As we step into 2025, we must take stock of the events that shaped 2024 and prepare for the struggles ahead. The past year brought its share of devastating developments, from the ongoing genocide in Gaza to the re-election of Donald Trump as US President. For many, it feels as if the world is veering into unending darkness. Yet, to succumb to despair would be to miss the profound contradictions of our time. Beneath the surface of these crises lies the potential for resistance and revolutionary change.
Contradictions in the global crisis
The simplistic narrative that the world is shifting irreversibly to the right obscures the deeper dynamics at play. Yes, Trump secured a decisive electoral victory, but the same electorate also voted overwhelmingly for progressive ballot initiatives: better wages, paid sick days, and defending reproductive health care. Similarly, while Israel’s genocide in Gaza continues unabated, global solidarity with Palestine has reached unprecedented levels. Millions are rejecting the propaganda of Western governments and media, siding instead with the oppressed.
These contradictions highlight a growing gap between what working-class people need and what the capitalist system offers. Decades of neoliberal policies have created widespread suffering: low wages, skyrocketing housing costs, and the degradation of essential services. This suffering fuels rage, but how that rage is channeled depends on the political ideas and movements available to workers.
The right’s distortion of rage
The right-wing and, increasingly, the far right have excelled at capturing and distorting this anger. Trump and his allies manipulate the frustrations of the working class, directing frustration not at the capitalist system but at scapegoats: immigrants, Trans people, and other marginalized groups. In Canada, Pierre Poilievre’s surge in popularity mirrors this strategy. As Trudeau’s centrism collapses under the weight of its failures, Poilievre and the Conservatives stand poised to exploit the same dynamics that brought Trump back to power.
This manipulation of anger by the right doesn’t represent a conscious ideological shift among workers to the right. Rather, it reflects the absence of a robust left alternative capable of channeling rage into collective action and movements that can win against the system itself. The task for revolutionary socialists is to expose this contradiction and redirect anger toward its rightful target: the capitalist system and the billionaires who benefit from it.
Capitalism’s failures exposed
The system’s failures are more apparent than ever. Trump’s re-election—marketed as a revolt against the establishment—only serves to deepen the wealth and power of the ruling class. His promises to “blow up the system” resonate with voters who have no allegiance to a structure that consistently fails them. The Democrats, meanwhile, have not offered solutions or even alternative explanations for the crises affecting workers. By stifling genuine left alternatives and pretending everything is fine, they, alongside the Republicans, share responsibility for this situation, just as much as the billionaires they serve. The anger the right has tapped into among working-class people seeking change is fragile. When Trump inevitably fails to deliver, the disillusionment could swing in more radical directions—if a revolutionary alternative is visible and organized.
Resistance and revolutionary possibilities
Though the far right continues to rise, the very anger that propels their momentum also ignites the fire of working-class struggles. In 2024, we witnessed an explosion of strikes and protests. Even in the darkest moments, workers have fought back and their demands have ushered in new fronts and possibilities. From Amazon workers in the US demanding union recognition to the 2024 general strike in Argentina forcing the far-right Milei government to back down on austerity measures, these movements demonstrate the potential for resistance. A student-worker mass uprising in summer 2024 succeeded in overthrowing a dictatorship in Bangladesh and gave expression to the mass frustrations and demands of the working class suffering under decades of neoliberal policies and crony capitalism. In Canada, unionized workers opposed the genocide in Gaza, with several public sector unions taking a stand where political leaders faltered.
The left’s crisis and opportunity
At the same time, the failures of the social democratic project, and of reformism in general, from the Democrats in the US to the NDP in Canada, have left a vacuum that the right has exploited. Instead of mobilizing workers around bold, transformative demands, these parties have retreated into “safe” centrism. Their refusal to challenge the capitalist system—and their insistence on playing by its rules—alienates the very people they claim to represent.
It is our responsibility as socialists to expose these contradictions and emphasize the revolutionary potential they carry. The rage and alienation that led to Trump’s victory can also fuel revolutionary demands. The fight for a $15 minimum wage in Canada was won through mass organizing at provincial and local levels, not the result of political decisions at the top. Similarly, Canada stayed out of the Iraq War in 2003, not because we voted for it, but because a mass movement in the streets imposed its will on Parliament. Elsewhere, the unionization drives at Amazon are examples of how working-class anger can be harnessed for collective action. The groundswell of support for Luigi Mangione reveals a deep yearning for a world without CEOs, a world that rejects the profits and privatization over people.
But this dream won’t be realized through isolated actions or targeting individual culprits. It requires a collective, working-class revolution to dismantle for-profit healthcare and the exploitative system it upholds.
This is not a utopian fantasy. The fragility of our current systems is evident in the contradictions, and workers are desperate for inspiration—something that channels their pain and anger into transformative action. Modest reforms and superficial fixes won’t suffice. Real change demands bold, systemic transformation driven by solidarity and the collective power of the working class.
Building a revolutionary movement
To seize this moment, we need a bold, independent working-class movement that goes beyond the limitations of electoralism. This means organizing strikes, mass protests, and other forms of mass movements from below that challenge the capitalist system at its core. It means building solidarity across struggles—from Palestine to the fight for decent work—and uniting workers around demands that address their immediate economic needs while pointing toward a revolutionary transformation of society.
Revolutionaries must also focus on education and organization. Our task is to expose the system’s contradictions, articulate a clear anti-capitalist analysis, and connect with workers wherever they are fighting back. Revolutionary organizations like Spring play a crucial role by bringing together socialist ideas and theory into practice, learning from past struggles, and applying those lessons to the challenges of today.
The road ahead
As we face the possibility of snap elections in Canada, both federally and in Ontario, and the ongoing consequences of Trump’s presidency, the stakes could not be higher. But we must resist the doom-and-gloom narratives that paralyze action. Instead, we need to identify the contradictions in every crisis and use them as opportunities for resistance.
The coming year will bring new challenges and opportunities. From the fight for universal healthcare to the struggle for Palestinian liberation, every battle offers a chance to build working-class power. The key is to remain rooted in immediate struggles while keeping our sights on the ultimate goal: a society that meets the needs of all, not the profits of the few.
Let 2025 be the year we turn anger into mass action and despair into hope. The future remains undefined, but it belongs to those who organize. Let’s get organized.
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