United States

Today the death of nearly 3000 people during the September 11 attacks will be officially commemorated once again. But will anyone at those commemorations mention how those deaths were cynically exploited by the Bush administration to carry out a plan hatched by the US oil lobby for its own greedy interests?

The Workers International League enthusiastically endorses ANSWER's May 31 call for a peaceful, legal, united front antiwar demonstration. The basic unifying slogan "End the War Now!" can effectively mobilize the millions of workers and youth who want the war ended immediately.

After weeks of political show-boating, the Democrats have voted to continue the war in Iraq. Editorial for the American Socialist Appeal no. 31.

After years of Bush’s open-ended war on working people at home and abroad, many on the “left” are desperate for an alternative. For many, that alternative is Barack Obama, a Democratic Senator from Illinois. However, far from being a “progressive” alternative, Obama is at his core a typical representative of the bosses’ political parties.

 

The war in Vietnam, which completely transformed the situation in the U.S.A., did not begin in a planned way. The U.S.A. was sucked into it almost by accident. It began with a covert operation, the sending of officers and “advisers” to prop up an unpopular and corrupt government against its own people. This is the usual style of U.S. imperialism! The regime of Ngo Dinh Diem was guilty of vicious repression in South Vietnam. Buddhist monks burned themselves alive in protest. Finally, Diem was assassinated by his own generals.

 

This year’s U.S. Perspectives will bring up to date key aspects of last year’s extensive World and U.S. Perspectives documents. In the past 12 months, the contradictions of the world capitalist system have continued to build up, resulting in violent explosions of the class struggle in one country after another, and preparing even more explosive developments for the coming period.

In the U.S., Labor Day is officially celebrated in September, and has all but lost its original political and class character. But the real origins of May Day can be traced right to the United States and the bitter struggles of working men and women for better wages, rights, conditions, and the eight-hour day.

We wish all our readers a red May Day! Here we briefly look at the historical origins of this day of struggle. 

A recent event in Portland Oregon highlighted the interest that average people have in the ongoing events in Oaxaca, showcasing the dormant political energy that many are desperately trying to direct into action.

On February 9, 1950 Senator Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin claimed that there were no fewer than two hundred Communists in the State Department. This outrageous allegation unleashed a witch-hunt against everyone who was even slightly "tainted" with left wing, progressive or even vaguely democratic opinions in public life.

The war in Iraq is the most important issue on the minds of American workers and youth. There is an entire generation whose world-view has been entirely shaped by the epoch of war, revolution, and counter-revolution through which we are living. Are the Democrats really doing anything to change the situation?

In the recent election for union leadership, members of the Teamsters union were confronted with a choice. On the one side stood Jimmy Hoffa Jr., who campaigned on the basis of forming a “partnership” with the employers. On the other side stood the challenger, Tom Leedham, who has pressed for mobilizing the membership to act in their own interests and strike in order to win gains.

The end of the 19th century saw the birth of imperialism. Germany, France, Britain and Belgium struggled to gain possession of markets, territory, raw materials and spheres of influence. Originally published in the book Marxism and the USA, published by and available from Wellred.

This was the period of the most violent labor conflicts in the history of the United States. The first of these occurred with the Great Rail Strike of 1877, when rail workers across the nation went out on strike in response to a 10-percent pay cut. Originally published in 2005 in the book Marxism and the USA, published by and available from Wellred.