The Empire Strikes Back

In our last issue of Spartacist, we warned of tough times ahead. Looking at the world right now, that prognosis couldn’t have been truer. It is clear to everyone that with the election of Donald Trump the world is experiencing massive shifts. What isn’t clear is why and what to do about it. This current Spartacist is a product of the ICL’s latest International Executive Committee plenum. The purpose of the plenum and this Spartacist, in particular the main memorandum “U.S. Imperialism Turns the Screws”, is to cut through all the confusion and hysteria that has been rampant since Trump’s election by taking stock of the changing world situation, how these changes reflect the needs of U.S. imperialism, and to orient revolutionaries in this current period.

The U.S. imperialist rulers are on the offensive, hellbent on shoring up their slipping global position. For this, they are ripping up the previous liberal world order, putting the squeeze on their domestic working class, their allies and the Global South and setting their sights on war with China. With all this on the horizon the question posed is: will U.S. imperialism be defeated or will it be allowed to wreak devastation upon the working class and oppressed of the world? The answer to this depends on the orientation of the workers movement in the coming period.

While the U.S. tightens the noose, we put forward that in order to weather this imperialist onslaught, the working class must take a defensive position. Workers everywhere must brace for impact and wage defensive struggles to protect their livelihoods and make sure that the U.S. rulers do not take any more out of the hide of the working class than they already have. With this in mind it is essential that the left break out of its petty-bourgeois academic bubble where most Marxist organizations have their base, and go to the working class. Workers need leaders that can actually prepare them for the attacks to come and lead their struggles to victory (see “For Revolutionary Work in the Trade Unions,”).

Right now, the working class is weighed down by divisions according to race, nationality, gender, etc., all facilitated by the bourgeoisie and reinforced by the treacherous union leadership, to make sure that when the shoe drops, the working class will tear itself apart instead of fighting the source of all its misery: U.S. imperialism. It is imperative that the left combat these divisions, by connecting the fight against special oppression to that of the working class. The left must build its influence in the workers movement in order for Marxism to be seen as a viable alternative and not just a wild pipe dream. This is why turning to the working class is a key perspective for the ICL. Reflecting this we had a panel on our modest but important work in the trade unions at our plenum.

In the Global South, where there is no fat to cut, an offensive by the U.S. will have devastating consequences that will likely provoke massive social explosions. In many countries, all it takes is a spark for massive explosions to erupt. The question is: will these be directed against the imperialists or will workers turn the guns against each other? This all depends on the question of leadership. Our job is to counterpose an anti-imperialist proletarian strategy to that of the national bourgeoisie who, no matter how they posture, will always hold back the revolutionary energy of the masses. Turning to the Global South is another one of our orientations in the coming period. With this in mind, our plenum included a panel on our work in the Global South, with several contributions making their way into this issue of Spartacist.

As the U.S. targets China, the defense of the People’s Republic is needed now more than ever. But as the article “China: Do Nothing, Lose” lays out, this requires fighting the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) strategy of clinging to the dying liberal world order. In this vein we have written an open letter to the CPC laying out a program on the best way to defend the workers state. And as the article on the national oppression in China makes clear, taking up the fight of the oppressed nationalities in China, against the Han chauvinism of the CPC, is essential to unite the masses against U.S. imperialism and defend China.

The article “South Asian Powder Keg” shows how U.S. imperialists will exacerbate the fractures in the region, leaving it more vulnerable to the coming crises and attacks. True unity can only be built through resistance to U.S. imperialism. Overcoming the divisions of the subcontinent requires opposing both imperialism and its nationalist lackeys. At the heart of this struggle is the need to uphold the rights of all oppressed peoples within each country, earning their trust and fostering solidarity among neighboring nations to collectively resist imperialist aggression. This is our aim with our recent statement on Kashmir, a flashpoint in the tensions between India and Pakistan which poses the threat of nuclear war. As Kashmir faces the threat of genocide, the only way out is for the Indian and Pakistani masses to champion the freedom of Kashmir and forge working-class unity across borders.

Latin America is in the front line of Trump’s attacks. In Mexico the working class is being lulled to sleep by its leaders, being told to join hands with the government and national bourgeoisie, who will not hesitate to sell them out to Trump when the time comes. In Argentina, Trump is looking at Milei’s regime as the type of shock therapy that he would like to apply to the rest of the neocolonial world. But the Peronist trade unions are sabotaging the fight against Milei and imperialism, and the left refuses to wage an actual struggle in the working class to fight for a different leadership.

West Asia is racked by explosive conflicts. The main one has obviously been Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians. The article “After October 7: Where Are We Now?” takes stock of the Palestinian struggle and shows how its leaders have led the movement to defeat. Gaza has been decimated and Netanyahu has no plans to give up on his genocidal war. The pro-Palestinian movement must regroup radically. The strategy of Hamas, the Axis of Resistance and the international protest movements cannot stop the Zionist genocide because it is based on illusions in the Muslim regimes and futile appeals to the “international community,” rather than on the class struggle.

Massive protests have rocked Türkiye following the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. As the article “Down With Erdoğan! Down With NATO!” makes clear, the struggle against authoritarianism needs to be linked with the fight against imperialist subjugation, which is responsible for the current economic devastation of Türkiye and breeds regimes like Erdoğan’s. This struggle must be tied to the fight for Kurdish independence, which just suffered a massive betrayal by its leaders’ capitulation to imperialism (see “Öcalan, Rojava: No to the Betrayal!”).

As Trump tears up the liberal order, Ireland will be squeezed and national tensions in the North will once more flare up. To overcome the deep sectarian divide between Protestants and Catholics, fostered for centuries by British imperialism, and to advance the struggle for true Irish freedom, only Marxism can offer a solution. A motion, reprinted in this issue (“For a United Irish Workers Republic!”) was passed at the plenum to make this perspective a reality. It represents a major line change for the Spartacist tendency, reflecting our reorientation on the national question and permanent revolution.

The ICL’s third major orientation is toward the Marxist left. In his presentation to the plenum, comrade Perrault explained how “it is essential to situate our small International within the political context and understand how we can advance our broader goals, starting from current objective conditions.” The Marxist left worldwide is weak, discredited and often has little influence on the struggles of the working class. The main reason for this is that, during the post-Soviet period, it failed to center its tasks on the struggle against the U.S. liberal world order (see “U.S. Hegemony and the Crisis of the Revolutionary Movement,”). In the current period of imperialist offensives, this task remains essential for the struggle of the oppressed, and for the forging of revolutionary unity among Marxists.

Forward to a reforged Fourth International!