Malcolm X was right. You cannot have capitalism without racism. It is impossible. Towards the end of his life Malcolm X became a socialist and fought for working class unity. That is why they murdered him when they did. He identified capitalism as the enemy and explained that it was inevitably linked to racism. Yes, he explained, you cannot have capitalism without racism. For all of us who want to fight racism this has to be our starting point.
Some people thought Malcom's position might no longer be true, now that Obama is in the Whitehouse. But far from it. Capitalism still needs and will always need racism. If the tiny minority of the capitalist class are to continue to rule the great majority of the working class they must divide the working class. So the weapon of racism must continue to be retained and used. In fact in this period when capitalism is in deeper crisis and the working class are more angry capitalism has to step up its racist policies of divide and rule. Racism is more central to their rule and control than ever.
Not only has racism continued with Obama in the Whitehouse but there are several reports which show that in some areas it has increased. In order to prove himself to to the mainly white capitalist class Obama has surrounded himself with the white capitalist swindlers and so called advisers such as Sumners, Bernanke, and others. And during his campaign he never stood up and challenged the source and the reality of racism. He tiptoed around it so he could get the white vote. So he never took any action to attack and weaken racism. But this is not all.
Take his economic policies and the unemployment rate. According to the most recent jobs data not only is the unemployment rate for blacks nearly twice that for whites, the gap in some demographics has widened rapidly since Obama took office. The unemployment rate over that time for white college graduates under 24 grew by about 20 per cent. For their black cohorts the rate grew by about twice that rate. A report from the Pew Research Institute finds that blacks were the most likely to get higher priced sub-prime loans, leading to higher foreclosure rates. In fact blacks have now replaced Hispanics as the group with the lowest home ownership rates. Things are getting worse for black people under Obama.
What is going on? We need to use our imagination. Think of the conversations in the board rooms and the golf clubs and where white bosses congregate. In spite of Obama's extreme determination to serve capitalism and not attack racism they do not trust or like him. This is reflected in their hiring practices right down to the most low paid positions. And also possibly even more in the high paid positions. They do not want an Obama in their board room. The US ruling class is still far and away WASP. And I hear the term "Uppity" we know the next word has been emerging again.
It is not only on the economic fronts that the situation is getting worse for blacks. Since Obama emerged as one of the two major candidates of the Democrats, as their candidate for the Presidency and his election to the presidency, a two year period, anti black hate crimes have gone up 8% while those against other racial groups have fallen 19%. (FBI reports) There is a backlash against blacks because of Obama's election, not only at the middle and upper levels of capitalism but also in the lower paid sections of the working class and the unemployed.
Obama's election did not reduce racism in the country. Most Obama supporters defended his policy in his campaign of not confronting racism, of campaigning in a way that would not "frighten" white voters. Put another way this means leaving the racist prejudices intact, not challenging them. But for racism against black people and all racist groups to be ended racist prejudices HAVE to be challenged. Obama decided that above all he had to get elected, he decided that above all he would not challenge the employers policies of divide and rule, that above all the white vote was most important for him and he would not do anything to upset this so he did not take on and challenge and attack racism or divide and rule. His strategy was to leave the racist prejudices intact. It was and is disgusting.
Of course there is no such thing as the white vote in reality. It is a construct of the employers and capitalism who have to work very hard with their political monopoly, their mass media, their education system, their vicious state apparatus, to maintain the propaganda that there is a white vote and to "create" and maintain a white vote. The war criminal and mass murderer Kissinger, the war criminal and mass murderers Cheney and Rumsfeld and Bush have nothing in common with the minimum wage white worker or the white worker, usually an ex vet, sleeping under an over pass. There is a class issue involved. The ruling class want to hide the fact that there are classes and that they are the ruling class and a minority. They do not want to be identified as the ruling class so they continually emphasize the divisions that exist, race, gender and so on. Obama cooperated with the ruling class. He wanted their support and he wanted to reassure them he was no threat in spite of his black skin. So the racial prejudices were not challenged or attacked by him, he allowed them to remain intact, and now that he is in the Whitehouse they are in fact getting worse. There is a backlash. And the divide and rule policies are seen to be alive and well.
If you cannot have capitalism without racism as Malcolm X correctly said, then this means that the struggle against racism is the struggle to end capitalism, is the struggle for a democratic socialist society. We have to confront racism and sexism and all that divides the working class. We need to confront it with all our weapons. Racism, sexism, are crimes against the working class and make our lives worse in every respect, they are immoral and all who practice them are immoral. Any working class person especially who is a racist or sexist should be ashamed of him or her self. Not only are they participating in crimes against their fellow workers and human beings as a whole but they are doing the bosses' dirty work. Racism, sexism, divide and rule, are the weapons of the ruling capitalist class. This is how they keep working class people down. Any worker who is a racist or sexist or who puts forward these ideas is acting against his or her own interests and the interests of his or her class. Let us be blunt. They are being stupid. They are being conned by the boss class who at the same time is putting its hands in their pockets and taking everything it can from them. But not only that they are being cruel and inhumane to their black and hispanic and female and other minority fellow workers and human beings.
Working people have to take an open stand on the basis of humanity and morality against racism and sexism. But we also have to explain that this stand is what is in our own interests as workers. We need unity as a class to defend our interests and to gain better living standards. The union leaders in particular have a central role to play. The trade unions have in the main a united membership, the trade union leaders control the resources of its millions of members, they have access to its millions of members in the workplaces, they should be taking the lead in the fight against racism. But they are almost as bad as Obama. They do not want to risk their positions and control by taking on and attacking racism. So the inevitable result is that racism continues in the unions and these organizations which have the potential to transform the situation remain paralyzed. The union leaders are a scandal.
Fighting racism and sexism means openly identifying and fighting these crimes against working people and against humanity. And it means fighting them as immoral and anti humanitarian. All union leaders and all activists and all working people must take this stand. We must express ourselves with rage and vehemence whenever we meet racism or sexism. We must be righteously enraged. This is our responsibility.
But also we need to fight racism and sexism with a program and method of struggle which unites working class people as the only force that can end racism and sexism. Only by ending capitalism can we end racism and sexism. And only the working class can end capitalism. And only the working class can build an alternative society.
Below is a program to begin to unite and mobilize the working class:
#For a $15.00 minimum wage or a $5.00 raise whichever is the greater, for all workers male and female.
#Free education to all levels and free health care at the point of use for all. Pay for these out of the obscene wealth of the rich and by reducing military spending which is used to protect corporate profits and interests abroad.
#End capitalism by taking over the dominant sectors of the economy and putting these under democratic collective control which will allow working people through democratic collective structures to plan and control a new economy in their own interests.
#Against racism and sexism and all forms of discrimination.
#For a united mobilized working class taking mass direct action to achieve its objectives. The working class is potentially the most powerful force in society.
#For a democratic socialist world.
Sean.
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