US capitalist madness as it provokes its own working class.

Some of us who contribute to and read this blog used to belong to an organization where the following two statements were frequently made. Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad. And sometimes the revolution needs the whip of the counter revolution. I was thinking of these comments the other day when I read a short article of an event in the small city of South Fulton, Tennessee.

In this city the right wing government has implemented a law which says that if residents want fire coverage, that is want the fire service to come to their homes if they have a fire, they have to pay a special $75 levy. If they do not pay this they do not get fire coverage. They can burn.

Last week a house went on fire. The owners had not been able to afford the $75 fee. So what happened? The fire service came to the scene of the fire, but on the way it had ascertained that the burning house was not covered with the $75 but the people in the houses beside the house that was on fire were covered by the $75. So they sprayed these houses which were not burning with water to make sure the fire did not spread to them. But they let the burning house burn. This is incredible.

What is the relationship of my opening comments to these events. US capitalism is mad. Such an act as this is provocative in the extreme. Along with replacing the elected representatives with financial dictators in towns, cities and states US capitalism is building up a head of rage that will explode, that is already exploding in this country. US capitalism is strutting around the world like they own it while they dig under their own foundations at home. It is mad, it is applying the whip of the counter revolution with abandon as if there will be no repercussions. This country is going to explode.

On another detail. We always and correctly so put the responsibility for the relative passivity of the workers movement in the US on the union leaders. We are correct to do so and must continue to do so. But as we do this we must also say that direct action from below is necessary. In this case the firefighters should have put out the fire in the burning house, appealed to the rest of the working and middle class population to support them and defied the city to take action against them. They would have had great support for this fighting stand.

Sean.