The truth about U.S. politics is that neither ruling-class party speaks for the working people. No capitalist political party does. We are face to face with the coming election and the tremendous international and domestic problems involved, with no political organization in the class interests of the whole working class. Where is the choice for the working class between Trump and Biden and these two parties? There is no choice. Our fellow-workers know this or at least have a vague feeling that all is not well, and only hope that somehow they will escape the miseries of another recession. It is our opinion that the overwhelming majority of workers will vote for Biden and the Democratic Party. They will vote for what they call the “lesser evil.” They say that Trump and the Republicans are worse, Furthermore, millions of workers have been beguiled with the propaganda of the capitalist media to get out to vote so as not to waste the vote. But as Eugene Debs explained:
”It is better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.”
Another argument made is that since there are only two parties and two sets of candidates, one of them will be sure to win. Therefore in order not to be left out in the cold, the workers must be in on the victory. And since there is no socialist party, then the only thing to do is vote for the candidates of the two capitalist parties. We do not have to vote for capitalist candidates. We have been left out in the cold after Republican victories and after Democratic victories. This will continue so long as we cling to the propaganda of the politicians.
”There is little to choose between Democrats and Republicans.” That is exactly what the average young person thinks. Neither party means to do anything serious for minorities. In our political system the head of the Republican elephant hides Mr. Profiteer, the capitalist, and so does the Democratic donkey head hide Mr. Money-Bags, the capitalist. There is as much bitter conflict within the respective Republican and Democratic parties, than between them. Any dilemmas between them arise because both parties would like to serve the capitalists and at the same time retain the votes of working families. The Republican platform is stupid and dishonest? Agreed. But this same stupid and dishonest platform has carried into the Democratic Party. They wish to prevent the Democratic platform from containing anything which can be interpreted as a departure from the principle of “the middle road for the middle classes.” The Democrat party machine would recast it as moderate Republicans. One Republican Party is tragic – two would be farcical.
Trump’s election showed that the right wing remains strong among sectors of the population, and the fight against the right is bound to intensify. But although the right won a victory, and people are justifiably angry at Biden’s conservative, timid and mismanaged electoral campaign. This year’s election reveals the deep alienation felt by millions. These people are overwhelmingly African-American, Latino, American Indian poor. for most, so deep is their alienation from the political process that it does not matter if the Democrats or Republicans occupy the White House. These feelings of alienation and powerlessness must be turned around. The Democratic Party has been a graveyard for progressive social movements because the forces that dominate it, the ruling class proxies systematically oppose working class interests because they threaten their profits and property.
The problem with the two-party winner-take-all system is that determines that every vote cast for a third party is one less vote for the Democrats and thus the equivalent of one more vote for the Republicans. So the strategy is vote for the lesser evil, the Democrats who are less bad for workers and than its greater evil twin, the Republicans.
Only a socialist party can represent the interests of working people. Today we need a party which will lead to the reconstruction of the whole social order. This is the necessity of the day. This is what we must work for. By throwing all our weight into the struggle for such a party we can be sure to have made an essential part in the destruction of the vested interests. Socialists must dig in and build deep roots among the people. That is the way, the only way. We need to present a vision of how life can be, of values which give meaning to our existence, and of hope that things can and will change. It is here that those of us who believe in socialism – a society where working people democratically control society – have a special responsibility to present a vision, a possibility for change. For those of us who believe in socialism, who believe that capitalism with its pursuit of profit as its sole driving force, cannot solve the problems of the majority of its citizens – our priority must be to organize and empower the people. The Word Socialist Party’s strategy is based on the fundamental idea of working class self-emancipation. This means that working people can generate the power they need to change the world only through collective self-mobilization and class self-organization. Class power depends on class struggle. It implies as well that the only way they can develop the consciousness required to push the struggle forward is by acting collectively to confront the power of capital and the state. Class consciousness depends on class activity. We must enter the political scene under our own banner, and with our own principles. The responsibility of revolutionary socialists is clear. The worker who throws away this vote on November 3rd will not be the worker who stays away from the polls but the one who goes to the polls and casts his or her ballot for Trump or for Biden.
Our duty is to fight for our own party, to organize that party, to use our time on November 3rd to teach this to every worker and win every worker to independent working class political action and the formation of a world socialist movement.
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