The 2020 US elections were held amidst a social, economic, and political crisis unparalleled in recent years. The Coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the intrinsic contradictions of the capitalist world order, brought about by the continuous implementation of neoliberal policies and funding of the US military-industrial complex. The health crisis has induced drastic mass layoffs and an unprecedented number of 13 million unemployed Americans. As working class Americans suffered, the corporate and financial oligarchy have found themselves wealthier than before the pandemic. From March to June this year, Amazon head honcho Jeff Bezos increased his net worth by $48 billion.
This crisis of capitalist society has thrusted millions of the working class into the struggle for social liberation.
The failure of American democracy is highlighted as the people of the US are made to choose between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, with Trump preparing to extend his term using whatever means necessary. The years of Trump’s presidency have been marked with extreme nationalism, systemic racism, misogyny, repression and authoritarianism. Fascist groups are cementing their presence in the US and will persist beyond the 2020 elections.
While Joe Biden is touted as the lesser evil, the working class Americans must recognize that there will be no significant reforms for the people under a Biden administration, and to simply accept him as the preferable option over Trump obscures class relations and ruling class interests in society. As a hardened Democrat, Biden has contributed to the preservation of the status quo.
The Democratic Party does not have the interests of the working class at heart, and to rely on it for systemic change would be fruitless. Democrats remain loyal to the interests of the capitalist oligarchy and will defend the capitalist system from threats of social unrest. Barack Obama, the previous Democrat president, has facilitated bailouts of corporations, safeguarded their profits during the 2008 financial crisis and continued warmongering in the Middle East with the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, Obama’s pivot to Asia intensified US military presence in the region.
As the hegemony of the United States is challenged by China, peoples of the world are propelled into a multipolar world where imperialist powers are vying for spheres of dominance. The US will continue to stake its claims in the Asia-Pacific, and neocolonial relations between the Philippines and the United States will not change under a Biden administration. The crisis of US imperialism will tighten the noose on the working class peoples not only in the US but also in its neocolonies such as the Philippines. War profiteering and neoliberalization will remain the priorities of the US government in its frantic attempt to salvage itself from the brink of collapse.
The political crisis in the US post-elections will not be resolved peacefully, and the worsening crisis of capitalism will continue to rouse the class consciousness of the toiling masses. Fascism is on the rise, and as long as the fundamental contradictions which have created monsters such as Trump and Duterte continue to exist, the emergence of far more sinister right-wing figures is not unthinkable.
The ILPS Philippines stands in solidarity with the peoples of the United States in their struggle against fascism, racism and misogyny. The contradictions of US imperialism amplify the need to advance the class struggle, to strengthen movements for social liberation in the Philippines, in the US and elsewhere in the world where exploitation and oppression occur. As capitalism is teetering over an abyss of economic freefall, the toiling masses of the world apprehend the necessity of transforming the entire system into one that is equitable and just.
Long live international solidarity!
Down with US imperialism!