The trial involving Martin Shkreli has ended. He is the entrepreneur who bought the rights to a cheap life-saving drug for the treatment of AIDS and cancer and increased its price 5,000%. Shkreli has shown the real morality of capitalism, where profit is king and to hell with everything else.
The Trump administration faces its biggest crisis yet following a string of major political scandals. Having fired the FBI Director, James Comey, the President himself is now embroiled in accusations that he and his team have links to the Kremlin. The overall result is an unprecedented level of instability for the US Establishment.
The Trump administration and the Republicans in Congress suffered defeat as their proposal to “repeal and replace Obamacare” disintegrated. Historically speaking, a new President has the most momentum in his first 100 days. Trump has been president less than 65 days—with no victories and now a major defeat.
In certain conditions, all things can turn into their opposite. Prior to the arrival of its latest resident, the White House had long been a symbol of the immense stability and confidence of the USA’s political regime. As Josh Holroyd explains, today it stands at the centre of an almighty political crisis.
In just a few days, Trump has set his stamp on US and world politics, economics, and relations. Already, his Islamophobic, anti-immigrant policies – in particular – have sparked mass protests across America and internationally. This is what is meant when we talk of sharp and sudden changes being on the order of the day.
And so begins the Trump era: with worldwide protests, pessimism, and polarization – full of combustible material, to put it mildly. The most anti-worker administration in decades has formally taken possession of the White House, and an avalanche of austerity and attacks on the working class is on the order of the day. A turbulent period of class struggle lies ahead.
As with many other trends in our crisis-ridden capitalist world, the term “alt-right” meteorically arose from obscure corners of the internet to one of the most discussed political phenomena in the US and elsewhere. But what is the real strength of this racist and reactionary movement? And how do we fight back against it?
We publish here two articles by comrades in the US section of the IMT about the recent American elections. In the first, John Peterson looks at the completely unrepresentative nature of American democracy, which is designed to maintain real power in the hands of the ruling class. In the second, comrades from Socialist Appeal USA propose a programme to fight Trump and his reactionary ideas.
On Wednesday 9th November the “free world” woke up to find it had a new leader: Donald J. Trump. The establishment and its parties were shaken to the core. But this phenomenon is not confined to the United States. As the Economist stated, in reference to Francis Fukuyama and the fall of the Berlin Wall: “History is back—with a vengeance.”
On 9th November, spontaneous protests erupted across America in response to the US election results. While liberal apologists despaired, the instincts of the radicalised youth came alive. This is the Sanders movement 2.0, no longer attempting to transform the Democrats, but pouring into the streets, refusing to accept a society in which racism and unemployment are allowed to fester.
Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections is a political earthquake that makes Brexit look like a minor tremor in comparison. We publish here videos from Alan Woods and Rob Sewell, in which they discusses the anti-establishment mood lying behind Trump’s win and the implications for America and the rest of the world.
Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections is a political earthquake that has shattered the entire global Establishment. Trump is not the problem, however, but a symptom of a more general malaise in society. The system has broken, and the American Dream has become a nightmare for millions. John Peterson of Socialist Appeal USA analyses “America’s Brexit”.