Introduction to the Journal

The Fight for a Socialist World Socialist Alternative Launches New Political Journal

Tom Crean

The massive interest in socialist ideas has radically changed the political landscape in the U.S. As part of the growth of the left, Socialist Alternative also grew significantly in recent years and achieved national prominence with the election of Kshama Sawant as the first openly socialist councilmember in Seattle in 2013. Our organization prides itself on the clarity of our analysis and program. But we also feel the need to step up our game. For this reason we are launching a political journal Socialist World, initially coming out three times a year.

How We Got Here

The economic crisis of 2008-9 opened up a new era in the U.S. and internationally. Capitalism was exposed as an increasingly parasitic system without any vision for the future. There was fury at the status quo which has not ended. Political institutions lost authority and mainstream parties in many countries have either disintegrated or come under intense pressure from the left and the right.

Beginning in 2011, the revolutionary “Arab Spring” developments occurred in North Africa and the Middle East. Workers in Southern Europe fought back ferociously against austerity policies that sought to put the cost of the crisis on the shoulders of ordinary people. But the crisis also demonstrated the inadequacy of the existing left and the leadership of the trade unions. Social democratic parties which had adopted neo-liberal policies were particularly exposed.

In the U.S., millions lost their jobs and homes. But initially there was no fightback as trade union leaders refused to do anything that would embarrass the Obama administration. The fightback began in January 2011 in Wisconsin with the revolt of public sector workers against the attacks of Governor Scott Walker. Then came Occupy, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ struggles and the emergence of a new women's movement. We are now seeing the beginnings of a new environmental movement internationally.

In recent years, polls have shown a massive increase in support for “socialism” especially among young people. This was especially reflected in Bernie Sanders historic 2016 campaign when he called for a “political revolution against the billionaire class.” But Trump's victory also showed the price we will pay for failing to build a political party based on the interests of working people and all the oppressed.

Now we are facing a new situation with a looming international economic downturn, new revolutionary upheavals in North Africa, the biggest strike wave in the U.S. in a generation and another Sanders presidential run. Millions want to fight back but to win requires leadership, a clear strategy, and learning the lessons of past victories and defeats. This is the political task that Socialist Alternative has set for itself.

The Battle of Ideas

What does building a Marxist political force mean in practice?

It means engaging in the living struggle as we have done in the teachers revolt and the recent Stop and Shop strike in New England. Since the historic strike by education workers in West Virginia that began in February 2018, we have seen a resurgence of strike activity and labor activism on a scale not seen in many years. But the redevelopment of a fighting labor movement is still in its early stages. On page 10, Erin Brightwell draws out the key lessons from the teachers’ revolt that can be used to spread the struggle into other sections of the working class.

Building a Marxist political force also means being prepared to seriously engage in the electoral field. As Rob Rooke explains in his response to Eric Blanc on Kautsky (page 27), we do not believe in the “parliamentary road to socialism” and the gradual reform of capitalism. But nor do we believe that every elected representative of working people will be immediately corrupted. The key is to be accountable to a working-class party with a clear program.

Elected twice as an open, independent socialist taking only the average wage, Kshama Sawant has shown what working-class leadership in looks like Seattle on issue after issue. Due to her and Socialist Alternative’s hard campaigning, Seattle was the first major city to win a $15 an hour minimum wage in 2014. In

2019, big business, led by Amazon, is prepared to spend millions to elect anybody but Kshama. For the working class nationally it is vital to defend this position. Visit KshamaSawant.org to see a more detailed platform and to get involved.

Building a Marxist political force means engaging in the developing battle of ideas on how to win serious, far reaching change. There is a hunger among hundreds of thousands of working people, young people especially, for a strategy to end massive inequality and the corporate domination of politics, address the developing climate catastrophe and root out racism and sexism in our society. On page 21, Eljeer Hawkins discusses the socialist view of the demand for reparations for slavery which is receiving a great deal of media attention and is being raised in the 2020 presidential race. Dana White also reviews the book Feminism for the 99% which attempts to counterpose a left alternative to pro-corporate feminism.

A huge space has opened up on the left with the growing popularity of socialism. This has been partially filled by Bernie Sand

ers and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as well as the Democratic Socialists of America. AOC and Sanders have put forward a bold program that can be the basis for serious social struggle but they also accept the framework of capitalism and the Democratic Party. Many understandably look to Bernie Sanders’ “democratic socialism.” We want Sanders to win in 2020 and we want to win the key pro-working-class demands he has championed. But to do this, as Ty Moore explains on p. 15, will require turning the campaign into the outlines of a new left party. As Marxists, fighting for a socialist world, our starting point is perspectives for the international economy, politics and workers struggles around the world. A major component of the world situation is the increasing tensions between the U.S. and China, analyzed by Vincent Kolo of our Chinese sister organization in the Committee for a Workers International (CWI) on page 4.