Article: The Death of Liberalism in the United States

The current economic and political crisis cannot be solved by the rotten "moderation" that liberals propose. The do-nothing Congress cannot fix the social crisis that now exists, except to continue to transfer wealth from working taxpayers to large banks. The byproduct of the bank bailouts and foreign wars is a now-tremendous U.S. debt. The working class will be made to pay for this debt if they do not adopt more radical forms of fighting back.

Indeed, demanding that our economic system "work for Main Street" implies a radical break from liberalism. The logical outcome of such a demand -- if liberals ever chose to pursue it -- is the realization that the power of the corporations needs to be smashed, something that cannot be done within the corporate-owned two-party system. The working class needs to organize itself independently to fight back against the corporations, who've been waging a one-sided class war for over the last thirty years.

Only a bold, independent working class movement can give inspiration to the majority of people longing for a political solution to the current social crisis. Americans need real economic answers to the situation -- taxing the rich, taking over mega-corporations, ending the current multiple wars, etc. -- so that the fake solutions offered by the right-wing -- race, religion, patriotism -- do not act as a magnet to a disgruntled populace.

Liberalism in the U.S. is already dead for all intents and purposes, but not everyone has recognized it, or acted upon it. Nevertheless, the first steps in achieving political independence -- which amounts to breaking completely with the Democratic Party -- have begun.

This is because large numbers of working people have begun to think and act for themselves. Millions of people are finding it impossible to live as they've lived before, with their interests subordinated to those of the employers, the banks, the wealthy in general, and the government that serves exclusively the interests of these groups at the expense of everybody else.

One example of independent actions being taken by working people is the campaign within the labor movement to have the AFL-CIO and the Change to Win union federations call for a mass mobilization in Washington, DC and on the West Coast in the spring to demand the Obama government deliver JOBS, PEACE and JUSTICE for all working people in the U.S. (http://www.wercampaign.org) Another example is the teacher unions, students, and staff unions coming together to organize the March 4th day of action and strikes to save public education in the state of California. These are examples of a great new beginning.

Shamus Cooke is a social service worker, trade unionist, and writer for Workers Action (www.workerscompass.org). He can be reached at shamuscook@yahoo.com

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