To End Racism and Police Brutality, End Capitalism! [View all]

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-- by John Peterson

(Snip)

"The racism of the police is therefore not merely an ideological construction, the result of “bad people,” “bad will,” or “bad ideas.” Rather, it reflects a deeper objective reality. Social being determines social consciousness. Scarcity leads to a struggle over limited resources. Those who have the bulk of the wealth are in a minority, and must therefore hire a force able and willing to unleash devastating viciousness against the majority in order to “keep them in line.” But sheer violence is not sufficient. Other, far more subtle means must also be employed. The development of a system of skin-color-based discrimination during the rise of capitalism and the revival of chattel slavery became an indispensable weapon in the “divide and rule” arsenal of the capitalists. By getting the exploited and oppressed to fight each other over scraps, attention can be drawn away from the real relations of wealth and power in society."

(Snip)

"It is the structural racism of the capitalist system that leads to a racist outlook and ideology—not the other way around. There's no question that there is a heavily racist component in the targeting, degree, and frequency of police brutality. Marxists do not reduce this or any other complex social phenomenon “only” and mechanically to class. But in the final analysis, if there were no classes, there would be no need for police, and without police, no police brutality. Only in a society of superabundance, in which there is no scarcity, and therefore nothing life and death to fight over, will people's prejudices begin to melt away. This is why Marxists continually explain that there is no lasting antidote to the venom of racism within the limits of capitalism, which has tailored and compartmentalized this society to benefit the rule of the bourgeoisie."

(Snip)

"The scandalous decisions not to indict the police involved in murdering Mike Brown and Eric Garner have brought people out on the streets in a way we haven't seen in the US quite some time. For many people, the realization that there is persistent racial, gender and other forms of discrimination, and that this is a systemic component of capitalism, is an important first step towards arriving at a more fully developed class consciousness."

(Snip)

"So while the US Marxists have participated in dozens of these protests, spoken at several, and even organized a handful, our primary task at the present time is to "patiently explain" and to connect with those seeking an explanation and longer-term perspective for how we can collectively change the system once and for all. Without serious organization and a clear set of demands linked to the broader issues facing the working class and youth—such as jobs, higher wages, indebtedness, healthcare, and education—the movement will inevitably tend to dissipate. However, all of these problems will remain, which will only generate more and even larger movements in the future."


Full article at link....


http://www.marxist.com/to-end-racism-and-police-brutality-end-capitalism.htm