Deepening rivalries between Washington and other imperialist powers, as well as with Moscow and Beijing are a product of the deepening crisis of capitalism and point to the inevitability of more wars. With each new conflict, the fact that imperialism is marching humanity toward a third world war is clearer to see.
Washington has to date ordered the bombing of two speedboats in international waters off the coast of Venezuela that they claim were carrying drugs. It has deployed an armada of U.S. warships in the Caribbean and rebuilt Washington’s garrison on Puerto Rico, threatening the sovereignty of Venezuela and nations across Latin America.
Vladimir Putin’s regime is escalating its murderous bombardment and drive to conquer Ukraine. As part of a deadly assault there Sept. 9, Moscow fired 19 drones into Poland. Forces from the U.S.-led NATO bloc shot three of them down, the first direct clash between NATO and Moscow in years.
Israel’s war in Gaza is aimed at destroying Hamas and stopping it and its backer in Tehran from carrying out a new Holocaust. In contrast to Israel’s defensive war, Washington’s massive firepower in the Middle East is there to protect its plunder of the region’s peoples and resources, opening the door to new and sharper conflicts.
The U.S. rulers see Beijing as the biggest challenge to the domination they have profited from since emerging as the victors in the second imperialist world war. Their determined efforts to remain top dog threaten all humanity.
To better prepare for wars to come, Washington is going after working people here at home, attacking our wages, and working and living conditions; targeting workers without papers to divide the working class; and going after constitutional freedoms we’ve won over centuries of struggle.
Working people and the unions need to take up all these challenges — from fighting to defend our living standards to opposing the U.S. war moves abroad. This requires breaking with the capitalists’ political parties, the Democrats and Republicans.
History shows that the imperialist epoch we live under is the epoch not only of war, but of deepening class struggle and socialist revolution.
Workers will have our chance to prevent the rulers’ march to World War III. We need a party of our own capable of leading millions to take power into our own hands and run society to meet human need, not the bosses’ profits. The two great socialist revolutions of our age — led by the Bolsheviks in Russia and Fidel Castro in Cuba — point a road forward.
Be part of this fight. Join the Socialist Workers Party!