Socialist correspondent

The United States’ world role under Biden has been different from Donald Trump only in that has been more effective in asserting US dominance, and bullying other countries. However, it is also causing consternation among US allies which are increasingly unhappy about its actions. The withdrawal from Afghanistan was a shock. Previously Trump and Obama had talked about “ending the forever wars” and “pivoting to Asia”, but they had never taken the final step of pulling out of Afghanistan. However, it was not just that Biden did it, but the manner of the departure – hurried and without consultation – that bothered allies. There were huge ramifications arising from this, not only making allies wary, but also changing the power relationships in the region and beyond, involving China, Russia, Pakistan, Turkey, India and others. Although the United States remains the world’s preeminent power it has damaged its reputation and emboldened voices among US allies who want their nations to be less dependent on an unreliable partner. This is particularly evident in the European Union with strengthened calls from many leading politicians, like Emmanuel Macron, for EU “strategic autonomy”.

The Working Class and 21st Century Capitalism. The growth in homeworking during the pandemic has highlighted that workers are being watched and monitored to an ever greater degree. This is all about speeding up work and extending the working day to increase exploitation. It has major implications for the health, well-being and privacy of employees and their families and for how Trade Unions respond.

Capitalism has major issues to address about the failures of its neoliberal model. Greater state intervention in the economy is being pursued in the United States and Britain. Although this may seem a radical departure from neoliberal orthodoxy, nevertheless it is nothing like the levels of nationalisation and state intervention which once prevailed. Facing global challenges, especially from China, will these modest departures from free market dogma be enough to save capitalism?

It is ten years on from NATO’s 2011 seven-month long bombardment of Libya, and this once secular, peaceful and prosperous country is still in turmoil. The destruction of Libya was part of a bigger plan by the US to oust Middle Eastern leaders who they believed threatened their interests. Colonel Gaddafi the Libyan leader, brutally murdered during the war, was for a time, at the forefront of efforts to develop his country and build anti-imperialist alliances. Libyan people once benefited from its oil wealth but now the face chaos, danger and hardship in a civil war brought about by the United States.

For centuries enormous struggles have taken place a across Latin America against Spanish, British and US imperialism and their domestic allies. In the course of that time there have been tremendous victories, like the Cuban revolution, and huge defeats like the overthrow of the Popular Unity government in Chile. But people across the continent have kept resisting and fighting for change. Even a few months ago few would have predicted that a self-declared Marxist would be elected president of Peru. In Bolivia, after a bitter defeat for the left and Evo Morales and a campaign of right wing terrorist violence, nevertheless, Luis Arce from Morales’s party, the Movement Towards Socialism, won the presidential election. In Chile the left has a majority on the convention writing the new constitution for the country. None of this was achieved by purely electoral politics – these successes arose from the struggles of the working class, social movements and indigenous peoples.

Despite Tory failures there is a woeful lack of opposition from the official opposition in the shape of Keir Starmer. Labour’s poor electoral performances of late have underlined Starmer’s lack of credibility with the voters. He and those around him have drawn the wrong conclusions from electoral defeats in the so-called Red Wall constituencies. The real causes of alienation in working class communities and the radical changes needed to address them are ignored in favour of superficial responses, like making Labour look “patriotic” by appearing with Union Jacks. This is a poor imitation of the Tories and goes down particularly badly in Scotland. There is too much concentration on parliament and not enough on class struggle.

Despite the continued mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic and the botched exit deal from the EU, Boris Johnson still seems Teflon coated. Johnson has been able to survive so far because of his popularity in the Tory Party and his huge majority in parliament. Also because the establishment want an orderly transition to a new leader which doesn’t expose the Tories failures too much nor their anti-democratic practices, contempt for the electorate and corruption. Divisions are beginning to emerge among the Tories on multiple issues meaning Johnson, far from being invincible, is looking increasingly insecure.

The Scottish National Party has again been returned to power in the Scottish Parliament, though failing to achieve an overall majority. Yet its record in government has been one of failure in delivering services to the people of Scotland. The Party itself, once highly disciplined, is now fraught with divisions. But independence is what dominates Scottish politics and it suits the SNP to divert attention onto the constitution and way from the many issues facing the Scottish people and the party's own problems. But there are divisions in the independence camp about how to proceed and the many difficult questions about borders, currency, debt and so on will not be easy for the SNP to answer.

British Gas engineers put themselves on the line during the pandemic, helping households maintain their power supplies through the winter. But Centrica which owns British Gas, has sought to use fire and rehire tactics to force engineers to accept worse conditions of employment. Centrica pleads poverty but is actually making healthy profits.

Amazon employees endure oppressive working conditions but there are now struggles taking place to improve these and to gain union recognition across the globe. These are hard fought battles as the company uses any dirty tricks: lying to staff, spying on union organisers and sacking activists, to fight their own workers.