Liberal Mindset

I’ve been doing some reading and studying, a lot of it. This blog is basically a place to hash out my ideas and my learning process, and share my views and thoughts with other people, namely you my valued reader. I have to admit that like all writers, I am doing this almost as much for me as I am for you. What this journey of thought and political discovery has led me to is some startling realizations about the society we live in, the state and the future of humanity. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying I have all the answers. However, I think I have stumbled upon some insights that have made me rethink previous positions, and reassess how I see politics and economy a bit. So why the title of liberal mindset? Because I think that the liberal mindset of the “left” in the US is holding back the working class from realizing its real potential, and I’m going to tell you why.

Socialists for Bourgeois Government?

What is the ultimate goal of socialism? Is it to have a chicken in every pot and a house for every family? Or is it something more than that? I would venture to say that the ultimate goal of socialism is the completely change how societies are run. We aim to as Marx said, “overthrow the existing order of things”, and to establish a new society for the benefit of all, instead of just a few. Now we should take a look at the prevailing “socialist” groups in the Western world (the world with which I am the most familiar) and ask ourselves if we moving towards our goals, or away from them. Are we really achieving our objectives? I would answer no, that we aren’t coming close to realizing our goals. The reason is very simple. Take a look at the CPUSA, a political party that I some time ago used to be a member of. When I first joined that party it was the result of my political awakening, and my desire to be an advocate of communism. I wanted to work for the emancipation of the working class, and the destruction in the end of class society and the state itself. Inspired by the rousing words of the Communist Manifesto, I wanted desperately to bring about the fall of capitalism. That goal, those feelings have not changed. What changed was my awareness that the CPUSA was not what I thought it to be. The more I was involved in the organization, the more I realized that it had become the political equivalent of a stone age tool. Sure it may be interesting to look at, but it’s pretty meaningless as an actual tool for accomplishing anything practical whatsoever. I’ve talked before about their current incarnation as red-dyed democratic party cheerleaders, but I want to focus on something that just happened to accentuate why the left in the US has lost its bearings. In a recent post on their site “Peoples World” the party condemned the so called “right to work” laws that were just passed in the state of Michigan. They start out the article by stating that “By taking their first votes to pass anti-worker “right-to-work” legistlation (SIC) on Thursday (they have to wait five more days to finish the job), Michigan’s Republican Party and Gov. Rick Snyder have now resorted to open class warfare.” What the fuck are you talking about? Do you even know what class warfare is? Have you read a single goddamn page Marx? Do you know what class warfare is? The very existence of the bourgeois state is class warfare!!! The state, and yes, Democratic and Republican parties alike, are representatives of the capitalist class!!! The state only exists to advance the rights and privileges of one class over another, and it certainly isn’t a new thing. “Resorting to class warfare” is a phrase uttered by those who have no freaking clue what class warfare is, let alone a clue how to win such a war. The US is also almost completely bereft of unions, and the unions that do exist have lost their bearings as the true representatives of the workers anyway. What the CPUSA and other faux socialist organizations have done is replace their revolutionary spirit with one of acquiescence and have joined forces with a sick political system to perpetuate the capitalist state. “We can’t achieve revolution, we can’t achieve anything but crumbs from the table” they seem to be saying. They uphold Obama as the answer to their questions. OBAMA! For fucks sake this is a man that gave trillions to the banksters as a way to keep the capitalist fucking state intact and stable. They state in the article that they want a good economy, and that workers rights are essential to that aim. Oh yes, I am completely for workers rights. I really am. That’s why I am a socialist. However, in the large scheme of things the right to work laws are not really all that important. I know that I’m going to catch some hell for saying that but let’s look at the real story here. While this capitalist system exists, the unions cannot progress beyond a union mindset. They can’t, it’s not in their interest to. Think about the contradiction here. We as socialists are supposed to be pushing for the complete destruction of the capitalist state, yet you have the CPUSA fighting for its continued existence! How does that in anyway make sense? What we should realize is that the CPUSA and parties like it have a complete disconnect from the lives of workers, from the material conditions that they face, and no understanding of the modern capitalist system whatsoever. They support and defend a corrupt capitalist system at the expense of the people. They are class traitors, stabbing us in the back. They tell us that they support the workers while they do the opposite. Workers rights will not be secured by the victories in the increasingly alienated state, or by meaningless laws about unions. They will be secured by nothing else than the full goddamn emancipation of the working classes by the seizing of the means of production. These piddling little laws taken as “class warfare” -which, if you know even a little bit of Marx, you’d know is a continuous aspect of class divided society- is the height of ridiculous liberal bullshit. I’m sick of seeing supposed communists fighting little diversionary battles. What we should be fighting for is the overthrowing of the corporations, and the overthrowing of the wage slavery that funds them, not the continuation of said system. Are you content to stay in this system with its wage slavery and capitalist mode of production? Then you are not, my friend, a communist. You are at best a social democrat. And that’s being kind. What will bring about the emancipation of the working classes? It will be none other than the greed of the capitalist class the crushes the working class under its heel. When that oppression affects so many people, when their chains are too hard to bear, when they are starving and they are beaten and jailed and killed in the name of capitalism, these are the things that produce a class consciousness. It does not come as a result of welfare state politics. This liberal welfare state mindset is helping capitalism to continue, not ending it. The left has become the group of people in our societies most responsible for the perpetuation of this horrible capitalist system of wage slavery. We have become the epitome of the misled, the vacuous and misinformed masses who fight for the perpetuation of the very thing that keeps us in chains. Raising taxes on the rich will not free us, ending the so called “right to work” laws will not free us. In fact, they will keep us enslaved. We communists are for the full emancipation of the working classes, and the contradiction is that the capitalist system as it exists is not going to allow that. So what’s the answer?

Envisioning a New Society

We must realize that the only way that we are going to move forward is quite counter-intuitive. We must increase the alienation of the working classes. This means that we must let capitalists take the workers for all they’ve got so that they realize that their interests are directly opposed to the goals and motivations of the capitalist class. We must end liberalism, the force that keeps the working classes enslaved, and that means opposing a welfare state that keeps the working classes just happy enough to not revolt. The progression of economy and politics is one that must lead to the abolition of the capitalist state, and one that must lead to the abolition of the need for welfare, for taxes, for the whole capitalist state apparatus. We must work towards building a whole new society. Our so called socialists seem to have missed the entire point of Marx and Engels, and in a coming blog post I am going to take a look at Engels’ work titled “On the origin of the state” and what it means for our current understanding of contemporary politics. The point for today though is a rallying cry against the liberal bullshit that is perpetuating this evil system of enslavement, and the parties like the CPUSA that is helping them to keep their power. Down with capitalism! Down with wage slavery! Down with starvation welfare society! Down with nationalism imperialism and the people who support it! We must unite as workers to bring about the full destruction of this system, a complete overturning of the order of this society. No amount of welfare or union protecting laws is going to change that. Stay tuned comrades, there’s more to come.

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

I went to a forum at my university tonight on the subject of the US election. What I heard was people blatantly lie about both the political process, and the policies being enacted. I had the strong feeling that I was the furthest left person in the room as well, so that certainly made things interesting. I also got dressed down by an elderly woman who was incensed that I wasn’t voting for Obama. Long story short, it got me thinking about the political process in the US, and why it is so, so far out of whack. Why things can’t be improved in the current paradigm, and why we need radical change in our political systems.

Wealth Inequality

One speaker made a load of bullshit accusations and false characterizations about the occupy movement. I answered his stupidity, but it pissed me off that he could stand up there and blatantly lie about a movement he probably never went to, and held such contempt for. This man is white, a lawyer, obviously not poor; in short the poster child for the GOP. He thinks that the protesters were all violent hipsters out to get everything for free, that we just want a free ride in life. Untrue. We’ve worked our asses off for years, for low pay, only to be swallowed in debt, with uncertain futures, a lack of jobs, and a fractured world while men like him play the fiddle and pretend all is well. His material was mostly from the Heritage Foundation, a hack think tank if there ever was one. He slandered and lied the entire time he was slated to talk.

Here are some of his claims:

There is too much debt, the deficit keeps rising, and we’re sinking in debt, and it’s all the democrats fault.

The TRUTH:

Yes, the US is in debt, but why? Because of the democrats and their love for the welfare state? Oh hell no. We’ve spent over a trillion dollars on illegal and pointless wars in the middle east, in addition to massive tax breaks for the wealthy and huge government expansion. (Think PATRIOT Act, NDAA, Dept. of Homeland Security) Bush created a MASSIVE amount of debt, never balanced a budget, and ruined the US economy. Then the GOP gets mad at Obama for CONTINUING THOSE GODDAMN POLICIES.

Another claim: Liberals and the left just want everything handed to them on a sliver platter

The TRUTH: The fact is that in the US, the rich are really scared of something completely different. They’re scared that people will notice that the capitalist class has had everything handed to THEM on a silver platter. They have for too long taken for granted their positions of privilege, and they are now scared that they’re going to lose it. Wanting a society that can provide the basic human needs to the people is not asking for everything on a silver platter. The capitalist class sits around making money off the hard work of the proletariat, and then cries bitter tears of pain when they’re asked to sacrifice a tiny bit of their ill gained wealth for the common good. This only goes to prove that you can’t let the capitalists maintain power and still hope for socialism, or hell, even for some goddamn social progress.

The US Political System

Switching gears now away from the crazy claims of a disingenuous lawyer (also known as a lawyer), the talk tonight really highlighted for me the problem of our political system. There are only two sides. There are the democrats, and the republicans and they will decide what happens to the country. Don’t like the two party system? Too goddamn bad. Don’t like either party? Too bad. While the world is worried about a possible financial meltdown, a possible world war, increasing political tensions worldwide, a lack of jobs, the death of our environment, more war, income inequality, no money for education or housing, no money for anything other than the rich, real fucking problems… While all that is going on our political process consists of two people whose political positions are near enough that they could easily fit into the same political party, arguing on national TV about things that have NOTHING to do with the real problems we face. These same two will not be elected by a popular vote, they will be elected by an unaccountable electoral college, the names of whom no one knows, and political candidates for congress being the same old same old oligarchy that has ruled us since the dawn of this country. No other voices or concerns may enter the debate. No other parties can compete. No other way can be found. Status quo status quo status quo. Neither party candidate wants to end our overseas wars immediately, neither candidate wants us to close our excessive overseas bases, neither of them cares about changing American foreign policy, neither cares about ending the war on drugs, neither cares about anything other than getting elected so they can ensure four full years of power. Nothing changes, and they don’t want it to change. Things are just the way they like it because they can play you all off the other party, and get you so used to this bullshit that you are not educated or brazen enough to speak out against it. “If you don’t vote Republican, the Democrats will win” “If you don’t vote for the Democrats, the Republicans will win”. I said something on twitter the other day that really sums up how I feel about these two corrupt parties. I said “Having to choose between the Dems and the GOP is like being made to choose between salmonella and E.Coli. When will we wake up and see the truth for what it is? The US is nothing more than an oligarchy, a sad corrupt oligarchy that will come crashing down under the weight of its own hubris.

The lawyer who spoke tonight said many damned lies, and tried to back it up with shitty statistics. Like the BS claim that half of all Americans don’t pay tax. (Nearly every American pays tax of some sort)

But this is par for the course. We accept these lies as legitimate debate, when they are not. They are simply lies. Lies like the idea that the human beings who make up the populace of the USA can’t control their own political process, that we are beholden to a hundreds of years old document that we didn’t agree to. The idea that we are to sit down and shut up and not raise these questions. Why are there so many Americans on welfare? Good question, why are there so many Americans who NEED welfare? Are Americans just inherently lazy? It think not, and data backs me up. We’re one of the hardest working countries in the developed world. Why is it then? Maybe it’s because the people hoarding all the money in the US are not the real producers of wealth. Those are the grease stained engineers, the school teachers, the bakers. They are the street sweepers and the hotel desk clerks, they are the mothers and the fathers who bust their asses ever day to provide for their families, and are depressed, hurt and ashamed when there is more month than money. We are the people, teh strugglers, the fighters and the hopeful, and we are the ones who make the wheels of the economy turn. Assholes like that lawyer want you to believe that YOU are lazy, that you don’t want to work that YOU just want welfare. Fuck no. I don’t want welfare, I want socialism. I want a system wherein the workers own the corporations, and there are no CEOs. I want a truly transparent, money free political system that values ideas over political party apparatus. I want a system that believes in free and equal rights for all, including so called illegal immigrants, LGBT et al. I want a better world, not a world where the only way of making it big is to step on the corpses of your downtrodden worker brethren. We can, and indeed we must DEMAND and end to this ridiculous and unacceptable status quo. We need socialism bad, we need real workers democracy bad, we need equal rights for all bad, we need an end to capitalism. That may not be the popular thing to say, but it needs to be said. I will never stop advocating revolution in the US until we overthrow this militaristic fascist state. I will not give in and support Obama and the democrats. I will never OK the current treatment of Palestinians, Libyans and others. I will not accept capitalist imperialism, and I never will

So what are you going to do? Are you going to accept the status qo? Are you going to accept the rhetoric of lies, damn lies and statistics on Fox “news” and CNN? Or will you join me in demanding a better world, and a new political system to bring about that better world. You supported the overthrow of the regime in Egypt, right? Are you too cowardly to advocate the same in the US? It’s high time for a change, it is high time for an uprising, it is high time for a better world.

 

And the Nobel Peace Prize goes to…

The internet erupted with outrage at the announcement of the winner of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize. A prize that is supposed to be given to those who have advocated for peace, and helped bring about a more peaceful world. Of course as you most likely know, this year’s prize went to the European Union. After having given the prize to other capitalist imperialists such as Barack Obama and Henry Kissinger, this only helps solidify the meaninglessness of the prize and its control by those who wish to advance, not human rights or democracy, but capitalist control over everyone and everything. Their rationale for awarding the peace prize to the EU was that it had solidified unity on a continent that used to be torn by war. This may sound reasonable to some, but if you dig just below the surface you’ll see that this is a farce, and that giving the peace prize to the EU is like giving a prize for outstanding human rights to the keepers of Guantanamo bay. Now I’m going to tell you why.

Peace and Human Rights my Ass

While it’s true that Europe has managed not to kill off the entire globe yet, that is hardly cause for a Nobel Peace Prize. Hell, I’d qualify for that shit if that was the case. What is the EU’s stance on human rights? Have they actually produced a more peaceful world? The answer to both, unfortunately, is a negative one. Let’s start with the first question, human rights. Is Europe upholding human rights? The answer is an unequivocal NO. Let’s start with the support of many EU countries for and complicity in illegal CIA renditions. No less than 14 EU member countries have been explicit in helping the US with their illegal kidnapping and imprisonment structure in Europe. Countries like the UK, Germany, Poland, Italy, Greece, Sweden among others. Want to read more about this? Glad you asked, because here is a link for you from the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/07/world/europe/07iht-prisons.1915898.html

And that’s not all. Amnesty International reported that migrants to Greece, many of them minors were being unfairly and illegally imprisoned in detention centers. Here’s the story here:  http://www.amnesty.eu/en/press-releases/security-and-human-rights/detention-of-minors-in-greece-shows-failings-of-eus-immigration-policy-0463/

Migrants left to die: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/28/left-to-die-migrants-boat-inquiry

These problems are important egregious violations, and I could talk about support by the EU member nations and participation in the US’s illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that has killed upwards of a million people, but there is something closer to home that I want to focus on.

The EU financial crises is years old now, and the struggle continues as Brussels, Germany and France try to squeeze the poorer member nations for all they have. Greece, Italy and Spain among others are floundering in ridiculously high unemployment, sagging economies and corrupt governance. Hundreds and hundreds of people in countries like Spain and Greece have taken their own lives because of austerity programs that took away from them what they had worked hard their whole lives to build. Men who had worked for a lifetime found that their guaranteed pensions were being stripped away from them, leaving them with nothing to live on. The disabled and sick are left hanging as the government cuts and cuts and cuts social programs that helped these people live with a modicum of decency. Surely it was because all those social programs had bankrupted those countries, right? (this is what the right likes to bray every time you bring up the trouble in Europe) NO. It is the fault of none other than the EU itself. It brought poorer countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal under the common currency when they were not ready to do so, and created a tidal wave of economic excess. Banks borrowed at ridiculously low rates and bet on bad debt over and over again, and the whole economy was managed very very badly. A mountain of debt piled up and the banks were about to go under so the governments bailed out the bad decision making bankers and put themselves deeply into debt. The bankers, the governments made out like bandits, and the working people were thrown under the bus. Higher taxes, for less government services. That’s not fiscal responsibility, that is straight up theft from the working classes. That is reprehensible. Mothers in Greece are abandoning babies they can’t feed, homeless numbers are growing, riots in the streets and anger abounds. The EU is in the throws of a social movement that could possibly bring down the whole damn apparatus. The police hit, shoot, beat and gas protesters for expressing their anger against this travesty, and pictures of bloodied and beaten protesters abounds. Speak out against this sickening fleecing of Europe and you’re thrown in jail, kill millions of jobs and steal pensions, you’re a hero. It is down right sickening. Here’s some pictures from “peaceful” Europe:

This is all going on RIGHT NOW. People are suffering and dying thanks to the economic terrorism wafting out of Brussels, Berlin and Paris, and there are loads of riots and talks of war, separatist groups and economic collapse. And it is to this region, that they awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Seems legit.

Dear Europe, you don’t deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. You don’t deserve it because there is no justice in Europe, only class warfare. And as you may have heard before, no justice, NO PEACE.

FUCK the EU and its capitalist tyranny. End the EU and build socialism in your countries.

Also, give up on ever respecting the Nobel Peace Prize, it’s a joke and has been for some time.

It is important enough to say again:

NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE.

Risk

I watched a video of Melissa Harris-Perry wherein she slams a guest on her show for talking about risks the wealthy take to make money. I’d like to elaborate for a moment if I may on that thought. What is risk? Who are the risk takers? Let’s take a minute to think about this logically.

Risk Takers

The right wing just loves to talk about risk takers. That multi-billionaire deserves his wealth, deserves to not be taxed, because he “risked” his money to build a business. That hedge fund manager “risked” a lot to make a lot. Mitt Romney “risked” a lot to make tens of millions and more at Bain Capital. Did they really? What exactly did they risk? Did they risk their lives? Oh, no of course not. Mitt Romney wouldn’t do that. After protesting in favor of the Vietnam War, when it came his time to go, he picked up, put his tail between his quavering upper class legs and beat feet to France. In fact many who died in Vietnam were poor, minorities and those who didn’t have the college deferment, because they couldn’t afford it. The wealthy man thinks he is a “risk taker” because he gambles a little bit of his money? HA! First, how did he get that money? He got it from the labor of his wage slaves. He got it from his birth, and his privilege. He got it from his tax breaks and his evasions. He got it from usury and he got it from his class status. He has lots of it. He risks a small portion of it? If he fails, will he have to live on the street? Doubt it. If he fails will he have to sell his Audi to pay his debts? Not likely. If he fails will he end up in jail? most certainly not. He risks nothing but the ill gotten and kept wealth he has, at no real personal risk to himself. Who are the risk takers then?

The REAL Risk Takers

The real risk takers do exist in America. They are the poor single mother investing time and energy into going to Community College to better herself, even while she lives on welfare and a part time job. They are the college student that spent a tour in the military to get his college education, and still has to work himself to the bone to make ends meet. The real risk taker is the father who works to low paying jobs to put food on the table for his family. The real risk taker is the factory worker who toils away making consumer products for a living. The real risk taker is the student who is in debt, hoping against hope that she’ll have a job when she graduates. The real risk taker is the mother huddling in the cold, trying to keep her daughter shielded from the icy blast in front of a store in the winter. The real risk taker is the miner who risks his life to keep the rent paid and the lights on. The real risk taker is the single dad who smiles to keep from crying, to keep his kids thinking that everything’s OK. Those risk takers put their hard earned money in banks, they get their hard earned money and put it towards a house or a car. Then the interest rates go up. The economy goes down. The REAL risk takers lose what little work they had. Those that had worked a lifetime to just break even lose everything. The “risk takers” at the top screw up the economy, they take it down with their greed and like in 2008, the whole thing comes crashing down. When the dust settles, the “risk takers” are fine. Sure, they lost a couple million, but hell, there’s more where that comes from. The REAL risk takers however, they die. They starve. They lose their homes. They lose their cars. They lose their livelihood. The “risk takers” took the money of the poor and working classes, played fast and loose with it, brought it all down, took the houses from the poor, the cars, the property. Then the “risk takers” turned to the government and said “We’re to big to fail”. The government panicked of course. Papers flying everywhere, pulling out hair, gnashing of teeth. Then they turned to the banks and said “Of course we’ll help you out, that’s what Americans do.” They gave hundreds of billions in loans to the corporations. They “risk takers” gave themselves lavish bonuses, threw parties, at caviar and drank champagne. And in the cities, the REAL risk takers huddled against the cold. Their jobs gone, their savings gone, their education savings gone, their hope gone. Deep in debt, mired in sadness. The country begins to crumble. The REAL risk takers lost. It was a rigged game and they had no chance of winning. 46 million Americans now living in poverty. The gas gets turned off. The electricity gets cut off. No water. The landlord kicks em out heartlessly into the street.

I am a REAL risk taker. You see, I am poor. I’ve always been poor. And I know that there is only one way to set this rigged game right. The answer is to knock all the pieces off and refuse to play their sick game. The game is capitalism, and we’ve been playing it far too long. No more of this 3 card Monty sham. It’s time for a world of equality, justice and hope. It’s time for socialism. Now, reaching for socialism, advocating revolutionary change, that’s taking a big risk. People will attack you, they will call you names, threaten to kill you. They will say you’re a murderer, they will make all kinds of ridiculous accusations. They’ll do whatever they can to stop you. Yes, socialism is taking a risk, betting on humanity, betting on the future. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been a risk taker all my life. Time to roll the dice. Socialism now. Demand it.

Romney and Israel

Presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is in Israel today to polish his (non-existent) foreign policy credentials. The former governor of Massachusetts is trying valiantly to capitalize on what the GOP sees as a crack in Obama’s defense, his apparent rocky relationship with the state of Israel. What’s interesting is that the Democrat and Republican position on the much disliked terrorist government of Israel are almost identical. Both parties are fully invested in continued support for their illegal puppet state, as it has continued for many years to be the foothold of US imperialism in the region. Romney and Obama are both outdoing themselves to suck up to the state of Israel, or more accurately, the evangelical rabid right wing in the US. Obama recently signed an agreement to send more civilian and military aid to Israel, but it may not be enough for Israel and it’s ignorant supporters in the US. Romney is touting a plan wherein he puts on the table more offensive tactics to show his support for the apartheid state. He said that Iran poses a huge threat to the state of Israel, and that he is willing to, not only support an offensive attack against Iran by Israel, but would put on the table the possibility of a US military strike on Iran. This all stems from a nuclear program in Iran that the government claims is merely for peaceful power purposes. (That’s some alliteration eh?) Even though Iran has not attacked Israel, these military industrial complex loving hawks in the US and Israeli governments are threatening to attack Iran. Let’s think about that logically. The US, which is responsible for the sole two times that nuclear weapons have EVER been deployed on a civilian populace, and Israel, which has been responsible for countless acts of aggression against its neighbors and its inhumane and evil treatment of the Palestinians, considers IRAN a threat. Both of those countries, responsible for brutal amounts of human rights abuses are threatening to attack a country that never attacked them. Religion doesn’t make this OK. Geopolitics doesn’t make this OK. This is hypocrisy, and a hypocrisy that will end up killing untold thousands of people.

It gets worse though. This would be like throwing a match into a pile of kerosene soaked hay. The world is not a vacuum, and when one act is taken by a country or two for their own selfish benefit, it could have lasting repercussions on people around the globe, especially with how interconnected the world is right now. Neither Russia or China, two large powers with growing economies would stand by ad let this kind of action go unanswered. Both rely heavily on Iranian oil for their industrial and power needs, and this action would likely end in a multi-front war. You can’t just invade or attack any country you like and pretend there wouldn’t be any consequences. This foreign policy line by both the democrats and republicans is just yet another example of their utter incompetence in the job of governing the largest economy in the world. They act with reckless abandon, destroying millions of lives while padding their own pockets. You can only roll that dice so many times before you get the snake eyes. The US has for the last century, built up a foreign policy based on bad ideas and worse execution, and it is one that will ultimately destroy this government, and by proxy the Israeli one as well. The US will not be top dog forever. Indeed, we are already seeing a changing of the guard in terms of power in both hard and soft power. The People’s Republic of China has a growing economy, the fastest in the world, and second only in size to that of the US. It is also developing a modern military, one to rival the US in numbers and technology. In spite of this, the government of the US is ignoring the writing on the wall. The oppressed nationalities of the world will not forever put up with this bullshit. They will only be walked over so many times. From the financial crises in Europe, to the fights over disputed territory in the South China sea, the world right now is a kindling box waiting for a spark. The US government is on its last match, and is threatening to throw it.

We need a new kind of foreign policy in the US. End the wars, bring all the troops home. Invest in education and infrastructure. Most of all, before that can really happen, the US is in dire need of a complete and total overhaul of its political system. We need to get the entrenched bourgeoisie out of government, and throw some of them in prison for their crimes against humanity. End the religious control of the US, end the reign of the robber baron banksters, and bring a new era to the USA. We need more than reform, we need a revolution. Not only of government, but in how we see the world. I hope that the people of the USA will see the light of day, and realize that their quaint vision of the world is myopic and wrong. Stop protesting for the banks to be nicer. Burn the banks. Stop protesting for an end to the Citizens United ruling; overthrow the government. Stop pretending anyone gives a shit about the constitution and write new one already. Stop worshiping the founders, and start taking hold of the present that you have. It’s time for the world to move into the future, it’s time for a better world. It’s time for socialism.

What Next?

On a recent blog post here on the Communist Daily, a reader keeps insisting that I don’t have a plan for an economy, and that the best way to win battles for the working class is through electing Democrats. Here, I will show why he’s wrong about socialism, and dead wrong about the democrats.

Elections in the US of A

America’s form of government is technically a “Federal Republic.” What does that mean? Well, it means that we’re a union, or federation of states under a central government, and that we elect officials to represent us. It sounds nice. It sounds democratic. It’s not very accurate. What we have in the US is a dictatorship of the capitalist class. What does that mean? It means that the capitalist class controls and owns every aspect of political life in this country. Don’t believe me? Well, let’s look at the facts.

Interesting Facts about the American Political System

Less than 1% of the American population are millionaires. About 47% of congress members are millionaires. The median net worth of congressional members was an average of  $2.56 MILLION.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/11/47-of-congress-members-millionaires-a-status-shared-by-only-1-of-americans/

Women make up about 50% of our population. How are they represented in congress? As of 2011, in the 112th congress, they represented just 16.8 % of the seats in the House of Representatives, and only 17% of the seats in the Senate.

Source: http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/levels_of_office/Congress-CurrentFacts.php

Who is controlling government? Do we the people really have the power? Not according to the facts we don’t. Throughout our government are members who have close ties to companies like Goldman Sachs, and politicians have received millions of dollars in financial contributions from them. Here’s a good source where you can see just how pervasive this corruption is:

Source: http://littlesis.org/list/39/Government_Officials_with_Ties_to_Goldman_Sachs#members

Spending in Elections: In 2010 both parties broke records for amount of money raised and spent on getting themselves elected. Hundreds of millions of dollars wasted to win a popularity contest.

Source: http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010/10/election-2010-to-shatter-spending-r.html

The solution

I could go on and on with these kinds of facts, that show that both parties are complicit in the corruption that controls our government. I could go on about how the same corporations support and defend both the Democratic, and the Republican parties, because they’re both the same, and the results are the same. I could go on about the minutiae of political interworkings, but instead, I’m going to lay out the way forward. We know that our political system is broken. Let’s not kid ourselves. Congress at last check had an approval rating of just 9%. We’re not happy with our government. The problem is that we’ve been told for so long that we’re powerless to change it. We’re told to just shut up and vote, ignoring the limited nature of our choices. Shut up and vote, ignoring the war, economic trouble and corruption that both parties represent. We’re told to shut up and vote, ignoring that our voting doesn’t really matter in a rigged system. It’s time to reject that line of reasoning. We do have a voice, we do have a choice, and it’s time we exercised our prerogative.

 

 Step One:

Demand a new government. Yes, I know that this scares some people. I know that it’s frightening to abandon the old and reach for the new. However, we must. Our current government is broken beyond repair, yet we hang on to it like it was a priceless heirloom. Let go America. Demand a government that truly represents you. Demand a government that is not controlled by money, not controlled by the capitalist class. Demand a government where you really do have a voice; one where we all really have the opportunity to pursue democracy. Before we can do anything else, the US needs a new government. Stat.

Some Plans for a New Country:

Now I am going to talk about issues. First, bring every last troop home . Every last one. Close EVERY base in foreign countries. Yes, that means close our bases in Germany, Japan, South Korea, the UK, Afghanistan, Iraq, Cuba etc. EVERY LAST ONE. Close them down immediately. Cut the military down to bare bones. Close hundreds of bases in the US, as much as possible.

Seize the wealth of the capitalist class. This means outlawing the stock market. Freeze all assets above $200,000. To build a new society, we will need to use the money that has been stolen from us for so long. The US has a GDP of around 14 trillion (with a T) dollars. Yet we cannot provide the most basic services to our citizens. This is unacceptable, it needs to end NOW.

Reform the education system. Abolish all for profit schools and seize their assets. Make education free and open to all citizens through at least the masters degree level. Education is a human right. Forgive all student loan debt.

Nationalize the health care industry. All medical care shall be free and open to anyone, regardless of their ability to pay. This is a human right as well, non-negotiable.

Redistribute the seized wealth, pay reparations to the countries we’ve invaded.

Start building an economy that works for the working class. Invest in research and development, medicine, public transport, green technology, alternative fuels.

End energy production using fossil fuels.

Destroy all nuclear weapons and make the US a nuclear free country.

Mandate that women make up half of the new government, with proportional representation and autonomy for the oppressed nations within the US. Give full unabridged autonomy to the Native Americans.

Conclusion:

These are some ideas for a new America. One free of capitalist corruption, imperialism, racism, sexism and the threat of nuclear war. A country that is truly democratic, socialist and free. I know that many Americans agree with me. They are sick and tired of the old status quo, sick of the lies and hubris of a political and financial class that walks all over them, and sick and tired of being sick and tired. We can build a new, better society, free from capitalism. The first step is to wake everyone up to the fact that we can, and must demand a new government. We are beholden to nothing but our consciences, our morals and our dreams. The planet is dying. Human beings are suffering because of this system. We can turn this around, but not until we achieve STEP ONE: A new government.

Some, like the commenter I mentioned above, think that we should settle for scraps from the table. They think that we can achieve our goals by begging the democrats pretty please. Surely they’ll listen to us. They ignore that it has been Democrats that have sent the police after activists, shot protesters in the face with tear gas canisters; Democrats were those like Obama and Rahm Emanuel that helped suppress the occupy movement. Democrats like the mayor of Seattle who has battled to protect the racist and brutal Seattle Police Dept. against Justice dept. inquiries. Democrats like Obama who have not only NOT stopped our imperialism, but have accelerated it. Democrats like the ones whose money grubbing hands are stained with the blood of innocent Iraqis, Afghans, and Palestinians. Democrats are JUST as guilty as the Republicans. Don’t be fooled. Don’t be swayed. The only way to get real change is to change the corrupt and evil system that has allowed all of these horrible things to happen, that has allowed criminals to go free while innocent Americans sit in prison by the millions. If you really believe in the courage of your conviction leftists, then stand up and demand what we have needed for so long; a new government, one that is truly of, by, and for the people.

Until we have the courage to do that, our demands will fall on deaf ears. They know that we are powerless because we make ourselves powerless. We refuse to have the courage to demand a new government, that we have no way to really pressure them.

Change that. Bring this government down.

 

 

Keep Calm and Carry On

The comedian Bill Maher had some advice for the Occupy movement recently. On his popular show “New Rules” he stated that he thinks it’s time for Occupy to change their tactics, saying :

“Instead of organizing interstate hootenannies, maybe it’s time for Occupy Wall Street to actually participate in the American political process. That means, boring stuff like canvassing neighborhoods, raising money, running candidates for office, manning phone banks and making a baby with John Edwards.”

Yes, occupy. The whole marching in the streets thing, banging drums, getting arrested, fighting fascist cops, staying out in the cold and the rain day after day that was all leading up to this moment, when we realize our real goal, our real aim, the thing we have been working so hard for, for so many months. That goal, that aim is: (Drum-roll please)

GO BACK TO NORMAL.

You see, the real problem is that there aren’t enough Democrats in office. Now, I know we’ve held power, well, still hold power in the Senate and the Presidency, but those pesky Republicans just keep throwing monkey wrenches in our gears, screwing things up for us, being the rascally little obstructionists that they are. What’s that? We had control of the house and senate before 2010? We didn’t even pass a budget while we had the chance? What’s that? Democrats voted for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? What’s that? The democrats support giving more money to the racist state of Israel? What’s that? The democrats time after time after time have reneged on their promises of social and economic progress? What’s that? The Democrats are just as corporate owned as the Republicans? What’s that? What we really need is systemic political and economic change that overhauls and replaces our current system?

No. I will not stand by while millionaire assholes like Maher whine poetic about how occupiers need to just get involved in the American political process. We can’t because to succeed in the American political process you need the support and money of the capitalist class, the class we are aiming on taking down. Do you understand that Maher? Can you get that through your thick fucking skull? We aren’t going to ask permission to have human rights, we will only get them by TAKING them. Rip what you want from the hands of the oppressor. Don’t wait for them to throw you scraps from their almighty fucking table. Knock the goddamn table over and take what you want. For too long the proletariat has been forced to produce, produce, produce, while the capitalist takes all the profit. It has resulted in poverty, war, death, starvation, strife and the coming death of our planet’s ecosystems. No, I won’t just get involved electing another lame ass Democrat into a pointless office. This whole system is rotten and corrupt to its very core. Tear it down. Burn the buildings and monuments. Stop fucking asking for permission. Kick the ass of the bourgeoisie and let’s build a better society, a better world with our hands, together.

Do you get it now Maher? We’re not the left wing equivalent of the tea party. We’re the modern, updated version of the Sans Culottes.

Nah you don’t get it.

An economic recovery—for capitalists

 

An economic recovery—for capitalists.

An economic recovery—for capitalists

 

Statement of the Lindsay/Osorio campaign

 

June 4, 2012

Unemployed job seekers attend a job fair in New York City.

Despite the economic turmoil of the last few years, the biggest banks and corporations have managed to consistently remain profitable ever since the massive taxpayer-funded bailouts. However, as the bleak jobs report for May shows, workers have been left out of this so-called recovery.

 

A total of 69,000 new jobs opened up in May, the lowest number in a year. Because about 125,000 jobs a month are needed just to keep up with the growing workforce, the official unemployment rate increased slightly to 8.2 percent. If workers who are thought to have “dropped out” of the workforce and those who have been forced to accept part-time work are included, the figure rises to 14.8 percent.

 

As these statistics make clear, the capitalist system offers no solution to the epidemic of unemployment and underemployment. That’s why the Lindsay/Osorio campaign proposes a socialist solution.

 

We demand: Seize the banks—Jail Wall Street criminals with the vast wealth of society—which we, the working class, create—liberated from Wall Street parasites, we can initiate a massive jobs program.

 

Our 10 point program states: Make a job a Constitutional right. Tens of millions are jobless and under-employed because the capitalists control employment. A decent paying job must be a legal, guaranteed right. The minimum wage should be raised to $20 per hour and a living income must be guaranteed for those who cannot work.

 

Capitalists employ workers for only one reason: without our labor, they cannot make a profit. When they can no longer profitably sell the commodities we make, as is the case in an economic crisis, they carry out mass layoffs without a second thought as to the devastating consequences to workers or their families.

 

Even in times of relative stability, the ruling class still needs a constant reserve of unemployed people to accommodate the chaotic and unplanned shifts in direction inherent in capitalist development. Having more workers than available jobs also helps depress wages and strengthens the negotiating position of the capitalists.

 

A job is central to human dignity and should be considered a basic right. Like all other rights for working people, it cannot be fully or permanently realized under capitalism. To fight unemployment at its root, support the Lindsay/Osorio campaign and join us in the fight for a socialist future!

 

Content may be reprinted with credit to VotePSL.org.

Is Obama a Socialist?

It started in the 2008 election, and has persisted even today. Four years later, we’re still hearing right wingers angrily denouncing Obama as an “America hating socialist”, and one who wants to see this country fail and on and on. Very seldom do we ever hear anyone address this seriously, or even hardly at all. So for the fun (and education of it) let’s examine closely what being a socialist means, and if Obama meets that definition.

Socialism: What is it?

It would seem that many people in the US are a bit ignorant of what the word socialism means. Let’s consult a dictionary first:
From Merriam-Websters:

so·cial·ism noun \ˈsō-shə-ˌli-zəm\
Definition of SOCIALISM

1
: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2
a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property
b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3
: a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done

What does this mean?

OK, so basically, socialism means collective or government control of the means of production. There are different ideologies and parties that claim to be varying forms of socialism. You have Democratic Socialists, Social Democrats (not really socialists, but for the sake of argument we’ll group them in here) among others, like libertarian socialists, also known as anarchists. Do Obama’s policies have any links to these political ideologies at all?

What Obama has done while in office has been nothing short of capitalist in nature. From a slew of FTAs (Free Trade Agreements) to drones attacking people in Pakistan with more stealth and precision than George W. Bush, Obama has proven himself time and again to be on the capitalist side of the fight. He talks about building jobs, but continues the 10 year old tax cut for the wealthy that Bush began. He has mostly kept the military at it’s current level, with only minimal cutbacks. He has instituted a weak health care reform plan that will probably be knocked down and out by the Republicans. In fact, the health care reform law was very capitalist in nature from the start. It is in effect a huge kickback to insurance companies by making everyone buy PRIVATE insurance.

He has hired people for his administration at top levels that come directly from firms like Goldman Sachs, he has maintained the embargo against Cuba. He has caved in almost every instance to the Republicans, even when he had the political power to accomplish something good. He has allowed cuts in education, in social programs and has maintained basically a majority of Bush policies in almost every regard.

He has not overseen the nationalization of industry. While he did bail out the car companies, banks and insurance firms, these were merely hundreds of billions in injected capital, not an actual government takeover. Certainly none of those helped the common people in a real or lasting way, but sure did make some good money for his friends at the top of those companies.

In short, Obama has been, and continues to be a very conservative president. He advocates capitalism, is hardly even an advocate of Keynesian Economics and is just as war mongering as his predecessor.

Let’s lay this to rest. Socialists such as myself are sick of hearing how socialist Obama supposedly is. The facts tell us that he is not a socialist, not on the side of the working class, and not worthy of our support. The Communist Party USA may support him, but only because they’re defeatists who think that since the GOP is worse they have no obligation to fight for anything better than the status quo. Reject this argument, Obama is not a socialist, nor should anyone consider him one. We fight for a radically different America where common citizens get bailouts, not giant cash hungry corporations. We fight for a future where education and health care are considered human rights, not merely a bottom line for a corporation. We fight for food, housing and clothing for every singe person within our borders. We fight for a future free from war and imperialism. Obama stands for NONE of that. Reject both capitalist imperialist parties, and vote for a real socialist in 2012.

Peta Lindsay 2012! http://www.votepsl.org

Austrian Economics and Science

There are quite a few economic schools of thoughts out there. Some may like the Keynesian economic model, others want the “free market” Chicago model others, Marxist, Anarchist,  and on and on. There is one particular economic school of thought that stands apart from the others, and not in a good way. I’m talking about Austrian Economics.

What is Austrian Economics?

To begin, let’s look at what Austrian Economics is. Austrian economics is a heterodox school of economic thought based on an idea called “Praxeology”, methodological individualism. Or more simply put, it is an economic theory that is outside the scope of accepted economic theories, and bases its approach on an idealist philosophical approach that rejects statistics, math, and science in favor of postulations of economic theory based on “logical” conclusions. They claim that statistics cannot completely or accurately asses the economic world, and so they decide that using “logic” to understand the basic motivations of humans is the way to understand economics. There is a reason this approach is rejected by the majority of self-respecting economists. It’s complete and utter bullshit.

Why Austrian Economics is Garbage

First let’s hear what one of the founders of the economic thought said, and we’ll dissect it.

“Human action is purposeful behavior. Or we may say: Action is will put into operation and transformed into an agency, is aiming at ends and goals, is the ego’s meaningful response to stimuli and to the conditions of its environment, is a person’s conscious adjustment to the state of the universe that determines his life. Such paraphrases may clarify the definition given and prevent possible misinterpretations. But the definition itself is adequate and does not need complement of commentary.”

The above statement was made by Ludwig Von Mises to explain the idea of “Praxeology”, which underlies the philosophical roots of this economic worldview. What does the above platitude suggest? And what are its implications? First it states that the only thing that matters is the individual. What does the individual want, what does the individual work for? He wants whatever he wants, he wants to achieve his personal goals.  In a word, the ideology of the Austrian School of economics is individualism. The idea that everything revolves around the individual’s specific desires. They postulate that this means one cannot assess society as a whole, because of the overwhelming complexity and variation of human action. They say that because the actions of human beings cannot be understood or characterized, it is useless to use such things as science, math or statistics in assessing economical behavior. This idea is absurd. We can, and do scientifically assess human behavior. It’s as if the people who came up with this economic school of thought (loose usage of the word thought there, I know)  had never heard of the sciences of psychology, anthropology, sociology or the common practice of common sense. They throw out statistical measuring and analysis of economics because it does not support their selfish infantile worldview.

Human society is not about individuals pursuing “rational self interest”. It never has been. Homo Sapiens Sapiens are social animals. We thrive off of human touch, that connection that keeps us happy and sane. Isolated people are not happy people, and they are not healthy people. There is a reason why solitary confinement is such a harsh punishment. The human craves interaction with other members of his or her species. This has been demonstrated, time and time again. I dare them to prove differently to me.

Economics is not about the individual. It never has been. If economics was entirely about the individual, we’d not barter or trade (that takes more than one person) and we would just build and produce for ourselves. We would hoard hoard hoard, fighting to keep others away from our personal territory like a lone wolf in the forest. We don’t behave like that. The reason we have such an interconnected world is that humans cooperate. We’ve worked together throughout history. We need that social work, because without it we are nothing. Without cooperation we would not have economy, we would not have society, we would not have humanity. As Ernest Hemingway said; “No man is an island.” That goes doubly well for economics. Economics is not the result of many people all trying to screw the other guy, and should not be. It is utterly illogical to think that economics is about the individual, when its very definition describes it as the allocation and distribution of scarce resources. It’s not about get all you can, it’s about organizing our resources effectively.

We have to see society, politics and economics as interconnected, because they are. You can’t look at a cell in the human body and decide that because that cell is healthy the whole person must be as well. You have to understand the body in its entirety, and how it all works together. In the same way, economics and politics go hand in hand. You cannot understand one without understanding the other. Human society is organized around the solving the problems we face, and we do it together. We didn’t get to the moon through competition, or cutthroat individualism. We got there through government, the manifestation of what human cooperation can be. Nothing that was ever accomplished was accomplished by one person in a vacuum. It takes a village. Most of the world’s cultures are in fact collectivist, not individualist.

Science Spurned

Austrian economics spurns science, math and statistics. It states that you cannot assess economy with those means. Why not? Human behavior can be understood, and we are continually learning more about why people act the way they do. Mises spoke loftily of “agency” and will, but seemed to completely gloss over what those things mean. We know that Mises is wrong, that we can in fact understand human action. All we need to do is take a quick look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. What, you may ask, is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? Glad you asked.

Maslow was a psychologist who devised a theory of human motivation. What makes people tick, at the very base and simplistic of levels? He organized the motivations, the needs that is, into a pyramid. We must have certain needs met before we can meet other needs. Here it is:

We look at this chart from the bottom up. First we have to address the problems that lie at the base of the pyramid. Before we can acieve anything else at all, we must have air, food, water, sleep, excretion and homeostasis and sexuality. This lower level doesn’t really change, no matter what culture you’re in. You can only last about a month without food, only 3 days without water, and when it comes to air, just minutes. Once our physiological needs have been met, then we can begin to move up the pyramid. We next need security. Body, health, etc. And the pyramid keeps going up. Notice where it says that we need income inequality, the need to feel superior to everyone else. Oh, sorry, that’s not on here.

Yes, our societies are made up of individuals. Those individuals seek self-fulfillment. However, that fulfillment cannot come in a vacuum, no matter how many college freshman who just discovered Ayn Rand want to assert. So how do we create good societies that foster an environment wherein the individual has self realization and life satisfaction? We do this by creating a society wherein everyone has that ability. We cannot achieve self actualization if we live in a society where we don’t have esteem among people, acceptance of others. We can’t have esteem of others if our priority is to crush others to get to the top. We can’t have a society at all if we don’t have food, water, housing and clean air. When many of us do not have the very basics of these most essential needs in our world, they don’t get any higher up the ladder. Crime comes from the basic needs of a human being not being met. The Austrian school wants you to think that it’s all about the individual. What they really want is for you to ignore their crimes, their crimes of greed, their philosophy of avarice. They want to rationalize their selfishness, and deny the results of their actions. The fact is that society, like people, become what they are made to be. If a person grows up in a bad environment, without proper nutrition, without proper education, without proper housing, without love, acceptance, self actualization etc. S/he will most likely not turn out to be a productive member of society. In a like manner, if we put greed, selfishness and cutthroat individualism as our creed, we sacrifice the golden goose to get the egg. Austrian economics can’t see the forest for the trees.

Marxism is a scientific approach to economics. It rejects the failed platitudes of the philosophy of greed, and looks to unite humanity in creating communities where we all will realize our true potential. Some like to say that if you want peace, it has to begin with you. In reality, if we want peace, we have to start with our communities, our countries, and then the world. You see, we are all interconnected.  We all do seek cooperation. When we focus on doing what economics should do, that is meet the needs of the world, we’ll find that the individuals that make up these societies are happy, educated, well rounded people.

If you accept science, logic, and rationality; the answer is clear. Throw Austrian economics in the garbage, where it belongs.

Unite, and help us build a better world.