Month: March 2020

Even during a global pandemic, profit is the top priority for capitalists. On the one hand, our freedom of movement is restricted, and, on the other hand, we are supposed to continue working with numerous […]

In late 1934 and early 1935, parts of Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) were plagued by an epidemic of malaria. This followed huge floods in 1934. The British colonial rulers and the ‘Ceylonese Council of Ministers’ […]

All that seemed solid now seems to be melting. This is the effect of the coronavirus crisis. The governing Tories in the UK cut – but now they spend. They privatised – but now they […]

The 26 March countrywide lockdown South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, announced in an emergency attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus, has been hailed as the decisive intervention the pandemic required. Worldwide the number […]

Even though the figures are rising daily, it is not certain yet how disastrous the ravages of COVID-19 will be for Nigerians in terms of the number of infections and deaths. Economically, however, there is […]

Coronavirus continues to spread in the United States, with new confirmed cases in West Virginia completing the virus’ spread to all 50 states and three U.S. territories. As the crisis seems to plateau in China, […]

At the beginning of the coronavirus lock-down in France, Macron gained some support, trying to appear as the ‘strong man’, taking action to stop the virus from spreading. But this is very fragile. By the […]

With right-wing politicians, like Hungarian premier, Viktor Orbán, not slow to blame ‘foreigners’ for the coronavirus crisis, the looming world downturn could provide new opportunities for the far right to develop. The continuing murderous activity […]

Like most of the world, Southern Ireland has been hit hard by the COVID-19 ‘coronavirus’ crisis. By mid-March schools, colleges, pubs, creches etc., were on an initial two-week shutdown. Transport links have been severely curtailed. […]

Press release for immediate use 24/3/20 Protest against Facebook censorship The Socialist Party supports all measures necessary to protect all people from the threat of Coronavirus. Yet this must be done on a fully democratic […]

Statement from International Secretariat of the CWI 23 March 2020 The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has plunged world capitalism and society into an entirely new era of turmoil and upheaval. In country after country, […]

On Friday 13 March, the Japanese Upper House approved a bill granting Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, the power to declare a state of emergency to fight coronavirus. Unfortunately, the two major opposition parties, the […]

Many frontline local authority workers, including in Belfast, Northern Ireland, will be asked to maintain essential services throughout the coronavirus crisis. In doing so, they need to remember their first priority is their own survival […]

A newly spreading virus is a danger that can befall any society. The question facing the world today, however, is what kind of society can best meet such a challenge. As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, […]

As global markets reel in the face of the developing coronavirus pandemic, it is difficult to see how these events will not be the trigger for a new world capitalist economic downturn, with all the […]

The coronavirus pandemic has laid bare the inadequacies of capitalism internationally, and the problems with private healthcare in the United States, in particular. After months of the corporate media blaming ‘socialism’ for food and consumer […]

On 15 March, Leïla Messaoudi of Gauche Révolutionnaire (CWI France), was elected to the local council of Petit-Quevilly in the city of Rouen, where she has lived for 14 years and worked for 23 years. […]

“We are at war!” President Emmanuel Macron declared in his speech to the nation on the evening of Monday, 16 March. It came just one day after less than a third of voters turned out […]

The following ‘workers’ charter’ to deal with the coronavirus crisis and workplace related issues, is produced by Socialist Party (England & Wales section of the CWI). The charter outlines a fighting programme for the current […]

A new stage of the economic crisis in Lebanon was reached on Monday 9 March, as the state defaulted on a £1.2bn euro-bond – the first default in the country’s history. This debt will prove […]

Italy is in lock-down in the fight against coronavirus. Bars, restaurants and shops are closed, with the exception of supermarkets, pharmacies and newsagents. And yet, under pressure from the bosses’ organisation, Confindustria, workers are still […]

British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, won the general election, last December, by trying to pose as a ‘man of the people’. Despite the rhetoric the first budget of his premiership showed clearly that, like all […]

South Korea has been held up as a model by some commentators for its containment of coronavirus. It’s far from perfect, but a rapid supply of resources shows that the capitalists do have the money […]

With confirmed coronavirus cases in the thousands, the government of Italy has placed the entire country on lockdown. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte first quarantined 16 million of the country’s 60 million population in infected ‘red […]

A series of discussions with members of the International Secretariat (IS) of the CWI and the membership of the Independent Socialist Group (ISG) in the US has resulted in a unanimous vote of the ISG […]

Written on 09/03/2020 for The Socialist – Weekly paper of the Socialist Party (CWI England & Wales). Sanders faces uphill struggle to win Democratic Party nomination. Working class must have an independent political voice. The […]

Nine weeks after the first Covid-19 coronavirus patient was identified in Wuhan it had spread to 98 countries. This is much faster than the 2003 Sars coronavirus outbreak, which eventually spread to 37 countries. However, […]

The biggest one-day fall in stock markets since the financial crisis; an oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia; and the fastest drop in the cost of oil for 30 years. The impact of […]

Last Saturday, a ‘stop the stitch-up’ demonstration took place in Dublin, opposing attempts by the two main establishment parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, to form a government despite faring badly in the recent general […]

International Women’s Day, with its history of being rooted in struggle, has, in recent years, been diminished – much like the Pride marches for LGBTQ+ rights, have. Big business increasingly uses it as a cynical […]

Girls and young women involved in research into sexual harassment say they aren’t shocked by its results (The State of Girl’s Rights in the UK at plan.uk.org). The research found that as many as two-thirds […]

The Socialist Party national congress on 29 February and 1 March was a big success. Three hundred branch delegates and visitors attended and participated in the democratic discussion and debate. They included members with decades […]

Women’s oppression is not new. It is as old as the division of society into classes. It takes many forms and so does the fight against it. It is significant that women who feel the […]

Nowhere is the failure of the EU institutions to bring about genuine ‘unity’ of the continent or the arguments of pro-EU politicians more exposed than in the current refugee and migrant crisis in Greece. Thousands […]

As new coronavirus infections gather pace – in Britain and around the world – British Tory Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, claims the country is “well-prepared with a fantastic NHS.”  Who’s he kidding? NHS performance this […]

Northern Ireland’s government was suspended between 2017 and 2020 after the sectarian parties refused to reach a power-sharing agreement following the ‘cash for ash’ scandal. Now a strike wave has forced them and the bosses […]