News & Analysis US PoliticsTheir “Harm Reduction” and OursThe term “harm reduction” has recently made its way into the lexicon of the left. This is because most of the left does not take a class approach to politics. Rather, they view politics from the framework set up by capitalist society. However, far from representing something new, it is merely the latest incarnation of that rotten mainstay of American politics—voting for the Democrats as the supposed “lesser evil.”As an example, when asked by the hosts of The View whether she would vote for Mike Bloomberg in a Bloomberg vs. Trump election, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez winced and said, “If that were the case, we are talking about harm reduction.” And in an interview for ABC, Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Joe Biden, saying, “For a lot of communities, this is an issue of life or death, we’ve had kids in cages, we’ve had a pandemic response that happened way too late, that has cost us lives, we have people that don’t have access to critical care that they need. I think it’s really important that we rally behind our Democratic nominee in November.”When asked by the hosts of The View whether she would vote for Mike Bloomberg in a Bloomberg vs. Trump election, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez winced and said, “If that were the case, we are talking about harm reduction.” / Photo: Ståle Grut; NRKbetaMarxists reject the worn-out argument that in order to fight against capitalism we should vote for capitalist politicians. This strategy has been tried for decades and the result is clear: the capitalist class still holds a monopoly of political power through its two parties, and the working class has no party of its own. Furthermore, while we agree with AOC that capitalism inflicts terrible harm on the working-class majority, we reject the idea that this harm should be merely “reduced.” Rather, the root of the problem—capitalism—must be eliminated altogether.As the crisis of capitalism grinds on and on, more and more workers and youth are coming to understand that harm is hard-baked into the system. In fact, both capitalist parties are responsible for the wars, the separation of children, and the disastrous state of the healthcare system. The difference between the parties is not one of content, but one of degree.As the second-in-command during Obama’s administration, Biden helped expand bombings, deported record numbers of immigrants, oversaw family separations, and saw the price of insulin rise by almost 300%. The margin between Trump’s evil and Biden’s evil is actually much smaller than the media—and much of the left—would have you believe.For Marxists there is a clear class line in society. By crossing that line—by, for example, supporting Joe Biden—any marginal short-term “harm reduction” can come only at the cost of even greater harm in the future. We might ask: where was the “harm reduction” in voting for Hillary Clinton? After all, it was disillusionment in Obama that led to Trump’s election in 2016—and despite the mess Trump finds himself in, history may repeat itself yet in 2020.As the second-in-command during Obama’s administration, Biden helped expand bombings, deported record numbers of immigrants, oversaw family separations, and saw the price of insulin rise by almost 300%. / Official White House Photo by Pete SouzaSince he took office, the Democratic Party has proven incapable of fighting Trump. For instance, the Women’s March after Trump’s inauguration showed the potential for a massive fight back. Organically, five million people took the streets to voice their anger. The Democratic leadership of that march was spooked by the record turnout, feared that the movement could get out of their hands, and quickly folded it up.Instead of taking the fight to Trump, they argued patience and said that the only hope was to vote in four years to get rid of him. Four years of living under Trump was preferable to unleashing a movement that could actually stop Trump in his tracks. Why is this? Because those same social forces would eventually be turned against the Democrats themselves. This is a perfect example of how, in the final analysis, both parties defend the same interests—the interests of the ruling class. We cannot rely on capitalist institutions to “reduce harm” to the working class or the environment.As another example, look at the many cities where the Democrats govern as a one-party state. From Los Angeles to Chicago to New York, the “lesser evil” presides over racist police murders, rampant poverty, and crumbling schools and infrastructure. For tens of millions of people, the Democrats are directly responsible for the oppression and exploitation they suffer on a daily basis.Millions of workers and young people are ready to fight—but the Democratic bigwigs and the labor leaders seek only to compromise with Trump and co. Just imagine if the leadership of the AFL-CIO used its colossal resources to mobilize its 13-million members in an all-out fight against Trump. In a matter of days, the workers could make this country ungovernable and he would be forced to resign. That would really reduce harm!Instead, the leadership of the unions have the outlook of working with the boss, politically and economically. / Official White House photo from Feb. 24, 2011 by Pete Souza. In it, from left are: General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt, President Obama, Chief of Staff Bill Daley, and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.Instead, the leadership of the unions have the outlook of working with the boss, politically and economically. In the workplace, the union tops sit down with the boss and try to find a way to work together. While cleverly posturing against the danger of “greater harm”—layoffs for example—the boss offers “reduced harm,” in the form of a pay freeze. The boss makes wonderful profits off of this arrangement, and the union leadership goes back to the rank and file and announces triumphantly that “harm has been reduced.”This policy is then transposed from contract negotiations into political action committees that are meant to find “common ground” with the Democratic representatives of big business in Washington. Every election cycle, the union leadership finds itself campaigning for the Democrats—the same party that Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and other billionaires donate millions to.It is high time for a change! Socialists cannot spend a second of our time corralling our comrades and coworkers into the dead end of the Democratic Party. We must tirelessly explain in every union, workplace, neighborhood, and campus that our class is strong enough to take on the capitalists and win.Consider what just one union, the electricians union, could do in Washington, DC if they moved decisively to exercise their power. These workers could literally cut power to the White House and to both the liberal and conservative media. Try attacking the working class without electricity! Venue and hospitality workers could paralyze any and all efforts by the two parties to hold their conventions. They could refuse to transport delegates or to turn on the lights in their convention halls. Hotel workers could refuse to accommodate their poisonous delegates.By showing the immense power of the mobilized working class in practice, these kinds of actions would go much farther in “reducing harm” than any number of elections. / Photo by Caelie FramptonBy showing the immense power of the mobilized working class in practice, these kinds of actions would go much farther in “reducing harm” than any number of elections. The union leadership would be warmly received if they called for measures such as these, and the ranks of unionized workers would expand dramatically.So just who are AOC’s comments aimed at? “Harm reduction” is not the kind of rhetoric one uses to convince voters who have already decided to vote for Biden instead of Trump. AOC’s exhortations are aimed at those radicalizing workers and youth who are fed up with lesser evilism, who are instinctually preparing to fight back, starting by rejecting both of the “options” on offer. Instead of nurturing this will to fight, AOC is objectively providing left cover for a capitalist politician and party. Her aim is to convince those moving to the left, many of whom are deeply disappointed by Bernie’s capitulation, that abstention or voting for a third-party candidate is the equivalent of “voting for Trump.”Instead of nurturing this will to fight, AOC is objectively providing left cover for a capitalist politician and party. / Image: Wikimedia CommonsThis kind of paternalistic shaming places the blame for a possible Trump victory in November on the left. But Marxists put the blame for Trump squarely where it belongs—on decades of Democratic Party betrayals and the seething anger of a growing section of the population against the establishment. No matter which representative of the capitalist class wins the next election, the workers will be the losers.In 2018, 68% of voters agreed that there needs to be a third party. We can only imagine that this number will grow higher after Sanders’s second capitulation. Bernie missed a golden opportunity to actively expose the DNC as a rigged game. He could have broken from the Democrats and launched a party of, by, and for the working class. Instead, he once again tried to play the role of “Pied Piper” into the fetid swamp of the Democrats.Millions are disappointed by this turn of events. But the working-class anger that fueled his energized campaign is still there. In fact, under the hammer blows of recent events, it’s actually growing. The workers are looking for a way out. It is the job of socialists to struggle shoulder to shoulder with the working class while fighting to build our own party, a party that can fight capitalism and end harm—not just “reduce” it—once and for all.Share This May 4, 2020