Three weeks have passed since Steiner posted on permanent-revolution.org a slanderous letter provided by an agent-provocateur. Steiner’s default response to the WSWS's exposure of his deceitful attempt to justify his provocation is to tell more lies.
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Perspective
Germany’s 2025 federal elections: A turning point in post-war German history
For the first time since the fall of the Third Reich 80 years ago, there is a real possibility that a party with direct ideological continuity with the Nazis will enter government.
The annual right-wing conference outside of Washington D.C. featured speeches and Nazi salutes from Hitler lovers inside and outside the Trump administration.
The mass layoff of US government workers proceeded on Thursday and Friday following the predictable refusal of a US district court judge in Washington, D.C. to block the assault on the jobs of hundreds of thousands of federal employees by the Trump administration.
The warning strikes must be made the starting point for the mobilization of all workers against the incoming government, which is preparing attacks on jobs, wages and social benefits on a scale not seen since the end of the Second World War.
RIO’s candidacy in the federal election is a desperate attempt to create a new means of subordinating the growing opposition to war and cuts to the capitalist parties and trade union bureaucrats in the face of the crisis in the Left Party.
The deepening measles outbreak is a direct result of decades of anti-vaccine disinformation peddled by Kennedy and his fascistic co-conspirators.
Among postal workers, there is growing interest in Sunday’s rank-and-file public meeting, “Mobilize the working class to save the US Postal Service and other federal programs!”
Utterly opposed to mobilizing the social power of the working class against the giant corporation, the unions are promoting a diversionary consumer boycott, while urging workers to pressure Ottawa and Quebec City to intervene on their behalf.
The evidence paints a sinister portrait of the military-fascist cabal that controlled the Brazilian state under the Bolsonaro government.
The film depicts the world of sex workers convincingly, before evolving into a type of dark “screwball comedy.”
The NZNO falsely claims that white people have benefited from healthcare policies, demands increased recruitment of Māori nurses and opposes immigration.
A rank-and-file meeting voted unanimously in favour of a resolution calling for a campaign throughout the universities and working class to defend the victimised Macquarie University academic.
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Underlying the interlinked crises of the capitalist system is an oligarchy that subordinates all of society to profit and the accumulation of personal wealth. The fight against the oligarchy is by its very nature a revolutionary task.
Oppose the Steiner-Tissot smear campaign! Defend Comrade Bogdan Syrotiuk!
The Young Guard of Bolshevik-Leninists condemns with contempt the smear campaign based on the claim that the International Committee's “negligence” in security matters was to blame for the arrest of our comrade, Bogdan Syrotiuk.
A provocation that failed: On Alex Steiner’s attempt to discredit the ICFI’s defense of Ukrainian Trotskyist Bogdan Syrotiuk
The WSWS rejects Alex Steiner's dishonest and evasive explanation of his decision to post false information provided by an anti-communist provocateur, aimed at disrupting the defense of Bogdan Syrotiuk.
Trotskyism on trial in Ukraine
Prosecution presents its case against Bogdan Syrotiuk
Bogdan is charged not for any action committed or planned but for his Trotskyist ideas, a “thoughtcrime."
Free Bogdan Syrotiuk!
This emergency resolution was passed unanimously by the Seventh National Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (UK), held November 29 – December 2, 2024.
“We will redouble our efforts to build a mass campaign for Bogdan’s release”
We are publishing the speech delivered by Tom Scripps introducing the resolution “Free Bogdan Syrotiuk” passed unanimously at the Seventh Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (UK).
Russian Militant group supports campaign to free Bogdan Syrotiuk
More than six months have passed since Bogdan's arrest. During this time many organizations, parties, intellectuals and scholars have expressed their support for him.
WSWS readers demand freedom for Bogdan Syrotiuk
In the past few weeks, we have received around one hundred letters from 25 different countries from readers defending Bogdan and highlighting the political motives behind his imprisonment.
1 month of the Trump administration: The oligarchy vs. the working class
The events of the past four weeks have confirmed that Trump’s return represents the violent realignment of the political superstructure to correspond with the oligarchic character of American society.
Trump’s Ukraine policy shift signals new phase of US global war
The Trump administration is seeking a redeployment of military resources from the European theater for use in the domination of the Americas and ultimately focusing on the central target of US military aggression: China.
The Trump-Navarro blueprint for global economic warfare
The battle plan has largely been drawn up by Peter Navarro, who has been nominated as senior counsellor for trade and manufacturing policy and is known as a ferocious anti-China hawk.
126 years since the launching of the Philippine-American War
Trump, McKinley, and US imperialism in Asia
When Trump speaks of his admiration for McKinley, he expresses the desire of the rapacious American oligarchy to return to open colonial rule and the conquest and annexation of territories.
Book Review
Biography as demonology: Aidan Beatty’s The Party is Always Right: The Untold Story of Gerry Healy and British Trotskyism
Aidan Beatty's new book is not a biography, but rather a political diatribe against Gerry Healy and Trotskyism.
“I’ve been very impressed by the articles you’ve published”
Historian Kerby Miller discusses Aidan Beatty and the writing of Irish history
Miller, the preeminent American historian of Irish history, was recently interviewed by the World Socialist Web Site.
Socialist Equality Party exposes Aidan Beatty’s falsifications in Institute of Historical Research seminar
After Beatty delivered a lengthy diatribe, Barbara Slaughter, David North and Eric London exposed his slanderous allegations against Gerry Healy and the history of the Trotskyist movement.
Slander vs. biography: Aidan Beatty’s falsification of Gerry Healy’s family and childhood in a decade of rebellion and civil war
This essay is devoted to a detailed review of Gerry Healy’s family background and youth, based on research conducted in Ireland, including visits to the relevant archives in Dublin and in Galway where the Healy family lived.
The 75th Berlin International Film Festival—Part 1
Actress Tilda Swinton condemns “state-perpetrated and internationally enabled genocide” at Berlinale
In her vivid, at times poetic remarks, Swinton described the cinema as a boundless haven of freedom and solidarity, qualities increasingly difficult to find in the world.
Mo, Season 2: A Palestinian-American comic at the US-Mexico border and other disasters
Amer as a humorist-artist and a human being faces a very difficult situation. The circumstances of the last nearly 17 months of unceasing mass killings by the Israeli forces have nothing comical about them.
Australian artists demand immediate reinstatement of Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino to Venice Biennale
The sudden decision to dump the acclaimed artist and curator occurred soon after the Albanese Labor government’s arts minister phoned Creative Australia’s chief executive officer.
Documenta’s new “Code of Conduct” paves the way for cultural and artistic censorship in Germany
German politicians and the media scrutinise artistic statements and cultural policy measures to see whether they can find any criticism of the Israeli government’s genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.
Wolfgang devoted over 50 years of his life to building the Trotskyist party and fought tirelessly politically and theoretically for the independence of the working class.
ONLINE MEETING SUNDAY: Mobilize the working class to save the US Postal Service and other federal programs!
The attacks on federal workers are part of a broader attack on the social and democratic rights of workers across the country. Join postal workers, federal employees, autoworkers, postal workers from other countries and others in an online meeting this Sunday at 3pm Eastern/12pm Pacific to discuss a strategy to fight back.
City carriers’ contract heads to binding arbitration, as Trump and Musk take aim at the US Postal Service
Taking control of USPS would be the first step in Trump’s plan to dismantle USPS entirely and privatize it, while also giving him direct access to the sensitive personal communications such as tax returns and mail-in ballots.
University of Sheffield International College strike suspended by union
USIC workers must prepare to take the dispute out of the hands of the UCU leadership which is sabotaging a fightback even as management states that its job cuts programme must still go ahead.
German rail union agree to real wage reduction and 33-month strike ban
In just three weeks and after just three rounds of negotiations, Deutsche Bahn (DB), the German train company, and the German rail union Eisenbahn- und Verkehrsgewerkschaft (EVG) have concluded a wage settlement with a massive reduction in real wages.
George Mason University forges close ties with the US military as it clamps down on opposition to genocide and war
In the last few years, George Mason has dramatically increased its ties with the Department of Defense.
Fascist Kash Patel confirmed by US Senate to lead FBI
Patel’s chief qualification in leading the largest federal domestic police/intelligence agency is his unswerving loyalty to Trump and his program of fascist retribution.
“We need to get the masses to realize what’s happening”: Federal workers protest jobs massacre by Trump and Elon Musk
WSWS reporters spoke to federal workers and supporters about the impact of mass layoffs and the struggle against dictatorship.
Trump administration labels cartels as foreign terrorist organizations as CIA flies drones over Mexico
The "foreign terrorist" designations pave the way to a more predatory foreign policy and military interventions.
Fifth anniversary of the Hanau murders in Germany: A bitter assessment
In the past few days, tens of thousands in over 100 cities have protested and paid tribute to the nine young people with a migrant background, who were shot dead by the German racist Tobias Rathjen five years ago, on 19 February 2020.
Right-wing violence in Germany highest since Nazi rule
Constant incitement against refugees and migrants, far-right conspiracy theories about “left-wing elites” or the denial of pandemics—in Germany, all of this has been rendered socially acceptable in recent years, promoted by media and government representatives.
Run-down schools in Stoke-on-Trent, England withhold payments to private corporations raking in millions
The school leaders taking unprecedented action to ensure a safe learning environment with amenities in good working order face legal threats from Labour council.
German foreign policy circles and media react to Trump with increased warmongering
The transition to a ruthless imperialist foreign policy and authoritarian methods of rule that characterise Trump’s first month in office is not limited to the US. The ruling class in Germany is also returning to its criminal traditions.
Outpouring of public sympathy at Detroit funeral for homeless children who froze to death
Hundreds of workers and young people turned out for the funeral of nine-year-old Darnell Currie and two-year-old Amillah Currie in Detroit on Thursday, in an outpouring of public sympathy for the two homeless children who froze to death sheltering in a van parked in a casino garage.
New Democrats block anti-genocide candidate Sarah Jama from standing for party in Ontario election
Jama, who was expelled from the NDP’s parliamentary caucus in late 2023 after defending the Palestinians against Israel’s barbaric onslaught, has been forced to run for reelection in next week’s provincial election as an independent.
Tragic deaths of 2 homeless children in Detroit must sound alarm for workers to end poverty and inequality
Funeral services are being held Thursday for A’millah Currie, 2, and Darnell Currie Jr., 9. The children froze to death February 10 while sheltering with their homeless family inside a van parked at a Detroit casino garage.
British Columbia’s NDP government scraps $1,000 grocery rebate for workers to “find dollars” to defend big business in trade war with Washington
The federal and provincial governments of every political stripe are determined to defend the profits of the corporate elite, and offload the cost of the trade war onto the backs of the working class on both sides of the Canada-US border.
Chinese warships off the Australian coast trigger militarist outburst
Notice of a Chinese live-fire naval exercise in international waters between Australia and New Zealand set off hyperbolic warnings about the “Chinese threat” and demands for greater military spending.
Australia: Hardship continues from North Queensland floods
Hundreds of people were displaced and thousands more impacted, especially in working-class areas, as the result of record rainfalls.
Australia: Oppose the attack on students’ right to political freedom of expression at Victoria University!
Under the guise of a new privacy policy, the administration of the university in Melbourne is seeking to control all political interactions among students.
Bipartisan electoral laws rammed through to prop up Australian political establishment
Making a mockery of parliamentary democracy, the “Electoral Reform” bill was rammed through without even giving MPs a chance to read its final details, let alone members of the public, after a backroom deal between Labor and the Coalition.
Sri Lankan President Dissanayake presents IMF-dictated austerity budget
Dissanayake cynically claimed that his government wants to establish the “economic sovereignty” of Sri Lanka, even as he is fully committed to imposing the demands of the IMF and big business.
Buddhist groups in Sri Lanka provoke communal tensions by seeking temple expansion
The working class must oppose this racist campaign and fight for the unity of Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim workers to defend the social and democratic rights of all.
Pro-government thugs disrupt farmers’ conference in Sri Lanka: A warning to working people
Workers, youth and peasants must strongly condemn the thuggish and provocative actions of the JVP which are a serious warning of the repressive measures the government will resort to.
Sri Lankan action committees condemn Peradeniya University ban on IYSSE meeting
Action committees of teachers, students and parents, migrant workers, railway workers and free trade zone workers have sent protest letters to the vice chancellor, denouncing the anti-democratic lecture ban.
Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro indicted for fascist coup attempt
The evidence paints a sinister portrait of the military-fascist cabal that controlled the Brazilian state under the Bolsonaro government.
Public transport union leaders sabotage 5th general strike in Peru
The core issue in the strike’s failure is that the union leaders represent the interests of private transport companies rather than those of drivers and other workers.
15 years after devastating earthquake, Haiti is being transformed into a concentration camp
Haiti is being transformed into one of the world’s largest concentration camps, its people confronting a slow genocide from hunger, disease and terror squads armed by US imperialism.
Lula government prepares new attacks on Brazil’s workers and poor
After the PT’s collapse in last November’s municipal elections, the Lula government’s austerity measures threaten to pave the way for the extreme right’s return to power.
Rank-and-file historians oppose American Historical Association's censorship of opposition to Gaza genocide
Some 1,500 historians, and counting, have opposed the AHA executive council’s decision to block from a vote a resolution that had passed by an overwhelming majority at the organization’s annual meeting
“I have never felt this sense of lacking oxygen that I feel here.”
Massive police intimidation of UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese in Berlin
Following the cancellation at short notice of her planned lecture at universities in Munich and Berlin, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, finally spoke in Berlin in a room organised at very short notice and under police surveillance.
Students protest at UCLA against the suspension of two pro-Palestinian clubs
UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk announced the suspension of the SJP and GSJP chapters on February 12th over a protest on February 5th targeting the residence of UC regent Jay Sures. Protests against the suspension were held on February 18th across campus.
175,000 march for Palestine in London, more empty speeches from the platform
The leadership required is one which can mobilise an international socialist struggle of the working class against imperialism and its client states—including the complicit Arab regimes.
Trump demands Ukraine become de facto US colony in exchange for military support
The media has been reporting the figure of $500 billion-worth of critical minerals demanded by Trump, but a leaked document seen by Britain’s Telegraph newspaper shows the reality is even more extreme.
Ukraine: Growing unrest in the population, army, amid hype of peace talks
This report, submitted to the WSWS by Ukrainian underground journalists, documents the growing disintegration of the army amid preparations for US-Russian talks about a settlement of the conflict.
Ukrainian secret service SBU arrests anti-war youth in multiple cities
The World Socialist Web Site, the organ of the International Committee of the Fourth International, demands the immediate release of the prisoners.
Trudeau government refuses to release the names of 900 Nazi war criminals, for fear it would damage NATO-Ukraine war on Russia
In defiance of the demands of historians, Holocaust survivors and public opinion, Canada’s Liberal government is suppressing an almost four-decade-old secret report that identified some 900 Nazi war criminals who had lived, or were then living, in Canada.
Turkish government crackdown on political opposition intensifies: Dozens detained and thousands under investigation
The operation against the Peoples’ Democratic Congress, a coalition of nominally left parties led by the Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party, is part of a much broader campaign of repression.
Rank-and-file union leader arrested as wildcat strikes broaden in Turkey
The ruling class and the government fear that local workers’ struggles outside the control of the trade union confederations could trigger mass action across the country.
As miners march to Ankara, the strike wave of textile workers in Gaziantep grows
In Turkey, the cost of living, the efforts of the ruling class to suppress wages and the attacks on social rights, including privatisation, are forcing the working class to fight.
Turkish government escalates crackdown against CHP and DEM Party
The WSWS and the Socialist Equality Group, regardless of their political differences with the CHP and the DEM Party, oppose this undemocratic state repression and demand the immediate release of those detained.
Pediatric flu deaths jump to 68, with 11 children dying in the last reported week alone amid media blackout
All indicators point to the likelihood that the ongoing 2024-2025 flu season will surpass recent years’ figures for both pediatric and adult flu deaths in the United States.
New Zealand’s Daily Blog attacks Socialist Equality Group over Wuhan lab lie
The blog’s anti-China propaganda and hysterical attack on the Trotskyist movement are part of the political establishment’s lurch to the right and alignment with US imperialism.
The CIA joins the anti-China bandwagon on COVID origins, despite lack of any evidence
On Saturday, new CIA Director John Ratcliffe made public the CIA’s reassessment that shifts from an inconclusive position to now believing the lab-leak was most likely despite a low level of confidence.
US quits the World Health Organization and sabotages international public health
The ending of the commitment to the World Health Organization by the United States poses as an existential threat to the well-being of the international working class.
Democrats urge New York City Mayor Eric Adams to resign
A wide range of New York City and state Democratic politicians have urged Mayor Eric Adams to resign in the wake of the deal he struck with the Trump administration to dismiss federal charges against him in exchange for allowing the roundup of immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Austin Beutner’s lawsuit against LA school district: A smokescreen to conceal real cause of public education crisis
The lawsuit, endorsed by UTLA and two other unions, claims LAUSD violated the law by replacing existing arts funding with new Proposition 28 dollars, rather than using the money to expand arts programs.
States target Plyler court ruling on educating immigrant children
Following a strategy outlined by The Heritage Foundation, author of “Project 2025,” at least five states are seeking to force a review of the 1982 Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe to effect an end to immigrant youths’ right to public schooling.
Neo-Nazis flee Lincoln Heights, Ohio after being confronted by local residents
Despite police protection for the fascists, members of the historically black community of Lincoln Heights quickly mobilized and drove the Nazis out of town.
Israel creates directorate to oversee ethnic cleansing of Gaza
On Monday, Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the creation of a directorate in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tasked with overseeing the implementation of the plan announced by President Donald Trump to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
As Rubio and Netanyahu discuss Trump's “vision for Gaza”
Israeli finance minister says he hopes the displacement of Gazans can be started within “weeks”
On Sunday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich raised the possibility of the imminent implementation of US President Donald Trump’s plan to displace the Palestinian people from Gaza. “It’s a process I hope will begin in the coming weeks,” Smotrich told Israel’s Channel 12 news station.
UK Labour government seeks to overturn asylum for Palestinian family
Labour intends to tear up the European Convention on Human Rights to which it is a signatory, guaranteeing the right to a family life.
Munich university censors lecture by UN Special Rapporteur for human rights who has accused Israel of genocide
The LMU's cancellation of Albanese’s lecture is the latest in a long line of censorious measures by the authorities in Munich.
This week in history: February 17-23
Mass protest against neo-fascists in Austria; Wildcat strike by Youngstown steelworkers; Egypt, Israel agree on Gaza border; Chinese emperor relocated by Japan
Revive America’s revolutionary democratic traditions
The anti-immigrant ICE raids and the 1854 “Slave Catchers Riot” in Worcester, Massachusetts
In October 1854, a large crowd in Worcester, Massachusetts took action against the presence of "slave catcher" Asa O. Butman and expelled him from the city.
The Great Abolitionist: Charles Sumner and the Fight for a More Perfect Union
A new biography of abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner
Stephen Puleo’s biography offers a fresh glimpse into the Radical Republicans’ struggle against slavery and shines a light on a little-known figure in American history.
On Biden’s posthumous pardon of Marcus Garvey, the “patron saint” of black separatism
The widespread favorable media response to the pardon speaks to the enduring usefulness of Garvey’s brand of identity politics to the powers that be.
Major US think tank probes debt crisis
Brookings Institution researchers drew attention to an article by long-time Republican Mitch Daniels in the Washington Post, stating “only a dwindling number of denialists doubt that a cataclysmic reckoning … lies ahead.”
Fed launches probe into expanding private credit market
In 2023, the size of the non-bank financial institution sector increased by 8.5 percent, more than double the pace of banking sector growth at 3.3 percent, bringing its share of total global financial assets to 49.1 percent.
Trump steps up global economic war with “reciprocal tariffs”
The move, which goes beyond the imposition of a flat tariff on all nations, threatens to shatter what remains of the global trading system that has been in operation since 1947.
Trump imposes steel and aluminium tariffs as global economic war expands
Canada and other countries will be immediately hit, but China is the longer-term target.
Norman Finkelstein, opponent of Zionist crimes against Palestinians, speaks at University of Michigan
In the course of his remarks, Finkelstein said of the repression of anti-genocide protesters at U-M and on campuses across the country, “What took place this past spring involved the biggest attack on academic freedom in US history.”
New York University complies with Trump attacks on basic democratic rights
The university administration’s willingness to collaborate in attacks on immigrants, transgender people and anti-genocide students has clearly emerged.
Cornell students and faculty hold meeting to defend immigrants' rights
On Monday, hundreds of students and faculty at Cornell University held a meeting to discuss the Trump administration's attack on immigrants and the suppression of democratic rights on college campuses.
The weaponization of student absenteeism: Lies to justify school privatization under Trump
The incoming administration intends to use the crisis of "chronic absenteeism," a product of the intense social crisis in the US, to justify vast new attacks on public education.
Mozambique opposition parties call off protests, beg for seat in FRELIMO government
While denying the legitimacy of the elections the opposition parties are trying to end popular protests and enter into government with Mozambique’s new president, Daniel Chapo.
Rwandan-backed M23 advance into DR Congo threatens regional war
M23 now controls nearly all of North Kivu and the province’s vast mineral wealth—including tin (cassiterite), tantalum (coltan), tungsten (wolframite), and gold, which are critical for global electronics and industrial production.
DR Congo breaks relations with Rwanda as Rwandan-backed M23 militia seizes Goma
The conflict comes amid rising global tensions after Donald Trump’s election, especially between Washington and Beijing, over control of strategic minerals like those present in the Congo.
Dozens of civilians killed in Nigeria in government airstrikes against armed gangs
These attacks are the latest in a series of aerial bombardments by the Nigerian government as part of a protracted campaign against armed groups and insurgents in the north of the country, much of which is effectively outside of federal government control.
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.
How should Los Angeles be rebuilt after the fires?
The recent fires in Los Angeles have laid bare the devastating consequences of capitalism, a system that prioritizes profit over safety.
With Steadfast LA, billionaire Rick Caruso spearheads elite's exploitation of Los Angeles wildfires
Caruso’s initiative signals the intention of finance capital to exploit the wildfires disaster for the pursuit of profits with the help of the Democrats and Republicans.
The role of budget cuts and private equity firms in the Los Angeles wildfires
The crisis facing the LA Fire Department is a microcosm of the broader contradictions of capitalism. It highlights the urgent need for a socialist program that prioritizes public welfare over private profit.
Los Angeles fire survivors erupt in anger over slow and inadequate government response
A town hall meeting in Santa Monica escalated into angry exchanges between survivors of the Pacific Palisades fire and an EPA official about the 18-month timeline for clearing debris left by the devastating fire.
Trotsky's assassination was the greatest political crime of the 20th century. Alongside Vladimir Lenin, Trotsky was the leader of the 1917 October revolution in Russia, which led to the establishment of the first workers’ state in history, and the preeminent strategist of world socialist revolution.
The fight against fascism requires a fight against capitalism and war!
Having twice voted with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in favor of a brutal policy of sealing the borders against refugees, the conservative Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) parliamentary groups in the Bundestag are prepared to accept the far-right party as a government partner.
Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei slate in Berlin certified for the federal election
The SGP is standing in the election to oppose war, fascism and genocide.
Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei appeal in the German federal election
Oppose imperialist war through the fight for socialism!
The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party, SGP) is contesting the federal elections to oppose the all-party coalition advocating war and austerity.
Tony Robson addresses SEP (UK) Seventh National Congress on the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees
“The potential in the situation must be acted upon consciously by the cadre, in a deeper turn into the working class”
We are publishing the speech given by SEP National Committee member Tony Robson at the Seventh National Congress of the SEP (UK) on the work of the IWA-RFC in the UK.
Sounding the Alarm and The Logic of Zionism: A discussion with David North on his two recent books
This discussion with David North, chairman of the World Socialist Web Site International Editorial Board, will focus on his two most recent books, Sounding the Alarm: Socialism Against War and The Logic of Zionism: From Nationalist Myth to the Gaza Genocide.
Of, by and for the oligarchy: Trump’s cabinet & the restructuring of the American state
The election of Trump and his cabinet of reactionaries signifies the brutal restructuring of global society being carried out by the financial oligarchy.
The election debacle and the fight against dictatorship
The election of Donald Trump is a critical event whose political repercussions will be felt throughout the world. This fascist demagogue has won the 2024 election with both an electoral and popular vote majority. He will be re-installed in the White House on January 20, 2025.
What makes human culture unique from culture of other animals?
New research identifies the distinguishing feature of human cultural behavior as its “open-endedness.”
Impoverished countries ask world court to rule on climate change disaster
As the hearings closed for the largest ICJ case in history, the major capitalist powers displayed their indifference to the impact of climate change on impoverished countries.
Fluoridation of community water and the politics of disinformation
Robert F Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, has promised to end water fluoridation, a program which has been called one of the 10 greatest achievements in public health.
COP29, climate change and the normalization of mass death
The latest climate summit embraced the same policy that has been adopted since such climate talks began in 1995: the subordination of Earth’s environment and the lives of those impacted to the corporate and economic demands of the United States and the other major capitalist powers.
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.
Premiere in Berlin of a new documentary–Julian Assange and the Dark Secrets of War
The most telling episodes of the film include the testimony of Ethan McCord who relates that witnessing the savagery of the American military on that day in Iraq had changed his life forever.
Julian Assange delivers first speech since release from UK prison: “I pleaded guilty to journalism”
Assange told the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe: “I am not free today because the system worked, I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism.”
Australian spooks and their media mouthpieces bemoan Assange’s freedom
The complaints have a pathetic character to them, but also underscore the fact that the assault on democratic rights associated with the persecution of Assange persists and deepens.
The Australian Labor Party’s record in the Assange case
The Australian government's involvement in the plea deal arrangements was the result of mass popular pressure. It followed years of Labor actively assisting the persecution of Assange.
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.
Seminal documents of the Soviet Trotskyist movement from the early 1930s published for the first time
Published for the first time 90 years after they were written, the documents are an irrefutable vindication of the century-long struggle by the Trotskyist movement against Stalinism and for historical truth.
Analyzing a World in Chaos from an Island of Tranquility
This speech was given by David North at the second international commemoration of the work of Leon Trotsky on Büyükada (Prinkipo), Turkey, during the first period of his exile from the Soviet Union between 1929 and 1933.
A reply to an anarchist’s falsification of the Leon Trotsky commemoration on Prinkipo
The event was covered by many national and local media outlets and widely discussed on social media before and after the event in Turkey. However, a former Maoist and current anarchist published an article on his website denouncing and misrepresenting David North’s remarks.
On the anniversary of the assassination of Leon Trotsky
Eighty-four years ago today, 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.
Opening report to the Eighth Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US)
We are publishing here the opening report to the Eighth Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US), given by David North, the national chairman of the SEP. The congress was held from August 4 to August 9, 2024.
Report to the SEP (US) Eighth National Congress
16 years since the Founding Congress of the Socialist Equality Party
We are publishing here the report to the Eighth Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US) given by Joseph Kishore, the national secretary of the SEP.
H5N1 Bird flu, climate change, and the social rights of the working class
The threat of pandemics and the deepening climate crisis raise existential concerns for all life and well-being on the planet, with capitalism bringing the world to the brink of annihilation.
Report to the SEP (US) Eighth National Congress
The barbarism of “forever COVID” and the fight for socialist public health
We are publishing here the report to the Eighth Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US) given by Evan Blake. The congress was held from August 4 to August 9, 2024.
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.
Autoworkers speak out as UAW-Ford say police in auto plants will be the new normal
Events of the last week show that the recent police sweep at Ford Michigan Assembly was the launch of what can only be described as a police state crackdown against autoworkers.
US autoworkers discuss class issues behind Trump’s attack on immigrants
Workers from the Stellantis Kokomo Rank-and-File Committee sponsored a meeting to discuss the fight against job cuts and Trump’s attack on immigrant workers.
Warning strikes at nine VW plants in Germany
The head of Volkswagen’s works council Daniela Cavallo has made it clear that the IG Metall union and the works council do not want to fight but “let off steam”.
Thai autoworkers face mass layoffs
As the largest producer of vehicles in South East Asia, tens if not hundreds of thousands of jobs in Thailand are potentially on the chopping block.
May Day 2024: The working class and the struggle against imperialist war
This is the text of the introductory speech delivered by WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North to the 2024 International May Day Online Rally.
The political significance of the 2024 May Day Online Rally
This is the text of the speech delivered by Johannes Stern, editor of the German-language edition of the WSWS, as a summation to the 2024 International May Day Online Rally.
The struggle against imperialist war among students and youth
This is the text of the speech delivered by Dilaxshan Mahalingam, an IYSSE member in Sri Lanka, to the 2024 International May Day Online Rally.
The fight against imperialist war in New Zealand and the Pacific
This is the text of the speech delivered by Tom Peters, a leading member of the Socialist Equality Group in New Zealand, to the 2024 International May Day Online Rally.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 leak” fraud: A political witch-hunt against science and public health
The hearings before the House subcommittee have been a bipartisan effort to foment anti-Chinese hysteria.
Democrats join with Republican fascists to witch-hunt scientist Peter Daszak
During Wednesday’s House Subcommittee on COVID-19 with Dr. Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, Democrats joined ranks with fascistic Republican colleagues to promote the Wuhan lab-leak lies.
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.
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.
Comrade Wije Dias, the longtime general secretary of the Socialist Equality Party (Sri Lanka), died in Colombo on July 27, 2022. This exhibit includes two tributes to Wije by WSWS International Editorial Board Chairman David North as well as a selection of Wije’s most significant articles and speeches.
The arrest of journalist Richard Medhurst and the fight to defend democratic rights
Medhurst said of his detention at the UK’s Heathrow Airport, “I believe I'm the first journalist to be arrested under this provision of the Terrorism Act.”
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.
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.
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.
Israel murders 274 Gazans in a further escalation of the genocidal war
For a demonstration on July 24 in Washington D.C. to protest congressional invitation for Netanyahu
The World Socialist Web Site calls on workers and youth to respond to Congress’ invitation to the war criminal Netanyahu with a demonstration in Washington D.C.
Leaders of London rally issue dead-end call for Sunak and Starmer to reverse support for Israel’s genocide
The determined opposition of workers and young people is being corralled into a dead-end, with calls that the only way to stop Israel is to put pressure on the Tories and, above all, the Labour Party of genocide apologist in chief, Sir Keir Starmer.
TikTok bans video demanding Bogdan Syrotiuk’s freedom, branding it “hate speech”
The TikTok ban comes just days after the Zelensky regime issued an order banning access to the World Socialist Web Site across Ukraine. The order was issued by the Ukrainian State Special Communications Service, a wing of the country’s military-intelligence apparatus.
Australian government, opposition launch hysterical attacks on the Greens over Gaza genocide
The Greens are serving as something of a placeholder, with the real target the mass opposition to the genocide among workers and young people.
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.
Democracy Reborn: The Fourteenth Amendment and the Fight for Equal Rights in Post-Civil War America, by Garrett Epps
The Fourteenth Amendment was the product of a democratic revolutionary change that sought to put the Constitution on a genuine egalitarian footing.
Danzy Senna’s Colored Television: Lacking the “pathos of distance”
There is promise in Senna’s demonstrating an awareness that there exists a “racial identity-industrial complex” in the contemporary world of art and culture.
A conversation with Joseph McBride about his study of Hollywood film director George Cukor: “There are many flawed people in his films, but Cukor understands human imperfection”—Part 2
This is the second part of an interview with Joseph McBride, author of George Cukor’s People. The first part was posted January 8.
A conversation with Joseph McBride about his study of Hollywood film director George Cukor: “There are many flawed people in his films, but Cukor understands human imperfection”–Part 1
First part of an interview with film historian, critic and biographer Joseph McBride about his new book George Cukor's People: Acting for a Master Director, a study of the Hollywood director whose career in feature films lasted half a century, from 1930 to 1981.
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.
Germany’s 2025 federal elections: A turning point in post-war German history
For the first time since the fall of the Third Reich 80 years ago, there is a real possibility that a party with direct ideological continuity with the Nazis will enter government.
Trump’s Ukraine policy shift signals new phase of US global war
The Trump administration is seeking a redeployment of military resources from the European theater for use in the domination of the Americas and ultimately focusing on the central target of US military aggression: China.
1 month of the Trump administration: The oligarchy vs. the working class
The events of the past four weeks have confirmed that Trump’s return represents the violent realignment of the political superstructure to correspond with the oligarchic character of American society.
Musk’s data takeover: A weapon for dictatorship and social plunder
An initial goal of the data heist is to facilitate a massive assault on social programs, but the broader aim is to create an all-encompassing database that can be used to track, monitor and suppress political opposition.
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.
14 years after New Zealand’s Pike River mine disaster, no justice for victims’ families
For 14 years, successive governments, state agencies, the judicial system and the union bureaucracy have worked to prevent anyone being brought to justice for the avoidable deaths of 29 workers in Pike River Coal’s underground mine.
New Zealand: Court action continues over Pike River mine disaster
Families of some of the 29 workers killed in the 2010 coal mine disaster are continuing their fight for answers about why authorities dropped charges against Pike River Coal chief executive Peter Whittall over the extremely dangerous conditions in the mine.
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.