The era of transition from one economic formation to another is a time of social reorganization, or social revolution. It is the time when the fight for reform takes on the characteristics of revolution. It is the moment when revolutionary activity evolves from skill to the level of an art.

In the process of transition, the unity of social form and economic content that make up a society is broken. The old, static social organization becomes incompatible with the mobile changing economic content, which was its foundation. In such periods the revolutionary movement traditionally becomes disoriented. We should examine this process in order to avoid the organizational destruction that has decimated the Left.

First, what is the problem? Since social organization has not changed, problems such as racism, class political independence or labor union problems appear to be unchanged. However, since the economic content of society is undergoing change they are not the same old problems even though they appear to be.

Let us take the African American question as an example. In the not too distant past African Americans were by law and custom second class citizens. The “No Colored Allowed” sign applied to the Black millionaire and pauper alike. Segregation, discrimination and poverty were entwined. In 1938, 98% of African Americans lived in poverty. They were not discriminated against because they were poor, but because they were African American. Things have changed in seventy years. Changes in the means of production resulting in changes in political forces opened the door to changes in the African American question.

With a female Black Secretary of State, scores of Black Generals, corporate CEO’S, Mayors and Congresspersons, it is clear that the Black bourgeoisie is thoroughly integrated into the general American bourgeoisie, African Americans no longer exist as a “People.” There is nothing in common to hold them together. Yet, the Black ghetto is as isolated, segregated and discriminated against today as a century ago. It appears that nothing has changed and we must fight the same old fight with the same old weapons.

There is still plenty of old fashioned racism to go around. In quantitative stages, the quality “poor” is replacing the quality “Black” in the new racism. The brunt of racism was directed against those who were Black and poor. Today, it is directed against those who are poor and Black. The new racism is not based on color and is not directed against the African Americans as a whole. Racism is not a scientific term. It is a political term. Therefore it changes with changing political circumstances.

Color and class are still intertwined. The old is never abruptly replaced by the new. It is a question of which plays the leading role under what conditions. In 1960 a poor Black was denied the use of a restroom because he was Black. In 2006 the same poor Black is denied the use of a restroom because he is poor. Very probably it was a Black security guard that denied him permission.

Class and race are two different, but interconnected motions and cannot be fought out as if it were a single entity. Economically, the modern working class is monolithic. It includes all those who live by the sale of their labor or intellectual power. The social reality is another question. The class is composed of various, sometimes, warring groups. In America, the manipulation of “race” within and against “class” has kept the world’s potentially most powerful working class impotent and subservient to its masters. The question in America is not class or race, but class and race. As with all other phenomena, the interpenetration and transformation of these contradictory sides demand that revolutionaries concretely study the concrete problem and learn to “walk on two legs.” That demands paying strict attention to both aspects.

The lesson is that during this period of change the revolutionaries must consciously strive to think dialectically. That dialectic is based on the stubborn hanging on of the old against the irresistible quantitative development of the new.

 

August.2006.Vol16.Ed5
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