Saturday, April 11, 12:00noon-2pm, this webinar requires advance registration

The global coronavirus pandemic has exposed the underlying weaknesses of world capitalism. Workers and oppressed people face three interrelated crises: a looming climate crisis, an economic crisis which had been looming previously but now has developed full force, and a health crisis threatening the lives of millions.

The current situation is unprecedented. In order to slow the advance of the COVID-19 outbreak, governments are consciously demobilizing whole sections of the capitalist economy. In the U.S. alone, at least 10 million are unemployed. This is coupled with the promise of relief for workers and small business and bailouts for big business.

In the U.S., the Trump administration has refused to develop a national plan of action and is relying on the states to manage, with highly uneven results. There are already shortages of basic protective equipment for healthcare workers across the country, with a catastrophic situation already developing in the hospitals.

Despite the clear necessity of a drastic response, the entire capitalist class is concerned overwhelmingly with the question of how to maintain profits. A section of the ruling class has publicly announced their willingness to sacrifice the lives of hundreds of thousands by ending the lockdown as soon as possible with the hope of restoring profitability and “normalcy.”

In this panel discussion, we will examine the roots of this crisis, its social ramifications, and the potential of working-class struggle to transform these conditions and forge a path towards socialism.

Register for the Zoom call here.

Hosted by Central Ohio Revolutionary Socialists and four other groups.