Category: Politics

Never during my lifetime has the question “But what can I do?” been so fraught, and resulted in so much disorientation. Not long ago, some people were passing around a petition suggesting we boycott “Zionist” authors (in fact, many were Jewish but had no connection to Zionism) in response to the ongoing genocide in Palestine. This is the kind of empty gesture (or worse) that comes from simultaneous rage at injustice and feelings of personal helplessness. “All I am is a consumer, so I will use that ‘power’ to make things better.”

Recently, during a dispute over the then-upcoming election with a beloved family member, I was berated for “doing nothing except making Facebook posts and tweets” as opposed to doing something ‘meaningful’ like casting a vote for war, genocide, Wall Street, and surrendering to fascists. I wasn’t angry or hurt or upset, but I let the matter drop, because continuing wouldn’t have made the visit any more pleasant. It is, however, a point worth discussing, because it ties into the same question: the role of the individual at this time of social crisis.

I have learned that several people have become supporters of the Socialist Equality Party, and at least one person has become a member, as a result of interest generated by my Facebook posts and tweets. This has done more to move us toward a solution to humanity’s problems and ten million votes for a capitalist party.

My point is neither to brag, nor to justify myself. My point is that in this period, the most constructive thing an individual can do is learn, study, and *explain*. Every day, more people are feeling justified outrage, and looking for solutions. I firmly believe building a dedicated, revolutionary leadership in the working class, one that will carry us toward ending this barbarous system, is the only possible way forward.

We are not helpless. We are not relegated to the role of “consumers” whose only power is to engage in stupid and usually reactionary attempts to fix things by what we do and do not purchase. We have brains, we can learn, and as we learn, we can explain to others, and take steps toward the creation of genuine alternative to genocide, war, fascism, and the destruction of our planet.

Not all of us can make the same level of commitment. But anyone who cares enough can make a contribution, whether by becoming a member of the Socialist Equality Party, or giving financial support, or even by discussions that might bring someone else closer.  Every individual who comes to see the need and possibility of a socialist answer to capitalist barbarism is a gain. Every individual who begins to understand how to get from here to there, that is, of the importance of building a revolutionary socialist leadership in the working class, moves us closer to creating a rational, humane world.

For those outraged by injustice, or, indeed, directly threatened by it: Read the World Socialist Web Site. Study, learn, and, in the words of Lenin, “Patiently explain.”

In the late 60s and early 70s there was an epidemic of “everything I hate is fascism.”  We seem to be back to that again.  But there are differences, and they are important.

We warned then, and it is worth repeating now, that we use a narrow and precise definition of fascism because it is a particular danger that must be recognized when it rears its head.  To the patient suffering from MS, the fact that the actual disease might be Lupus does not change how it feels; to the treating physician it matters a very great deal.

Well, one difference is that now fascism is rearing its head.

Another difference is that there are those cynically exploiting the term to point to certain States in order to further the propaganda (and, hence, war) efforts of imperialism.  Saying that Putin, for example, is a fascist, is nonsense; he’s a right-wing oligarch.

Trump is a fascist, and the Republican Party is rapidly turning into a mass fascist party; Biden is a right-wing servant of Wall Street who is (consciously or not) paving the way for the victory of fascism, but calling him or the Democratic Party fascist is nonsense.

But yet another difference, and one that has been striking me lately, is that, contradictory as it sounds, there is something healthy about this confusion among many layers of the population.  What is healthy is the growing fury at, well, everything capitalism is doing.

Thinking back on my early years on Twitter, I remember being politically isolated; It was almost impossible to find another person who identified as socialist.  Now capitalism, as it writhes and twists and bites itself like a sea-snake pulled from the ocean, is calling forth immense amounts of outrage from broader and broader layers.   My twitter feed is now full of those identifying as socialist, or communist, or anti-imperialist, and the numbers are growing exponentially.  I can’t take credit for any of that—the death agony of capitalism is having its effect on the thinking of growing masses of people.

When these people point to genocide, or the headlong rush toward WW III, or the attacks on democratic rights, and label them fascist, what they are saying is, “I hate this, this is evil and must be destroyed.”  And they’re right.  It is inevitable that there will be confusion among those newly radicalized; but no decent person can criticize their outrage; the task is to explain, and to show a way forward.

For those who are interested in what I mean by fascism, as opposed to a military dictatorship, or a junta, or a police state, permit me to point to this and this.

If you strip away the rhetorical flourishes, here is what we are told every day:

1) If you aren’t Jewish, you may not disagree when I say something is antisemitic. 2) Any objection to the genocide being carried out against Palestinians is antisemitic. If you disagree, see 1). 3) Therefore, you must either admit to being antisemitic, or shut up and let the Israeli state, backed and supported by US imperialism, continue to commit crimes against humanity. *

Underneath this justification for mass murder is a method that has become more and more beloved by those layers that loudly proclaim radical sounding slogans while refusing to support any policies that may threaten capitalism—those layers that we collectively call the pseudo-left.  The method is called “standpoint theory,” and can be summed up as, “if you are not a member of this oppressed group, you may not disagree when I say something is an attack on this group.”

Standpoint theory itself, however, falls apart when examined.  The basic assertion makes racism, sexism, antisemitism, &c, utterly subjective. If they are completely personal, and up to each individual to decide, then, obviously those most immediately affected are able to make such statements.  If I am in pain, no one but me is entitled to an opinion about how much pain I am in. It is something I’m feeling, it is purely subjective, and my insights on my feelings are obviously enormously more significant than anyone else’s.

But is racism entirely subjective?  Is antisemitism? No, they are not. To take extreme examples, if someone were to claim “The Birth a Nation” was not racist, or “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” is not antisemitic, we would not be dealing with a difference of subjective feelings, we’d be dealing with someone who was wrong.  To be sure, there are cases that are not as blatant; that is why they are worth discussing.

Because here’s the other thing: you cannot demand objective action—such as “stop protesting the genocide in Gaza”—based on purely subjective feelings.  Can you?  I am constantly hearing of such-and-such a man who stalked or harassed a woman because he believed his own feelings for her entitled him to demand she take an action.  We are appalled when we hear of such things, because we recognize that, while he is certainly permitted to feel whatever he happens to feel, it wrong to demand someone else act based on those feelings, and even more wrong to force someone to act based on those feelings.

It is a million times worse to demand the slaughter of entire population be permitted to continue because of your feelings. If you want to convince me that opposing the Zionist state is antisemitic, you’ll have to do better than, “Shut up if you aren’t Jewish.”

*If you happen to be Jewish and oppose the genocide, you are dismissed as a “self-hating Jew” and the problem neatly goes away.

It’s the day of international working class solidarity, so a few quick answers to some things I’ve been hearing.

1) No serious revolutionist has ever wanted to make things worse in order to incite revolution. Utter rubbish.  Especially now; things are quite bad enough. What’s missing is consciousness that there is a way forward, a way out of the mess.

2) Being a revolutionary socialist does not mean one wishes to rush out and make a revolution. No one, as Lenin said, can suck a revolution out of his thumb. Being a revolutionary socialist means one is convinced a revolutionary crisis will take place regardless of anyone’s desire. Victory, however, is not guaranteed. For that, preparation is necessary.  Preparation means, primarily, bringing socialist consciousness and theoretical preparation to the working class, and the building of a revolutionary party prepared to see the job through to its end.

3) We aren’t there yet. But the World Socialist Web Site is now the mostly widely read socialist publication in the world, especially among workers, so we’re getting there. My own role in this is trivial, yet not useless; when I go onto Twitter or Facebook and explain my views on something that is happening today, insofar as my explanation is correct, there’s someone whose beliefs have been shaken up by events in the world, and who may be ready to listen, and possibly join the fight.  See the last sentence of point 1) above.

Happy May Day

(I’ll be adding this to my socialism FAQ, but for now I think it deserves it’s own post.)

The logic here is what fascinates—the mechanical formality, starting with rigid definitions and proceeding step by careful step to absurdity. The old scholastics of the middle ages would certainly have approved, but if we don’t want to do our political analysis using the method of  St. Thomas Aquinas, we need to do better.  Here’s how the logic works:

1. We live in what is called a democracy (or a democratic republic, if you want to be fussy).
2. By definition, this means we elect those who govern us, and can thus elect anyone we want to carry out our will.
3. Therefore, those in office are carrying out our will.
4. Therefore, most Americans are in favor of massive income inequality, genocide, making the Earth uninhabitable, right-wing censorship, pseudo-left censorship, a barbaric health care system, murderous police, the loss of democratic rights, homelessness, letting COVID kill us by the hundreds of thousands, and continuous war.

That there are those who follow this chain and believe—or act as if they believe—that it represents reality continues to astound me. But it is common enough that it is worth taking a look at.

..1 In a bourgeois democracy, the bourgeois always takes precedence over the democracy. Theoretically, we know that if the rights and privileges of the ruling class are threatened—particularly the right to make unlimited profit—democracy narrows, shrinks, and becomes more limited. In practice, we are watching it happen before our eyes.

The whole world saw what happened when Senator Sanders dared to suggest that capitalism could become not quite so mean all the time. That he was never a real threat to capitalism and would in fact have done nothing significant for the working class made no difference; his pretensions had to be crushed using legal and quasi-legal means. He isn’t the first to discover the ruthlessness of the American bourgeoisie and the Democratic Party in particular when it comes to making sure Wall Street never feels the least pinch! Gene McCarthy (honestly or not) spoke for those who wanted an end to the Vietnam war and was destroyed. Bill Clinton, swine though he is, made tiny, halfhearted efforts toward improving health care and suddenly a sex scandal emerged. &c &c,

..2 The media are part of the capitalist system, controlled by a few (and getting fewer) mega corporations, all of whom have, at the top of their agenda, convincing us that there is no possibility of any political change outside of the two capitalist parties. Billions and billions of dollars go into this every year (whether conspiratorially or simply by natural selection of editors and publishers is irrelevant). While I disagree with those who believe propaganda is all-powerful, it is silly to think that propaganda on such a massive scale is without effect.

..3 At the very least, one ought to reflect on the significance of the fact that every political gain since Reconstruction—unemployment insurance, civil rights, medicare, welfare, &c—has come as a result of direct struggles by the working masses, not by selecting the right candidate.