James Harris and Maura DeLuca are the Socialist Workers
Party candidates for President and Vice President.
If you have ever been
disheartened listening to the so-called debates between the democratic and
republican party politicians, you have excellent reasons for your
feelings. James Harris, the
Socialist Workers Party candidate for President, offers a real alternative to
the other candidates who offer nothing more than a continuation of the status
quo.
One piece of information that is
missing from these so-called debates is a critical view of the economic
political system known as capitalism.
When we look at the history of the laws that capitalism must follow, we
get a clear picture of the source of our problems.
The history of capitalism
The history of capitalism
Capitalism came about because
problems arose that the feudal societies of kings and queens could not deal
with. A new class emerged that
became dedicated to manufacturing commodities for a profit. This new political economic system
allowed technology to develop in ways that would have been impossible in the
feudal epoch.
However, even in the birth of
capitalism, the treatment of working people was abysmal. In Britain, people who had power forced
farmers off the land and into crowded factories where the conditions for men women
and children were horrendous.
During these same years, British authorities also controlled the
economies of India and China where tens of millions of people starved to death.
Today, capitalist politicians
follow a similar path. In the
United States there are about 40 million people who do not have enough food to
eat. While these conditions exist,
the government is spending hundreds of billions of dollars to go to war against
the people of Afghanistan, who are among the poorest in the world.
Capitalism also brought with it
something that was new and progressive.
This was the working class.
Workers organized and continue to organize to make improvements in our
condition. James Harris has argued
that the only things we have were won through struggle.
The labor movement improved
working conditions. The women’s
and civil rights movements forced people with power to mollify many
discriminatory practices. The
anti-war movement worked to end the genocidal war against the people of
Vietnam. Understanding this
reality means that improvements in our lives will not come about through
voting, but by engaging in mass struggle.
There is another aspect of
capitalism that explains the problems we face. Capitalism works, in a way, like a roller coaster. At times the economy goes up, but it
always goes down. The reason why
the economy deteriorates is because the percentage of profit on investment tends
to decline. This means that
capitalists need to invest more and more capital for a smaller and smaller rate
of profit.
The result of this state of
affairs is that capitalists are obsessed with selling more and more commodities
while they are also driven to cut costs.
Eventually the inevitable happens.
There are more commodities on the market than there are people willing
to purchase those commodities.
In other words, workers see our
jobs eliminated, not because of scarcity, but because of overproduction. The root cause of the economic crisis
of 2008 was not sub-prime housing loans.
The root cause of every economic crisis of the capitalist system is the
accumulated effect of successful business
practices.
The cruelty of capitalist politics
Understanding this reality, we
can see how the campaigns of the democrats and republicans are nothing more
than campaigns to continue the international war against workers and farmers.
Willard Mitt Romney argues that
he has created jobs for working people.
The facts are that working people actively worked to create every penny
of the financial assets that Romney has at his disposal. Capitalists need workers but workers do
not need capitalists.
The politics of Barrack Obama can
be classified as acts of cruelty that can only be supported by ardent defenders
of the capitalist system.
Obama had the authority to stop
the state of Georgia from executing Troy Davis, who was clearly innocent of the
charges he had been convicted of.
Obama decided to ignore all the evidence supporting Davis and allowed
the state of Georgia to carry out his execution.
Obama has set a record for the
most deportations of any President.
The federal government separated at least 5100 of these deportees fromtheir children who were born in this country. These children were placed in foster care and no effort was
made to reunite them with their families.
Obama’s health care bill will
charge some of the least affluent people in this country over $700 for fourth
rate health care insurance.
What a workers government might accomplish?
What a workers government might accomplish?
On the other hand, James Harris
supports the formation of a workers government in this country. Such a government would view the human
needs of people as more important than the profits of a tiny minority of the
population.
A workers government could make
rapid progress in eliminating poverty in the world. Ending the discrimination against Black people, Latinos, and
women would be a top priority. All
enterprises would, for the first time, make it a top priority to work in
harmony with the environment.
However, these are not the
primary attractions to a workers government. Human beings are different from animals because we can do
skilled work in a social environment.
In the system of capitalism, it is natural for workers to feel alienated
because we spend our lives at jobs so others will benefit.
With a genuinely representative
workers and farmers government, we will be able to see for the first time what
our real human potential is.
Problems that appeared to be unsolvable in the capitalist framework,
will be easily resolved. Humanity
won’t need to go to work to avoid homelessness, but to make this a better world
for everyone.
More information about the
presidential campaign of James Harris can be seen in the Militant newspaper
which can be viewed at: themilitant.comhttp://www.themilitant.com/index.shtml
