As I write this, the official death toll, as a result of the corona virus, has reached 44,000. In one week, the death toll has doubled. The true death toll is far higher, as those who choose to die at home, surrounded by family, are not counted in the ”official” toll. For this reason, there are fewer admissions to hospitals and the ”curve is flattening”, to use the stilted language of the government officials.
A more accurate picture is presented by the World Health Organization, WHO. An official from that agency stated quite clearly that the ”worst is yet to come”. As well, the Centre for Disease Control, CDC, expects a second wave of the virus this winter, which ”could be worse”, as it will likely strike at the same time as the flu epidemic.
As well, the country is entering a deep Depression, one which is expected to be even more intense than the Great Depression of the previous century. The government has responded to these twin crises by spending trillions of dollars, which is thousands of billions, on that which it refers to as ”economic stimulus packages”. It is also calling for an end to the ”stay at home” orders and to the ”social distancing” policies, in an attempt to ”jump start” the economy.
The press is mainly focused on the havoc caused by the corona virus, and the various plans to reopen the economy. There is even the occasional interview with economists, those who do their best Guy Smiley imitations. Such economists ignore the fact that the country is now head over heels in debt, facing bankruptcy. Millions of small businesses are ruined, and the rest are hanging on by their finger tips. Millions of workers are now unemployed, with a great many more about to join them. As soon as the government hand outs run out, the rest of the small businesses will face bankruptcy. The employees and the owners will soon join the many millions of unemployed. There is simply no way out of this Depression.
This is a true crisis in capitalism, technically referred to as an economic crisis compounded by a medical crisis. Such economic crises occur periodically, as the capitalists produce ”too much”. This gives rise to a surplus of goods. According to the ”law of supply and demand”, a great supply tends to reduce prices, while a great scarcity tends to raise prices. The capitalists love scarcity, as it tends to raise prices and consequently profits. By contrast, an over abundance tends to reduce prices and profits suffer.
I am writing this for the benefit of the working class people, proletarians, those who are just now becoming politically active. Those who were formerly members of the middle class, petty bourgeois, are already well aware of this, as they used any and all scarcities to their advantage.
Now we have a great abundance of most commodities while at the same time we have a severe shortage of certain other commodities. The contrast between the price of oil and the price of medical equipment is most striking. We now have so much oil it has been reduced to a negative value! The stock traders now report that a barrel of oil is now worth less than nothing! On the other hand, the price of medical equipment has increased ten fold!
The corona virus pandemic has forced governments around the world to encourage their citizens to stay at home and to practice ”social distancing”. As a result of this, people are using less gasoline. This contributes to the glut of oil on the market. At the same time, the ”first responders”, as well as medical personnel, require personal protective equipment, or PPE, as the virus is so contagious. So now the capitalists are making a great fortune from the sale of medical equipment.
The point must be driven home to working people that this economic Depression was not caused by the virus. The virus is a crisis in itself, a medical crisis, which is causing the Depression to be more intense. The problem is not that society has too little. The problem is that we now have too much! We have a vast surplus, and this, from the standpoint of the capitalists, is a disaster.
It may be objected that under monopoly capitalism, the capitalists can come together and agree to limit the supply, thereby ensuring a continuous shortage. They certainly make every attempt to do just that. The organization known as OPEC, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, was set up with that in mind. The trouble being that the capitalists of all countries have one characteristic in common. All are completely devoid of principle.
Each and every capitalist has the moral fibre of a mobster. They do not hesitate to ”cut the throat” of the other, as that is the term they use. All are determined to ”make a buck”, so that their word is meaningless. They can and do ”turn on a dime” on each other.
That is one side of the coin, or as Marxists are fond of putting it, one aspect of the contradiction. The other side is the fact that many millions of working people, those who have formerly been apathetic, are now ”awake”, politically active, more consciously aware and determined to enact change. Now is the time to raise that level of awareness, to make them aware of themselves as a class, with their own class interests, which is diametrically opposed to the interests of the capitalists, the bourgeoisie.
That is the point where Marxists come into the picture. It is up to Marxists to raise the level of awareness of the proletariat. The best way to do this is through the use of specific examples, and not mere ”preaching”, the use of revolutionary phrases. That may sound rather harsh, and perhaps it is. The fact remains that working people get tired of listening to the same old expressions, which may be revolutionary but remain a bore. The contrast between the price of oil and the price of medical equipment is anything but a bore.
That contrast should get the attention of working people. Then the fact can be presented that under capitalism, a surplus is a curse, while under socialism, a surplus can only be a bonus. The idea is to go from the particular to the general. The particular should be of interest to people, and rest assured, the prices of gasoline and medical equipment is of interest to almost everyone.
Once a Marxist has the attention of an individual, or a group of people, their attention can be drawn to the general. Point out the fact that the ruling class, the monopoly capitalists, the bourgeoisie, are not about to give up their wealth and power without a fight. That is the reason it is necessary to overthrow them through revolution. After that, it is also necessary to crush them under the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.
As for those who may object that the working people are not capable of understanding this, may I suggest that you do not know too much about working people. The only reason the members of the working class are not discussing the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat is because they are as yet not aware of this! It is up to Marxists to bring this awareness to the working class. Bear in mind that as Lenin pointed out, ”without a revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary motion”!
Currently the middle class, the petty bourgeois, is in the process of being wiped out. Many of those people are aware of the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin. Now is the time to ”spread the word”, to let your fellow proletariats know of those theories. Face the fact that you are no longer middle class. Those days are ”gone with the wind”, never to return.
Prepare for the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 