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Socialist Action
is a nation-wide group of revolutionary socialists dedicated to fighting for
a world organized to satisfy human needs, rather than greed. We seek to
revitalize the anti-war, labor, student and other social movements, and to
bring activists together from different backgrounds into a revolutionary
party that can successfully challenge the wealthy elite. As socialists we
seek to understand the theory of Marxism, but as an activist group, we also
seek to put those ideas into practice. That's why on this site you'll find
everything from the writings of Leon Trotsky, to the latest on the struggle
to defend abortion rights.
Check out
Socialist Action’s News Blog!
 What Next for
the Antiwar Movement? The fifth anniversary of the
war and occupation of Iraq came and went in the US with only a tiny
percentage of those opposed to the war mobilized in the streets. Yet in the
hundreds of cities and towns where events occurred it was clear from the
mood of protesters that much more could have been done to organize antiwar
sentiment. continued
Mumia’s Appeal
for a New Trial Rejected: In a shocking
decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected all
Mumia Abu-Jamal's demands for a new trial.
Socialist Action calls on all our readers and supporters to throw
themselves into organizing emergency protests. Actions are being held around the country. Call the NYC Free Mumia Coalition at (212)
330-8029 for East Coast protest info., and the SF
Mobilization to Free Mumia at (510) 268-9429 for West Coast info. You can also find the latest Mumia news
at the Mobe’s website at www.freemumia.org/
The Ongoing
Economic Crisis: Just as even the most bullish economists were
admitting the US is already in a recession, and indications were mounting
that it will be a long-lasting one that could become a full-blown
depression, the first domino in what could be a series of failing financial
institutions toppled. continued
Why Socialist
Feminism? Feminists believe in women being treated as
equals to men and socialists believe that the wealth and resources of the
world should be equally distributed among all people. Clearly these two ideologies have a
similar thread in the fight for equality.
However, with all the feminisms in the world why should anyone be a
socialist feminist? Is capitalism
really all that bad? continued
U.S.
Occupation Sinking in a Sea of Hatred: At a
time when the bills for Bush's adventure in Iraq are being totaled up, the
failed offensive of the U.S. client government at the end of March and the beginning
of April against the Shiite militias identified with the Islamic radical
cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have introvertibly demonstrated that the U.S.
taxpayers’ money has been poured down the drain. Al-Sadr, and his Iranian
advisers, were crafty enough to stop the confrontation with Iraqi
government and occupation military forces before major damage was done to
the resistance forces. continued
Slobodan
Milosevic – Butcher of the Balkans: Yugoslavia
was a federation comprising six Federal Republics: Slovenia, Croatia,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. There were two
Autonomous Provinces, Vojvodina (majority Hungarian population) and Kosovo
(80 per cent Albanian) - both within the Serb Republic. continued
La Vida y
Muerto de Victor Yara: La vida del cantante y
revolucionario Víctor Jara es una historia llena de inspiración, esperanza
y lágrimas. En solamente cuarenta
años hizo muchas cosas, pero quizás más importante fue que a ayudó
desarrollar una tipa de música, que se llama La Nueva Canción, que se
extendió en muchos países en Latina América. Su lucha por justicias para los campesinos y trabajadores de
Chile fue admirable y las letras de sus canciones son poderosas. En fin, él era un hombre sincero,
valiente, y tan creativo que vivió como un poeta y guerrillero. continued
The Iraq War
& the Economy: The New York Times report on
5th-anniversary antiwar protests claimed that "while the banners and
bullhorn rhetoric were strident, the mood among some was pessimistic. 'The
war is not going to end,’ said Bob McGee. 'It doesn't matter who wins the
election. The only thing that's going to stop it is the destruction of the
economy.'" continued
A Reply to
Howard Zinn on the Elections: Howard Zinn, in his column
for “The Progressive” (March 2008), has written a political analysis that
deplores the current “election frenzy.” In its place he offers a guide to
action based on the understanding that presidential elections, in and of
themselves, do very little to solve social problems. Unfortunately, his overall argument is
flawed by its inability to break free from the lure of the two-party system
in general and of the Democrats in particular. continued
Turmoil Erupts
in Tibet: Tibet is again the topic of conversation around the
world. And this time it’s not the
result of some Hollywood movie, but rather the bloody clashes that have
broken out there between Tibetan protesters and Chinese police. While a lot of details are still hazy as
a result of a systematic attempt by Chinese authorities to control the news
coming out of the region, the clashes appear to have begun with a series of
demonstrations organized by Tibetans to mark the 49th
anniversary of the failed 1959 uprising against China. The demonstrations began on March
10. By March 14 the demonstrations
appear to have evolved into riots in which non-ethnic Tibetans were
attacked, and numerous shops, cars and other properties, including a
mosque, were set on fire. continued
U.S. Balancing
Act in Iraq Becoming More Precarious: Despite all the hype about the
effectiveness of "the surge," that is, the deployment of
additional U.S. troops in Iraq, the major U.S. success has been the
achievement of an alliance with local Sunni gangs against al-Qaida and
other insurgents. However, this relationship has been unstable from the
beginning because of a number of basic problems. continued
Labor Notes
Conference: Hundreds of working-class activists are expected to
gather in Dearborn, Mich., April 11-13 for a conference with the theme
“Rebuilding Labor’s Power.” Organized by the widely read monthly Labor
Notes, this event is the latest in a tradition of such conferences, with
topical themes, held every two to three years since the 1980s. continued
Ammunition for
Immigration Activists: Under the North American Free
Trade Agreement and World Trade Organization policies, more than 1.5
million Mexican farmers have lost their sources of income and have been
forced to sell or abandon their farms. Under these U.S.-supported
neo-liberal (so-called free trade) policies, the real purchasing power of
the Mexican minimum wage fell by more than two-thirds from 1980 to
1996. continued
Pakistani
Elections Indicate More Discord Lies Ahead: The landslide victory of the
parties opposed to Pakistani strongman Pervez Musharraf was hardly a
surprise. Opinion polls had been showing 75 percent of the population
opposed to Musharraf, who imposed himself as a military dictator and
subsequently got himself elected president on the basis of his control of
the state. continued
First Open
National Anti-war Conference: The U.S. war and occupation
of Iraq is the central issue in world politics today. The war exposes in
bold relief the fundamental contradictions in U.S. and world capitalism. It
is, simultaneously, an imperialist war of conquest and a geopolitical war
for U.S. hegemony in the region against its imperialist competitors. continued
Is Obama an
“Antiwar” Candidate? Credit Senator Barack Obama
and his staff for running an enormously successful primary campaign.
Shrugging off a disappointing defeat in New Hampshire, he has, by late
February, beaten former frontrunner Hillary Clinton in 11 straight primary
and caucus elections and is poised to capture his party’s nomination for
president. continued
What John McCain
Stands For: A good way to discover the truth is to compare
the mistruths and lies. Recently, the likely Republican presidential
nominee, Senator John McCain, let slip a prediction that the American
military would remain in Iraq “for a hundred years.” continued
Crisis of
Leadership in Immigrant Rights Mov’t: A
month ago, a crowd of 8000 people—almost all immigrant workers from
Danbury—surrounded City Hall here to oppose a motion to deputize police as
local proxies for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It is believed
to have been the largest protest in Danbury since a famous hatters' strike
in 1915. continued
Israel Threatens
War With Gaza: “We know that the Gaza Strip is a small area. It
is open for Israel—they can kill most of the Palestinian people and destroy
everything. The job of the international community is to stop the Israeli
crimes in the Gaza Strip.” continued
Celia Hart on
the Resignation of Fidel Castro: Fidel can give up
being president of the Republic of Cuba. In reality, this is a
responsibility that can be borne by any of the leaders. But Fidel cannot,
even if he wants, cease to be the Commander in Chief of the Cuban
Revolution, even if he is ill and we are only entitled to know what he
wants through his reflections. continued
Neo-Stalinists
Oppose Kosovo Self-Determination: The Serbian chauvinist
protests against the Feb. 17 Kosovo government declaration of independence
and the subsequent recognition of a very limited form of self-determination
of the Kosovar people by the major Western powers have had exactly the
opposite political effect from what the post-Stalinist Serbian politicians
and state authorities that organized them planned. They have been a
dramatic demonstration of why the Western powers had no alternative to permitting
the legal separation of Kosovo from Serbia. continued
What’s Behind
the Economic Crisis? As we
go to press, Bush and Congress appear headed toward agreement on a
“stimulus package” of $146 billion centered on tax cuts of a few hundred
dollars per individual. This measly amount is supposed to revive the
economy and reassure the world’s stock markets. All presidential candidates
left standing have endorsed the package. continued
“A World in
Revolt” Conf. Set for Toronto, May 22-25: You won't want to miss
this. Four days of stimulating,
enriching political education, discussions and debates on the biggest
issues facing humanity. Get set for
an exciting tri-national revolutionary socialist conference titled "A
World in Revolt: Prospects for Socialism in the 21st Century",
to be held in Toronto, Canada, May 22-25, 2008. continued
Kevin Cooper
Files for Court Re-Hearing: The case of innocent African
American San Quentin death row inmate, Kevin Cooper, has carved out over
the last two decades a clear image of the terror the U.S. “criminal justice”
system unleashes on its poor, and predominately Black and Brown citizens. continued
Kenya Explodes: The mass explosion and conflicts
that followed the obvious falsification of the results of the Dec. 27
Kenyan presidential election have raised many questions. But one thing is
absolutely clear. Kenya can no longer be held up by the imperialist
governments and publicists as a model of stability and prosperity for
post-colonial Africa. continued
Gazans Break Out of Their Outdoor
Prison: The Israeli government finally put so much pressure on the
population of Gaza that it triggered an explosion. The Gazan people staged a massive
breakout from their outdoor prison. But there were signs before Palestinian
militants blew up the barriers on the Egyptian border that the Israeli
blockade was becoming untenable. International organizations were raising increasing
alarms about an impending "humanitarian disaster" because of the
Israeli power cuts and blocking of supplies. continued
The Media & Our Broken Health
System: It's entertaining in a morbid sort of way to listen to syndicated
radio host and Fox News personality Sean Hannity discuss the supposed
dangers of government-funded health care. That's because the loquacious Mr.
Hannity's remarks in defense of privatized health care reveal just how
strained the conservative argument has become on the topic. continued
The UAW in the Era of ‘Big Labor’: Few unions concerned themselves
with organizing during the prosperous post-World War II years. The UAW did
little except for raiding other unions in the farm equipment and aerospace
industries. The bureaucratized CIO came to resemble more and more the AFL
they had bolted from, and the two federations reunited in 1955. It became common to speak of “Big Labor”
in the same breath as Big Business. The boss-controlled media did a good
job in presenting the bureaucratized unions as some kind of alien third
party muscling in for a piece of the action. continued
U.S. Antiwar Movement Falters: An international call for March
2008 worldwide protests to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led
invasion of Iraq was issued in London on Dec. 1. The 1200 delegates from 43
nations at the World Against War conference voted unanimously to call on
antiwar movements in every country to organize mass protests demanding that
all troops be withdrawn from Iraq and Afghanistan. They opposed any U.S.
attack on Iran. The broad-based
London call paralleled and reinforced another call by antiwar activist
Cindy Sheehan and other forces in the United States for mass antiwar
demonstrations in March 2008. continued
Why Mass Action: The broad outlines of Socialist
Action's views on the centrality of mass mobilizations in building an
irresistible antiwar movement have been published in previous issues of
this newspaper (see Jeff Mackler's article in our November 2007 issue).
But some additional elaboration can be helpful at a time when activists are
today discussing concrete measures to overcome the present impasse. continued
Chavez’s Defeat in Referendum Opens Up
Debate: The unexpected defeat of the constitutional changes backed by
President Hugo Chavez in the Dec. 2 national referendum has provoked
deep-going discussion in the Venezuelan left. Much of it is expressed on
the website Aporrea, which is operated by a Venezuelan current of
Trotskyist origin linked to the Movimiento Socialista de los Trabajadores
(MST) in Argentina. In general, this current identifies itself with Chavez
but it does offer a broad forum for the left, including groups and
individuals critical of Chavismo. continued
“Charlie Wilson’s War” Celebrates U.S.
Imperialism: “Charlie Wilson’s War” begins
and ends with America’s clandestine establishment honoring Democratic
Congressman Charlie Wilson (played by Tom Hanks) for his successful efforts
to deliver U.S. aid and arms to the Afghan mujahideen in their war against
the Soviet Union during the 1980s. continued
Kenny Richey is Free! In January, the horrors of the
death penalty were exposed when the state of Ohio copped a plea bargain
with death-row inmate Kenny Richey. Richey was sentenced in 1987 to Ohio’s death
row after being convicted for deliberately starting a 1986 fire that left
two-year old Cynthia Collins dead. continued
Review of “The Golden Compass”: On Christmas
Day the New York Times carried yet another chilling
tale of the dangerous impact of religion on our society. It quoted a juror
who had held out for the acquittal of a Black man charged with shooting a
white youth threatening his son on how he was pressured by Bible-thumping fellow
jurors to vote for conviction. One juror said "this government was
founded on the law of Moses,” and that the guilty verdict was "an act
of God" and was reached "through prayer." Jurors prayed out
loud during deliberations. Such a story is not surprising in a country with
a religious fanatic as President; in a country where Presidential
candidates of all parties trip over themselves in their rush to pay tribute
to their deities; and in which the head of science education in Texas
is pushed out for supporting evolution.
continued
Pakistan in the Wake of Bhutto’s Death:
The assassination of Benazir Bhutto is the subject of all sorts of
speculation, even over the basic
facts of her death. On the latter the explanations range from the claim
that she hit her head on a knob (the story of the Musharif government) to
she was zapped by a high-tech laser (the version of one doctor and some of
her supporters). continued
Rightists Build Parallel Government in
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