NEW YEAR'S MESSAGE
In the decades after World War 2, America presented itself as the ‘leader of the free world’, standing up against its rival, the USSR.
Today we have returned to a new Cold War as Western governments once again claim to stand for ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ against their authoritarian rivals in Russia and China. Behind the scenes there is a ramping up of preparations for military conflicts. Newsweek, for example, ran a recent headline, ‘Europe Quietly prepares for World War III.’
But the illusions in Western ‘freedom’ are melting away.
Before our very eyes, America’s watchdog in the Middle East, Israel, is a conducting a brutal, genocidal war on the Palestinian people. It has shut down the last hospital in northern Gaza, the Kamal Adwan hospital, as it seeks to ethically cleanse the area, aiming to re-populate the strip with Zionist settlers. For over a year, Western governments continue to ‘express concern’ while arming and giving political cover to this brutal monster.
The contrast with its activities in Ukraine could not be clearer. There the Western powers have given over €200 billion in military aid to resist Putin’s invasion. They pour in money to prolong a proxy war with their imperialist rival, knowing that they do not lose a single soldier while Ukrainians and Russians die in an obscene war.
Meanwhile, Trump has emerged victorious after rival billionaire lobby groups slugged it out in the November election. The new normal in Western democracy is a heightened racist and sexist discourse as Trump promises to deport ‘millions’ of migrants. But behind this vile rhetoric lies a more open grasping of state power by the billionaires. Trump’s cabinet is stuffed full of corporate donors who will take every opportunity to feather their own nests.
We are witnessing the decay of the global capitalist system. Before our eyes, there is chaos, brutality and instability.
The key issue is whether working people look to the left or the right. The mainstream media suggest that the far right has already won this battle for hearts and minds. They assume that scapegoating migrants or re-asserting traditional masculine roles is just a natural response for the masses. Yet the plain reality is that when a serious left emerges that is willing to really challenge this system, many can be won to the left.
Of the degree of instability there can be no doubt. The Financial Times has pointed out that ‘the incumbent in every one of the 12 developed western countries that held national elections in 2024 lost vote share at the polls, the first time this has ever happened in almost 120 years of modern democracy’. There is a real anger, caused by rising prices, obscene inequality, and the way a whole generation is being locked out of reasonable housing.
The far right can offer only fake answers. Trump may talk of expelling millions of migrants but US capitalism cannot function without them. The AFD in Germany can demand the expulsion of all foreigners but who will pay for pensions or staff the hospitals? Racist hate can bring temporary electoral gain but it cannot solve the wider problems of the system, increasingly based in financial gambling and ‘risk free’ investment guaranteed by tax payers.
After the last general election, Ireland appears an exception as FF and FG continue their one-hundred-year rule. But their electoral decline has continued, albeit at a slower pace. They only hold government power with the support of rural independents, led by Michael Lowry, the disgraced former FG Minister who did favours for Denis O Brien. We can expect a turn to the right as talk of removing restrictions on abortion rights or efforts to stop climate change are ended.
The key question is who will lead the opposition. If it is a matter of parliamentary maneuvers, the award can go to Sinn Féin or the soft left. But these have all indicated a desire to join FF and FG in government in the past. They are distinctly uncomfortable with mass social mobilization that goes beyond the limits of the current system.
People Before Profit, however, is up for the fight. Our aim is a real socialist change that uproots the system of greed. We openly state that we oppose racism in all its forms; we offer an eco-socialist alternative for saving the planet; we stand up for gay, trans and women’s rights; we are for a strong workers' movement that breaks free of social partnership.
If you agree, make a New Year’s resolution and join us.