It’s time to stop calling the DNC/GOP oligopoly “incompetent”
If you’ve spent any time reading the news, scrolling through opinion pieces or even hopping subreddit to subreddit in the USA, you’ll find no shortage of finger pointing and projection when it comes to the two dominant political parties in the States: the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee, also known as the Grand Old Party or GOP.
These debates, headlines and general rabble-rouser obscure and deny the realities of class relations that dominate what is more accurately considered an oligopoly. Both parties cater to different sectors of the same interest: corporations and what Marxists refer to as “the ruling class”.
“oligopoly — a state of limited competition, in which a market is shared by a small number of producers or sellers”
I’m going to try and stick to three main strings of thought, as this discussion in reality covers decades of rotations around the same center: capital interests. To cover and explain the oscillations of the ruling class elite since the industrial revolution might be better handled with the classics: Marx, Lenin, Mao being the theoretical base, Kwame, Cope, Parenti, Prashad and many others offering “expansion packs”, unique perspectives and updated frameworks for the modern day. Keep in mind that no one author has an 100% coherent or correct line of thinking, as Marxism is an iterative scientific approach to political economy. Dogma goes against our very principles, and each iteration of AES we will find ups and downs as we strive for optimization. The three subjects I want to cover in brief:
- Range of acceptable debate within the one party of capital
- How COVID appears to be shining a light on class contradictions
- What is to be done?
Setting Parameters
The DNC focuses primarily on more new-age and reformist industry: the green tech industry, artificial intelligence, alternative energy, social media and the like. They support a certain brand of “woke capitalism”, embracing identity politics as they become profitable (not a second before and years after they are necessary for progress) and shying away from discussions of class. The GOP, sticking to its conservative, openly reactionary nature, defends the interests of the more entrenched American interests: oil and fossil fuels being a primary one even as the boiling point of climate change grows nearer. The two come together to protect a variety of lesser talked about interests, primarily the MIC (Military Industrial Complex), big pharma, and land owning corporations. What is often on display and open for debate is a narrow sector of (often) inconsequential topics, at least as it relates to class interests.
“The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum — even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there’s free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate” — Noam Chomsky
Note: Chomsky offers Marxists seeds of inspiration, and although he fails to put forth any realistic solutions or future, and caved recently to bourgeoise parliamentarism by backing the Democratic Party, he still has some truly wonderful analysis of the American contemporary situation throughout his earlier years. Having been accepted by the academic sector as a leader of “leftist” thought (you should always be skeptical when this happens, as it often signifies an individuals lack of threat to power), he is also widely accessible. I’d suggest giving “Manufacturing Consent” a read, or better yet, picking up Michael Parenti’s “Inventing Reality”, which came out two years prior and covers a similar range of topics.
Topics such as wages, regulations, even abortion are tailored to obfuscate class realities. For example, wage debates never actually get to the root of the issue: socialized production of commodities and private accumulation of capital. Surplus value extraction is protected here, and the media effectively gives a sense of progress even as regression happens elsewhere: in the front page is a story of Starbucks unionization and wage increases, while the COVID-19 pandemic sees entrepreneurs and corporations alike lean into super-exploitative remote labor to offset any domestic concessions to the working class. Any citizen failing to look at policy through an international lens can come away feeling like the working class is making progress in a way that is in reality fleeting and not without compromise. The worst offenses of capitalism have been offshored to the Global South over the past fifty years, a fact that conveniently escapes conversation in news media.
Regulation debate is always spoken of in a purely band-aid fashion, and only when inequity and moral failures of profit driven decision making have reached a point where the general public is aware and angry about it. This allows for months, years, and decades of free reign. Regulations are reactive, not preventative. They serve to protect capital in the same way as other facets of the “two party” debate, and even so have to be bitterly fought for by a desperate and politically disenfranchised working class.
Abortion is a great example of an issue that the news media refuses to take a working class perspective on. The main debate sees the DNC hurling accusations of fascism and theocracy at the GOP (certainly deserved but often a self report), and the GOP cowers to its base of evangelicals and speaks of a vague “moral decay” as being the heart of America’s issues. Conservatives often lean into the idea that if America were just more openly Christian (hard to imagine if you are paying attention), the flow of metaphorical and sometimes literal blood would be quelled in the American working class. Meanwhile, anti-abortion laws most acutely affect the working class, who are most likely to seek an abortion without access to sex education and priced out of the more effective forms of contraceptives like IUDs and birth control pills. Routine spoilers like Cinema and Manchin with deep financial ties to industry, stand in the way of popular legislation and give the Democrats a scapegoat. As far as election cycles are concerned, the Democrats typically rely on two forms of boogeyman outside of these “rotating villains”: the far left (read: radical liberals) and the consistent fear mongering over the GOP and their perceived differences. This leads to something called the Ratchet Effect, where the window of political representation shifts right over time.
Through the prior examples I hope we can see how limited the range of debate really is, and start seeing the GOP and DNC divide as a split and battle over opposing bourgeoisie interests, with crumbs occasionally afforded to the working class out of necessity for survival. And this was just a discussion of domestic issues. Often ignored is the voting record and level of agreement on foreign affairs. The two parties are rarely in substantial opposition when it comes to protecting transnational capital interests and markets through imperialism and neocolonial advances. There is minor fridge opposition from the Squad, but if you pay close attention, they seem to balance their votes in obstructive fashion as well (more research is needed here).
Cracks at the Seams
The DNCs “woke capitalism” vs the GOPs more traditional capitalism are beginning to lose their luster for working class Americans. Wage stagnation at a federal level, the over indebtedness students are faced with to get a college education, and lack of well paying jobs across all major industries have left Americans questioning the reality versus the promises made by the major political parties. Particularly the DNC is under the microscope after major failures in 2021: a continuation of Trump’s border policies under a new name, a failure to deliver on a measly and already outdated $15 minimum wage, unnecessary focus on “bipartisanship” even after a pathetic coup attempt in 2020, and a COVID response amounting to “get back to work”. Stimulus discussions ended, rent moratorium ending, mask and test production both underwhelming and pricey due to a lack of regulation…the list goes on. It’s hard to imagine how Biden could have done any worse, and the task of the American left should be to draw attention first and foremost to who benefitted. We like to fall on a accusation of “incompetence” in leadership, but that is a surface level distraction from who benefitted from policy choices. COVID-19 has shown just how far the two capitalists cabals in Washington will go to protect the economy and stock markets. Even our leading organization for disease prevention has abandoned science and shortened the period of isolation for COVID-19 positive individuals from 10 to 5 days. Viral loads are still at high levels several days after this 5 day period. This was done specifically to keep the economy running. Combine this with the fact that testing has proven extremely difficult to find, and many vaccinated individuals are not even bothering to get tested with minor or asymptomatic cases, and you can see how the current case counts are likely to be a generous undershoot. The administration's insistence on personal responsibility and no federal response is a huge risk for the American public that largely appeals to corporations, who are finished with catering to public health and willing to force sick or long COVID citizens back to work to maintain profit levels.
All of this exposes capitalism as system fundamentally unable to deal with any crisis that runs contrary to profit. It’s a mistake to say that they are always intentional in their shortcomings, just that the system itself is not built to last under the pressure of viruses, climate change, or any other external pressures. Without continual commodity production and consumption, the integrity of life and relative comfort we are afforded in this country teters on the edge of a cliff. Is this a necessity of life? Do we really want to tie the very ability to live a comfortable life to the health of an economy that largely benefits a minority, while exporting misery abroad and requiring austerity at home? I, and a rising tide of other Americans would argue no.
A Way Out
In reality, there are solutions to our current crisis and the impending economic recession/depression, which will only serve to help capitalists increase their austere leverage on the working class through merges, state bail outs and consolidation of production. During these times of crisis, working class concessions are often repealed or replaced “for the greater good”, with the State and corporations asking individuals to tighten their belts. Meanwhile, as we saw in 2008, businesses receive generous loans and injections of capital. In a more recent example, PPP loans given out during the beginning of the pandemic were forgiven, leaving student loans and other debts on individuals to be ignored. As less competitive businesses are pushed from the market by bankruptcy and the economic downturn, capitalism trends towards monopoly in response.
Americans are now at a turning point, where we need to lean into historical examples of success via socialism. Ridding the economy of exploitation and wage labor, and organizing via centralized planning towards national goals (ex: climate change impact reduction) allows us a way out of an increasingly dark tunnel. When socialists say it is “socialism or barbarism”, we do not do so in an unnecessarily cynical or exaggeratory way. It is a necessity to move on from capitalism, which has overstayed its welcome in the historical development of the world. Only through a dictatorship of the proletariat, militant anti-imperialism and relentless class struggle will the world move forward into a new era of prosperity and harmony with the earth, as it always has in spite of overwhelming opposition by the moneyed class. As Lenin noted:
“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”
Our fundamental task is to be ready when days and years of inaction and seemingly frozen status quo melt into a rush of systematic changes that will either carry us into a new future or a reimagined present that is content to watch the world burn.
Thanks for reading and feel free to respond with honest criticism. As a Marxist, I strive to learn and grow in a principled fashion. I’ll respond to what I consider intellectually honest inquiries or criticisms.
