Hurricane Ida ripped through the U.S. and exposed once again the utter failure of capitalism to provide even the most basic necessities for millions of workers. The latest in a long and rapidly growing list of capitalist-created disasters, the system’s breakdown in the wake of Ida has killed nearly 100 people, many drowned in their homes, left over a million without power for more than a week, and hundreds of thousands more without drinking water. While the wealthy centers of New Orleans and New York were left relatively unscathed, the working-class areas where many Black, immigrant and poor white workers live took the brunt of the damage.
As the bosses fight in their tug of war for control, no outcome will serve the interests of our class. Only a communist society based on workers' power can put the needs of the masses front and center. The urgency in mobilizing our class to fight for communist revolution grows with each capitalist-created disaster, pandemic, war or financial crisis.
Hurricane Ida hit the U.S.in Louisiana and took out the majority of the state’s power system. In the Northeast, workers were left unwarned as flash floods hit. The ruling class has crowed that the levees built over the last 15 years kept New Orleans from completely flooding, but many workers were again left stranded. This time without electricity or drinking water. Over a week later, over a million are without electricity indefinitely (NY Times, 9/7).
New Orleans: bosses sacrifice the working class
As the crisis of capitalism deepens, the ruling class  is more openly sacrificing the working class. First, they leave millions to die from Covid-19. Now, with capitalist climate disasters and crumbling infrastructure, they allow workers to die from thirst, heat, and drowning.
In Louisiana the massive damage to the power grid and water system from Ida was preventable. The ruling class spent $14 billion dollars to insufficiently fortify the levee system around New Orleans and did nothing to strengthen the power grid or protect the drinking water system. The new levee system around New Orleans represents only part of what engineers determined was needed, is already eroding, and was breached at least once (Curbed, 9/2). The advice to New Orleans residents from “their” Mayor was “don’t come back” (NYT, 8/31).
Just outside of New Orleans in working-class areas, people were left at the mercy of the hurricane without upgraded levees. LaPlace, a mainly Black town adjacent to New Orleans, flooded more than ever. People there blamed the new system protecting New Orleans for the flooding that destroyed their homes (NPR, 8/31).
NYC: capitalism thrives on poverty housing
The New York City area was inundated with flash floods: thousands caught in their cars, subway system, and basement apartments (NYT, 9/3). Many of the 60, so far, people who have died in the New York City area drowned after being trapped in their apartments. Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands live in basement apartments due to exorbitant housing costs (NYT, 9/7).
New York’s economy depends on extremely high housing costs and low wage service workers. Instead of ensuring affordable, safe housing for the working class, the city’s bosses and officials look the other way as workers live in unofficial basement apartments that became death traps when flash floods hit the area and the city and state’s emergency notification system failed to warn people (NYT, 9/7).
Workers’ power replaces profit motive with working-class needs
The driving force behind the extreme weather, broken infrastructure and lack of emergency planning is the profit system. Capitalism is to blame. The world has the technology and knowledge to prepare for hurricanes and protect people from death. But capitalism, driven by the profit motive, ensnares people in a system that will always, at the end of the day, put the bosses’ profits first.
We need a society that prioritizes the needs of the working class, which is possible only when we eliminate profits and run society. Our class will be abandoned and sacrificed on a larger and larger scale as the capitalists navigate infrastructure disasters while preparing for world war. We can respond to their crisis by building a movement for communist revolution and a society based on workers’ power. You need to join PLP.