This lecture was given by World Socialist Web Site International Editorial Board Chairman David North at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany.
Top Stories
Perspective
Christmas in America 2023
As billionaire wealth surges, US faces record homelessness
The latest “point-in-time” survey from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development revealed a staggering 12 percent jump in homelessness in 2023, one of many indicators of severe social distress in capitalist America.
The United Nations reported that 93 percent of the population is facing “crisis levels of hunger,” while one in four households are facing “catastrophic conditions” of starvation.
The reason given for the censorship was that Sarandon's post was a violation of the platform’s “rules against violent speech.”
The rise of JN.1 to dominance in the US could soon cause the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases of any wave so far, excluding only the initial Omicron wave exactly two years ago.
The following tributes to Helen Halyard were read out to an international memorial meeting held on December 3.
The plans announced by Zelensky amount to an admission that the continuation of the imperialist-backed war is predicated on an even greater slaughter of the Ukrainian working class.
On December 20, Argentina’s ultra-right President Javier Milei signed a decree to downsize the government, scrap regulations and strip the working class of existing social, wage, retirement and welfare benefits.
Hundreds of Kurdish political prisoners in Turkey have been on hunger strike since November 27 demanding improved conditions.
More than 150 workers and young people joined the meeting to discuss the way forward for the working class in the fight to stop Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
In keeping with their decades-long role as the “left” flank of the Indian establishment, the Indian Stalinists are seeking to confine the opposition of workers and youth to the slaughter of the impoverished Palestinians of Gaza within the reactionary framework of capitalist politics and great-power diplomacy.
Report to London meeting on the centenary of Trotskyism
Genocide in Gaza: Imperialism descends into the abyss
The unfolding genocide in Gaza is the realization of “the descent into the abyss” of which James P. Cannon warned in his Open Letter, published 70 years ago last week.
Socialist internationalism and the struggle against Zionism and imperialism
This lecture provides a political and historical analysis of the genocidal war now being conducted by the Zionist regime in Israel against the Palestinians. It explains the relationship between the contemporary struggle against imperialism and the international socialist program of the Left Opposition, founded by Leon Trotsky 100 years ago in October 1923.
Human Rights Watch reports mass censorship of opposition to Gaza genocide
A 51-page report published by Human Rights Watch on Thursday exposes the collaboration of Facebook and Instagram with US imperialist and pro-Zionist propaganda by documenting the censorship of content that exposes the war crimes being committed in Gaza by the Israeli military.
Israelism: A sensitive film commentary that enrages Israel's supporters
Israelism, produced by first-time documentarians Erin Axelman and Sam Eilertsen, is a sensitive and contemplative work that reveals Israel to be a garrison state sustained by violence and lies.
IYSSE holds rally to mobilize Detroit area Stellantis autoworkers against US-Israeli genocide in Gaza
On Thursday, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) at Wayne State University held a rally at the Stellantis Warren Truck Assembly factory, where their call to mobilize autoworkers against the genocide in Gaza was met with strong support.
Parents at Barclay Primary School in London, UK protest victimisation of pupils over pro-Palestinian sentiment
Eight-year-old Yahya, who has lost friends in Gaza, wore a small Palestinian flag sticker on his jacket and suffered disciplinary action by school management.
2,000 attend Labor for Palestine rally in Oakland, California
The militant mood of workers attending Saturday’s demonstration stood in contrast to the official speakers from local unions and the East Bay Democratic Socialists of America.
Australia: Labor government representatives promoted at Gaza vigil in Newcastle
The promotion of Labor MPs is a warning of the attempts to subordinate opposition to the genocide to the very government backing it.
Helen Halyard (1950-2023), a tribute to a life dedicated to the victory of world socialism
We are publishing here the tribute given by David North to Helen Halyard, a leading member of the Socialist Equality Party and the International Committee of the Fourth International for more than half a century, who died suddenly at the age of 73 on November 28. North’s remarks opened a memorial meeting for Helen held Sunday, December 3.
Remarks by David North at the conclusion of the international memorial meeting for Helen Halyard
We are publishing here the summation given by David North to the memorial meeting for Comrade Helen Halyard held on December 3.
The lioness, the oak tree, the matron: In loving memory of my mother, Helen Halyard
We are publishing here the tribute to Helen Halyard given by her son, Jamal, to a memorial meeting for Comrade Helen held by the Socialist Equality Party (US) and the International Committee of the Fourth International on December 3.
Helen Halyard (1950-2023), a life dedicated to the liberation of the working class
Comrade Helen played a central role in the Trotskyist movement, both in the United States and internationally, for more than half a century.
Report to Sri Lanka meetings
Imperialism, the genocide in Gaza, and the world struggle for socialism
Socialist Equality Party (US) National Secretary Joseph Kishore delivered the following report to a meeting titled “Leon Trotsky and the Struggle for Socialism in the 21st Century” in Colombo on December 10.
Australian workers and youth condemn violent attack on Sri Lankan SEP members
Workers, students, youth, academics and the sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) have denounced the violent attack on two SEP members by pro-government thugs and demanded the culprits be punished.
British Trotskyists condemn pro-government thug attack on Sri Lankan SEP members
National affiliates of the International Committee of the Fourth International and their national Socialist Equality Party affiliates and supporting groups are sending protest letters over the brutal thug attack on two Sri Lankan Trotskyists.
SEP (US) National Secretary Joseph Kishore addresses “Centenary of Trotskyism” public meeting in Colombo
More than 100 working people and students, including SEP members and supporters from Colombo and outstations, attended the meeting, with a strong delegation from Sri Lanka’s war-torn north.
Book Review
Adolph Reed, Jr.’s The South: Jim Crow and its Afterlives
Reed’s The South is unique among memoirs of the Jim Crow era in that it is intertwined with historical and social analysis.
America’s genocide
Amid mass executions and genocidal rhetoric, US deepens support for Israeli onslaught on Gaza
As the death toll in Gaza from bombing, massacres and starvation soars, it is becoming clear that Israel is waging “America’s genocide.”
Colorado Supreme Court rules Trump coup attempt disqualifies him as candidate
The Democratic Party and the Biden administration will take no serious action against the fascist ex-president. They seek collaboration with the Republicans on a shared agenda of war in Ukraine and Gaza.
The “election victory” of al-Sisi in Egypt
If anything was needed in the midst of Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians to reduce the human rights propaganda of the imperialist powers to absurdity, it is their partnership with the butcher of Cairo.
Henry Taylor: B Side: An exhibition of the US painter’s work at the Whitney Museum in New York
Size is not the only way that Taylor’s work commands attention. Figures are boldly rendered, sometimes with colorful, abstract shapes or sketched with a black painted line.
Artists protest ongoing censorship of Palestinian culture in the UK
The Arnolfini Centre issued a hypocritical and deceitful statement purporting to explain its decision to exclude the Palestinian events.
A reading of the Gaza Monologues in Colombo, Sri Lanka
“Wow, Gaza and Gaza’s dreams… Our dream has become to die a good death, not live a good life”—Yasmeen Abu Amer
John Pring of Disability News Service on Museum of Austerity exhibition
WSWS reporter Dennis Moore interviewed Pring about the Museum of Austerity, his involvement in it and the issues it raises.
The New Zealand National Party-led government’s agenda of war and austerity, and how to fight it
The opposition that is already emerging to the National Party-NZ First-ACT coalition government’s agenda of austerity and war must be transformed into a conscious socialist movement, in opposition to Labour and its allies which are seeking to suppress and divide the working class.
Attendees at SEP (Australia) meeting against Gaza genocide: “Protesting is not working, we need a revolutionary perspective”
The meeting “summarised the situation that is occurring in Gaza but placed this in the context of bigger implications of the capitalist crisis and the American war drive globally.”
Political and media witch hunt launched over release of a “terrorist” in Australia
The ongoing Benbrika saga, which began with his much-publicised arrest in 2005, shows how the sweeping and unprecedented “counter-terrorism” laws imposed under the banner of the “war on terror” are being used to overturn basic legal and democratic rights.
Corruption scandal threatens the stability of Japanese government
Whatever the immediate lurid claims, the scandal will be exploited to further push the government to the right in pursuit of remilitarization.
Fire at GM flagship Factory Zero EV plant highlights dangers of lithium-ion batteries
The raging fire filled the factory with toxic smoke forcing the evacuation of workers and halting production for two shifts.
As Quebec public sector workers press for a broadening of the struggle, unions conspire to scuttle strike movement
Even as workers press for a broadening of the struggle, the unions are conspiring with the government to reach sellout agreements and scuttle the strike movement.
Los Angeles County doctors and dentists set to strike December 27
To undercut doctors’ militancy, the UAPD is pursuing the AFL-CIO’s treacherous script of Unfair Labor Practice strike action.
Oklahoma man exonerated after 48 years in prison
Glynn Simmons was exonerated of murder charges after it was revealed prosecutors had withheld evidence from his defense.
Fire at GM flagship Factory Zero EV plant highlights dangers of lithium-ion batteries
The raging fire filled the factory with toxic smoke forcing the evacuation of workers and halting production for two shifts.
IYSSE holds rally to mobilize Detroit area Stellantis autoworkers against US-Israeli genocide in Gaza
On Thursday, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) at Wayne State University held a rally at the Stellantis Warren Truck Assembly factory, where their call to mobilize autoworkers against the genocide in Gaza was met with strong support.
UAW continues to block strike at Allison Transmission more than 3 weeks after overwhelming contract rejection
Anger has been growing among workers in recent weeks over the provocative move by management to withhold a previously agreed to $1,000 bonus heading into the Christmas holiday.
2,000 attend Labor for Palestine rally in Oakland, California
The militant mood of workers attending Saturday’s demonstration stood in contrast to the official speakers from local unions and the East Bay Democratic Socialists of America.
Kurdish political prisoners on hunger strike in Turkey
Hundreds of Kurdish political prisoners in Turkey have been on hunger strike since November 27 demanding improved conditions.
Sosyalist Eşitlik Grubu holds public meeting in Istanbul on Israel’s genocide in Gaza
The SEG in Turkey held a public meeting in Istanbul on Sunday titled “Stop Israel’s genocide in Gaza! Socialist internationalism and the struggle against Zionism and imperialism.”
Hundreds of textile workers in Turkey continue wildcat strike in defiance of military police crackdown
The wildcat strike by hundreds of textile workers in Şanlıurfa in south-eastern Turkey has entered its third week, in defiance of the trade union apparatus, company threats and military police violence.
DOC NYC Film Festival 2023: Part 1
Three Promises: A Palestinian family’s view of the Second Intifada
A documentary about how one West Bank family endured the uprising has burning relevance as Israel intensifies its genocidal campaign against the population of Gaza.
Podemos takes its distance from Spanish PSOE-Sumar government to pose as opponent of Gaza genocide
Podemos is not leaving the PSOE-Sumar government because it genuinely opposes its support for Israel, but because Sumar has closed-down its ability to make occasional critical noises in parliament to conceal its role as a key prop of the government.
Macron passes fascistic anti-immigration law in alliance with Le Pen
The law affirms the principle of “national preference”, a central demand of the far right.
Social Democrats and Christian Democrats agree a coalition in Hesse with a declaration of war on refugees
The agreement between the parties has so little to offer in terms of a social perspectives and future projects that it appeals to the worst xenophobia
UK heads and teachers condemn Ofsted inspections after Ruth Perry suicide inquest verdict
Perry’s tragic death highlighted the crisis gripping the education sector in the UK, bound up with decades of funding cuts.
The value added tax increase in Sri Lanka: A brutal attack on the working class
The tax increases imposed under the orders of the IMF are intensifying the conditions for a social uprising, fueling the flames of class struggle.
Sri Lankan SEP General Secretary Deepal Jayasekera discusses international socialist program in TV interview
Jayasekera explained that the working class need to take matters into their own hands to fight for a socialist and internationalist solution to their burning social and democratic issues.
“The attack on the SEP members is an attack on the international working class”: Will Lehman defends Socialist Equality Party in Sri Lanka
William Lehman, the Pennsylvania Mack Trucks worker and socialist candidate for UAW president in last year’s election, issued the following statement defending the Socialist Equality Party in Sri Lanka.
David North sends a message to Sri Lankan SEP members attacked by pro-government thugs
“The cowardly thugs—trade union bureaucrats who serve as the hirelings of the capitalist regime—stupidly believe that they can intimidate our party with such reactionary tactics. In fact, they draw upon themselves the contempt of the working class.”
Study finds that half of confirmed COVID patients in Africa now suffer from Long COVID
The study underlines the massive social crime committed by the ruling class in promoting the infection of billions of people worldwide by the novel pathogen.
World Health Organization designates Omicron JN.1 a “variant of interest” due to its rapid global spread
Based on the limited data available, it is clear that JN.1 is fueling substantial waves of infection throughout the world, with thousands of ongoing global excess deaths each day and untold masses newly suffering from Long COVID.
Quebec emergency room doctors warn conditions “out of control” due to surge of COVID and other respiratory infections
Although Canada’s governments and the media have ceased to speak about it, COVID-19 continues to kill and was a major factor in a further decline in life expectancy in Canada in 2022.
New study proves that COVID-19 is far more harmful and deadly than the flu
A study published in the Lancet journal by Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly and colleagues finds that COVID-19 and its post-acute sequalae cause far more deaths and health injuries than influenza and Long-Flu.
Immigrant advocates prepare legal battle against fascistic Texas immigration laws
Governor Abbott blamed the Biden administration for what Democrats and Republicans have increasingly referred to as the “broken” border.
National defense budget extends illegal electronic spying on US citizens
The National Defense Authorization Act, which was sent to the White House by Congress on December 14, contains a little-known four-month extension of Section 702 provisions that enable the ongoing warrantless surveillance of US citizens in violation of fundamental constitutional rights.
Texas Governor Abbott signs bills empowering police to carry out mass arrests, summary deportations of immigrants
The actions by Abbott are part of a bipartisan assault on immigrants, involving the Biden administration and both the Republican and Democratic parties.
Biden, Democrats offer virtual destruction of asylum rights in return for Ukraine war funding
Since the funding bill was first introduced in October, President Joe Biden has repeatedly called on Congress to pass his request, warning that the funds are imperative for Ukraine, and more broadly, for US national security.
G7 powers discussing plan to seize frozen Russian financial assets
Any move to take Russian funds would have major implications for the operations of the global financial system.
Nippon Steel acquires US Steel for $14.9 billion
The takeover of US Steel is a further sign of the decades-long decline of American capitalism and the loss of its industrial dominance.
Record high for debt repayments by low-income nations
Nearly half a trillion dollars was paid into the coffers of the banks and financial institutions, paid for by cuts in health, education and other vital facilities.
US financial system a “minefield of vulnerabilities”
The annual report by the Financial Stability Oversight Council has listed a wide range of potential problems in the financial system flowing from higher interest rates.
Virginia county greenlights massive data center, imperiling Civil War battlefield
The data center will bulldoze unprotected land and encroach on the boundaries of Manassas Battlefield National Park, staining the landscape for millions of visitors looking to understand the progressive revolutionary history of the United States
This week in history: December 18-24
This column profiles important historical events which took place during this week, 25 years ago, 50 years ago, 75 years ago and 100 years ago.
Ten years since the death of leading British Trotskyist Dave Hyland
Ten years ago, Dave Hyland, a leading figure in the British Trotskyist movement, died on December 8, 2013, at the age of 66. Below we republish the remarks of comrade David North to a January 18, 2014, memorial meeting honouring comrade Hyland.
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy
The events of the past decade have further substantiated the half-century appraisal of the event as an initial manifestation of the breakdown, under the pressure of interacting domestic and international contradictions, of American democracy.
Member of Zelensky’s Servant of the People party injures 26 in grenade attack
Combined with the state-organized crackdown on opposition and democratic rights, the violence of the war and conscription drive have created the conditions for such a violent anti-social and anti-democratic attack.
Biden, Zelensky demand billions more for anti-Russia war
Zelensky's meeting with Biden was part of the White House’s ongoing effort to secure another $60 billion for Ukraine, which is confronting a military debacle in the US-NATO war against Russia.
Zelensky attends Milei’s inauguration in Argentina: Two puppets of US-NATO axis embrace
The event made clear that US imperialism is again planning to install fascistic regimes across Latin America to crush the revolutionary struggles of workers and align the region against its geopolitical rivals, with Argentina as a major hub for this conspiracy.
Biden declares US-Mexico border “broken”
Democrats offer to gut asylum rights in exchange for GOP support for Ukraine war funds
The squabbling in Congress over immigration policy is only one element in the broader conflict between the Democrats and Republicans over border policy, an issue that has become intimately tied up with US military operations abroad.
Chile votes on revamped Pinochet constitution
Authoritarian and police state policies implemented under President Boric’s Apruebo Dignidad coalition government are enshrined in the draft constitution.
Argentina’s Milei announces first batch of class war measures dictated by the IMF
On Tuesday, Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced the first set of economic shock measures, which are supposed to set a new bar for attacks against living standards of workers everywhere.
Venezuela claims oil-rich territory controlled by Guyana as Pentagon carries out flight operations
While the Maduro administration is carrying out an entirely reactionary policy, US imperialism has been the main player stoking up tensions in recent years.
Boric’s police state: 200 Carabineros raid university in Chile
The raid sets a dangerous precedent for the establishment of a police state in Chile.
“No money for anything but war”: US autoworkers speak out on layoffs, Gaza genocide
The WSWS spoke to workers at the Stellantis Warren Truck Assembly Plant Friday about the year-end layoff announcements that have followed on the heels of the national UAW-Big Three auto contracts.
UAW keeps Allison Transmission workers on the job two weeks after 96 percent contract rejection
Well aware of the growing anger among workers over being kept in the dark, local UAW officials have released a series of “bargaining updates” since Monday, while concealing the real content of their discussions with management.
“The UAW knew these layoffs were coming”: Toledo Jeep workers denounce job cuts
Stellantis workers at the Toledo Assembly Complex Saturday denounced the corporation and the United Auto Workers for the sudden announcement late last week that 1,225 workers will be laid off indefinitely.
UAW rams through fourth sellout agreement at Indiana Lear seating plant
Lear workers had courageously defied three earlier attempts by the UAW to push through a pro-company deal.
Oppose the state-organized witch hunt of opponents of genocide on US campuses!
The forced resignation of University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill on December 9 marks a new stage in a state-orchestrated campaign to attack basic democratic rights on campuses.
In bipartisan vote, US House passes authoritarian resolution calling on Harvard, MIT presidents to resign
As part of the ongoing witch hunt against anyone who does not fully endorse the US-backed Israeli genocide in Gaza, on Wednesday 84 Democrats and 219 Republicans voted in favor of the anti-democratic and hypocritical resolution which not only called on university presidents to resign, but implicitly slandered the academics as antisemites.
Ruling class witch hunt against anti-genocide protesters and university presidents intensifies
Forty-one Brown University students arrested for protesting Gaza genocide
The Brown Divest Coalition called Tuesday’s protest in solidarity with Hisham Awartani, a 20-year-old junior at the university and one of three Palestinian-Americans who was shot by a right-wing libertarian last month.
University of Michigan permanently bans student resolution against genocide in Gaza
What is really behind the suppression of the anti-genocide resolution is the fact that it was headed for victory, something the billionaire donors and regents, Democratic and Republican politicians, and Pentagon, CIA and State Department officials who collectively run the university would not allow.
Fifty years after Chile’s horrific September 11 coup, its political relevance is becoming ever more urgent as the specter of dictatorship once again haunts the political life of Latin America.
Climate scientists predict devastating weather conditions for the Southern Hemisphere summer
Warming oceans, exacerbated by record melting of Antarctic ice shelfs, could produce heat waves, droughts and destructive storms.
Contrasting inter-group behavior of our two closest evolutionary relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, provides possible insights to human evolution
Chimpanzees are aggressive toward chimps of other groups; bonobos of different groups engage in friendly and cooperative behavior toward each other.
Useless hand wringing and empty platitudes in the latest US climate report
A critical reading of the report underscores the impossibility of combining a scientific approach to resolving climate change with the ongoing existence of capitalism.
Fossil discovery in China raises intriguing questions for human evolution
The fossil skull, including both jaw and cranium, appears to be from an intermediate form between Homo erectus and Homo sapiens.
The essays in this book, though written over the span of more than 40 years, are connected by a central argument: Leon Trotsky was the most significant figure in the history of socialism during the first four decades of the twentieth century, and his legacy remains the critical and indispensable theoretical and political foundation of the ongoing contemporary struggle for the victory of world socialism.
Order your print or epub version of the book from Mehring Books today.
Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka) celebrates 80th birthday of veteran Trotskyist K. Ratnayake
Ratnayake has dedicated his entire adult life, encompassing some six decades, to the fight for the socialist emancipation of the working class and the oppressed masses.
Greetings to veteran Sri Lankan Trotskyist K. Ratnayake on his 80th birthday
Six of the eight decades of your life have been inextricably connected to the fight for Trotskyism, the defense of the International Committee, and the building of the Fourth International as the World Party of Socialist Revolution.
Enthusiastic response by Sri Lankan workers and students to upcoming international May Day online rally
“Nowadays May Day is used as political propaganda by the trade unions and the capitalist parties. In fact, May Day belongs to the workers and it should be a day that brings together workers in struggle in every country.” –Kandy Hospital nurse
SEP (Australia) holds well-attended post-election public meeting
The SEP held an important meeting Sunday afternoon entitled: “After the NSW Elections—How to fight AUKUS, War & Austerity!”
Indigenous Voice leaders denounce Australian voters
An open letter, issued by a privileged layer of indigenous figures who led the Voice Yes campaign, further highlights the immense class chasm shown in the referendum’s overwhelming defeat on October 14.
Australian pseudo-left slanders population as racist after defeat of Voice referendum
Socialist Alternative’s analysis of the referendum is an attack on the working class, exposing this organisation as a rightward moving representative of privileged layers of the affluent upper middle-class.
Defeat of Australian Labor’s Voice referendum highlights stark class divide, not racism
The Voice voting patterns demonstrate the intensifying hostility of working-class people to the entire political establishment.
Australian workers oppose the Voice, call for better conditions for Aboriginal people
“The Labor government is not working class, it is an elite group of people, setting up a puppet called the Voice.”
March 20 marks 20 years since the beginning of the US invasion of Iraq, launched on the basis of lies. At the time of the initial invasion, the WSWS published many statements on the background of the war, its history and its implications. This page features some of the most important statements.
Albanese’s comments expose charade that Australian government is trying to free Julian Assange
Albanese’s lie that the Biden administration cannot end the prosecution of Assange is a greenlight for the extradition and persecution of the Australian publisher.
Craig Murray seeks UN protection in Switzerland against British police-state persecution
Murray explained in a statement, “the abuse of special anti-terrorism powers at ports in order to seize all papers and communications of journalists is becoming commonplace.”
Official documents show Australian government doing nothing to free Assange
The Labor government’s full-throated support of imperialist militarism, in Israel, Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific, is incompatible with the defence of a persecuted anti-war publisher.
Australian parliamentarians lobby for Assange in Washington
The tour reflected a groundswell of support for Assange among ordinary people, but also underscored the bankruptcy of a fight for his freedom based on backroom diplomacy and politicking.
Twenty-five years ago, the International Committee of the Fourth International began posting the World Socialist Web Site. In this video, WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North explains the background to the WSWS, reviews its record and contemporary significance and makes an appeal to all readers to donate to the WSWS and expand its readership.
The Prinkipo commemoration of Trotsky’s exile and the global resurgence of the working class
The event reflects the objective change that has been underway for some time in the relationship between Trotskyism and the international working class.
An Island at the Center of World History: Trotsky on Prinkipo
This is the speech by World Socialist Web Site International Editorial Board Chairman David North given on Sunday, August 20, honoring the life and political legacy of Leon Trotsky.
The ICFI’s investigation exposed the GPU conspiracy to murder Trotsky
The penetration of GPU agents into the Fourth International played a fatal role in the assassination of Trotsky.
Leon Trotsky’s years on Prinkipo
Trotsky spent the critical years of his exile on Prinkipo writing masterpieces and organizing the Left Opposition in the Communist International all over the world.
In 2022 the accumulating pressure of these intersecting elements of the world capitalist crisis attained the equivalent of critical mass: that is, they have reached the point where the dynamic of crisis has passed beyond the ability of governments to control the movement toward a social cataclysm.
1985-86: The victory of Trotskyism within the ICFI
The following lecture was delivered by Chris Marsden, the national secretary of the Socialist Equality Party (UK), and Ulaş Ateşçi, a leading member of the Sosyalist Eşitlik Grubu (Socialist Equality Group) in Turkey, to the SEP (US) International Summer School, held between July 30 and August 4, 2023.
The Workers League’s defence of the Theory of Permanent Revolution against the opportunism of the Workers Revolutionary Party
The following lecture was delivered by Tom Peters, a leading member of the Socialist Equality Group of New Zealand, and Thomas Scripps, a leading member of the Socialist Equality Party (UK), to the SEP (US) International Summer School, held between July 30 and August 4, 2023.
1982: Marxism, the revolutionary party, and the critique of Healy’s Studies in Dialectics
The following lecture was delivered by Christoph Vandreier, the national secretary of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party) of Germany to the SEP (US) International Summer School, held between July 30 and August 4, 2023.
The role of Security and the Fourth International in the fight for the continuity of the International Committee of the Fourth International
The following lecture was delivered by Eric London, a leading member of the Socialist Equality Party (US), to the SEP (US) International Summer School, held between July 30 and August 4, 2023.
Vadim Z. Rogovin (10 May 1937 – 18 September 1998) was a Soviet Marxist sociologist and historian. Working in close collaboration with the International Committee of the Fourth International, Rogovin helped lay the foundations for the Trotskyist movement’s fight against the post-Soviet school of historical falsification, including in his six-volume Was There an Alternative? This page collects major essays and commemorations on Rogovin as well as links to his own writings.
Burkinabè junta arrests top officers over Burkina Faso coup attempt
The conflicts in the Burkina Faso military are deeply entwined with the NATO-Russia war in Ukraine, as the Burkinabè junta led by Traoré develops ties with the Kremlin.
The social roots of the Moroccan earthquake disaster
The scale of the Moroccan catastrophe is an indictment of the inability of the capitalist system to deliver earthquake-resistant housing and emergency services to the working population.
Macron announces pull-out of French troops from Niger
Amid massive protests in Niger against French imperialism, French President Macron announced the withdrawal of the French ambassador to Niamey on Sunday.
After protests in flood-hit Derna, Libyan officials order journalists to leave
There are growing signs in the region that the eastern Libyan authorities are preparing a bloody crackdown against protests in Derna.
Mehring Books, the publishing arm of the Socialist Equality Party (US), is proud to announce the publication of Volume 1 of COVID, Capitalism, and Class War: A Social and Political Chronology of the Pandemic, a compilation of the World Socialist Web Site's coverage of this global crisis.
Will Lehman issues letter to Mack Trucks coworkers on eve of UAW contract expiration: “We must seriously prepare for a major battle”
It’s clear the UAW hasn’t been negotiating anything at Mack all this time, they’ve just been keeping us in the dark to prevent us from preparing to fight back against the company’s ruthless demands.
Will Lehman sues Biden administration demanding rerun of fraudulent UAW election
On Monday, July 3, rank-and-file socialist autoworker Will Lehman sued the Biden administration’s Department of Labor, demanding that the UAW national officers’ election be rerun with the names of all candidates on the ballot due to massive voter disenfranchisement by the bureaucracy.
Stop the UAW sabotage of the autoworkers struggle! Hold emergency local meetings to demand an all-out strike!
“Let’s be clear on what Fain‘s announcement really means: These strikes will have no impact on production. These are parts warehouses that ship components to the dealerships, not suppliers of the Big Three.”
“It’s almost like we are in a civil war between the rich and the poor”: Autoworkers respond to Will Lehman’s Newsweek op-ed
Autoworkers have responded with enthusiasm to the editorial written by the Pennsylvania Mack Trucks worker and socialist candidate for UAW president in 2021.
The International Youth and Students for Social Equality—the student and youth movement of the Socialist Equality Parties, the national sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International—calls for the building of a mass global movement of young people to end the reckless escalation toward World War III.
Third Trump coup lawyer pleads guilty and agrees to testify in Georgia election case
Jenna Ellis is the third lawyer and fourth defendant to plead guilty in relation to the conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
Trump coup plot accomplice Chesebro pleads guilty in Georgia fake elector case
Kenneth Chesebro, attorney and close associate of Donald Trump, pleaded guilty on Friday to one felony charge in exchange for his agreement to testify against the former-president and 16 other defendants in the fake elector scheme to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
Top Trump coup lawyer Sidney Powell turns state’s witness on eve of Georgia trial
The 68-year-old far-right lawyer will avoid prison time as long as she abides by the terms of her six-year probation, which includes testifying against her accomplices, including Trump.
Trump-backed election denier Jim Jordan fails in second vote for House speaker
The focus of opposition from the Democrats and a section of House Republicans to Jordan’s becoming Speaker is his stated opposition to further military aid to Ukraine.
The Inquest is necessary to break through the cover-up, lies and misinformation that have been used to justify policies responsible for the avoidable deaths of millions.
May Day 2023: For the international unity of the working class against national chauvinism and war!
The following is the text of the opening report delivered by David North, chairperson of the International Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Site, to the International May Day Online Rally 2023, held Sunday, April 30.
The ICFI’s May Day 2023 online rally: A milestone in the building of a global, working class movement against war
Together, the speakers set out a political programme capable of uniting the international working class and mobilising its immense social power in a struggle against the world’s major corporations and governments.
The developing struggle to bring down the Macron government in France
This is the report delivered by Alex Lantier, national secretary of the Parti de l’égalité socialiste (PES), to the 2023 International May Day Online Rally held on April 30.
The struggle for a Democratic and Socialist Congress of Workers and Rural Masses in Sri Lanka
This is the report delivered by Deepal Jayasekera, the General Secretary of the Socialist Equality Party in Sri Lanka, to the 2023 International May Day Online Rally held on April 30.
The definitive left-wing critique of the 1619 Project. This volume includes interviews with eminent historians and essays from the World Socialist Web Site exposing the New York Times’ racialist falsification of history.
Former Montgomery, Alabama teacher testifies about the forced reopening of schools in 2020-21
In this interview, Tynisa Williams, former teacher in Montgomery, Alabama, describes the experience of being forced to teach in-person in the fall of 2020 and winter of 2021. She and her coworkers waged a courageous struggle to stop the deadly return to in-person learning that cost the lives of eight educators in the district.
Accomplices to social murder
The international pseudo-left and the lifting of Zero-COVID in China: Part 1
The pseudo-left’s hostility to public health and support for imperialism found sharp expression in their universal demand—echoing that of the Western corporate media and political establishment—that China abandon its Zero-COVID strategy.
Accomplices to social murder
The international pseudo-left and the lifting of Zero-COVID in China: Part 2
The pseudo-left’s hostility to public health and support for imperialism found its sharpest expression in their demand—echoing that of the Western corporate media and political establishment—that China abandon its Zero-COVID strategy.
Immunocompromised mother in Manhattan speaks to Global Workers’ Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic
Melanie, whose children attend public schools in New York City, spoke to the WSWS about the toll the “let it rip” policy toward the pandemic has taken on her and her family.
This five-part series and historical timeline exposes Snyder’s Bloodlands as a work of falsification, aimed at justifying the imperialist proxy war against Russia in Ukraine and the alliance of US imperialism with the Ukrainian far-right.
The Wuhan lab lie: “Weapons of mass destruction” redux
In an uncanny instance of history repeating itself, the lies used to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq based on false claims about “weapons of mass destruction” are being used to promote the United States’ unprecedented military buildup around China.
A discredited conspiracy theory about the origins of COVID-19
The Wuhan Lab Leak slander being resurrected to bolster US war drive against China
The Wall Street Journal disclosed that the Department of Energy has shifted its opinion on the origin of the coronavirus to it being most likely a result of a lab leak. However, unnamed sources who have read the report indicate the evidence is of low confidence.
Republicans revive discredited Wuhan Lab Leak theory and call Anthony Fauci to testify
Republicans have demanded Former Biden chief medical advisor Dr Anthony Fauci testify on the Wuhan lab leak theory.
Anthony Fauci gives aid and comfort to COVID-19 “lab leak” conspiracy theory
Fauci’s aim in lending credence to the conspiracy theory, which he knows to be a lie, is to distract attention from the antiscientific policies carried out under the Trump and Biden administrations that led to the deaths of over a million Americans.
This interactive timeline presents some of the most important events that have brought humanity to the brink of World War III. It includes links to critical articles and statements produced by the International Committee of the Fourth International over the past 30 years.
Nikole Hannah-Jones’ Center for Democracy and Journalism: Racialist politics in the service of US imperialism
After one year, the Center’s main accomplishment has been to deepen the mutual embrace between sections of the upper middle class and the military-intelligence apparatus.
The 1619 Project and the New York Times’ promotion of the racialist ideology of Ukrainian nationalism
The racialist historical revisionism of the Times and the racialist ideology of the Ukrainian neo-Nazis share a common premise: the mythological reimagining of history as a struggle of “the nation” and “the race.”
Oppose political censorship of antiwar views at Howard University!
We call on all students, faculty and staff members at Howard University to oppose this censorship and demand that the IYSSE be allowed to hold its planned meeting on campus.
Marcus Garvey and the reactionary logic of racialist politics
More than one hundred years after the formation of his Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), Marcus Garvey's legacy remains highly relevant in the struggle to overcome efforts to divide the working class along racial lines.
Report to Seventh Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US)
The historical and political principles of the socialist opposition to imperialist war and the Putin regime
This report was given by Clara Weiss to the Seventh Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US) in support of the resolution, “Mobilize the working class against imperialist war!”
Report to Seventh Congress of Socialist Equality Party (US)
The historical background of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fight for global elimination
This report was given by Evan Blake to the Seventh Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US) in support of the resolution titled “The COVID-19 pandemic and the fight for socialism”
America’s “New World Order”— The historical and social roots of US plans for war with Russia and China
The following is a report given by Andre Damon to the Seventh Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US) in support of the resolution titled “Mobilize the working class against imperialist war!”
Report to Seventh Congress of Socialist Equality Party (US)
Build rank-and-file committees, the organs of 21st century working class struggle!
This report was given by Eric London to the Seventh Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US) in support of the resolution titled “Build the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees! For a global counteroffensive of the working class!”
October 16 marked the 45th anniversary of the assassination of Tom Henehan, a member of the Political Committee of the Workers League—the predecessor of the Socialist Equality Party in the US. We are republishing here a tribute delivered by David North at a meeting in 1997.
Instagram shutters account of Palestinian publisher Quds News Network
Instagram shut the account without explanation. Quds is one of the most popular Palestinian networks and has featured on-the-spot exposures of the war crimes in Gaza.
WSWS readers demand Facebook reverse ban on SEG in New Zealand
Readers have expressed outrage at the social media company’s anti-democratic censorship of the Trotskyist Socialist Equality Group in New Zealand.
Facebook blocks Socialist Equality Group in New Zealand from advertising
We call on readers to oppose Facebook’s blatant political censorship of the Trotskyist movement in New Zealand.
Elon Musk’s Twitter abruptly reverses ban on promotion of alternative social media platforms
After instituting a ban on sharing links from competitive social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and Mastodon, Elon Musk canceled the policy less than 24 hours later.
Comrade Wije Dias, the longtime general secretary of the Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka), died in Colombo on July 27, 2022. This exhibit includes two tributes to Wije by WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North as well as a selection of Wije’s most significant articles and speeches.
The June 19 decision followed extensive discussions with representatives of the International Committee in Istanbul on the development of the fight for Trotskyism in Turkey and the Aegean and Black Sea regions.
Over 80,000 sign petition against NYU Langone’s termination of a pro-Palestinian resident physician
Over 80,000 people have signed a petition opposing the anti-democratic termination of Dr. Zaki Masoud by NYU Langone.
Report exposes fraudulent antisemitism accusations at UK universities
The report concludes that critics of the Israeli state, advocates for Palestinian rights and those teaching the history and politics of the region have been “subjected to false allegations of antisemitism.”
An interview with Harvard anthropology Professor John Comaroff—Part one
We spoke recently to South African-born John Comaroff, the Hugh K. Foster Professor of African and African-American studies and of Anthropology, and Oppenheimer Research Fellow in African Studies, Harvard University.
Harvard UAW, pseudo-left groups organize provocation against professor John Comaroff
The right-wing witch-hunt of John Comaroff at Harvard University continued Tuesday with a stage-managed protest during his first class of the semester.
The WSWS is publishing the report delivered by David North 25 years ago, on February 1, 1997, motivating the proposal to end publication of the SEP’s printed newspaper and replace it with an international website; as well as North’s reply to the National Committee ‘s discussion of the proposal.
Russia downs British-supplied long-range missile as Zelensky and Sunak declare “jets coalition”
Central to NATO’s plans to defeat Russia and force regime change in Moscow is aerial supremacy over the Ukrainian battlefield. Speaking to reporters after the talks, Zelensky said, “We want to create this jet coalition.”
Pentagon national strategy document targets China
The US military published a series of documents Thursday outlining US plans for war with Russia and China, and asserting the central role of nuclear weapons in US warfighting.
Australia dispatching military “trainers” to aid the US-NATO war against Russia
Australia, already the largest non-NATO funder of the war in Ukraine, is escalating its involvement amid warnings that the conflict could result in a nuclear catastrophe.
German President Steinmeier delivers war speech to the nation
Steinmeier's remarks to invited soldiers, journalists, think tank representatives and leading politicians can only be described as a “war speech to the nation.” The focus was de facto a declaration of war on Russia and the Russian population.
Germany’s secret service intensifies persecution of war opponents and warns against “Trotskyism”
The latest “Constitutional Protection Report” published by the Verfassungsschutz (Germany’s domestic intelligence service) at the end of June aims to silence anyone who criticises the mass death being organised by the NATO powers, calls social inequality by its name, and rejects the government’s pro-war narrative.
Peace activist sentenced for criticizing German war policy in Ukraine
The Berlin-Tiergarten District Court has sentenced peace activist Heinrich Bücker for a speech he gave on the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s invasion on the Soviet Union.
Large-scale raid against right-wing terrorist network reveals the extent of the fascist danger in Germany
Around 3,000 officers from the special police forces stormed 137 locations in 11 federal states on Wednesday morning and arrested 25 people. Another 27 people are being investigated. The state prosecutor has accused them of being members or supporters of a terrorist organisation.
German secret service operates hundreds of far-right social media profiles
Regardless of whether the pending investigations can demonstrate that the agents gave the impetus to the planned terrorist attacks, a picture emerges of a right-wing extremist milieu organized and controlled by the state.
Review the most critical essays, lectures and letters produced by the ICFI in the course of its intervention in response to the crisis of Stalinism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Book Review
Adolph Reed, Jr.’s The South: Jim Crow and its Afterlives
Reed’s The South is unique among memoirs of the Jim Crow era in that it is intertwined with historical and social analysis.
Why have right-wing forces attacked Adania Shibli’s novel Minor Detail?
After the outbreak of the new Israeli war against Palestinians a number of critics discovered antisemitism in the book and denounced Shibli as a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions activist.
Award-winning novelist Arundhati Roy denounces “brazen slaughter” and “crimes against humanity” in Gaza
Roy’s comments speak to the revulsion felt by hundreds of millions at the savagery of the Israeli destruction of Gaza.
The racialist theory of “color blind racism”: Eduardo Bonilla-Silva’s Racism without Racists
Now in its sixth edition, Racism without Racists has been central to the development and dissemination of the racialist outlook that currently dominates academia, much of the media, and significant sections of the political establishment in the United States.
Christmas in America 2023
As billionaire wealth surges, US faces record homelessness
The latest “point-in-time” survey from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development revealed a staggering 12 percent jump in homelessness in 2023, one of many indicators of severe social distress in capitalist America.
America’s genocide
Amid mass executions and genocidal rhetoric, US deepens support for Israeli onslaught on Gaza
As the death toll in Gaza from bombing, massacres and starvation soars, it is becoming clear that Israel is waging “America’s genocide.”
Colorado Supreme Court rules Trump coup attempt disqualifies him as candidate
The Democratic Party and the Biden administration will take no serious action against the fascist ex-president. They seek collaboration with the Republicans on a shared agenda of war in Ukraine and Gaza.
Polls show mass opposition to Biden’s support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza among US workers and youth
The mass opposition to Israel's actions is of immense objective significance. The decisive task is to imbue this movement with an understanding of the political, theoretical and historical issues underlying the genocide.
The WSWS has published a feature page incorporating a selection of essential essays from its own archives, and other documents produced contemporaneously by the Fourth International.
Police locate more bodies in New Zealand’s Pike River mine
The police investigation into the 2010 disaster that killed 29 mineworkers has been dragged out until at least the end of 2023, with no guarantee that anyone will be charged over the avoidable deaths.
New Zealand police extend investigation into Pike River mine disaster until the end of 2023
Police are delaying their decision on whether to lay charges over the 2010 Pike River mine disaster that killed 29 people, until after the October election.
Nine dead, 44 still missing in mine collapse in China
The disaster tragically exposes the brutal working conditions faced by miners in China in the reckless drive for profits ahead of lives and safety.
New Zealand: Court action over Pike River mine disaster
The fathers of two of the 29 workers killed in the 2010 Pike River mine disaster are campaigning for the release of documents and correspondence relating to a 2013 decision to drop charges against Pike River CEO Peter Whittall.
Cliff Slaughter died on May 3, 2021, in Leeds, England, at the age of 92. His enduring contribution in the 1960s to the defense of Trotskyism stands in tragic contrast with his subsequent political opportunism and repudiation of revolutionary Marxism.
North and London discussed the significance of the latest revelations of the the Security and the Fourth International investigation into Trotsky’s assassination.