In times of great upheaval, all seems to be turmoil and often chaos. But history is not simply a never-ending circle where nothing changes or is a series of random unexplainable events. It is going somewhere.
As fighters in the struggle for a better America, we all know firsthand the devastation being forced on our country. As members of a class fighting against these miseries we have experienced them ourselves. We have had victories, key being the broad exposure and the realization of the brutal violence in our country waged against our class, with the brunt being borne by Black workers.
We have mobilized millions of people of all colors, ages, and backgrounds first through protests in defense of essential workers and then exploding into a fight against police brutality and violence.
Whether through government refusal to defend our welfare in the face of the virus, or through the vicious police tactics in the streets, or through the ruling class’s efforts to limit and contain the meaning of our struggle, our class is coming to understand what capitalism in America truly means.
History is not the story of the wealthy or some bigshot. History is the story of millions of people like us fighting through every stage of existence toward a better future, a greater understanding, and a deeper love of humanity, community, and nature.
History shows us that humanity can only change its condition for the better, when its living conditions change. Today, electronics is eliminating human labor, destroying the source of all value, and ending that which makes capitalism what it is: a system of buying and selling based on the exploitation of human labor and the expropriation of the profit from the surplus value created. Without that exploitation, profit cannot be realized, and without profit, capitalism cannot survive as a system. In this sense, capitalism no longer exists as it once was, and something new is struggling to be born. It is laying the basis for a new society that can provide a decent, stable, and happy life for all.
How will we make the world we want? Thousands of people in our country are fighting to change it for the better. They are taking over homes, taking charge of the streets in every city and little town across America. They are coming up with new and innovative ways to feed the hungry, protect the vulnerable, and teach our children. They are registering voters, working for progressive candidates, and vowing to “defeat Trump” as part of the effort to wrest our country from the ruling class.
A new class is arising out of the destruction of the capitalist system, and this work is helping to shape up a huge social force brought forth by the technological and social conditions underway.
History also shows that we must add one more ingredient — new ideas. These new ideas help break up the old ways of thinking and give us new ways of seeing that are in line with what is now possible. They help us see ourselves for what we are — a class that has its own interests separate from the ruling class, who have our own vision of the kind of society that we need, and who are entirely capable of using these ideas to direct our struggle to achieve the political power to achieve that vision.
What are these new ideas? That we can have a world where no one has to fight another for the daily bread of existence. That we can have a world where cooperation and fulfilling the needs of humanity are the guiding principles. A world where independence from the chains of exploitation, the guaranteed ability of every person to contribute to society, freedom from want, and an expectation of a better life make true democracy possible.
September/October 2020 Vol30.Ed5
This article originated in Rally, Comrades!
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