Events of recent weeks constitute a warning that the reckless actions of the major imperialist powers, led by the United States, are taking humanity to the brink of nuclear conflict. The Trump administration in the US—composed of billionaires, fascistic demagogues and military generals—has made clear that its program of “America first” means war everywhere.

On April 7, the US bombed a Syrian army airbase, in a flagrant act of war against Russia’s closest ally in the Middle East, based on lies about a chemical weapons attack. A week later, the US military signaled its preparedness to use every weapon in its arsenal by dropping the largest bomb since World War Two on Afghan villagers. In the Asia-Pacific region, the Trump administration is threatening “pre-emptive strikes” and an all-out war against North Korea, as part of its broader strategy of pressuring China to accept American global hegemony and subordinating it to the dictates of the Wall Street banks.

Tensions are steadily rising between the US and nuclear-armed Russia and China, while other imperialist powers such as Germany and Japan are undertaking feverish efforts to build up their own military machines.

The Australian ruling elite has supported all of Washington’s military provocations. The Coalition government, with the full backing of the Labor Party, has lined up the entire population behind the plans for war in Asia without any discussion or debate. US bases in Australia, such as Pine Gap and airfields in the north of the country, are crucial elements in the ongoing preparations for a potential attack on North Korea.

The SEP/IYSSE meetings will outline the revolutionary socialist and internationalist perspective required to prevent the descent of the global capitalist system into a catastrophic third world war. Speakers will place the current crisis in its historical context, and draw out the critical strategic lessons that must be learnt by workers and young people from the seminal historical experience of the 1917 Russian Revolution—the first and only time, so far, that the working class has overthrown capitalism and taken political power in the fight for peace, social equality and world socialism.

Details:

Sydney:

Sunday, May 7, 3.00 p.m.
Duchess Room, Coronation Club
86 Burwood Road
Burwood
$7/$5 concession

Melbourne:

Sunday, May 14, 2.30 p.m.
Arts House Meat Market
5 Blackwood Street, North Melbourne
$7/$5 concession

Brisbane:

Sunday May 14, 3.00 p.m.
Woolloongabba Senior Citizens Centre
22 Qualtrough Street
Woolloongabba
$5/$3 concession