Editorial: A World in Turmoil

In front of you is the second issue of Socialist World, a new journal produced by Socialist Alternative. This issue explores key events which have helped create the world we live in now including the collapse of Stalinism and the crisis of neo-liberal capitalism beginning in 2008. The 2010s were a period of revolution and counter revolution particularly in the Middle East and Southern Europe. It is clear that the 2020s are going to be even more stormy. This issue takes up the key features of the looming economic crisis and looks at the Brexit crisis which is an example of how the capitalists have lost control of the political process. We show how the climate crisis and the growing, complex logistics networks at Amazon and Wal-Mart point to the necessity and possibility of socialist planning. Most importantly we elaborate the need for building the international socialist movement.

Looking back, thirty years ago, the collapse of the “Soviet bloc” led to enormous triumphalism by the representatives of capitalism including philosopher Francis Fukuyama who talked about the “end of history.” As Rob Jones explains on p. 27, 1989 was far more contradictory than the capitalist commentators presented. Ordinary people in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe were largely interested in maintaining a planned economy but with real democracy and an end to bureaucratic rule. Thirty years after the fall of the Soviet Bloc, it is capitalism that faces a deepening economic, social, and political crisis. The resistance from workers and youth internationally is growing on many fronts. Fueling this resistance is fact that the fruits of the “recovery” since the Great Recession has gone to the billionaires and corporations. Now, the slowdown of the world economy (see p. 10), points clearly toward recession, including in the United States. This crisis is triggered by Trump’s trade war with China but there are deeper causes. In fact, none of the issues that caused an almost complete meltdown of the economy ten years ago have been solved. If anything, capitalist governments are now less ready for the next crisis. On top of that, the evidence of impending climate catastrophe is inciting anger, particularly among the global youth who spearheaded the climate strikes of September 20 and 27. Again the capitalist elite are completely exposed, demonstrating no capacity to organize the type of coordinated global response necessary to rapidly begin the transition to an economy based on renewable energy. As Keely Mullen explains on page 5 even basic steps will require the pressure of a mass movement which brings young people together with workers who have the power to shut the economy down. A real solution requires global socialist planning but this is only possible with the full democratic participation of working people at every level.

International Struggle

It is striking how ordinary people in country after country are fighting back against corrupt regimes and endless austerity even in advance of the full impact of the economic crisis. In Ecuador, a movement centered on indigenous people demanded the withdrawal of an austerity package being imposed in return for loans from the IMF. After ten days of protests - which drove the president from the capital - they succeeded in getting the austerity package, including the ending of a fuel price subsidy, withdrawn. In Argentina, the economy is already in a deep recession and upcoming elections are likely to see a decisive rejection of neoliberal candidates. This issue contains a statement from the Committee for a Workers International, with which Socialist Alternative in the U.S. is in solidarity, supporting the electoral slate of socialist organizations in these elections. In Haiti, there have been weeks of protests against a corrupt regime backed by the U.S. and the European Union. In Iraq young protesters demanding jobs and an end to corruption were attacked by the military who shot over 100 dead. In Indonesia, there were mass youth-centered protests against the withdrawal of anti-corruption legislation and also demanding that the companies setting fires in the rainforest be brought to account and that anti-LGBTQ legislation be withdrawn. The heroic struggle in Hong Kong continues. This is by no mean a complete list. In the U.S., we have also seen dramatic developments. In 2018, more workers went on strike than in any year since 1986. Now teachers in Chicago are going on strike demanding lower class size and more resources for support staff. The UAW strike at General Motors involving 49,000 workers, is the longest auto strike in the U.S. in 50 years. Workers on the picket lines see this as an opportunity to reverse concessions made by the union leadership over many years. As we go to press, a tentative agreement has been reached between GM and the UAW and it is still unclear as to how much workers have gained. A victory for the auto workers would have a huge impact but a defeat would cut across the fragile momentum of this strike wave. In reality, we are only at the beginning of the rebuilding of a fighting labor movement in the U.S. which could be temporarily cut across by a recession but which also reflects deeper processes.

Political Crisis

This issue of Socialist World focuses heavily on the international situation and does not get into the many important components of American politics. However we felt it was important to highlight some of those developments in this introduction.

The loss of legitimacy of capitalist institutions seen around the world especially since 2008 is also undermining the U.S. two-party system. As we have said many times both Trump and Sanders’ campaigns in 2016 in different ways reflected the rejection of the political establishment. Trump’s dangerously reactionary and increasingly unstable regime is intensely opposed by tens of millions but he has succeeded in capturing the Republican Party with an economic nationalist agenda. On the other side we have seen the further development of a new left in the U.S. which at the moment remains largely within the parameters of the Democratic Party. This includes the remarkable ascendancy of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the massive growth of the Democratic Socialists of America. While the likelihood of Trump being impeached grows by the day, we need to note the process taking place in the Democratic presidential primary. The Democratic establishment’s favored candidate, Joe Biden, is sinking fast. We can’t exclude that they will make a concerted effort to push someone else if Biden really begins to flail but it may soon be too late. This could open a remarkable situation in which Elizabeth Warren and Sanders are the two frontrunners. This reflects the dramatic shift to the left in the base of the Democratic Party, even since 2016. Warren focuses on “accountable capitalism.” She has received a mixed reaction from the ruling class but the corporate establishment may be forced to back her to block Bernie. Sanders speaks directly to working class people. He says gains won’t be won without a mass movement and that if elected he will be the “organizer in chief.” Sanders is running a more radical campaign than in 2016 and is getting a big boost with the endorsement of AOC, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar. Of course, Sanders is not challenging the dominance of capital but rather arguing for pro-working class reforms. However,

the attitude of the ruling class is unequivocal: they would prefer a second term for Trump than a Sanders presidency. That’s because a Sanders victory would massively raise the expectations of working people. Another political battle that has national and international implications is happening in Seattle. Jeff Bezos and Amazon are spending millions on local races. Their key aim is to defeat socialist councilmember Kshama Sawant. The Chamber of Commerce and Amazon pursue their class interests by sparing no expense to remove the councilmember who helped lead the fight for the first citywide $15 minimum wage and led the fight for the “Amazon tax” to make big business to pay for affordable housing. We must be crystal clear where our class interest lies in doing everything possible to hold onto every gain we have made and to use this election to help build a wider unity of the left. What is needed here and internationally are fighting organizations of our class in the workplaces, in our communities and on the electoral plane. We need broad organizations that unite as many people as possible around a basic fighting program. That’s why we urge turning Sanders’ campaign into the beginnings of a new party with a membership structures and democratically accountable leadership. But as socialists we also see the paramount need for building an international organization with a clear revolutionary program. The CWI has recently gone through a serious internal crisis that has helped to clarify our key tasks in this period. As Danny Byrne explains on p. 15, despite some losses, we are emerging stronger politically and with enormous optimism about our potential to grow and play a key role in the struggles that are opening up across the world. J