Kwame Ture summarized it perfectly. "The Democratic Party has poor people and billionaires as members and it has the poor people convinced that everyone's interests in the party are the same!" Of course, his statement is ill-refutable. The Democratic Party is the home of the Rockafeller family and fast food workers. This is reality, yet the logic here is incomprehensible. The Rockafellers have spent the last century dominating working people all over the world through their diversified economic interests, so clearly, a fast food worker has nothing in common with them. Yet, this is such a common contradiction that very few people are even questioning it. And that's just one of the paradoxes operating today. The Rockafellers own controlling stock e.g. interest in Chevron, NBC (and all its affiliate networks), and Chase Manhattan Bank. They are a family that has been firmly entrenched in the capitalist class since its inception. There have been dozens of congress seats, governor spots, foundation chair persons, Ivy league university presidential positions, and other influential posts held by their family members for decades. They are a part of the select group of super rich that dominates world politics and economics. So, you may belong to the same political party that they do, but your roles within that party are very different. You simply cast a single ballot for a candidate they gave you in that party. They use the Democratic Party to chart and carry out their political/economic agenda internationally. I would characterize the relationship as one where your vote is simply a rubber stamp mechanism for their interests. They have concerns about oil access in the Middle East so they use their media outlets to paint Saddam Hussein as a monster. Many people are influenced by their propaganda around this and carry out their will by joining the military and/or supporting those who go, and fighting to overthrow the monster. This is all done without anyone making the connection between what working people are doing in relationship to what the Rockafellers are setting in motion.
There are many other examples of working people believing in concepts and acting in ways that go completely against their interests. White supremacy - the system of institutionalized discrimination against Africans, Indigenous people, etc., has historically been one of the most reliable tools for the ruling capitalist class to control the working masses. Due to their complete corruption of the educational systems in every part of the world, millions of school children have learned, and are learning, to see the world through the lenses of the people who exploit them. This is why the dominant educational approach today, whether you are talking about Europe, Africa, Asia, or the Americas, has a heavy focus on the contributions of Europe to world civilizations. Places like Africa and the Americas are completely left out. This is true even in educational centers on those continents. For example, people in the U.S. know nothing about the U.S. before 1492. They don't know who lived here e.g. what people. They don't know what happened to those people. They don't know what's happening to them now. This is why European militia members in Southeast Oregon can confidently claim (through complete ignorance) that the Pauite Indians, the original caretakers in that region, "lost their claim on this land." How did they lose it? Who took it from them? What was their authority to take it? To these questions there will be an oblivion. People don't know because the misinformation is intentional (remember, we gave the example of the Rockafeller's strategically placing themselves in positions to influence educational institutions. None of this is accidental). The result being a complete acceptance of the white supremacist concept of manifest destiny - meaning Europeans have the right to control all lands of all peoples. So, it was divine intervention to steal this land from the Indians. It was divine intervention to steal Africans and resources from Africa, etc. Those places and those people are better off because of manifest destiny. This thinking fuels the understanding of everyone today. Since we don't know what we accomplished and you don't know what we accomplished, the subconscious conclusion is we didn't accomplish anything. At least anything comparable to Europe. Then, on top of that, because we are dehumanized in the capitalist interpretation of our history, it is easy for the Rockafellers and others to depict us as criminals and less than human. This creates distrust and fear and prevents Europeans from being able to see how Africa is being exploited. It prevents Europeans, and everyone else in the U.S. from understanding that the system you live in is based on the devastation of Africa. Your car running is based on African resources. Your computer and cell phone is based on those resources. Your food is based on those resources. And, every time you eat, use that phone, or drive that car, you are giving an assist to the further subjugation of the people of Africa. This relationship is also ill-refutable, but the system is so well oiled that even most Africans in the U.S. are unaware of it. Therefore, the average European worker, who probably doesn't really know any African people, can be very easily dragged into the realm of dismissing the suffering of African people as a product of our own laziness, criminality, immorality, or lack of good decision making. This is the reason the very same Europeans who sympathize with the claims of the ranchers in Southeast Oregon, the farmers in rural America, the working classes in Europe, and White workers around the world, are the very same people who criminalize African people protesting on the streets against police terrorism. The point is the European working class and the African working class have much more in common with each other than they do with the Rockafellers and the capitalist ruling classes. And, those working class communities have much more in common with the Pauite Indigenous people than they do with the ruling classes.
Its important to understand that these problems are ideological. Although it should be fairly simple for working people to see the tricks being played against us, most people miss it because the capitalists have very effective methods that they have used for centuries to keep people ideologically confused. Its not an accident that they have been able to get workers to think they can find liberation in that Democratic Party. The capitalist class has worked overtime convincing all of us that our culture is capitalist culture. Our interests are capitalist interests. They have many of us believing that there is no other definition of our interests besides capitalist culture. You hear this all the time. Many Europeans will tell you that they envy African cultural expressions because it demonstrates the pride we have as a people and "all I have is Coca Cola. I don't have any cultural identity." Everyone has cultural identity. Your task is to discover it and define it in the interests of eradicating capitalist domination of your culture. African and Indigenous people are providing examples of how to do this, but its important to state again that European people, and everyone else who is confused about this, must understand that the trick is to force you to believe that capitalist culture and you are one and the same. If they convince you of this, then whatever they do, you will believe it is in your interests. "We invaded Iraq. We sent national guard troops into the inner city to squash the protests. We killed Qaddafi." You didn't do any of that unless you were the soldier they ordered to carry out the attack. So, why are you claiming responsibility for these anti-human actions? Wouldn't a better response be "the capitalist class invaded Iraq. It attacked the peaceful protesters fighting for justice and it assassinated Muammar Qaddafi to prevent African self-determination!" You can say that, whether you are African, European, Indigenous, Asian, etc.
We are in a war to win the hearts and minds of the masses of people on the planet. This war is at first an ideological war because the most potent weapon the capitalist class has is its ability to convince working people to work for its interests. As long as large numbers of working class people believe the capitalist class lie that they deserve to receive poverty wages, it will be very difficult to eliminate poverty wages. So, the battlefield right now is ideological. Work is being done in African, Indigenous, etc., communities to awaken our people to the need to stand up, organize, and fight against capitalist exploitation. That same work needs to start taking place in dominantly European communities to convince White working class people that we are not their enemies. In Europe, America, Australia, etc., whenever there are economic issues, there is a resurgence of white supremacist activity. We see this time and time again in history. White people have to start working with White people so that alternative ideas are placed out there that challenge this backward concept. Europeans should be organizing against the capitalist class, not African and Indigenous peoples. There appeared to be some tiny steps forward with this in the 1990s when the White right began attacking the state, which is the organizing vehicle of the capitalist class. We are not endorsing or advocating cowardly violence like the destruction of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, or the standoffs at Waco a few years before that, but they do illustrate examples where White working people are focused on the state and not terrorizing us. Now, we appear to be firmly back where we were in the 1960s where White people are organizing armed militias to intimidate African people in our own ghetto communities. Working class White people are responding to the ignorant and racist rants of complete numbskulls like Donald Trump. There is a greater need than ever for that legion of White working class organizers to commit to do work with your people.
There are many other divisive ideologies that must be confronted and organized against as well. The rampant homophobia being aimed at African communities, among others and the anti-women culture which is a historical part of capitalist culture and is embraced enthusiastically by many women e.g. "slut shaming", justifying rape culture, etc.
As long as working people permit ourselves to be pitted against one another by the whims of the people who are exploiting us, we will continue to be unwitting pawns in our own destruction. Here is a call for people to link up with organizations that have programs designed to study through the confusion generated by the ruling capitalist classes. These formations must be fortified to achieve full fighting strength so that we can effectively challenge the backward ideas dominating within our communities. Then, maybe we can build an internationally conscious working class movement that overtly acknowledges and rejects white supremacy, patriarchy, homophobia, and all forms of oppression that benefit the enemy. A movement that recognizes the value of labor based on the role and contribution labor plays in our daily lives. So, a person who pumps gasoline, or a food server, or a grocery clerk is seen, respected, and paid based on the value they provide to us everyday we interact with them. Once we can begin to see our way towards that sort of working class consciousness, I'm telling you as the stars will be in the sky tonight, victory will be on the horizon for us!
There are many other examples of working people believing in concepts and acting in ways that go completely against their interests. White supremacy - the system of institutionalized discrimination against Africans, Indigenous people, etc., has historically been one of the most reliable tools for the ruling capitalist class to control the working masses. Due to their complete corruption of the educational systems in every part of the world, millions of school children have learned, and are learning, to see the world through the lenses of the people who exploit them. This is why the dominant educational approach today, whether you are talking about Europe, Africa, Asia, or the Americas, has a heavy focus on the contributions of Europe to world civilizations. Places like Africa and the Americas are completely left out. This is true even in educational centers on those continents. For example, people in the U.S. know nothing about the U.S. before 1492. They don't know who lived here e.g. what people. They don't know what happened to those people. They don't know what's happening to them now. This is why European militia members in Southeast Oregon can confidently claim (through complete ignorance) that the Pauite Indians, the original caretakers in that region, "lost their claim on this land." How did they lose it? Who took it from them? What was their authority to take it? To these questions there will be an oblivion. People don't know because the misinformation is intentional (remember, we gave the example of the Rockafeller's strategically placing themselves in positions to influence educational institutions. None of this is accidental). The result being a complete acceptance of the white supremacist concept of manifest destiny - meaning Europeans have the right to control all lands of all peoples. So, it was divine intervention to steal this land from the Indians. It was divine intervention to steal Africans and resources from Africa, etc. Those places and those people are better off because of manifest destiny. This thinking fuels the understanding of everyone today. Since we don't know what we accomplished and you don't know what we accomplished, the subconscious conclusion is we didn't accomplish anything. At least anything comparable to Europe. Then, on top of that, because we are dehumanized in the capitalist interpretation of our history, it is easy for the Rockafellers and others to depict us as criminals and less than human. This creates distrust and fear and prevents Europeans from being able to see how Africa is being exploited. It prevents Europeans, and everyone else in the U.S. from understanding that the system you live in is based on the devastation of Africa. Your car running is based on African resources. Your computer and cell phone is based on those resources. Your food is based on those resources. And, every time you eat, use that phone, or drive that car, you are giving an assist to the further subjugation of the people of Africa. This relationship is also ill-refutable, but the system is so well oiled that even most Africans in the U.S. are unaware of it. Therefore, the average European worker, who probably doesn't really know any African people, can be very easily dragged into the realm of dismissing the suffering of African people as a product of our own laziness, criminality, immorality, or lack of good decision making. This is the reason the very same Europeans who sympathize with the claims of the ranchers in Southeast Oregon, the farmers in rural America, the working classes in Europe, and White workers around the world, are the very same people who criminalize African people protesting on the streets against police terrorism. The point is the European working class and the African working class have much more in common with each other than they do with the Rockafellers and the capitalist ruling classes. And, those working class communities have much more in common with the Pauite Indigenous people than they do with the ruling classes.
Its important to understand that these problems are ideological. Although it should be fairly simple for working people to see the tricks being played against us, most people miss it because the capitalists have very effective methods that they have used for centuries to keep people ideologically confused. Its not an accident that they have been able to get workers to think they can find liberation in that Democratic Party. The capitalist class has worked overtime convincing all of us that our culture is capitalist culture. Our interests are capitalist interests. They have many of us believing that there is no other definition of our interests besides capitalist culture. You hear this all the time. Many Europeans will tell you that they envy African cultural expressions because it demonstrates the pride we have as a people and "all I have is Coca Cola. I don't have any cultural identity." Everyone has cultural identity. Your task is to discover it and define it in the interests of eradicating capitalist domination of your culture. African and Indigenous people are providing examples of how to do this, but its important to state again that European people, and everyone else who is confused about this, must understand that the trick is to force you to believe that capitalist culture and you are one and the same. If they convince you of this, then whatever they do, you will believe it is in your interests. "We invaded Iraq. We sent national guard troops into the inner city to squash the protests. We killed Qaddafi." You didn't do any of that unless you were the soldier they ordered to carry out the attack. So, why are you claiming responsibility for these anti-human actions? Wouldn't a better response be "the capitalist class invaded Iraq. It attacked the peaceful protesters fighting for justice and it assassinated Muammar Qaddafi to prevent African self-determination!" You can say that, whether you are African, European, Indigenous, Asian, etc.
We are in a war to win the hearts and minds of the masses of people on the planet. This war is at first an ideological war because the most potent weapon the capitalist class has is its ability to convince working people to work for its interests. As long as large numbers of working class people believe the capitalist class lie that they deserve to receive poverty wages, it will be very difficult to eliminate poverty wages. So, the battlefield right now is ideological. Work is being done in African, Indigenous, etc., communities to awaken our people to the need to stand up, organize, and fight against capitalist exploitation. That same work needs to start taking place in dominantly European communities to convince White working class people that we are not their enemies. In Europe, America, Australia, etc., whenever there are economic issues, there is a resurgence of white supremacist activity. We see this time and time again in history. White people have to start working with White people so that alternative ideas are placed out there that challenge this backward concept. Europeans should be organizing against the capitalist class, not African and Indigenous peoples. There appeared to be some tiny steps forward with this in the 1990s when the White right began attacking the state, which is the organizing vehicle of the capitalist class. We are not endorsing or advocating cowardly violence like the destruction of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, or the standoffs at Waco a few years before that, but they do illustrate examples where White working people are focused on the state and not terrorizing us. Now, we appear to be firmly back where we were in the 1960s where White people are organizing armed militias to intimidate African people in our own ghetto communities. Working class White people are responding to the ignorant and racist rants of complete numbskulls like Donald Trump. There is a greater need than ever for that legion of White working class organizers to commit to do work with your people.
There are many other divisive ideologies that must be confronted and organized against as well. The rampant homophobia being aimed at African communities, among others and the anti-women culture which is a historical part of capitalist culture and is embraced enthusiastically by many women e.g. "slut shaming", justifying rape culture, etc.
As long as working people permit ourselves to be pitted against one another by the whims of the people who are exploiting us, we will continue to be unwitting pawns in our own destruction. Here is a call for people to link up with organizations that have programs designed to study through the confusion generated by the ruling capitalist classes. These formations must be fortified to achieve full fighting strength so that we can effectively challenge the backward ideas dominating within our communities. Then, maybe we can build an internationally conscious working class movement that overtly acknowledges and rejects white supremacy, patriarchy, homophobia, and all forms of oppression that benefit the enemy. A movement that recognizes the value of labor based on the role and contribution labor plays in our daily lives. So, a person who pumps gasoline, or a food server, or a grocery clerk is seen, respected, and paid based on the value they provide to us everyday we interact with them. Once we can begin to see our way towards that sort of working class consciousness, I'm telling you as the stars will be in the sky tonight, victory will be on the horizon for us!
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