were coordinating their violent actions together in the lead-up to January 6
Jacob Crosse•
Jacob Crosse•
Jacob Crosse•
Barry Grey•
Jacob Crosse•
Jacob Crosse•
Bolsonaro sacks military command to consolidate authoritarian rule in Brazil
In an action unprecedented in Brazilian history, the country’s fascistic President Jair Bolsonaro has fired his defense minister and the commanders of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Tomas Castanheira•
36-year-old Salvadoran mother killed by Mexican police officer
The death of Victoria Esperanza Salazar Arriaza is a result of the anti-immigrant measures demanded by Washington of the Mexican government.
Norisa Diaz•
Mexico reports 417,002 excess deaths during the pandemic
With an official death toll of 201,623, the acknowledgement of a massive undercount stands as a confession by the ruling class of social murder.
Andrea Lobo•
Dozens subpoenaed under Brazil’s “national security” law for calling Bolsonaro “genocidal”
The Bolsonaro government and the state apparatus are responding to the explosive tensions in Brazil, the world epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Miguel Andrade•
Andrea Lobo•
Andrea Lobo•
Brunna Machado•
Eric London•
Mauricio Saavedra•
Democrats and Republicans use House hearing on social media “disinformation and extremism” to advance internet censorship
Democrats and Republicans used the platform of the hearing to advance their equally reactionary proposals to regulate and control online content in the aftermath of the January 6 fascist attack on the US Capitol and one year since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kevin Reed•
Facebook threatens teachers’ groups opposing unsafe school reopenings
Facebook is aggressively removing posts, disabling accounts and shutting down groups that are sharing scientifically accurate information about the COVID-19 pandemic and opposing the government’s deadly policy of reopening schools.
Kevin Reed•
Workers and youth speak out against Facebook’s Australian news ban and corporate media cash grab
“The creation and distribution of news is controlled by a few corporations, ruthless in promoting their class interests.”
Our reporters•
Facebook shuts down group with 90,000 cruise ship crew members
On Friday, Facebook removed without explanation a group with 90,000 members who work in the international cruise ship industry.
Tom Casey•
Kevin Reed•
By our correspondent•
Kevin Reed•
Kevin Reed•
Andre Damon•
Washington brings Syria’s Al Qaeda in from the cold
US media promotion of Syria’s former Al Qaeda affiliate is a clear warning that Washington is preparing to escalate its bloody decade-old intervention.
Bill Van Auken•
The Suez Canal blockage and the globalization of production
The blockage of a vital artery of the world economy by a single ship—an accident waiting to happen—reveals fundamental aspects of modern capitalism.
Jean Shaoul•
Suez Canal blocked by grounded ship
If, as now expected, it takes weeks to move the ship, the Ever Given, international shipping and global supply chains will be severely disrupted.
Jean Shaoul•
The devastating impact of the 10-year US-orchestrated war on Syria
The appalling suffering resulting from imperialist warmongering—other than that in the opposition-held Idlib province—has largely been ignored by the world’s media.
Jean Shaoul•
Our reporters•
Ozan Özgür•
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Jean Shaoul•
Jean Shaoul•
One year of the coronavirus pandemic
March 11 marks one year since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. We are republishing below statements and articles from the WSWS analyzing the response to the pandemic and calling for emergency measures to contain it.
Read more
For a globally coordinated emergency response to the coronavirus pandemic!
Vast resources must be immediately mobilized to contain the spread of the disease, treat and care for those who are infected, and secure the livelihoods of the hundreds of millions of people who will be affected by the economic fallout.
International Committee of the Fourth International•
The coronavirus pandemic crisis intensifies
Capitalism is at war with society
The spread of the coronavirus has exposed the disastrous consequences of decades of the massive concentration of wealth and inequality spawned by capitalism.
Joseph Kishore, David North•
The response of the ruling elite to the coronavirus pandemic: Malign neglect
Governments around the world are making a deliberate decision to minimize their response to the pandemic, threatening the lives of millions of people.
Alex Lantier, Andre Damon•
Message from big business on coronavirus pandemic: Save profits, not lives
As the death toll from the coronavirus soars and hospitals fill up, the White House and the US media are insisting that the profits of the corporate-financial elite must take precedence over the lives of millions.
Andre Damon•
Statement of the Socialist Equality Party•
Joseph Kishore•
Andre Damon•
Statement of the Socialist Equality Party (United States)•
Sylvia Ageloff and the assassination of Leon Trotsky
With David North and Eric London
North and London discussed the significance of the latest revelations of the the Security and the Fourth International investigation into Trotsky’s assassination.
Watch the video
Dinosaur fossil found sitting on eggs in a nest reveals well-developed parental care
The fossil, dating to 70 million years ago, consists of the partially preserved remains of an oviraptorosaur, a feathered, theropod dinosaur lineage tangentially related to those that eventually gave rise to modern birds.
Philip Guelpa•
One year of the COVID-19 pandemic: A disaster caused by capitalism
The COVID-19 pandemic is a turning point in world history, an event comparable in scale and impact to the Great Depression and the two world wars.
Statement of the Socialist Equality Party•
CDC issues relaxed guidelines for gatherings of fully vaccinated people
The new CDC guidelines allow for fully vaccinated people to gather privately. This is a politically motivated step, not confirmed by science, and may potentially exacerbate the pandemic.
Benjamin Mateus•
More virulent strains of COVID-19 threaten spring surge
The CDC director raised concerns that mitigation measures’ rapid relaxation could lead to a spring surge as more virulent strains of the coronavirus are detected.
Benjamin Mateus•
Fred Mazelis, Philip Guelpa•
Bryan Dyne•
Benjamin Mateus•
Bryan Dyne•
Benjamin Mateus•
150 years since the birth of Rosa Luxemburg
The meeting examined Luxemburg’s role as a Marxist theoretician and political leader, and discussed the significance of her legacy to the contemporary struggle to build a Marxist leadership.
Peter Schwarz, Ulrich Rippert, David North, Johannes Stern•
WSWS online Q&A; with David North and Eric London
Sylvia Ageloff and the assassination of Leon Trotsky
David North and Eric London speak on the significance of the latest revelations, in the context of the decades-long Security and the Fourth International investigation by the ICFI into Trotsky’s assassination by Stalin’s GPU.
David North, Eric London•
The Trump coup and the rise of fascism: Where is America going?
This essay is based on the transcript of the remarks made by David North, the chairman of the international editorial board of the World Socialist Web Site and national chairman of the Socialist Equality Party (US), in opening an online discussion held January 17 on the significance of the fascist assault on the Capitol in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021.
David North•
The Crisis Elections: 1860 & 2020
An online meeting with historians James Oakes, Richard Carwardine and Tom Mackaman. Moderated by WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North.
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
UK bus drivers 24-hour strike at London United while French drivers at same company walk out over pay and privatisation; strikes in Belgium by childcare workers over Covid safety, prison officers and social workers over workload; resident doctors across Nigeria strike since April 8 over salary arrears
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US Special Forces sent into Mozambique amid growing civil war
The Biden administration has quietly opened up a new front in the ever expanding number of shadow wars being fought across the globe by the US military.
Bill Van Auken•
One-day general strike in Belgian private sector against pay rise cap; 2,000 Amazon workers in four-day pay strike in Germany; 2,000 coal miners’ strike in Bosnia and Herzegovina over unpaid wages; French primary school teachers plan walkout over school reopenings
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
2,000 Amazon workers at five German fulfilment centres in four-day pay strike; one-day general strike of Belgian private sector workers against 0.4 percent pay rise cap; 2,000 coal miners’ strike in Bosnia and Herzegovina over months of unpaid and inconsistent wages; French primary school teachers to walk out over school reopenings
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Pharmacists strike across Lebanon in national day of action; UK bus drivers at Go North West garage continue strike; workers at British Gas threaten further strike; autoworkers at Renault foundry in France strike against closure
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
Pharmacists strike in Lebanon as economy collapses; UK bus strike at Go North West Manchester depot in fifth week; further strike planned by UK energy workers; French workers at Renault foundry strike against closure
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Our reporters•
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Joanne Laurier•
Kumaran Ira•
Anthony Torres•
Australian Labor leader criticises Assange’s imprisonment, privately
Albanese’s highly conditional comments, made in a closed-room caucus meeting and leaked to the press, were a cynical public relations exercise that committed Labor to nothing.
Oscar Grenfell•
Assange’s partner exposes ongoing denial of his legal and democratic rights
Assange is still being denied proper access to his lawyers and to crucial legal documents, even after a Magistrates’ Court verdict blocking his extradition to the US last month.
Oscar Grenfell•
Australian workers and youth demand freedom for Julian Assange
“It has to be a grassroots movement from below to save Assange. A mass movement or mass support for him, rather than trying to appeal to the goodness of Australian politicians’ hearts.”
Our reporters•
Assange denied bail after extradition blocked, will appeal to UK High Court
Judge Baraitser said in her decision Wednesday, “As far as Mr Assange is concerned, this case has not yet been won.”
Thomas Scripps•
Oscar Grenfell•
Our reporter•
our reporters•
Our reporters•
Thomas Scripps•
Socialist Equality Party launches campaign for 2021 German federal election
The SGP began its campaign for the 2021 German federal elections with a strong launch meeting that was followed by hundreds of workers and young people online.
Our reporter•
Life instead of profits! Socialism instead of capitalist barbarism!
Support the SGP’s campaign for the German federal election!
Workers in every country around the world confront the same problems and can only oppose exploitation, militarism and fascism by uniting. This is why the SGP’s election campaign is not restricted to Germany, but addresses itself to workers throughout Europe!
Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei•
SEP meeting in Australia discusses political issues facing locked-out Coles workers and the need for independent rank-and-file organisations
Speakers explained the vital stand taken by the Smeaton Grange warehouse workers and outlined the political perspective needed to defeat the escalating assault on jobs and conditions.
our reporter•
Turkish Trotskyists hold international online meeting on student protests
The Socialist Equality Group and IYSSE in Turkey held an international online meeting January 17 titled “Amid the global breakdown of democracy, the way forward for the Boğaziçi University protests.”
our reporters•
Our correspondents•
our reporters•
Our reporters•
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The Socialist Equality Party (Australia)•
Ten years since the Egyptian Revolution
To mark the anniversary of the 2011 revolution in Egypt, we present a selection of key statements and analyses produced by the WSWS in the course of the events of that year and their aftermath.
Read more
Taiwan threatens to shoot down Chinese drones amid mounting US-China conflict
Encouraged by the US, Taiwanese officials are escalating their war rhetoric as provocative US military exercises in the region threaten to precipitate a clash with Chinese forces.
Peter Symonds•
Russia conducts nationwide military exercises as Ukraine, NATO prepare for war
Moscow is assessing its own fighting capacity and readiness, as Ukraine prepares for war and NATO conducts massive military exercises across Europe.
Andrea Peters•
Biden threatens unspecified retaliation against Russia
In an interview Wednesday morning, the US president said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will “pay a price” for alleged interference in US elections
Patrick Martin•
UK’s new military policy: More nuclear missiles, more wars, targeting China and Russia
The review confirms a shift in focus towards the Indo-Pacific region, involving military and commercial alliances, to establish UK interests in what is “increasingly the geopolitical centre of the world” and its “growth engine.”
Chris Marsden•
Bill Van Auken•
Bill Van Auken•
Nick Beams•
Nick Beams•
Alexander Fangmann•
Watch lecture video “Three Grenades in August: Fifty Years since the Bombing of Plaza Miranda in the Philippines”—another devastating exposure of Stalinism
Scalice demonstrated that the “overwhelming weight of evidence” suggested that the Communist Party of the Philippines was responsible for the bombing and indicted its claims that fascism and martial law are “good for revolution.”
our reporter•
Stalinist CPP attacks Dr. Scalice’s upcoming lecture on the 1971 Plaza Miranda bombing in the Philippines
In a desperate bid to turn people away from this week’s lecture, Marco Valbuena, Chief Information Officer of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), has again slandered Scalice as operating on behalf of the CIA.
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“Falsifications and slander are the weapons of Stalinism”
Joseph Scalice responds to Stalinist attacks over Diliman Commune article
“The honest assessment of history is the bedrock of revolutionary politics. Falsifications and slander, on the other hand, are the primary weapons of Stalinism.”
Joseph Scalice•
Historian Joseph Scalice to deliver public lecture on 50th anniversary of Plaza Miranda bombing
The bombing marked a critical step toward the imposition of martial law in the Philippines by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1972 and remains one of the most controversial events in the country’s history.
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Peter Symonds•
Joseph Scalice•
Peter Symonds•
John Malvar•
Our reporters•
A video statement by WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North
Welcoming the relaunch of the World Socialist Web Site
The WSWS has been relaunched with an entirely new design and with vastly enhanced functionality.
The relaunch of the World Socialist Web Site and the future of socialism
The relaunch of the WSWS and the growth of its influence reflect a process of mass political radicalization under conditions of the greatest crisis since the 1930s.
David North•
Closing remarks from SEP national secretary Joseph Kishore
The WSWS has exhaustively documented and analyzed the political crisis and historical decay of American democracy.
Joseph Kishore•
The approach of the World Socialist Web Site to science
The WSWS was the only publication to warn very early on the dangers the working class faced if the coronavirus became a pandemic.
Bryan Dyne•
“The WSWS has not only commented on the struggles of the working class it has been an active participant in them”
In the vast archive of the WSWS, the working class will find the most critical lessons from the history of the global class struggle and an international socialist perspective needed to conduct its fight against world capitalism today.
Jerry White•
Genevieve Leigh•
Niles Niemuth•
Bill Van Auken•
Patrick Martin•
Tomas Castanheira•
From the Marxist Library
Thirty years since the reunification of Germany
To mark the 30th anniversary of the German reunification, the WSWS is presenting a special exhibit of documents and statements produced by the International Committee of the Fourth International amidst the crisis of Stalinism in the former GDR.
The RWDSU’s debacle at Amazon
The crushing defeat for the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union at Amazon’s Bessemer, Alabama plant exposes the extent of workers’ alienation from the pro-corporate unions.
Tom Hall, Joseph Kishore•
Asia emerges as a new epicenter of the global COVID-19 pandemic
The coronavirus knows no borders and needs no passport, and in the fight to stop it, workers in all countries face the same essential political problems.
Alex Lantier•
The true toll of the coronavirus pandemic
The official death count in the COVID-19 pandemic is just a small reflection of the massive social and health disaster caused by the disease.
Bryan Dyne•
The case for expropriation: Billionaires’ wealth surged 60 percent in first year of pandemic
The newly released Forbes list reveals that in 2020, as COVID-19 was sweeping the world and killing millions, billionaire wealth skyrocketed as never before.
Niles Niemuth•
Statement of the WSWS International Editorial Board•
Joseph Kishore•
Tom Hall•
Will Morrow, Alex Lantier•
Trévon Austin•
Modern Monetary Theory and the crisis of capitalism: Part one
Modern Monetary Theory is the latest in a long line of attempts by “left” theorists to maintain that capitalism can be made to work for society if only outmoded thinking about the monetary system is abandoned.
Nick Beams•
Book Review
Wilmington’s Lie: The 1898 white supremacist coup in North Carolina
The racist massacre in Wilmington was a major turning point in the entrenchment of Jim Crow segregation throughout the South.
Fred Mazelis•
Two novellas on the #MeToo issue: Mary Gaitskill’s This is Pleasure and James Lasdun’s Afternoon of a Faun
Two recent works of fiction interestingly portray the #MeToo campaign in operation, but don’t criticize (or probe deeply) much of what needs to be criticized.
Sandy English•
The Kill Chain: A new era of world war
The Kill Chain exposes US imperialism’s advanced war preparations against China, with Silicon Valley playing a critical role.
Shuvu Batta•
James McDonald•
David Walsh•
Andre Damon•
Clara Weiss•
Shannon Jones•
The Political Origins and Consequences of the 1982–86 Split in the International Committee of the Fourth International
This lecture was delivered by David North, chairman of the International Editorial Board of the WSWS, at the opening of the Socialist Equality Party (US) Summer School on July 21, 2019.
David North•
Drawing the lessons of the ICFI split—International Strategy and National Tactics: The change in the ICFI’s approach to national liberation movements
This lecture was delivered to the Socialist Equality Party (US) Summer School on July 25, 2019 by Deepal Jayasekera, Assistant Secretary of the Socialist Equality Party in Sri Lanka
Deepal Jayasekera•
The World Capitalist Crisis and the Tasks of the Fourth International: An analysis of the ICFI Perspectives resolution of 1988
This lecture was delivered to the Socialist Equality Party (US) Summer School on July 23, 2019 by Andre Damon, regular writer for the World Socialist Web Site and leading member of the Socialist Equality Party in the US.
Andre Damon•
The ICFI and the Crisis of Stalinism
This lecture was delivered to the Socialist Equality Party (US) Summer School on July 24, 2019 by Barry Grey, US national editor of the World Socialist Web Site and leading member of the Socialist Equality Party in the US.
Barry Grey•
