The political events of the last months have focused on the barbarism that came to mark the last days of the Bush Administration: the awful brutality of the Israeli war on Gaza and the economic chaos ripping across the world market from the financial crisis. This issue of Relay looks at these developments and the role of the Canadian state in supporting the Israeli war and adopting the neoliberal policies that continue to dominate responses to the economic crisis.

Political and economic barbarism is forcing the Left to take a deep look at itself. It has been obvious for many years that new political formations are going to have to be built that push beyond the social democratic and communist organizations, as formed in orthodox communist parties or in Trotskyist and Maoist parties, that dominated the 20th century. These are starting to break through in a myriad of ways and places. This issue of Relay continues its coverage of these debates and movements of the emerging Left. The key zone to date for Left Renewal has been Latin America, and a variety of perspectives on prospects for continued advance are also canvassed.

The imperative question to answer for socialists in Canada is whether the economic crisis will also begin to form new agendas for socialism for here as well.

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