TRUMP WINS, BUT FASCISM WON PRIOR TO ELECTION
Donald Trump is set to become our next president. But no matter the victor, Trump or Harris, a new kind of fascism won this election before a vote was cast. Now it is our task to figure out how to reach people with a vision of what is possible at this point in human history. Join us for a zoom meeting, Which way forward for this era? Sat. Nov. 16, 3-4pm EST.
This election, voters embraced more elements of fascism that were previously unacceptable–from outright support of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, to revamping old war criminals like Dick Cheney, to targeting political opponents as “the enemy within.” Many held their noses and voted what they felt was best to preserve their rights and protect lives. It felt more than ever like a recycled election of two politicians many Americans know and hate– a former president and a sitting vice president, nearly a rerun of 2020 and 2016. And for the first time ever, self-identified independents accounted for a larger share of voters in Tuesday's U.S. presidential election than Democrats and were tied with Republicans. Democrats will blame progressive and 3rd Party voters, though the loss falls squarely on them, and many voters rightly turned their backs on the Democrats for funding and supporting genocide. Many others voted for Trump out of desperation to get out of miserable conditions they’ve been facing the last 4 years.
The various individual issues that motivated voters this election cycle are actually in the shadows of the massive economic shifts occurring in capitalism, where more people every year are scrambling to meet their basic needs. The need for human labor and exploitation itself is going away, through advances in automation, and therefore the necessities of life will have to be distributed for free in order for masses of people to survive. These technological advances won’t go backwards, and our corporate overlords understand they must sow divisions and expand surveillance and brutal policing to prevent us from truly seizing power.
Since 2020, the richest five men in the world have doubled their fortunes. During the same period, almost five billion people globally have become poorer. 37.9 million Americans live below the poverty line, and 100 million more can’t afford basic needs. Today’s generations face diminished prospects in homeownership, family-building, and financial security. Climate change accelerates, threatening Earth's viability and societal stability. The corporate elite are fine with the fact synthetic opiates kill more Americans every year than the total number of U.S. soldiers killed in the entire Vietnam war. They are fine that preventable homicides, suicides, and overdoses are skyrocketing among us. They plug us into virtual worlds, social media, and video games to keep us isolated and docile. They imprison us, they break up our families for being poor. We have become so used to outright fascist conditions, no matter who is in office at various levels of state, we must step back and look at what is going on and say enough is enough.
We are living in what we label a new fascism with classic defining features of the merger of corporations and the State, increased wealth polarization, the ruling elite creating scapegoats and divisions at the bottom, and criminalization and police state measures ever increasing. While Trump may indeed yearn to be the single figurehead of a new type of totalitarian government, fascism predates and will outlive Trump and has been built by both corporate parties. The new fascism doesn’t need a single party dictatorship because both wings of the ruling class align with the goal of preserving private property over our needs, and obscene wealth and power, as more and more people are thrown out of the economic system into permanent insecurity or joblessness.
The base of the two corporate parties have been taught to hate and dehumanize each other. Political violence has increased in the last several years and will continue in the coming weeks and months. We must protect ourselves against vigilante violence and state reaction, and also be mindful of distractions and tricks. We have to keep our eyes on the prize of building unity on the bottom to come for the top. Both Parties will use any reasons to advance fascist control and division. Trumpism and the most far-right supporters are not the cause of societal decay, but one acute symptom of it. Social relations and politics are cracking as the economic foundation shifts and buckles. The majority of people who voted Republican and Democrat are part of the class we must eventually unite. There will be different tactical times to reach different segments of our class.
Confusion and chaos are becoming normal features in society, and there are no mainstream organizations offering a plausible path for the way forward. We believe the number one mission now, post-election, is to bring together anyone who will engage with us to figure out what is actually going on as capitalism is dying and society is degenerating. We want to figure out a path forward for everyone getting pushed out of the old system and left behind by the billionaire elite, and their political puppets like Harris and Trump. Everyone deserves a home, clothes, good food, healthcare, and an opportunity to thrive. It is possible based on the incredible productive capacity we have. But we can’t have it without tackling the contradictions growing in late stage capitalism, and figuring out a new strategy to organize.
If more and more human labor is no longer needed, what does the ruling class need us for?
The current system cannot meet our needs. This growing equality of misery creates the potential for real unity across racial and other dividing lines. The solution is for us to unite and seize power.
How do we begin to reach people with this message and a vision for a future where everyone is taken care of?
We invite you to a meeting to hash out these ideas and talk about the next steps forward for this era.
Zoom Mtg: Which way forward for this era? Saturday Nov. 16th, 3-4pm EST, featuring Cheri Honkala, Galen Tyler. REGISTER HERE.
detail of Harvey Finkle photo
