Interfering In Elections: Staggering Hypocrisy Of US Capitalism.

Sean O'Torain.

Putin: Shrewd Russian Imperialist. Trump: Stupid, ignorant, arrogant US President.

The hypocrisy of the US ruling class is staggering. The non Trump wing, which includes the US spy networks, the US dirty tricks departments, the tops of the US military, the US state and legal system and most of the more sane sections of the capitalist class itself, are screaming blue murder about Putin's intervention in the US elections in general and intervening to help Trump in particular. Of course Putin intervened in the US elections, either directly in communication with Trump, Flynn or others or by some other means of communication. And of course he did it to help Trump. And of course also the US working class should expose and oppose this intervention. But let us go back a little and in doing so look at the bigger picture.

Who is Putin and why should the US working class oppose his intervention in the US elections and in fact in any elections. After the Russian revolution in 1917, because that revolution was isolated, because it had taken place in an economically and culturally backward country and with a weak working class, that working class was not able to take hold and control society after the revolution. It was not able to build a democratic socialist society which would be run by the working class. Instead it lost control of the post revolutionary society to a dictatorial caste under the leadership of the brutal dictator Stalin.

However, the economy which had been taken out of the hands of the capitalist class and landlord class by the 1917 revolution remained nationalized, but the society as a whole fell under the control of this Stalinist caste, this Stalinist dictatorship. Amongst other things this meant that the resources, natural, territorial, economic, including the labor power of these societies, remained out of the ownership and control of the capitalist class in the West. This was the fundamental basis for the decades long conflict known as the Cold War. Capitalism wanted to get its hands on the wealth and resources including the labor power and markets of the Stalinist countries. It also wanted to make sure that no other countries moved in the direction of a nationalized non capitalist society and economy and it wanted if at all possible to bring down the Stalinist regimes that existed and rule the world unchallenged once again.

At the end of the 1980's the Stalinist regimes began to crack under their own weight. The bureaucratic castes were unable to take them forward. Nationalized economies, collectively owned economies, could only last and prosper for any length of time if they existed on an international scale and if they had the democratic input and were under the democratic control of the working class, that is if they were run by the democratic collective brain of the international working class. This was not the case in the Stalinist regimes. The fall of these regimes was also assisted by the rise of new technology and communications which made it much more difficult for all dictatorships to maintain power.

There were two possibilities for the former Soviet Union after its collapse. It could have gone forward to democratic socialist societies. Or it could have gone back to the restoration of capitalism. The latter road was taken. And it was taken with the help of US capitalism and all the other capitalist and imperialist countries and their allies such as the Catholic church. Talk about intervening in elections. It would be fair to say that there was never a greater interference in elections in history than that by imperialism, led by US imperialism in the elections that took place in the countries of the former Soviet Union after the collapse of that society. Put that in your pipe and smoke it US imperialism.

After a period of enormous turmoil and with the blatant interference of US imperialism and the rest of the world's capitalist classes and the Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches, new extremely brutal capitalist classes emerged in the former Soviet Union countries. They privatized and looted the wealth of these countries and became players in the world capitalist economy. This new capitalist class had a time of it consolidating itself. In Russia after bumbling buffoons like Yeltsin and co, Putin the ex KGB man came to the top. He has begun to give some cohesion to this new brutal ruling class. This is where the answer to the question of who is this Putin can be found. Putin is the new brutal representative of the new brutal Russian capitalist class, that is, of Russian imperialism. He sees his task as two fold. One is too keep the Russian working class down. And two, increase the power and influence of the new Russian capitalist class on a world scale, that is strengthen and expand Russian imperialism. This is who he is. This is what he is up to. He is no friend of any working class, either in Russia or any part of the world.

Putin intervened in the US elections to further the interests of the new Russian capitalist class, that is Russian imperialism. This has to be exposed and opposed by all workers and anti capitalist forces. The idiot Trump of course influenced by the possibility that he and his cronies could make a lot of money, have been making a lot of money out of the Russian economy and looking forward to possibly making even more out of new deals on oil and gas if sanctions are lifted, have been cozying up to Putin, and in the process have been led by the nose by Putin. The more sane wing of the US capitalist class are increasingly seeing this and going after Trump. The spy networks are hitting him with what are now called "weaponized leaks", the mass media are after him, Mattis his own so called Secretary of Defense is contradicting him on NATO and Putin and Russia.

The people he wants to replace Flynn the now disgraced former so called National Security Advisor are backing away as they see what the Trump regime is up to and see that if he continues as he is he will be a wrecking ball for US imperialism. Even the Wall Street Journal has the odd criticism. Trump and co are making a mistake, both from their own point of view and the point of view of of US imperialism. They are weakening themselves as a regime. And while doing so they are strengthening Putin and Russian imperialism. This is not in the interest of US imperialism. If Trump does allow himself to be instructed and tamed, does not get himself in order then it is very very possible that one way or another he will be removed.  

As Trump tries to defend himself and his relationship and shenanigans with Putin, he gets himself into deeper and deeper water.  In a TV interview he admits that Putin is a killer but so he says is the US. In this of course he is correct. But this horrifies the tops of the US military and spy networks who have conned themselves or been conned into thinking they are in some way more moral that Stalinism and now the new Russian capitalist class. It also horrifies the more conscious sections of the US capitalist class who understand that while they are no better (Hiroshima - Nagasaki) than Stalinism,  they need to be able to pose as kind hearted well meaning democrats if they are to continue in their world wide role with their hundreds of military bases internationally which are in reality there to allow US imperialism to look after its interests.

Just consider the following points for a moment and think about them in the context of the hysterical campaign in the media of the US capitalist class about Putin intervening in the US elections. Just think about these points and what they show about the staggering hypocrisy of US imperialism.

The American historian William Blum recently published an updated summary of US foreign policy from 1945 to the present. He showed that since that year the US tried "to overthrow more than 50 governments, many of them democratically elected; grossly interfered in elections in 30 countries; bombed the civilian populations of 30 countries; used biological and chemical weapons; and attempted to assassinate foreign leaders." Talk about interfering in other countries elections. In terms of interfering in other countries the US is number 1. And these interferences are not confined to using computers and high tech communications and tapping communications. Again and again they are through armed coups, invasions and occupations (Afghanistan and Iraq!) and killings.

Just think about Chile and Kissinger. Just think about Iran and Mossadeq. Just think about Kissinger the longest serving National Security Advisor ( national security advisor? More like the Dominate the rest of the world advisor). To this day Kissinger cannot travel to many countries of the world because he would be arrested and tried as a war criminal. His war crimes were interfering in the internal affairs of other countries on behalf of US imperialism and presiding over the slaughter of people soldiers and civilians, Americans and non Americans, especially in South East Asia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, etc. And he is fawned over by the US capitalist class: the crowd that are now  screaming about Putin interfering in the US elections!!  

Of course the US working class must oppose Putin's and Russian imperialism's interference in the US elections. Putin is the enemy of the working class whether in the US or Russia or internationally. But in doing so it must recognize the hypocrisy of US imperialism. It must also recognize that US capitalism, US imperialism interferes in all US elections, dominates all US elections with its ownership and control of the capitalist mass media and its domination of the electoral system through its monopoly of the political system by its two capitalist parties the Republicans and the Democrats, and the undemocratic corrupt electoral college and the legalized bribing (lobbying by corporations) of politicians. US capitalism, US imperialism, the US capitalist class interferes in all US elections to dominate the consciousness of the US working class and convince them that there is no alternative to capitalism. There is a lot of interfering going around. The US working class must build its own mass party and "interfere" in elections in its own class interests.