SEATTLE, USA June 23— Recently a Boeing friend talked to some rank-and-file socialists he knew. They were crestfallen about the repeal of Seattle’s new “head tax” on big corporations. Our friend had a different view. “I’m not so sure I’d like being hung with a new rope,” he told them.
The head tax was passed by the City Council and signed by the mayor less than a month ago. It required big corporations like Amazon to pay a pittance to the city for each of their employees. The money, about $45 million in total, would go towards relieving the homeless crisis in Seattle caused by skyrocketing mortgages and rents. Even the socialists admit this is chickenfeed and won’t make a dent.
No sooner had the measure passed than big business mounted a campaign to repeal it. The bosses’ media flooded the area with visions of catastrophe if something wasn’t done to right this “injustice.” The mayor and a clear majority of the city council caved, repealing the tax within 24 hours.
Since then, capitalist propaganda has intensified. Daily editorials and columns urge us workers to accept the rules of capitalism. Any attempt to push past the limits of this system, they say, is foolhardy if not insane.
Another Boeing worker argued that we should understand how the law works. Local attempts to rein in capitalism fail because corporations can legally move elsewhere. We must push reform on a national level.
“That’s BS!” responded a Red Flag distributer. “This isn’t about laws. This is about who has power in this system and who will have power in communism.”
“That’s why we need a revolution!” added a comrade.
But not just any kind of revolution. We need a communist revolution.
Reformist Strategy Left Confusion, Cynicism in Its Wake
This head-tax fiasco has confused large numbers of people who are looking for alternatives to capitalism. Many are outright cynical.
A former socialist mayoral candidate posted on social media how disappointed she is. After “sacrificing” and traveling all around the nation, she feels like we are not making any progress. Her advice: “Stay strong.”
In other words, continue to follow the path of reform that has failed and failed again.
Even those who are angry have no clear path forward. They have been trained to fight for reforms and are stuck. Fighting for reforms can’t create enthusiasm for communism. It must be rejected.
Communism: The Way Forward
A revolutionary strategy must focus on our goal: communism. In communism, housing will be provided by our collective labor.
After the revolution, we can start by seizing Amazon CEO Bezos’ five giant mansions and thousands of acres in the U.S. We can put them to good use housing the homeless. The mobilized masses will eliminate segregation along with homelessness.
In communism, nobody will pay rent. There will be no mortgages to pay off. No banks and developers to profit off our need for shelter. And no corporations. There is no way we can reform capitalism to do that!
The nature of capitalist reform has become clearer to tens of thousands in Seattle and millions worldwide. That’s why our friend who talked to the socialists concluded, “Reform under capitalism is like being hung with a new rope.”
The bosses’ propaganda machine tells us that even if this is true, there is no alternative. But there is! You can join the ICWP and mobilize directly for communism.
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