The current escalating situation be-tween North Korea and the U.S. — initiated by U.S. provocations — has been moved out of the headlines, replaced by other events. Yet, the deteriorating world economic situation and the intensifying struggle for markets are nevertheless continuing, creating instability and pushing the world toward war. This is the inevitable outcome of the capitalist system as sure as night follows day. The ultimate goal of the U.S. ruling class is to contain China and to consolidate its military, political and economic power throughout the world under the new conditions of today.
The ruling class seeks to win a section of the American people to this vision with the call of national unity, attempting to convince us that the need for sacrifice and austerity are in the best interests of the country. The reality is that the American people have no common interests with this handful of billionaires who rule the country for their own benefit. The April 2013 Pew Research Center study of U.S. Census Data showed that between 2009 and 2011 “the mean net worth of households in the upper 7% of the wealth distribution rose by an estimated 28%, while the mean net worth of households in the lower 93% dropped by 4%.” The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in March of this year the only reason that the unemployment rate dipped was because almost a half million people had stopped looking for work and were not being counted anymore.
The articles in our May/June issue document and analyze these developments from the point of view of our class. The LRNA Standing Committee report “U.S. Political Realignments Rooted in Global Changes” shows how the call for all-American unity is rooted in the needs and demands of the ruling class, not the American people. It examines the much discussed “Rising American Electorate” and realignments in American politics within the context of the goals of the ruling class at home and internationally. It shows that a third party motion is inevitable under today’s conditions, discusses why this is significant and how revolutionaries must participate in this motion to develop the consciousness of our class.
Yet, words alone, without a decent life and future to back it up, will not be sufficient for the ruling class to maintain its control over the American people.
Fascism has already taken hold economically with the merger of the government and the corporations, politically with the radical destruction of political and legal rights, and increasingly socially with the rising culture of violence we see everyday. The article “Democracy: A Revolutionary Cause” examines the roots of these developments and shows that the only solution to this rising fascism is for our class to unite to fight for the political power as a class to create a cooperative society where “each according to need” is the constant guide.
Our cover story “ Michigan’s “Right to Work” Law Demands a Class Response” shows that the passage of a “right to work” law in Michigan in late 2012 was more than simply an attack on the unions of the Rust Belt. It was part of a general assault on the entire working class unleashed after the 2012 presidential election and demands a class response. Backed by some of the same forces that brought Michigan the Emergency Financial Manager legislation, these laws are stripping the workers of their economic and political rights and Michigan workers are fighting back.
People in Michigan and around the country are waking up to the reality that democracy is being dismantled, and our economic and political rights are being defiled. On May 1, immigration marches will take place all over the country. Our statement “Immigration: No One is Illegal” points the way forward: We wage a fight for human rights and equality for everyone. We fight for the unity of the entire working class and fight for the political power of that class to achieve their goal of a good life for themselves and their families.”
The article “May Day 2013” shows that never before has international solidarity arisen from a concrete and objective basis. Electronics, in the process of creating worldwide production with a worldwide working class has raised proletarian internationalism from a moral goal to a relation necessary to the survival of the workers.
The fact that new technology provides the foundation for this new society is explored in the article “Doomed by Technology or Promise of a Bright Future?” It challenges us to think differently about technology. Not to see it simply as a robot or a gadget, but as the totality of our understanding of the world. It is then that we can see technology’s potential for us to create “a world without hunger, or want, without rank, without oppression and war.”
In the end, such a world is fought for and won by human beings. Human beings with heart and a unwavering commitment to the future. “Carpe Diem” commemorates the passing of Sheridan Talbott who dedicated his life to fighting for a future in which all are provided for and none left behind. We mourn his passing, but his life is an example to us all.
May/June 2013. Vol23.Ed3
This article originated in Rally, Comrades!
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