ABOVE AND BOTTOM-RIGHT PHOTOS/JULIE DERMANSKY
The killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castille by the police and the killings of eight police officers are having a major impact on American politics. On the one hand, the killings have made millions of people angry, fearful and open to extreme solutions. On the other hand, the killings have caused millions to call for unity across the color line, and an end to all the killing. To stop the violence, we must look at the conditions that give rise to it.
The capitalist economy is based on a handful of wealthy people owning the means of producing what we need to live, and the rest of us being employed by them. That kind of economy can’t work if there aren’t enough jobs. The computer and the robot have been eliminating jobs for more than 40 years.
People whose labor is no longer needed are a threat to the ruling class, because these workers’ needs can only be met by a new society based on public ownership of the means of producing our food, housing, healthcare, education, water and other necessities. In such a cooperative society, we would simply produce what we need and distribute it. Our rulers have to suppress that threat to keep their property and power. They do this by sowing historical divisions, keeping the people fighting one another.
Because of the history of slavery in this country, any time the ruling class needs to attack the working class it always falls first and heaviest on the Blacks. This is why the Black poor are under siege today. When, for example, the ruling class needed to destroy the public welfare system, ending the right of millions to survive, they started their assault by blaming the Black poor. Once the rights of this section of workers are eliminated, the attack falls on the rest of the class.
What we are witnessing today is the rise of fascism in our country, and if we don’t stop it, it will strip everyone of their rights, regardless of color or nationality. This drive toward fascism is happening now because of the irresolvable economic crisis. The targeting of the poor, especially the Black poor, is part of an effort to get people to accept a police state that will be imposed on everyone.
We, the people, have a common enemy in the system of private ownership. We have a common interest in building a new, cooperative society where everyone’s needs are guaranteed and where there is no need for violence against anyone. Those who are destitute and becoming destitute are of every color and nationality, and are already united by their common poverty. They need to unite around a common program.
Imagine if millions were united around a program that says every human being in this country has the right to food, clothing, housing, education, healthcare and other necessities, and the government is obligated to guarantee that right. This would be a force that could lead the fight for a new society free of poverty, racism, violence and repression. It would be a force for class unity, for peace, and for a government that is of, by and for the people. The future of humanity lies in creating this new society.
