The United States’ capitalist and imperial core is rotting, and the new system that will emerge once working-class people unite and build it is socialism.
But we aren’t there just yet.
Instead, I argue we’re in a moment where the traditional global social order is shifting, and the United States empire has begun to crumble more notably than before, revealing the nation’s internal decay.
We see it in the way thousands of people across the globe took to the streets against the U.S.-backed genocide in Palestine, meanwhile none of that money is being used to alleviate the extreme conditions facing our unhoused population.
We see it in the way Amazon workers striked against the world’s largest online retailer for better wages and working conditions, meanwhile the CEO hoards millions of dollars.
We see it in the way over 80 cities across the nation held protests on inauguration day to fight against President Donald Trump’s extreme-right billionaire agenda.
These conditions are manifestations of various class struggles playing out in society, but according to German revolutionary Karl Marx, when these struggles reach a climax, the conditions for revolution are ripened, and the system can be changed.
This internal decay of the United States empire mirrors that of others flailing empires throughout history.
The influential Roman empire lasted around 1,000 years. While various factors culminated in its downfall, there was also a large disparity between the lives of the wealthy elite and the commoners.
“The Roman tax system disproportionately impacted the lower classes while the wealthy often avoided taxes through exemption or corruption,” according to an educational video channel on YouTube.
Sound familiar?
The other way we are seeing the cracks in the United States’ capitalist and imperialist system is through their diminishing soft power over other countries.
Soft power is a country’s ability to influence others without resorting to direct violence. Instead, they often project their values abroad through policy intervention.
For example, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum repeatedly made clear to Trump, even before he stepped foot back into the Oval Office for a second time, that the people of Mexico would not kneel to the power of the United States.
“We collaborate, we coordinate, we work together, but we are never going to subordinate ourselves,” Sheinbaum said in response to Trump after he announced in December that he will declare the Mexican cartels as “terrorist organizations.”
Sheinbaum quickly set the record straight for Trump, stressing in an open letter that it is on the United States’ side of the border where “the drugs are consumed, mainly;” and where the weapons that generate violence in Mexico come from.
The first Mexican female president and climate scientist also debunked a New York Times article alleging a Sinaloa cartel was manufacturing fentanyl in a kitchen in Culiacán.
Alejandro Svarch Pérez, medical doctor and the director of IMSS- Welfare, explained during Sheinbaum’s daily morning press conferences that it is impossible to manufacture fentanyl in a regular kitchen without dying or having one’s health seriously affected, according to People’s Dispatch.
This shows how Sheinbaum is eroding the narrative of U.S. exceptionalism on the world stage.
Although it is difficult to predict how much she will affect the reshaping of international order given her short time in office, it is important to remember big changes begin with small actions.
I argue her public resistance is already having a ripple effect on other countries.
Take, for example, the way Honduran President Xiomara Castro threatened to close U.S. military bases over Trump’s mass immigrant deportations in a national broadcast on Jan 1, nearly a month after Sheinbaum affirmed to the Mexican people that they will not be subordinated.
“In the face of a hostile attitude of mass expulsion of our brothers, we would have to consider a change in our policies of cooperation with the United States, especially in the military field where, without paying a penny, they maintain military bases in our territory for decades,” Castro said in the Spanish broadcast.
This shows how other countries are becoming more emboldened to stand up against U.S. imperialism.
Castro called for an urgent meeting of foreign ministers to address the challenge of migration ahead of the start of the Trump administration and emphasized the importance of holding the meeting in collaboration with Mexico, according to People’s Dispatch.
The meeting Castro called for on Jan 1, was also held to consider new ways to support Haiti and Cuba, two countries that have been historically destabilized because of U.S. brutal intervention.
Some may view it as an insignificant coincidence that Castro threatened to remove the U.S. military in Honduras and announced a meeting to discuss support for Cuba and Haiti on Jan 1, the same day as the anniversary of the Cuban and Haitian revolutions. Still, I argue these synchronicities show how the revolutionary spirits are making their presence known and are directly guiding humanity.
Carl Jung, a pioneering psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, described synchronicities as “meaningful coincidences that cannot be explained by cause and effect.”
He believed these events were not just random occurrences, but manifestations of a deeper order in the universe.
Given that the global order is notably shifting, I think it is no surprise that Cuban revolutionaries overthrew the U.S.-backed Batista dictatorship on Jan 1, 1959, or that Haitians declared independence and overthrew slavery after revolting against multiple colonial empires, including the French. on Jan 1, 1804.
Both of these revolutions inspired oppressed people worldwide and terrified the ruling classes in the United States.
Additionally, Colombian President Gustavo Petro recently stood up against Trump when he temporarily barred two military planes carrying Colombians deported from the U.S. from landing.
Although Petro quickly backed down once Trump began threatening Colombia with punitive tariffs, I believe this shows how international relations are coming to a boil, which could hurt the U.S. imperial core in the long run.
“Overthrow me president [Trump], and the Americas and humanity will respond,” the former leftist guerilla fighter wrote on social media.
Another unconventional connection can be made here that signals to the U.S. empire crumbling.
Pluto, the planet of death and transformation, has entered Aquarius, the humanitarian and progressive astrological sign. Pluto will remain in Aquarius for about 19 years.
Now, before you roll your eyes at the mention of astrological transits, according to a professional astrologer, the last time Pluto was transiting Aquarius was during the French Revolution in 1789, which began as a women’s march for lower bread prices.
“This transit emphasizes innovation, equality, and collective progress, potentially revolutionizing technology, social reform, and global collaboration,” The Times of India reported. “Prepare for breakthroughs in AI, space exploration, and sustainable technologies, alongside movements for social justice and decentralized power.”
Revolution may be unimaginable to some, but it has happened many times throughout human history.
As we enter this new phase of struggle in the United States and material conditions worsen at home, it is imperative for working-class people to organize and become militant.
It’s the only way we are going to win.
That said, the path towards socialism won’t be an easy one, history teaches us that it never is. It’s going to take revolution and all of our beating hearts to create this new system.
Good leadership will facilitate a revolution, but ultimately, it’s the people who will have to take the reins and change society.
I hope this article inspires you to imagine a new world where people’s basic needs are met, adds more fire to your flame, or plants a seed in your head that will encourage you to eventually join the good fight because we need you and all your human imperfections in this struggle.
I hope you join us.
Editor’s Note: Jacqueline Cardenas (she/they) is a political organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL). She is the lead editor and multimedia reporter for California Latino News and Washington Latino News.