Democratic campaigns against working class consciousness

With the presidential race in the United States and the European elections, the various bourgeois factions in the state apparatus have developed a vast ideological campaign in defence of democracy and its institutions, "threatened" by the rise of populism.

The working class must not give in to the siren song of democracy

Such a campaign, designed to last a long time, represents a real danger for the working class: it could weaken the tendency that has existed within the working class for several decades to turn away from the electoral circus as it became increasingly clear to workers that voting does nothing to defend their living conditions, which are constantly under attack from the state and the bosses, and that the left defends and will always defend the interests of capitalism.

By exploiting the spontaneous rejection of populism, of its assumed xenophobia, of its openly authoritarian discourse – a rejection which exists in a large part of the working class - the bourgeois factions of the left or the right are trying to bring the workers back to the rotten terrain of democracy, through which the bourgeoisie imposes its dictatorship over the whole of society in the most underhand way. The speeches warning that "democracy is threatened" by populism have had a certain effect on people's minds, with a sharp rise in voter turnout in the European elections, particularly in France (first in the European elections, then in the parliamentary elections).

To follow the bourgeoisie on this terrain is to defend interests which are not those of the working class, to choose the defence of one bourgeois camp against another, whereas the only camp that the working class should choose is that of its autonomous struggle against capitalism in crisis and all its war-mongering. This warning is all the more necessary as political chaos and populism are set to become even more important, and with them the bourgeoisie's campaigns to defend its "democracy".

Chaos at work in the United States

Populism and its putrid ideology have long existed in the United States, and for decades the bourgeoisie has been able to prevent them from having too great an influence on the state apparatus. Today, their growing presence seems inexorable and attempts to stop it seem fruitless. Although the most responsible factions of the bourgeoisie are still working to curb its rise to power, as we have seen in France recently, even with Trump's defeat, populism is already and will continue to be a factor in weakening the United States, both within the state apparatus and American society, and internationally. For its part, the discredited Democratic camp, at the head of a state that has stepped up its attacks and was unable to quickly rule out the candidacy of a weakened Biden, is going into the elections with an undeniable handicap. We can therefore expect a merciless confrontation between the Democrats and the Republicans in the next American elections.

The electoral campaign is, in fact, already more violent than the previous one, not only in terms of rhetoric. The hostilities between the two camps have already been punctuated by nothing less than an assassination attempt on Trump. The fact that Trump has escaped this, with incredible self-assurance, makes him appear more powerful than ever, a situation he is sure to exploit to his advantage. And if, for a short time, he tried to play the "national reconciliation" card, adorning himself with the halo of a martyr, he very quickly abandoned it and returned to the posture of demolishing the opposing camp, without worrying about the consequences for the functioning of state institutions in the future. Moreover, a number of the obstacles to his new candidacy that the Democratic camp had put in place, particularly on the legal front, have recently been swept aside by a judicial system, part of which is clearly in Trump's pocket.

Trump's style, built on rhetoric, threats and violence, is nothing new, having already left its mark on previous election campaigns when the incumbent violently contested his defeat, notably by encouraging a mob of his fanatical supporters to storm the Capitol. A new defeat for the Republican camp could give rise to unrest on an even greater scale. In a country where the population is heavily armed, Trump's supporters, whipped into a frenzy for months and fed conspiracy theories, could embark on seditious adventures and spread chaos across the country. Trump's pledge to take revenge on state officials he considers his enemies, replacing 400,000 of them if elected, also augurs post-election unrest. On the other hand, if Trump wins, his policies, which are seen as dangerous to US capital and its imperialist interests, will be challenged within various state bodies such as the army and the secret services.

So the only certainty is that, whatever the outcome of the elections, tensions and chaos are bound to develop in the world's leading power, albeit in different forms and at a different pace depending on whether the Democrats or the Republicans win the next elections. Whatever happens, it will have catastrophic repercussions around the world. With Biden finally giving way to his vice-president Harris, the alternative between the Republicans and the Democrats is no alternative for the working class, which will have to resist this false choice in a very difficult context.

The prospect of a destabilised European Union

Tensions between the states of the European Union are growing, promising here as well the development of instability in the historic heartland of capitalism. The decomposition of capitalism is exacerbating the tendency for states to go it alone and is also at the root of the rise of populism. The factors of division are weighing ever more heavily.

The political upheavals in the United States are having an impact on the strategy of European states, which are facing an uncertain future with regard to America, particularly in the context of the war in Ukraine and a menacing Russia. The confrontation between the United States and China, at the heart of global imperialist issues, is exacerbating tensions within the European Union itself: between those countries, such as Poland, which clearly favour the Atlanticist option, and those, such as France, which wish to assert a degree of independence from the United States. Each country is faced with a series of conflicting interests with regard to China, both economic and imperialist.

Tensions have also increased since the start of the war in Ukraine. Even the "Franco-German couple", the driving force behind the European Union, has demonstrated its fragility. Germany, which had been dependent on Russian energy supplies, has suffered from the war on both economic and imperialist levels, with the weakening of its influence over the countries of Eastern Europe.

As the populist factions of the bourgeoisie gained increasing power at the head of governments, their irresponsible management of state affairs openly threatened the unity of the European Union.

Against the backdrop of war and crisis, tensions over the economy and the "common" budget, particularly the energy question (which is closely linked to the military question, especially as regards nuclear energy), have also increased. States are more and more tending to prioritise their own interests to the detriment of European unity.

Avefka (30/07/2024)