Studies show that the wishes of ordinary Americans have little or no impact on the makings of federal government policy, other than on issues which have little impact on the ruling class, such identity politics and gesture tokenism. That is why nearly half of eligible voters will choose to stay home on November 3, not even bothering to drop off a ballot paper into the mail.
Politicians of both parties are unable to propose solutions because they are constrained by their allegiance to their donors from Big Business. Many of the obvious problems we face today are simply too profitable to our masters. It is easier for Republicans simply to deny the crises such as climate change or for Democrats to simplistically blame Trump as a mad-man or a Russian agent. No serious debate is permitted such as why the United States spent more money on our military than the next 10 countries combined or why 800,000 people are dead and 37 million people displaced in bipartisan supported U.S.-led wars since 2001, at a cost of $6.4 trillion. Biden has already assured war-industry donors that if he’s elected, there will be no major reductions in military spending. Then there is the widespread gun ownership which distinguishes the United States from every other country. Approximately 40% of American households own one or more firearms, a figure that has remained remarkably consistent for the last 50 years. If you look at guns per capita, the United States ranks number one in the world at 120 firearms per 100 civilians - more guns than people within its borders. The 2nd Amendment has provided ammunition for both the “castle doctrine” (the right to use armed force to defend one’s own home) and “stand your ground” laws (the right to use force in “self-defense”).
Both political parties will use to their own advantage the social unrest. They offer programs of action and invent clever slogans in order to get as many people as possible behind their interests and their plans. They always ask for your support, so that you may profit. They tell you, that all depends on you, on your vote, on your loyalty. You must bring the right people with the right program into office. As soon as with your help they succeed in getting control and power, they drop the "you"; they resume ruling without you and against you. You had served their purpose.
Scapegoating based on gender, skin color, sexuality, nationality, etc., is an attempt to distract working people from the real enemy. Fostering distrust and hostility among workers is how the elites get away with squeezing us dry. For Trump, of course, divide and conquer is his political bread and butter. If native-born white workers should realize that their well-being rises or falls along with the welfare of all people of color, immigrants, and refugees. But Trump is not alone. The lack of class-consciousness fostered by those who benefit from it can have dire results in the labor and social movements.
One of those consequences is identity politics. With identity politics, differences of race, gender, etc., become divorced from the commonality of class. Identity politics comes in lots of flavors. No oppressed group succeeds on its own, nor by seeing class sisters and brothers only as secondary allies rather than equal partners in a fight for total human liberation. Class-consciousness identifies a common enemy and creates oneness out of division. Class unity is the key to power for the powerless.
The World Socialist Party is positive and constructive. It stands for complete political and industrial democracy.
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