Don’t Vote Duopoly! Fine, Then What?
Progressives generate innumerable valid criticisms of Biden and the Democrats, Trump and the Republicans, the duopoly Congress and the electoral process. They give us excellent reasons to not vote for EITHER candidate, and they paint a dire picture of our future under the Administration of either. Progressives skillfully refute the cases made by supporters of Biden and Trump.
Those of us convinced by the compelling case against the two men may reasonably wonder what we can DO, what affirmative action we can TAKE, instead of engaging in the duopoly electoral farce. Curiously, progressives offer no viable alternatives to voting for Biden or Trump. They are doing a good job, as far as it goes. Sure, some point us in the direction of the Green Party, which could be, but has failed to become, a contender on the national scene. Some put their faith in other third party efforts, such as The People’s Party.
Biden’s disastrous first year, his failure to pass most of his agenda, guarantees a pendulum swing to the GOP at the midterms and beyond. How do we respond to this crisis of the Duopoly’s making? Are we to vote for progressive down-ballot candidates and cross our fingers they will win AND have an impact?
For some progressives Bernie’s plan for significant government reform was a satisfactory solution. Unfortunately, it relied on electoral politics entirely controlled by the duopoly enemy, and was bound to fail.
It seems that these progressives have thought the situation only half way through. Not being an organized left contingent that has a formal analysis of the political/economic landscape, which includes a corrective plan of action, they are not prepared to point the way forward. The American left has been basically dormant for decades. Only in recent times has there been a gradual reawakening. What that means is that left organizations remain splintered and insufficiently mature to present a coherent action plan.
The focus on elections every 2 and 4 years is misplaced as a means of achieving meaningful social change. When the people place all their eggs in the election basket, they are typically inactive during the years between. Predictably disastrous results ensue. We need to adopt a longer time frame for activism that is unattached to elections. Undoing the system that oppresses us will take considerable effort, sacrafice and time. Patience is mandatory. The political analysis of current conditions by experienced radical leftists clearly identifies the core cause of America’s problems as corporate capitalism, the culprit that is untouched by elections.
Movement politics is the way forward and it requires considerable groundwork before a plan can be implemented. Activists must raise the class consciousness of the public. Unions must become involved and resume their prior role of politically educating their members and organizing general strikes. Direct action movements must be built to take on various disruptive and civil disobedience tasks. Trained organizers and activists are first needed to get all these other pieces in motion. This, itself is an organic process. Societal conditions must be such that they naturally trigger the development of active, cohesive left organizations. Those conditions just may have coalesced following the police murder of George Floyd, the totally botched government’s handling of the pandemic and the Biden Admin’s giant middle finger to the public who were counting on the Dems delivering THIS time.
