Russia in chaos: Asian "tiger" economies crash: Latin America under pressure…
Who's next for "free market" treatment?
Reportage of the catastrophic crises which have swept through the economies of Indonesia, Korea, Thailand, Japan and now Russia is eerily reminiscent of the classic headline "Thousands killed – no Britons involved".
Smug journalists view these huge man-made disasters, with their appalling consequences for tens of millions, from the narrow and short-sighted perspective of the British economy and the safety of their stocks and shares.
Labour politicians try to persuade us that there are no dangers or lessons in these disasters for the British working class.
The fact is none of them predicted these tumultuous events in Asia. None predicted the pace of the Russian collapse. And nobody knows yet which economy will be the next to be laid low by the crisis of a sick and exploitative system.
Socialists will view the issue differently. We extend our solidarity with the workers of Indonesia, Korea and with the Russian working class. Their fight, and ours, must be to sweep away the wreckage of this wretched capitalist system, take the power from the bankers, the bosses and their generals, and build a socialist society to meet the needs of the oppressed, not line the pockets of the rich.