The devastating trembler that ripped through Haiti and its most populous urban center, Port – Au–Prince on January 12, 2010 measuring 7.0 magnitude on the Richter scale has killed and maimed unknown tens of thousands, possibly over 100,000, and left a population already in utter destitution barely clinging to life. The culpability for this horror rests entirely with the capitalist system for indeed it, through centuries of plunder and intervention, set the course of a dilapidated economic framework that has for centuries led to the ruin of the Caribbean island.

The bourgeoisie has fled the island while those vast numbers remaining are none other than the impoverished descendants of the first successful slave rebellion in the Americas, and the first nation on the planet to have emerged from the successful slave rebellion.  In 1793 under the leadership Tousssaint L’Ouverture and subsequently Jean Jacques Dessalines, Haiti emerged as an independent nation.

With an emancipatory orientation, in 1817, the new nation provided Simon Bolivar with arms, financial resources and troops stipulating that he free any slaves his armies encountered.  Subsequently, Bolivar is said to have freed the slaves of Columbia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama.  Whether this “ freedom” was conditional to the same strictures stipulated under the new Haitian regime under the dictator Jean-Pierre Boyer is probable for in order to maintain the plantation system and continue to produce sugar, coffee, tobacco and indigo, a virtual feudalism was imposed in which nominally free peasants were severely tied to plantation overseers.

          A timeline of significant events reads like this:

In 1824, Boyer negotiates with the U.S. to resettle 6,000 free American Blacks though the conditions of poverty caused most to return.

In 1825, under the threat of military action Haiti pays an indemnity to France of 150 million francs for the loss of slaves, paying in money that which had already been paid in the blood of slaves.

In 1843, Boyer is ousted in a coup leading to years of military coups, 32 in its 200 year history involving foreign meddling in behalf of various plundering capitalist interests including immigrant German, American, French and British and Syrian interests.

In 1888, U.S. Marines supported a military coup and in 1892 Germany suppressed the reform movement of Antenor Firmin.

In 1914, British, German and U.S. forces descended upon Haiti ostensibly to "protect" its looting gangsters from civil unrest.

From 1915 to 1934 U.S. occupation of Haiti resisted by the “cacos” rebellion in which over 3,000 insurrectionists were killed.  After, the constitutional system was scrapped the Haitian National Guard was established to maintain order, together with new roads to speed armed suppression of unrest no doubt.

In 1937, with U.S. acquiescence, notorious Dominican Republican dictator Rafael Trujuillo initiated the Parsley massacre killing ten to twenty thousand Haitians living in the border area, after which he initiated a program of racial discrimination targeting black Haitians.

From 1957 to 1986 saw the rise of the Duvalier dictator, “Papa Doc” initially and then "Baby Doc".  In order to make the country safe for U.S. investments the brutal "Tonton Macoutes" was established to make sure things didn\'t get out of hand.  During the period of the 70’s the U.S. sought to establish assembly plants for American manufacturers.

The 1980’s was a decade of more U.S. military aid to the Duvalier regime.

In 1986, with U.S. aid, Duvalier and his family were exiled to France.

In 1987, new elections were aborted in Haiti with the murder of untold scores by the Army and the Tonton Macoute.

In 1990, we saw the rise of the priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide who was in and out of office and finally with the assistance of the U.S. ended his term in 1996 after disbanding the army and establishing a civilian police force.

In 1996 René Preval was elected.

In 2000 Aristied was re-elected and then ousted in a paramilitary coup for the second time.

Boniface Alexandre assumed authority subsequently succeeded by René Preval who narrowly missed death in the earthquake.

This "bill of goods" leaves no doubt that the primary focus of interest in Haiti is the wealth that could be extracted from its impoverished working class.  Only the barest minimum of amenities or expenditures have been afforded the masses of Haitians either in terms of housing, shelter, food or clothing and it is evident that the rulers have criminally ignored the dangers posed by the underlying threats from shifting geological structures or for that matter tremendous environmental degradation visited upon the country.  The once verdant landscape has been largely denuded as a result of the desperate seeking of wood for cooking fuel.

          In retrospect, seismic disaster is not far-off for any number of U.S. cities that are ill fortified against the shifting tectonic plates.  Most of the buildings in Los Angeles and San Francisco are devoid of proper bracing. The codes are snubbed with impunity as owners try to maximize profits. Indeed, underlying the hand wringing and media feeding frenzy on the Haitian disaster, that is the name of the capitalist game.

          The above is simply one example which demonstrates that the quest for imperialist profits in the Caribbean, Iraq and elsewhere trumps all considerations for human life.