United States

The recent terrorist attacks in London only confirm the volatile position the world finds itself in at the beginning of the 21st century. Bush and Blair’s war on terror and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan have done nothing but further destabilize the situation. In the United States, the mood is finally turning against the war. This is the editorial of the latest issue of the American Socialist Appeal.

Titanic sums of money - the taxes paid in mostly by the working class - have been spent by the Bush Administration primarily on two things: the continuing slaughter in Iraq and the further enrichment of the top 10 percent of Americans. Millions of working people in the United States continue to worry about whether or not they will have a job two months from now or even next week. And how does the ‘compassionate conservative’ in the White House soothe the nation’s anxiety? By handing out billions of dollars to the modern-day robber barons of Capital.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin's atypically frank condemnation of the treatment of U.S. prisoners around the world cause a storm of criticism. The bulk of the critics purposely skewed Durbin’s apt comparison, ignoring the widespread tactics used in the war on terror which without question include torture. The ugly truth is that prisons in Iraq are merely a reflection of the prison system here in the U.S.

Every victory by working people in the struggle to improve their lives is a step forward that must be applauded. Working people have power when they organize. But it is not enough to petition the bosses and their cronies in government to throw a few crumbs to those at the bottom. From the latest issue of the American Socialist Appeal.

After Bush’s reelection, many around the world thought the end of the world had come. According to them, the American “sheeple” had been duped once and for all, and Bush would effortlessly ram through his ultra-reactionary policies at home and abroad. However, Bush’s honeymoon period disappeared in a flash. Now, seemingly overnight, the mood of the American people has finally turned against the war in Iraq.


In his new book, Alan Woods examines the broad sweep of American history from a Marxist perspective. Many Americans view the ideas of socialism and Marxism with suspicion and distrust. In Marxism and the U.S.A., the author shows that these ideas are not at all foreign to the history and traditions of the American people. The book can be ordered from Wellred USA for $15 within the U.S. and for $20 for International orders.

Marxism and the USA is an updated and greatly expanded version of an essay on this question originally written in 2002. We produce here Alan Woods’ introduction to give our readers an idea of what the book is about.

Over the past couple of years the U.S. economy has gained some momentum and avoided slipping back into recession, but this was based on the increased squeezing of the U.S. and world working class, not job growth or significant investment in productive capacity. Even if the U.S. economy miraculously takes off in the second half of 2005, the damage has already been done for millions of working Americans.

Once upon a time, during the dark ages in the Middle East when tyrants and one party rule were the norm in countries like Egypt, Iraq and Israel/Palestine, there lived a great and wise man who believed that one day “freedom” and “democracy” would rule the earth. This man’s name was George W. Bush.

Amnesty International published a report last Wednesday, condemning the US and UK betrayal of the cause of human rights in the so-called “war on terror” and urged the US to shut down its Guantanamo Bay camp. The report is a condemnation of the hypocritical policies and actions of the two imperialist powers.

Bush has outlined an aggressive foreign and domestic agenda for his second term. Internationally, he will continue to focus on the Middle East, but Latin America will increasingly be targeted by his administration. His overall international approach will remain aggressive and arrogant, but due to the quagmire in Iraq and the growing global resistance to U.S. imperialism, he will be forced to seek broader alliances.

In presenting his Administration’s proposed budget, President Bush has shown the real face of his “compassionate conservatism” – guns before butter.

Last week thousands of Belgians protested against US President Bush, who was in Brussels for a short trip from February 20-22. After having alienated most of his European allies, Bush was in Belgium to heal the wounds since he is aware the United States cannot simply keep running like a bull in a china shop on the stage of world affairs. Bush needs to seek points of support in Europe and that is why (temporarily) diplomacy seems to have taken the front seat again. Even little Belgium can help the United States, which is what the country is doing at the moment in relation to the war in Iraq. Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt may be “proud” of not having any Belgian troops in Iraq, but the

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Forty years ago, yesterday, Malcolm X stood up at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem (New York) to speak. He was going to speak against the racial segregation all over the US. He was going to appeal to his brothers and sisters to resist and fight back against the “oppression of the white man” when he was gunned down. More than one or two breathed a sigh of relief at the top of the US establishment. One of the loudest voices against injustice had been lost.

We received this letter from an American comrade, Michael Hureaux, in Seattle.

Not content to wait until his inauguration, President George W. Bush and his administration have already launched an all-out offensive to “reform” the Social Security system. Bush, the Republican Party and their Wall Street cronies are now desperately trying to convince the American public that the nation’s old age and disability pension system is in crisis and that privatization is necessary to save it. Nothing could be further from the truth. The only crisis facing Social Security is a ravenous reactionary government determined to rob millions of their right to retirement in order to swell the coffers of the world’s largest financial banks. From issue 16 of the...

The smashing of the PATCO union in 1981 was the opening salvo in a decades-long assault by the bosses against the airline unions and the labor movement in general. Now the bosses and their government are trying to make an example of the flight attendants and machinists.