A socialist program against war, austerity and the drive to dictatorship

The Socialist Equality Party is holding an important series of public election meetings to outline its policies in the wake of the enormous political upheavals of recent weeks.

The courageous stand of Edward Snowden in exposing the extent of the Obama administration’s illegal spying activities, and the international manhunt against him; the mass demonstrations of Egyptian workers, following major protests in Turkey and Brazil; and the deepening global slump five years after the financial crisis of 2008— these are just some of the indications of the onset of a new period of revolutionary struggles.

In every country, the ruling elites, representing the interests of the banks and big businesses, are demanding that the working class pay for the crisis of the profit system and preparing authoritarian forms of rule to impose their agenda. At the same time, Washington’s preparations for war against China, in which Australia is intimately involved, are intensifying.

The political turmoil in Australia, including the unprecedented reinstallation of Kevin Rudd as prime minister after he was ousted in a political coup three years ago, is rooted in these global processes. Rudd’s return is a desperate attempt to prevent the collapse of the Labor Party and prop up the two-party system, on which the ruling class has relied for more than a century to defend capitalist rule. These events are a sure sign that major struggles are looming in Australia.

The agenda of the next government, Liberal or Labor, will be deeper attacks on living standards and ongoing preparations for war. The China-driven mining boom has ended and recession is developing. Corporations such as General Motors Holden are demanding savage cuts in wages and conditions, while public education, health, welfare and pensions are under attack by both federal and state governments. The trade unions are collaborating with the employers and the governments in these offensives.

A new, independent political movement of the working class must be developed to meet these challenges, based on an internationalist and socialist perspective. The SEP election campaign is aimed at building such a movement against the capitalist system itself—the root cause of war, austerity and the drive to dictatorship.

via A socialist program against war, austerity and the drive to dictatorship – World Socialist Web Site.