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.
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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.
Perspective
Macron’s naming of a right-wing government in France and the bankruptcy of Mélenchon
By allying with Macron and falsely promoting him as an enemy of neo-fascism, Mélenchon’s New Popular Front created conditions for Macron to assemble a government backed by the far right.
Turkish-American Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was shot in the head and killed on Friday as Israel Defense Forces fired on protesters who were defending Palestinians against Zionist settlers in the West Bank.
President Vladimir Putin, whose government failed to prevent the first seizure of Russian territory by an imperialist-backed army since World War II, is attempting to manage the debacle by downplaying the crisis in Kursk.
Erdogan and al-Sisi are taking steps to strengthen their ties amid Israel’s US-NATO-backed genocide in Gaza, which is spreading to the West Bank, and preparations for war against Iran.
Several recent UK studies have investigated this harm being done to the population’s health by the policy of “living with the virus” enacted jointly by Conservative and Labour parties.
As four members of Black nationalist groups in the US are facing potentially 15 years in prison for advancing positions in opposition to the Ukraine war, the Department of Justice claimed on Wednesday that Russia and Iran were “interfering” in the 2024 election.
Just hours after Canadian National and Canadian Pacific-Kansas City imposed a lockout, Liberal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon used the quasi-dictatorial powers invested in him to outlaw all worker job action and empower an arbitrator to dictate their contracts.
Brazil’s supreme court has suspended access to X/Twitter, a platform used by tens of millions of Brazilians.
The Venezuelan crisis has exposed all bourgeois nationalist governments of the Latin American pink tide and their pseudo-left apologists as instruments of US imperialism.
A three-judge US appeals court panel ruled that the Internet Archive violated copyright law by lending eBooks to borrowers at the beginning of the pandemic without authorization from the publishing industry.
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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.
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.
Part One
Trotsky’s Last Year
An appraisal, on the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of Trotsky’s assassination, of the work of the great theoretician and strategist of World Socialist Revolution during the final year of his life.
Leon Trotsky and the Struggle for Socialism in the Twenty-First Century
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.
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.
Russian organizations and social media pages demand Bogdan Syrotiuk’s release
A number of Russian leftist organizations and media outlets have expressed their support for Bogdan, demanding his immediate release.
Release comrade Bogdan Syrotiuk unconditionally and immediately!
The persecution of Bogdan demonstrates that the defense of democratic rights is inseparable from the mobilisation of the international working class against imperialist war and capitalism.
Left-wing organisations in Sri Lanka support “Free Bogdan Syrotiuk” campaign
The United Socialist Party, the Socialist People’s Forum and the Frontline Socialist Party’s “Youth for Change” have issued statements demanding the immediate release of Bogdan Syrotiuk.
Russian Neo-Stalinists, Maoists oppose the campaign to free Ukrainian socialist Bogdan Syrotiuk
The response by these tendencies to the fight to free Bogdan Syrotiuk must serve as an object lesson for workers and young people in Russia and internationally as to the character of the forces that have emerged out of the wreckage of Stalinism.
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.
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.
Report to the SEP (US) Eighth National Congress
The SEP intervention in the UAW election and the fight for socialism among autoworkers
We are publishing here the report to the Eighth Congress of the Socialist Equality Party (US), given by Jerry White. The congress was held from August 4 to August 9, 2024.
What is revealed in the school massacre in Winder, Georgia
School shootings are a manifestation of the devastating social crisis of American capitalism.
Finishing Palestinians, preventing “war”, bringing “peace”, Nikki Haley extends support for Taiwan
Since the 1970s, Taiwan has been no stranger to aiding and abetting genocide perpetrated by US-backed far-right dictatorships or by the US itself. It is no aberration that Haley’s visit was warmly received by Taiwan’s sub-imperialist bourgeoisie.
Trump, Republicans openly plot to suppress vote, overturn election
Emboldened by the complicit Democrats, Trump, with the Republican Party behind him, is mounting a fascist campaign aimed at suppressing the vote on the way to a presidential dictatorship.
Grenfell Tower fire public inquiry delivers its final whitewash
The victims of Grenfell Tower died as the result of an act of social murder whose architects were companies aiming to cut costs in their refurbishment of the 24-storey building. Their accomplices were successive Conservative and Labour governments.
Australia: Ousted CFMEU leaders seek to bury workers’ opposition to administration in drawn-out legal challenge
With tens of thousands of workers looking for a way to fight the Labor government’s attack, the ousted CFMEU bureaucracy is trying to convince them that no fight is needed.
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
India: Maharashtra road commuter transport workers walk out for pay rise; Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital workers strike indefinitely; Western Australian and New South Wales child protection workers take action over staffing; Tasmanian nurses and midwives strike
With contract expiring soon for East Coast dockworkers, ILA make radical-sounding statements to head off rank-and-file anger
The ILA bureaucrats are drawing from the same playbook as the Teamsters and the UAW, using radical-sounding talk to ease the passage of a deal with massive hidden concessions. A general rule of thumb has emerged: the bigger the talk, the bigger the sellout.
Wellington rail workers voting on strike action
The Socialist Equality Group calls on rail workers to vote in favour of strike action in their pay dispute with Transdev and Hyundai Rotem, but warns that to carry out a real fight, workers must break from the RMTU and establish an independent rank-and-file committee.
Appeals court ruling backs big publishers’ lawsuit against the Internet Archive
A three-judge US appeals court panel ruled that the Internet Archive violated copyright law by lending eBooks to borrowers at the beginning of the pandemic without authorization from the publishing industry.
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra doubles down against British-Australian pianist Jayson Gillham
The law firm defending MSO censorship is prominent in the barrage of legal action against artists, journalists and other public figures opposing Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
Prasanna Vithanage’s Paradise: Police brutality and a marriage implosion amidst Sri Lanka’s economic collapse
Paradise is a poignant and compelling film that reveals much about Sri Lanka’s social relations and will resonate with workers and youth around the world.
California College of the Arts faces deep crisis: “The ultimate judgment upon the quality of a civilization”
According to one report, the school is “now reevaluating its course offerings, contemplating layoffs, and even considering a potential merger with another school to ensure its survival.”
Sri Lankan president appeals to Muslim voters with apology over forced cremation
Ignoring the opposition of the Muslim community, which always buries its dead, the government of former president Gotabhaya Rajapakse ordered the cremation of all bodies at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
US urges New Zealand to ramp-up military capacity to police the Pacific
As the US presses for ramped-up military preparations, the Pacific is being placed on a war footing without the consent of the population, who have not been consulted.
Australian economy heading into recession
The economy grew by just 0.2 percent in the June quarter following a 0.1 percent rise in the three months to the end of March, while output per head was down 0.4 percent, its sixth consecutive quarterly decline.
Australian Labor PM now as unpopular as his hated Liberal-National predecessor
Another media poll indicates deepening disaffection with both Labor and the Coalition.
Harris and Trump compete for support from billionaires
Appealing to the billionaires that control both parties, at two recent events both Trump and Harris pledged to cater their policies to the interests of the ultra-wealthy.
Union bureaucrats stump for Democrats in Detroit, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh on Labor Day
In their tightly controlled appearances, Kamala Harris, Tim Walz and Joe Biden avoided any talk of the wars overseas while falsely presenting the interests of the working class and nationalist union bureaucracies as one and the same.
Following endorsements from RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Trump escalates fascistic agitation, phony anti-war posturing
As in 2016, the only reason Trump is able to appeal to anti-war sentiments in the working class is due to the warmongering of the Democratic Party.
Kamala Harris pledges no letup in genocide, war, attacks on immigrants in CNN interview
In her first sit-down interview as nominee, Harris staked an even more genocidal position than the current president and refused to place any conditions on weapons shipments to Israel.
Metformin and COVID-19: An old drug with compelling anti-viral properties
Recent studies by the University of Minnesota and the COVID-OUT trials indicate that metformin, a commonly used drug to treat diabetes, has compelling clinical benefits in treating COVID.
American Academy of Pediatrics updated guidelines encourage kids experiencing “mild” diarrhea and vomiting to attend school
The AAP’s recent guidance has no scientific merit but reflects the ruling class policy of mass infection and reinfection that prioritizes profits over public health.
As COVID-19 infection numbers top 1 million a day, the CDC promotes a campaign against public health
More than 1.2 million Americans are being infected with COVID-19 every day as students and teachers return to school.
FDA approves the latest COVID booster shots but there is no push for mass vaccination
The FDA approved the latest COVID vaccine boosters on the tail end of the Democratic National Convention that can best be characterized as a superspreader event. Meanwhile, more than 1.3 million people are being infected daily with COVID.
Israel hampering polio vaccine drive as daily bombardment of Gaza continues
Israel could not have killed hundreds of thousands and laid waste to Gaza’s infrastructure, creating the perfect conditions for thousands more deaths from disease, without the unstinting support of the imperialist powers.
Israeli defence minister foreshadows Gaza-type genocide in West Bank
In an unmistakeable sign that a full-scale invasion of the West Bank is in preparation, Defence Minister Gallant declared yesterday that eventually the military will need to “pull out the roots” of Palestinian resistance.
UK suspension of Israeli arms contracts a guilty fraud
Britain is responsible for a tiny fraction of the arms received by Israel, overwhelmingly provided by the United States. In any case, the government’s decision affects just 30 of 350 arms contracts between the UK and Israel, and excludes parts for F-35 fighter jets killing Palestinian men, women and children day after day.
Israel pounds Jenin refugee camp as assault on West Bank continues for seventh day
The Israeli military continued its expansion of the genocide against Palestinians into the West Bank on Tuesday with an intensified assault on the Jenin and Tulkarem refugee camps.
Zelensky begins mass dismissal of cabinet ministers
The turnover of the Zelensky cabinet comes amid an impending military defeat in the Donbass region.
German Chancellor Scholz assures Kiev of undiminished war support
With German tanks operating on Russian soil for the first time since the Second World War in the course of the Kursk invasion, Scholz assured Kiev of undiminished financial and military support at a joint press conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu.
Calls for UK and US to authorise Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles against Russia
In recent days the full extent of Britain’s involvement in the planning and execution of the offensive, as NATO’s main provocateur against Russia, has been laid bare.
Ukraine continues offensive inside Russia
Whatever the immediate military and political calculations behind the incursion, its underlying strategy and goals reveal the imperialist character of the war waged by the US and NATO against Russia.
Macron names Barnier to lead right-wing French government backed by neo-fascists
The selection of Barnier tramples upon the election victory of the New Popular Front and marks a major step towards an authoritarian regime led by the far right.
Twelve refugees drown in Channel due to criminal actions of British and French governments
The state crackdown on smugglers who organise the crossings has only forced migrants into undertaking even more hazardous journeys, as they try to avoid the militarised border infrastructure established by the British and French authorities.
Footage of trapped Dagenham fire residents published as victims demand secure housing, assistance and justice
No guarantee of assistance has been provided, with council officials at pains to stress that the Spectrum Building residents are not council residents.
Lessons from the electoral success of the far-right Alternative for Germany
The establishment parties have rolled out the red carpet for the AfD and opened all doors for them.
Canada’s NDP ends governmental pact with Trudeau in hopes of averting electoral debacle
The NDP’s new oppositional posture is aimed at repositioning the social democrats and their trade union allies so they can more effectively perform their essential function for the ruling class—suppressing the class struggle and acting as political safety valves—under conditions of intensifying global capitalist crisis.
Four killed in mass shooting of sleeping train riders in Chicago suburb
While specific circumstances may differ from one event to another, the most pressing questions are the social roots of these repeated outburst of violence and how to stop them from happening.
4 dead, dozens wounded in Georgia high school shooting
Two students and two teachers were shot dead on Wednesday morning by 14-year-old Colt Gray at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, 45 miles east of Atlanta.
Canada joins US in imposing 100 percent tariff on Chinese-made EVs
Prime Minister Trudeau announced the imposition of punitive tariffs on electric vehicles at a cabinet retreat which was attended by President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, making clear Canada’s ever-deeper involvement in the US war drive against China.
US-organized police-military “stabilization” force deploys in Haiti
The social catastrophe roiling Haiti, the Western hemisphere’s poorest country, is rooted in well over a century of US imperialist predations—including repeated colonial-style occupations and “made in USA” regime changes.
Chile’s Boric and Argentina’s Milei join exercises of US Southern Command
Boric’s pseudo-left government in Chile and Milei’s fascistic government in Argentina are participating in military exercises this week that are part of the war preparations by US imperialism and NATO.
The Morenoites and the Venezuelan crisis: The pseudo-left exposed as aides of imperialism
The Morenoites’ central criticism of the US-backed Venezuelan fascists is that they don’t pursue their coup plots aggressively enough.
Pentagon to begin producing weapons for Ukraine in Argentina
As early as next month, the Pentagon is expected to take over several military factories in Argentina to produce artillery, munitions and other weapons for the US-NATO war in Ukraine against Russia.
Supreme Court rejects Biden’s appeal to lift injunction on student debt relief plan
The US Supreme Court last week rejected the Biden administration’s request to lift an injunction on its latest student debt relief plan, called “SAVE,” with the plan remaining on hold indefinitely until litigation is resolved.
Ocasio-Cortez and the normalization of genocide as state policy
Less than a week after endorsing Harris and falsely claiming she was working “tirelessly” for a “ceasefire” in Gaza, the DSA member told her followers if they want to protect democratic rights at home, the genocide must continue.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at the DNC: The pro-imperialist politics of the DSA
The role of the Democratic Socialists of America and DSA-backed candidates in defending the pro-capitalist and imperialist policies of the Democratic Party has emerged as a significant element of the Democratic National Convention.
More FBI-suppressed evidence is exposed in lawsuit over Saudi Arabia's role in 9/11 terror attacks
New evidence previously suppressed by the FBI confirms that an intelligence operative from Saudi Arabia was a facilitator for two hijackers after they arrived in California and also made a “casing” surveillance video of the US Capitol prior to the attacks of 9/11.
Tulane University in New Orleans upholds suspension of anti-genocide protesters
Tulane University doubles down on vindictive suspension of student anti-genocide protesters who participated in an encampment last spring.
Canada’s largest union victimizes senior official, Fred Hahn, for opposing Gaza genocide
CUPE’s leadership is supporting and seeking to enforce a right-wing, state-supported witch hunt vilifying Fred Hahn, the president of the union’s Ontario division, as an “antisemite” for his opposition to Israel’s imperialist-backed genocide in Gaza.
New York University faculty and staff group announces limited strike action to oppose criminalization of anti-Zionism
A group of faculty and staff at New York University (NYU) in Manhattan has announced its intention to withhold administrative tasks for the fall semester until the university ceases its attacks on free speech on campus.
Reporter Sarah Wilkinson arrested by UK government for opposition to Gaza genocide
The home of Sarah Wilkinson, British artist, journalist and lifelong supporter of Palestinian rights, was raided on Thursday morning by UK counter-terrorism police and she was detained for hours before being released on bail.
Latest economic data put question mark over China’s growth target
A range of economists and commentators have been downgrading their forecasts for growth.
Chinese bond market surge points to economic and financial problems
Due to the lack of investment opportunities, money has been flooding into the bond market, pushing up prices and thereby lowering the yield, or interest rate on government debt.
Finance capital sucking the lifeblood out of impoverished countries
The median low-income country is spending more than twice what it did a decade ago to foreign creditors.
Central bankers reassured after Jackson Hole, but others are not
Warnings are being sounded not least because the market turmoil in the first week of August was the most significant since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Book Review: The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson
Contemporary lessons from the slave power’s plot to overturn the 1860 election
Erik Larson’s new book The Demon of Unrest, published this year by Penguin Random House, contains critical lessons for the fight against Trump and the threat of dictatorship today.
This week in history: September 2-8
Puerto RIcan nationalists freed; Ford pardons Nixon; MacArthur hails US rule in Japan; Saudi massacre near Mecca
Reflections on the death of Lt. Willam Calley Jr.: Imperialist atrocities, from My Lai to Gaza
Calley spent only three days in prison for his role in directing the mass murder of 504 Vietnamese men, women and children. He is now reported to have died April 28 at the age of 80.
80 years since the liberation of Lublin-Majdanek concentration camp: From Hitler’s war in the East to the Holocaust
The history of the Majdanek camp reveals the links between Nazi Germany’s war of aggression against the Soviet Union and the Holocaust, and the extermination of the Jewish population, which primarily affected Poland and Eastern Europe.
Support the Dakkota auto parts strike! An injury to one is an injury to all! Ban the use of scab parts from Dakkota!
As their strike reached a critical juncture, rank-and-file Dakkota auto parts workers in Chicago issued a statement Tuesday appealing for a ban on scab parts from their factory.
Dakkota workers’ strike in danger as UAW demands fifth vote on sellout agreement: “We have the strength to stand up and fight back”
The courageous rebellion of striking Dakkota parts workers, who defied an unprecedented four sellout agreements, is in danger of being shut down and betrayed as the UAW is threatening workers with a fifth vote on the same agreement.
Dakkota Integrated Systems: The low-wage sweatshop workers are fighting against
Dakkota was founded in 2001 as a joint venture between Rush Group LLC, owned by trucking and auto supply business owner Andra Rush, and Canada-based Magna International Inc.
Autoworkers need to communicate around the world and make a plan to fight back
I have always been told my job is more secure than most because we are one of the most profitable plants for GM. This sense of certainty has dwindled rapidly.
Students speak on mass spread of COVID on college campuses as semester begins
The WSWS spoke to several students who are witnessing the mass infection of their peers on college campuses in the US and Canada.
One fifth of world’s youth not in employment, education or training
These conditions testify to the powder keg that is Africa and indeed vast parts of the world. Youth-led protests have broken out in several countries over recent months calling for political change.
Ten months of the Gaza genocide: The way forward in the fight against war
As millions of students are re-entering their classrooms in schools and on college campuses across the United States for a new semester, the threat of world war and fascism is greater today than at any point since the 1930s.
IYSSE launches petitions for Special General meetings at Australian universities against Gaza genocide
At the working-class campuses of Western Sydney University (WSU) and Victoria University (VU) in Melbourne, the IYSSE clubs’ campaigns have been met with enthusiasm from students.
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.
Sri Lanka: SEP presidential candidate speaks to media, public meetings
The SEP is the only party warning of the dangers of world war and fascism and advancing a socialist alternative to massive IMF austerity.
SEP (Sri Lanka) holds public meeting to launch presidential election campaign
“None of the burning issues facing the masses can be solved within the capitalist profit system or on a national basis.”
SEP stands in Sri Lankan presidential election to fight for a socialist program
The SEP is intervening in the election to advance the program and perspective of international socialism for the working class, against imperialist war, ruling class austerity and moves toward dictatorial forms of rule.
SEP (Sri Lanka) presidential candidate holds Colombo press conference
Presidential candidate Pani Wijesiriwardena explained that the SEP is the only party fighting to mobilise the working class against capitalist austerity and war.
Failure of Boeing spacecraft strands 2 astronauts on the International Space Station
It should be asked why NASA continues to trust Boeing, the airplane manufacturer which developed the MAX 8 jets responsible for the deaths of 346 men, women and children in two separate crashes in 2018 and 2019.
Scientists reveal two previously unknown mechanisms for Antarctic ice shelf melting
If these gigantic ice shelves disintegrated, they would raise the global sea level by 58 meters, nearly 200 feet.
Coral bleaching threatens 73 percent of world’s reefs
Coral bleaching is another further warning of the climate crisis, with the working class and poor across the world bearing the primary brunt of its consequences as global temperatures rise, including in the oceans.
Global temperature records again broken on Monday and Tuesday
Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, largely as a result of the burning of fossil fuels, are producing record temperatures year after year.
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.
The Middle East arena of competition between the US and China
Washington has no intention of allowing Beijing to extend its influence in the Middle East, or anywhere else in the world, and will not hesitate to use all the means at its disposal to prevent this—utilising support for Israel’s annihilation of the Palestinians in Gaza as the basis for an expanding war for control of the region initially targeting Iran.
Twenty-fifth anniversary of the August 17, 1999 Gölcük earthquake
Time is being wasted when the technology and labour are available to build millions of safe houses in a very short time in Turkey and everywhere in the world where there is a risk of earthquakes.
Threat of Middle East war on hair-trigger as Israel kills Hamas official in Lebanon, US lifts ban on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia
The killing of yet another senior Hamas official makes a mockery of the far-right Netanyahu government’s claim to be interested in negotiating a ceasefire with Hamas, not to mention the posturing by its imperialist backers in favour of a ceasefire.
Tunisia’s President Saied announces bogus election as judiciary disqualifies and imprisons opposition leaders
Saied‘s aim is to consolidate his one-man dictatorship and impose the full burden of Tunisia’s deep-rooted economic problems on the working class on behalf of the country’s corrupt financial elite.
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.
Ruto’s new Kenyan coalition government to reinstate rejected tax measures
Those who preach “no politics” and “no leadership” serve to maintain the stranglehold of the prevailing politics of the bourgeoise and its petty bourgeois accomplices and is solely a means of preventing workers and youth from adopting a socialist political alternative.
Tinubu government mobilises police and army to crush protests across Nigeria
The protest organisers, NGOs and activist organisations, had called for 10 days of street demonstrations starting August 1. Their demands include: an end to inflation now running at 34 percent, jobs, increased security amid a rise in kidnappings for ransom, a reduction in government costs and electoral, judicial and constitutional reform.
Anger as Kenya’s President Ruto forms government with Orange Democratic Movement opposition
Far from opening a new era of national unity and development, the new Cabinet’s first task is to crush the months of protests, escalate IMF austerity and maintain Kenya’s status as Washington’s non-NATO proxy force across Africa and the Caribbean.
Austerity protests in Uganda violently crushed
The protests have instilled fear within the Museveni regime of unrest similar to that in neighboring Kenya. In a televised address Saturday evening Museveni threatened the protestors, "We are busy producing wealth… and you here want to disturb us.”
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.
Julian Assange arrives in Australia free
In a press conference, Stella Assange hailed a global support movement for creating the conditions for Assange's freedom, while warning of an ongoing assault on press freedom that had to be fought.
Julian Assange is free, but the struggle to defend democratic rights continues
On Monday, Julian Assange walked out of the UK’s Belmarsh Prison a free man, following five years of imprisonment and nearly 15 years of persecution by a cabal of imperialist governments led by the United States which hounded him for exposing their crimes.
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.
SEP in Sri Lanka commemorates second anniversary of death of Trotskyist leader Wije Dias
Wije Dias belonged to the group of young people who took up the initiative in 1968 to form the Trotskyist party in Sri Lanka and he played a leading role in the movement for 54 years until his death.
UK Socialist Equality Party election rally advances socialist and internationalist opposition to war
The meeting’s platform featured many of the principal leaders of the party that the working class needs in the battles ahead—the International Committee of the Fourth International, the world party of socialist revolution founded by Leon Trotsky.
Attendees at UK general election rally speak: “The Socialist Equality Party is what I want to dedicate my efforts to building.”
WSWS reporters spoke to some of those in attendance on their response to the Socialist Equality Party (UK) general election rally held in London on Sunday.
Billions for education not war! Support the Socialist Equality Party (UK) campaign for a unified struggle against capitalism and war!
Teachers in the UK must prepare to take on Labour as it prepares to take office. This requires a break from the trade union bureaucracy whose function, in order to secure their privileged existence, is to block the development of a struggle in defence of educators’ independent interests.
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.
Book Review: The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson
Contemporary lessons from the slave power’s plot to overturn the 1860 election
Erik Larson’s new book The Demon of Unrest, published this year by Penguin Random House, contains critical lessons for the fight against Trump and the threat of dictatorship today.
Bankers in the Ivory Tower by Charlie Eaton
The financialization of higher education and the fight against war
Eaton’s book traces the financialization of higher education from the 1980s through the 2010s, which underlay the subordination of academia to Wall Street and the war machine of US imperialism.
The Disappearance of Émile Zola: Zola, Dreyfus and the struggle against antisemitism
Zola was an eloquent opponent of obscurantism and reaction, and played a major role in the exoneration of Alfred Dreyfus and the struggle against antisemitism.
David North’s The Logic of Zionism: From Nationalist Myth to the Gaza Genocide addresses the disastrous consequences of nationalist political programs
The series of lectures on the historical development of Zionism exposes the bankruptcy of all politics based on nationalism and race—and points the way forward for all those who want to fight against genocide, war and dictatorship.
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.
Macron’s naming of a right-wing government in France and the bankruptcy of Mélenchon
By allying with Macron and falsely promoting him as an enemy of neo-fascism, Mélenchon’s New Popular Front created conditions for Macron to assemble a government backed by the far right.
What is revealed in the school massacre in Winder, Georgia
School shootings are a manifestation of the devastating social crisis of American capitalism.
Trump, Republicans openly plot to suppress vote, overturn election
Emboldened by the complicit Democrats, Trump, with the Republican Party behind him, is mounting a fascist campaign aimed at suppressing the vote on the way to a presidential dictatorship.
Lessons from the electoral success of the far-right Alternative for Germany
The establishment parties have rolled out the red carpet for the AfD and opened all doors for them.
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.
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.
Nine dead, 44 still missing in mine collapse in China
The disaster tragically exposes the brutal working conditions faced by miners in China in the reckless drive for profits ahead of lives and safety.