This critical question-and-answer session, organized by the IYSSE at Wayne State University, should be studied by all those who want to stop the genocide in Gaza.
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Perspective
Trump “hush money” trial begins—A political diversion
The fascist ex-president is being tried, not for his real crimes against democracy, but for an alleged campaign finance violation related to his personal conduct.
Forty-eight hours after Iran launched an airstrike on Israel, Israeli officials offered indications Monday that Israel is preparing military strikes on Iranian targets, as the US-provoked war in the Middle East continued to escalate.
The layoffs are not just the product of the ample greed and stupidity of Elon Musk, but part of a broader attack on jobs in the auto industry and in industries across the world.
In this video, Christoph Vandreier, chairman and leading candidate of the SGP in the European elections, condemns the recent attack on the Palestine Congress in Berlin.
A series of recent events demonstrate the manner in which the repression of opponents of the Israeli genocide in Gaza is being massively intensified.
In coordinated actions, protesters in major cities around the world blocked traffic and logistics hubs to protest the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The reactionary decree, which explicitly targets the Students for Justice in Palestine, declares total support for Israel’s genocide and identifies every expression of criticism of Zionism as a form of antisemitism that is to be subject to punitive measures.
University of California administrators are slandering students as antisemitic to justify a crackdown on protests in defense of the Palestinians in Gaza.
The arch-Thatcherite Daily Mail declared that Starmer was in the process of removing “one more of the dwindling number of reasons to vote Tory.”
Canada’s Liberal government presented a “defence policy update” last week that pledges tens of billions of dollars in increased military spending and outlines plans to procure a vast array of new weapons.
The military exercises repeatedly conducted in the Indo-Pacific are designed to raise tensions with China and paint Beijing as the aggressor while also preparing US-led alliances for war.
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Adapting to middle-class racial politics
Cornel West selects Black Lives Matter promoter Melina Abdullah as running mate
The selection of Melina Abdullah as running mate signals a decision by West to emphasize racial divisions rather than class conflict.
An election for the billionaires
The real decision-makers in American capitalism are the hedge fund bosses, bankers and corporate moguls whose financial backing and political influence will largely determine the outcome of the 2024 election.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the 2024 US elections
What accounts for the silence of all the capitalist and middle class parties on this world historic event that has impacted every human being and profoundly altered global society?
The SEP launches its campaign for a socialist alternative in 2024 to Biden and Trump, the corporate candidates of war and dictatorship!
David North, the national chairman of the Socialist Equality Party (US), announced today the selection of Joe Kishore and Jerry White as the SEP's candidates in the 2024 presidential election campaign.
David North presents German edition of Leon Trotsky and the Struggle for Socialism in the Twenty-First Century at the Leipzig Book Fair
On Saturday, David North presented the German edition of his book Leon Trotsky and the Struggle for Socialism in the Twenty-First Century at the Leipzig Book Fair.
Biden condemns Iran’s strike on Israel: A case study in imperialist hypocrisy
The imperialist powers are asserting that they and their proxies can violate international law at will, but any resistance to their efforts to dominate the world is intolerable.
The Gaza genocide and the death of Aaron Bushnell: What are the political lessons?
This lecture was given by World Socialist Web Site International Editorial Board Chairman David North at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, March 12.
Mehring Yayıncılık publishes Turkish edition of The Logic of Zionism: From Nationalist Myth to the Gaza Genocide
Mehring Yayıncılık is pleased to announce the publication of the Turkish edition of The Logic of Zionism: From Nationalist Myth to the Gaza Genocide by David North.
Biden gives Israel “ironclad” backing against Iranian retaliatory strike
Biden’s “ironclad” guarantee amounts to a blank cheque to the Israeli regime to carry out illegal acts of aggression anywhere in the Middle East, including on Iran.
Threat of war between Israel and Iran grows as new offensives launched in Gaza
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz threatened Thursday, “If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will respond and attack in Iran.”
Biden declares “ironclad” commitment to Israel as death toll mounts in Gaza
The declaration came only hours after Israeli missiles killed three sons and several grandchildren of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
UN Rapporteur: Australian government is “aiding and abetting” genocide in Gaza
Labor’s attempts to dupe the population by denying its active complicity in the Gaza genocide are running up against reality.
Berlin police raid and shut down conference opposing Gaza genocide
On Friday afternoon, Berlin witnessed scenes reminiscent of the era of the Nazi regime. Hundreds of police officers terrorised a Palestine Congress, which was directed against the Israeli genocide in Gaza, eventually banning it altogether.
Australian actors condemn Gaza genocide, oppose Zionist crackdown on free speech
The pro-Israeli campaign of lies and intimidation has its limits, as evidenced by the principled and courageous statements of world-renowned actors Hugo Weaving and Miriam Margolyes.
Muslim UT Austin student assaulted after leaving mosque
The University of Texas at Austin student and his companion were reportedly assaulted by three men after leaving a mosque and proceeding on foot to the campus approximately a half-mile away.
Multiple students at Pomona College in Southern California arrested for protesting against Gaza genocide
In a vicious attack against democratic rights and freedom of speech, nineteen students were arrested Friday at Pomona College in Southern California. The students were arrested at the college president’s office after holding a sit-in opposing the university’s previous crack downs on pro-Palestinian protests.
This lecture was given by World Socialist Web Site International Editorial Board Chairman David North at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, March 12.
Wes Streeting insists no additional funding for Britain's NHS under Labour without “major surgery” through privatisation
Far from criticising the Conservative government for failing to properly fund the NHS, he denounced the Tories for pouring funds “into a black hole.”
Workers Struggles: The Americas
Gannet workers at papers in New York and Texas walked out over wages while graduate assistants at Western University struck after rejecting management’s contract offer.
Inspector General’s reports find massive issues in rollout of “Delivering for America” restructuring of US Postal Service
The OIG’s reports are exercises in damage control, beginning by hailing DFA as “creating a best-in-class mail and package processing network” and then describing staggering levels of negligence and incompetence at facilities in Richmond and Houston.
Stellantis cuts another 200 supplemental workers in Detroit as auto layoffs continue
The laid-off workers sequenced parts for Stellantis assembly plants in Detroit.
Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter: A masterpiece of corporate kitsch
The star’s new album, which alternates between the forgettable and the ludicrous, is a ready-made vehicle for the promotion of racialist and gender politics, along with the generation of corporate profits.
Woody Allen’s Coup de Chance: The “wonderfully wealthy” businessman as a sociopath
The newest film by Woody Allen had to be made in France because the US movie industry has essentially excluded the veteran writer-director.
More writers shun PEN America over genocide of Palestinians
More and more writers have severed their connections to PEN America, the largest writers’ advocacy organization in the US, over its persistent support for the Israeli military’s genocide in Gaza.
Anti-Zionist artists withdraw work from San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum exhibition
The anti-Zionist artists call themselves the California Jewish Artists for Palestine.
From the archives
The O.J. Simpson trial: Some ugly truths
The outcome of the O.J. Simpson trial proved once again that the essential issue in American society is class, not race.
US House passes bipartisan 2-year reauthorization of Section 702 warrantless surveillance
A bipartisan 2-1 majority of the House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday reauthorizing and strengthening the power of the intelligence state to spy on the public contained in Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Arizona Supreme Court revives primitive 1864 law to criminalize abortion
The highest state court ruled that a criminal law dating from 1864 can be used to imprison doctors who perform abortions.
Biden touts his token college debt plan amid collapse of student support over Gaza genocide
In an obvious attempt to win electoral support from college students, President Biden spoke in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday and announced a new student debt program that would provide minimal relief should it ever see the light of day.
Rank-and-file forum discusses Australian Labor government’s pro-business and war restructuring of education
The Albanese government’s Universities Accord cannot be separated from Labor’s whole pro-business agenda, its commitment to US war plans and its complicity in the US-backed genocide in Gaza.
South Korea’s Democrats obtain large majority in general election
While the result represents a rebuke to the administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol, the opposition Democrats have no fundamental differences with the pro-war and anti-working class agenda of the ruling PPP.
Australian government announces war-related economic policy
Labor’s “Future Made in Australia Act” would subsidise investment in strategic industries, all of which are critical for war preparations.
Delhi Chief Minister jailed on politically manipulated charges as India’s election campaign kicks into high gear
The Modi government is notorious for its use of manipulated and trumped-up charges against political opponents. But with the approach of the 2024 election, it has become even more brazen in using all means at its disposal to attack its bourgeois rivals, suppress social opposition, and stoke communal reaction.
Following bridge collapse
Federal officials target end of May for full reopening of Port of Baltimore after bridge collapse
Following the collapse of a major bridge in Baltimore after being hit by a container ship, officials aim to fully reopen the port by the end of May, as bodies of three workers remain missing.
Secret RCMP report calls for increased police powers to meet growing threat of social unrest
The RCMP report expresses alarm over the erosion of the control the ruling class has long exercised through its traditional parties and institutions, including the media and the trade unions.
Chicago police shot at 26-year-old Dexter Reed 96 times in 41 seconds
The extreme violence of the trigger-happy police evident in the videos reveals a level of hostility to the lives and the rights of all citizens characteristic of an occupying military.
Amid cover-up of whistleblower John Barnett’s “suicide,” new Boeing whistleblower exposes safety violations in manufacture of 787 Dreamliner
The FAA has confirmed that it is investigating reports by a new Boeing whistleblower of unsafe practices in the manufacture of the 787 Dreamliner.
Sri Lankan trade unions seek alliance with opposition parties
Trade union leaders’ effort to block workers’ struggles and subordinate them to capitalist parties must be rejected. Workers can mobilise their industrial and political strength only by organising independently from capitalist parties and trade unions.
SEP (Sri Lanka) launches two books on the rightward evolution of the JVP
The NPP/JVP leaders are in an all-out campaign to convince the capitalist class in Sri Lanka and major powers that they represent the only alternative to save the capitalist rule.
World Bank report shows drastic increases in Sri Lanka’s poverty and inequality
The economic reforms advanced by the World Bank include the privatisation of Sri Lanka’s state-owned enterprises, mass job destruction and further attacks on hard-won wages and working conditions.
Sri Lanka: Build action committees to fight for salary increase, against IMF austerity
The Health Trade Union Alliance (HTUA) last Wednesday announced that it would call an indefinite strike from today. However, after discussion with health and finance ministry officials, HTUA leaders called off the strike.
Showing the impact of climate change on human pathogenic diseases
Dengue fever epidemic sweeps through Latin America
Nearly five million people in Latin America and the Caribbean have been infected.
Arrest of masterminds in Marielle Franco murder points to rot of bourgeois democracy in Brazil
In response to the latest revelations in the Marielle case, the PT and PSOL have redoubled their efforts to prevent Brazilian youth and workers from drawing the necessary political conclusions.
Ecuadorian regime invades Mexican embassy, kidnapping ex-vice president
With Washington’s approval, the Ecuadorian ruling class has gone from granting Julian Assange asylum in 2012, to renouncing his asylum, and now storming a foreign embassy in Quito.
Mexico faces economic tug of war between US and China
American imperialism, in league with its Canadian minion, seeks a fortress North America against China, and even Europe, in its march to war. Mexican President López Obrador is kowtowing to this agenda.
Floods devastate parts of Russia, Kazakhstan
While the rapid rise of the water levels of the Ural River was bound up with climate change, the devastating consequences of the floods are the direct result of the failure of the ruling class to invest in the infrastructure necessary to protect the population from its impact.
Spain’s PSOE-Sumar government feigns sympathy with Gaza, calling for Palestinian statehood
This proposal on Palestinian statehood is an empty gesture with no practical implications, as the Israeli genocide in Gaza can only be stopped by opposing NATO’s backing for Israel.
President of Germany’s Kiel Institute proposes financing war rearmament using the Nazi model
As well as massive cuts in social programmes, the president of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy is proposing an annual special fund of €150 billion for the military, financed through credit. Just as under the Nazis, such massive credits can only be repaid through the booty of imperialist wars of conquest.
What does Labour’s praise for Thatcher mean for workers under a Starmer government?
Starmer’s class war agenda would exceed by far that waged by his hero, Thatcher. It would be shock-therapy imposed on a victim already tortured half to death.
Ukrainian parliament expands conscription to dragoon young people to the front
The new mobilization law comes amidst a staggering loss of life and hints by Zelensky that NATO’s proxy forces in Ukraine are planning another “counteroffensive.”
Finland closes border with Russia indefinitely to block asylum seekers, prepare for war
The decision reflects both the Finnish ruling elite’s determination with US/NATO backing to ratchet up tensions with Russia and to clamp down on immigrants and refugees.
Washington threatens China over aid to Russia in Ukraine war
US threats against China underscore that the NATO war with Russia in Ukraine is part of a global war waged by the NATO imperialist powers to assert their world hegemony.
UK Foreign Secretary Cameron urges Trump/Republican backing for Ukraine war
Cameron was acting in the first instance as representative of British imperialism and other European powers concerned that the war against Russia will be lost without additional funding for Ukraine’s armed forces. But his visit was viewed as a friendly intervention by the Biden administration.
SEP (Australia) forum in Melbourne demands freedom for Assange
The meeting unanimously passed a resolution condemning the US-led vendetta and demanding Assange’s immediate and unconditional freedom.
Australian Labor government complicit in Assange extradition threat
The Labor government is doing nothing to obstruct Assange’s looming extradition to the US, where he would face 175 years imprisonment for exposing war crimes.
Young people speak at UK public meetings on fight to free Julian Assange: “It should be a focus for this generation”
Public meetings held this month by the Socialist Equality Party and International Youth and Students for Social Equality provoked important discussion among workers and young people on the campaign needed to free WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.
UK High Court puts Assange on the brink of extradition to the United States
The essential task posed before Assange’s supporters is to link his defence to the mass movement emerging in opposition to these crimes. The same eruption of militarism and aggression fuelling the persecution of Assange is producing a mass radicalisation among workers and young people.
Germany’s Coronavirus Commission of Enquiry aims to criminalise protective measures
After the federal and state governments lifted all coronavirus protection measures and allowed the virus to run free, proclaiming the myth of the “end of the pandemic,” they are now moving to criminalise the protective measures taken in the past.
Hidden Long COVID crisis deepens in New Zealand
With a new COVID surge circulating unchecked in the country, the dangers and consequences of Long COVID are being underplayed by the political establishment.
H5N1 avian flu virus found in cattle across six US states
The emergence of H5N1 among US dairy cows raises immediate concerns over the potential for the avian flu and similar viruses to adapt into human populations.
Australian government, media silent on last COVID wave that killed one thousand people
While experts have pointed to the dangerous implications of the recent spread of the Juno variant, their statements have been ignored by the Labor governments and the official press.
This week in history: April 15-21
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.
Liz French on the 40th Anniversary of the British Miners’ Strike: “We were betrayed by the TUC and Labour Party.”
The WSWS spoke with Liz French from Betteshanger, a former pit village in the Kent coalfield in south-east England. Liz was a founding member of the National Women Against Pit Closures during the 1984-85 Miner’s Strike. Among the 200 miners imprisoned during the 1984-85 strike, Liz’s late husband Terry received one of the longest prison sentences of five years.
India’s 1983 Nellie communal massacre in historical perspective
The Nellie massacre—in which India’s now governing party, the Hindu supremacist BJP, played a major role—was the outcome of a campaign of communal incitement targeting “illegal foreigners,” that is highly impoverished refugees and migrants from Bangladesh.
This week in history: April 8-14
Coup in Niger; Golda Meir resigns; Last Nuremberg Trial; US bill bars Japanese immigrants
Inflation numbers push back possible Fed interest rate cut
After markets considered at one point there may have been six interest rate cuts this year, now there is concern there may not even be one.
IMF warning over growing private credit market
The supposed guardians of the financial system are largely in the dark as far this rapidly expanding, and increasingly important area of the market is concerned.
US treasury secretary Yellen warns China on military and economic fronts
The central purpose of the visit was to demand that China not use its capacities in the production of green technology products to undercut US corporations.
Slowing global economy intensifying economic war against China
Hostility to Chinese exports of electric vehicles said to be reaching “fever pitch.”
Fire disaster in Istanbul kills 29 workers
This fire disaster is an indictment of the entire ruling elite, including business owners and officials.
Mass protests erupt in Turkey after election of Kurdish mayor annulled
The dismissal of Van’s elected Kurdish nationalist mayor in local elections, in which Erdoğan’s AKP suffered a heavy defeat, triggered mass protests.
Erdoğan’s AKP suffers setback in Turkish local elections as CHP comes first
In elections dominated by the cost-of-living crisis and held amidst the genocide in Gaza and NATO's escalating war against Russia, the ruling party suffered a significant defeat.
Turkey: TİP’s Hatay candidacy crisis underscores bankruptcy of the pseudo-left’s orientation to the bourgeoisie
The scandal is fundamentally the product of the TİP’s unprincipled collaboration with the CHP, a pro-NATO, right-wing bourgeois party.
January 21 marked 100 years since the death of Vladimir Lenin in 1924. This page includes a collection of essays reviewing the life and ideas of the great Marxist theoretician, founder of the Bolshevik Party, and co-leader of the Russian Revolution.
Dangerous heatwaves in West Africa exacerbated by climate change
A World Weather Attribution study shows that climate change has sharply increased both the severity and frequency of extraordinary heat events in Africa’s Guinea region.
Sudan’s “forgotten war” leads to epic suffering and regional instability
Sudan faces famine, displacement, economic breakdown and an almost total absence of international aid. The government, virtually bankrupt, barely functions.
EU, IMF and regional powers bail out Egypt in return for services rendered to Israel’s genocidal war
These deals with Egypt’s brutal dictator indicate the real nature of the talks between the US, Egypt and the Gulf states held under the cover of negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Niger’s junta cancels military agreement with the United States
The decision followed a provocative, unannounced meeting by US officials to the Nigerien capital, Niamey, to demand that they cut off ties with Russia and Iran.
Scientific—and social—dimensions of the 2024 total solar eclipse
The second total eclipse across North America in seven years has drawn the interest of millions across the continent.
Climate change report predicts devastating worldwide impacts
“With a few exceptions, increasing warming leads to greater exposure to drought, fluvial and coastal flooding, and greater declines in biodiversity and crop yields.”
Genetic makeup of modern Europeans derived through ancient migrations from Asia
The studies provide further confirmation that modern populations are the result of a complex mixing of migrants of varying origins and cultures that have nothing to do with the pseudo-concept of “race."
Average global surface temperatures rose to more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels in 2023
Every year, millions are temporarily or permanently displaced and tens of thousands die from the impacts of climate change, none of which has ever been seriously addressed by capitalist governments.
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.
UAW President Fain dines with billionaires, warmongers at White House reception for Japanese PM
Fain’s attendance expressed the fact that the union bureaucracy is joining hands with imperialism for World War III.
Financial assets of UAW rose in 2023 as bureaucracy pushed through sellout contracts
UAW net assets topped $1.13 billion even as membership fell to the lowest level since 2009.
UAW-backed Mexican union tries to ram through sell-out contract at General Motors
The so-called “independent” union SINTTIA is described by workers as just another “company union” that consistently takes the side of management.
Mass layoffs hit auto industry as job cuts mount, profits surge
The stepped-up attack on jobs takes place as newly released government data shows profits rose $133.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023 for an annualized rate of $3.4 trillion, the highest ever.
IYSSE meetings in Australia and New Zealand: The crisis of political perspective of the Gaza protests
We encourage youth, students and workers to attend the events which will provide the international socialist revolutionary program necessary to end the genocide of Palestinians by the Israeli state and its imperialist backers.
IYSSE holds first meeting at Otago University in New Zealand
The meeting in Dunedin last Thursday was held to establish the International Youth and Students for Social Equality as a student club at Otago, and to discuss the socialist strategy to fight against war and the genocide in Gaza.
Australian IYSSE wins support at universities for its opposition to the Gaza genocide
“What’s happening in Gaza is so hard and so sad, because many people and many kids are getting killed. We have to stop these things, we have to stand with the people of Gaza.”
Build the IYSSE!
Capitalism leads to genocide and war—youth and students must fight for world socialism!
The fact that genocide has been adopted as policy by all the major capitalist powers is a warning. Gaza is the test case, the imperialist powers are making clear that there are no “red lines” they will not cross in their struggle to sustain their hegemonic rule.
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.
“Building the world party was Helen’s goal in life, to which she made an indelible contribution”
We are publishing here the tribute to Helen Halyard written by Patrick Martin, a member of the US editorial board of the World Socialist Web Site and a member of the Workers League and Socialist Equality Party for 52 years, and Esther Galen, a member of the Workers League and Socialist Equality Party for 53 years.
Tribute to Helen: Beverly Lozano, a supporter from California
A tribute to Helen Halyard written by Beverly Lozano, a supporter of the WSWS.
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.
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.
University of Michigan IYSSE protests attack by pro-government thugs on Sri Lankan SEP members
We are publishing here a letter being sent by the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) at the University of Michigan condemning the violent attack on two members of the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) in Sri Lanka by pro-government thugs.
Magistrate court hearing on violent assault on Sri Lankan SEP members
While police have visited the crime scene and recorded witness statements they requested more time to obtain hospital medical reports.
Academics denounce pro-government thug attack on Sri Lankan SEP members
The SEP is calling on all those who are concerned to defend democratic rights of freedom of expression to register their opposition by sending protest letters to the relevant authorities.
Wisconsin documents reveal details of strategy behind Donald Trump’s 2020 fake elector scheme
A trove of court documents released on Monday show Wisconsin attorney Kenneth Chesebro and former judge Jim Troupis were instrumental in formulating the strategy of Donald Trump to overturn the 2020 elections through court cases that generated “a cloud of confusion” combined with the appointment of “alternative” electors in seven key states.
Appellate court rejects Trump’s claim that he cannot be prosecuted for seeking to overthrow the 2020 election
The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled against Donald Trump's assertion of absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for seeking to overthrow the 2020 election.
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.
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.
Put a socialist, anti-war party on the ballot! Join the SEP (Australia) as an electoral member today!
Socialist Equality Party assistant national secretary Max Boddy calls on workers and young people in Australia to sign up as an SEP electoral member.
Sri Lankan SEP meeting to launch two books on the Sinhala chauvinist JVP
The JVP’s rightward evolution is not an isolated, national phenomenon but an expression of the transformation internationally of similar organisations into pro-imperialist outfits.
Comrade Halil Çelik: An inspiration for workers and youth internationally
This is the tribute given by Peter Symonds to Halil Çelik, founder and leader of the Sosyalist Eşitlik Grubu, who died suddenly at the age of 57 on December 31, 2018. The tribute was read at a memorial meeting on the fifth anniversary of Halil’s death.
Comrade Halil Çelik blazed the socialist-internationalist path the workers of Turkey must follow
This is the tribute given by Keith Jones to Halil Çelik, founder and leader of the Sosyalist Eşitlik Grubu, who died suddenly at the age of 57 on December 31, 2018. The tribute was read at a memorial meeting on the fifth anniversary of Halil’s death.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ghassan Zeineddine’s Dearborn: Short stories about Arab-American life
Zeineddine’s stories concern immigrants who escaped the civil war in Lebanon (1975-90) and their children, who are negotiating their own escapes.
The Best American Short Stories 2023: A step backward
Perhaps half the pieces are coming-of-age stories, that lyrical standby now usually written in a gritty but still rhapsodic voice.
Killing for Country: A Family History—a harrowing but distorted view of the massacres of Australian Aboriginal people
David Marr’s Killing for Country documents many mass killings of indigenous people but falsely blames the entire population, not the ruling class and Australian capitalism.
DOC NYC Film Festival 2023: Part 3
How to Come Alive with Norman Mailer: A documentary approaches the American novelist with sympathy, but not enough scrutiny
The documentary follows the writer from his boyhood in the 1930s through his service during World War II and throughout his tumultuous literary, journalistic and personal life.
Biden condemns Iran’s strike on Israel: A case study in imperialist hypocrisy
The imperialist powers are asserting that they and their proxies can violate international law at will, but any resistance to their efforts to dominate the world is intolerable.
UAW President Fain at the White House dinner: The corporatist alliance for World War III
The role of the trade union bureaucracy in the escalating global war is to discipline the working class on the “home front” so as to ensure continued production and deployment of military equipment, and to suppress opposition from workers both to the war itself and to austerity and heightened exploitation to pay for it.
The US-Japanese summit: A major step towards war with China
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to the US this week marks a major step in Washington’s consolidation of alliances throughout the Indo-Pacific and its accelerating preparations for war with China.
German imperialism must answer for complicity in Gaza genocide
On 8 and 9 April, the International Court of Justice in The Hague heard a complaint by Nicaragua accusing the German government of violating the UN Genocide Convention and other international agreements.
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.
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.
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.
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.