If we can do it, we can afford it. That’s clear once we understand the capacities of currency-issuing government. There is no financial barrier in our way. But what about the politics? Can we overcome the political forces we are up against?
The political barrier
The answer is probably “no” unless we overthrow capitalism.
This already seemed obvious to Marx and Engels in the nineteenth century. The blip of capitalist prosperity in the aftermath of World War 2 obscured this for a time.
It was clear then – and even more obvious now – that capitalists only granted those concessions out of fear of socialist revolution.
Lenin’s analysis of imperialism reinforced Marx and Engels’ conclusion. Imperialists attack any nation that hinders capitalist ownership and exploitation of resources. In this they are aided by compradors.
The history of the Soviet Union bears this out. Every gain was savagely attacked not only by the West but by opponents within the Soviet Union itself.
Sabotage, war, terrorism: imperialists stop at nothing to undo revolution and reimpose capitalism.
Current experience also bears this out. The U.S.-led West attacks any nation that strives for autonomy.
You don’t have to be socialist to meet with this treatment. Resist the West in any way and the criminality will be directed at you.
For centuries, Westerners have been the imperialists. Hopefully that is on the way out. But will the rising powers behave any differently?
Not if capitalism remains.
How long can the Chinese Communist Party keep their billionaires in check? Those billionaires will want capitalism. The fact China has billionaires at all is a failure.
How long before Russia’s compradors sell out the country? Russia’s “naïve” attempts to negotiate with the agreement-incapable U.S. are to appease compradors.
How long can religious inculcation keep Iranians caring for their fellow citizens? Longer than it did in the West?
For now these nations maintain cultures that differ from the West in ways that do offer hope. And we shouldn’t just assume the rising power will be as contemptible as the declining one.
But capitalism kills culture. It rewards base behavior and punishes good behavior. Not much will change while capitalism remains.
Even so, I do hope for a continued decline in Western power.
Both history and present experience say that Marx and Lenin were right: the obstacles to progress are political, not economic.
The need to overthrow capitalism
Believing revolution unnecessary gave Westerners false hope. From the moment the concessions of the postwar period were granted, capitalists schemed to undo them.
Today, those gains are mostly gone. And it’s only going to get worse as governments prioritize profits over people.
Marx explained why a system based on profit is a disaster.
If capitalist firms think the rate of profit is too low, they won’t invest. To pin our hopes on capitalists is to pin our hopes on a high rate of profit.
Government, of course, could invest instead. But they don’t want to do this. The whole point of capitalism is for capitalists to make profit, not for society to flourish.
So, governments focus on boosting the rate of profit.
This is hard, because the profit rate tends to fall. As capital accumulates, it takes an ever higher level of profit to maintain the same rate of profit.
It’s a simple equation: Profit Rate = Profit / Capital. The larger Capital becomes, the larger Profit needs to be to maintain the same Profit Rate.
There are two ways to boost the profit rate: wring more value from workers or allow capital to devalue. The first way expands Profit. The second way shrinks Capital.
The quickest way to boost the profit rate – but one capitalists resist – is to allow capital to devalue. If, in a financial crisis, the government simply left capitalists to go under, the value of accumulated capital would plummet, lifting the profit rate.
But capitalists, for obvious reasons, prefer government to bail them out, and currency-issuing governments can do this without limit.
The slow way to boost the profit rate is to intensify exploitation. That means attacking pay and conditions and removing what remains of the social safety net so that capitalists receive a higher fraction of the value workers create.
Since capitalists – and governments siding with capitalists – don’t want to take the first approach, they opt for the second. That means more misery for the rest of us.
Naivety takes more than one form
While it’s naïve to expect lasting progress without overturning capitalism, it’s equally naïve to hope capitalism will collapse of its own accord under the weight of the national “debt.”
Short of revolution, ecological calamity, or nuclear Armageddon, a currency-issuing government can maintain the capitalist class indefinitely.
Currency is created out of nothing. The currency issuer faces no revenue constraint in its own currency.
There are of course resource limits, and those are what we should always focus on.
But if we’re waiting for governments to “run out of” what they themselves issue at will, we’ll be waiting a long time.
Unless we stop them, governments can simply prop up capitalists through subsidies and outright corruption.
This solution won’t help us. In outlandish cases it won’t even entice production. But it will give capitalists a bigger claim on whatever is produced.
We lose, they win, even if in a negative-sum game.
Immediate prospects for revolution
Is revolution possible at this point?
It may be possible outside the West where populations see the imperialist realities.
Is it possible in the West?
It seems highly unlikely for the foreseeable future.
To overturn capitalism, we need huge numbers on our side and the support of military forces. If we had those two things, the capitalists might capitulate.
Revolutions can succeed with only small minorities taking an active role. But with the exception of CIA-manufactured “color revolutions” and regime changes, the sentiment of the inactive majority still matters.
The power of Western propaganda
While winning over military forces is a big ask, convincing Western populations might be the bigger mountain to climb.
The neoliberal era is often depicted as unpopular. In reality massive electoral majorities have supported neoliberal policies for the past fifty years.
Why is this? It is likely a mixture of intended and unintended consequences.
Some Westerners do benefit financially from imperialism. So, some of the explanation must be informed, albeit ignoble, self-interest.
At the same time, most Westerners would benefit from the overthrow of capitalism. These people may think their voting behavior is self-interested but are mistaken.
Some might see poetic justice in the second group’s predicament if its behavior wasn’t harming others.
It’s conceivable that capitalists believe less in capitalism than most of the electorate. Capitalists prize the system because it benefits them financially. But do they actually believe it’s a good system for anyone else?
More likely they fancy themselves “the sharp” and the rest of us “the mark.”
Of course, we shouldn’t forget there are those who oppose neoliberalism and even capitalism. They may be the minority, but their stance gives hope.
Elsewhere, too, there is less delusion. In nations resisting imperialism, people see the West’s ugly side every day. They don’t mistake the Western elite for “goodies.”
Overcoming the propaganda
Anyone who overcomes the West’s cradle-to-grave propaganda can help others overcome it.
Online dissemination of information is hard when the media suppresses truth and internet search engines only generate results for what the user knows to search for, but it is still an avenue to pursue.
Word of mouth and other grassroots efforts must be a big part of the answer.
Some people do largely overcome the propaganda, so it is clearly possible, even if it is often because of educational or other advantages not available to everyone.
Prospects for revolution may be stronger outside the imperial core
The potential for social progress is greater outside the West.
We can help by opposing our governments’ criminal interventions into other countries. We need to make these interventions as politically costly as possible.
At the moment, our role in the West may be secondary support rather than the primary vehicle for change. But it’s never certain where a breakthrough will occur until it does.
Either way, capitalism needs to go.
That does not mean neglecting immediate demands that help people now. It just means the larger goal needs to be the overthrow of capitalism.
