Francis Fukuyama, who upon the fall of the USSR famously declared “the end of history”, now says that America “suffers from the problem of political decay in a more acute form than other democratic political systems.” In plain English: capitalism and its institutions are in big trouble.
More than a month after the killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black youth from Ferguson, USA, the police officer who shot him multiple times remains free and safely in hiding. Michael Brown’s killing was “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” opening up a new stage in the changing consciousness of young Americans.
What if they held an election and nobody came? In some ways, the 2014 midterm elections in the USA were very much like this. Just 36.6 percent voted. The main capitalist parties—the Democrats and Republicans—do not deal with real issues related to the lives of the overwhelming majority of the population. This is true bourgeois democracy. That is, democracy for the top 1% or 2%, but not for the rest of us!
The shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown has let loose the pent-up anger and frustration of black youth in the otherwise quiet working class St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. The US National Guard have now been called in to quell the protests. These events above all show that huge pressures are building up in US society, just one scratch below the surface. We publish here an analysis from Socialist Appeal USA.
Given the lack of opportunities for political expression in the US, even off-year elections provide important insights into where things stand politically and in which direction they are moving. Frustration with incumbents and disgust with “politics as usual” has reached record highs. This is an unprecedented situation with profound implications for the future. It is not simply this or that politician or this or that party in the doldrums; the entire system is being questioned. It is in this context that the 2013 elections give us yet another snapshot of the changing mood in America.
For 16 days, the world waited with bated breath as the US government was shut down and teetered on the brink of default. At the eleventh hour, a deal was rammed through both the Senate and the House and signed by Obama, thus averting the immediate crisis. What is the meaning of all this? What are the ramifications for American politics and the capitalist system itself? John Peterson of Socialist Appeal USA reports.
In the final analysis, the US government shutdown over parts of the federal budget and Republican opposition to “Obamacare” is a reflection of the insoluble contradictions of capitalism. In a follow up to yesterday’s article, we publish here an in depth analysis of the economic and political background to the current shutdown and potential default in the USA.
With sections of the US Federal Government now in shutdown and the possibility of default looming, we publish here an article by John Peterson of Socialist Appeal USA, who comments on the deep divisions that are opening up with the US capitalist class and their political representatives.
Can capitalism be made “responsible”? What’s wrong with capitalism and the idea of making profits if we can convince the capitalists to then put their money to good use? We publish here an article by Mark Rahman from Socialist Appeal, USA, who looks at the question of philanthropy and highlights the contradictions and limitations of any reliance on the generosity of the capitalists.
Whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad, goes the saying. It is an apt description of the warring factions of the US political establishment, especially the Republicans, who are engaged in a ferocious battle over the government budget, and to hell with the consequences. This fiscal “war” between the Establishment parties threatens near paralysis in the world’s largest economy
The tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut has prompted a public outcry and heartfelt mourning across the country. The media will surely be flooded with every minute detail of the killer’s life in the coming weeks, and the issue of gun control will once again come to the fore. But what will not be seriously discussed is the root cause of shootings like this, and why they have become so commonplace.
$6 billion and over a year of
campaigning later, and it would appear that the status quo remains.
Obama is still the president; the Democrats control the Senate; and the
Republicans control the House of Representatives. On the surface,
"nothing has changed."