U.S. society is in crisis. The 1970’s mark the beginning of the strategic decline of U.S. imperialism. The economy is “beset with both spiraling inflation and unemployment. Internationally, U.S. imperialism is faced with stiffening competition from its capitalist partners in Europe and Japan. The victory of the Vietnamese, and since then the success of revolution in Southern Africa and Central America, and the ouster of pro-US puppets in Iran, have significantly weakened imperialism.
As Marxists, we understand that the underlying causes of this crisis lie within the capitalist system itself. The various economic difficulties cannot be “reformed away” through Keynesian or monetarist economic policies, because they flow from the fundamental contradiction of any capitalist society: the fact that production is social in character, yet the appropriation of social wealth is in private hands. As long as the monopoly corporations dominate the economy, the U.S. people will suffer from high inflation, high unemployment, spiraling taxes, low quality social services, high military budgets, racial and sexual oppression, devastation of the environment, and all the manifestations of the anarchy of production under the capitalist system.
But the present crisis of the 1980’s has particular characteristics, because it represents the beginning of a long term downturn for the U.S. The resilient capitalism which emerged as the top dog after the second World War, is no longer capable of sustaining its empire. As a result, the domestic contradictions will heighten dramatically during the 1980’s.
The various economic difficulties are presently giving rise to new and varied political movements within the U.S. The U.S. bourgeoisie faces a political crisis and is seeking to find a solution to its difficulties. No consensus presently exists among the bourgeoisie around precisely how to move. Both bourgeois parties are divided over basic policy questions such as the taxation and government spending, the draft, policy towards the Soviet Union and the national liberation movements. What is clear is that the bourgeoisie is moving rightward as a whole. The rise of Reagan as the Republican hopeful and the recent gain by Carter in his popularity over Kennedy represent this shift.
The rightward shift is also manifested among broader sectors of U.S. society as represented by the rise of the “New Right.” These social forces, based primarily in the petit-bourgeoisie as well as in sectors of small capita] and the white working class, have launched a vicious political campaign against blacks, minorities, women, and the unions. They stand behind the racist terror of the KKK and Nazis, the anti-ERA right to life forces, the anti-busing movement, etc. The U.S. bourgeoisie on the whole has not united behind the program of the New Right, but this will be an increasing danger in the future.
A less prominent, but yet important development has also taken place to the left of the two bourgeois parties. Social democracy is on the rise among various popular sectors. In Congress, it is represented by Ron Dellums in the Black Caucus and those in the left wing of the Democratic Party. In the trade unions it is represented by IAM’s Wippinsinger, In addition, Hayden and Fonda’s Committee for Economic Democracy, Harrington’s DSOC, and a multitude of local issue organizations are developing. Some of these forces still seek to work within the Democratic Party, while others are discussing the possibility of a breakaway and the formation of a third party.
As Marxists we understand that the real solutions to the economic and political difficulties of U.S. society lie in overthrowing imperialism and establishing a socialist system. The leading force in the revolutionary process must be the working class, owing to its position within capitalist society, and its objective interests in destroying the system which exploits and dominates it.
The economic and political crisis of the 1980’s is going to bring broader sectors of the U.S. working class into struggle. Already this has begun to happen. The level of rank and file activity has continuously risen over the last ten years, as workers are forced into confrontation with their employers to maintain their living standards. In addition, we have seen a rise in activity among Blacks and minorities over various issues of racial discrimination, such as organizations in the south against the Klan. Moreover, various popular movements have seen a resurgence, such as the anti-nuclear movement, the gay movement, the women’s movement, and the mobilization of students against the draft. Yet despite the growth of these various movements, at the present time the U.S. working class remains incapable of playing its revolutionary role.
The working class of the 1980’s remains seriously divided, and dominated by bourgeois ideology. The most serious division in the class is between white and minority workers. The disproportionate number of minorities in the lowest rungs of the job market and filling the unemployment lines, is the material basis for the strong ideological currents of racism in the white working class. In addition, the class remains seriously divided along sexual lines. While women have been steadily increasing their participation in the economy, they still earn little over half of men’s income, and fill the most difficult and low paying jobs.
The basic economic organizations of the working class are seriously under attack. No contract has been able to keep up with the pace of inflation, and union membership is declining nationwide. On the whole, the unions are still dominated by class collaborationist leadership, although some unions have seen the continued growth of militant rank and file movements.
Not only is the working class weak in its economic position in relationship to the bourgeoisie, but in the political field it is weak as well. On the whole the mass of workers are still under the influence of the bourgeois parties, primarily the Democratic Party.
Although U.S. capitalism faces a serious crisis, it will not collapse on its own. The working class, and its allies in the movements of the oppressed nationalities and in the women’s movement, must be sufficiently unified, and guided by the common goal of socialism, in order to overthrow the decaying system. As Marxist-Leninists we understand the necessity of building a vanguard party of the working class which can act as the leadership of the people’s movement. This party must be based on the most advanced theory, Marxism-Leninism, and include the advanced fighters of the working class and its allies.
The left of the 1980’s stands fundamentally isolated from the working class movement. While the working class movement stands divided and leaderless, the Marxist-Leninist movement is a tiny minority with no significant influence in the struggles of the working class. There are many objective reasons that the communist and workers movements stand apart from each other, but politically the relationship was first severed with the degeneration of the CPUSA in the 1950’s. The anti-revisionist movement of the 1960’s and 70’s has not been able to reestablish the fusion of the two movements because of its dogmatism and ultra-leftism on basic questions of reform and revolution, democratic struggle, and the international question and party-building.
In reaction to both revisionism and ultra-leftism, a small but growing Marxist-Leninist tendency is emerging. This wing of the anti-revisionist movement is very young and undeveloped. It has made a partial break with its ultra-left heritage, mainly on international line, but has yet to do a full summation of ultra-leftism. More importantly, while the ultra-left trend represents a systematic “left” viewpoint on most major questions of political line, the anti-revisionist anti-left opportunist forces have no system of alternative politics. Therefore we characterize ourselves as a trend in embryo, or a tendency.
Organizationally the tendency remains without a leading center to guide the overall work of the tendency. The practical work is organized in many local collectives, and only beginning efforts are being made to establish national forms for the guidance of communist practice. On the whole our tendency remains strapped by its lack of revolutionary theory, local character, and amateurish methods of work.
With the present state of the working class and communist movements, the communist movement has many tasks ahead. But the present conditions of U.S. society are becoming more favorable for the spread and influence of Marxism-Leninism among the advanced fighters of the class. More and more people are coming to realize that the present society and the bourgeoisie offer no hope for the future. Day by day it is becoming increasingly clear that U.S. capitalism is incapable of solving the most basic human needs in the richest country in the world.
But the consciousness of the need for socialism, and the spread of Marxism-Leninism will not come about spontaneously as a result of people’s disillusionment. It is the task of communists, the conscious forces, to systematically and continually propagandize for the socialist alternative. We argue for socialism not as a Utopian alternative to the evils of capitalism, but as the next logical step in human development. We continually try to show now the people’s problems are rooted in capitalism and that only a rationally planned economy, run by and for the working class, can overcome the present difficulties.