The Way Forward

There was a time I used to get pretty angered by the type of commentary you're putting out there. Still do because it sounds like a defense of business as usual. Here's the thing though. The "pragmatic" positions you and many others stake out within the framework of the Democratic Party and capitalist society are not unrealistic. Several years ago at one of the leftist boards (leftist as in anti-capitalist) where discussions were raging on about "what is to be done" a poster made a comment that rings true and stuck in my mind. The gist of the comment was that the progressive or "left-wing" of the Democratic Party are more unrealistic than the the "pragmatic" defenders of business as usual. The point being was that the progressive wing are demanding things that capitalism can't give. I think that's correct as much as I wish it wasn't so. The best the progressive wing can hope for is the ghost of FDR and New Deal type policy returning. That was a long time ago, under circumstances that bear little resemblance to the late stage capitalism and globalization we see today. Even if some of that were possible, it still doesn't address the underlying foundations of the problem. In the long run, capitalism does not elevate the majority, it impoverishes the majority, and it can't work any other way, despite the best intentions of the reformists. Monopoly of wealth created by the many is not a bug. It's a feature of capitalist social relations and that will not change.

Now, the standard response to that is "well it's still better than anything else that's been tried." The anti-capitalist left has done a pretty good job of making that answer a reality. Many of us who fought in that realm sucked. We lost the plot and purpose in a sea of bitter sectarianism, authoritarianism, and totalitarian dictates. The authoritarian statists long ago won the battle within the anti-capitalist left to be the "vanguard" of saving the working class. Problem is they lost the overall war and were full of shit. In the name of being the "vanguard" of saving the working class they instead enslaved it in a different form. The monumental failures of the movement certainly enhanced the thought process of "capitalism as the end of history."

As is obvious, I have no answers to the wails and shrieks of "what is your plan then." Only observations of some of went wrong in freeing the working masses from their chains in what is now a global plantation of wealthy masters and impoverished slaves. The grip of the wealthy and powerful solidified to the point of what appears to be no return. Still, people of good will - who still believe in the cause of freedom, emancipation, and controlling one's own destiny - must fight back in the face of insurmountable odds. In the big picture, "the way forward", and "what is to be done", is a much larger fight than "the way forward" and "what is to be done" within the confines of the Democratic Party and the Overton window of "capitalism as the end of history."

For now, Lincoln's words - "Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration" - might be the rallying cry of any party claiming to represent the interests of the working class. Too often the reality is the exact opposite. Nothing done is in deference to the working class and labor as the first priority. It's done in deference to private capital first, while pretending the opposite is the reality. It isn't. Not even FDR and the New Deal addressed that problem. FDR and the New Deal was a program to save capitalism and to stop the masses from revolting. Labor and the working classes are "entitled" to all they create. Not a small minority of wealthy and powerful who think they are entitled to all of it.

Excuse the bad grammar and structure of my commentary. I'm not all that well educated in such matters.