Let us hope we can take at least some steps in this direction in 2011.
The new year is with us. I am sure it brings to mind many different things for different people. For me the decisive issue is will it bring with it a movement strong enough to halt and throw back the capitalist offensive against the working class? There are plenty of positive signs. The many movements of youth and workers against the cuts in living standards being imposed by capitalism are signs of things to come. At the same time we have the increasing opposition in the US to the war in Afghanistan. 63% are now opposed. And we have the increasing opposition amongst the troops themselves as is shown by the speaking out of troops and the stand taken Bradley Manning. And the attacks on wikileaks are evoking a worldwide movement of youth who have never before been involved in any kind of struggle before.
Capitalism's offensive is very real. It means that working class people are receiving less wages, have to put up with worse conditions and less rights, are being thrown out of their homes while at the same time the capitalists are being bailed out and are making more money than every before. As the Wall Street Journal puts it the US is "awash with cash." What is happening is a tremendous increase in class polarization. Within this the working class and youth are fighting back in sporadic strikes and movements. However a great generalized movement has not yet surfaced. One which will be strong enough to halt and throw back the capitalist offensive. Why is this?
This is because of the role of the union and labor leaders. These people, this bureaucracy, believe there is no alternative to capitalism. They do not believe the working class can build a new society. For these reasons they use their control of the movement to keep it within the bounds of capitalism. So when capitalism launched its offensive these leaders saw their role was to get the working class to accept this offensive. That is to get the working class, their own members to "face reality" and take the cuts demanded by capitalism. They do this actively. That is they do not just stand aside. They actively intervene to see the union rank and file are not successful in their struggles and that the unorganized have little chance of organizing in a way that will allow them to struggle successfully. They actively crush opposition to their pro capitalist policies when this arises. Another reason the union and labor leaders will not lead is because they are doing quite well out of capitalism, with their higher wages and secure jobs.
But if history teaches us anything it teaches us that everything changes. And it also teaches us that people do not put up with worsening conditions for ever. It teaches us that people fight back. The scattered but increased movements that we have seen over the past year will in the future be pulled together into a great generalized international movement. This has been the case in the past but will be even more so in the future. We have the increased working class of China and South Asia. We have the spread of the Internet which allows communication as never before. We have global capitalism and global corporations as never before. Objectively capitalism has prepared the way for an international working class movement such as we have never before experienced. At some stage this will become the dominant reality.
Will this be in 2011? We cannot say. Timing is very difficult in politics and events. But what we can say is that at some stage the changed objective situation will reflect itself in a change in consciousness and a change in the movement of the working class. At some stage this movement will take on such proportions that it will halt and throw back the capitalist offensive, it will change the balance forces in society in favor of the working class and will open up an offensive of the working class against capitalism. In this new situation alternative ideas such as democratic socialism will be on the mass agenda once again.
One of the things that is helping this process is the recent wikileaks development. It is a major help that more and more people are able to read what capitalism has been doing in their name. This information must be accessed and spread far and wide. Knowledge is power. Part of this process must be to defend wikileaks and Assange and Bradley Manning. World capitalism are united in trying to cut off this flow of information and crush wikileaks and Assange and Manning. It must not be allowed to succeed.
As the new year develops we on this blog intend to discuss further how the new movement is likely to develop, how the existing movement is to deal with the present leaders who hold back the struggle. We intend to look into the past to see how this happened then and to see what lessons we can learn. In the meantime we will continue to explain that in our opinion capitalism does not work and that democratic socialism is the only alternative.
Defend wikileaks, Manning and Assange. Go to our program for the defense of wikileaks, Manning and Assange earlier on this blog, download it and spread it far and wide. Knowledge is power.
Sean.
No comments:
Post a Comment