1.
Notwithstanding the limitations imposed on it by its own time, there is no doubt that the American Revolution was a progressive event of a world-historic character. It raised a question mark over slavery, which now, for the first time in world history, had to be consciously defended. The revolution abolished monarchy in the US, along with the remnants of feudal conceptions of property, such as primogeniture, entail and inheritance of public offices. It laid out in its great founding documents, the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Constitution (1787) and the Bill of Rights (1789) the basic principles of democratic society— including basic rights such as freedom of speech, right to a jury trial and the prohibition of arbitrary imprisonment, torture and deportation. It proclaimed these rights to be the inherent or “natural” property of all people—not something that is “bestowed” or can be taken away by tyrannical government. Most crucially, as the Declaration spells out, it is the right and duty of the people to abolish a government when it “becomes destructive of these ends.”
2. Britain's ruling class versus striking Birmingham bin workers-- what conclusions can be drawn?
Rippert:
State repression and the escalation of war are not the result of the wrong policies of one politician or another. They follow a political logic— the logic of capitalism.
Worldwide, governments and financial elites can only maintain their power and wealth through authoritarian methods.
They are sitting on a powder keg. Anger is growing everywhere over the gulf between rich and poor. Social cuts and mass layoffs are imminent. The costs of war are to be passed on to the workers, and young people are to be sacrificed as cannon fodder.
The majority of the population rejects this pro-war policy. That is why those in power are increasingly attacking democratic rights. Their policy of repression is not an expression of strength, but of weakness. They are defending tooth and claw a social system that has failed and produces nothing but misery and war.
Homelessness is not a market opportunity. It is the brutal consequence of a social and economic system— capitalism— that subordinates all human needs to the pursuit of profit. And until that system is overturned, every “solution” offered... no matter how well-branded, will only deepen the problem.
The fact of the matter is that American imperialism, both under Democratic and Republican presidents, has been preparing for years for a regime-change war to topple the bourgeois-clerical regime in Tehran and bring to power a puppet government entirely under Washington’s thumb. Preparations to carry this out have intensified dramatically over the past 18 months, while the US under Biden and then Trump has provided unflinching support for Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians. Throughout, Washington has viewed Israel’s rampage on multiple fronts in the Occupied Territories, Lebanon, Syria and beyond as a key component of a broader push to redraw the map of the Middle East so as to secure US hegemony against its rivals in the energy-rich and strategically critical region, above all China and Russia.
The strikes were the deadliest action ordered by President Donald Trump since the administration began an intensified bombing campaign last month in retaliation for Houthi attacks on Israel related to the Gaza genocide and US ships in the Red Sea.
11. Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific:
- Nepal:
Nation-wide strike by teachers fighting for better pay and conditions enters its second week
- India:
Karnataka truck owners end indefinite strike over diesel and toll prices
Mizoram state government workers employed in Centrally Sponsored Schemes demand permanent jobs
Accredited Social Health Activists workers' strike in Kerala enters its third month
Demanding higher wages from textiles manufacturers, Tamil Nadu power loom workers and owners strike
- Pakistan:
Punjab health workers protest again over privatization
- Bangladesh:
Apparel workers block a highway to oppose a garment factory closure and to demand unpaid wages
US tariffs on Bangladeshi garment exports, particularly the recent 37 percent tariff, are expected to have a devastating impact on the garment industry. The tariffs threaten to significantly reduce garment orders from US buyers, leading to factory closures, job losses, and a decline in household incomes.
- Australia:
Public transportation bus mechanics in Sydney strike for higher pay
Public transportation bus drivers continue industrial action in Newcastle
Fire Rescue Victoria administrative and technical staff strike for a pay rise
St Mary’s Community Health workers in Tasmania strike over workload
Brewery workers in Queensland strike again for a pay rise and protection of existing conditions
- New Zealand:
New Zealand public health doctors prepare to strike
Internationally, major artistic figures such as Roger Waters and Ai Wei Wei as well as historians such as Mario Kessler and Christian Gerlach have supported the campaign to free Bogdan Syrotiuk. Many political tendencies have also condemned his imprisonment and called for his release, despite their political differences with the Trotskyist movement. These include Jill Stein from the Greens in the United States, and several groups and websites in Russia and Turkey. Most recently, the website of the Socialist Laborer Party in Turkey, and that of the Partisan Defense Committee, which is affiliated with the Spartacist tendency, have issued statements in support of Bogdan.
25. Free Ukrainian socialist and anti-war activist, Bogdan Syrotiuk!
26. San Francisco, California city legal resources for immigrants needing help
22. Please Join an International Online May Day Rally!
On Saturday, May 3, the International Committee of the Fourth International and the World Socialist Web Site will hold an annual International Online May Day Rally, uniting workers from across the globe in the fight against fascism, dictatorship, and war.
The return of Donald Trump to office marks a turning point in the global crisis of capitalism. His administration has rapidly advanced a fascistic agenda, dismantling democratic rights, escalating attacks on immigrants, launching a trade war, and preparing for military conflicts throughout the world. A chilling crackdown on student activists for opposing the genocide in Gaza has seen hundreds targeted, including Mahmoud Khalil, Momodou Taal, and Rümeysa Öztürk, who have faced arrests, deportation threats, and visa revocations for their courageous protests.
Backed by billionaires like Elon Musk, Trump embodies the oligarchic rule driving staggering inequality and imperialist aggression. Trump’s policies reflect the global shift of capitalist governments toward authoritarianism in the service of oligarchy— from Germany’s AfD to Italy’s Meloni and Argentina’s Milei. The ruling class worldwide is responding to the economic crisis and social opposition with militarism and repression.
These developments underscore the urgent need for a unified international movement of the working class, which is increasingly mobilizing against war, inequality, and repression. This year’s May Day rally will present a socialist program to unify workers internationally in the struggle against capitalism. It will outline a revolutionary perspective to end imperialist violence and build a society based on equality and human need.
