Re: Replying to Gary was Re: Once more on you know what...

[Carrol Cox <cbcox@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Matt D." wrote:

>    some notion that the Democratic Party
> is somehow, in some sense, "really" more on the side of our class than the
> Republicans.

This I think gets to the heart of the matter. Two things.

1a. The Democrats are, *really*, not remotely any more on our
side than the Republicans -- they are *against* us, period. They are
our enemy.

1b. They probably are the more dangerous enemy; they exist,
essentially, for no other purpose than to divide us. The Democratic
Party, above all other institutions and groups in the U.S., most
significantly and powerfully operates against our central slogan,
"Workers Unite." Consider, for example, the fight over PNTR,
and the way that the Democrats were able to do the impossible:
be both for and against it simultaneously. The Democrats as
opponents of PNTR (i.e., operating through the AFL-CIO)
fought it on essentially racist and chauvinist lines, thus
reinforcing all the retrograde tendencies in the workers movement.
The Democrats as a governing party pushed it through, confident
that the illusion that they are "really" more on our side than the
Republicans would prevent workers, minorities, and progressives
from noticing the real political effect of PNTR. The Seattle
Coalition may or may not survive this beautiful ploy by the
Democrats.

2. This illusion regarding the Democrats is grounded in the
illusion of "real" divisions within the U.S. ruling class, a division
which ostensibly manifests itself in the 'struggle' between
Democrats and Republicans. Struggles within the U.S.
ruling class at this time should be seen as rather resembling
the annual Yale-Harvard football game. The partisans of
the two elite academies can become extremely emotional
over that rivalry. Probably if one researched it diligently
enough there may even have been a fatality or two in
drunken fights before or after the game. But just let the
students from the junior college where Michael teaches try
to exploit that difference. It makes as much sense as
delusions that at the present time the left can exploit any
divisions within the u.s. ruling class.


We have work to do. And perhaps the most important
work we have to do is to destroy the illusion that in any
remote way, the Democratic Party is on our side or
kinder to our side.

Carrol