Socialists Are Gaining Power, And The Plutocracy Doesn’t Like It

Everyone who opposes establishment politics, whether or not they support socialism, have reason to be excited about what’s happening in grassroots politics right now. The interests of the socialist, anti-war, and pro-whistleblower movements intersect, because each of these efforts goes against the agenda of the global oligarchy. So when socialists are mobilizing on a scale unprecedented in recent decades, they deserve some support from all of these movements.

And not only are the socialists mobilizing, they’re gaining power. Last week’s victories for Ben Jealous and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez don’t represent direct electoral wins for true socialism, since these candidates only aim to reform capitalism. But replacing capitalism is an increasingly popular idea among young people, and events like these bring the country closer to a genuine socialist revolution. This was shown when the Democratic Socialists of America, an unapologetically socialist organization, saw an explosion in new membership after Ocasio-Cortez’ election, with its membership now at 40,000.

Underneath this, working class people around the world are organizing to cut off the life source of the plutocracy, which is the cooperation of the people. For the last two months, the Poor People’s Campaign has been carrying out marches and blocking public spaces around the country, with over 2,500 of the campaign’s protesters arrested so far. The worldwide teacher strikes and the massive recent worker strikesacross Europe have also proven that the oppressed people of the world are ready to fight against the neoliberal order.

What’s most telling is the establishment’s reaction to all of this. The efforts from right-wing think tanks to sabotage the teacher strikes show that the labor movement has gained serious power. Establishment Democrats are trying to stop the populist insurgency by making small concessions, like the DNC’s recently strippingsuperdelegates of their power. And the heavy arrests of Poor People’s Campaign demonstrators are part of the crackdowns against dissent that police have carried out for many years. President Trump’s efforts to militarize and
embolden police have intensified this violent war on dissent.

All this is leading to a confrontation that will provoke more and more violence from the state as established power gets threatened. When the public outcry gets big enough, Chris Hedges recently predicted, Trump and his allies will “move to silence all organs of dissent, including corporate media outlets fighting to restore the patina of civility that is the window dressing to corporate pillage. They will harness the power of the nation’s substantial internal security apparatus to crush public protests and to jail opponents, even those who are part of the faux resistance.”

We need to keep fighting amid increasingly brutal attacks from the state. We can maintain this confrontation by engaging in more nonviolent protests, joining groups like the DSA, and participating in future general strikes, like the one that’s plannedfor September 3rd this year. Keep taking action. The powerful are counting on us to become apathetic again.