In November 2020, the US electoral circus declared Biden the winner. A year ago, the bourgeois propaganda machine was launched to attract more people to vote in this election. Even the opposition (American Maoists) entered the circus, announcing the danger of the advance of fascism to make the election show more attractive and more serious. Apparently, the round-the-clock efforts of the right and left of capital resulted in the engineering of public opinion, and the US election in 2020 had the highest turnout in the last 120 years. [1]

Republicans, led by Trump, have called for the election results to be annulled, claiming widespread electoral fraud. The allegation of widespread electoral fraud in the world’s largest democracy, which has been campaigning for democracy for at least the past 30 years and proposed exporting democracy through war, practically undermines and calls into question the concept of democracy. On 6 January, the US Congress was scheduled to count the Electoral College votes and announce the final result so that democracy would not be tarnished. At the same time that Trump was speaking to his supporters from behind a glass guard, Trump called on his supporters to move to the temple of democracy (the US Congress) and show that they will never give up, stating:

“We will never give up. We will never concede… You’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and only count the electors who have been lawfully slated. I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically, make your voices heard today.” [2]

Following the call of the charismatic leader, Trump supporters stormed the temple and symbol of democracy (the US Congress). Five people were killed during the unrest – the storming of Congress was more like a protest against the election results in dictatorial countries. It would be naive to think that following Trump’s speech, some mobsters and fascists who became emotional and attacked Congress.

The fact that these American gangsters removed the mask of civilization in the war of power and showed the true face of their bourgeois democracy shows the depth of the rift that has gripped the world’s largest bourgeoisie – the American bourgeoisie. The claimants of democracy, whose democracy was supposed to be a model for others around the world, have now captured the temple of their democracy. The economic, political and social contexts of the obvious gap in this democracy must be discussed. The political and economic hegemony of national capital is the main reason for the rise of populism, not only in the US, but also globally.

After World War II, the US became the undisputed leading global power, and subsequently established its hegemonic dollar across the world. Although the US has been in an economic crisis since 1991, the 2008 economic crisis meant the US lost more and more ground. In these new world conditions, we are witnessing a new arrangement of imperialist powers. [3] In these new circumstances, Trump began his work by promising to restore the status quo prevalent in the US of the 1950s and 1960s, and by chanting “America first” – meaning American interests first. Trump terminated several contracts that did not serve US interests well and signed several contracts at the same time – in one case signing a $110-billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia. The US trade deficit with China had risen to about $400 billion by the time Trump came to power. Trump announced that by imposing tariffs on non-US goods and capital, he would bring job opportunities back to the US, and it was in this context that he entered into a trade war with China and, to some extent, with the European Union. With such actions, Trump managed to reduce unemployment in the US by 1%.

But with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, millions lost their jobs, and in a short period of time, unemployment rose to 15% (it is now around 6.7%). During this pandemic in the US alone, the number of people who have to date lost their lives is greater than the total number of American military fatalities during World Wars I and II. [4] All of this indicates that American society is facing serious problems that will lead to social tensions.

The rise of populism marks the retreat of the working class from its position on the world stage. Four years ago, following Trump’s victory, we wrote:

 “The crisis in the Capital Camp provides an alternative to the populist tendency of capital to emerge from the capital crisis. The progress of the populist tendency of capital would not have been possible without the retreat of the working class.” [5]

Populism has been poisoning the working class through the “ideology of democracy” and the danger of fascism, and governmental and non-governmental ideologies of capital have played a significant role in the formation and perpetuation of the “ideology of democracy”.

Trump is leaving the White House, but populism is preparing for future battles, and it is not going to give up easily. Republicans are preparing for a power struggle, with or without Trump. In other words, the American political and social milieu will not be without tensions. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican in the US House of Representatives, has announced that she will be filing articles on impeachment against Joe Biden on his first day in office for abuse of power. [6]

In the absence of the working class as a social class capable of stamping its will on social events, there is a danger that the working class will act as a (supernumerary) black army of bourgeois factions in the war for power. Bourgeois democracy and bourgeois dictatorship are two sides of the same coin, and that coin is the savagery of capitalism. Either the working class of the world’s largest economy finds its way into the class struggle with its own independent line and advances its class demands, or we will see the continuation of savagery, and more exploitation to produce more surplus value to pay for the capitalist crisis. Only the working class can respond to the crisis of capitalism through class struggle. More than ever, the future of humanity is in the hands of the working class.

Capitalism smells of blood, dirt and sludge. If the working class does not follow its historical decree, that is, the overthrowing of capitalism through communist revolution, the destruction of humanity is inevitable. The destruction of humanity must not only be achieved through world war but also through the brutality of capital, the virus pandemic and environmental catastrophes. To put an end to the barbarism and savagery of capitalism, the alternative of the internationalists is more valid than ever:

Communist Revolution or the Destruction of Humanity!

 Firoz Akbary

17 January 2021

Notes:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_turnout_in_United_States_presidential_elections

[2] https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-speech-save-america-rally-transcript-january-6

[3] See the pamphlet “The New Arrangement of Imperialist Powers in the New Global Conditions”.

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_casualties_of_war

[5] See the article: The crisis in Capital Camp, on the fringes of populism and Trump’s Victory.

[6]https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/biden-trump-impeachment-marjorie-taylor-greene-b1787055.html

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