It is no secret that for some time now I have been encouraging Americans to join the two mainstream political parties, Democratic and Republican. Of course I am mainly concerned with the working class, proletarians, and the more advanced those workers are, the better. No doubt at least some of those workers are considered to be Leftist people, and of course there are a great many middle class people, petty bourgeois, who are also Leftist. With a little effort, it is possible to flood Washington with such Leftist people, those who consider themselves to be Communists, Marxists, socialists, independent socialists, or just plain folks who are determined to make a difference. Contrary to popular belief, this is not as difficult and expensive as is commonly thought. In fact, it is real simple and just as easy, not at all expensive. The only reason it has not been tried before is because no one has thought of this.
This requires a little explanation. Capitalism has long since reached the monopoly stage, that which is technically referred to as imperialism. This highest stage of capitalism has certain features, as was documented by Lenin many years ago. Among other things, he pointed out that ”imperialism is reaction, right down the line.” As a result of this, everything in America is now for sale. That includes any and all political offices. Such offices are considered to be commodities, to be sold to the highest bidder.
The most expensive office is of course the presidency, and in fact it is reported that in the last federal election, the Democratic candidate for president spent one billion dollars, and she lost!
People are well aware that a congressional seat, by which I mean an office that is held by a member of the House of Representatives, also costs a great deal, possibly several million dollars. That is far beyond the price range of common people, so very few working people even give it a thought. Then again, they can take my advice and may be elected at almost no expense.
Almost all adult American citizens are eligible to join the two parties. All that is required is an application form to be filled out, and this can be done online. It costs nothing. Then in several weeks the citizen will receive, in the mail, a card which identifies the holder as a member of the party. Such card carrying members are referred to as ”party bosses”, because that is precisely what they are. Such party bosses determine the individual to run for any and all political offices. This means that as long as the party bosses choose the same person to run for congress on behalf of both parties, then that person is sure to win. There is no need for any expensive campaign. As a bonus, such a process is also blessed by the fact that it is completely legal. There is no law that says Americans cannot be members of both parties.
There are a number of Leftist political parties and organizations in the country. Many of them have challenged the two party system of the country in previous elections, without a great deal of success. I am suggesting a different approach. Instead of fighting the two party system, I am suggesting that Leftist people should embrace it. That is perhaps the best way to destroy the two party system.
With that in mind, I am suggesting that each and every member of all Leftist groups, along with their families and friends, should join the two parties. After that, it is a matter of getting as many concerned citizens as possible to also join the two parties. The simplest, most effective way to do this is to approach people with a slogan. That should get their attention. Different groups of people should be approached with different slogans. I would suggest first approaching the students, with slogans to which they can all relate. May I suggest:
Free Education!
Abolish All Student Loans!
As there are reported to be over forty million people who are saddled with crushing student debts, it is reasonable to expect that a great many citizens, and not just students, will flock to the cause. Better yet, we can expect the more advanced people to join the two parties.
Then there are the seniors. They are accustomed to being ignored by all politicians, except at election time. As a result of this, they tend to be rather bitter. Given the chance to turn the tables, do not be surprised if they jump at the opportunity. The only reason they have not done so years ago is because they were not aware of it. That little problem is easily remedied. Just let them know about this. For the seniors, perhaps different slogans, such as:
Free Medical!
Raise The Pensions!
I have no doubt that will get their attention. Then explain to them that as card carrying members of the two parties, they will get to decide the person to run for office. The shoe will be on the other foot. The days of being ignored by politicians will then be over. Offer to assist them in applying for membership, as most seniors are not computer experts. Do not be surprised if that puts a smile on their faces.
As for the working people, including union members, may I suggest:
Raise the Minimum Wage!
All workers are aware that if the minimum wage goes up, all wages go up. There are other groups of people, such as sports enthusiasts, who will likely respond to different slogans. May I suggest:
Defend the Right to Bear Arms!
The vast majority of such people are reasonable, only concerned with bearing firearms for sporting purposes. As for those who are determined to own machine guns and artillery, do not argue the point. By all means avoid confrontation. It will serve no purpose.
Then there are those who are mainly concerned with our right to free speech, such as journalists. They too can be approached with a suitable slogan, such as:
Defend Our Right to Free Speech!
Less savoury elements may flock to the cause, such as pornographers, and they too must be welcomed. Of course, this does not apply to kiddy pornographers. Bear in mind that in politics, it is occasionally necessary to make certain compromises, if only temporarily, with people whom we may find to be completely contemptible. As long as these compromises do not violate principle, they are acceptable.
In all cases, feel free to stress the fact that as party bosses, they get to choose the individual to run for any and all political office, on behalf of both parties.
In days gone by, it was necessary to approach people directly, but now with modern communications, such as smart phones, it is much easier. Or so I have been told. As someone who is in his declining years, I am only familiar with stupid phones. The message is the important thing. The instrument which carries the message is not. Whether that message is carried by the Pony Express or the internet, is of no consequence.
With a little effort, on the part of Leftist people, I can see no reason that the two parties cannot be flooded with Leftist people. Then the newly created party bosses can get to work and place the names of Leftist candidates on the ballots for both parties. There is no law that says the same person cannot run for office on behalf of both parties. This way, there is no need for expensive campaigns.
No doubt there are a great many people who are quite skeptical. At least, I hope there are a great many such people. To approach a problem with such an attitude is a fine, scientific method. As someone who has spent a great many years exercising that approach, I can honestly say that most people overlook the obvious. Possibly the reason that so many Americans have not joined the two parties is because they never thought of it.
Each of the parties has tens of millions of registered voters. This is encouraging, as it means that a great many citizens went to the trouble of registering to vote as a member of one of the two parties. Now if even a fraction of those voters, perhaps ten percent, go to the extra length of applying for membership in the two parties, then millions of Americans will soon become party bosses. Further, it stands to reason that only the most advanced members of the working class will choose to become card carrying members of the parties. That is precisely the very thing we want, as the most advanced do the leading, while the less advanced do the following. As a bonus, we can expect a mixture of young and old. They can learn from each other.
These party bosses can in turn endorse the candidate of their choice to run for any and all political office, on behalf of both parties, and very soon each and every member of Congress can be a socialist, or at least a Leftist person. A great many members of the Senate can also be Leftist people. What is more, both parties can endorse Sanders for president, or anyone else of their choice. If nothing else, that should save people the expense of running a presidential campaign, a couple billion dollars. Mission accomplished.
This could well happen in the next election. But then that begs the question: what to expect? The answer depends upon the person who answers the question.
Lenin answered that question in his excellent article titled:
Elections and the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat: (all italics and emphasis by Lenin)
”In mockery of the teachings of Marx, those gentlemen, the opportunists, including the Kautskyites, ‘teach’ the people that the proletariat must first win a majority by means of universal suffrage, then obtain state power, by the vote of that majority, and only after that, on the basis of ‘consistent’ (some call it pure) democracy, organize socialism.
But we say on the basis of the teachings of Marx and the experience of the Russian revolution:
the proletariat must first overthrow the bourgeoisie and win for itself state power, and then use that state power, that is, the dictatorship of the proletariat, as an instrument of its class for the purpose of winning the sympathy of the majority of the working people.”
We are now presented with a golden opportunity to put the ”teachings” of the opportunists to the test. They are determined that in the next federal election, the American voters can, ”by means of universal suffrage”, place a socialist candidate in each and every seat of the House of Representatives, the Congress, as well as a great many members of the Senate, and the presidency. The American voters will thus obtain ”state power” and be in a position to ”organize socialism”. So say the opportunists.
By contrast, Lenin says something entirely different. Based on the theories of Marx and the experience of the Russian revolution – and here we have a fine example of theory being verified by practice – such a policy is doomed to failure. It is necessary to ”first overthrow the bourgeoisie”, as the Russian working people, which is to say the proletariat and the poor peasants, overthrew the Russian bourgeoisie in November of 1917. They then set up a new state power in the form of the dictatorship of the proletariat. Only after they had seized state power and established the dictatorship of the proletariat were they able to organize socialism.
Now it is a matter of persuading the majority of American working people of the correctness of the theories of Marx and Lenin. As there are practically no peasants in the country, the situation is simpler than the situation in Russia of 1917. Now there are workers, proletarians, and middle class people, petty bourgeois. Even most of the middle class people have been financially ruined, forced into the ranks of the proletariat. Such people are aware of the existence of classes, even though many of them still maintain the bourgeois mentality.
All such people, working class and current or former members of the middle class, must be made aware of the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin. Then they must be persuaded, by their own experience, of the correctness of those theories. That is precisely the reason the next federal election is so important.
I can only stress that the importance of the election lies in the fact that it can be used as a tool to raise the level of awareness of the working class. It absolutely cannot be used to establish socialism, as the opportunists preach.
As Lenin pointed out in Left Wing Communism, An Infantile Disorder, the point is not to ”get seats” in Congress or any other legislative body, but to get people to think, to raise the level of awareness of the American workers, to draw the public into the struggle, to take the capitalists, the bourgeoisie, ”at their word”, as he phrased it. In this case the American capitalists, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie, are telling people to ”change the system from within”, if they do not like the way things are.
So be it. Instead of challenging the two mainstream political parties, as has taken place in so many elections in the past, we can join them. The American public will see how far they get trying to ”change the system from within”.
We have got to respect the beliefs of countless honest, law abiding, tax paying citizens who tend to believe these lies. Such citizens believe we can ”change the system from within”, that the capitalists will respond to the will of the majority. The only way to persuade them of the correctness of our position is to let them learn from their own experience. Such experience is a great teacher.
Regardless of the number of socialists who are sent to Washington, to occupy seats in Congress, the Senate or even the White House, the class of people in charge, the capitalists, the bourgeoisie, will not allow the country to become socialist.
This challenge to their authority, all of which is completely legal, will not be tolerated. They will respond by changing their method of rule. As yet we have no way of knowing the substance of those changes. We just know that the bourgeoisie are completely reactionary, so we can expect nothing progressive from them.
The main thing is that the members of the American public will receive an education. Both working class people and middle class people will soon realize that there can be no peaceful transition to socialism. The bourgeoisie must be overthrown, the current state apparatus must be destroyed, replaced by the dictatorship of the proletariat and only then can socialism be established.
As for the vast majority of the people, the slogans of Marx and Lenin must be:
Scientific Socialism!
Workers of the World, Unite!
Dictatorship Of the Proletariat!
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 