United States

Part of the intention of this article is to combat the kind of senseless anti-Americanism that one encounters all too frequently in left circles. Marxists are internationalists and do not take up a negative stance in relation to the people of any country. We stand for the unity of all working people against oppression and exploitation. What we oppose is not Americans, but American capitalism and American imperialism. The American people and above all the American working class have a great revolutionary tradition. On the basis of great historical events they are destined to rediscover these traditions and to stand once more in the front line of the revolution, as they did in 1776 and...

As the Republicans celebrate their mid-term election victory, the drums of war are growing ever louder, and the bourgeois economists insist that a sustained recovery is just around the corner. We are told that the passing of the Homeland Security bill will mean greater safety, stability, and that the "war on terror" is being successfully waged in the interest of all Americans. However, the new bill means only more restrictions on the "freedom", and the economic situation for hundreds of thousands will continue to deteriorate. Billions have been spent on "defense", and still we are told that the threat of attacks is as high as it was before September 11.

As the results of the mid-term elections come in - an apparent sweeping victory for President Bush's Republican Party - many questions must be answered. How and why did this happen? What will it mean for working people and activists on the left? Does this mean Americans actually like George Bush and his policies?

We received this from Bob M. who gives this first-hand report from the anti-war demonstration in San Francisco. As he says, "Any attack on Iraq is going to be followed by massive demonstrations, and in more communities. The capitalist politicians have created anti-war momentum that's not about to go away, as long as the threats of war, if not actual war, persist."

As US imperialism prepares to go to war against Iraq, Jonathan Clyne looks back at the Vietnam War. He shows quite clearly the level of radicalisation that had developed among both the US soldiers fighting in Vietnam and the mass opposition that had developed back home among US workers and youth. As he says, "It was the American working class, those in uniform and those without, that more than anything else put an end to the war."

For the first time in many years the Taft-Hartley bill has been used against the West Coast dockers in the USA. This is a reactionary anti-union law that has been invoked to force the dockers back to work. But this is only a temporary “solution” for the bosses. The problems that forced the workers to take union action will not go away. Roland Sheppard in the US looks at the issues involved.

The West Coast shipping bosses have declared a lock-out which affects all 29 ports along the US Pacific coast. The bosses are demanding that new technical jobs be non-union. This is a mortal attack on the union's future. Thus while Bush prepares to go to war against Iraq he has another war opening up on the home front - the class war - this time against US workers. David May in the USA reports on the latest developments in this key struggle of the American workers.

As contract talks are underway between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, a Bush Administration task force has said that if the longshore workers strike, troops of the National Guard will be sent to occupy the ports, and members of the Navy will be used to load and unload ships. But this threat has only made the workers of the ILWU more determined to fight. In the name of the "War on Terror" Bush is attempting to destroy the most fundamental gain of the Labor Movement - the right to strike.

As preparations for war with Iraq continue, and prospects for the economy look bleak, John Peterson, editor of the US Marxist Magazine Socialist Appeal looks at the complete hypocrisy of the US government in relation to Iraq.

The events of last September were painful ones. But as the dust finally settles on the shattered ruins of the twin towers, a growing number of men and women are beginning to think and act for themselves. The terrible blows that shake the lives of the millions also help to knock out of their heads a hundred years of dust and cobwebs. Slowly, painfully, the fog is clearing from many minds and people are compelled to come face to face with reality. One year after September 11, Ted Grant and Alan Woods look at what has happened in the aftermath of the attacks.

Produced by the Workers International League in the USA, this is an analysis of the economic and political situation in the United States. We hope this document can contribute to clarifying the many issues confronting working people and youth. In the coming years, literally millions of people in the US will be searching for an alternative to capitalism. Only the ideas of Marxism and the revolutionary transformation of society along socialist lines can provide a solution. Please visit the WIL website to find out how you can join the WIL in the struggle for a better world for working people and the

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On Monday July 15, the famous American writer Gore Vidal was interviewed on the BBC Four channel. Gore Vidal is a member of one of America's leading families - a patrician in background, upbringing and culture. His close personal acquaintance with America's ruling elite gives him a unique insight into the workings of the system, and he understands the hypocrisy that underlies this pretence, and the vicious, exploitative and aggressive character of US imperialism. He is one of those extremely rare animals - a bourgeois political commentator whose vision transcends the immediate and has a broad historical view of things.

It is now almost a year on from September 11, a turning point for the USA. Not only for its impact internationally, but its effect on the average American. World affairs, so distant from everyday experience in the US, will never be the same again. The belief that America was immune from outside events has been completely shattered. Now America is being swept with corporate corruption scandals - tarnishing the political elite, both Republicans and Democrats alike, who have long had their snouts in the trough of big business. America is in the grip of great economic and political volatility.

Amid a renewed wave of stock collapses on Wall Street and the continuing accounting scandals involving a greater and greater number of big corporations, President Bush has appealed to the nation's capitalists to use "honest" accounting methods in order to calm investors. This is like trusting the fox to guard the henhouse!

The anti-war mobilizations in Washington DC, San Francisco, and elsewhere were the first mass protests against government policy since September 11. Many groups were represented, but all of them had one thing in common - opposition to the so-called War on Terrorism. The anti-globalization, anti-war, and labor movements need to unite under a working-class leadership to fight for a socialist solution to the problems facing working people in the US and internationally.