Rebellion in the USA
- By Heiko Khoo
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E-mail China.org.cn, December 14, 2014
U.S. democracy is a system of smoke and mirrors. On paper it appears to be democratic but in reality it offers the voters a choice of candidates from two parties - the Republican or Democratic parties, but both parties are backed by sections of the capitalist class. The working class, the overwhelming majority of society, has no political representation. The capitalists throw money at their favored candidates as an insurance policy to guarantee that political power remains in the hands of reliable agents of big business. But in addition to politics, the law, the judiciary and the policing system are all designed to serve the rich and powerful.
The class divisions between the workers and the capitalists have been sharply exacerbated in the years since 2007. That year, the falling rate of profit on investment exposed and unraveled all manner of financial and property related pyramid schemes, particularly the so-called sub-prime mortgage crisis. No longer did property automatically rise in price. Now millions of poor people who bought into the American property dream were thrown into economic despair. Rising unemployment combined with falling wages hit young people and the Afro-American population most severely. Not only do the working poor struggle to pay their rent and their mortgages but many millions who worked in previously well-paid professions also suffered a sharp fall in living standards.
Poverty used to be concentrated in urban centers but now has spread out and taken an even deeper root in suburban communities. In 2012, 16.5 million Americans lived below the poverty line in the suburbs and another 13.5 million in cities. Many took out mortgages to buy homes and aspired to climb the social ladder only to find that, as prices fell, they owe more than they own. Indeed, since 2007 the clock of economic wellbeing was reversed by nearly a decade. At the same time, the wealthiest one percent has continued to thrive as inequality rose throughout the Great Recession - a time when all were supposed to share the burden of cutbacks.
The election of President Obama was seen by tens of millions as a beacon of hope. In the 1960s the Civil Rights movement fought against racial segregation and for equality of opportunity for all. Dr Martin Luther King's most famous speech spoke of his dream of racial equality, something that the election of Obama seemed to bring to reality. However, the individual advance of one black man to president only offered change at a symbolic level. The mass of black voters hoped this would translate into a real battle against racial discrimination and inequality, but Obama's promise of change proved to be empty. So, it is worth recalling the warning given by Dr King before he was assassinated, those "who make this peaceful revolution impossible will make a violent revolution inevitable."
The writer is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://china.org.cn/opinion/heikokhoo.htm
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