Fifty Years after Saigon “Fell”: Workers, Soldiers, Youth Will End the “American Century” by Starting the Communist Revolution
Pictured: Last US troops evacuate from Saigon (Vietnam), April 20, 1975
LOS ANGELES (USA), April 2025—Fifty years ago, the world’s most powerful imperialist scrambled frantically to evacuate its last troops from a Saigon rooftop. The humiliating US defeat in Vietnam was the beginning of the end of a so-called “American Century.”
The end of that process unfolds today in intensifying fascism and preparations for another world war.
“People have to be brave,” an activist told a comrade at a weekly vigil against the Palestine genocide.
“Many are angry. Some talk about revolution,” she replied. “But most still feel they have a stake in the system. Their illusion is that we’ll be able to hold onto the little we have. The reality is that communist revolution is our best hope. Knowing that makes us braver.”
By 1975, US workers had suffered two years of double-digit inflation. That included the 1973 oil embargo. Gasoline was rationed and US drivers waited in long lines.
Many US workers were losing confidence in what the future held for their children. Households needed more wage-earners just to stay afloat. Today, most households already have multiple wage-earners and are drowning anyway.
Capitalist Contradictions Push Workers to the Wall
In 1975, US capitalism was in “stagflation.” Inflation and unemployment were both rising. Amidst a recession, capitalists found ways to make workers pay. The largest companies came out ahead. Soon they launched the neoliberal union-busting policies of the 1980s.
Today, Trump’s tariffs could again push US capitalism into stagflation and recession. Workers’ buying power will shrink further. Fourteen million kids in the US already go hungry. There will be more.
The reason is the falling rate of profit. It fell 30% from 1946-2015 and continues to drop. Manufacturers automate to produce goods more competitively. But profit comes only from paying workers less than the value they produce. So companies must increase sales to maintain the volume of profit and attract the capital needed to stay in business. Tariffs are meant to increase sales. They won’t if workers can’t afford to buy.
Competition drives increased production and thus mechanization in a vicious cycle. The organic composition of capital (a measure of mechanization) rose 46% from 1946-2015. Since 1975, workers’ productivity has increased dramatically while real hourly wages stayed almost flat. Good for business, bad for the working class.
Soldiers, Sailors, Marines: Side with Workers
“With so much repression, is revolution even possible?” some Palestine activists wondered.
“Yes, if we get soldiers on our side,” a comrade answered. “Why do people join the military?”
“To get an education or a job,” one activist – a veteran with active-duty friends – quickly responded. Not to fight for bosses’ profits.
During the US war on Vietnam, its military was hamstrung by massive GI rebellions in country and on Navy warships. Black soldiers and sailors took the lead. Over 700 officers were “fragged” (killed). Rebels imprisoned in Long Binh Jail burned it down.
On April 30, 1975, Saigon rose. The heroic and dedicated Vietnamese masses drove the US imperialists and their puppets out of Vietnam.
Today, the US imperialists seem to agree on cutting government jobs and workers’ services to increase military spending. But the Trump administration is raising the risk (for them) and the possibility (for us) of rank-and-file military rebellions.
Attacks on “diversity” tell Black, Latinx, and women soldiers that they are considered “less than” although the military couldn’t function without them. Now there’s “Signalgate” – the high-level war planning conversation on unsecured phones. Military personnel see how little the rulers care about their safety.
Be Brave, Be Bold, Be Communist Revolutionaries!
Like Trump today, Richard Nixon, US president from 1969-1974, was a lying, foul-mouthed, bigot determined to wreak vengeance on his “enemies list.” He resigned just ahead of impeachment in the Watergate scandal.
Trump’s fascism today is qualitatively worse than Nixon’s. Why? Because US imperialism is far more isolated and desperate now. Especially since October 2023. The US is widely reviled for enabling Israel’s genocide in Palestine. Globally, declining US imperialism confronts a rising Chinese-led imperialist bloc.
It’s the endgame for the “American Century.”
Workers and youth are increasingly brave. The kidnappings and deportations of student and worker activists have provoked massive protests from Somerville (Massachusetts) to Tacoma (Washington). Confronting Trump/Musk attacks and Democratic Party complicity, hundreds of thousands are marching, picketing, walking out, and more.
Spread Red Flag and join ICWP to help masses see that communism is a real possibility and our only hope!
Pamphlet: Soldiers, Sailors, Marines: Key to Communist Workers’ Revolution