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.
Top Stories
Perspective
No to Macron’s pension cuts! Workers will not pay for war!
Macron is calling to slash pensions in France, massively increase military spending and intensify the NATO war on Russia, which threatens to escalate into a global, nuclear conflict.
ExxonMobil and Chevron have reported record profits and at the same time implemented massive share buybacks to further enrich shareholders amid growing world poverty and hunger.
The company’s 2022 earnings report showed substantial sales increases and projected robust demand for 2023, despite growing economic headwinds.
The Socialist Equality Party (SGP) strongly condemns the conviction of the antiwar and peace activist Heinrich Bücker and calls on workers and young people to take action against the scandalous verdict.
On Monday, TikTok deleted a viral anti-war video by the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (SGP, the German section of the Fourth International) that had received over over 150,000 views.
On Saturday, January 28, the Socialist Equality Party (SGP) held its fourth election rally in Berlin-Neukölln. Main candidate and SGP chairman Christoph Vandreier spoke on the 90th anniversary of Hitler’s seizure of power and how the German government is marking this anniversary by sending tanks against Russia again.
The SPD-led German government is aggressively stepping up its war policy. The SPD strategy paper “Social Democratic Responses to a World in Transition” asserts a leading role for Germany in Europe and the world.
While family and friends reflected warmly and consciously on the life of Nichols, and all victims of police violence, Democratic Party politicians and operatives sowed racial divisions and sought to channel mass anger at unending police murder towards legislative “reform.”
The main concern of both capitalist parties is the impact of any breach in the debt ceiling on the stock markets and the financial interests of the billionaires.
The World Socialist Web Site unequivocally denounces the state-led persecution of the Union of Left Forces - For a New Socialism party in Ukraine by the NATO-backed Zelensky-government.
His de facto support for Netanyahu is bound up with the dependence of US imperialism on Israel as the guardian of its predatory interests in the resource-rich region and as its subcontractor in its covert war against Iran and its allies.
The findings come as recent CDC sero-prevalence data indicate nearly 100 percent of American children have been infected with SARS-CoV-2.

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.
Top US general predicts war with China by 2025
While his internal memo starkly sets out Washington’s agenda for war, Air Force General Michael Minihan is not an isolated maverick within the US military.
Despite Biden’s lies, the COVID emergency continues
The Biden administration’s plan to end COVID-19 emergency declarations is wholly unscientific and will have vast consequences for the American and international working class.
90 years since Hitler took power: A sinister anniversary
The German government is celebrating the 90th anniversary of Hitler’s coming to power by sending German Leopard battle tanks to fight Russia.
Race, class and the police killing of Tyre Nichols
In the aftermath of the release of the video showing the horrendous beating of Tyre Nichols by at least five black Memphis cops, the American media and Democratic political establishment have contorted themselves trying to present the killing as an expression of “systemic racism” in order to mystify the class character of police violence and divide the working class.
“They had an outsized influence because they had an outsized ambition”
Interview with author Ahmed White on the historical significance of the Industrial Workers of the World
Ahmed White, of the University of Colorado Law School, is the author of Under the Iron Heel: The Wobblies and the Capitalist War on Radical Workers.
Museum Berlin-Karlshorst commemorates World War II blockade of Leningrad
The focus of the January 17 panel discussion at the former German-Russian Museum was Lasar Mojshes’ wartime diary and the memories of his daughter Anna.
Auschwitz commemoration dominated by war propaganda, right-wing historical falsification
The unprecedented promotion of war propaganda and the deliberate minimization of the crimes of Nazism at the Auschwitz commemoration are inseparable from the renewed explosion of imperialist militarism now underway in Europe.
This week in history: January 30-February 5
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.
NATO sends over 120 battle tanks to Ukraine in “first wave”
Twelve NATO countries have pledged to send between 120 and 140 modern main battle tanks to Ukraine, in what Ukrainian Defense Minister Dmytro Kuleba said was the “first wave” of tank deliveries, with more to come.
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.
Top NATO spokesman calls for “wartime economy”
NATO’s top military spokesman called Saturday for NATO members to transition to a “wartime economy” in order to “increase the production in the defense industry.”
NATO tanks in Ukraine: Prelude to a US-Russia shooting war
The decision to send main battle tanks into the conflict is intended to set in motion a chain of events that will justify an ever greater involvement of NATO troops and aircraft, up to and including a shooting war with Russia.
Thousands of Sri Lankan port workers protest against tax increases
The new wave of protests has terrified the Wickremesinghe regime, the opposition parliamentary parties and the trade unions.
Abellio London bus drivers resume strike, defying Unite’s attempted sell-out
A driver explained, “Everyone is mad. The drivers are saying the union is a sell-out. Even the managers are saying they’ve never seen the drivers fighting against the company so hard, and against the union as well.”
850 faculty and staff begin strike at Memorial University of Newfoundland
The president of the faculty union has opposed appealing to other workers, including teaching assistants, not to cross the strikers’ picket lines, declaring “We are not hooligans.”
Rank-and-file committees needed at Australian universities to fight cuts, commercialisation and militarisation
University workers and students across Australia face intensified pro-business restructuring and integration into war research, as well as deepening budget cuts.
Australian state government forcing 2,000 residents from inner-Sydney public housing
Property developers are expecting billion-dollar profits from the New South Wales government privatisation and redevelopment of Waterloo public housing estate.
New Zealand pseudo-left group glorifies former PM Jacinda Ardern
The ISO hails Ardern as an “inspirational” leader who deserves “solidarity” against “misogynist” attacks, while whitewashing her Labour government’s assault on the working class and participation in imperialist wars.
Facing bankruptcy, Pakistan government unleashes brutal IMF austerity on flood-devastated population
Pakistan, the world’s fifth most populous country, with more than 230 million inhabitants, is teetering on the brink of financial default.
Australian Labor government responds to social crisis in Alice Springs with law-and-order measures
Albanese responded to a viscous right-wing campaign against Aboriginal youth by pledging a major increase in police funding, while doing nothing to address a massive social crisis.
“Vote against war! Vote SGP!”: SGP election spot for the Berlin election
The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei is running in the Berlin elections to give a voice and a socialist perspective to the opposition to the hated policies of war and social devastation.
SGP denounces the Left Party and warns against the fascist AfD
The SGP is contesting the Berlin House of Representatives (Senate) election on the basis of a socialist programme opposing war.
Leading German politicians try to halt the recall Berlin state elections
The halting of the recall Berlin state elections would be a fundamental attack on democratic rights. The ruling elite would then be able to sabotage elections at will and push through its hated policies without any regard for the voters.
Video: SGP chairman pays tribute to Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
Against the pro-war SPD, Liebknecht declared that, “The main enemy of the German people is in Germany: German imperialism, the German parties of war and German secret diplomacy.”
Millions of workers in France march against pension cuts, Macron and war
Rail and transit workers, energy and refinery workers and public servants went on strike and protested in France on Tuesday, as strikes spread to Britain, Belgium, Finland, Spain and across Europe.
UK Conservative Party chair Zahawi forced to resign
Despite a parliamentary majority of over 70, stemming from Johnson’s defeat of Labour in the 2019 general election, the Tory government is increasingly unstable.
Turkey to hold elections in May amid deepening political, social crisis
Elections are to be held on May 14, while the bourgeois opposition parties have accepted President Erdoğan’s candidacy despite its unconstitutionality.
London Metropolitan police officer exposed as prolific sex offender, reject myth of police “reform”
Carrick’s propensity for cruelty was well known. He had been reported for abusive and violent behaviour on at least nine occasions during his career, without action being taken.
How the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on American theaters
The most recent Theatre Facts survey covers the state of the field in 2020-2021. That is to say, it provides a glimpse of the conditions produced by the COVID-19 pandemic, both short- and long-term.
On the death of German writer Hans Magnus Enzensberger (1929–2022)
The intellectual life, literary and political history of Germany after 1945 cannot be imagined without the poet and writer Hans Magnus Enzensberger.
Voodoo Macbeth: Dramatizing Orson Welles’ 1936 Harlem production
The interest of the USC graduates and students in this historic work and the era in which it was performed is welcome and heartening. It indicates a concern with more substantial and even oppositional artistry.
Hip hop artist Sankofa speaks out on the Fort Wayne Philharmonic strike, its implications for art and culture: “I am not a politician. I’m an independent musician.”
The veteran hip hop artist, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, sat down with the WSWS to discuss the Philharmonic musicians’ struggle and related issues.
“Everyone should be on the ballot”: Stellantis workers in Kokomo, Indiana, denounce fraudulent UAW run-off election
Supporters of UAW presidential candidate Will Lehman are touring factories in Indiana and other states to inform workers about Lehman’s protest against the disenfranchisement of UAW members.
UAW presidential candidate Will Lehman responds to Monitor’s request for more information about election protest
There was a systematic effort by the entrenched bureaucracy across the board to cling to power by suppressing the vote, which resulted in an election that had such low turnout that it was not meaningful in any fundamental democratic sense.
A tale of two elections: US political establishment calls Tunisian election (11 percent turnout) an “illegitimate sham” but praises UAW election (9 percent turnout) as “historic and democratic”
You don’t need a degree in political science to see the difference in how the corporate media and political establishment treated two elections that took place in December 2022.
GM Flint workers speak out on UAW voter suppression, plant conditions
GM Flint workers contrasted the UAW bureaucracy’s silence on its own election with their energetic promotion of the Democrats in the federal midterm elections.
Concern and anger in China over ending of zero-COVID policy
Comments on social media in China after the government’s sudden lifting of COVID restrictions leading to rapidly escalating infections and deaths indicate the widespread concern and hostility among working people to the change.
Chinese health authorities declare COVID infection peak has passed
Chinese health authorities estimate that over 80 percent of China’s population has been infected and COVID is in retreat.
“Death, disability and suffering due to COVID-19 have been preventable since day one”
California parent reflects on the social and personal trauma of three years of pandemic
Northern California parent and media worker CJ discusses her struggle with Long COVID symptoms and for COVID safety, reflecting upon the wide-ranging social impact of the pandemic.
Outbreak of avian flu has killed more than 100 million birds and poses a serious threat of becoming a human pandemic
Since October 2021, the spread of the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian flu among birds in North America and Europe has killed more than 140 million poultry and wild birds through disease and culling. The spread of the virus at a mink farm in Spain raises immediate concern about the nature of the mutation the current clade of the virus possesses and its threat to human populations.
Race, class and the police killing of Tyre Nichols
In the aftermath of the release of the video showing the horrendous beating of Tyre Nichols by at least five black Memphis cops, the American media and Democratic political establishment have contorted themselves trying to present the killing as an expression of “systemic racism” in order to mystify the class character of police violence and divide the working class.
After propping up Canada’s Liberal government for years, the NDP’s Singh accuses Trudeau of “waging war” against workers
Singh neglected to mention a “trifle”—His NDP, with the full-throated backing of the trade unions, has been propping up the minority Liberal government for years and since March 2022 has been in a formal governmental alliance with them.
Abbott Labs under federal criminal investigation at Sturgis, Michigan baby formula factory
Anonymous sources have told corporate news media that the US Department of Justice is investigating Abbott Laboratories in connection with its baby formula manufacturing facility in Sturgis, Michigan, which was shut down in February 2022 for bacterial contamination.
As MPD permanently deactivates SCORPION unit
Protesters demand end to police violence after seeing Tyre Nichols’ beating video
The Memphis Police Department announced on Saturday that it will disband the special street crimes unit that carried out the savage beating of Tyre Nichols, as protesters demand an end to law enforcement violence and murder.
Blinken in Israel: Planning for war with an ally in crisis
Washington is concerned that mounting political instability, both in the occupied territories and within Israel itself, is weakening the main US military bastion in the Middle East.
Israeli military kill 10, wound 20 Palestinians in deadliest raid on Jenin in years
The Netanyahu government can only proceed with its agenda of territorial expansionism, Jewish Supremacy and the mass repression of the Palestinians because Washington and the major European powers lend it tacit support.
Mass protests grow against Israel’s far-right government
The numbers testify to the anger over the trajectory of the most right-wing government in Israel’s history. However, the leading lights of the former “government of change” are seeking to maintain control, prioritizing the government’s plans to weaken the High Court over broader social, economic and political issues.
Egyptian court hands down 38 life sentences for 2019 anti-government protests
The trial’s aim was to ensure no one else challenges the brutal dictatorship of General Abdul Fattah el-Sisi, who overthrew the elected government of President Mohammed Morsi in a bloody military coup in July 2013.
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.
Sri Lanka: SEP’s local government election campaign wins support in Colombo outer-suburb
Last week residents of Meethotamulla, a low-income working-class area, vehemently denounced successive governments, angrily explaining how they were attempting to deal with the social disaster they now confronted.
Indian foreign minister visits Sri Lanka to strengthen strategic ties
New Delhi, which is a key player in Washington’s preparations for war against China, is determined to undermine Beijing’s influence in Sri Lanka.
Protests erupt across Sri Lanka against IMF-dictated tax hikes
The unions have been forced to organise these limited protests in an attempt to contain the rising anger of their members who are facing skyrocketing inflation.
Sri Lankan plantation trade union leader elevated into cabinet
On the same day Jeevan Thondaman became a member of cabinet, the Ceylon Workers Congress announced a local electoral seat-sharing pact in the Wickremesinghe’s United National Party.
Democratic Socialists of America falsely tout New York State 2022 electoral victories as boon for socialist politics
The Democratic Socialists of America are exploiting the results of the New York State 2022 elections to build their brand of pro-imperialist and corporate-friendly “socialism.”
In new gesture to fascist right, House Speaker purges two Democrats from committee while promoting Marjorie Taylor Greene
Kevin McCarthy blocked the nomination of Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell in retaliation for the previous Democratic-controlled House removing two fascist Republicans for death threats against Democratic colleagues.
US Supreme Court hands down decision denying retroactive benefits to veterans
In the first decision of its 2023 term, the US Supreme Court handed down a unanimous ruling denying a sailor benefits retroactively for injuries suffered during military service because he did not file within one year of his discharge.
Four more Oath Keepers convicted of seditious conspiracy in Trump’s failed coup
While several members of the fascist militia group, including founder Stewart Rhodes, have been found guilty of plotting to keep Trump in power, the former president has yet to be charged more than two years after his failed coup.
No record of Australian Labor government’s diplomacy to US about Assange
The latest revelation demonstrates that while occasionally making vague statements about Assange’s plight, Labor is continuing the more than ten-year record of Australian governments collaborating in his persecution.
Belmarsh Tribunal in Washington D.C. makes bankrupt appeal to Biden to drop charges against Assange
While there were important remarks from a number of journalists and whistleblowers, the tribunal was characterized by the bankrupt orientation of the “Progressive International” to the Biden administration and the Democratic Party.
WikiLeaks editor-in-chief warns Assange may be extradited “within weeks”
Hrafnsson’s urgent warnings came during an interview in Brazil with Glenn Greenwald, published Monday on Rumble.
Australian PM says “legal action” against Assange should end
Albanese broke a longstanding silence on Assange, but his comments fell far short of a demand for the immediate and unconditional freedom of the persecuted Australian journalist.
Lula government appoints pro-business officials to Brazil’s Ministry of Education
As part of the right-wing, pro-corporate program of the Workers Party government, the recent nominations point to a broad attack on teachers and public education in Brazil.
Peru protests continue in face of police state repression
The enormous heroism of protesters defying the murderous violence of the military and police has won the attention and admiration of workers and youth all over the world.
Bowing to coup threats, Lula promises massive investments in Brazil’s armed forces
As it seeks to placate the military, the Lula government is using the coup threats to declare any infringement upon capitalist profit interests impossible.
Thousands of demonstrators from across Peru march “to take Lima”
Facing a state of emergency and murderous repression from the US-backed coup regime, demonstrators have called for an “indefinite strike” and a march “to take Lima.”
Oxfam report documents “explosion of inequality” during pandemic
Despite a slight reduction in overall wealth, billionaires and major corporations became “dramatically richer” in 2022 and were the main driver of global inflation.
US treasury secretary issues warning on debt ceiling
In a letter to Congress Janet Yellen said Treasury would have to undertake “extraordinary measures” to prevent the US defaulting on its debt obligations.
Tech firms, crypto companies, Goldman Sachs announce major layoffs
The raising of interest rates by central banks, led by the US Federal Reserve, is the primary driver of of layoffs aimed at suppressing demands by workers for wage increases to combat inflation.
World Bank makes major reduction in global growth forecast
Numerous factors are cited as bearing down on global growth but the chief one is the synchronised tightening of monetary policies and the lifting of interest rates by the world’s central banks, spearheaded by the US Federal Reserve.
Concluding remarks to the December 10 rally
The International Youth and Students for Social Equality and the fight against war
These are the concluding remarks by WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North to the December 10 rally, “For a Mass Movement of Students and Youth to Stop the War in Ukraine!” organized by the International Youth and Students for Social Equality.
Youth and students in Berlin respond to the IYSSE rally against war: “In a nuclear third world war, no one would escape unscathed”
The rally on December 10 set out the background to the Ukraine war and provided an international perspective against the threat of nuclear war.
A call to youth throughout the world: Build a mass movement to stop the Ukraine war!
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.
Speech to the December 10 IYSSE anti-war rally
The position of Latin America in the imperialist redivision of the world
Latin American countries, with deep economic and political ties to both the US and China, will necessarily be drawn into the center of the developing global war.
South Africa: Electricity outages compound ANC government crisis
Calls are growing for a national shut down in opposition to Eskom’s blackouts and electricity tariff hikes of 18.6 percent in April and another 12.7 percent next year.
South Africa: Corruption scandal threatens Ramaphosa’s presidency and the ANC’s grip on power
His election in 2017 promising to root out corruption was a feeble attempt to restore the flagging fortunes of the ANC that has now been blown apart.
Libyan citizen kidnapped and flown to US to face Lockerbie charges
A 71-year-old Libyan, Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi, appeared in a US federal court in Washington D.C. to face charges related to the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Mas'ud has effectively been kidnapped and subjected to extraordinary rendition.
Ebola crisis in Uganda: A new public health warning from WHO
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the presence of Ebola in Uganda’s densely populated capital of Kampala poses a threat to neighboring countries.
Three active-duty Marines arrested for storming the Capitol on January 6
The arrests indicate the significant level of support Trump’s coup, and fascism, have within the US military.
Failed Republican candidate who organized shooting attacks on New Mexico Democratic politicians held without bail
As evidence continues to accumulate against Solomon Peña, the failed Republican state House candidate turned shooter, Democrats issue calls to “agree to disagree.”
New Mexico Republican arrested for attempting to kill Democratic office-holders
Solomon Peña, 39, is accused of being the “mastermind” behind at least four shootings in Albuquerque targeting Democratic politicians at their homes.
Opening statements, first witness in Proud Boys seditious conspiracy trial
Prosecutors blamed the Proud Boys for delaying certification of the presidential election on January 6, 2021, while lawyers for the accused blamed then-President Donald Trump and the intelligence agencies.
Ultraviolet light and indoor air disinfection to fight pandemics: A technology long overdue
The ability to disinfect indoor spaces remains a critical public health endeavor. Ultraviolet technology is an important tool that has been employed for more than a century. This report reviews the current issues behind air disinfection and the history of ultraviolet disinfection.
Interview with Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly on the COVID pandemic and Long COVID
“This was a historic moment in the annals of medicine... when patients came to the fore and alerted all of us scientists that something here is wrong and needs to be investigated and researched and gave the entity its name.”
As Washington prepares for conflict with China, US confronts major labor shortages in semiconductor manufacture
Semiconductors are as essential to modern militaries as they are to every other part of the economy.
Study finds that COVID was the leading cause of death globally in 2021
A recent study on excess deaths related to the COVID-19 pandemic found that nearly 15 million people died globally in 2020 and 2021, an unprecedented loss of human life in recent modern history.
US Department of Education publishes plan to revise income-based student loan payments
The proposed plan would reduce monthly payments from 10 percent of discretionary income to 5 percent for undergraduate loans and ease the impact of interest accrual on debt payments. It would not forgive student debt for years, if ever.
9 million received misleading emails about their student debt forgiveness applications as Biden’s cancellation program heads to Supreme Court
Loan borrowers received an email with an incorrect subject line telling them their application for student debt relief had been approved, while the email only noted their application had been received. The error is the latest in a long line of blunders and setbacks for Biden’s floundering debt relief program.
Humboldt University students in Berlin support call for an international mass movement against war
“NATO must stop with its threatening gestures and expansions to the East and stop its provocations. Capitalism is a global problem. There must be no war that takes place merely for the interests of the rulers. Workers must unite against it.”
Youth, students and workers in Australia and New Zealand support global IYSSE anti-war webinar
“There can be no future when global destruction is on the horizon. I believe in the international movement against war and I will be present for the IYSSE international webinar.”
Watch SEP online memorial meeting: A Tribute to Regina Lohr – Australian Trotskyist
The SEP held an online memorial meeting to pay tribute to the life of Regina Lohr, who passed away on October 10 at the age of 66.
SEP (UK) 2022 Congress Resolution
Build the Assange defence campaign in the working class!
The Socialist Equality Party (UK) Congress resolution states, “The international working class must take the lead in the fight to free Assange. It is the sole constituency for the defence of democratic rights, and it alone has the power to wrest the WikiLeaks founder from his captors.”
SEP (UK) 2022 Congress Resolution
Build the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees in Britain! For a global counteroffensive of the working class!
The International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC), is the democratic organ of international working-class struggle in the 21st century.
SEP (UK) 2022 Congress Resolution
The COVID-19 pandemic and the fight for socialism
The Socialist Equality Party (UK) Congress resolution explains: "The two alternatives posed before mankind are either unending mass infection, debilitation and death, or the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism and implementation of a policy of global elimination, to end all human-to-human transmission of COVID-19."
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.
Teacher describes struggle to get treated for Long COVID in New Zealand
An Auckland-based teacher told the WSWS how his increasingly severe Long COVID symptoms were misdiagnosed by doctors who said he had mental health issues. He said the government was allowing COVID to spread and ignoring the consequences for people’s health.
Alberta nurse speaks about union indifference to mass illness and death
In this interview for the Global Workers’ Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic, Alberta nurse Kerry speaks on her experience with Long COVID and the unions’ complicity in enforcing the government’s “let it rip” pandemic policy.
“I felt like I was in quicksand… at times it seemed like it was never-ending”
Flight attendant shares his experience being intubated for 19 days with COVID-19
In this interview for the Global Workers’ Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic, flight attendant Tim Yoder shares his experiences in early 2020. Tim caught COVID-19 in mid-March 2020 after being told he was an “essential worker” and had to continue flying despite feeling ill when multiple coworkers had already tested positive for COVID-19.
WSWS speaks with New Zealand Long Covid sufferer
Paul, who had to stop work and has lost his home due to Long Covid, denounced the lack of government recognition and support for people with the condition.
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.
Judge rejects lawsuit by Trump-endorsed Kari Lake seeking to overturn Arizona election defeat
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson ruled against every single one of Lake’s claims and noted in his decision that none of Lake’s witnesses could point to any intentional misconduct or evidence of a single vote that was changed.
Democrat Raphael Warnock narrowly wins runoff election for US Senate from Georgia
The US midterms have set the stage for two years of legislative stalemate—except when it comes to funneling billions into the US-NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine and passing record Pentagon budgets, or enacting dictatorial laws blocking strikes and imposing corporate-dictated contracts on workers, as with last week’s bipartisan vote banning a strike by rail workers.
Trump-endorsed Republicans in Arizona refuse to concede, threaten violence
The same right-wing forces in Arizona that backed Trump’s failed coup and his stolen election narrative are inciting violence against election officials more than a week after all but one of the major races has been decided.
US 2022 midterm live updates: Congressional elections appear to end in deadlock
The indeterminate outcome has already led to back-biting within both capitalist parties.
Watch and share the powerful video of Will Lehman, a second-tier worker at Mack trucks in Macungie, Pennsylvania, explaining the basis of his campaign for UAW president, accompanied by statements of support from workers across the US and Mexico.
Greetings from the ICFI to the SEP (Australia) 2022 Congress
The political crisis in Brazil and the fight for the revolutionary party
These remarks were delivered by Tomas Castanheira to the Sixth National Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (Australia), held from September 24 to 27, 2022.
Greetings from the ICFI to the SEP (Australia) 2022 Congress
The return of German militarism and the perspective of international socialism
These remarks were delivered by Christoph Vandreier to the Sixth National Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (Australia), held from September 24 to 27, 2022.
The fight against war and the global expansion of the ICFI
These remarks were delivered by Ulaş Ateşçi to the Sixth National Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (Australia), held from September 24 to 27, 2022.
Greetings from the ICFI to the SEP (Australia) 2022 Congress
The crisis of bourgeois rule in Sri Lanka and the tasks of the SEP
These remarks were delivered by Deepal Jayasekera to the Sixth National Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (Australia), held from September 24 to 27, 2022.
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.
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.
Socialist Equality Party meeting discusses crisis of Australia’s two-party system and the way forward for the working class
The livestreamed event provided a much-appreciated forum for democratic discussion about the election result, Labor’s right-wing program, and the class battles now unfolding in Australia and internationally.
Australia’s Labor government demands “sacrifices” from workers
Labor claims to have suddenly discovered that the budget situation is “dire” so “significant savings” must be found and “productivity” driven up with the help of the trade unions.
Australian Labor government already functioning as US attack dog in the Pacific
Labor, before it has even secured a majority government, is on a foreign policy blitz aimed at shoring-up US and Australian hegemony over the Pacific.
The international significance of Australia’s crisis election
The outcome reflects, in distorted electoral terms, a political radicalisation of workers and young people that is already finding expression in a development of working class struggles.
Eighty-two years ago, on August 20, 1940, Leon Trotsky was assassinated by an agent of the Stalinist secret police, the GPU, in his villa in Coyoacan, Mexico, where he spent the final three years of his life as a political exile.
May Day 2022: The revolutionary role of the American working class
This is the report delivered by Joseph Kishore to the 2022 International May Day Online Rally held on May 1. Kishore is the national secretary of the Socialist Equality Party in the United States.
May Day 2022: The class struggle in the Asia-Pacific
This is the report delivered by Tom Peters to the 2022 International May Day Online Rally held on May 1. Peters is a leading member of the Socialist Equality Group in New Zealand, which is fighting to build a section of the ICFI.
May Day 2022: Young people must turn to the working class and the fight for socialism!
This is the report delivered by Gregor Link to the 2022 International May Day Online Rally held on May 1. Link is a leading member in Germany of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality, the youth movement of the International Committee of the Fourth International and its affiliated Socialist Equality Parties.
May Day 2022: Australian ruling class promotes anti-China campaign
This is the report delivered by Cheryl Crisp to the 2022 International May Day Online Rally held on May 1. Crisp is the national secretary of the Socialist Equality Party in Australia.
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.
Musk continues to ban from Twitter journalists who criticize him
Twitter owner and fascistic billionaire Elon Musk acknowledged late Thursday that he had shut down the accounts of numerous prominent journalists earlier in the day, claiming falsely that they had violated a new policy on the platform against “doxxing."
Musk’s attack on Twitter workers brings company to the brink of collapse
Media outlets and technology experts are warning that Twitter may collapse or go bankrupt following the mass exodus of another 1,200 employees from the company.
Elon Musk issues ultimatum to Twitter employees: Submit to “extremely hardcore” culture, or face termination
In a rational society, a platform like Twitter would be publicly owned, but under capitalism it has become the plaything of a single billionaire oligarch, and a fascistic buffoon to boot.
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.
Death of Los Angeles County man infected with monkeypox under investigation by health officials
Los Angeles County health officials reported last week that a man infected with monkeypox had passed away. An investigation is underway to determine the virus’ contribution to his death.
Texas public health officials confirm death of immunocompromised man infected with monkeypox
A severely immunocompromised adult male died in Houston on Sunday. Public health officials said he was infected with monkeypox. Still, they stopped short of connecting the infection as a contributory factor in his death, stating they did not know what role the virus played in his demise.
Monkeypox reported at General Motors’ Wentzville plant, suspected at Flint Assembly
The UAW has remained silent on the spread of monkeypox in the plants, in line with its efforts to cover up the disastrous toll COVID-19 has had on workers.
The CDC minimizes the danger of monkeypox among children as students begin returning to school
The CDC’s cursory guidance posted as answers to Frequently Asked Questions only downplays and minimizes the concerns working families have about the safety of schools for their children.
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.
Washington Post backs Republican-led witch-hunt against scientists
On Thursday, the Washington Post published an editorial renewing its promotion of the Wuhan lab conspiracy theory, presenting an absurd, semi-literate attack on the research of scientists Michael Worobey and Kristian Andersen.
Boston University study on Omicron variant smeared as dangerous gain-of-function research by right-wing reactionaries
An explosion of right-wing venom has greeted the release in preprint form of an important work by Boston University researchers who investigated the Omicron variant’s change in virulence compared to the ancestral type of SARS-CoV-2.
Twitter labelled scientific reporting of COVID-19 as “misinformation”
Widespread reports that Twitter has been falsely labeling tweets by scientists, doctors and other public health experts about COVID-19 as “misinformation” has intensified an ongoing crisis at the social media platform.
Autoworker and grandmother Catherine Pace died on March 27, 2020 after contracting COVID-19 in the paint department at the Warren Truck Plant outside Detroit, then operated by Fiat-Chrysler, now Stellantis.
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.
The death of Queen Elizabeth II: A major political crisis for British imperialism
With the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the British ruling class has lost its popular head of state on which it has relied to project the myth of national unity and suppress social conflict.
The 1619 Project and the New York Times’ glorification of the monarchy
In its adulation of Queen Elizabeth and all the pageantry of the British monarchy, the newspaper responsible for publishing the 1619 Project has entangled itself in many layers of contradictions.
The queen’s funeral and the spectre of war and revolution
The significance of Elizabeth II’s funeral is well illustrated by reference to a previous British royal funeral, more than a century earlier, that of Edward VII.
King Charles addresses UK parliament as workers are subjected to propaganda barrage
What was being celebrated at Westminster Hall is the ability of Britain’s imperialist bourgeoisie to utilise the monarchy as a means of sanctifying and reinforcing its own power.
In his introduction to the International May Day Online Rally, WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North reviews the historical origins of the US-NATO war drive against Russia and outlines the political strategy of the working class to oppose the danger of World War III.
Book Review
The New York Times 1619 Project: A New Origin Story: History as the emanation of race
The Times, which wishes readers to take the 1619 Project seriously as a “reframing of American history,” has said more than it intended.
An interview with Mark Kruger, author of The St. Louis Commune of 1877: Communism in the Heartland
The World Socialist Web Site recently spoke with Mark Kruger about his new book, the 1619 Project, and the current state of American politics.
Historian Jack Rakove on American history writing and the falsifications of the 1619 Project and its defenders
Professor Jack Rakove is a leading scholar of the American Revolution and the framing of the Constitution.
The New York Times’ Jake Silverstein concocts “a new origin story” for the 1619 Project
Having previously disregarded historiography, Silverstein now falsifies it—and admits to privileging “narrative” over “actual fact.”
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.
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.
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.
Defend Harvard professor John Comaroff against the right-wing witch-hunt!
This shameful campaign reached new heights Tuesday when concerted efforts were made to prevent Comaroff from teaching. Provocations were organized both inside and outside the classroom.
The politically driven campaign against Harvard anthropologist John Comaroff
The attack on Harvard anthropology professor John Comaroff has taken to a new level the campaign to purge American colleges and universities on the basis of anti-democratic identity politics.
The concerted, cowardly #MeToo attack on Harvard professor John Comaroff
John Comaroff, professor of African and African American studies and of anthropology at Harvard University, has become the target of what has all the earmarks of another filthy #MeToo witch-hunt.
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.
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.
One year since the US military's withdrawal from Afghanistan
The Afghan withdrawal represented a debacle for US imperialism, which based its policy throughout thirty years of uninterrupted wars, beginning with the first Gulf War in 1990-91, on the conviction that military force could overcome Washington’s precipitous economic decline.
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.
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.
German Interior Minister Faeser wants to fight climate change activists “with all her might”
While right-wing extremist terrorist networks operate unhindered in Germany’s state apparatus and are covered up by the highest authorities, federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (Social Democrats) has called for a fight against alleged “left-wing extremists” and young climate change activists.
August 31, 2021 marks 100 years since the birth of Jean Brust, a leading figure in the Trotskyist movement. Comrade Jean, who died November 24, 1997 at the age of 76, joined the Trotskyist-led Young Peoples Socialist League as a teenager in 1937.
No to Macron’s pension cuts! Workers will not pay for war!
Macron is calling to slash pensions in France, massively increase military spending and intensify the NATO war on Russia, which threatens to escalate into a global, nuclear conflict.
Despite Biden’s lies, the COVID emergency continues
The Biden administration’s plan to end COVID-19 emergency declarations is wholly unscientific and will have vast consequences for the American and international working class.
Race, class and the police killing of Tyre Nichols
In the aftermath of the release of the video showing the horrendous beating of Tyre Nichols by at least five black Memphis cops, the American media and Democratic political establishment have contorted themselves trying to present the killing as an expression of “systemic racism” in order to mystify the class character of police violence and divide the working class.
90 years since Hitler took power: A sinister anniversary
The German government is celebrating the 90th anniversary of Hitler’s coming to power by sending German Leopard battle tanks to fight Russia.
The horrific massacre of civilians was immediately exploited by the imperialist powers, led by the United States government itself, to justify far-reaching attacks on the democratic rights of their own populations, and the launching of decades-long wars in the Middle East and Africa.
Socialist Equality Party summer school prepares membership for growth of class struggle
The Socialist Equality Party in the United States held a summer school from August 1 through August 6. It was devoted to an analysis of the major social and political events in the US and internationally since the previous SEP school, held in July of 2019.
SEP Summer School 2021 Lecture
The historical background and initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic
This report to the 2021 SEP summer school was delivered by Dr. Benjamin Mateus, who has led the coverage on the WSWS of the scientific and medical issues posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
SEP Summer School 2021 Lecture
January 6, 2021: Donald Trump’s plot against America
The following lecture was delivered at the Socialist Equality Party (US) 2021 summer school by Eric London, a writer for the WSWS and author of Agents: The FBI and GPU Infiltration of the Trotskyist Movement.
The lessons of the 2021 Volvo strike
This lecture was delivered at the Socialist Equality Party (US) 2021 summer school, held August 1 through August 6, by Marcus Day, a writer for the World Socialist Web Site .
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.
New Zealand police to drill more boreholes at Pike River mine
Police have made no guarantee that there will be any prosecution for the 2010 Pike River coal mine disaster, which killed 29 workers.
NZ government’s “Working with Survivors” continues cover-up of Pike River mine disaster
The Labour Party government’s promises to “be upfront” and “empower” the survivors of catastrophic events are a fraud, as the experience of the Pike River victims’ families makes clear.
Pike River mine disaster families seek answers about unlawful payment to avoid prosecution of CEO
In 2013, Pike River Coal chief executive Peter Whittall made an unsolicited and unlawful payment to the 29 families of the 2010 mine disaster, in exchange for the New Zealand government dropping charges against him.
Online book launch: Political lessons of the Pike River disaster and cover-up
The SEG and the WSWS are holding an online meeting on June 4 to discuss the new book Pike River: The Crime and Cover-up by Tom Peters, about the 2010 mine disaster in New Zealand.
North and London discussed the significance of the latest revelations of the the Security and the Fourth International investigation into Trotsky’s assassination.
The Best American Short Stories 2022
With a couple of exceptions, the editor has chosen stories that in their form, language and examination of thematic ideas are highly accomplished, even if the collection as a whole bumps its head against certain objective limits.
Book review
Under the Iron Heel: The Wobblies and the Capitalist War on Radical Workers
The greatest testament to the IWW’s influence was provided by the extraordinary lengths the American ruling class went to destroy it.
Sky Glow (Streulicht)–German novel looks at class society with fresh pair of eyes
Ohde, the daughter of a chemical worker and a Turkish mother, has the first-person narrator return to her father’s house for a short visit in the opening of what is clearly a semi-autobiographical novel.
Novelist Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead, a homage to Charles Dickens
The book explores the way "Dickensian" is applicable to the contemporary US opioid crisis in Appalachia, an area she knows intimately.
The meeting examined Luxemburg’s role as a Marxist theoretician and political leader, and discussed the significance of her legacy to the contemporary struggle to build a Marxist leadership.