In the November 3 U.S. elections, a historic voter turnout kicked Donald Trump to the curb and swung Congress to the Democrats, tens of millions made it clear that they’re fed up with the failures of capitalism and the obscene corruption of the people on top. Many saw the election as a way to fight back against inequality and racism against Black and Latin and Muslim workers. In an echo of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, young Black students marched to the polls in North Carolina. Millions more rejected the vicious assaults on immigrants by ICE, the genocide of workers in Gaza, the latest war for oil in the Middle East, and the Republicans’ abortion bans and cutbacks in women’s reproductive health (Newsweek, 11/4). To make real change in society, these people need the revolutionary communist ideas of Progressive Labor Party—and it’s our responsibility to join them in the struggle as we bring those ideas to them.
At the same time, many young workers—and young white men in particular—are alienated from the profit system but don’t yet see themselves as part of an international, multiracial working class. They blame whoever is in power at the moment for the problems in their lives. The scapegoating racism pushed by the bosses—by both major parties—divides our class and leaves young people vulnerable to the poisonous ideas of our class enemies (see box).
In short, the elections revealed both opportunities and dangers. The task before us is to turn the anger bred by capitalism into building a movement for communist revolution—to give workers an alternative to the cont of electoral politics. That means helping to lead reform fights against the bosses—in schools and hospitals, on the job and in the streets. Most crucially, it means bringing communist ideas into those fights, and using them to build Progressive Labor Party. The only way to smash fascism is to confront the bosses and expose their rotten ideology—and to organize the fight for communism.
Liberal politicians are the enemy, too
According to election exit polls, nine of ten voters said the cost of living was “a crucial or major factor” in deciding their vote (businessinsider.com, 11/4). For many who live in the richest country in the world, the middle-class American Dream is an unaffordable myth. In the Bronx, an average one-bedroom apartment rents for more than $2,500 (Bronx Times, 10/17/25). In Kansas, half the people under 25 strain to pay for necessities with less than $41,000 a year in household income. Meanwhile, grocery prices are up 31 percent since 2020 (USA Today, 10/18) and home prices are up 53 percent since 2019 (Homes.com, 02/19).
Workers today are faced with an affordable housing crisis, a student debt crisis, an inflation crisis, a jobs crisis, a healthcare crisis, an opioid crisis, and a climate crisis. The hard reality is that these problems are deeply rooted in the decay of U.S. capitalism. Elections cannot solve these problems because both parties represent the capitalist class. Once back in power, the job of the Democrat misleaders will be to prepare the U.S. for war and fascism by funding the military and building multicultural patriotism. The liberal bosses’ strategy is to control workers’ anger within reformist elections for short-lived reforms. That’s what makes them a greater danger than even the gutter racists.
Even as they take their victory lap, the Democrats can’t hide their true colors as servants of the capitalist rulers. Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa and Senator-Elect James Talarico both issued calls for stronger “border security,” shorthand for the brutalization of migrating workers, and have either praised Trump’s border policies or volunteered to work with the Klansman-in-Chief on immigration. As Atlanta’s mayor, Georgia Governor-Elect Keisha Lance Bottoms firmly backed Cop City, a $67 million complex to train and militarize the city’s police force. In the spirit of Genocide Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, likely the Senate’s next majority leader, is a lead enabler of the bipartisan Gaza massacre. Hakeem Jeffries, the next House speaker, who has taken close to $2 million in contributions from AIPAC and other Zionazi groups (newsweek.com, 11/6).
As the U.S. keeps losing ground to capitalist China, the U.S. bosses will be hard-pressed to concede even small reforms. When push comes to shove, the Democrats will have no choice but to move toward war and fascism. Communist revolution is the only path to working-class power. Fight back!
Opportunity to build a communist movement
The pushback at the polls grew out of this year’s fightback in the streets. From Minneapolis and Worcester, from New York to California, workers put their bodies on the line to resist the armed fascists of ICE. At more than a hundred college campuses, anti-racist students built encampments to protest the Gaza genocide.
While limited in their demands, these reform struggles can provide a fighting environment for the working-class courage we need to build a revolutionary movement. But without communist leadership and a long-term outlook to organize a mass Party, reform struggles’ constraints can quickly lead to defeatism and reliance on traitorous politicians. Our task is to turn the opportunity from this year’s elections into a dedicated class struggle against the bosses. We must fight everywhere we can, on the job, in the schools, in our communities. The rulers’ attacks are only getting worse, and millions have said, “Enough!” Now we have to fight, fight, fight—big fights, small fights, wherever we are. We cannot make a revolution without fighting the bosses’ attacks—and that starts today.
Big tent fascism
As the Democrats celebrated their newly expanded “big tent,” they were helped by the backing of notorious anti-Jewish racists like Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes. These despicable social media kingpins played a role in moving white men under 30 to prefer Democrats by a margin of 11 percentage points, just two years after favoring Trump over Kamala Harris by 63 percent to 35 percent (Tufts.edu 11/5). This volatility at the polls appears to reflect a widespread loss of confidence in liberal democracy. As the Harvard Kennedy School noted last year, “less than one-third of Americans under 30 trust the government. Only 16% believe democracy is working well for young people.”
