A reading and discussion of a recent front page article in Challenge.

Washington, DC, November 2—At the coalition rally led by Progressive Labor Party (PLP) downtown in front of the Convention Center, the chant rang out: “From DC to Palestine, Occupation is a Crime!” The action was organized to protest the growing fascism of the American Public Health Association (APHA) during their annual conference.

Moments earlier, brave APHA members staged a walkout of the opening session, walking slowly down the main aisle, holding a banner that said, “Oppose Fascism and Genocide.” Another group of those walking out held a banner that said “APHA: Reinstate Amy Hagopian,” a former APHA member and friend to many of us who is also an outspoken leader against the occupation and genocide in Palestine.

If you go by the APHA leadership, the only problem with the world today is Donald Trump, RFK Jr, and the subsequent attacks on public health grant funding and vaccine access. As liberals, they will never acknowledge what us communists point out, which is that capitalism, racism, and wars for profit have been decimating our class worldwide for decades. These liberal leaders of APHA show that they are more dangerous than the outright reactionary wing of the U.S. ruling class because they use identity and respectability politics to keep workers divided, quiet and in line. The liberals believe in nationalism and hate internationalism represented by workers uniting in solidarity across borders...

A reading and discussion of a recent editorial in Challenge.

Progressive Labor Party salutes the bravery of the Los Angeles-area working class in defending our immigrant sisters and brothers in the face of a vicious attack by State-Terrorist-in-Chief Donald Trump and the masked thugs of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In response to state violence by the kkkops in L.A. and other cities, workers’ resistance—most of it peaceful, some of it violent in turn—pushed Trump to retreat and order a five-day pause on deportation at farms, meatpacking plants, restaurants, and hotels. The capitalist bosses are terrified of mass worldwide uprisings that strike at the heart of their rotten, racist system. They’ve been shaken by antiracist fightback after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and by the militant response to Zionist genocide in Gaza. They’re worried that the next wave of protests could light the match for an even broader rebellion.

The U.S. rulers have a dilemma they can’t solve. On the one hand, they absolutely need labor by immigrants, including more than eight million undocumented immigrants, to keep their fragile system afloat. On the other hand, they need racist scapegoating to divide and discipline the working class. As Israel attacks Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and the U.S. threatens to set off an all-out war in the Middle East, global instability is deepening by the day. Confronted by a rising China and their own relative decline, the U.S. bosses are on red alert for World War Three. Trump’s nazi-style immigration raids—like the mass deportations of Joe Biden before him—reflect the endangered state of U.S. imperialism. Regardless of which lying politician gets elected president the next time around, the bosses will be forced to keep moving toward open fascism, the parasites’ last-ditch move to protect their profits in a time of international capitalist crisis.

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A reading and discussion of a recent editorial in Challenge.

Refugee, indigenous, or legalized—no one is safe from the crisis of capitalism. In just the first week since Klansman Donald Trump’s second inauguration, over 4,500 people have been arrested (Washington Times, 1/28). Amid a barrage of racist and sexist attacks—banning diversity programs—Trump issued more than twenty executive orders for mass deportations. But while Trump gives off Hitler vibes, it’s the worldwide crisis and decay of capitalist liberal democracy that set the stage for more open fascism.

The next four years will further expose the rot of U.S. imperialism, intensify fascism in the U.S. and Europe, and propel the world closer to a global bloodbath.. But instead of sinking into fear or despair or cynicism, the international working class must fight back! Take inspiration from the San Jose students walking out against deportations or from Los Angeles workers organizing on the job . Join Progressive Labor Party in building an international, multiracial movement to smash all borders and build a communist society.