Photo: UPS employees practice picketing in New York City in July 2023.Credit: Wyatt Sowers
There is a disconnect between “economic indicators” and the actual impact of the economy on workers. In a system based on labor exploitation, a “good” economy does not automatically mean better conditions for workers in an absolute or relative sense. Key economic statistics measure stability, not quality of life. This creates a discrepancy with the perception of an economy rooted in class interests.
Mainstream political debate asks questions that can only be answered in relative terms. The question “Is the economy good?” It can only be answered by asking, “For whom?” Compared to what? And what goals do you have in mind? For communists, the answer is that for the working class, the aim is to maximize their control over their products relative to the wealth they produce. In that respect, the economic situation is certainly not good.
According to March 2024 Census Bureau estimates, 21% of the workforce (more than 35.6 million people) find it “very difficult” to make ends meet each week. Nearly 144 million people, or 85% of all workers, had at least “some” difficulty meeting their weekly expenses. At least 22.7 million people do not have enough to eat each week, and 53 million people have felt depressed for “at least several days” in the past two weeks. 65% of people making $50,000 to $100,000 report living paycheck to paycheck. And this is true for his 75% of people whose income is less than her $50,000.
The average annual income for a family in the United States is about $71,000, but a recent Gallup poll found that families need at least $85,000 a year to survive. A recent poll found that only 15% of people earning less than $50,000 said they felt the economy was “better” and their personal finances were “better” than they were a year ago. Only 12% said they felt better. 25% and 16% of those with incomes between $50,000 and $100,000 said the same, respectively. So, from both a reality and perception perspective, a clear majority of workers feel that the economy is at best not improving, and a significant proportion report that the economy is getting worse. .
The challenges facing the working class require articulating a different paradigm for changing the balance of power in the economy, one that addresses the actual interests of the working class rather than the profit motives of the ruling class. Yes, and the entire economic discussion revolves around it. at present.
downward trend
A relentless focus on profit is at the core of capitalism. This obsession with profit is what drives the system. However, over the past few decades, profitability has been declining over time.
Credit: Michael Roberts Blog
Credit: Michael Roberts Blog
This trend reduces your desire to invest because each dollar you invest doesn’t add up to as much as you used to. Currently, “annual global investment is less than the investment needed to replace aging fixed assets.”
Credit: Michael Roberts Blog
Capitalists have sought to address this problem through policies known as “neoliberalism.” Specifically, the expansion of production in developing countries (globalization). An attack on public spending and progressive taxation (austerity). and a massive expansion of American military power to suppress those who refused to abide by imperial policies. None of this has stopped the downward trend, and the need for a shift in economic approach is increasingly colliding with elite self-interest. Specifically, profitability can only be increased by implementing policies that make workers dissatisfied with the current state of the economy.
Socialism is the future, build it now!
There is a certain amount of both human and material resources on earth. There are also certain needs and “wants.” Under socialism, resource mobilization serves first and foremost to ensure society’s basic needs: access to food, clothing, shelter, health care, education, and information. Socialism ensures that no one has to fear falling into poverty and being left hungry on the streets.
Various industrial sectors will be primarily focused on these fundamental tasks. These things don’t happen randomly and are often interrelated. Meeting these basic needs requires research on how to mobilize the necessary resources and how to determine potential conflicts. Additionally, there needs to be a process of managing beyond the basics of what is needed to mobilize resources for what is needed.
This is socialism, which combines the “highest heights” of the economy with new political rules and instruments to promote the rational use of human and material resources. A socialist economy would be run by democratic bodies that could set broad “national priorities” for the mobilization and deployment of resources. These include organizations specifically representing women and oppressed communities across the country. Organizations representing workers in the field integrate workers’ opinions into corporate management and guarantee workers control over investment, production, and distribution.
Society is already partially structured towards socialist transformation. “The top 1% of companies account for 80% of sales.” 48% of all U.S. employees work in companies with 100 or more employees, and just over 1 in 5 works in companies with 500 or more. For example, consider the 100 largest companies in the United States.
Walmart, Amazon, Costco, Kroger, Home Depot, Target, Lowe’s, Albertsons, Best Buy, TJX, Publix, GE, Boeing, DuPont, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Caterpillar, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell・International, Deere, Nike, General Dynamics, 3M, Pepsi, ADM, Tyson, CHS, Coke, Exxon, Chevron, Phillips 66, Valero Energy, Marathon, ETP, World Fuel Services, ConocoPhillips, Enterprise Products・Partners, Exelon, Plains GP, General Motors, Ford, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Dell, IBM, Intel, United Technologies, Cisco, HP, Meta, Cisco, Oracle, Tech Data, Berkshire Hathaway, UnitedHealth, Anthem, Humana, Cigna, McKesson, Amerisource Bargain, CVS Health, Cardinal Health, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Centene, HCA Healthcare, AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Charter Communications, JP Morgan, Fannie Mae, Bank of America, Wells・Fargo, Citigroup, Freedy Mac, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, American Express, TIAA, Capital One, Pfizer, Merck, Abbvie, State Farm, MetLife, Prudential, AIG, New York Life Insurance , Nationwide, Liberty Mutual, Allstate, Mass Mutual, Progressive, UPS, FedEx, Delta, American Airlines, United Continental Holdings, and Walt Disney.
If workers controlled only these enterprises (0.007% of all enterprises excluding the smallest), they would control the main means of investment, production, and distribution. In practice, therefore, the greatest obstacle to socialist change is the relatively small group of capitalists that dominate the economy.
from here to there
If we want to get from here to there, the most important challenge is for workers to build a political alternative around the need for fundamental change in the economy. Although many workers are often deeply dissatisfied with the current situation, confusion about what to do remains a major factor. Tens of millions of our fellow citizens will vote for one of two major parties that clearly have no answers to workers’ questions.
Tens of millions of others will remain at home with no hope that the election will bring about change. Even for many who know that big changes are needed, what to do and how to achieve it remains elusive. It is important to have a way to redirect the conversation in a way that dramatizes the flaws of capitalism and directly communicates how to overcome them.
This is why the PSL raised the slogan “Nationalize the Fortune 100” in its 2024 Vote Socialist election campaign. Not because it resembles socialism per se, but because it speaks to the U-turn we need in the direction of socialism. economy. How much can we do with more democratic central planning, and how much more can we do as long as the “economy” is nothing more than a collection of individual monopolies focused solely on profit? It is necessary to show that
The fact that such urgent emergency programs, while desperately needed, are likely not legally sustainable in the United States means that capitalism cannot be reformed, or at least workers can live with dignity. It speaks to the fact that it is not enough to bring about the changes needed. This reality reaffirms that the biggest obstacle standing in the way of workers is the capitalist state, or “government.” Only by revolutionizing and eradicating it can we chart a new course for ourselves and generations to come.