This is the text of a leaflet distributed by comrades of the RCA at demonstrations across the country. Download the PDF of the tri-fold leaflet here.

Global military spending

• The seven largest economies in the world spent over $1.2 trillion on their militaries last year.
• The total military spending of the world’s top 40 military budgets in 2023 was $2.4 trillion.

US Military Spending

• The US military budget for 2024 was $824.3 billion.
• “Through Fiscal Year 2022, the United States federal government has spent and obligated $8 trillion dollars on the post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and elsewhere.” (Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs)
• The US has sent over $61 billion to Ukraine since the start of the conflict.
• An additional $22.76 billion has been sent to Israel over the last 12 months, totaling over $83 billion.

We Could End Hunger

• The World Health Organization reports no progress has been made towards solving world hunger in over 15 years.
• According to Oxfam, $31.7 billion could eradicate world hunger ‘in all its forms’.

We Could End Poverty

• The UN Development Program estimates that just $14 billion could lift 165 million people out of poverty.
• The UN’s World Institute for Development Economics Research estimates that for $325 billion per year, we could end world poverty by 2030.
• A sum of $425 billion could end world poverty imminently, which is less than half of the US military budget for 2024.

We Could Prevent Diseases

• The World Health Organization states that $30.7 billion could significantly reduce the risk of future pandemics originating in tropical areas.
• The cost to eliminate malaria for over two billion people in the Asia-Pacific is estimated at $36 billion.

We Could Provide Universal Access to Education

• UNESCO estimates that $14 billion would completely end illiteracy in the 20 countries with literacy rates under 50 percent.

• UNICEF estimated that for only $1.4 trillion we could provide every child in the world with access to online education from 2021-2030.

From Our Manifesto

This dying system is a bottomless well of radicalizing events, each acting as the final straw for yet another swathe of the population. The ruling class is powerless to end this stream of catastrophes. They cannot roll back the clock and restore capitalism’s youthful vitality. They have no miracle for solving the problems that plague their society. They cannot stop the ranks of the communist generation from swelling.

 

The historic forces pushing mass consciousness toward revolution will not attenuate; they will intensify and accelerate, pushing millions to their feet. The communists of today must recognize our duty to prepare the path for the communists of tomorrow. We were simply the first in line, the harbingers of an even more dramatic shift in public opinion. It’s up to us to chart the course for those who will soon join our ranks. Tomorrow’s party of millions will grow out of today’s party of thousands.

A better world is possible. Join the party fighting for it.