At the same time, the magnitude of the toll; the social catastrophe plaguing millions in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and elsewhere in the region in the tsunami’s aftermath; and the class character of the aid extended from abroad and its distribution locally speak volumes about the need for social revolution. No capitalist country—from top imperialist powers like Washington to those in the semicolonial world—has ever used existing technology and human ingenuity and resources to effectively minimize the toll from natural calamities.

The movement of tectonic plates on the ocean floor did cause the powerful quake that made the sea rage. It was a reminder that we live on the crust of a planet whose molten core makes its shell shift. We can’t do anything about that.

The extent of the toll, however, was man-made. Early warning systems for tsunamis have been developed and are in place off the coast of California and in the Sea of Japan in the Pacific. These systems are costly and none of the countries struck have the resources to build or buy them and make them functional, or effective. Tens of thousands perished in Sri Lanka and India, alone, which were hours away from the tsunami’s starting point. Lack of adequate communications, warning networks, and transportation rendered useless even the signals picked up in Hawaii and elsewhere that indicated a tsunami was developing 15 minutes after the earthquake’s eruption.

The underdevelopment of the countries affected, which accounts for this state of affairs, has everything to do with their domination by imperialism. The plunder of the natural resources and exploitation of labor of the semicolonial world by the barons of finance capital in Washington, Paris, London, Tokyo, and elsewhere has everything to do with lack of access for millions to modern forms of electricity, telephones, paved roads, sturdy housing (or housing at all, other than shacks), public sanitation, medical care, or adequate nutrition. The workings of capitalism, and imperialism, are behind the acuteness of the social catastrophe unfolding the last 10 days on the coastal areas of South Asia.

The character of the aid extended and its distribution is the product of the class character of the states that offer it and those that receive it. Relief offered by the imperialist powers so far has been inadequate, if not stingy. None of these governments has taken the much needed step to immediately cancel the foreign debt of the countries affected, to cut the noose of debt slavery. And much of the aid promised, if the past record is any indication, is not likely to materialize.

Much of the relief distribution is in the hands of the United Nations—as much a “den of thieves” as its predecessor, to borrow the apt term for the League of Nations used by Bolshevik leader V.I. Lenin. This is cause for discomfort, as recent revelations of the handling of the Iraqi “oil for food” program by UN officials shows.

Not all the aid that does reach the countries it is destined for will get to those in dire straits either. Reports have already surfaced of tons of relief supplies accumulating in warehouses, members of the local military pilfering donations, and of callousness among local government officials toward the millions in desperate need of aid to rebuild their lives. Corruption, rampant among all capitalist regimes, does show its ugly head at such moments, often with more crudeness in the semicolonial world where scarcity is rampant.

Cuba stands out as an exception to this horrendous reality in today’s world. Its record in preparations beforehand, massive evacuations during, and rapid reconstruction after last year’s hurricanes—and the resulting minimal toll, even in comparison to its wealthy Yankee neighbor to the north—is an example that cries for emulation. The reason? Workers and peasants in Cuba took state power and put the country’s destiny into the hands of the vast majority through a socialist revolution, forging a communist leadership that is not bought off or cowed. Cuban working people and their proletarian leadership joined the worldwide struggle to build a society based not on the profits of a tiny minority of super wealthy families but on the interests of the vast majority—a society that values human life and dignity equally for all. That makes all the difference in the world—including in a storm, flood, fire, earthquake, or tsunami.  
 
 
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