The Coming Storm

Liberals and a host of self-described socialists argue that, deficient as his party and his personal record may be, people must vote for Joe Biden in 2020 because Trump and the Republicans are that much more odious. Once again, working people are urged by these pitiable strategists to vote for the least worst corporate candidate. Rather than weighing the full impact of lesser evil voting, its advocates pretend the scheme has only an up and no down side. But as we will see, the costs of lesser evil voting far outweigh any presumed benefits. Without a doubt, Trump’s policies and actions have been despicable – from his support for criminal aggression against Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Palestine, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, Bolivia, Yemen and elsewhere; his racist attacks on immigrants and people of color; his tax cuts for the rich at the expense of programs for working people; his deadly mismanagement of the Covid-19 crisis; his eagerness in the wake of the pandemic to bail out corporation...

** This article was published on Counterpunch May 13, 2016 With the imminent demise of the Bernie Sanders campaign for the Democratic Party nomination, discussion has turned to what should come next. Some, including Seattle Socialist City Councilwoman Kshama Sawant, have agitated for creating a generic "party of the left". But what does that mean?   As we shall see, it's a troublingly vague slogan whose beauty, if it exists at all, is solely in the eye of the beholder. But first, we must step back and survey the lay of the land.   Those inspired by Sanders campaign and those disillusioned with the two major parties come in various flavors. 1. In the first category, there are those who see the status quo—characterized by unequal distribution of wealth, endless war, rampant racism, unemployment, mass incarceration and diminishing expectations—as fundamentally unjust, while having no coherent analysis whence comes the injustice. These are liberals , progressives or...

** This article was published on Counterpunch February 11, 2016 ** It [is] too much the way of [mainstream politicians] to talk of this terrible [crisis] as if it were the only harvest ever known under the skies that had not been sown—as if nothing had ever been done, or omitted to be done, that had led to it—as if observers of the wretched millions…and of the misused and perverted resources that should have made them prosperous, had not seen it inevitably coming, years before and had not in plain words recorded what they saw. - Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities Working people in Flint, Michigan are suffering mightily from the poisoning of the city’s water supply that resulted from callous decisions by government officials—from the unelected emergency city manager, on up to the governor and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.   All of these officials acted in the name of austerity and cutting costs.   But as is so often the case, the tragedy in Flint is no...

** This article appeared in Counterpunch January 12, 2016 ** I wholeheartedly support the populist programs that Bernie Sanders advocates—from single-payer healthcare, to free college tuition, to taxing the rich and more.   But borrowing from Malcolm X , Bernie is a house socialist and I'm a field socialist. Bernie doesn't want to replace or overthrow capitalism.   Like all house socialists, he thinks capitalism can be fixed or tamed with reforms.   By contrast, we field socialists understand that the essence of capitalism—private ownership of major industry, resources, banks, and the exploitation of labor by appropriating surplus value (profit)—is antithetical to democracy.   In fact, for all of Bernie's talk about "democratic socialism", he and other house socialists turn a blind eye to the lack of economic democracy that is the very hallmark of the capitalist system.   Because Bernie is in favor of tweaking capitalism but opposed to dismantling...

** This article appeared in Counterpunch July 24, 2015 ** In this election season, confusion and subterfuge are the order of the day.   Candidates and parties vie for our attention, each claiming to be uniquely qualified to represent the interests of the majority.   We know they’re lying but, as when observing any skilled illusionist, it can be difficult to spot the sleight of hand. One trick they rely on is getting us to focus on individual personalities rather than the social forces they represent.   If a candidate is intelligent, articulate, personable and skilled at using populist rhetoric, we are meant to be dazzled and distracted.   We are taught to ignore the organization and class forces that stand behind a candidate.   Once you agree to view things in this way, it becomes impossible to keep your eye on the ball.   Once we accept that the individual is what counts most, our manipulation is a foregone conclusion. Many sense that our ele...