Although the US economy is ostensibly growing at the present time, it is growth based on the super-exploitation of working people and the relentless extraction of both relative and absolute surplus value. This is a “boom” that feels a lot more like a slump. When a “technical” slump comes at a certain stage, the effect will be even harsher. A recession is inevitable in the coming period so long as the capitalist system with its inherent cycle of booms and slumps continues to exist.
Introduction
The background against which we must develop our perspectives for the U.S. is one of increasing instability on a world scale. The capitalist system has entered a deep crisis which is causing convulsions at all levels: economically, politically, socially, and militarily. The contradictions that have built up for decades beneath the surface of society are now bursting to the surface. This affects every country on earth; none more so than the world’s only super-power: the United States of America.
A cursory look around the planet confirms what we have said now for a number of years: we have entered a period of wars, revolutions, and counter-revolutions. The convulsions of a system suffering from an organic crisis – the “death throes of capitalism” as Leon Trotsky described it - will mean terrible suffering for billions of people around the planet. The choice before humanity at the beginning of the 21st century truly is “socialism or barbarism”.
But out of the chaos of this decaying system, order can and must arise. However, this will not happen automatically. It will require the conscious and organized struggle of the world working class. In one country after another, there will be opportunities for the working class to seize power and begin the process of building world socialism. We can already see the beginnings of this revolutionary process in Latin America. But the fate of the World Revolution ultimately depends on what happens here in the United States. The contradictions of the capitalist system are sharper in the U.S. than anywhere else on the planet, and events can accelerate far more quickly than we anticipate. Hurricane Katrina and the explosion of the immigrant rights movement are just a hint of what’s to come.We must therefore learn from history, from the revolutionary processes unfolding internationally, and above all, we must prepare for the American Socialist Revolution.
We provide as a short appendix to this introduction some excerpts from a piece by Leon Trotsky, The “Third Period” of the Comintern’s Errors, written in January, 1930. In it he explains the importance of perspectives in order for a revolutionary Marxist organization to work out a correct political orientation to the working class.
“A Marxist sees the road as a whole, all of its conjunctural ups and downs, without for a moment losing sight of its main direction – the catastrophe of wars, the explosion of revolutions.
“The political mood of the proletariat does not change automatically in one and the same direction. The upturns in the class struggle are followed by downturns, the floodtides by ebbs, depending upon complicated combinations of material and ideological conditions, national and international. An upsurge of the masses, if not utilized at the right moment or misused, reverses itself and ends in a period of decline, from which the masses recover, faster or slower, under the influence of new objective stimuli. Our epoch is characterized by exceptionally sharp periodic fluctuations, by extraordinarily abrupt turns in the situation, and this places on the leadership unusual obligations in the matter of a correct orientation.
“The activity of the masses, properly understood, expresses itself in different ways, depending upon different conditions. The masses may, at certain periods, be completely absorbed in economic struggles and show very little interest in political questions. Or, suffering a series of defeats in economic struggles, the masses may abruptly turn their attention to politics. Then – depending on the concrete circumstances and the past experiences of the masses – their political activity may go in the direction of either purely parliamentary or extra-parliamentary struggle.”
“We give only a very few variants, but they characterize the contradictions of the revolutionary development of the working class. Those who know how to read the facts and understand their meaning will readily admit that these variants are not some kind of theoretical construction but an expression of the living international experience of the last decade…”
“…The art of revolutionary leadership is primarily the art of correct political orientation. Under all conditions, communism prepares the political vanguard and through it the working class as a whole for the revolutionary seizure of power. But it does it differently in different fields of the labor movement and in different periods.
“One of the most important elements in orientation is the determination of the temper of the masses, their activity and readiness for struggle. The mood of the masses, however, is not predetermined. It changes under the influence of certain laws of mass psychology that are set into moion by objective social conditions. The political state of the class is subject, within certain limits, to a quantitative determination – press circulation, attendance at meetings, elections, demonstrations, strikes, etc., etc. In order to understand the dynamics of the process it is necessary to determine in what direction and why the mood of the working class is changing. Combining subjective and objective data, it is possible to establish a tentative perspective of the movement that is a scientifically based prediction, without which a serious revolutionary struggle is in general inconceivable. But a prediction in politics does not have the character of a perfect blueprint; it is a working hypothesis. While leading the struggle in one direction or another, it is necessary to attentively follow the changes in the objective and subjective elements of the movement, in order to opportunely introduce corresponding corrections in tactics. Even though the actual development of the struggle never fully corresponds to the prognosis, that does not absolve us from making political predictions. One must not, however, get intoxicated with the finished schemata, but continually refer to the course of the historic process and adjust to its indications.”
US Economy
Economic perspectives for the future are based on the economic performance of the past, and are therefore provisional at best. Capitalism is a chaotic system, so it is particularly difficult to predict the exact rhythm and timing of the economic cycle with any real precision. Nevertheless, we can form a general idea of what the economy holds in store by analyzing the best available data and studying the history of the economic cycle and understanding the nature of the capitalist system.
We have been following the ups and downs of the U.S. economy for a number of years. But more important than the relative highs or lows of the stock market, or the growth and contraction of GDP, are the effects all of this has on workers’ consciousness. It is the constant instability and precarious nature of life under capitalism that will in time force the American working class to move on a massive scale in order to change their conditions of life. Already, there are symptoms of a changing mood among American workers, and this mood can grow far more rapidly than even we might expect.
Although the economy is ostensibly growing at the present time, it is growth based on the super-exploitation of working people and the relentless extraction of both relative and absolute surplus value. This is a “boom” that feels a lot more like a slump. When a “technical” slump comes at a certain stage, the effect will be even harsher. A recession is inevitable in the coming period so long as the capitalist system with its inherent cycle of booms and slumps continues to exist. While it is impossible to say precisely when or to what degree the economy will contract, there are many indications that it could be quite serious. What is clear is that even a minor recession can radically affect workers’ consciousness.
From the standpoint of the class struggle, the current weak boom is not at all a bad thing, as some workers are taking measures to defend what they have; a serious slump could dampen workers’ struggles for a period. There is no direct, mechanical relationship between the economic cycle and workers’ consciousness. Non-economic factors such as wars, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and other seemingly unrelated phenomena can also rapidly affect consciousness and the economy. With the world economy balanced on a knife’s edge, even a minor shock can send it over the precipice and have a major effect on workers’ consciousness.
True, the stock market is “rocketing ahead” and major corporations recently posted their biggest profit gains in 4 years. The official unemployment rate has been creeping downward and is hailed as proof that the economy is improving (it currently hovers around 4.6 percent). GDP grew steadily at 3.5 percent in 2005, although it slowed sharply to an adjusted 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter. But what do these figures really mean for working people?
Just 1.98 million jobs were created in in 2005, an average of 165,000 per month. This is barely more than the 150,000 positions that need to be created each month just to keep up with the number of new workers entering the job market. These are overwhelmingly service-industry jobs: low-wage and non-union with few if any benefits or protections. They in no way make up for the destruction of the industrial backbone of the economy and the loss of quality unionized jobs fought for over decades of labor struggles. Some 3 million manufacturing jobs have been lost since mid-2000. The services sector now makes up roughly 80 percent of U.S. economic activity. Those manufacturing jobs that have remained in the U.S. have been moved to the largely un-unionized Southern states where lower wages and more dangerous working conditions prevail (as is the case with some Japanese automakers).
Mass layoffs continue as jobs are off-shored and those still employed are compelled to do more work for the same or less pay. 20,000 Volkswagon workers are being laid off; 30,000 from Ford; 8,000 from Kraft; 1,500 from DuPont, etc. In February 2006 alone, there were 1,073 mass layoffs reported, each involving more than 50 workers.
Wages and benefits paid to non-government workers rose by just 3.1 percent in 2005, the smallest amount in nine years. This was not enough to keep up with inflation which rose at roughly 3.4 percent, meaning that there was an actual fall in compensation of -0.3 percent, the worst result since 1996.
Millions of U.S. workers are no longer even counted as unemployed, skewing the official unemployment figures which are most likely at least twice as high. Many people feel lucky to find minimum wage jobs, which at just $5.15 an hour is lower than it was 50 years ago when adjusted for inflation.
The gutting of the industrial heartland of the country has led to the wholesale destruction of entire swathes of formerly prosperous American cities. The process of gentrification of major city centers has marginalized millions of the poorest members of society, hitting Blacks and other minorities especially hard, Detroit, the former forge of the U.S. auto industry and birthplace of the United Auto Workers is in a virtual state of collapse. Factory closures, off-shoring, and bankruptcies are being used to shatter the once powerful Michigan labor movement.
The official unemployment rate in Detroit stood at 14.1 percent in 2005, nearly three times the national rate, and is probably far higher. More than one-third of its residents live under the poverty line. Its population has declined drastically: from over two million in the 1950s to just 900,000 today. Social services, public sanitation, and bus service have been gutted as hundreds of municipal jobs have been cut. Crime, violence, and burned-out buildings make this once strong working class city eerily reminiscent of the film “Robocop”. This is the face of capitalism in the 21st century. Even in the wealthiest country on earth, extreme poverty and even elements of barbarism are increasingly common.
The massive trade deficit continues to hang over the U.S. economy, especially the import-export gap with China. The overall trade deficit in 2005 reached a record $725.8 billion, fueled by record imports of oil, food, cars and other consumer goods. The February 2006 trade gap was the third highest on record, suggesting the annual trade deficit may surpass last year’s record, and the many economists expect it may eventually grow as high as $1 trillion annually. This means that Americans spend billions more on imported goods than are sold abroad. Most of this shortfall is paid for by increased borrowing – which will have to be paid back with interest.
The Federal government is in now debt to the tune of $8.4 trillion. This means that each and every family in the U.S. owes nearly $134,000 as part of the national debt. Interest payments alone on this borrowed money are a colossal drain on the economy. An astonishing 52 percent of all U.S. Treasury debt is now held by overseas owners. It is only due to the United States’ position of predominance in the world economy that foreign bankers are willing to finance this deficit. But how long can this last? Sooner or later this contradiction will have to be resolved.
The United States imported a record $175.6 billion of crude oil in 2005, paying a record average price of $46.78 per barrel. Gasoline is expected to hit more than $3.00 a gallon in the summer of 2006, which will have a knock-on effect throughout the economy. High gasoline and heating oil prices contribute to inflation and hit the working poor hardest as they have the least disposable income to work with. For many, driving a car is no longer a viable option. In cities where public transportation is in a state of disrepair, millions of working people are in an intolerable situation. With food and medical expenses also rising rapidly, many Americans must now choose between food, gasoline, or medical care.
Health Care costs are another massive drain on the economy. As reported by National Coalition on Health Care, total national health expenditure rose 7.9 percent in 2004 -roughly three times the rate of inflation Total spending was $1.9 trillion in 2004, or $6,280 per person. Total health care spending represented 16 percent of GDP. Spending on health care is expected to increase at a similar rate for the next decade, reaching $4 trillion by 2015, or 20 percent of GDP. The US spends more on health care than any other industrialized nation on earth, and yet over 45 million Americans are without health insurance. Those that do have it must pay through the nose for increasingly limited access to quality care.
In 2005, employer health insurance premiums increased by 9.2 percent – again around three times the rate of inflation. The annual premium for an employer health plan covering a family of four averaged nearly $11,000. The annual premium for single coverage averaged over $4,000. This crisis in health care is reaching epidemic proportions. Untold numbers of working people die each year because they have no access to basic, preventative health care, let alone advanced care. This is the legacy of a trade union movement that fought for health benefits for its members alone, instead of for the whole of society. The only solution is the abolition of the HMOs and a universal health care system providing quality care for all. The labor movement must be at the forefront of this struggle.
Soaring health care costs, stagnant wages, and the need to pay for day-to-day expenses with borrowed money have contributed to a dramatic fall in the rate of personal savings, which went into negative territory in 2005 for the first time since the Great Depression. The Commerce Department reports that the savings rate fell by 0.5 percent, meaning that Americans not only spent all of their after-tax income last year but had to dip into previous savings or increase borrowing. This at a time when 78 million Americans are on the verge of retirement. The savings rate has been negative for an entire year only twice before - in 1932 and 1933 - during the Great Depression.
An inflated sense of wealth due to rising house prices also contributed to this drop in the savings rate, as millions of home-owners felt richer than they really are due to double-digit price increases in many markets. After the burst of the Information Technology stock market bubble in the late 1990s, another bubble started inflating: the US property boom. Consistently and often rapidly rising house prices allowed homeowners to take out multiple mortgages on their homes, thus providing them with a seemingly ever-expanding source credit with which to continue spending beyond their means.
But higher interest rates, necessary to counter rapidly rising inflationary pressures elsewhere in the economy, threaten to end this expansion. Already, the housing market is leveling off in many areas. A fall in prices could lead to a nightmare situation for many homeowners who could end up owing more on their mortgage than their home is worth. Even a slowdown in the rise of house prices – never mind a collapse – could set off an economic chain reaction with serious effects throughout the U.S. and world economies. Housing-related job growth has been twice as fast as other sectors of the economy and has contributed nearly one-quarter of all net new jobs in the last two years.
It is estimated that if the annual rise in house prices slows to just half the current rate of 12 percent, housing’s contribution to private consumption growth will disappear. The real growth rate of the U.S. economy would fall to recession levels and could even cut 1 percent or more off of global output growth. With falling returns on investment in U.S. assets, many foreign bankers would likely have to reconsider the financing of the massive U.S. deficit – one of the only things keeping the U.S. economy afloat.
With the industrial backbone of the economy in steep decline, consumer spending now accounts for roughly two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. Much of this is on credit and has definite limits. According to the Federal Reserve Board, consumer debt hit $1.98 trillion in October 2003, up from $1.5 trillion in 2000. This figure includes credit card and car loan debt, but excludes mortgages, and is equal to roughly $18,700 per U.S. household. When mortgage and other debt is included, the debt was an astonishing $9.3 trillion in April 2003, an increase of $2.3 trillion since January 2000. In 2003, credit card debt alone stood at over $735 billion, with the average household balance among those with credit card debt at around $12,000. In the 10 years between 1993 and 2003, consumer debt more than doubled, and has continued to expand steadily since then.
Credit allows for the artificial expansion of the market; but this effect is temporary as it only puts off until later the day when all this money must be paid back - with interest. As credit is squeezed through rising interest rates, consumption will drop, unleashing an ugly spiral of layoffs, price wars, and bankruptcies. The vast expansion of credit over the last few years only serves to put off the day of reckoning.
The war in Iraq and other military operations around the world are a tremendous drain on resources that could otherwise be used to build schools, hospitals, and rebuild the crumbling infrastructure of the country. The Bush Administration has truly put “guns before butter”. Total expenditure on the Iraq war is estimated at $320 billion so far, and according to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, the costs are rising steadily: from $48 billion in 2003 to $59 billion in 2004 to $81 billion in 2005 to an anticipated $94 billion in 2006. As reported by the Congressional Research Service, the U.S. government is now spending nearly $10 billion a month in Iraq and Afghanistan, up from $8.2 billion a year ago. In today’s costs, spending on the Iraq War outpaces the $61 billion a year that the United States spent in Vietnam between 1964 and 1972.
Some analysts believe the total cost of these wars could easily top $1.2 trillion when taking into account the continuing costs of health care for the nearly 20,000 American troops that have been wounded so far. This would be more than the combined costs of the Korean War ($455 billion) and the Vietnam War ($650 billion). Some 2,500 US troops have been killed so far, and the cost in Iraqi and Afghani lives and destruction is incalculable.
The economic stimulus of the war has been concentrated in only a few industries and a few cities, while the costs are paid by all working people. Companies with close ties to the White House, such as Halliburton and Bechtel are among the main beneficiaries of this blatant corporate welfare. According to David Lesar, Halliburton’s chairman, president and CEO, 2005 was “the best in our 86-year history ... For the full year 2005 we set a record for revenue and achieved net income of $2.4 billion with each of our six divisions posting record results.”
This from a company that has been regularly investigated for over-pricing, corruption, and fraud. According to the Boston Globe, the Army recently found that Halliburton had $263 million of exaggerated or unexplainable costs on a $2.4 billion no-bid contract in Iraq, yet still paid Halliburton $253 million of the $263 million. The country’s treasury is being looted on an unprecedented scale as the burden of maintaining the state is further shifted from the wealthiest in society to the poorest.
Unprecedented spending on “defense” and “Homeland Security” means that cuts need to be made elsewhere. Bush’s “plan” to deal with the colossal debt his administration has rung up is to make tax cuts for the rich permanent and to slash social spending to the bone. He is cynically and purposely using the debt as a battering ram against social programs while spending billions on war. His proposed $2.77 trillion budget for 2007 includes a record $439.3 billion for the military while cutting $36 billion from Medicare, and slashing or abolishing 141 discretionary programs, including programs to prevent violence against women and to provide vocational education. This is separate from the billions that will be required for continuing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Despite the cuts, the federal budgetary deficit is expected to rise from $318 billion in 2006 to $423 billion in 2007.
These policies have resulted in an unprecedented polarization of society as the rich get ever richer, and the poor sink further into misery, degradation, and marginalization. There are now 7.5 million millionaire households in the U.S. - not including the value of a main residence. The number of households worth more than $5 million - the so-called “Ultra High Net Worth category” - surged by 26 percent in 2005 to 930,000.
On the other side of the spectrum, the official poverty rate in 2004 was 12.7 percent of the population, up from 12.5 percent in 2003. That represents 37 million people, 1.1 million more than in 2003, and 5.4 million more than in 2000. The poverty rate for Blacks and Hispanics is roughly double that for non-Hispanic Whites and Asians, although non-Hispanic Whites are joining the ranks of the impoverished more rapidly than any other group. The poverty rate is also higher among those under 18 years old at 17.8 percent, which represents 13 million children. (As reported in the Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey)
These are the official figures and do not fully take into account the true scale of under- and unemployment, displacement, homelessness, undocumented workers, and other marginalized sectors of society. And these figures do not yet take into account the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Once again, this reveals the true state of capitalism in the world’s most powerful country at the beginning of the 21st Century.
There is much more that can be said about the state of the U.S. economy, but it is sufficiently clear from the above that GDP numbers and a rising stock market don’t tell the full story. It is also clear that the decisions that most affect our lives are taken in the corporate boardrooms and by the CEOs. The government is controlled by the millionaires and billionaires of both big business parties, and it is in the interests of the millionaires and billionaires that they write and enforce the laws.
In the final analysis, the right of any economic system to continue depends on its ability to develop the means of production. On a world scale, capitalism is no longer able to do this, and even in the richest country on earth it has long-ago ceased to play a progressive role. The extreme polarization of wealth and the “casino”-like economy, in which money is made not through investment in productive capacity but by gambling on the stock market are a reflection of this. However, there will be no automatic collapse of the system. Capitalism must be overthrown by the organized efforts of the working class, consciously moving to seize its destiny into its own hands.
It’s worth repeating that economic perspectives are not only about the absolute lows or highs of the economy. The “experts” may tell us that the economy is booming, but millions of “ordinary” workers sure don’t see it that way. It won’t require another 1929-style crash before workers start to mobilize to stop the bosses’ attacks - it is already happening. Millions of workers realize the relationship between the massive spending on the “war on terror” and the cuts here at home. More and more workers are coming to the realization that the attacks they are suffering are part of an all-out offensive by the bosses, intended to turn back the clock 70 years or more. This is already having an effect on the labor movement and on the political situation of the country. Beneath the surface of society, big explosions of the class struggle are being prepared.
After Bush’s re-election in November 2004, many characterized the American people as “sheep” on the way to the slaughter, and despaired that the working class would now be steamrolled by the Bush juggernaut. We explained that on the contrary, Bush would have no honeymoon period whatsoever, that the country was as divided as ever, and that he had no real mandate or political “capital”. These perspectives are already being borne out by events.
After Bush’s re-election in November 2004, many so-called “progressives” characterized the American people as “sheep” on the way to the slaughter, and despaired that the working class would now be steamrolled by the Bush juggernaut. They lamented that he would now be able to force through any and all legislation, no matter how reactionary.
We explained that on the contrary, Bush would have no honeymoon period whatsoever, that the country was as divided as ever, and that he had no real mandate or political “capital”. We pointed out that the colossal arrogance of his clique would lead to colossal mistakes, and that well before the end of his term, he would regret having been re-elected. We also predicted that his anti-worker policies at home would inevitably be met with growing resistance, and that his equally reactionary foreign policy would start to unravel. These perspectives are already being borne out by events.
In recent years, the political consciousness of the American working class has been shaken by one event after another: the 2000 elections, the collapse of Enron, September 11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, etc. One of the most important turning points in this process of rising consciousness was Hurricane Katrina, the effects of which are still with us today and will be for decades to come. Its winds and waters exposed the brutal foundations on which the capitalist system exists. It brought to the surface the ugly underbelly of racism and poverty that pervades American society. Millions of Americans who had previously avoided these monstrous truths about our “democracy” were forced to come face to face with them in a most abrupt and uncomfortable way. The images of death, destruction, and desperation were not coming from some “distant third-world country” – but from right here in the U.S.
The overwhelmingly poor and Black population of New Orleans, a city steeped in African American history, tradition, and culture, was abandoned to its fate due to the callous greed and racist indifference of the ruling class. In the article The New Orleans Disaster: The Real Face of "Capitalism of the 21st Century", we explained in detail the gross negligence that led to the disaster, its immediate aftermath, and its effects on the population. Since then, the diaspora of New Orleanian African Americans and the poor in general has continued apace, with entire districts suffering evictions, expulsions, and demolition. The former residents are an internally displaced population, scattered to the four winds, never to return to their homes, neighborhoods, and extended families.
New Orleans, formerly an overwhelmingly Black and working class city is to become an overwhelmingly White tourist destination for the wealthy. Millions of dollars in “reconstruction” money are going to “clean up” the poorest neighborhoods in order to turn them into casinos and resort hotels. The same companies responsible for the “reconstruction” of Iraq are on the ground in New Orleans: Halliburton, Bechtel, Blackwater Security, and others. This mass gentrification was not the result of a “natural disaster”, but of a racist economic and political system that puts profits before people. However, this atomization of hundreds of thousands of people is planting the seeds of revolutionary discontent in every city where these refugees end up.
The criminally inept and negligent response to Katrina and its aftermath, the state of the economy, the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the domestic spying scandal, and charges of corruption, perjury and fraud at the highest levels have seriously dented the Bush Administration’s armor. Bush’s worsening approval rating reflects a deep-seated discontent among working people with the way things are going; and the beginning of serious divisions in the ruling class. It also underlines just how dramatically and quickly people’s consciousness can change on the basis of events. Opinion polls never tell the whole story, but they do provide a snapshot into people’s consciousness at any given time, and their rise and fall over time can be used to track general trends.
According to recent polls, public confidence in the Bush Administration has been “shattered” by pessimism over “America’s future”. A CBS poll found 66 percent of the public believed the country was headed down the “wrong track”. Bush’s 33 percent approval rating in April was the lowest so far in his presidency – a far-cry from the 90 percent approval he had after 9/11. Formerly seen by the majority of Americans as a strong and personally credible leader, the adjectives now most frequently used to describe him include “incompetent”, “out of touch”, “liar” and “idiot”. Just over a year ago, in February 2005, the most frequent response was “honest”. According to independent pollster Dick Bennett of American Research Group, “People simply aren’t buying it anymore. People can see for themselves that things actually are not fine.”
The downward spiral of the Iraq War is playing a large part in this transformation of consciousness. Nothing has been solved and patience is wearing thin at all levels. Those actually fighting the war are increasingly demoralized and affected by their experiences as evidenced by the sharp rise in U.S. Army suicides, which have gone from 60 in 2003 to 87 in 2005. Bush the “War President” and his clique of neo-conservative hawks have made a complete and utter mess of things.
All the reasons given for going to war have proved to be “faulty”, misleading, or outright lies. Far from “Mission Accomplished”, the occupation of Iraq is set to drag on for years as the insurgency continues to grow in strength and popular support. 67 percent of respondents in a recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll said Bush did not have a clear plan for handling Iraq. Five years into the interminable “war on terror”, Americans feel no safer than they did before the tragedy of September 11th. Americans are increasingly aware that the “war on terror” is nothing but a war on workers at home and abroad.
In addition to the chaos, death, and destruction of the war, there has been colossal deception, waste, and corruption. Former CIA agents have confirmed that the Bush Administration ignored clear evidence that there were no Weapons of Mass Destruction a full six months before the war started. It is now clear to millions of Americans that the looting of Iraq was the real goal of the war, a goal that was planned-for long in advance. They understand that the non-existent 9/11 connection, the threat of WMD, and the removal of former U.S. ally Saddam Hussein were just scare tactics and flimsy excuses for a predatory war.
According to the International Advisory and Monitoring Board for Iraq (IAMB) and the Coalition Provisional Authority Inspector General (CPA-IG), an audit of contracts handed out in Iraq found no evidence of work done or goods delivered on 154 of 198 contracts. Sixty cases of potential swindles are under investigation. U.S. government investigators can account for only a third of the $1.5 billion given by the CPA to the interim government and it appears that a substantial portion of the $8 billion given to Iraqi ministries went to “ghost employees.” This is the gangster capitalism being peddled as “freedom” and “liberation” by the Bush administration.
Dissent against the war and its chief architect Donald Rumsfeld has spread to the highest levels: no fewer than 6 prominent retired generals have called publicly for his removal or resignation. In an incredibly frank admission that plans for invading Iraq were in place long before September 11 or even the Bush Administration, retired Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni told CNN that Rumsfeld should be held accountable for a series of blunders, starting with “throwing away 10 years worth of planning, plans that had taken into account what we would face in an occupation of Iraq.” Retired Major Gen. John Riggs told National Public Radio that Rumsfeld had helped create an atmosphere of “arrogance” among the Pentagon’s top civilian leadership: “They only need the military advice when it satisfies their agenda. I think that’s a mistake, and that’s why I think he should resign.”
Several former war hawks of both pro-war political parties have also suddenly shifted gears and come out in opposition to the war. This change of heart has not come about because they genuinely oppose the horrors the Pentagon is inflicting on the people of Iraq and the young men and women sent there to kill and be killed. It is because they understand that this adventure has gone terribly wrong, and that the fundamental interests of U.S. imperialism are threatened by this mess. This fiasco has weakened the military’s preparedness for other imperialist wars and has exposed U.S. imperialism as a colossus with feet of clay. Above all, they fear the reaction of the working class here at home.
This is only the tip of the iceberg of growing dissent within the Bush Administration and the Republican party. The formerly “omnipotent” cabal that runs the government is under serious pressure as more and more things go awry. The Abramhoff scandal, the Valerie Plame affair, the illegal domestic spying program, Tom DeLay’s corruption charges, and Bill Frist’s insider trading investigation have exposed the corrupt and rotten nature of the Republican Party. The media, while still overwhelmingly uncritical, is no longer able to conceal the extent of the problems.
The Republican Party’s domestic policies and second term legislative agenda are stalled, and their foreign policy is summed up with the Iraq quagmire (though they continue to rattle the drums of war against Iran and are clearly working to destabilize Venezuela). Bush looks increasingly like a “dead duck” President, with nearly three years to go in his second term . In an attempt at damage control and to distance the President from these problems there have been a series of shake-ups at the White House: the departure of Cheney’s Chief of Staff Lewis “Scooter” Libby and Press Secretary Scott McClellan, and the demotion of Bush’s top political strategist Karl Rove. Additional cosmetic changes are certain in the future, and many rats will abandon the sinking ship, but this won’t change anything fundamental. Nor does it rule out further reactionary measures by Bush, Cheney, and co. as control continues to slip from their grasp.
So where are the Democrats in all of this? Where are all those that voted for the war and enabled Bush and his unelected and unaccountable gang get away with the most vicious attacks on working people? The Republicans’ seemingly impregnable stranglehold on both houses of Congress is now under threat – but it must be clearly explained that this is in spite of the Democratic Party, which has only recently and opportunistically moved to capitalize on public anger against Bush and his policies. These are the same people that stood meekly by for five years while Bush dismantled what little Bill Clinton had left of the social safety net, destroyed the economy, poisoned the environment, and plunged the world into war.
After the 2002 mid-term elections, many sounded the death knell of the Democratic Party. This sentiment was further strengthened after Kerry’s miserable campaign for president in 2004. But we explained that they would inevitably be back – not on their own merit or because they in any way represent the majority, but simply because there is no viable alternative at the present time.
In the absence of a mass party by and for working people, political power has passed for the last few decades between two billionaire, pro-war, anti-worker parties. This tedious pattern will play itself out yet again in the coming years. For lack of an alternnative, the Democrats will inevitably come back to power at a certain stage. This will part of the ruling class’ strategy to control the leftward shift in society and keep it within “safe” channels – safe for the capitalist class and its system of exploitation.
In a certain sense, support for the Democrats expresses a healthy rejection of Bush’s blatantly anti-working class policies. It reflects the aspirations of millions who sincerely believe that there is another way of doing things. This sentiment lays the basis for the creation of a genuine political alternative by and for working people – a mass party of labor.
But we can have absolutely no illusions in the Democrats. We must tirelessly and patiently explain that the two corporate parties are simply two sides of the same reactionary coin. On all fundamental issues, they are virtually identical. The Democrats’ alleged “worker friendly” attitude is a total sham and a deception. They are a party of billionaires and millionaires and cannot serve two masters with diametrically opposed interests – the capitalist class and the working class. Time and again they have proved in practice that they defend the interests of the rich and powerful and in no way represent working people.
However, the Democrats are so bankrupt and discredited in the eyes of so many Americans, that anything can happen. As in 2000 and 2004, it is not ruled out that the total disillusionment with the Democrats could result in yet another narrow Republican victory in the 2006 and even the 2008 elections. But it is all but assured that at some point, the Democrats will again gain the presidency and a majority in government. It is equally assured that despite some demagogic and cosmetic “reforms”, they will carry out the same anti-worker policies as their predecessors, especially when it comes to foreign policy.
It’s possible they may even effect a withdrawal from Iraq - but this would only be a prelude to future imperialist attacks and wars. This is why we must begin now to build a genuine mass political alternative for working people. The trade unions must break with the Democrats and put their considerable energies and resources into building a party by and for working people. Millions of rank and file union members have been betrayed time and again by the Democrats. It’s time to end this relationship once and for all.
As a class, the capitalists are bankrupt and historically doomed – and this is reflected in their narrow and short-sighted outlook, their ignorance, and their arrogance. History shows that often, the “tops of the trees blow first” – that the intense class contradictions developing in society are first expressed by divisions in the ruling class. They are no longer able to rule in the old way and are unsure as to how they can or should proceed. They can feel the rumbling beneath their feet but are undecided as to what to do about it. The divisions developing today within the ruling parties are more than the usual smoke and mirrors they always use to deceive working people into thinking that there are real differences between them. These divisions reflect the early beginnings of a revolutionary process maturing beneath the surface of American society.
The only progressive class in society is the working class. Only we can lead humanity out of the dead end of misery, poverty, discrimination, ignorance, degradation, and war. With piles of flammable material laying around, the political situation in the U.S. is potentially explosive. But the lack of a genuine working class alternative means that for the short term, the pressures will continue to build up, preparing an even bigger explosion of the class struggle at some point in the not-too-distant future. Already we can see the beginnings of a great stirring of the working class. Once this giant awakens, no force on earth will be able to stop it.
The pendulum of the class struggle, which has been swinging mercilessly against working people for the past twenty-five years, is starting to swing the other way, with the beginnings of a fight back by the working class. The period we have entered may well be far more similar to the turbulent 1930s than the relatively stable post-war period.
The pendulum of the class struggle, which has been swinging mercilessly against working people for the past twenty-five years, is starting to swing the other way, with the beginnings of a fight back by the working class. The period we have entered may well be far more similar to the turbulent 1930s than the relatively stable post-war period. It is important to keep this in mind when analyzing the processes developing within U.S. society. A sharpening of the class struggle in the United States is on the order of the day, and this will be increasingly expressed through the trade unions and the Labor Movement in general.
Over the past year there has been a changing mood within the Labor Movement. This is a reflection of the shift to the left taking place internationally, which is itself the result of the crisis of capitalism and the vicious attacks on working people around the world. The pace and intensity of events is accelerating in one country after another. After nearly three decades of a bosses’ offensive against the working class, of betrayals by the trade union leadership, as well as a general fall in wages and living conditions, the rank and file of the Labor Movement is showing the first signs of a serious reawakening. The reaction against decades of class collaboration and business unionism is steadily gaining momentum.
In the last few months we have witnessed a number of important struggles and movements of the rank and file, largely unprecedented in the 25 years since the demoralizing and crushing defeat of the PATCO strike. Foremost among these have been the New York transit strike and the rank and file movement issuing out of the UAW, the Soldiers of Solidarity.
The New York Transit strike was an opening shot in this process. The strike involved 33,000 workers and brought the nation’s largest transit system to a halt (TWU workers move 7 million people around the NY metro area every day). This was the first strike of NY TWU since 1980, when they struck for 11 days. Pay, health, and retirement benefits were the main points of contention. The attacks by the municipal administration of billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg against the TWU were meant as a battering ram against the entire labor movement. Declaring it an “illegal” strike, the authorities threatened stiff fines, court actions, and layoffs. They aimed at nothing less than invalidating the unions’ fundamental right to bargain collectively.
In the face of these threats, the rank and file transit workers refused to be cowed and went on strike anyway. But despite the solid strike action and a decent measure of support from the public, the International leadership of the TWU intervened and put heavy pressure on the local leadership to call off the strike and return to negotiations with the Metropolitan Transit Authority. This 11th
hour betrayal by the “leadership” undermined what could have been an important victory. Nonetheless, the TWU strike shows the discontent and fighting spirit that is growing within the rank and file of the labor movement. It also highlights the bitter character of industrial disputes in the next period, as the bosses and the state mobilize their entire might to defeat the workers. But given a far-sighted, incorruptible, and accountable rank and file leadership, the potential for big victories of the labor movement is in the cards in the coming period.
In this regard, the Soldiers of Solidarity (SOS) movement is of particular importance. The SOS offers a first glimpse of the militant and democratic organizing capacity of the rank and file, and shows how a real struggle for workers’ rights can be waged starting at the shop floor. It shows that we don’t have to wait to be sold-out by our union “leaders”, and points the way forward to industrial and class-wide unity against the attacks being suffered by all working people - at home and abroad.
The SOS movement first emerged as a rank and file mobilization of Delphi workers who oppose the company’s tactic of using bankruptcy proceedings to invalidate the union’s contract and pensions. They also oppose the official union leadership’s unfortunate policy of collaborating with the bosses instead of defending their members’ interests. While the struggle at Delphi against plant closures, layoffs, and drastic cuts in wages and benefits remains the movement’s main point of attack, the SOS has made a class-wide appeal that has begun to get an echo not just in the UAW, but throughout the entire Labor Movement. This has important implications for the class struggle in the coming period.
The conservative inertia of collaboration with the bosses that has been the primary feature of the trade unions for the past 25 years is starting to come under the pressure of the rank and file. Put simply, the rank and file is starting to stand up and say, “No more concessions! Enough is enough!” By basing itself on the rank and file and demanding militant and democratic action starting at the point of production, the SOS are an important element in the reinvigoration of the trade unions from below. The fighting outlook of the SOS is summed up by Gregg Shotwell, one of their most active members, as follows: “Workers’ Rights are not defined by Law or Contract. Workers’ Rights are defined by Struggle. You will Win what you are willing to Fight for. Nothing more, nothing less.”
At present, the SOS itself is a relatively amorphous and loosely-knit body based mostly within the UAW locals representing Delphi workers. There are also “sister” movements across the UAW, which although not going by the name Soldiers of Solidarity, represent the same movement for rank and file democracy and militancy. SOS supporters have emerged in other unions as well, and on the basis of events, this growing ferment could spread quickly. The slogan “Every Worker a Soldier of Solidarity!” has the potential to unite all honest rank and file militants throughout the labor movement. All workers should solidarize themselves with Soldiers of Solidarity: what happens at Delphi will set the tone for the labor movement for years to come. An injury to one is an injury to all!
For decades, the union bureaucracy has stifled the internal atmosphere and pursued a policy of business unionism almost unopposed. The history of the U.S. Labor Movement over the last half-century has been a sorry litany of incremental concessions and the erosion of the power of the trade unions. In times of industrial “peace”, the working class tends to empty out of its mass organizations and leave the business of defending their interests to the leadership. During periods like this, a bureaucratic layer forms at the top of the movement, which has a choking effect on the movement as a whole. This is exactly what happened within the AFL-CIO during the 1950s, and the bureaucracy has continued to control and stifle the trade unions to this day.
This is a result of the policy of “Labor-Management Partnership”, which extends to the political arena as well. When faced with increasingly aggressive employers, those that should be defending our interests and rights against the diametrically opposed interests of the bosses instead offer “cooperation”. Many of these people seem to be more interested in keeping their perks and privileges than in fighting for the working class. If these career bureaucrats had the interests of the rank and file at heart, the AFL-CIO today would not be faced with a steep decline and a split.
The recent break up of the AFL-CIO came as a shock to many trade unionists and activists. Over one third of the federation’s 13 million members left. The Teamsters and SEIU alone accounted for more than $20 million of the AFL-CIO’s estimated $120 million annual budget. First and foremost, the split is a reflection of the crisis facing the Labor Movement. Since Sweeney’s election in 1995 the AFL-CIO has presided over a net loss of over 800,000 members. The policies of Sweeney and co. have already led to disaster, and could eventually lead the AFL-CIO into oblivion. However the solution cannot come from a permanent and bureaucratic split of the movement. The working class needs maximum unity to take on the bosses. It is positive that at the rank and file level, many trade unionists from the rival federations continue to work together closely.
The split was not the result of a mass upsurge of working class organization and militancy, nor the result of a mass rank and file movement towards political class independence and the formation of a political party by and for working people. On the contrary, it was chiefly organized by a handful of union careerists with little or no organization-wide discussion, nor any perspective of increased democratic participation by the millions of rank and filers that make up the unions. The new formation offers no new political perspective and does not reject supporting the Democratic Party.
It is understandable and healthy that millions of trade union members are frustrated by the long decline in membership, and want more energy and resources poured into organizing. But this vital work cannot be entrusted to this or that bureaucratic clique. We need an honest, democratically-elected and accountable leadership at the head of the movement that is ready and willing to fight in the interests of the working class. The militant rank and file of the AFL-CIO and Change to Win must fight to clean out the self-interested and careerist mis-leadership currently dominating the movement. This is the only way forward.
Starting with the Meaney leadership, the AFL-CIO bureaucracy’s right-wing, which remains its dominant wing, has maintained close ties to not only both of the bosses’ political parties but with the highest levels of the Federal government as well, notably the State Department and the CIA. But now the rank and file is starting to return to an active role in the affairs of their own mass organizations. History shows again and again that when the masses begin to move into action, they turn first towards their traditional mass organizations: the trade unions and the mass workers’ parties.
In the absence of a mass party of labor, and despite the severe short-comings of the trade unions at the present time, many workers are seeking to reclaim them as fighting organs for defending their rights, wages, and conditions. With the rise of the SOS, we can see the beginning of this process in the United States. It is important to stress that while this process is still in its earliest stages, it can accelerate quickly on the basis of events, and can and must develop a political expression as well.
Economic struggles are of tremendous importance, but the struggle must also be taken to the political plane. So long as the courts and laws are controlled and written by the billionaires, working people will be unable to fight back effectively. The need to break with the Democrats and to build a mass party truly by and for working people has never been greater. This idea is getting an increasing echo among many working people, who can see that there is no fundamental difference between the two billionaire’s parties. While the AFL-CIO leadership loudly criticized NAFTA as an attack against the workers of North America, they continued to give millions of dollars and thousands of volunteers to the party responsible for this attack, the Democrats.
Rising interest in an electoral outlet for working people can be seen in South Carolina, where the Labor Party (LP), which seemed doomed to wither on the vine – in part for lack of participation in the electoral process - is fighting to get on the ballot, and is receiving support from across the country. So far, over 10,000 South Carolinians have signed a petition to get the LP on the ballot with the full support of the state AFL-CIO. This in a traditionally anti-union state. While it is impossible at this stage to say what kind of results they will get in SC, or what kind of effect this will have on national politics, this is an important indicator of the mood in society. It is a development we must follow closely and encourage. As the pace of events accelerates and the trade union leadership is put under the pressure of the rank and file we can only expect more developments of this sort.
The struggles of Venezuelan workers offer important lessons for rank and file labor militants in the U.S. The genesis and formation of the National Union of Workers (UNT), a democratic and class-based trade union formation, out of the ashes of the corrupt, bureaucratic, and anti-democratic Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (CTV) is of particular interest. The movement of factory occupations and workers’ control also offers important lessons. Under the slogan of “Factory Closed, Factory Taken” several important bankrupt firms in Venezuela have been nationalized and turned over to “cogestion obrera” (workers’ co-management and control). These nationalizations only took place after long and bitter struggles and occupations by the workers themselves. Implicit in the SOS call to “Work to Rule” is the vital question: “who actually runs the factories?” We should not forget that the sit down strike, a form of factory occupation, was invented in the United States and by the autoworkers no less.
Capitalism can no longer play a progressive role in developing the means of production. Cuts, layoffs, and closures are the way the capitalists make profits now, not investment. The bosses’ tactic of using the bankruptcy courts to throw out union contracts and company pension plans is part of an all-out effort to smash the power of the unions and drive wages down to the lowest possible level. The airline and auto industries in particular have come under this kind of attack, which pits the workers against not only the boss, but also against the government and their own trade union leadership.
In the past the capitalists were able to buy off important layers of workers by giving them bigger crumbs than the rest of the class. But now, even these formerly privileged sectors are under attack, and in most cases, the trade union leadership is nowhere to be seen, as they are guided by the principle of collaborating with the bosses at the expense of the membership. The consistent betrayals of the official leadership cannot be considered as subjective phenomenon, particular to this or that leader or wing of the movement. The class collaborationism of Sweeney, Hoffa and Stern are not unique peculiarities or personality traits. Rather, it is as an objective feature of trade unionism in the epoch of capitalist decay.
Only a conscious and organized rank and file movement to rid the unions of these mis-leaders can turn the unions back into fighting organizations that defend the interests of working people against the bosses. In the final analysis what is needed in order to reverse the long decline of trade unionism in the U.S. is for the unions to engage in a real fight for improvements for the membership, and then actually win this fight.
Developments in the labor movement over the past year are an indication of what is to come as the class struggle intensifies in the U.S. The colossal task of fighting not only the bosses but also the government and the trade union mis-leaders will require tremendous amounts of energy – revolutionary energy. The movement against the bosses’ attacks, for the democratization of the trade unions, for a mass party of labor, will inevitably run against the limitations of the capitalist system.
Even in the wealthiest country on earth, there is no solution within the bounds of capitalism’s market economy and the nation state. Only an internationalist struggle for socialism can take the American working class, and with it, the whole of humanity, out of this blind alley. In every country on earth, working people must unite against the attacks of our common enemy: the exploiters that live off of our ability to labor. Millions of immigrant workers, many under threat of deportation for standing up for their rights, are showing the way forward.
In recent months, millions of immigrants and their supporters have hit the streets in the most massive social mobilization in decades in the United States. No longer afraid of "la migra" (the INS), and feeling the strength and solidarity of their numbers, the sleeping giant of the immigrants’ rights movement has begun to stir on a grand scale.
In recent months, millions of immigrants and their supporters have hit the streets in the most massive social mobilization in decades. No longer afraid of "la migra" (the INS), and feeling the strength and solidarity of their numbers, the sleeping giant of the immigrants’ rights movement has begun to stir on a grand scale. The relief and joy felt by the participants at finally being able to come out into the open and express all their pent-up frustrations and aspirations is a common feature seen at the beginning of every revolutionary process. This mass movement has important implications for the coming American Socialist Revolution.
Although these demonstrations seemingly erupted out of nowhere, the social, economic, and political contradictions that set the stage for this have been simmering beneath the surface of American society for decades. For generations, millions of immigrants from around the world, and above all from Latin America, have lived in the shadows of American society, working hard to make a decent living for themselves and their families. Far from being "criminals" or "terrorists", as the right wing media portrays them, immigrant workers in the U.S. are among the hardest working and longest suffering people on the planet. With their families’ well-being often dependent on the money they can send back to the country of their birth, the last thing they want is trouble.
But trouble came looking for them. Politicians from both big business parties have been playing with the lives of millions of people in a cheap attempt to gain votes in a mid-term election year. They were also hoping to distract the public’s attention from the quagmire in Iraq and dissatisfaction with the economy by once again playing the “national security” card here at home. House of Representatives bill HR4437, sponsored by Wisconsin Congressman James Sensenbrennner, is a vicious attack on the rights of undocumented workers, and by extension, on the rights of all working people in the United States.
Low or even unpaid wages? Undocumented workers took it. Dangerous slave-like working conditions and exposure to toxic chemicals? Undocumented workers took it. Violence and extortion by the bosses and the police, who know that those without documents can hardly complain? Undocumented workers took it. Racist insults and being treated like second-class citizens? Undocumented workers took it. No political, trade union, or even civil rights? Undocumented workers took it. Deportations for trying to organize a union and the constant fear of raids by the INS? Undocumented workers took it. The sudden and traumatic splitting up of families as a result of deportations? Undocumented workers took it, all in the hopes that their children and their grandchildren’s lives would be better. But as with all things in society and nature, a “tipping point” has been reached where “enough is enough”.
Not surprisingly, some business leaders oppose the Draconian legislation which threatens their pool of cheap labor. Many employers support immigrant workers being in this country because without them, many industries simply could not function. Immigrant workers allow for greater profits to be extracted from all working people by forcing competition between “documented” and “undocumented” workers, thereby driving wages to the bottom in an economy where jobs are increasingly hard to find. A lack of legal protections against low or unpaid wages, unsafe working conditions, and poor housing conditions, makes undocumented workers ripe for super-exploitation and increased profits. By pitting workers against each other, the bosses can divert our attention from the real problem: an economic system that puts profits before people.
Due to its overwhelmingly working class composition, the rank and file of the movement for immigrant rights has a working class outlook. The immigrant community is made up millions of working people doing some of the most difficult and tedious jobs in the country. According to the AFL-CIO, workplace fatalities among foreign-born workers have increased by 46 percent between 1992 and 2002.
An estimated 11 million undocumented immigrant workers live in the U.S., and they form a major backbone of the U.S. economy: as agricultural workers doing back-breaking work in the fields; as maids and janitors in hotels and office complexes; as meat packers, in the factories, and on construction sites; as cooks and dishwashers in restaurants.
Due to the economic crisis in the countries of their birth, millions have been forced to look for a better life on this side of the Rio Grande. This is the direct result of U.S. foreign policy and the neo-liberal economic policies of the World Bank, the IMF, and “free trade” agreements like NAFTA. Many have also escaped political persecution, and have come to rebuild their lives in the “belly of the beast” - the country whose policies forced them to flee their homes in the first place. Having fled economic hardship and persecution at home, they now face the same situation here in the “land of milk and honey”.
It’s not surprising therefore that millions have come to the conclusion that there is nowhere left to run – that if they have to make a stand for their rights, they may as well make it here. It is an ironic and dialectical twist of history that there are some 600,000 El Salvadorean expatriates in the Washington, DC area alone – many of whom fled the U.S.-sponsored dirty wars of the 1980s and 90s. Now they are bringing their organizing skills and burning desire for social justice to the struggle for immigrant rights – right in the shadow of the White House and the Pentagon.
Many trade unionists and even some union locals have been extremely supportive of the immigrant rights movement, especially in the service industry. Many rank and file members fully supported the May 1 work stoppage / boycott and have come out strongly against some of the main proposals being debated in Congress, in particular the two-tiered system which would relegate so-called “guest workers” to permanent second-class status.
The unity of all working people in defending immigrant workers is of fundamental importance. The courage of undocumented workers who face deportation just for standing up for their basic rights is an inspiration for all working people. The bosses can clearly see the danger of workers without documents uniting with the rest of their working class brothers and sisters, and they seek to divide us. There are no more crumbs to be had these days; in fact the bosses are aggressively forcing even more givebacks and concessions from the workers. With immigrant workers at the forefront, the labor movement as a whole can finally turn back the bosses’ offensive that has had us on the defensive for nearly three decades.
Latinos are now the largest minority group in the country, and millions are among the most oppressed workers in American society. For years we have explained that due to their conditions of life, these workers were destined to play a leading role in the working class’ struggle to change society. This is now becoming a reality. There are hundreds of thousands who have never participated in any political activity whatsoever who have now participated in a mass demonstrations, work stoppages and boycotts. This is how rapidly consciousness can change based on changing conditions.
At the present time there is a general feeling of "immigrant unity" – regardless of class. For example, many Latino businesspeople are supportive of the movement at the moment and have agreed to give their workers the day off on May Day. However, this "springtime" of the movement won’t last forever. It will eventually split along class lines, as the business owners’ interests and those of their workers collide. Immigrant business owners who now have citizenship are some of the worst exploiters of their communities, as they know the newer arrivals have no option but to take the wages and conditions they are offered. They may be willing to give their workers one day off today, but if the movement were to move in the direction of an indefinite strike / boycott, they would do everything in their power to stop it.
The only allies undocumented workers can depend on are other workers. To really succeed, undocumented workers must unite with all other working people, and link up the fight for immigrant rights with all the other social movements and struggles that are developing nationally, including the anti-war movement and above all the labor movement. In workers’ unity there is strength!
The development of the movement has in many ways been a microcosm of a full-fledged revolution, with important implications for the future and important lessons that working people and revolutionaries must absorb. All the ebbs and flows of a revolutionary process, the advances and retreats, the optimism and confidence followed by moods of pessimism and defeatism have swirled through the movement at various stages. The rapid rise in consciousness has led to an extremely dynamic and fluid situation.
In many cities, the energy of the masses has swept aside the traditional leadership of the immigrant rights movement, who have become accustomed to decades of slow work and fighting uphill battles for a few minor reforms, unable to cope with the radically changed situation. Important as they may have been in keeping things together in the past, they have in many cases become an obstacle to the advance of the movement. More and more, it is the rank and file that is setting the tone of the movement, and throwing up new leaders and spokespersons.
The spontaneity and ad hoc organizing of the movement so far has been impressive, far exceeding all the organizers’ wildest predictions. Those active in the movement will emerge from this process with a wealth of experience and insight, and it is clear that many of the best leaders of the coming American Socialist Revolution will emerge from the rank and file of this movement. But methodical organization and a trusted, tested, and accountable leadership that has deep roots in the working class cannot be thrown up in the heat of struggle.
The need for a revolutionary party that fights shoulder to shoulder with the rest of our class is vital. This in no way minimizes the incredible élan, creativity, and fighting spirit of the working class, but we know all too well that revolutionary movements and opportunities don’t come around every day. We must painstakingly build a far-sighted and experienced revolutionary leadership that is organically connected to the struggles of our class. Otherwise, all the enthusiasm and energy of these movements can dissipate without achieving what must be our ultimate goal: ending this exploitative system once and for all.
A revolutionary wave is sweeping Latin America. The effect this will have here in the U.S. will be far-reaching, especially after the recent show of strength by Latino workers. Along with the resurgence in the Labor Movement, the mass immigration rights demonstrations of the recent period are yet another indication of what is to come as other sectors of U.S. society join their undocumented brothers and sisters in a united struggle against the decaying profit system. From the tip of Tierra del Fuego to Alaska, working people united are going to change this continent and end the misery of capitalist exploitation once and for all.
This section concludes our analysis of the events of the past year, which have awakened millions of Americans to the bitter reality of life under capitalism.
The events of the past year have awakened millions of Americans to the bitter reality of life under capitalism. To many, the entire planet appears to have gone insane. The world has been shaken from top to bottom by natural disasters, wars, famines, political crises, riots, and revolutionary uprisings. This is a graphic reflection of the impasse of capitalism in the epoch of its decay and decline: an era of wars, revolutions, and counter-revolutions. Instability is now the norm, and it is precisely this constant uncertainty as to what tomorrow will bring that has forced open the eyes of millions of American workers. A growing crisis of confidence in the political institutions of the country and the very system these are based on is inherent in the situation.
You can feel it in the air - there is a rumbling beneath the surface of American society, and it is clear that sooner rather than later, all the pent up pressure and frustration will burst onto the surface. Most people do not learn from books: they must go through the school of hard knocks called capitalism. It is their own experience that finally forces them to realize that the existence of capitalism and the existence of humanity are no longer compatible. The destruction and poisoning of the environment has gone so far that if something isn’t done soon, it may be too late to reverse the damage. In the coming decades, the fate of humanity will be decided one way or another: socialism or barbarism.
Life teaches. With each new shock, the American working class is gradually coming to the conclusion that only we can stop Bush and the system he defends. Sooner or later, a “tipping point” in consciousness will be reached, and then there will be no stopping the American working class. Our task as the Workers International League is to build a revolutionary organization which, drawing on the lessons and experiences of the past, fights shoulder to shoulder with our class to end the exploitative system of capitalism once and for all.
We are still a relatively small organization: but it is the power of our ideas, perspectives, and methods that will ensure our continued growth and development. Let’s not forget: 150 years ago, the abolitionists were a small, persecuted minority. Theirs was a crusade against an unjust, exploitative, inhuman, and oppressive economic system: chattel slavery.
Given the age they lived in, it is understandable that they approached it above all from a moral and religious perspective, and not from a materialist understanding of class society. And yet in the historical, economic, and political conditions of the times, they reflected the historical necessity for fundamental, revolutionary change. Their ideas and activities were the spark that lit up the second American Revolution: the American Civil War. This was a revolutionary struggle to abolish slavery, and it cleared the historical decks for the development of capitalism, which in turn has prepared the material basis for socialism.
Today, we too have our own unjust, exploitative, inhuman, and oppressive system to fight against: world capitalism. Today we too are a small, persecuted minority. But we are armed with a clear understanding of the class nature of society and the tasks before us and our class. Based on the conditions prevailing today in society, our ideas and activity can and will be the spark that lights up the 3rd American Revolution: the Socialist Revolution.
The revolutionary overthrow of the capitalist system by the conscious and organized working class will clear the historical decks for the building of world socialism, and will open a new horizon for the whole of humanity: a world without war, misery, poverty, ignorance, oppression, discrimination, and degradation. A world in which the wonders of technology are used to improve our lives, instead of further enslaving and impoverishing us. A world where art and culture can truly flourish, and where every individual can reach their fullest potential. A world in which production, distribution, and exchange are democratically controlled by the whole of society in the interests of the whole of society, in harmony with the environment. A world called Socialism.
Armed with the dialectical-materialist ideas of revolutionary Marxism and the methods of Bolshevism, we can and will end the misery of the capitalist system forever. Forward!