By Ülvi Gitaliyev

One of the greatest faults of humanity is its failure to adapt to new circumstances. After three years of living through a global pandemic, many still believe that society and the economy will back to “normal” once this pesky virus is gone. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, we are seeing the development of the conditions necessary for the climax of the class struggle, revolution .

The global capitalist system, with its hyper dependence on cheap foreign labour and short term investing sprees, had done a relatively good job in keeping the American proletariat content and subdued, but cracks were beginning to show even before the pandemic. At the sight of these cracks, most politicians simply passed the bucket. Slight adjustments were made, bandages were put on gaping holes and hopes placed on the fact the inevitable crash could be delayed just enough so that a less volatile alternative to the current system could be found. By volatile they mean how volatile the profit margins of the higher classes would be, not the oppression and suffering of the working class. Well now the chickens have come home to roost, faster than anyone expected.

Revolutionary and political theorist V.I.Lenin proposed three points necessary to reach a revolutionary situation. Firstly, the ruling classes, also known as the bourgeois, must be unable to maintain the current system of oppression. The pandemic has clearly demonstrated this point, as no matter how hard they try, the working class cannot bring society back to normal and in the current state of affairs, public dissatisfaction with the direction that the United States is heading is nearing an all time high. Secondly, the struggles of the working class must be more acute than usual. This point is also clearly demonstrated with rising prices in store shelves across the country and a labour shortage. Last but not least, the above two points must lead to the working class increasing their active participation in the class struggle to a new high. The last point is the hardest one to identify, since while there is an increased awareness of the importance of labour unions and collective bargaining among the working class, politically, we are still stuck with the same group of corrupt, spineless politicians in Congress.

For a revolutionary situation to develop it is just as necessary for the status quo constructed by the upper class to disintegrate due to its own incompetence as it is for the proletariat to gain class consciousness and unshackle itself from oppression. Today we are witnessing the whole house of cards built by the upper classes collapse and their inability to cope with the new reality is what will lead to the proletariat waking up from its decade’s long slumber and taking up the mantel of revolution once more. A successful revolution take both sides to “cooperate” for it succeed, incompetence is just as effective as industriousness in some cases.

So, while we have not achieved a revolutionary situation yet, the pre-conditions necessary have been brought about and or exacerbated by the pandemic. It would take great skill, effort and self-sacrifice on the part of any politician to reverse the current course towards a revolution and so far, no one in either Congress or the presidency has taken up that challenge in a serious manner.