The ruling classes in the great democracies of the Western world have taken pain to hide the truth that the recent events in Tunisia, Egypt, and Algeria sprang from the same preoccupation that has driven the working class in Greece, Portugal, Italy, France, Great Britain, India, the US….—the list is long—to return massively to the path of open class confrontations. Capitalism worldwide is mired in the deepest economic crisis in its history and everywhere it is attempting to make the working class bear the brunt of the attacks which aim at saving the day for this moribund system. Yet, everywhere the working class is restless and indignant about the present conditions of existence it is subjected to, and is pondering the ‘future’ that capitalism has to offer with profound doubts and distrust. The massive and spontaneous upsurge of struggles in Tunisia, Egypt, and Algeria took the bourgeoisie by surprise, but it inspired the working class the world over with a sense of solidarity and the potential for the recognition of a class identity that is truly international.
How can workers unite their struggles at the international level? What role does the working class in the central metropolises play in this process? What role do the revolutionary minorities play in the development of future struggles? What traps and diversions will the ruling class throw in the path of this development?
While the bourgeoisie is diverting the workers struggle onto the terrain of the myth of “democracy” and the defense of the nation, its open use of repression and its greater inability to soften the most brutal expressions of its mortal crisis are sure to leave an even more intense sense of indignation and distrust among the working class, not only where it is most directly affected by the recent struggles, but also in the central metropolises of capitalism. The lessons we learn today will pave the way for the struggles of tomorrow. At this public forum there will be a presentation by the ICC followed by open discussion. All are welcome
Internationalism, US Section of the International Communist Current