The crisis-ridden US has two options: socialism or barbarism. 

In the run-up to last year’s election, the United States was faced with a litany of crises. This episode was recorded during the run-up - but Biden’s election changes little. 

Like many capitalist economies, the US had to partly suspend production in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The state was forced to inject trillions of dollars into the economy to keep the capitalist system going. 

The capitalists were facing these crises with an unreliable representative at the helm: Donald Trump. But they were breathing a bit easier once Bernie Sanders, who came to prominence with his promise of a “political revolution” against the “billionaire class,” endorsed a more reliable representative of big business interests in the form of the Democrat Joe Biden. 

Biden narrowly defeated Trump. But the problems faced by “Sleepy Joe’s” administration have no solution on the basis of the capitalist system that both he and Trump defend.

Huge anger is growing. Class polarisation sharpens as the divisions between bosses and workers are exposed. Armed demonstrations ratchet up the tensions. Capitalism is threatening to plunge millions more into poverty, on a scale not seen since the Great Depression.

This episode of Socialism, one of our highlights of 2020, looks at US imperialism in decline: coronavirus, Trump, Sanders and socialism.

Further reading

• Trump out but not down: http://socialismtoday.org/trump-out-but-not-down
• Lesser evil Democrats won’t end Trumpism: http://socialismtoday.org/lesser-evil-democrats-wont-end-trumpism
• Revolution or reaction: http://socialismtoday.org/revolution-or-reaction
• Global covid-19 pandemic, capitalist crisis and bitter class polarisation in the United States: https://www.socialistworld.net/2020/04/21/global-covid-19-pandemic-capitalist-crisis-and-bitter-class-polarisation-in-the-united-states/