US Capitalism. Whistling past the graveyard.

When I was growing up in rural Ireland many years ago some people were afraid to walk or cycle past graveyards at night. They still believed in ghosts. Some would whistle to keep their courage up. So there developed the saying, "whistling past the graveyard."

I think US capitalism is up to a bit of this at the moment. The vast majority of its mass media tells us that everything is fine. There are no ghosts. They are whistling past the graveyard. Of course the difference here is that there are ghosts and the truth is that they are real and alive. There is the odd voice in the capitalist media that admits this.

An article in the New York Times on February 6th was headed "Time is running out." It was by Bob Herbert. He wrote about attending a conference entitled "The next American economy: transforming energy and infrastructure investment." It was organized by the Brookings Institution and Lazard the investment banking advisory firm. Certainly no lefties.

Here are some of the things that were said. "We have now lost 8.4 million jobs in this recession and the vast majority are gone for good." Pennsylvania governor addressed the conference and used words like "stunning" and "unbelievable" "to describe what has happened to the nation's infrastructure.

Another speaker explained: "Living standards are sinking in the US and there is no coherent vision or plan for reversing that ominous trend over the long term." Another speaker said that unless something was done quickly the US would be a "second rate economic power by the end of the decade, it would be a 'cooked' goose."

Bruce Katz, the director of Brookings discussed some of the steps that need to be taken to remake an economy that has been "thrown completely out of whack by frantic debt driven consumption, speculative bubbles, exotic financial instruments and so on."

The author of this article wrote:"I was struck by the pervasive sense that if we do not get our act together then the glory days of the go-go American empire will fade like the triumphs of an aging Hollywood star. One of the participants raised the very real possibility of Americans having to get used to living in an economy that won't be number one."

This is at the very least what lies ahead. But the position is even worse than this writer speaks off. The US is bogged down in wars and occupations in the Middle east. This will beggar it financially and it will lead to the radicalization of its youth. And the nations politicians are locked in non stop self interested conflict rather than seeking to deal with the problems from the more far sighted and long term interest of the capitalist class.

A few weeks ago in Oregon a majority of voters voted to increase the taxes on the rich and the corporations and reduce them on the unemployment benefits of 270,000 unemployed. This shows the mood that exists. As living standards fall further this mood against the rich and corporations will strengthen further. This vote in Oregon shows what the union leaders should be doing. It also shows what the left forces in this country should be doing. Oregon shows there is the mood to make the rich and the corporations pay for the crisis they have caused.

What has to be done is to bring together the working class people, the left forces, the union movement and mobilize to make the rich and the corporations pay for the crisis they have created while at the same time they have been filling their pockets. The union leaders have the most responsibility in this regard as they control the unions with their millions of members. But we in the left have responsibility also, that is to get over our left sectarianism and work together in united fronts of struggle to change things. An example of this is the struggle of the students and workers in California against the attacks on education.

US capitalism has shown that it cannot run the economy. It is has forfeited the right to exist.

The trade union leaders have refused to struggle for a better life for their members. They have forfeited the right to lead, they have to be replaced.

For a mass independent fighting trade union movement.

For a mass fighting working peoples party.

For a Democratic Socialist Society.

Over 30% of Americans in a recent opinion poll said they looked favorably on socialism. This is when there is no mass force campaigning for socialism. This is a very favorable mood. Let us build on this. End the capitalist dictatorship of the corporations. For a democratic Socialist America.

Sean.