April 15. Another day, another shooting. This time in the city of Indianapolis, leaving eight people dead and five seriously wounded. The press is referring to this as the FedEx shooting. Ho hum.
On the day of the massacre, at the time of shift change, in that the ”night shift”, or second shift, was going off duty, and the ”graveyard shift”, or third shift, was just going to work, someone drove into the parking lot and started shooting. It is reported that all of the dead and wounded were workers, guilty of the ”crime” of going to work and earning a living.
Not too long ago, such an incident of mass murder would have given rise to major headlines, followed by magazine articles, and even documentaries, deploring the senselessness of the shooting. Now it is met with near indifference. The sad fact is that within the last month, there have been fifty ”mass casualty shootings”, to use the jargon of the press. As a result of this, now the public is no longer shocked by such events.
There is a reason that such acts of mass murder are now almost common place. Capitalism has now reached a state in which the working class, the members of the public, or common people, as they refer to themselves, are suffering terribly. Unemployment is at a level not seen since the Great Depression, the Covid 19 virus is raging out of control, countless people cannot meet their rental or mortgage payments, and expect to soon be homeless. Many of the homeless people count themselves fortunate if they are able to live in a car. Others seek refuge under bridges. Most have no medical coverage and are constantly hungry. The food banks cannot keep up with demand. Under such extreme pressure, people are ”cracking up”, to use the popular expression, or simply ”going crazy”.
On the other hand, the stock market is soaring, breaking records on almost a daily basis. The profits of the capitalists, the ”super rich”, the billionaires, technically referred to as the bourgeoisie, are at an all time high. It is truly, ”the best of times, the worst of times”.
Against this background, the public is focused on the trial of the former police officer who has been charged in the death of George Floyd. He has been charged with second degree unintentional felony murder, third degree depraved mind murder, and second degree manslaughter. To think that one man died, and yet the accused is charged with three separate crimes! Further, the jury can find him guilty of one, two or all three charges, or not at all. It would appear that the prosecution is trying to cover all the bases, and in so doing, managed to spread mass confusion. It also increases the chances of a mistrial, in the form of a hung jury, as the jury could be split, with several jurors wanting to convict on one charge, several others wanting to acquit on a second charge, and still others wanting to convict on a third charge. Then too, jurors may want to convict on two or even three charges, while others may disagree. Of course there is always the possibility of an acquittal.
As I write this, the press reports that the jury has just begun deliberations. It is safe to say that the tension within the country is extreme. It is also safe to say that the capitalists are well aware that the country is a ”powder key”, and that the results of this trial could be the spark that causes an explosion.
As Marx pointed out, in a time of crisis, the ruling class, in this case the capitalists, the bourgeoisie, can no longer rule in the old way, and have to change their method of rule. The ”bright lights” of capitalism, the leaders who were formerly so confident, so self assured, are now floundering, contradicting themselves and each other, even resorting to personal insults. They sound more like school yard kids than elder statesmen!
So now the Republican Party, in particular, is praising ”woke corporations”, by which they mean ”corporations with a conscience”. If there are two words which should never be mentioned in one sentence, it is ”corporations” and ”conscience”. This is referred to as an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. We can add this to the list of other oxymorons, such as ”friendly fire”, ”military intelligence”, ”secret bombing”, and my all time favourite, ”Holy war”. Just as war is anything but holy, so too corporations are strangers to a conscience.
Now the journalists are quite gleefully pointing out the hypocrisy of the capitalists. It should be noted that for perhaps the first time in living memory, the press is daring to use words such as capitalism and working class. On all previous occasions, capitalism was referred to as ”democracy”, or ”free enterprise”, while the working class, the proletariat, was referred to as ”blue collar”. The existence of all classes, at least in North America, was quietly and calmly denied.
As an example of that hypocrisy, the journalists are playing a clip from an old movie, one which was praised by all capitalists. In the film, the ”star” of the show states: ”Capitalism is good. Greed is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed is the essence of evolutionary spirit. Greed will save America”.
Now they are walking that back, stating that the Republican Party (!!) must ”rebrand its Wall Street image” (it is the essence of Wall Street), and ”must be more of a working class party” (and the lion shall lie down with the lamb! Ha!), and it ”must not not appear to be pro corporation” (which is precisely what it is!)
There can be no finer, more clear cut example of the confusion within the ranks of the capitalists!
Our task, the task of the revolutionary Communists, as leaders of the working class, is to raise the level of confusion and backstabbing within the community of capitalists, to an absolute brawl. This can best be done by raising the level of awareness of the working class, the proletariat, making them aware of the existence of classes. We must offer our whole hearted support to the Seattle Autonomous Zone, and encourage the formation of similar zones in other parts of the country. It matters not that the Seattle Autonomous Zone may be led by anarchists, or not. We can also encourage all Americans to join the two mainstream political parties, as card carrying members, and to run for any and all political office. This will serve as valuable training, in preparation for the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.
Communists must also form a truly Communist Party, one which calls for the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. Marches and demonstrations must be organized, and it would be best if they were also entertaining. We can support workers who are running for office, while at the same time making it clear that the system cannot be changed from within. It has to be destroyed.
We must also oppose the social chauvinists, those who claim to be Marxists but oppose the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, the very ”touchstone” of a Marxist. Such people are the most devoted servants of the capitalists, the worst enemies of the working class.
As I send this article to be published, the press reports that the jury has retired for the night, to resume deliberations in the morning. They also report that the whole country is waiting for the verdict, with protesters already gathered around the court house. Regardless of the verdict, our task is clear:
Prepare for the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 