Government Gridlock

It has been almost a week since the midterm elections, and yet we still do not know the identity of the mainstream political party which will take control of the House of Representatives. The votes are still being counted, in several states. The final result may not be known for several days yet, although it is very likely that the Republicans will take control, if only by the narrowest of margins. The Democrats have managed to maintain control of the Senate, also by the narrowest of margins.

The political pundits are scrambling to explain the reason the ”red wave”, which is the name they coined for the anticipated Republican overwhelming victory, has not materialized. Their idea of an ”explanation” is to play the ”blame game”! They are blaming the pollsters for producing false numbers, blaming the Republican Party leaders for poor leadership, and of course they are blaming their favourite ”whipping boy”, the press, for ”leading them astray”.

Some journalists are maintaining that the pollsters did not take into account the ”Gen Z”, in that Gen stands for Generation. According to the Internet, Gen Z is a reference to people born after 1995. while those born between 1980 and 1995 are referred to as ”mellinials”. These expressions are not mine.

The implication is that the younger generation is not at all impressed with either Party. With good reason, I might add. The fact that they are voting in ”record numbers” is a good sign. It indicates that they are deeply dissatisfied, demanding change. Outstanding! To those people, I have but one word: Welcome! I am counting on you!

Donald Trump, the former president and unofficial leader of the Republican Party, was careful to cover all the bases, immediately before the election. At that time, he announced that in case of a Republican Party ”red wave”, he would take all the credit for success. On the other hand, in case of a defeat, he would accept none of the blame. Trump was not joking!

It is not too surprising that his main fury is focused against those who are possible threats to his authority, within the Republican Party. He has every intention of running for president again, in 2024, and is determined to eliminate any competition. In fact, the journalists expect him to announce his candidacy, within a week.

The Republican Party is in disarray. Their leader in the Senate, the Senator who was expected to be ”promoted” from ”Minority Leader” to ”Majority Leader”, is now under extreme pressure. Other Republican Senators are calling for his resignation, if only because they want his job.

The situation is little different in the House. The Republicans are currently a minority in the House, but may soon become the majority Party, if only by the narrowest of margins. In that case, the current House Minority Leader, a Republican, may soon become the official ”Speaker of the House”’. Yet the ”rank and file” Republican members of Congress may stage a revolt, as they are not at all happy. They too are calling for new leaders.

The Democrats are in a similar situation. Most of the members of the Party are not satisfied with President Biden, especially as the polls indicate that his approval rating is ”rock bottom”. They too are looking for someone else to run for president in 2024. Yet clearly, Biden has other ideas!

Assuming the Republicans take control of the House, as is very likely, then we will have a ”split government”. This is to say that the Democrats still control the presidency and the Senate, but the Republicans control the House. This is exceptionally significant, if only because the House controls the money!

The journalists are reporting that the identity of the anticipated next Republican Speaker of the House, is a matter of no consequence, as they expect that the ”Shadow Speaker of the House” will be Donald Trump!

Trump is the leader of the Republican Party, in everything but name! His word is law! The Republican Speaker of the House will ”dance to his tune”! The result is sure to be government gridlock!

Bear in mind that on January 3, 2023, a new Congress will be sworn in. On that day, the 117 Congress will be dissolved, while the new 118 Congress will be sworn in. That gives President Biden and the Democrats a brief ”grace period”. They would be well advised to ”use it wisely”!

In particular, the Treasury Secretary has warned that the American government will ”run out of money on December 15”. This is to say that on that date, the government will ”reach the debt ceiling”.

This business, that of ”hitting the debt ceiling”, has been going on for quite some time, so that the usual government response is to ”kick the can down the road”. This is to say that the House raises the debt ceiling slightly, so that the government can continue to operate for a short time, perhaps several months. Then they repeat the process.

Of course, the only reasonable thing to do is ”balance the budget”, as any citizen with any common sense can testify. That generally involves a combination of raising more revenue, and cutting expenses. Either that or bankruptcy!

As soon as the new Congress is sworn in, we can expect the Republicans to demand a ”balanced budget”. This could even happen before January 3, as the Congress currently in session is considered to be a ”lame duck”. It is entirely possible that they will choose to do nothing, even allowing the government to shut down on December 15. This is referred to as ”passing the buck” to the new Congress!

Trump has made it quite clear that there is absolutely no way that the members of his capitalist class, that of the billionaires, the bourgeoisie, are about to pay any higher taxes. They pay very little tax now, and that is too much! That leaves the ”common people”, the working class, the proletariat, as well as the middle class, the petty bourgeois. Yet as they have been ”bled white”, it is clear that raising taxes on them is out of the question. It is simply not possible to ”get blood out of a stone”!

The alternative is cutting expenses, and Trump is focused on the most obvious, that of Social Security and Medicare. These are the very programs that Biden is determined to protect! He is well aware that if he cuts those two social programs, his chances of being re-elected are negligible!

So on the one hand we have the President, who is terrified of an American bankruptcy. On the other hand, we have a former president who embraces bankruptcies! In fact, as one of his political opponents pointed out, his companies have declared bankruptcy on six occasions! The more Trump declares bankruptcy, the richer he becomes! He has a name for this! Smart!

Gridlock! The unstoppable projectile is about to meet the immovable object! The Republicans and Democrats are about to play a game of high stakes chicken! The Democrats are about to demand a raise to the national debt ceiling, while the Republicans are about to demand a ”balanced budget”, which will involve cutting social programs. At stake is the possible ”default of the American government on the national debt”! In other works, bankruptcy!

The fact of the matter is that, since the days of the Civil War, the capitalists have managed to rule the country through the two Party system. Republicans and Democrats. Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum. Both serve the same class. Today, that class of capitalists is referred to as the billionaires, technically referred to as the bourgeoisie.

It is also a fact that the class of billionaires are completely reactionary. The one and only thing they care about is their profit, their ”bottom line”. It is never enough. In their quest for ever greater wealth, they do not hesitate to impoverish countless millions of people.

Even though the two Party system has served the capitalists well, for so many years, such is no longer the case. This is referred to as a ”crisis in capitalism”. It means that the old method of rule is no longer working, and the ruling class of billionaires will have to change their method of rule.

Bear in mind that there is nothing new and strange in this. Under capitalism, there is a continuous war taking place, between the ruling class of capitalists, and the class of people they rule and exploit, the working class, the proletariat. This class war is frequently hidden, but occasionally it flares up, in open rebellion. This open rebellion is referred to as Revolution. We are on the eve of an open Revolution, due in no small part to the ”crisis in capitalism”.

We have the experience of various Revolutions, under capitalism, so that we know what to expect. We can learn from that experience, including the mistakes of our ancestors, or we can choose to repeat those mistakes.

The Revolution which most closely resembles our own, is that of the Russian Revolution. In fact, there were no less than three Revolutions in Russia, in the early twentieth century. This provides us with a wealth of Revolutionary experience.

The first Russian Revolution of 1905, was completely spontaneous. Of necessity, I might add, as the Social Democrats, as the Marxist of the day referred to themselves, had all been thrown in jail, and were either killed or exiled. Lenin had been exiled.

That did not stop the Revolution, which proves that Marxists do not cause Revolutions. They merely provide leadership to Revolutions.

As is well known, the 1905 Revolution raged for two years. The unions went on strike, so that the factories were shut down. The railroads also quit running. The common people rose up and stormed the prisons, so that the inmates were released. The peasants stormed the homes of the landlords. The pent up rage and frustration of countless working people was released!

For the first time in history, ”Soviets” made an appearance. These Soviets, or Councils as they are referred to in English, began to ”pop up” all over Russian, spontaneously, as a result of the Revolution. It is now clear that these Soviets are characteristic of Revolutions. They have currently made an appearance in America.

My point is that these popular uprisings happen, and on a regular basis. I refer to this as an Act of God. For those who do not believe in God, feel free to refer to it as an Act of a Higher Power.

The capitalist thought that this was terrible! They saw it as chaos and confusion! As the country was a monarchy, ruled by the Romanovs, the nobility was of the same opinion! They wanted nothing so much as to restore ”law and order”.

After two years, the Revolution died down, and reaction set in, as it always does, after an unsuccessful uprising. The capitalists were ”in their glory”. The trains were running once again, the factories were producing, and the capitalists were once again making money, which is about the only thing they really care about. Things returned to ”normal”.

Yet there had been a fundamental change, of which neither the nobility nor capitalists were aware. The common people, by whom I mean the workers and peasants, had just received a valuable lesson. They realized that the nobility and the capitalists were the enemy. Further, they were now veterans, experienced Revolutionaries.

It was several years before the Revolutionary motion picked up again. Yet ”pick up” it did, and this gave rise to the second Russian Revolution of the twentieth century, in February of 1917. This second Revolution was far stronger and finer than the Revolution of 1905. The Soviets took shape once again. They had been crushed in 1907, at the same time the 1905 Revolution had been crushed, but now reappeared, only more powerful than ever.

As is well known, the February Revolution of 1917 succeeded in overthrowing the Czar, commonly referred to as Nicholas the Bloody. The capitalists then established a democratic republic, with Kerensky at the head. This became known as the Kerensky Regime.

The abolition of the monarchy was a step in the right direction, but only a step. The common people of Russia, by whom I mean the workers and peasants, were still suffering terribly. The country was still at war with the Central Power, including Germany. The people were cold and hungry. The peasants were denied the land they were promised, the Constituent Assembly was ”delayed”, and the butchery of the war continued. Not a great deal had changed.

The point is that the first two Russian Revolutions were spontaneous, and the working people had reached the limit of their ability. They had risen up, in magnificent style, and overthrown the Romanovs, those whom had ruled over them for three hundred years! They could go no farther!

There is a reason for this. As Lenin pointed out in his article, What Is To Be Done? ”The history of all countries shows that the working class, exclusively by its own efforts, is able to develop only trade union consciousness”. This is to say that workers have learned that there is ”strength in numbers”, as is indeed the case. For that reason, the more advanced workers gravitate towards trade unions, among other organizations, such as sports clubs. They then lobby for higher wages, working and living conditions. Occasionally, they are able to secure a paltry reform, if only temporarily. Yet nothing of substance changes!

Lenin goes on to say that ”The theory of socialism, however, grew out of the philosophic, historical and economic theories that were elaborated by the educated representatives of the properties classes, the intellectuals. According to their social status, the founders of modern scientific socialism, Marx and Engels, themselves belonged to the bourgeois intelligentsia.”

This brings us to the ”theory of socialism”, which was ”elaborated” by the ”founders of scientific socialism, Marx and Engels”. It is clear that Lenin is careful to distinguish between the scientific socialism of Marx and Engels, and the ”utopian socialism” of those who think that socialism is merely a ”good idea”.

Perhaps it would be best to hear that which Marx had to say on the subject:

”And now as to myself, no credit is due to me for discovering the existence of classes in modern society, nor yet the struggle between them. Long before me, bourgeois historians had described the historical development of this class struggle, and bourgeois economists the economic anatomy of classes. What I did that was new was to prove: 1) that the existence of classes is only bound up with particular historical phases in the development of productions; 2) that the class struggle necessarily leads to the ”Dictatorship of the Proletariat; 3) that this Dictatorship itself only constitutes the transition to the abolition of all classes and to a classless society.” (italics by Lenin)

This is to say that Marx studied the class struggle under capitalism. He further proved that it necessarily led to the ”Dictatorship of the Proletariat”, which is to say scientific socialism, as only under scientific socialism do we have the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. This will in turn give rise to the ”abolition of all classes” and in due time, to a ”classless society”.

It is significant that a great many people on the ”Left”, including those who consider themselves to be Democratic Socialists, are of the opinion that socialism is a good idea, but simply not possible. They are mistaken. On the contrary, it is not only possible, it is bound to happen! That is a fundamental tenet of Marxism! It is just a matter of time before the working class rises up, overthrows the capitalists, and crushes them, under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat.

Yet working people are not aware of this! Through no fault of their own, I might add. The revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin are not taught in school! At least, not in public schools! Mind you, they may well be taught in ”Ivy League” Universities. They may be presented as ”radical heresies”, which have been ”proven to be fraudulent”. Or so they wish!

That in no way changes the fact that working people need leaders. It is up to those leaders to explain to the workers that the capitalists have to be overthrown and crushed, under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. This is to say that the working class has to be made aware of itself as a class, with its own class interests.

In other words, it is up to the leaders to explain to workers, the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin. That is the one and only way in which common people will learn, that at the time of the Revolution, it is necessary to overthrow the capitalists, and smash the existing state apparatus, that which has been used to crush the working people. It must be replaced by a new proletarian state apparatus, to be used to crush the ”desperate and determined resistance” of the capitalists, as they try to ”restore their paradise lost”.

This new state apparatus is referred to as the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. It is to be administered through the newly created Soviets, or Councils.

To return to Russia, immediately after the February Revolution of 1917. As mentioned previously, the working people had gone as far as they could. Without leaders, scientific socialists, to give them direction, they could go no farther. In other words, they needed Lenin!

Without going into detail, Lenin was able to return from exile, in April of 1917. Of course, the secret police of Kerensky were anxious to kill him, on the spot! They were unable to do so, due to the strength of the Soviets! Within a very short time, these Soviets had become a power to rival the Kerensky government!

As the Czar had been overthrown, Lenin determined that it was necessary to overthrow the government of the capitalists, referred to as the Kerensky Regime. With that in mind, he wrote one of his greatest master pieces, State and Revolution.

Later that same year, on October 25, old style calendar, or November 7, new style calendar, the working people rose up and overthrew the government of the capitalists, the Kerensky Regime. This has gone down in history as the Great October Soviet Socialist Revolution. The first Soviet Socialist Republic was established.

The following three years were anything but ”smooth sailing”. Yet ”against all the odds”, the first Soviet Socialist Republic managed to survive. That provided Lenin with Revolutionary experience, which he was able to summarize in his excellent article, Left Wing Communism, An Infantile Disorder. As it is of exceptional importance, I have decided to quote it at length:

”The fundamental law of Revolution, which has been confirmed by all revolutions and especially by all three Russian Revolutions of the Twentieth Century, is as follows: for a Revolution to take place, it is not enough for the exploited and oppressed masses to realize the impossibility of living in the old way, and demand changes; for a Revolution to take place, it is essential that the exploiters should not be able to live and rule in the old way. It is only when the ‘lower classes’ do not want to live in the old way and the ‘upper classes’ cannot carry on in the old way that the Revolution can triumph. This truth can be expressed in other words; Revolution is impossible without a nation wide crisis (affecting both the exploited and the exploiters). It follows that, for a Revolution to take place, it is essential, first, that a majority of the workers (or at least a majority of the class conscious, thinking and politically active workers) should fully realize that Revolution is necessary, and that they should be prepared to die for it; second, that the ruling classes should be going through a governmental crisis, which draws even the most backward masses into politics (symptomatic of any genuine Revolution is a rapid, tenfold or even hundredfold increase in the size of the working and oppressed masses -hitherto apathetic- who are capable of waging the political struggle) weakens the government, and makes it possible for the Revolutionaries to rapidly overthrow it.” (italics by Lenin)

This was written in 1920, three years after the Great October Socialist Revolution. It is clear that a Revolutionary situation currently exists in America, as the ”upper classes”, the billionaires, can no longer ”carry on in the old way”. They are going to have to change their method of rule. It is also clear that the ”lower classes”, the working people, ”realize the impossibility of living in the old way, and demand change”.

Further, a ”nation wide crisis” is imminent, as the country will soon face bankruptcy. Then too, Trump and his supporters may soon declare him to be president. As well, the country is set to break apart, into separate independent republics. As I have documented this in other writings, there is no need to repeat it here.

The only thing lacking is the fact that the majority of advanced workers are not aware that ”Revolution is necessary”! That has got to change!

At the time that Lenin wrote this article, he was of the opinion that, among the industrialized countries of the world, the ”most advanced strata of the Proletariat had embraced Soviet Power and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat”. Such is no longer the case.

That is not cause for ”doom and gloom” on our part. It just means that we ”have our work cut out for ourselves”. We have got to raise the level of awareness of the common people, by whom I mean the Proletariat and the lower strata of the middle class. We have got to bring their level of awareness to that of the working people of 1920. In that way, the country will truly be ready for Revolution.

The first thing we have to do is face certain facts, regardless of how unpleasant they may be. One fact is that there are a great many people who refer to themselves as Social Democrats, or a variation of those words. Yet none of them are endorsing the Revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin. Either they are not aware of those theories, which is unlikely, or they are deliberately remaining silent on the subject. So be it!

For that reason, we cannot count on those people to help raise the level of awareness of the working class. So we will have to accomplish that task, without them. The working class is going to have to raise their own level of awareness. There is no other way!

Most working people, especially the most advanced, have computers, and know how to use them. The most important revolutionary works are available on the Internet, or at least can be bought through the Internet. In my opinion, State and Revolution is absolutely essential. As well, Left Wing Communism, An Infantile Disorder, is also supremely relevant. A careful reading of those two articles of Lenin, will go a long way towards that persons Revolutionary development. The two other articles of Lenin, which I consider to be vital, are Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, and What Is To Be Done?

During the forth coming Revolution, working class leaders will emerge. Of that, there can be no doubt. Under capitalism, there are many people who have talent, but may not even be aware of the fact! As the Revolution rages, these people tend to ”rise to the surface”! To such people, I can only say, do not deny your talent! Capitalism has given rise to countless liars! The last thing we need is another liar! That position has been filled, to overflowing! We need Proletarian leaders! Be honest with yourself! ”To thine own self be true”! Do not be shy! Cultivate your talent! It will not blossom by itself!

In this article, I have focused on the federal elections, as so many working people are talking about this. In this way, it is hoped that their level of awareness will be raised.

The current situation is every bit as Revolutionary as it was in 1920. Perhaps even more Revolutionary, as the motion has now spread across North America, all of Europe and into Asia. As it is so much stronger and finer now, it is doubtful that the capitalists will be able to crush it through murder, intimidation and bribery, as happened in 1920.

At that time, Lenin foresaw a World Socialist Republic. The working people are doing their part. Now it is up to the most advanced workers to learn scientific socialism, which is Marxism. They can in turn carry that knowledge to the less advanced, so that all working people will be discussing Soviet Power and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. In this way, the vast majority of people will become true Revolutionaries.

We will know that we are being successful, raising the level of awareness of the working class, when the marches and demonstrations carry banners and posters which read:

Workers of the World, Unite!

Dictatorship of the Proletariat!

Soviet Power1

World Socialist Republic!