Gerard Cummings

Computer Science 312

Professor Wolf

March 29, 2004

Born to Radical

            State socialism has been unsuccessful. There were lots of negative aspects to it: a horrible human rights record; corrupt, power-hungry leaders; a dictatorial method of government; and shoddy goods made by outdated machinery.  However, workers were guaranteed jobs; housing was cheap; medical care, child care and education were free; month-long vacations could be had; and retired folks could have a pension without it being eaten up by inflation.  Now, in what used to be the Soviet Union, 167 million people live in poverty. A joke making the rounds in Russia now goes, "We thought the Communists were lying to us about socialism and capitalism.  It turns out they were only lying about socialism." [1]         

            We know that state socialism was a tragic mistake.  What system could be tried in its place, especially here in the U.S.?  Well, we should try radical political and economic democracy. It is our coworkers, neighbors and friends empowering each other on the local level.  We should abandon both the Democratic and Republican parties and instead organizing for alternative parties such as the Greens, the New Party and the Labor Party.  Candidates should first run for district city council, then citywide city council, state representative, congressperson and on up.            

            With those bits of assistance, the labor movement should be able to rebuild itself to the point where unions can buy out their corporations and elect workers' councils to run them.  In the meantime, the alternative party coalition should be devolving power to the local level.  On that level, civil society should already be restoring itself through neighborhood councils, Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and quite independent local organizations set up to empower residents. These organizations are empowering their constituents in the neighborhoods of the city where they are based, and some have a broader outreach.  Radical political and economic democracy would mean devolving political and fiscal power from the federal level to the local level, which has not already been seized by groups like this all over the country.

            Politically, it would be nice to see a multi-party democracy with as little of a central state apparatus left as possible.  Whenever and wherever possible, anybody who wants to should be able to vote on an issue or candidate by computer.  Economically, democracy can and should manifest itself into worker-owned and run enterprises, by tenant-owned and run housing developments, by workplace, housing, healthcare and consumer cooperatives, and by small businesses.  Then we would truly empower ourselves and have a radical political and economic democracy.

Reference:

Jane Addams, The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1972), 146.

[1] Addams, Jane