Sending a “Clear Message” is the favorite phrase of the Trump Administration these days.
The U.S. government with its most lethal military power on the earth politically looks weak in the eyes of people around the world and has nothing to offer except sending fearful Messages to the “bad actors” – like a mobster marking his territory in the city during the trouble times. So far, the shortsightedness of Mr. Trump’s foreign policy advisors has humiliated the Administration. Mr. Pompeo and Bolton’s “diplomacy” has failed miserably. Their ultimatums, coup attempts evaporate like a drop of water on a hot iron as soon as they are announced. The cases of North Korea, Venezuela and Iran are the best indication of these chaotic Imperial situations.
In addition, the “Trade War” with China or unsubstantiated accusations and sanction against Russia not only have not been helpful but more importantly are worrying the American farmers and producers and undermining the trust in the U.S. government and its leadership. On top of that the constant infighting among the American elite has emboldened the dangerous fascistic elements to organize themselves as “Armed Forces” in and outside of the official government agencies.
Meanwhile the American working people find themselves marginalized in making decisions for the future by both ruling parties and only are spoken to when they are needed during elections as voters or during war as cannon fodder. However, they are seeking leadership which generates meaningful changes and a way out of this dead-end political situation.
Today, the vital need for new leadership and a new direction is no longer a clever election campaign slogan but a necessity to avoid a dangerous path that leads to creation of one form of the Police State in the U.S. to ignite a global war. Certainly, the current chaotic political situation in the U.S. has reached a point that is undermining the U.S. governing system and its “constitution”. Radical change is on the horizon, and the American working people have a great opportunity to present their own independent solutions which are not based on profit but the actual day-to-day needs of people.
If one agrees with the above assessment of the current political reality in the U.S., then the question is what is the solution? What has to be done by working people in order to free themselves and their families from this quagmire?
Although the answer is simple, the concept would present itself as complicated and confusing occurrences without having a general knowledge of the history of development of Capitalism. The progress of Capitalism from its inception mainly was due to its ability to turn a single craftsman into an appendage of machinery in the factories. That is how the modern worker was born. The Capitalists did everything in their power to dehumanize the working people. According to the factory owners, it was a privilege for every able member of the working families including children to work in their factories and get paid. However, they knew soon or later, they would face resistance and workers would rise up for better working conditions. Ironically the same factories which were exploiting the laborers became the main factor in forming the workers as a class. Indeed the working class in their struggle won and lost many historical battles since that time. However, in the 21st century the contradictions within the Capitalist system have reached a point that a total collapse is inevitable and not even a World War would be able to save it – as it did in WWI and WWII.
On the economic level, the U.S., as the world’s number one economy is challenged by China. Washington’s tough talk against China regarding trade is nothing but empty rhetoric that will not help the U.S. economically since the U.S. economy has been increasingly dependent on speculative financial parasite and not production. Today the U.S. economy is polluted by the fog of another financial meltdown worse than 2008. The U.S. demand from China (regardless of its President’s ambition) is an impossible proposition. In simple words, the U.S. is asking China to behave like a semi-colony! Meanwhile, China as the second world economy is aiming to link China throughout Eurasia with the “Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)” economic program, enhancing her position in the world, while rushing to advance its military capabilities with draft defense budget of $177.61 billion in 2019, preparing herself in anticipation of a military confrontation from the U.S. government.
On the military level, for the U.S. government, any attempt to engage in a full scale and direct military involvement – like Vietnam – is a difficult and risky task. The European military powers are not following U.S. orders, and NATO is at the stage of disintegration. Also, unlike the 1940s, Americans are not the only nation that has devastating nuclear bombs in their arsenal. These facts so far have been the main reasons that the U.S. is hesitating to start a new World War as an option to gain back its global hegemony. However for the U.S. with a weaken economy, a military option is more and more probable. Today the military provocation against Iran in Persian Gulf indicates that the warmongers have upper hand in directing the U.S. government toward a military option with devastating consequences. It is common knowledge that no one would be able to claim victory after a nuclear war is initiated.
Working people have a window of opportunity to change the gloomy future that all capitalists (Americans, Chinese or Russians) have already planned for us. An independent union and culture of peace must prevail to save humanity and mother earth. Unfortunately working people have been distracted and disarmed for so many years by the politicians and parties who pose as supporters of working people but carry out the agenda of the 1%. Capitalists throughout the centuries masterfully have managed to create different protection shields against working people. In the struggle against capitalists; Stalinists, pseudo-socialists, labor parties and bureaucratic unions have already played their hands and proved time after time that in the final analysis they act as the protectors for the powerful and wealthy elites. These old parties and organizations politically are bankrupt and no longer have influence among working people. However, the most dangerous and elusive shield that still exist today to protect the capitalists interests has been parties that propagate the idea of reformism. The Social Democrats (or also known as Democratic Socialists in the U.S.) are reactionary reformists and main obstacle in the path of working people’s emancipation. Their superficial solutions to the deep social problems; without any challenge to the capitalist state, have distracted generations of revolutionaries and democratic minded people in every country around the world. Today that the class struggle is at its peak, the Democratic and Republican parties look the same to working people. Rejecting the far-right demagogues who boldly are consolidating themselves against the working people mainly in Europe and Americas is an easy task. But while working people are seeking a new political alternative to the current situation, the deceitful “socialists” are the hardest link in the capitalist chain to break.
The “Democratic Socialists” by suggesting that through a series of reforms of capitalist government, claim that working people will be prosperous and would be able to pursue a happy life! Mr. Bernie Sanders and Mrs. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are leading this trend in the U.S. As they say, they want to “create a government that works for all and not just the few.” But creating such a government under the capitalist system is a utopian idea and obsolete. People and Profit, Labor and Capital are not compatible. Capitalists simply need government (through their court system, police force, etc.) to protect their wealth and property which are created by the workers. Therefore, a capitalist government cannot be a common ground that could “work” –as Mr. Sanders claims – for both classes and harmonize the antagonistic forces with the opposite interests. When President Trump in his State of Union address, declared: “Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country”, he unintendedly reflected the fear among the 1% of the increasing interest of the American working people in Socialist idea as an alternative to Capitalism. The verbal attack by the both parties’ establishments against Mr. Sanders and Mrs. Ocasio-Cortez is actually aimed to discredit genuine Socialist ideas. They are afraid of working people’s ability to create an independent force with a revolutionary program against the 1% unjust economic policies and their constant wars.
Today the workers, teachers, women, minorities, immigrants, journalists, peace activists and dissents’ democratic rights are under attack. New forms of exploitation of workers by companies like Amazon; passing barbaric laws against women to overturn Roe V. Wade; slashing the education budget; daily militarized raid of immigrant families and inhuman treatment of their children; imprisonment of Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange and other whistleblowers are just a few facts of life in the U.S. today. Only a conscious and independent leadership of working people is able to expose the reactionary nature of the U.S. government and its fictitious “socialist” agents. Capitalists have nothing to offer except war and misery. Creation of a global union and culture of PEACE is needed to stop the warmongers to drop another nuclear bomb and open the gate of hell on earth.
Stand united against reaction and fascism in all forms; organize for PEACE.
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Massoud Nayeri is a graphic designer and an independent peace activist based in the United States. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.
Featured image is from the author
