USA: Democrats tossed out – defeat Trumpism with communism!

"The life of monopolistic capitalism in our time is a chain of crises. Each crisis is a catastrophe. The need for salvation from these partial catastrophes by means of tariff walls, inflation, increase of government spending and debts lays the ground for additional, deeper and more widespread crises. The struggle for markets, for raw material, for colonies makes military catastrophes unavoidable. All in all, they prepare revolutionary catastrophes."

–Leon Trotsky, Marxism in Our Time

[Originally published at communistusa.org]

Americans are pessimistic about the present and the future. According to exit polls, just 26% are enthusiastic or satisfied with how things are going, versus 72% are dissatisfied or angry. Although the stock market is booming, ordinary Americans feel the pain of perpetual crisis. 78% live paycheck to paycheck. Goods and services costing $100 in 2020 now cost $120.54. Rent is 30% higher. Meanwhile, 800 billionaires now hold more wealth than the bottom half of the nation.

In 2020, Biden won the presidency by promising change and stability. What did he and his party do to lower prices and make housing more affordable? Did they pass universal healthcare or raise the minimum wage? Did they keep the peace in Europe and the Middle East? Did they end oil drilling on public lands, as promised? Did they end the racist police terror that led to the murder of George Floyd and thousands of others? In short, did they do anything meaningful to improve workers’ lives?

On the contrary. For most of Biden’s tenure, inflation raged at levels not seen in generations. He provoked a war with Russia in Ukraine and gave Netanyahu a blank check in Gaza. He presided over a record boom in oil production. Over 90% percent of cities and counties have increased spending on the police since 2020. And in 2022, when railroad workers rejected the proposed settlement with their bosses, Biden and the Democrats in Congress outlawed their right to strike.

But the anger against the establishment stretches far beyond the disaster of the Biden presidency. The Democrats controlled the White House and both Houses of Congress for a total of ten years since 1977. What did they do with that power? Did they repeal Taft-Hartley and other anti-union laws? Did they legalize abortion nationwide, thereby protecting it regardless of Roe v. Wade? Did they deliver socialized healthcare or guarantee the right to education and housing for all? Did they even try? The question answers itself.

A bad economy and a deeply unpopular incumbent have been a losing combination since the country was founded. That the Democrats lost should surprise no one / Image: Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons

A bad economy and a deeply unpopular incumbent have been a losing combination since the country was founded. That the Democrats lost should surprise no one. The only surprise is that Trump’s margin of victory wasn’t even bigger.

The reason for this is simple. Millions of ordinary workers correctly see Trump as an enemy and saw no other option but to vote for Harris. They were manipulated by the liberal neocons of the Democratic Party into thinking a Trump victory would mean the second coming of Hitler.

But even this and the fall of Roe v. Wade was insufficient, because millions instinctively hate the Democrats just as much. They didn’t buy into the Biden-Harris lie that the economy is booming and “America is already great.” Once the dust settles, we are confident many Harris voters will realize they’ve been duped and will see the Democrats for what they are: cynical defenders and apologists for a system that has never represented their interests.

To give just one example, take the question of immigration. By claiming the country was being “invaded” and “occupied” by pet-eating criminals, Trump whipped up a mood of hysteria, tapping into the poison of racism, which has a deep-seated history in this country. While rejecting the form of his arguments, the Democrats mostly went along with the substance of his demagogy about the border.

Capitalism has driven down the standard of living for the majority in the US. But this is even more true in the so-called developing world. The imperialists pay people next to nothing in wages in these countries, leading to super profits for US corporations. The desperation of millions in Latin America and elsewhere has led to an influx of economic refugees. But the solution to this problem is not harsh border policies, but an end to capitalism and imperialism, which would improve the lives of people everywhere. Workers worldwide face the same enemy: big business, and in particular, American big business.

Not that long ago, the Republicans were seen as the party of sanctions and war. Now the Democrats have taken that mantle. The fact that over 700 current or former national security officials endorsed Harris says it all.

As for the Ukraine War, it was entirely avoidable, but Biden pushed Zelenskyy into it by promising Ukraine could join NATO. After decades of encroachment on former Soviet territory, this was a “red line” the Russians couldn’t tolerate, and they invaded Ukraine to ensure that didn’t happen. Biden supplied billions in arms and ammunition to keep the war going in a vain attempt to weaken Russia. The subsequent death and destruction that has rained on the people of Ukraine and Russia has been horrific—and all of that blood is on the Democrats’ hands. If anything, at least on this question, Trump can rightfully present himself as the “anti-war” candidate—though he opposes it for his own reasons.

Not that long ago, the Republicans were seen as the party of sanctions and war. Now the Democrats have taken that mantle. In what way, shape, or form can this be considered the “lesser evil”? / Image: fair use

Then there’s the merciless slaughter of the Palestinians, the war in Lebanon, and the attacks on Iran. Over 45,000 people in Gaza and 3,000 people in Lebanon have been killed by the Israeli state, mainly using US-supplied arms and ammunition. All of this blood is also on the Democrats’ hands.

Shortly after being anointed as Biden’s successor, Harris was thrown a softball by one of the hosts of the morning TV show, “The View”: “What, if anything, would you have done something differently than President Biden during the past four years?” Her reply said it all—and likely helped millions make up their minds there and then: “There is not a thing that comes to mind.”

In what way, shape, or form can this be considered the “lesser evil”?

A shift to the right?

Most of the so-called “American Left” is subservient to the Democrats. Their role is to give cover to that wing of the capitalists, making excuses for their reactionary policies. Their cowering reaction to the election is a mirror image of the liberals: “The workers are moving to the right! Oh, woe is us!”

By contrast, Marxists base themselves on a sober and scientific analysis of the class relations of society. To be sure, there can be a lot of noise and many convoluted and contradictory tendencies. However, the essential explanation for the 2024 election is actually quite simple: The capitalist Democrats failed once again to manage the unmanageable crisis of their system. In the absence of a viable, mass working-class alternative, “the other” capitalist party will be given yet another chance.

After living under the Democrats for 12 out of the last 16 years, just 32% of Americans identify with that party. However, only 29% identify as Republicans. At 37%, independents now make up a plurality of voters, and it is from this layer that Trump gained a decisive advantage. Notably, so-called “double haters”—voters who reported unfavorable views of both candidates—supported Trump over Harris by a wide margin of 55% to 32%.

Trump won the Electoral and popular votes due to a surge of votes across multiple demographics, including Latinos and Blacks. While the Democrats tried to get people to the polls based on fear, Trump mobilized his base based on anger, which is a far more motivating emotion. But anger will only get you so far—you must also deliver the goods.

Trump also played skillfully into the pervasive distrust in the traditional ruling institutions. When he accused the electoral system of being rigged against him, this got an enormous echo among large layers of the population. A recent New York Times poll asked whether “American democracy” does a good job representing the people. The results showed that only 49% think it does a good job, with 45% saying it does not.

Even that Biden apologist extraordinaire, Bernie Sanders, can see that, “While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change” / Image: Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons

While his specific allegations of vote tampering and rigging are not true, what is true is that the country’s version of “democracy” has never been genuinely democratic. As long as capitalism provided a growing standard of living and some measure of stability, a majority went along with it. Life might be hard, but at least there was the promise that your life would be better than your parents’, and your children’s lives would be better than your own. This is no longer the case for the vast majority, leading to deep mistrust and questioning of the entire set up.

Trump claims to have a clear mandate, but the decisive nature of his victory shouldn’t be exaggerated. To give two relatively recent examples, in 1964, Lyndon Johnson won a true landslide against Barry Goldwater, winning 486 electoral votes to 52, an 80.6% margin of victory. And Reagan trounced Jimmy Carter by 81.8 percentage points, 489 electoral votes to 49.

Overall turnout in 2024 appears to have been lower than in 2020. Disgusted by both parties, millions sat the election out altogether. Over 640,000 voted for the Green Party’s Jill Stein, and RFK, Jr. received 616,000 votes even though he dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump. Other minor parties and Cornel West also received some protest votes. And despite the alleged stakes, on the eve of the election, 58% polled said they wanted a new third party.

The class question and the failure of the “left”

According to AP VoteCast, roughly half of Trump voters said higher prices were the most significant factor in their decision, and many were independents. In other words, the ever-pragmatic American voter voted with their pocketbooks. They are trying to find solutions to working-class problems—problems neither capitalist party can solve. Although the polarization in society remains distorted by the absence of a mass class-independent political expression, it is a form of class polarization nonetheless.

So let’s be clear, even within the limited parameters of the American political set up, the Democrats are also a right-wing party. Instead of viewing this as an objective “swing to the right,” the 2024 election should be understood as an expression of discontent and a shift toward Trump’s unique brand of right-populism. While many of his core supporters are indeed fanatical xenophobes, a majority of those who voted for him likely saw it simply as a vote against the establishment. A vote for Trump was a vote for some kind of change, not necessarily a vote “for” the right.

Trump shamelessly appeals to legitimate working-class anger by blaming everyone and everything for the crisis—except the root cause of capitalism. He offers abstract solutions and assures his supporters that someone else will be made to pay to fix things. But he doesn’t attack the “billionaire class” and call for wealth distribution, expanded social programs, or higher wages—quite the opposite.

The measures to expand or protect abortion rights are one example of working-class issues trying to find an outlet. Seven of ten such measures passed, including in the “red states” of Arizona and Missouri. In Florida, 57% supported the measure but failed to pass the undemocratic minimum threshold of 60%.

In Nebraska, Senate candidate Dan Osborn had been a leader of the Bakers Union during the 2021 Kellogg’s strike. Although he ran ostensibly as an independent, his program was within the acceptable boundaries of US capitalist politics, and the Democrats effectively backed him. In the end, he lost to the Republican incumbent by 8%. But this is far closer than Trump’s 22-point drubbing of Harris in the state.

Even that Biden apologist extraordinaire, Bernie Sanders, can see this: “It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them. While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change.”

Unfortunately, his epiphany came several years too late. After backing the establishment’s hand-picked candidates in three successive elections, he cannot claim to speak for the working class. If he had half the nerve and audacity Trump does, he would have broken from the Democrats long ago and given American workers’ discontent a more leftward expression.

Even if his policies remained reformist at best, it would have opened the floodgates to genuine socialism and class politics in this country—and that is precisely why he recoiled under pressure from his party’s establishment. As everyone knows, nature abhors a vacuum. A billionaire crook from Manhattan was bold enough to fill it, which is the secret to his success.

So yes, there has been an electoral realignment for Trump and against the incumbent party. But this doesn’t change the fact that the Republicans remain a party of, by, and for the capitalist class. Trump has successfully hijacked it and given it a radical right-populist coloring. But his appeal didn’t and won’t automatically extend to the Republican Party as a whole. Trump is truly a sui generis candidate. Although JD Vance will do his damndest to ride his coattails to the White House in 2028, much will depend on how Trump’s second administration actually pans out.

It’s no wonder unions like the Teamsters opted to endorse no one—endorsing the Democrats would have caused a rebellion of the rank and file / Image: Teamsters Local 2010, Flickr

The unique combination of factors that allowed for the relative success of his first term won’t be repeated in the second. Trump may be a force of nature, but the nation-state, market economy, private ownership of the means of production, and shifting tectonic plates of world relations are even bigger forces.

There is no question that the existence of a mass workers’ party would have shifted the entire discussion. Such a party would have explained that the enormous wealth possessed by the ruling class was created by human labor applied to the world’s natural resources. It would argue that this wealth should really belong to the vast majority—the working class. It would explain how a workers’ government and planned economy would raise living standards for everyone by nationalizing the commanding heights of the economy and running them under democratic workers’ control.

However, the union leaders have not even attempted to build a party of the working class. Instead, they have primarily backed the Democratic Party, which presided over the country’s deindustrialization. No wonder unions like the Teamsters opted to endorse no one—since endorsing the Democrats would have caused a rebellion of the rank and file. The gaping hole and confusion left by the labor leaders’ class collaboration is what opened the way for Trumpism.

A Trump dictatorship?

Marxists understand that individuals do not become the dictators of a large and complex country simply on a whim. In capitalist societies, bourgeois Bonapartist dictatorships can arise when the class struggle reaches a fevered state for an extended period of time, with neither contending class achieving a decisive victory. In such situations, a strong man can take the reins of the state apparatus, appearing to rise above the contending classes, striking blows at both and balancing between them. However, in the final analysis, their power rests on bourgeois property relations, which they defend. Despite superficial appearances, we are far from such a situation in the US.

While open expressions of the class struggle have increased in recent years in the form of strikes and unionization drives, there is a long way to go before it approaches a pre-revolutionary situation and a decisive showdown.

Furthermore, the ruling class is deeply divided. To be sure, they will take advantage of Trump’s policies in their endless pursuit of profits. It speaks volumes that the world’s ten wealthiest people got a record $64 billion richer from Trump’s reelection, and that US stocks’ capitalization rose by $1.62 trillion in their fifth-best one-day showing ever. Nonetheless, most of them would have preferred the more reliable hands of Kamala Harris. Based on public records before the election, 83 billionaires openly supported Harris, while 52 backed Trump. Most see him as an accelerator of history and don’t appreciate him throwing fuel on the fire. Also, within what Trump calls the “deep state”—the vast machinery of the federal bureaucracy, including the Pentagon—there is staunch opposition to his policies.

At the moment, the so-called MAGA movement is basking in its victory. But far from being homogeneous, it is highly contradictory and unstable. Even in the medium term, its electoral big tent can hardly accommodate ordinary Black and Latino workers, billionaires, and Steve Bannon. Trump in power doesn’t mean a disciplined dictatorial machine, but an administration filled with many egos pursuing multiple agendas engaged in backstabbing and intrigue. Trump himself is an unstable figure who can change his mind on a dime.

While the past is no guarantee for the future, it bears noting that Trump did not establish a dictatorship during his first term. January 6, 2021, was not a premeditated “insurrection,” but a rabid protest that got out of hand because the government didn’t deploy sufficient security. If things had gotten even more out of control and the US military had been called in, it wouldn’t have established a Trump dictatorship—it would have removed him forcefully from the White House.

Although Trump may have autocratic tendencies, the perspective for Trump’s second term is not one of dictatorship, but of tremendous instability. The incoming administration will have to ride the tiger of declining world capitalism. Trump may think he can issue orders to businesses and other countries, but that’s not how capitalism works. Businesses only exist to make a profit, and this depends on an expanding market. The various nation-states fight to defend their interests and are frequently in conflict. The economic problems are systemic; if you do not change the system, you remain chained to it—this also applies to Trump.

While Harris promised her supporters the stars after conceding, Trump has promised his supporters everything but the moon. Here are just a few examples from his victory speech:

It’s the greatest country, and potentially the greatest country in the world by far, and right now, we’re gonna just work very hard to get all of that back. We’re gonna make it the best it’s ever been. We can do that.

We’re going to unlock America’s glorious destiny. We’re going to achieve the most incredible future for our people.

We’re going to make our country better than it ever has been.

America’s future will be bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer, and stronger than it has ever been before.

Trump has overpromised, and given the crisis of the system, he will be forced to underdeliver. In fact, if implemented, many of his proposals—such as mass deportations and sky-high tariffs—will only exacerbate the problems, and millions may end up with buyer’s remorse. He can’t merely snap his fingers to close the border, and he doesn’t control the private banking, construction, housing, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, food, communications, retail, and transportation industries, to name just a few.

A lack of concrete and lasting results will lead to disappointment and a renewed search for even more radical solutions. Eventually, the class questions will come clearly to the fore, and the pendulum will swing decisively to the left. As the New York Times correctly noted in the aftermath of the 2024 election:

Mr. Trump’s victory amounts to a public vote of no confidence in the leaders and institutions that have shaped American life since the end of the Cold War 35 years ago … If Mr. Trump and his coalition fail to create something better than what they have replaced, they will suffer the same fate they’ve inflicted on the fallen Bush, Clinton, and Cheney dynasties. A new force for creative destruction will emerge, possibly on the American left.

The way forward: Build the RCA!

While some may be demoralized by the result, the RCA remains as optimistic as ever about the revolutionary and socialist future of this country / Image: RCA

The 2024 election should serve as a wake up call: the workers are the real losers no matter who controls Congress and the White House. More and more Americans have drawn this conclusion. Ever since election day, communists around the country have been contacting the RCA asking to join:

The Democrats and capitalism have failed us. The floods in Asheville and Valencia and the genocide in Gaza have pushed me over the edge. I am done. Trump won because Dems force-fed us Kamala without a convention, and her antics in embracing the right and not condemning Israel were so stupid it seems almost calculated/on-purpose, like they wanted to lose. Let’s organize. I am a lawyer in Raleigh, NC, and I want to do more than just vote and hope. (Raleigh, NC)

It’s about time I took a stand for what I believe. Last night’s election results were just the final push I needed to solidify my ties. I want to join. (Seattle, WA)

This election was the last straw for me. I have slowly, more and more been obsessed with learning about revolutionary theory and about a year ago finally made a deep dive learning about the Paris commune and then the revolutions of the USSR. My world was completely turned upside down with my findings. This is the only way through the class struggle. No more imperialist genocides. I see becoming a revolutionary as the only means to a better future. (Wilmington, NC)

So while some may be demoralized by the result, the RCA remains as optimistic as ever about the revolutionary and socialist future of this country.

The election offers further clarity on the real class issues faced by the working class and the inability of the bosses’ parties to resolve them. Many of Trump’s hardcore supporters will follow him to the bitter end, no matter what. But for those who voted for him simply because they hate the incumbents even more, the School of Donald Trump 2.0 will be an invaluable learning experience.

Isolation and escapism should be the last thing on anyone’s mind. The best life one can live is to be fully conscious of how society works and how it can be changed. The road ahead will be turbulent, long, and hard, but it leads to humanity’s liberation from the exploitation and oppression of capitalist society.

Only class struggle—not lesser evilism—can beat Trumpism!

No war but the class war!

Join the growing ranks of the RCA!