REVOLUTION 54

Why, although it was necessary to vote for Biden in 2020, voting for Biden would be terribly wrong in the upcoming election this year

[Audio transcript]

BOB AVAKIAN—REVOLUTION

Number Fifty-Four: Why, although it was necessary to vote for Biden in 2020, voting for Biden would be terribly wrong in the upcoming election this year.

The reason why voting for Biden this time would be terribly wrong is not just because of his actions in fully backing Israel in its genocidal slaughter of the Palestinian people. As horrendous as that is, crimes of this kind are repeatedly perpetrated by this system of capitalism-imperialism—they are built into and flow from the very nature of this system. And, except for the kind of extraordinary circumstances that existed in 2020, which I discussed in my previous message (number Fifty-Three), the monstrous nature of this system would be more than enough reason not to vote for any politician seeking to represent this system. But, again, as gone into in that previous message, there were particular reasons—exceptional circumstances—for why it was necessary and correct to vote for Biden in 2020. And there are the larger reasons why that would be terribly wrong now.

I spoke to this in my 2021 New Year’s Statement, A New Year, The Urgent Need For A Radically New World—For The Emancipation Of All Humanity (available in BA’s Collected Works at revcom.us):

The electoral defeat of the Trump/Pence regime only “buys some time”—both in relation to the imminent danger posed by the fascism this regime represents, and more fundamentally in terms of the potentially existential crisis humanity is increasingly facing as a consequence of being bound to the dynamics of this system of capitalism-imperialism. But, in essential terms, time is not on the side of the struggle for a better future for humanity. So the time there is must not be squandered...misspent on misdirected activity that only reinforces this system which perpetuates endless horrors for the masses of humanity and has brought things to the brink of very real catastrophe.

And:

Even as it is critically important that the voting in this [2020] election has resulted in a decisive defeat for the Trump/Pence regime and its attempts to more fully consolidate fascist rule, this must not be allowed to obscure this crucial truth: The polarization, between Democrats and Republicans, as expressed through the electoral process in this country, involves contention over how to uphold and pursue the interests of the capitalist-imperialist system and rule by the capitalist class. It does not represent the fundamental divisions in society and the world, nor the fundamental interests of the masses of people, in this country and in the world as a whole. Nor can the profound problems confronting humanity be solved—in fact, they can only get worse—within the confines of this murderously oppressive and exploitative system and the chaos and destruction it will continue to unleash on a massive scale, so long as it continues to dominate the world.

Here the point is clear: With regard to the particular juncture focused in the 2020 election—with its immediate danger of further fascist consolidation by Trump and the forces he represents—that particular juncture had passed, and a new defining situation had emerged after that election and with the failure of Trump’s attempted coup to remain in power after losing the election.

In the more than three years since that New Year’s Statement was made, I have continued to emphasize that time must not be wasted in seeking to solve the very real horrors with which humanity is confronted by remaining trapped within the confines and the dynamics of this system of capitalism-imperialism, which is the source of these horrors. Instead, with the defining contradictions of this system greatly intensifying, in the world as a whole and specifically within this country—including the kind of deep, antagonistic divisions within the ruling class of the country that have not been seen since the approach of the 1860s Civil War: this is a “rare time” when revolution to overthrow this whole system, yes right in this powerful capitalist-imperialist country, is not only urgently necessary but has become more possible—not certain, and certainly not easily achieved, but possible—and this “rare time” must not be squandered (wasted, thrown away) but must be actively seized on by everyone who truly aspires to and hungers for a fundamentally different, emancipating and uplifting way to live.

To concentrate here the essence of the matter: It was a correct and necessary tactical policy, in the particular immediate circumstances of 2020, to vote for Biden in that election, to prevent further fascist consolidation right then. But to repeat that now would turn what was a tactical necessity into a strategic debacle and defeat for the cause of revolution, which represents the only positive resolution of the profound and acute contradictions of this system. Time moves on, and conditions change. Voting in the election this time would not simply mean enacting once more the repeated ritual of voting for the “lesser evil” Democrats (or, in the case of some, actually voting for the “greater” evil, Trump, out of disgust with Biden and the Democrats). Arguing for voting in this election would in essence make a principle of getting drawn into the deadly trap of voting for this system (which is really what these elections represent). It would greatly reinforce the already powerful pull that—however much people become alienated from, and even rise up in resistance against, this system and the atrocities it continually perpetrates— they will never break out of the confines of this system, because every few years they will get drawn back into accepting the terms of this system, and “validating” its monstrous crimes, by taking part in its elections.

And, as a practical matter, voting for Biden this time is not at all a “guarantee” that Trump will be prevented from coming to power and fully implementing his truly horrific agenda. First of all, even if people who are disgusted with Biden “hold their nose” and vote for him, it is still possible that Trump could actually win the election. And if, as in 2020, Biden actually wins—not only the total popular vote but the Electoral College count—there is definitely no guarantee that Trump will recognize and accept this—in fact, he almost certainly will not do so, and he is likely to have even more determined support from the Republican Party and other key institutions in insisting that he is the “legitimate” winner, and acting on that. This time around, it is not at all hard to imagine that a Republican-dominated Congress would just declare Trump the winner, in any case—and also not hard to imagine that the fascist-dominated Supreme Court would rule that this is “legal.” Faced with that, either Biden and the Democrats would capitulate and allow Trump to take office, or they would refuse to do so and would instead seek to enforce the electoral victory that Biden actually achieved (but which Trump and those allied with him have refused to recognize). As I have pointed out in message Number Eleven:

This could lead to armed clashes between the opposing sections of the ruling class, which could even develop into large-scale military confrontation—a new kind of civil war.

In that situation, for everyone who is sickened by the atrocities constantly perpetrated by this system—and the “choices” it offers people, which involve no real positive choices at all—the urgent need would be to join with the revolutionary communists, who would be bringing out sharply the reality of what is happening, and why, and bringing alive the only positive solution to all this; acting, urgently and decisively, to change the whole alignment, the whole “polarization” in society—rapidly repolarizing things in a way that is increasingly favorable for revolution—winning masses of people, from every part of society, to break with this whole system and come over to the side of the revolution.

In summation: In fundamental and overall terms, there is no good solution to this within the confines of this system. And even in terms of preventing Trump from coming to power and consolidating fascist rule, voting for Biden is no guarantee of that. More than that, getting drawn into voting for Biden ties people to the system that has given rise to this fascism and prevents them from becoming part of forces for the revolution that is urgently needed—and which, with a force not just of thousands, but of millions, could have a real chance to carry through this revolution—defeating this fascism as part of overthrowing this whole monstrous system, which has given rise to this fascism, along with all the other hideous atrocities it continually perpetrates.

The essential conclusion is this: Becoming part of and working urgently for that revolution, now, is what is required in order to really meaningfully oppose both the deranged and dangerous fascism represented by Trump, and the very real horror represented by Genocide Joe Biden and the destructive violence he has wielded, and threatens, in asserting the depraved interests of this system. Actively working for this revolution is the only means to sweep away this system as a whole, which is the source of the very real madness and suffering all these politicians represent and seek to enforce, by truly monstrous means.