Fast moving events in the Ukraine have revealed imperialist intentions much more clearly for revolutionary movements across the globe. In the US, organizations within the people’s movement regard recent US imperialist machinations as part of capitalism’s march towards war. The League of Revolutionaries for a New America (LRNA) looks at those ominous developments in the context of the developing capitalist crisis. Contrary to what bourgeois analysts contend, the global economy has not recovered from the capitalist crisis of 2007-2008. A cursory look at the serious economic and political conditions of multiple states within the European Union (EU) is ample proof of that. One could also add the sorry state of affairs of sub-Saharan Africa and much of Asia, in case anyone still has doubt about a sober reading of the global capitalist crisis. We are not too far from another deep economic and financial crisis.
The current crisis essentially stems from the development in the advanced capitalist countries from production based on electro-mechanical machinery to one that is increasingly based on electronics and robotics. This development in the production process has lessened the need for human labor, which is being displaced with computers and robotics. Concomitant with this development is the migration of production to low-wage areas where possible. This double assault on the value of human labor has cheapened it to a point that human beings have been increasingly unable to purchase the supply of commodities that are being produced worldwide. In other words, more millions of humans are dying of hunger and more millions live under the line of poverty than was the case 30 years ago. The uprisings in the Arab world had much to do with the deteriorating economic situation of the respective Arab populations in Tunisia and Egypt, for instance, where poverty has crushed 40 percent of the population in the case of Egypt alone.
The scramble for markets and natural resources is in the first instance a consequence of the unfolding capitalist crisis. Since the demise of the USSR the US has sought to relegate a disintegrating giant to the role of supplier of natural resources controlled by the lone hegemon. With much of the world turning (un)willingly towards the US, the latter would have been able to ultimately bring China to its knees or so had been the dominant thinking in the US.
But the winds have shifted contrary to the desires of the sailing ship of US imperialism. In the past ten years the Russian Federation has emerged out of its emaciated period under Boris Yeltsin as a challenger to the US role in the world. The BRICS countries, a serious capitalist bloc against US plans for economic domination, made it clear that they no longer were willing to play the game under the old rules. Instead, they want to change the rules of the game to have an equal chance in succeeding in the game of global capitalism.
Recent events from Latin America to the Ukraine make more sense if viewed in that context. The world is polarizing along two lines: (1) depending upon their ruling class interests states are choosing positions. For instance, Saudi Arabia is clearly in the US camp, while Syria is on the opposite side. (2) In a revolutionary situation as is currently the case in several Arab states (Tunisia and Egypt are cases in point), political movements in the respective countries worldwide are lining up with or against US empire. Witness for instance the current situation in Venezuela, Lebanon, or Egypt.
Depending on the outcome of the respective struggles in each country, a country might move in either direction. It is interesting to note that some states, Turkey or Egypt, for example, might vacillate between both camps, depending upon the push or pull of the various political groups within the country as well as the external pressures brought to bear upon such countries.
Under present global conditions revolutionaries across the globe have specific tasks. First, a sound analysis of the situation in their respective countries in the context of global conditions is essential. Second, based on an estimate of the situation in their respective countries, devising a strategy to achieve the strategic goals become of the utmost importance. Third, there is no alternative to forming an international for the revolutionary movements worldwide. Fourth, educating their respective populations while engaged in daily struggles constitute the nuts and bolts for all of the above points. The main thing is to move the world away from the war danger towards which it is inexorably being pushed. Humanity has no interest in the game of capitalist globalization, which is currently being played.
Fast moving events in the Ukraine have revealed imperialist intentions much more clearly for revolutionary movements across the globe. In the US, organizations within the people’s movement regard recent US imperialist machinations as part of capitalism’s march towards war. The League of Revolutionaries for a New America (LRNA) looks at those ominous developments in the context of the developing capitalist crisis. Contrary to what bourgeois analysts contend, the global economy has not recovered from the capitalist crisis of 2007-2008. A cursory look at the serious economic and political conditions of multiple states within the European Union (EU) is ample proof of that. One could also add the sorry state of affairs of sub-Saharan Africa and much of Asia, in case anyone still has doubt about a sober reading of the global capitalist crisis. We are not too far from another deep economic and financial crisis.
The current crisis essentially stems from the development in the advanced capitalist countries from production based on electro-mechanical machinery to one that is increasingly based on electronics and robotics. This development in the production process has lessened the need for human labor, which is being displaced with computers and robotics. Concomitant with this development is the migration of production to low-wage areas where possible. This double assault on the value of human labor has cheapened it to a point that human beings have been increasingly unable to purchase the supply of commodities that are being produced worldwide. In other words, more millions of humans are dying of hunger and more millions live under the line of poverty than was the case 30 years ago. The uprisings in the Arab world had much to do with the deteriorating economic situation of the respective Arab populations in Tunisia and Egypt, for instance, where poverty has crushed 40 percent of the population in the case of Egypt alone.
The scramble for markets and natural resources is in the first instance a consequence of the unfolding capitalist crisis. Since the demise of the USSR the US has sought to relegate a disintegrating giant to the role of supplier of natural resources controlled by the lone hegemon. With much of the world turning (un)willingly towards the US, the latter would have been able to ultimately bring China to its knees or so had been the dominant thinking in the US.
But the winds have shifted contrary to the desires of the sailing ship of US imperialism. In the past ten years the Russian Federation has emerged out of its emaciated period under Boris Yeltsin as a challenger to the US role in the world. The BRICS countries, a serious capitalist bloc against US plans for economic domination, made it clear that they no longer were willing to play the game under the old rules. Instead, they want to change the rules of the game to have an equal chance in succeeding in the game of global capitalism.
Recent events from Latin America to the Ukraine make more sense if viewed in that context. The world is polarizing along two lines: (1) depending upon their ruling class interests states are choosing positions. For instance, Saudi Arabia is clearly in the US camp, while Syria is on the opposite side. (2) In a revolutionary situation as is currently the case in several Arab states (Tunisia and Egypt are cases in point), political movements in the respective countries worldwide are lining up with or against US empire. Witness for instance the current situation in Venezuela, Lebanon, or Egypt.
Depending on the outcome of the respective struggles in each country, a country might move in either direction. It is interesting to note that some states, Turkey or Egypt, for example, might vacillate between both camps, depending upon the push or pull of the various political groups within the country as well as the external pressures brought to bear upon such countries.
Under present global conditions revolutionaries across the globe have specific tasks. First, a sound analysis of the situation in their respective countries in the context of global conditions is essential. Second, based on an estimate of the situation in their respective countries, devising a strategy to achieve the strategic goals become of the utmost importance. Third, there is no alternative to forming an international for the revolutionary movements worldwide. Fourth, educating their respective populations while engaged in daily struggles constitute the nuts and bolts for all of the above points. The main thing is to move the world away from the war danger towards which it is inexorably being pushed. Humanity has no interest in the game of capitalist globalization, which is currently being played.
