Asian Tsunami

Democratic and humanitarian hypocrisy

If we were to identify a vice that is characteristic of each epoch of human history, it would certainly be the hypocrisy of the ruling class that would fit the bill in the case of capitalism. The great Mongol conqueror, Genghis Khan, amassed piles of skulls when he conquered towns that had not submitted to him. But he never claimed to do it for the good of their inhabitants. It took bourgeois capitalist democracy to teach us that war is "humanitarian" and that it is necessary to bomb civilian populations in order to bring… peace and freedom to these very populations.

Correspondence on the Asian Tsunami Catastrophe

Following the immense earthquake and its terrible effects radiating from and around the Indian Ocean, communists can only express their solidarity and commiserations with the great numbers affected. The tales of life saving, assistance and sustenance from local populations and tourists alike in the midst of the most terrible suffering contradicts the ‘each for themselves’ of the ruling class. This solidarity, with the vast majority of workers and poor who took the brunt of the grief, stands in stark contrast to the hypocrisy, parochialism and charity of the bourgeoisie.

Asian Tsunami: The need for proletarian solidarity

After the tsunami of 26 December hit countries around the Indian Ocean, and the extent of the devastation became apparent, the media bombarded us with a massive news offensive. They started with images of people drowning, buildings and boats smashed to pieces, dead bodies lying wherever they had come to rest and then moved on to villages entirely wiped out, road networks completely destroyed...

Asian tsunami: capitalism is the real disaster!

As with every disaster of this kind, we are told that human beings are impotent in the face of “Mother Nature”, bad luck, fate, or the poverty of the affected countries which are unable to acquire the techniques to prevent such disasters. But how and why has a well-known natural disaster like the tsunami been transformed in just a few hours into such a massive social disaster?
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