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Editorial: Latest crisis of capitalism: Blood sucking banks
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- 31 March 2023 879 hits
The collapse of Silicon Valley and Signature banks exposed the worst financial crisis to hit world capitalism since 2008. Even as the U.S. bosses rushed to protect the millionaires’ and billionaires’ deposits, and Europe’s financial bosses did the same for the giant Credit Suisse, a broader disaster is brewing. The instability in the world banking system is the direct result of the larger crisis of capitalism. It is driven by the decline of U.S. finance capitalism and the rise of the Chinese capitalist bosses. As worldwide recession looms, the working class is shouldering the pain. The bosses’ troubles can only get worse. Our liberation has one path: communist revolution.
Blood-soaked banks
Banks are one of the great crimes of capitalism. They produce nothing of value yet rake in trillions in profits. U.S. and European banks were born from slavery and built on racism. The banking system financed the ships that sailed to Africa and kidnapped workers. It grew by providing loans for the cotton bosses to buy more land and more enslaved workers to farm it. The banks valued these enslaved workers more highly than the assets of all the railroad companies combined. All of the bogus racist theories that divide workers today were created to justify the brutal exploitation of slavery and the banks’ grotesque, blood-soaked fortunes (1619 Project Vox, 8/16/19).
Latest crisis could rock the system
The current banking crisis reflects the boom-and-bust nature of capitalism. It was triggered by a brazen lack of bank regulation and a fall in the value of long-term U.S. Treasury bonds, a form of debt that is bought with a promise that it will be repaid at a certain interest rate. Today’s world capitalist system is drowning in debt, from deficit-ridden governments to over-borrowing companies to workers who can’t pay their credit card bills and still feed their families.
Since the mortgage crisis of 15 years ago, the U.S. has propped up its struggling economy with extremely low interest rates that encouraged banks, businesses, and workers to borrow heavily, invest recklessly, and spend freely. When inflation soared with the Covid-19 pandemic, and the U.S. Federal Reserve responded by raising interest rates, the banks’ lower-interest Treasury bonds lost much of their value. At the same time, many midsized and smaller tech companies—the dominant depositors at Silicon Valley and Signature—were forced to withdraw funds as their cost of doing business went up and their revenues went down. To pay these depositors, the banks were forced to sell off their bonds at a steep loss. Other depositors panicked and rushed to take out their money as well, setting off a bank run—a prime example of the anarchy of the profit system.
With as many as fifty other banks in crisis (CNN, 3/13), the U.S. rulers rushed in to reassure obscenely wealthy venture capitalists that their money is safe because the bosses’ government will guarantee it. On the other hand, inflation and high interest rates mean that tens of millions of workers can’t afford to buy a home. Millions have been foreclosed upon by the banks or evicted because they can’t afford their rent. With grocery prices skyrocketing, one of four U.S. adults now struggles to get enough to eat (CBS News, 3/21).
Tech industry crashing
The tech Industry, once hailed as the hope of U.S. capitalism, is the latest industry to suffer a plunge in profits--and to make workers pay with massive layoffs. Of the 144 publicly traded tech companies valued at over $1 billion, only 12 percent made any profit last year. Most of them will never overcome their cumulative losses (Market Watch, 3/25). The bosses’ greed and lack of discipline are coming home to roost.
Worldwide crisis drives move toward fascism
As the failing Credit Suisse was taken over by rival USB, central banks in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan, and Switzerland rushed in to guarantee deposits and prevent the collapse of the entire international banking system (Business Insider, 3/20). But this short-term fix cannot stave off the threat of the next massive economic recession or depression.
The U.S. bosses’ main rivals, the Chinese capitalists, are better positioned to weather the coming storm. By contrast to the U.S., the Chinese bosses still make most of their profits from manufacturing—from the production of actual goods. In addition, they are much further along the road to full-blown fascism and direct rule, without the constraints of liberal democracy. They are better able to force their billionaires and bankers to put the interests of the entire ruling class first, even if it means that some of them will take big losses (New York Times, 3/27).
At the same time, China’s provinces are faced with slowing growth and as much as $9.5 trillion in debt. Strapped for revenue, local governments have slashed workers’ pay and health insurance. Hebei Province, bordering Beijing, cut off heating subsidies for natural gas during a record-breaking cold wave (NYT, 3/29). Wherever bosses are forced to balance their books, workers are sure to suffer most.
If the U.S. rulers hope to protect their profits and come out on top in the looming World War III, they will be forced to discipline their fellow bosses while viciously attacking the working class—and ultimately to slaughter millions.
Communist world is worth fighting for
Progressive Labor Party is fighting for a communist world. Under capitalism, buildings sit empty while millions are homeless; food is thrown away as people starve. The education, healthcare, and transportation systems are all failing. You can’t eat money. You can’t shelter people with hundred-dollar bills. You can’t treat diseases or educate children with Treasury bonds. Under capitalism, we are forced to sell our labor for much less than what it’s worth, and then to exchange money to get things we need. Money only exists because a system based on profit needs to track how much it steals from the working class. Money has driven workers apart by promoting selfishness and individualism. And when workers are too old or sick to be squeezed for more profit, a society based on money kicks them to the curb.
Under communism, all production will be organized through a communist party to serve the needs of the working class. There will be no profits, no money—and no bloodsucking banks. A communist society will be so much stronger because we will work collectively to run society. Without money to warp our priorities, everybody will be valued. Everyone will be helped to find ways to contribute. Capitalism is quickly going south, and there is no point in trying to save it. The time has come for the working class to say “Enough!” The time to fight for communism is now.
The following poem was written by the communist fighter, Langston Hughes (1938). Hughes refers to communist Angelo Herndon who was arrested and convicted of insurrection after organizing Black and white industrial workers in 1932 in Atlanta, Georgia. Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were members of the German Communist Party. They were murdered for fighting against German imperialism and war.
This is for the kids who die,
Black and white,
For kids will die certainly.
The old and rich will live on awhile,
As always,
Eating blood and gold,
Letting kids die.
Kids will die in the swamps of Mississippi
Organizing sharecroppers
Kids will die in the streets of Chicago
Organizing workers
Kids will die in the orange groves of California
Telling others to get together
Whites and Filipinos,
Negroes and Mexicans,
All kinds of kids will die
Who don't believe in lies, and bribes, and contentment
And a lousy peace.
Of course, the wise and the learned
Who pen editorials in the papers,
And the gentlemen with Dr. in front of their names
White and black,
Who make surveys and write books
Will live on weaving words to smother the kids
who die,
And the sleazy courts,
And the bribe-reaching police,
And the blood-loving generals,
And the money-loving preachers
Will all raise their hands against the kids who die,
Beating them with laws and clubs and bayonets
and bullets
To frighten the people—
For the kids who die are like iron in the blood of
the people—
And the old and rich don't want the people
To taste the iron of the kids who die,
Don't want the people to get wise to their own
power,
To believe an Angelo Herndon, or even get together
Listen, kids who die—
Maybe, now, there will be no monument for you
Except in our hearts
Maybe your bodies'll be lost in a swamp
Or a prison grave, or the potter's field,
Or the rivers where you're drowned like Liebknecht
But the day will come—
You are sure yourselves that it is coming—
When the marching feet of the masses
Will raise for you a living monument of love,
And joy, and laughter,
And black hands and white hands clasped as one,
And a song that reaches the sky—
The song of the life triumphant
Through the kids who die.
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Empowered by antiracism, fighters take on DA Gascon
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- 16 March 2023 686 hits
Los Angeles, CA, March 28– For nearly three years the fightback and solidarity with the Flores family has deepened, which has given life to Progressive Labor Party in Los Angeles. With consistent protests over several years, the family has grown to see that this fight is bigger than any individual KKKop or reform policy. They are now actively organizing with other families to target the liberal fascist and George Soros-funded District Attorney, George Gascon. Gascon has a liberal cover, but he has a long cop career, from going along with racist “stop and frisk” policies to refusing to prosecute killer cops.
This has been controversial because Black Lives Matter (BLM) and other organizations have championed Gascon and given him a platform with impacted families where he’s made promises to prosecute cops. Some families have illusions that targeting Gascon will hurt their court cases, so it is significant that other families have chosen to continue the fight. The Rodriguez family, who just won a $12.6 million settlement (read CHALLENGE, 2/15) is re-engaged in the struggle and specifically wants to go after Gascon. They have asked the Party, together with the Flores family and three other impacted families, to organize with them and start up this collective.
Democratic Party liberals support killer cops
We are planning our first action in a couple of weeks and at our first meeting, we talked about the politics surrounding Gascon and the reform struggle in general. We discussed that despite the election of a so-called progressive D.A. and passage of state legislation like the California Act to Save Lives on the use of deadly force, which took effect in 2020, none of it has led to any prosecutions of any KKKops. When we drafted up our first flier, we criticized not only the local liberals but also Democratic Party misleaders across the country who continue to expand their already bloated police budgets. We called out former “Top Cop” VP Kamala Harris, for having the nerve to show her face and let alone speak at the funeral of Tyree Nichols, who was beaten to death by Black Memphis KKKops. When it was shared among the families, the aunt of a young Latin worker who was also beaten to death in Orange County said, “I wouldn’t change one word!”
Gascon has long been connected to the liberal ruling class in California. First, he spent three decades rising through the ranks of one the most murderous police departments in the world, the Los Angeles Police Department. He went from LAPD recruiter to Assistant Chief and was once called “the right arm” of racist “stop and frisk” Bill Bratton. Then under the auspices of then-Mayor Gavin Newson, who has political and family ties with the billionaire Getty family that was built on violent extraction of oil in the Middle East. He was appointed Chief of Police of San Francisco in 2009. In just two years, without any legal experience, Newsom then appointed him to Los Angeles District Attorney, following the footsteps of now VP “Top Cop” Kamala Harris.
His liberal fascism was exposed when his rhetoric was countered by his practice of refusing to prosecute killer cops in San Francisco which even inspired Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players to take a knee in response. It also inspired impacted families and activists to protest against him at his home and run him out of the Bay area, only to be championed by BLM-LA and others.
It’s a long haul, but only communism means real justice
While all of these families recognize that the whole system is racist and guilty of murder, we still have a way to go to win them away from reformism and liberal-led organizations. Real justice can only come from the dismantling of capitalism and the capitalist state through communist revolution and joining Progressive Labor Party. However, many families understand that it has been our Party and our leadership that has always been honest and upfront with our politics and consistent in the protests in the streets. We know this is a lifelong struggle, and they have confidence that we will be with them for the long haul. One of the Flores siblings is in a Party club and considers herself a communist. She is bold and has pushed families to begin targeting Gascon and has won her younger sister to join our collective! With her leadership, the future of the working class is bright!
The fight for Hadi, a nail on the bosses’ coffin
Last summer a teenager, Hadi Abuatelah of the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn, was riding in a car stopped by the kkkops who said they smelled marijuana. Hadi ran in fear of the cop who tackled him and beat him around the head and body very severely. As a result, he had a brain bleed and injuries to his body. To this date, Hadi still has difficulty walking.
Watching the video, it is amazing that he survived this vicious attack! Initially, the three cops involved were going to get off. Since last summer, a multiracial group of dozens of workers and youth have attended the monthly Oak Lawn police and fire board meetings to demand the cops be brought up on charges. Finally, only one of the three cops has been charged.
Hadi, his family, and the majority of the leading organizers of the coalition are from Palestine. One can’t help but note the parallels of racist attacks here in Oak Lawn with the fascist Zionist regime of Israel.
A recent board meeting tried to impose a more fascist approach to the proceedings now that one of the officers is facing indictment. Several kkkop thugs and their buddies attempted to monopolize the meeting and build support by showing videos depicting violence against the police. After a few minutes of this “copaganda,” the multiracial coalition supporting Hadi started chanting to stop the video. The klan-in-blue was again forced to back down.
The struggle in Oak Lawn continues. Clearly, it’s not a question of “a few bad apples.” Police exist to instill terror against the working class and guarantee that the capitalist system continues its quest for maximum profits. The fight back to support Hadi is like a nail in the bosses’ coffin. Building an egalitarian communist society requires struggles like these to ultimately succeed.
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Nature of union leaders and confidence in workers
The January 18th article “Lessons From Historic Nursing Strike in a Time of Growing Fascism” was very poignant in pointing out the contradictions of the St. Vincent Hospital nurses strike against Tenet. However, I took issue with the subtitle that was added to the article entitled: “Union sells workers down the river.”Although there were strengths and weaknesses in the strike, I don’t believe your statement to be a true characterization of the union. Here are some reasons why: The union fought for the nurses, and none of them went back to work unless they all went back. They were out for a year in wind, rain, snow and heat. Rank and file nurses who worked in the hospital, not just those on the union payroll, were on the bargaining team. After the strike ended, they had to reapply for their jobs and fight the state about paying back their unemployment insurance. They beat back the Right to Work Foundation, which tried to decertify their union, and they won! Now this is not to say that the role of the unions is not pro-capitalist and continues to rely on the Democratic Party and their politicians. However, as someone who was able to work with one of the nurses on the bargaining committee, your subtitle was disheartening.
There are limits working within the trade union movement and our role is to push past these limits, and politicize the rank and file, and fight ideologically for communist leadership of the unions, as much as possible. We apply theory and practice, as is the case in all of our struggles. Strikes are difficult to organize and sustain. Would it have been possible for the MNA leadership to organize the entire nation-wide membership of National Nurses United (NNU) to strike in solidarity with St. Vincent’s nurses and organize health care workers in all of Tenet’s facilities across the country? That would have been a historic feat. The fight for safe staffing which saves lives is the same fight as the nurses in the recent New York City nurses’ strike. However, the nurses in Worcester were up against Tenet, a nationwide for- profit Healthcare chain.
All in all, I thought this important to share with you because the subtitle that the editorial staff added put a real damper on my willingness to show this great article to the nurses, and others who organized and helped to support the strike. Many workers and other nurses across the country were inspired by the St. Vincent nurses strike. After recently speaking with our leadership collective, I have since distributed this issue to our base, to get their feedback and to my surprise several folks said they found the article to be inspiring and did not notice the subtitle. The role of the pro-capitalist nature of the union leadership is clearly explained in the article. I think they clearly agreed with that.
La lucha continua!
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Avatar: the problem with ‘purpose’ of art
In the March 1, 2023 issue of CHALLENGE, there is an astute review of the blockbuster film “Avatar 2.” The review acknowledges how the film plays to a romantic notion of classless utopia but, in fact, ends up reinforcing racist notions of species difference and divesting ordinary people of the power to change the world. It is at once aspirational and defeatist. The review’s analysis is a dialectical and thoughtful piece of Marxist cultural criticism, a welcome presence in the pages of the paper.
The argument is weakened, however, by the proposition that “the purpose of art under capitalism is to reinforce the ideas that help the rulers to maintain their power while degrading the working class, so that we believe we are powerless and incapable of transforming or running society.” There are two problems here. (1) How can this square with the laudatory commentaries in this series on the writings of Langston Hughes, who is praised for his commitment to producing literary works calling for a revolution? Wasn’t he creating “art under capitalism?” (2) More importantly, this formulation confuses "function" with "purpose." "Purpose" implies conscious intentionality, meaning that writers and screenwriters try their best to mislead working-class readers and audiences, turning them into passive recipients of ruling-class ideology.
"Function" would be a clearer formulation, suggesting that the objective effect of most literature and film produced under capitalism is to confirm dominant ideologies, without the writer/screenwriter necessarily or consciously intending this effect.
Asserting "purpose" rather than "function" actually weakens a communist analysis of how life under capitalism spontaneously gives rise to ideas and attitudes supportive of the status quo. At times there is conscious ruling-class intervention in the propagation of dominant ideologies, as is shown by current attempts by Florida Governor DeSantis to outlaw the teaching of antiracism. But more often capitalism’s ability to reproduce dominant ideologies as "common sense"—what we all just know to be true--is far more toxic. As Karl Marx noted, “The dominant ideas in any age are the ideas of the ruling class.” This “dominance” is achieved not primarily through intentional brainwashing, but through passing along—through art and literature, as well as everyday life—unquestioned and seemingly natural assumptions about what it means to be a social being. Common sense is much harder to combat than conscious ideological conspiracy. In its criticisms of cultural works, CHALLENGE should not make these issues seem to be simpler than they are.
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Chinese imperialists work on empire building
New York Times, 3/11–Finally, there is a peace deal of sorts in the Middle East…between Saudi Arabia and Iran…brokered...by China…Alliances and rivalries that have governed diplomacy for generations have…been upended. The Americans, who have been the central actors in the Middle East for the past three-quarters of a century, almost always the ones in the room where it happened, now find themselves on the sidelines during a moment of significant change. The Chinese, who for years played only a secondary role in the region, have suddenly transformed themselves into the new power player. And the Israelis, who have been courting the Saudis against their mutual adversaries in Tehran, now wonder where it leaves them. “There is no way around it — this is a big deal,” said Amy Hawthorne, deputy director for research at the Project on Middle East Democracy, a nonprofit group in Washington.
“Yes,the United States could not have brokered such a deal right now with Iran specifically, since we have no relations. But in a larger sense, China’s prestigious accomplishment vaults it into a new league diplomatically and outshines anything the U.S. has been able to achieve in the region since Biden came to office.”
Israeli bosses continue expansion into West Bank
France24, 3/12–Israeli soldiers shot dead three Palestinian gunmen after they fired at troops in the occupied northern West Bank near Nablus, the army said on Sunday, as violence in the region continued…The soldiers, members of the elite infantry Golani reconnaissance unit, grabbed three M-16 rifles and a pistol used by the Palestinians, the army said…Violence intensified last year, but has worsened in the West Bank since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to office in December in a governing coalition with ultra-Orthodox Jewish and extreme-right allies…Netanyahu…has vowed to continue the expansion of West Bank settlements…Since the start of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 81 Palestinian adults and children, including militants and civilians. Twelve Israeli civilians, including three children and one policeman, as well as one Ukrainian civilian have been killed over the same period…
China bosses aspire to run the world
Al Jazeera, 3/13–President Xi Jinping…thanked the delegates for giving him a third term and promised to “take the needs of the country as my mission, and the interests of the people as my yardstick”, according to the AFP news agency. “Security is the bedrock of development, while stability is a prerequisite for prosperity. “We must fully promote the modernisation of national defence and the armed forces, and build the people’s armed forces into a Great Wall of steel that effectively safeguards national sovereignty, security and development interests.The trust of the people is the greatest driving force pushing me forward, and also a heavy responsibility on my shoulders,” he said. “The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered an irreversible historical process.”...and reiterated that Taiwan was part of China.
The Great Game is on …in DR Congo
Der Spiegel, 2/9–In the faded Grande Salle of Manono, a small town in the Democratic Republic of Congo located a two-day drive from the nearest big city, the focus is on global politics. The question is: Who should be allowed access to the minerals of the future located in the earth below their feet? "The Chinese," or "the people from the West?"...According to geologists, though, the earth beneath Manono contains what might be the largest lithium deposit in the world. Completely untouched…Some have even said that control of Manono will translate to control over the global market price of lithium…the Congolese government does, in fact, have ambitious plans and has even established a battery research center at a university in the country. For now, though the focus continues to be on who holds sway over the world’s largest lithium deposits.
