Now that President Donald Trump has seen fit to send the American military into the capital of Washington, D.C., the American capital is now ‘’in the headlines’’. The residents of that city are strongly protesting this ‘’hostile take over’’, demanding the proper return of their city to the residents. This has also given rise to a considerable amount of confusion.
In the interest of clarifying that confusion, I should mention that the capital of America, is named after the first president, George Washington. The same is true of a state in the Pacific Northwest, quite reasonably referred to as the State of Washington.
Strangely enough, the capital city of Washington is not referred to as a city, but as ‘’Washington, D.C.’’, in that D.C. is a reference to District of Columbia. This is to say that the capital is not based in a state, but in a ‘’District’’. For that matter, the capital is not classified as a city, but as a District.
To add to the confusion, the District of Columbia, or DC, as it is commonly referred to, is also frequently confused with the ‘’Washington metropolitan area’’, which includes parts of the neighbouring states of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.
Even though the population of DC is almost 700,000 people, which is more than that of several states, it does not have any representation in the Senate or House of Representatives. The only concession the federal government has made to DC, came in the form of the Twenty Third Amendment to the Constitution, in which the ‘’District of Columbia was allocated three Electors and treated like a State for the purposes of the Electoral College’’.
This in no way changes the fact that the residents of DC can best be described as ‘’second class citizens’’. They are not alone! There are numerous others!
In fact, America is ‘’in possession of fourteen separate overseas territories.’’ These include the five ‘’permanently inhabited territories of American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands’’, as well as ‘’eleven uninhabited US territories’’.
Individuals born in almost any ‘’inhabited territory’’, are American citizens by birth. The exception is that of American Samoa, in that individuals born in that territory are not American citizens by birth.
This in no way changes the fact that the people who live in these Districts and Territories, including American citizens, are little more than ‘’Colonials’’, or at best, ‘’Second Class Citizens’’.
Yet the ‘’mass movement’’, or more accurately the revolutionary motion, against Trump and his completely reactionary agenda, is gaining strength. Ever more members of the middle class, the petty bourgeois, are becoming politically active.
One of the latest groups to organize mass protests, is that of ‘’Indivisible’’. Their political platform, as displayed on the internet, proves that they are a fine, progressive organization. Those of us who are Scientific Socialists, Communists, can certainly work with them, as long as we are free to put forward our own Marxist agenda.
The following is their mission statement:
‘’What We Believe
‘’We believe in the humanity and equality of all people. Therefore, we oppose all the varied forms of hatred, racism, misogyny, bigotry, nationalism, anti-LGBTQ discrimination, and scapegoating that Republicans use to divide us against each other for partisan gain, personal greed, and special privileges for the elite.
‘’We believe that through people-power, positive social gains are forced up from below by “We the People” thinking globally and acting locally.
‘’We believe the climate-emergency is a national security threat that requires rethinking and revamping our entire economy through a Green New Deal.
‘’We believe health and medical care can, and must, be provided as a human right rather than a source of private profit.
‘’We believe in science, education, and tolerance. Advances in technology must be used to benefit all of humanity rather than just the wealthy and powerful. And that we must guard against weaponized- disinformation used to incite hatred or enable authoritarian surveillance, repression, and invasions of privacy.
‘’We believe that the right and ability to vote in free and fair elections is fundamental to our democracy. Because vast wealth is a source of political power which threatens our democracy, campaign finance reform is necessary to ensure that elected officials prioritize the interests of their constituents above those of big donors and corporate lobbyists.
‘’What We Do About It
‘’We understand that democracy is not a spectator sport, and that if we want to have government “Of the People, By the People, For the People” then We the People have to be involved in politics on a deeper and more sustained level than just casting our ballot every two years.
‘’● We educate ourselves and our community about the issues that directly affect our lives and we work to change our political culture into one that serves us all.
‘’● We build and support coalitions with like-minded organizations that share our values and our vision of a more just world.
‘’● We work to elect officials who will govern in the interests of everyone. Representatives who will put tolerance ahead of bigotry, and equal opportunity ahead of cronyism.
‘’● We monitor and hold our representatives accountable with regard to our issues, our beliefs, and extending democracy rather than limiting it. We encourage them to take bold, positive action by building public-awareness, meeting directly with them and their staffs, mobilizing constituents, and participating in their public events. We support them when they deserve it, and criticize them when they fail us.
‘’Because we understand that the global crises that threaten us won’t be solved in any single election, our goal is to build up-from-below political power and a progressive political culture that can continue carrying forward a mass movement for justice, equality, and democracy into the foreseeable future.
‘’And finally, we know and believe that a better world is not only possible, but necessary. If we stick together, and stick with it, we can, as a society, move forward rather than backward.’’
Allow me to stress the fact this is a fine, progressive, Leftist political platform, but certainly not Communist. Yet there can be no doubt that the members of this organization are well educated, middle class intellectuals. Equally without doubt, those same members are deeply concerned with the fact that Trump is determined to abolish the American democratic republic, and establish the rule of an Oligarchy. Not that they state this, in their political platform, but they have united in opposition to this reactionary policy, of Trump.
In my opinion, this is an indication that the class struggle is close to the ‘’decisive hour’’, the time when it breaks out into open warfare. The Communist Manifesto lets us know what to expect:
‘’Finally, in times when the class struggle nears the decisive hour, the process of dissolution going on within the ruling class, in fact within the whole range of old society, assumes such a violent, glaring character, that a small section of the ruling class cuts itself adrift, and joins the revolutionary class, the class that holds the future in its hands. Just as, therefore, at an earlier period, a section of the nobility went over to the bourgeoisie, so now a section of the bourgeoisie goes over to the proletariat, and in particular, a portion of the bourgeois ideologists, who have raised themselves to the level of comprehending theoretically the historical movement as a whole.’’
It is clear that all members of Indivisible, are progressive, well meaning, well educated, middle class intellectuals. It is also clear that we cannot expect all members of Indivisible, to embrace the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin, and become Scientific Socialists, true Communists. That is not about to happen! Yet as perhaps all of them have been to University, and been exposed to the distortion of those same revolutionary theories, it is reasonable to expect a few of them to examine those theories, from an honest perspective. In this way, they will manage to ‘’raise themselves to the level of comprehending theoretically the historical movement as a whole’’.
Allow me to stress the fact that the key word here is ‘’honest’’. Only those who are honest, with themselves, are capable of facing the fact that monopoly capitalism is in its ‘’death throes’’. The multi billionaires are now more dangerous than ever, lashing out in all directions.
As I have pointed out, in numerous previous articles, middle class intellectuals have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by joining the working class, the proletariat, in the forthcoming revolution. The ruling class of bourgeoisie must be overthrown, the existing state apparatus must be smashed, and replaced with a state of Scientific Socialism, in the form of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. That is a fundamental tenet of Marxism.
At that time, the residents of DC will be guaranteed the same rights as all other Americans. As well, the residents of such ‘’territories’’ as Puerto Rico and Guam, will be given full and complete independence.
In fact, the mission statement of Indivisible will be put into effect. The goals of this organization will be realized under Scientific Socialism. There is absolutely no chance of any of those goals being realized under capitalism.
At the same time, under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, there will be a desperate need of professional people. Those with skills in the fields of management and engineering will be in demand. They will be paid most handsomely.
By contrast, under monopoly capitalism, the multi billionaires will oppose any meaningful reforms. For that matter, they oppose all reforms, meaningful or not. They are determined to abolish the democratic republic, and establish the rule of an Oligarchy. At the same time, all businesses but five are ‘’Too Small To Succeed’’, so that tens of thousands of ‘’small businesses’’, including General Motors, are about to go bankrupt. Imperialism at its finest!
Feel free to take note, my middle class Brethren. The ruling class of multi billionaires, the bourgeoisie, have plans for you. This stands in stark contrast to that which we have planned, preferably with your help. Choose wisely.
With most fraternal Communist Greetings,
Gerald McIsaac
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 