One of the foundational principles of the University of the Poor is the importance of knowing your enemy. Entering the class struggle without a profound knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of your enemy is to guarantee defeat, if not actually ending up aiding the enemy.
Since World War II, the working class of the United States has been controlled and manipulated by the Democratic Party. This was possible due to the relative economic stability of global capital. During the recent several decades capitalist production has been thrown into a fundamental, structural crisis. The application of electronic technology to production, this labor-replacing technology, has rendered growing sections of the working class superfluous. Under these conditions the well-known Democratic Party “coalition” is collapsing. The Democratic Party has no solutions to the capitalist economic crisis because it is a ruling class party controlled by a powerful section of the capitalist class. It’s becoming clear that the fight by “progressives” to take over or move the Democratic Party to the left is not possible. The path forward lies in the organizing of the most impoverished sections of the working class as the foundation for a powerful, fighting, mass political party of the working class. This current electoral phase is the elementary stage of the class struggle for political power.
The danger around the growing strength of a right-wing populist Republican Party is quite real. However, we should note that the historical Marxist definition of a fascist government is the replacement of a capitalist “democracy” by an openly terrorist dictatorship of capital. Fascism is not simply cruel and oppressive policies. (See Georgi Dimitroff, “The United Front”) Furthermore, any move toward “fascism” today will be under significantly different economic and political conditions than in the 1920s and 30s.
A small but increasing section of the working class of all nationalities is beginning to support the Republicans. While a subset of Republican support comes from openly white supremacist and Christian nationalist elements, it’s also true that the Republican Party is gaining support by attacking the elites running the country and talking about the economic problems faced by a majority of people.
We know that no grouping within the capitalist class has a solution to the current crisis of capitalism. However, it is critical to understand how the different sections of the ruling class are moving to deal with the crisis. The Democratic leadership is trying to see how and if they can revitalize the Party. Some are considering organizing a new party to mislead our class, something that we must watch out for.
The Republicans are moving from a position of relative power. Trump and people like Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson are attempting to organize a “mass movement.” JD Vance, his billionaire supporters and his think tanks are the organized powerful core of the party. They seek to replace the deep state positions that for decades have been led by the section of capital aligned with the Council on Foreign Relations with their own cadre. Only by understanding the political conditions our class is facing can we be successful in organizing the most impoverished section of our class and eventually the entire working class.
In this issue of the University of the Poor Journal articles explore conditions our class is currently facing.
In this issue we hear from Tammy Rosing and Weber Anderson, fighters on the front lines of the National Union of the Homeless, writing about the landmark Supreme Court case Grants Pass vs. Johnson. Kate Kanelstein, Keith Bruner and Avery Book discuss the lessons of 25 years of organizing from the Vermont Workers Center. We showcase a compilation video from the 2024 Nonviolent Medicaid Army (NVMA) Week of Action made by the New York State Poor People’s Campaign Media Team featuring footage from NVMA leaders organizing the 25 million people cut from Medicaid since April 1, 2023. Elizabeth Blaney offers a profound comparison of the election process in Venezuela and the United States. Luis Rodriguez describes the objective movement of the poor and dispossessed in the United States. The UPoor China Think Tank releases a statement on the 75th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution. Two Southern leaders share a personal dispatch from inside the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. This issue also contains three important book reviews from UPoor members: Bruce Parry reviews Age of Revolutions by Fareed Zakaria, Tim Shenk and Noam Sandweiss-Back review Trash by Cedar Monroe (who is also a UPoor member). And John Keller reviews White Poverty by Bishop William Barber III.
— Lenny Brody and Nijmie Zakkiyyah Dzurinko
