Editor’s Note: A New World’s Arising in the Fight against Imperialism is one of three discussion documents submitted by the CPUSA International Department in preparation for its 32nd National Convention.

Lenin is quoted as stating, “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”

During this period of heightened global class conflict we are witnessing the frenzied efforts of U.S. imperialism to preserve its global economic and military domination. U.S. imperialism uses its position as “sole superpower,” with immense global economic and military presence, to increase the profitability of U.S. multinational corporations, especially its armaments industry. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), led and dominated by the U.S., continues an effort to expand eastward to the borders of the Russian Federation. NATO and the U.S. support the fascist Israeli government’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. They are trying to organize military blocks in the Asia-Pacific region to threaten China. The U.S. military budget is 15 times that of Russia, whose economy is 50% that of California’s. The U.S. has more than 800 military bases around the world. Russia has two. U.S. military domination, including a large number of military bases in the European Union, Japan and many of its other state allies, inhibits inter-imperialist war.

The primary aims of U.S. imperialism are to contain socialist China by accelerating a new Cold War 2.0. and targeting Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and a large number of other developing countries with embargoes and economic sanctions. The U.S. economic embargo against Cuba is intensified by wrongfully listing it as a state sponsor of terrorism.

The current tasks of the international working class are of extreme historical significance.

The CPUSA Party Program states “Our people have a material interest in ending the attempts of U.S. imperialism to use military power to dominate the world — the tax dollars used to invade and control other countries and regions are desperately needed to fund adequate services, programs, and benefits for our people.”

U.S. military spending does not increase the standard of life for the U.S. working class. On the contrary, U.S. imperialist policy subsidizes global corporations and impoverishes developing countries. Rich multinational corporations lay off workers in the U.S. only to off-shore those jobs to developing countries, taking advantage of lower wages and bad working conditions.

U.S. based multinational corporations including military contractors, large pharma, high tech, and banks are making obscene profits for the super rich. At the same time, the standard of life for working people in the U.S. is worsening. Inflation remains high. The minimum wage and other wages and pensions are not indexed to inflation. U.S. workers do not profit from U.S. imperialism. They are hurt by imperialism and militarism. A new world is necessary. It is a question of survival.

A new world, based on social justice, is in birth. “The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters.” These words paraphrase the writings of Antonio Gramsci in the 1930’s, a time of fascism.

This new democratic multilateral world offers us more equitable relations between countries and peoples. It is also fraught with danger. It offers the potential for long term peace, more international solidarity and cooperation, sustainable poverty alleviation, and development to meet the needs of the people. There is also a heightened threat of war as existing imperialist relations are threatened.

How can people’s movements help bring this new democratic multilateral world into being?

The people, with working class leadership, must strengthen bonds of solidarity and fraternal relations in the international class struggle – class unity! A concrete example is the international collaboration by trade unions to obstruct shipping to Israel. Workers united in struggle to stop the genocide in Gaza which has already resulted in more than 34,000 civilians killed. People’s movements have created international and domestic U.S. pressure for a short term ceasefire in Gaza and a longer term independent Palestinian state.

People’s movements must rededicate efforts to safeguard peace with social justice. They must join together to struggle against global warming, stop the U.S. drive to a new Cold War 2.0 and seek cooperation rather than confrontation. The people united can and must stop U.S. imperialism’s march towards another global war, demand a ceasefire in the Middle East, end to the 60+ year U.S. embargo against Cuba, demand protection of human rights and self-determination, strengthen people’s real democracy, and defeat apartheid, imperialist oppression, and the ever-growing fascist danger.

Developing countries are organizing the fightback by building global and regional organizations including BRICS+ and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The original BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa) were joined in 2024 by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran and Ethiopia. Many more developing countries have indicated an interest in joining.

BRICS countries are on a continuing path to de-dollarize the globe, thus removing the U.S. dollar as a global regime change tool.  BRICS+ has just issued BRICS Pay as a global payments alternative. BRICS+ countries encompass roughly 42% of the world’s population, or 3 billion people. They represent roughly 26% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), or USD $24 trillion.  A large number of developing countries have expressed an interest in joining BRICS+.  These countries are on a path to increased independence, poverty alleviation, and removal of strangling imperialist debt.  BRICS+ is helping create a multilateral world order instead of accepting subjugation to U.S. imperialism.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a growing global infrastructure group of 155 developing countries initiated by socialist China. BRI is already successful in poverty alleviation, infrastructure projects, and development of alternative trade routes to avoid imperialist containment of socialist development.

All of these international solidarity and anti-imperialist developments have created the potential for an accelerated global socialist moment. The global class struggle also poses the risk of a global war. It is in the interest of the U.S. working class to demand de-escalation of regional conflicts and to divert U.S. military spending to human needs.

We must remember the words of Lenin: “Capital is an international force.  To vanquish it, an international workers’ alliance, an international workers’ brotherhood is needed.”

Images: Bangladesh: Women Rally for Their Rights by USAID (CC BY-NC 2.0 Deed); Dont-Blame-Migrants-Blame-U.S.-Imperialism by Mat McDermott (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 Deed); Enough is Enough — Working Class Struggles in the UK by Garry Knight (CC0); International struggle for Freedom in Palestine by Montecruz Foto (CC BY-SA 3.0 Deed)

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