Overconfident US capitalism is preparing the ground for major confrontations with its working class in the period ahead

Eugene Debs: an American fighter

“Intelligent discontent is the mainspring of civilization. Progress is born of agitation. It is agitation or stagnation.”
Eugene Debs

There is a tendency for some on the left, as well as with many workers, to exaggerate a little about the condition that we find ourselves in. The word fascism is thrown about quite freely, it was especially so during the Bush years. But if the US were a fascist country I wouldn’t be writing these words like this on this blog.

This doesn’t mean we should drop our guard or underestimate things either; we have a battle ahead of us.  But I think that this fear that fascism is around the corner stems to a certain degree from the lack of a connection to the working class and a belief that the working class in the US won’t fight.

If you don’t see the working class as a player on the stage then the situation would be scary. But there is no way that the US working class will not enter in to the fray at some point; it is inevitable as far as I see things.

The situation in the US is a very volatile one; this country will explode at some point and it is only the absence of a movement and the role played or not played by the workers' leaders, and what is termed the left in this country but would be more accurately named the middle class left as opposed to a left current in the working class, that is delaying the process, and will mean the fightback will contain elements of confusion, reaction and unnecessary pain as it struggles to find its feet.

Just yesterday the Wall Street Journal reports that personal bankruptcies are up 9% to 1.53 million in 2010. In states like California and Arizona, bankruptcies were up 25% and 24% respectively. This explains the increased paranoia generated by the capitalist class over immigration; they want to keep people’s minds off the present economic crisis and their role in it.

Bankruptcies are most common among lower income workers, those earning $30,000 a year or less, but are also increasing among those in higher earning brackets, those above $60,000 with college degrees. The Journal describes one such bankruptcy case, a man who was an estimator for a construction company in California: “I’m not even worried about my credit anymore” he says, “I’ve got a house full of people that depend on me.” He’s now relying on his and his daughter’s disability payments to keep them, two children and his mother going.

Meanwhile, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the guy who made millions of dollars making violent movies, is no longer the governor of California. But in leaving he has handed over some of the goodies to his friends and political allies appointing at least 12 of them to various posts and commissions according to the San Francisco Chronicle. One gets a $168,000 salary serving on the OSHA Appeals Board. Another will also receive $128,000 a year as an appointee to the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board while others will receive what will no doubt be lucrative posts that can boost their political careers in one way or another. Schwarzenegger also commuted the sentence of the son of a fellow politician from 16 years to 7. The prisons are full of workers whose sentences should not only be commuted but in many cases thrown out and the victims compensated.

This is relatively minor stuff compared to What Wendy’s blog was referring to yesterday, the increase of the debt ceiling as a means to further increase the economic burden on workers and the middle class and to especially pave the way for the savaging of social security. It is the blatant flaunting of their power and plundering of the public wealth in the face of increased hardships for millions of Americans that is paving the way for some serious confrontations ahead. And you have Goldman Sachs and their little deal with Facebook plus foreclosures which are expected to be around 9 million in 2011 and, 12 million in the next few years according to the very same Goldman Sachs,

There is a commercial real estate crisis and the likelihood of major bankruptcies of cities and municipalities. And I can’t wait to get the Wikileaks releases on Bank of America. US society is sinking in a sea of debt as the capitalist class rakes in the dough.

This situation will not continue without major conflict. What we have seen in Greece and Ireland and Bangladesh, we will see here. The US working class will not allow itself to be driven to third world conditions without a fight. The Union leadership of the three locals at my former workplace, as they are in workplaces across the country, are all capitulating to the mood and rather than presenting an offensive strategy to their members are recommending that their they take a two year rollover of the contract without raises and no COLA. This is a disaster and is made with the hope that things will be better, but they will not and the workers will be in a weaker position in two years time. We cannot avoid the fight that is being placed in front of us, the bosses will not stop.  The destruction of the public sector Unions and public services is number one on the their to do list.

US capitalism is intent on putting US workers and the middle class on rations; this will not be popular and at some point the working class will retaliate.

I reckon history teaches us that.