Aidan Beatty's new book is not a biography, but rather a political diatribe against Gerry Healy and Trotskyism.
Top Stories
The following letter was sent by Steve Long, a former member of the Socialist Labour League/Workers Revolutionary Party who writes for the World Socialist Web Site as Stefan Steinberg.
Perspective
Oppose the persecution of Momodou Taal! Mobilize the working class to defend democratic rights!
The move to suspend and deport Taal is part of a broader assault on democratic rights under conditions of escalating global war.
Barely an hour after Netanyahu finished speaking, his regime demonstrated the genocidal content of his war vow, as huge explosions reduced residential apartment buildings to rubble in heavily-populated southern Beirut.
Certain artists are demonstrating principle in the face of the world-historical crimes of Israel and its imperialist backers.
Powerful factions of the NATO ruling classes aim to provoke a Russian retaliation, hoping the shock at home will create political conditions to launch a Europe-wide war on Russia.
The size and intensity of the storm, as well as its duration over land, must be attributed to the impact of climate change.
With the possibility of Trump winning the presidency in November very real, Starmer was intent on making clear to Britain’s ruling elite that Labour would do whatever it takes to defend the specific interests on British imperialism under all conditions.
Hours after Trump promised to carry out mass deportations of legal immigrants, Harris, who has yet to visit Springfield, Ohio, flew to the US-Mexico border wall where she pledged to adopt virtually all of the Republicans' anti-immigrant agenda.
The cruel treatment of refugees housed at the former Berlin-Tegel airport throws a spotlight on the alleged concern for people in war zones.
This is a repeat in reverse of the same maneuvers conducted between 2022 through 2023 when the contract for the West Coast ports expired.
Five death row inmates were put to death in the US over the past week, a pace unprecedented since July 2003. With the deaths of Freddie Owens, Travis Mullis, Marcellus Williams, Emmanuel Littlejohn and Alan Miller, the US has now executed 1,600 people since the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976.
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.
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.
"We must fight for Bogdan's freedom!"
Ukrainian youth speaks out in support of Bogdan Syrotiuk
This statement in support of Bogdan Syrotiuk was submitted to the WSWS by a Ukrainian youth who fled the war and is now working and studying in Germany.
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.
New release from Mehring Books
Sounding the Alarm: Socialism Against War, by David North
This September, Mehring Books published the speeches delivered by David North at the ICFI's Online May Day celebrations over the past decade. The speeches are a timely year-by-year analysis of the relentless escalation of imperialist militarism and the growing danger of a nuclear third world war.
Plan to use long-range NATO missiles against Russia threatens uncontrolled escalation of global war
Despite claims by the US media that Russia's threats of retaliation are a "bluff," attacks on Russia with NATO weapons would trigger a massive escalation of the war.
The state murder of Marcellus Williams and the fight to abolish the death penalty
The continued existence of the death penalty in the United States is yet another confirmation of the criminality and violence of the capitalist political and economic system, which oozes filth out of every pore.
Socialist Equality Party (Australia) completes campaign to win 1,500 electoral members
The campaign has revealed a growing constituency of workers and young people seeking a genuine political alternative to the capitalist programs of Labor, Liberal, and the Greens.
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.
Trump fascists continue terror campaign against Haitian immigrants with racist X post
In response to a nonprofit Haitian immigrant group filing criminal charges against Trump and Vance, Higgins posted a racist statement on X accusing Haitians of “eating pets” and to get “their ass out of our country before January 20th.”
What’s behind the Teamsters’ decision not to endorse in the presidential election
While the union presents itself as staying neutral, the decision is a de facto endorsement of Trump. A real fight against fascism requires an independent movement of the working class against both parties and the pro-corporate bureaucracy.
After Vice President Harris doubles down on global war and genocide in Gaza, Uncommitted Movement commits to electing Harris
Resolving to continue working within, and for, the Democratic Party, in a statement issued last week, leaders of the group urged followers to “block Trump” and “avoid third-party candidates.”
Kamala Harris courts the billionaires
While professing to defend the “middle class,” Harris, like Donald Trump, is a defender of corporate America and the dictatorship of Wall Street over working people.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams charged with bribery
Eric Adams, the Democratic mayor of law and order whose administration has been engulfed by corruption charges, faces five counts of taking bribes and committing fraud.
SMART union endorses fascist Republican Senator Josh Hawley
Hawley, a major co-conspirator in the January 6, 2021 attempt to overturn the election, is a leading figure in the Republicans’ attempts to make a right-wing populist appeal to workers.
Biden-Harris administration intensifies economic war against China
New bans on Chinese software have been announced, citing “national security” concerns.
More information emerges about would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh
Despite a rap sheet a mile long, Routh was able to freely travel to Ukraine, recruit mercenaries for the war effort, return to the US, acquire a high powered rifle and come within 500 yards of the former president.
The Sri Lankan elections: JVP assumes responsibility for defending capitalism amid a deepening revolutionary crisis
The election of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake as Sri Lanka’s executive president is a major international event that warrants careful examination.
Sri Lankan big business rushes to congratulate new president
The rapacious Sri Lankan elites see the IMF’s harsh austerity demands as encouraging greater foreign direct investment and expanding their opportunities for boosting profits.
New Sri Lankan president calls snap elections
Dissanayake wants to establish a “stable” government with a clear parliamentary majority in order to carry out the harsh austerity measures dictated by the IMF.
JVP/NPP leader elected as new president of Sri Lanka
The dramatic increase in the vote for the JVP/NPP is a product of two inter-related processes—the seething hostility and anger of broad layers of the population over the social crisis; and support for the JVP/NPP in sections of the ruling class as the means for suppressing that opposition.
Japan stages provocative naval transit through Taiwan Strait
The sailing of a warship through the strait, a first by Japan, goes hand-in-hand with Tokyo’s ongoing remilitarization and involvement in the US-led war preparations against China.
Meeting: 8 October
IYSSE at Western Sydney University initiates Special General Meeting against genocide and war
We successfully initiated this meeting after gaining nearly 300 signatures from WSU students to petition the Student Representative Council to call the SGM.
Reject sellout of Wellington, New Zealand rail workers!
The three-year deal recommended by the RMTU to more than 400 rail workers is a wage cut relative to the soaring cost of living.
Police killings in New Caledonia as Macron installs far-right administration
French police shot and killed two Kanak militants in New Caledonia as pro-independence groups seek talks with Macron’s far-right government in Paris.
Grangemouth refinery in Scotland to close, with hundreds of jobs lost
Workers at the Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland are posed with taking the struggle to defend their livelihoods out of the hands of the trade union apparatus and official and government bodies claiming to represent their interests.
IAM leaders work with Boeing and federal mediator to shut down strike as official “talks” resume
“I think the IAM leadership is trying to smooth this out because they have multiple strikes going on,” one veteran worker told the WSWS.
Stellantis Warren Truck worker: “If we don’t fight now, they are going to take our jobs”
With less than two weeks before Stellantis lays off 2,500 workers at Warren Truck, a veteran autoworker is calling for an all-out fight to defend jobs.
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
India: Sacked Maruti Suzuki workers demand reinstatement; Samsung electronics workers in Tamil Nadu strike; Qantas maintenance engineers strike at Melbourne Airport; New Zealand health workers protest hospital cuts
In the face of police provocation, brutality and mass arrests
Thousands in New York City protest Netanyahu and the bombing of Lebanon
In the last few days, New York City police arrested scores protesters against the bombing of Lebanon and the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations General Assembly.
As protests mount, Cornell University VP of Student Life rejects Momodou Taal’s appeal of suspension
Students and supporters of Taal held a demonstration in front of the Cornell University administration building Wednesday to demand the immediate rescinding of his suspension for his protest against the Gaza genocide and banning from the campus as a violation of his basic rights.
No to the Gaza genocide, mobilize workers against Spanish state complicity!
Friday's nationwide protest against the Gaza genocide must become the point of departure for a struggle by workers and youth, independent of Podemos and the union bureaucracies, to .stop the arming of Israel and the genocide in Gaza.
Cornell student suspended and threatened with deportation for protesting Gaza genocide
Momodou Taal, an international graduate student and instructor, has been suspended without due process by the Cornell University administration for his participation in the campus protests against the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
As US prepares to allow NATO weapons to strike Russia, Putin threatens nuclear retaliation
Amid ongoing high-level meetings between NATO leaders and Ukrainian officials at the United Nations over plans to allow Ukraine to strike Russian cities with NATO weapons, Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined Wednesday a proposed update to Russia’s nuclear policy document that would expand the conditions under which Russia would use nuclear weapons.
German government readies further war package for Ukraine
According to media reports, the German government is preparing another massive arms package for Ukraine, worth 1.4 billion euros.
Massive explosion at Russian arms depot leaves unanswered questions
The explosion marked one of the largest strikes on a Russian arms depot since the start of the war. The arsenal in Toropets, located 300 miles north of Ukraine and 230 miles west of Moscow, reportedly housed long-range missiles and glide bombs.
Berlin supports US-British missile plans against Russia
At a joint press conference with his Lithuanian counterpart Lurynas Kasčiūnas last Friday, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius claimed that the use of long-range NATO weapons against targets on Russian territory was covered by international law.
Israeli government rejects calls for ceasefire in war on Lebanon
Sixty people were killed in total in the latest 24-hour period reported by the Lebanese authorities, and 81 injured, taking the total killed since Monday to more than 600, roughly a quarter of them women and children.
Israeli military threatens ground invasion of Lebanon amid expanding air assault
Top Israeli military officials threatened a ground invasion as the war against Lebanon intensified on Wednesday, with more than 280 air strikes across the country that killed at least 81 people.
Israel vows to intensify onslaught on Lebanon as danger of region-wide war grows
A senior Israeli Air Force officer stated that the bombardment of Lebanon since Monday was the most extensive ever carried out in the air force’s history, according to the Times of Israel. Over 1,600 sites were struck using over 2,000 munitions.
Israel massively expands Middle East war, killing nearly 500 in Lebanon
Israel launched a massive strike on Lebanon Monday, killing 492 people, including 35 children, 58 women, and two medics in over a thousand separate airstrikes.
Britain’s Jewish Chronicle exposed as propaganda outlet for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
This has opened up questions about the secrecy of the JC’s ownership and funding, something previously unheard of in the British newspaper industry.
Corbynites moot new party
The right-wing evolution of Labour into such a naked party of big business and imperialist war was not reversed by Corbyn’s leadership and cannot be answered by the formation of what would essentially be a Labour Party Mark II.
Austria: Anti-refugee hate campaign dominates elections
According to opinion polls, the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) could emerge as the strongest party in this Sunday’s elections to the National Council, Austria’s parliament.
Intel halts construction of chip factory in Magdeburg, Germany
Chipmaker Intel has put the construction of its €30 billion factory in the southwest of Magdeburg on hold and postponed the start of construction by two years.
Relentless attempts to suppress the truth about Israeli crimes: Conflict at New York’s 92NY and, in the face of attacks, the Emmy victory of Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda
The relentless character of the homicidal Israeli-US war is accompanied by an equally relentless campaign to deny the reality of the genocide and shield the perpetrators.
Toronto International Film Festival screens Russians at War amid ongoing government-backed, pro-Ukraine war censorship campaign
The far-right Ukrainian Canadian Congress, backed by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and threats of violence by outright fascists, has sought to censor the film because it portrays ordinary Russian soldiers in a humane manner.
San Francisco Symphony Chorus holds three-day strike, forcing cancellation of season opener
The chorus consists primarily of unpaid volunteers. Out of over 150 members, only 32 are paid for their work.
SAG-AFTRA has no strategy to defeat ravages of AI and other technologies
SAG-AFTRA has fully accepted the fact that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will destroy thousands of jobs, and entire professions, and is simply looking for a face-saving way of ending the current strike.
As protests mount, Cornell University VP of Student Life rejects Momodou Taal’s appeal of suspension
Students and supporters of Taal held a demonstration in front of the Cornell University administration building Wednesday to demand the immediate rescinding of his suspension for his protest against the Gaza genocide and banning from the campus as a violation of his basic rights.
PQ sets tone for Quebec establishment with anti-immigrant incitement
With the unions suppressing the class struggle, the Parti Québécois has gained political traction by whipping up chauvinist hostility to immigrants.
Missouri governor and Supreme Court refuse to halt the execution of Marcellus Williams, an innocent man on death row
The governor of Missouri and state Supreme Court refused Monday to halt the execution of death row inmate Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams. Williams, 55, has spent almost a quarter-century on death row for a crime he did not commit.
Maternal mortality rates soar in Texas after abortion ban
Maternal mortality rates have soared in Texas after the abortion ban went into effect.
While over 1 million Americans continue to be infected with COVID each day
Study shows that COVID-19 causes cognitive decline among those without long COVID symptoms
Significantly, infected controls did not report any symptoms related to these cognitive deficits, indicating that potentially billions of people worldwide with a history of COVID-19, but no symptoms of long COVID, could have persistent cognitive issues without knowing it.
Study by international researchers zeroes in on the natural origin of the COVID pandemic
The latest research deals a devastating blow to the fascistic conspiracy theory claiming the virus was created in a Chinese lab in Wuhan.
As over 1 million Americans continue to be infected with COVID-19 each day
New studies show growing risk of chronic neurological diseases associated with Long COVID
The 9th wave of the pandemic and new research into the neurological effects of Long COVID have firmly established the criminality of the "forever COVID" policy.
Brazil faces new wave of the pandemic amid shortage of COVID-19 vaccines
The Workers Party government has failed to inform the population about the latest wave of the pandemic in Brazil, while continuing to misinform it about the science of COVID-19.
Turkish government’s Medium Term Program: A frontal attack on the social conditions of the working class
The program, which focuses on maintaining fiscal discipline to reduce inflation and close the budget deficit, shows that the attacks on the living and working conditions of the working class will continue and deepen.
What does Turkey’s application to join BRICS mean?
The discussion of Turkey's possible membership of BRICS comes amid US authorisation for Ukraine to strike deep into Russia with NATO long-range weapons, bringing the two nuclear-armed powers to the brink of direct war.
Erdoğan welcomes al-Sisi to Turkey for the first time in the shadow of the Gaza genocide
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.
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.
Some revealing comments on the state of the global economy
European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde said the world economy faced pressures similar to those of the 1920s.
US Fed announces large rate cut, but Wall Street wants more
The move was significant given that in July Powell said the Fed was not even considering a 50 basis point reduction.
Total capitulation by US Federal Reserve on bank regulation
Proposed measures gutted after an intense campaign by major banks employing nearly 500 lobby groups.
World’s two biggest economies show recessionary trends
US labour market contracts and deflation spreads in China.
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.
This week in history: September 23–29
Pinochet extradition hearing; US Trotskyists rally against police killing; Soviet atomic bomb; Assyrian Christians forced out of Turkey
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.
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.
Forest fires engulf the entire Amazon basin
Forest fires have consumed tens of millions of hectares in the Amazon basin this year, due to global warming, an extreme two-year drought, and illegal burning of forests and pastures.
Union prepares to suppress opposition to GM’s job cuts in Brazil
Against the illusions promoted by the union, GM workers showed their determination to fight by voting down two contract proposals at Monday’s mass assembly.
US-backed opposition in Venezuela suffers further setbacks after its candidate fled to Spain
The Biden administration has responded with relative quiescence to recent setbacks in its effort to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro, prioritizing the uninterrupted flow of oil.
Peru’s coup regime imposes national mourning for ex-dictator Alberto Fujimori
Just as Washington backed Fujimori as a defender of big business interests and vehement anti-communist, so today it supports the illegitimate Boluarte regime, including with military aid and training.
China’s economic ascendancy in Africa threatens US imperialism
China has supplanted the United States and the European Union as Africa’s main trading and investment partner.
Kenyan trade unions shut down aviation workers’ strike in one of Africa’s largest airports
The airport contributes more than $9.5 billion to the economy annually—around 4.6 percent of Kenya’s GDP. The unions, however, had no intention of fully leveraging workers’ power.
Strike wave erupts across Kenya despite trade unions’ attempt to strangle it
The working class is confronting a supposed “broad-based” government—a newly installed coalition of President William Ruto and his United Kenya Party and the main opposition party—that is committed to IMF austerity and enjoys the backing of the bureaucrats who run the Central Organization of Trade Unions.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A comment on David North’s review: Biography as demonology: Aidan Beatty’s The Party is Always Right: The Untold Story of Gerry Healy and British Trotskyism
The following letter was sent by Steve Long, a former member of the Socialist Labour League/Workers Revolutionary Party who writes for the World Socialist Web Site as Stefan Steinberg.
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.
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 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.
Oppose the persecution of Momodou Taal! Mobilize the working class to defend democratic rights!
The move to suspend and deport Taal is part of a broader assault on democratic rights under conditions of escalating global war.
Plan to use long-range NATO missiles against Russia threatens uncontrolled escalation of global war
Despite claims by the US media that Russia's threats of retaliation are a "bluff," attacks on Russia with NATO weapons would trigger a massive escalation of the war.
The state murder of Marcellus Williams and the fight to abolish the death penalty
The continued existence of the death penalty in the United States is yet another confirmation of the criminality and violence of the capitalist political and economic system, which oozes filth out of every pore.
Biden delivers warmongering tirade at the United Nations
On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden delivered a warmongering rant at the United Nations, demanding an escalation of war against Russia and Iran, and threatening China.
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.