Things falling apart

Just about everywhere you look the ruling institutions in capitalist society are falling apart. The economy itself was only prevented from imploding by taxpayers dollars. According to Mother Jones magazine over $14 trillion was handed over. Never before has there been such a bail out. Then there are the political organizations of capitalism, the Republicans and Democrats. The Democrats with a majority in the Congress and with the White House are competing with the Republicans to see who can most effectively kiss the boots of the corporations. As they do so some of their so called moderate wing think they are not doing this sufficiently. But at the same time their base is increasingly angry because they think they are capitulating too much to the corporations. The Republicans are trying to gear up to win back Congress later this year and the White House in two years. They are trying to ride the tiger of the tea party/town hall right wing populist movement. Years ago we said that the Republicans effort to build a base amongst the religious/right wing populist movement would back fire on them as these forces were mainly low income or lower middle class people and their class/economic position would bring them into conflict with the corporate owned Republican Party. This is now happening. The other institution of US capitalism that is under strain is the military machine as it is bogged down in two wars and is having more and more difficulty in getting enough recruits.

But to go back to the Democratic Party. According to an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll the percentage of people who view Obama "very negatively" has more than doubled since he was elected. Over the same period the number of people who view the Democratic Party "very negatively" has increased by three quarters. Why is this? It is not difficult to figure out. The Democrats are being punished for their capitulation to the corporations on health care, bailing out the banks and Wall Street and doing nothing serious about unemployment and foreclosures. At the same time the Republicans are winning some of the Democrats base by tapping into the same anger that is undermining the Democrats and are directing some of this anger their way.

The New York Times had an article on their opposite editorial page today. These were some of the comments made. "There is an economic emergency in the country with millions and millions of Americans riddled with fear and anxiety as they struggle with long term joblessness, home foreclosures, personal bankruptcies, and dwindling opportunities for themselves and their children. The door is being slammed shut on the American dream and the politicians, including the President and his Democratic allies on Capitol Hill, seem not just helpless to deal with the crisis, but completely out of touch with the hardships that have fallen on so many. While the nation was suffering through the worst economy since the depression, the Democrats wasted a year squabbling like unruly children over health insurance legislation. No one in his or her right mind could have believed that a workable, efficient, cost effective system could have come out of the monstrously ugly plan that finally emerged from the senate after long months of shady alliances, disgraceful back room deals, outlandish pay offs and abject capitulation to the insurance companies and giant pharmaceutical outfits. The public interest? Forget about it. The article goes on: "From 2,000 to 2,008 the number of poor in the US grew by 5.2 million reaching nearly 40 million. This study does not include data from 2009, when so many millions of families were hammered by the recession." This article also quoted from a study done by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston which put the issue in stark perspective. It explained that;" Labor market conditions for 16-19 and 20-24 year olds in the city of Chicago in 2009 are the equivalent of a great depression-era, especially for young black men." This is a catastrophe for young people.

US capitalism is in a very serious crisis. Economically and politically this is set to get worse. There is a tremendous opportunity for building an alternative. The union leaders with the millions of members in the unions are best placed to lead and build an alternative. And demands and pressure must be put on them to do so. However they are completely tied into capitalism and the Democratic Party. They can see no alternative. So while pointing out this refusal of the union leaders to lead, while pointing out their cowardly capitulation to capitalism, activists must ourselves build an alternative. Only by doing this, and making this alternative a powerful force that will threaten the leaders control of the unions will sections of the union leadership be prepared to move.

Activists must take up the day to day issues which have their source in the capitalist offensive against the working class. Wages, jobs, conditions, housing, education, health care, we must fight on these. Not just have an odd rally here and there or pass an odd resolution, but actually take direct action to defeat and drive back the capitalist offensive, to defeat it and open up a new working class offensive of our own.

In California at present the students and education workers are fighting the fees increase and job cuts in education by mass rallies, occupations and a strike and day of action on March 4th. Students and workers throughout the country should support them and come out also on march 4th.

But we can also take other actions. Wherever the capitalist offensive strikes we must meet it with combativity and resolve and mass direct action. For example when somebody is refused health care because he or she has no insurance we can organize mass direct action and put this person into hospital and keep them there and insist they are treated and at the same time identify the insurance companies involved, occupy their offices, identify the management of the insurance companies and occupy them, demonstrate at their businesses, homes and churches and at the same time organize that all other workers boycott them, refuse to serve them any services whatsoever. This is the kind of direct action against the capitalist offensive that is necessary and that is possible. Let us build united fronts throughout the country to build such a movement. The California student and worker movement is an inspiration in this regard.

But we must not leave it there. We must end this corrupt system and the corrupt political parties of capitalism. As we carry out the direct action struggles mentioned above let us also build an alternative political force. Let us build a mass Working Peoples Party. No support for the Democrats, the unions to break from supporting the Democrats, every struggle we put up to increase wages, to defend education, to get somebody health care, let us take it into the political arena, build the Working Peoples Party, run candidates out of the struggles, and change the political balance of forces in the country.

Of course just building a mass working peoples party along will not be sufficient. As soon as it would begin to develop a ferocious struggle would begin to develop over the program and policies of such a party. In this situation a revolutionary socialist current would have to be built in this party and in the unions to make sure that the newly emerging and strengthening labor movement would be committed against capitalism and for the building of a democratic Socialist Society.

Sean