An Analysis of the Upcoming US Elections.

international | politics / elections | opinion/analysis Sunday October 31, 2010 18:57 by john throne - Facts For Working People loughfinn at aol dot com

Capitalism will inevitably win.

The right recognized the anger in American society against Wall Street, the Banks and their capitalist system and politicians. They acted to fill the vacuum. The union leaders, the left and anti capitalist movement did not recognize the mood nor the vacuum. They did not act.

Only a few days to go. And the bosses' parties, the Republicans and Democrats will win the elections. There is no working class alternative because the Union leaders have supported the Democrats, spending tens and tens of millions of their members money to support them, mobilizing tens of thousands of their members to work for them, as a result the capitalist parties will win. It makes no difference of any fundamental nature to working people whether the Republicans or Democrats win. They are both capitalist bosses' parties.

It was not inevitable that the bosses parties would win this election. The union leaders should have refused to back the Democrats. Instead they should have taken their massive resources and built a mass working peoples party, ran candidates and built an alternative to the bosses parties. This is what would have changed US politics and shifted the class balance of forces in the direction of working people. I can hear the union leaders now. We have to be practical, we have to get people elected. The best way is to support the Democrats and get the Democrats who are our friends elected. This is the most stupid childish nonsense.

First of all the Democrats are not the friends of working people. But secondly improvements will only be won for working people when capitalism is afraid of working people. How frightened does anybody think capitalism will be by the thought that some Democrats have got support from the unions. It is a sick joke. In fact the bosses are less frightened precisely because they have elected members with financial support from the unions. With the union leaders already having handed over tens of millions to the Democrats they would be totally discredited if they pulled away from the Democrats after having done so. Handing over their members money to the Democrats only puts the unions more under the control of the Democrats.

The fear must be put into the capitalist class. The unions announcing they would never again support the Democrats or any capitalist party, this is what would put the fear into the capitalists. Organizing instead a mass struggle for a better life for all workers and linking this to the struggle against Wall Street, the rich and capitalism and running candidates as part of a working peoples party, this is what would put the fear into the capitalists and what would halt and throw back their vicious offensive and allow the working class to go on an offensive on its own. Organizing the unorganized and mass campaigns of tens of millions of workers in rallies and general strikes, this is what would put the fear into the bosses and win concessions.

This is what must be done. Look at the run up to the elections. It is clear that there is a powerful anger at Wall Street, the Banks, the capitalist politicians. The right wing of the capitalist parties and the capitalists themselves recognized this. And they acted. They took the anger that was reflected in the early Tea Bagger movement and built on this and built a right wing populist movement. The result will be they will probably be able to get their more right wing policies passed to an even greater degree after the election than before. We need to state it plainly. The right saw there was a vacuum and moved to fill it. This has to be recognized. Our enemies were more on the ball. The union leaders did not see this vacuum and did not act on it.

But it is not only the union leaders. In every major city in the US there are hundreds of left and anti capitalist activists. Throughout the entire country there are millions of working people enraged about what has been going on, the bail out of Wall Street and the banks and the rich, the huge tax cuts for the rich, the increased division between rich and poor, the draconian level of unemployment, the fall in living standards and the continuing wars. The left and activist and anti capitalist movement have proven themselves to be politically weaker and less effective that the right. Unlike the right they have not recognized the anger and the vacuum that is out there, and so they have not moved to fill this. It is not only the union leaders who have to be condemned for their role in letting the capitalist parties win and their offensive against working people roll on unchecked. The left and activist and anti capitalist forces are also guilty, they too have to be included in this failure.

Some of the left groups have not recognized the anger and the vacuum because they are blinded by their sectarianism and ultra leftism. What do I mean by this? They preach in their esoteric ultra left language and never make contact with the working class people. They think that a mass campaign for a $15.00 minimum wage or a $5.00 wage increase whichever is the greater is a reformist demand and one on which they will not fight. But it is precisely these sort of demands and campaigns that can take on capitalism and mobilize millions of people. The left and anti capitalist forces have been paralyzed by their ultra leftism and sectarianism. They will not recognize how working class people see things and relate to that consciousness and they are so worried that they will sell out and succumb to opportunism themselves that they try and inoculate themselves against this by ultra left language and an orientation which makes sure they never get a base or be influential in a mass movement.

The left and anti capitalist and activist movement have not recognized the anger that exists, have not recognized the consciousness that exists and reached out to make the connection with that consciousness. They have not recognized the vacuum that exists and moved to fill that vacuum, or if they have recognized it they are frightened off by the idea that if they took action and were able to fill the vacuum there would be such a movement with all sorts of confusions and ideas that they would not be able to keep their feet. The truth is they are afraid of a real living mass movement. Alternatives must be built to the policies and betrayals of the union leaders in the union locals and workplaces and communities. And the left must be challenged for their sectarianism, ultra leftism and fear of a real movement. What stands at the center of this fear is the worry in the left itself that it also has built into itself not only the obvious ultra leftism but also their own form of opportunism.

Sean.

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