The impact of today’s economic, social and moral crisis of capitalism on tens of millions poses the need for workers to break from the Democrats and Republicans and all other capitalist parties and build a labor party based on the unions that can organize all working people. Increasingly posed is the question of which class will rule.
Growing difficulties paying for basic necessities and uncertainty about the future has led more and more young workers to put off starting families. Fertility rates are at a record low. The cost of child care and health care are driving millions into debt. The depth of this crisis is reflected in rising opioid and gambling addiction. Furthermore, the U.S. rulers and their rivals worldwide are rearming in preparation for more wars.
These conditions — bred by the workings of capitalism — make replacing this decaying system with something better a necessity.
The road forward starts with building solidarity with union strike struggles, where workers are joining together to fight for better wages, conditions and schedules. Through these fights workers acquire organization and discipline and gain self-confidence and class consciousness.
Workers organizing our own political party has been a central question since the birth of the labor movement more than two centuries ago. Every step of the way, battles to protect workers, build unions or win political rights have come up against the employing class and its state power. The capitalist rulers utilize news media, cops, courts and their political parties against us. Their hirelings in the middle class teach that this setup is the best there can be, we should leave governing to them and try to get along in the dog-eat-dog struggle of each against all.
Contrary to their claims that workers are incapable of running society, what’s needed is a program that unites all those exploited and oppressed by the ruling capitalist families. And that rejects having to choose the lesser evil between the Democratic and Republican parties.
A labor party would chart a working-class foreign policy, independent of the U.S. imperialist rulers and their rapacious drive to exploit workers worldwide. Our best allies are fellow workers abroad. The best ally of Ukrainians fighting to defeat Moscow’s assault on their independence is the deepening anti-war sentiment of the working class in Russia. The strongest potential allies of Israeli toilers fighting Hamas’ pogroms are working people in Iran.
Along this road workers can build a working-class party to lead millions to take political power from the capitalist rulers into our own hands.
In 2024, the one way that you can support independent working-class political action is by endorsing Rachele Fruit, the Socialist Workers Party candidate for U.S. president. Win support for the SWP campaign and learn more about the party and its program.