“We could be living in a year in which authoritarians take or keep power in nations across Europe, Latin America and in the U.S., while Putin continues to make advances in Ukraine and Hamas survives the war in Gaza. In short, the authoritarians still have the momentum on their side.” David Brooks, NY Times, 5/16/2024

Introduction
After a period in which liberation and revolution contended with repression and counter revolution, it seems that the latter may have gotten the upper hand at least for the moment. It is essential to recognize this.

Failing to do so, some on the left sink into a morass of confusion and political and moral degeneration. This includes left support for individual terrorism and for groups which, however much they may have risen due to oppression, are counter revolutionary nevertheless. (A counter revolution means the reversal or the opposite of a revolution, usually with the bloodiest of means, like what Putin, Iran and Assad are carrying out in Syria, or what the Ayatollah did in Iran in 1979. The period of the 1930s, when fascists seized power in Germany, Italy and Spain, was mainly a counter revolutionary period.)  Left support for Hamas and their actions on Oct. 7 is but the most recent and visible example. Without understanding what has happened, we risk becoming demoralized and unable to take full advantage of what openings do exist. We risk being unable to fully prepare for what comes next, be it an even worse world situation or a new turn towards world revolution.

That is why it is vital for the world liberation struggles to have a general view of the nature of the period in which we live. That is what this pamphlet attempts to do –  clarify the nature of the present world situation and what led up to it.

It is not possible to decisively define the nature of this present period because often we don’t know until a new period has decisively defined itself. The best we can do is look back at the general trends in previous periods, somewhat clarify the main trends today and try to see where they may be headed. By doing so, we hope to open up and contribute to a broader discussion on the issue. Such a discussion in and of itself would be an important step forward for the world liberation/socialist movement.

This article will start by looking at the periods following WWII. In none of these periods was any one trend the only one. The world is far more complex and contradictory than that. But certain elements were dominant. These periods were:

• The post war economic boom in the industrialized capitalist world.
• The rise of austerity and “neo liberal” policies and 9/11.
• The collapse of the Soviet Union.
• The rise of resistance and of liberation movements vs. counter revolution.
• Some tentative conclusions on the nature of this period and possible developments.

Read full pamphlet here: Nature of this period