Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

In the US and Britain, the left must create a mass politics

In the US and Britain, the left must create a mass politics

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ’S sharp rebuff to right-wing Democrats over why their party lost Congress seats and only scraped the presidency contains lessons for the British left.
Right-wing Democrats’ claim that the party’s left lost it votes to Donald Trump exposes the same fixation with obsolete conceptions of the “centre ground” that dominates right-wing Labour thinking. Politics is conceived of in a linear fashion in which the party closest to the middle wins.

That model is not applicable to an era of crisis, as Ocasio-Cortez points out. There is no evidence that endorsements from “moderate” Republicans such as former Ohio governor John Kasich helped the Democrats: in fact, in Ohio, Trump’s majority increased. By contrast, “every single candidate that co-sponsored Medicare for All in a swing district kept their seat. We also know that co-sponsoring the Green New Deal was not a sinker ...”

The known transfer of voters from Bernie Sanders to Trump illustrates the real Democrat weakness: being seen as the Establishment option. The Democrats clinched the presidency despite that, precisely because of the passion and anger of their left and the impact of mass movements such as Black Lives Matter on the political scene.

In the same vein, Labour surged despite its MPs in 2017 because of the grassroots organising of Momentum and a mass-rally campaign that made it look like the insurgent force in politics. And it sank in 2019 when the party’s obvious hostility to implementing the result of a UK-wide referendum allowed Boris Johnson to paint it as the Establishment.

So much is history. But the position and priorities of the left now must draw on it.

Causes championed by left-wing Democrats such as the $15-an-hour minimum wage and the Green New Deal remain popular, just as polls have consistently shown Labour’s bolder manifesto policies - its own Green New Deal, extending public ownership, kicking the privateers out of the NHS — to be popular too.

The Joe Biden administration is unlikely to move on them. It faces a Republican-controlled Senate that has the power to veto legislation. Even on foreign policy, where presidents have greater freedom of manoeuvre, Biden’s power is limited. He can rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change; he cannot force a Republican Senate to pass laws that would actually reduce emissions.

Real as these obstacles are, they will also be excuses. The right will push the left to accept that its causes are impossible under current circumstances and not to campaign on them; but it will be happy to do so, since it objects to most of these policies anyway.

The only way to advance the left agenda that people and planet desperately need is outside official political channels - through mass campaigning that places pressure on office-holders to act. In the US this has the added advantage that a militant left is more likely to win the two Georgia Senate run-offs next year, the party’s only hope of ending Republican control and being able to seriously legislate at all.

The circumstances here are different, but the conclusion must be the same.

Labour’s leadership will not press willingly for the radical changes we need: a zero-Covid strategy, as called for by the People’s Assembly; the nationalisation of stricken industries and investment in a green industrial revolution to protect and create jobs while meeting the climate-change challenge; an end to privatisation and outsourcing in our public services.

But the appetite for all this exists - and it can be won, if sufficient pressure is built up from below. Government U-turns over school reopening in the summer over exams, over evictions, over extending furlough, have been the result of public protest and trade-union organising. Not one has been a response to pressure from the official opposition.

The real opposition in this country is no longer parliamentary. It needs to develop strategies to force change despite that.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
×