Working Paper: Obama, The Crisis & The Movements


The election of Barack Obama as president of the United States and his taking office on January 6 established a new political administration in Washington just as a financial crisis threatened to bring the U.S. economy to a halt. We ask here:

  • What has Obama done in his first months in office?
  • What do the economic and political conditions and Obama’s response
    mean for the labor and social movements in this country?
  • What should Solidarity, other socialists, and labor and movement activists throughout the country be doing to respond to the crisis?

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CONTENTS

1. The Obama Election

2. The Economic Crisis & The Crisis of Hegemony

3. Obama’s Domestic Policies

4. Obama’s Foreign Policy

5. Response to the Crisis

6. The Balance of Forces Today

7. Conclusion – The Left and its Tasks