The Bailout and Mood Of US Working Class

international | anti-capitalism | opinion/analysis Saturday October 04, 2008 16:50 by john throne - labors militant voice loughfinn at aol dot com

Where is my bail out?

It is everywhere. The talk of the bail out. And now the talk of the extra $140 billion they bribed the politicians to pass it. Meanwhile tens of millions of American workers are watching their savings, pensions, homes and jobs vanish before their eyes. The anger about the bail out prevented it being passed the first time. There has been a fundamental shift in consciousness in the US working class. It will not go back to having the same trust in the Republicans and the Democrats and the system. However a much greater shift could have taken place if the union leaders instead of trailing with their heads down after the Democrats and the bail out had taken an independent stand.

In a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC poll only 10% of Americans say they have a "great deal" or "quite a bit" of confidence in the financial industry compared with 36% in the year 2000. Only 11% say they have a "great deal" or "quite a bit" of confidence in large corporations. As the financial meltdown worsens by the day the social and political base of US capitalism is being undermined. On top of this there are the wars and occupations in the Middle East which are opposed by the majority. The crisis that is deepening by the day means that the US capitalist class has forfeited all right to rule. They and their system have to be replaced.

The financial crisis is a watershed in US working class consciousness. It offers enormous opportunities for those who understand that capitalism does not work.

There are however two unfortunate aspects of the present crisis. While the mood of anger and for action has been great amongst rank and file workers, the leaders of the unions, that is of the working class organizations have been dumb. The bosses organizations, the Business Roundtable, which is made up of the CEO's of the top 150 companies and the American Bankers Association, have been mobilizing all their resources, so too have the capitalists' political parties the Republicans and Democrats. That is the capitalist class has mobilized around its program, "Give us the $700 billion bail out," but the working class leaders have offered no alternative.

The trade union leaders should have organized their millions of members in workplace meetings and mass demonstrations. Their program should have been, not a single foreclosure or eviction, not a single job loss. No bail out for Bush and his criminal swindlers in Wall Street and the financial sector, instead nationalize all financial institutions under workers control and management so we can have the finance of the country used to build houses, provide health care and education, rebuild the infrastructure and provide a decent life for all. Instead of providing this lead the union leaders have cowered before the capitalist system. Their inaction means that the working class have not played a conscious independent role in this crisis, it means that while the working class consciousness will not go back to where it was it has not taken the leap forward that it could have and it has not led to a mass political organization of its own, a mass workers party. By their refusal to lead in this crisis the trade union leaders have forfeited all right to lead the trade unions, to lead the working class movement. They must be replaced.

The left too has to look at our role.. We have to get over our left sectarianism. We have to mobilize as suggested above and build a new movement of mass direct action. At the same time we have to explain that we are advocating Democratic socialism. Never in the past decades has there been such an opportunity to get a hearing for socialist ideas.