the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Oct 14, 2024
Hurricane Helene hit the southeastern U.S. with enormous power. But as powerful as Helene’s winds were at landfall, the storm’s destructive power was, in the end, in the torrential rains and deadly floods it caused—hundreds of miles inland, where the storm hit mountains.
The huge amounts of rain that Helene dropped rapidly swelled rivers, destroying bridges and highways, toppling houses, wiping out towns and cities and leaving behind at least 220 dead—certainly many more, since hundreds are still missing.
Some of Helene’s most severe flooding occurred in southern Appalachia. We all saw the horrible images of Asheville, North Carolina, being wiped out by the powerful flooding in the steep mountainous terrain.
In that region, dozens of small, poor rural communities are the ones that have been suffering the most, both during and after the storm. These were some of the poorest communities in the whole country already before Helene hit. The trailers and shacks people lived in did not stand the slightest chance in the face of the raging water down the steep slopes.
As the storm and rain were approaching, authorities told people to flee—by their own means. With the nearest city hours away and the roads jammed, people had nowhere to go. And now, after the flooding, these communities are plagued by a severe lack of basic necessities—water, food, electricity, gas, hygiene supplies…. Authorities say it’s because of the roughness of the terrain, where disaster victims can only be reached by helicopter.
So what??? As if the U.S. military doesn’t have thousands of state-of-the-art helicopters! But no, those helicopters are not intended for rushing supplies to disaster victims. Those helicopters are for war—for dropping bombs, creating even more destruction, more victims around the globe—so that the big capitalists who run the U.S. economy can control the whole world.
More profit, more power, more control, for a tiny minority at the top—that’s the only principle capitalism operates by. As destructive as natural disasters can be, the worst disaster to befall humanity is this capitalist system.