Don’t Legitimise Picking Between Evils.

Mohammed Farhan

The US presidential elections are looming and once again the capitalist state apparatus seeks to preserve itself under the façade of democracy and choice.

American’s much like the British over the last year have been taught that revolutionary politics does not belong in the electoral system. Be it party bureaucracy, media monopoly or the power of capital in politics even moderately progressively political figures have been forcefully shut out.

As the socio-economic conditions of the US is getting worse from a mixture of declining hegemony, its reaction to the corona virus, a looming financial crisis, increasing wealth inequality, and the dissolution of workers rights the breeding grounds for revolutionary politics is higher now than at any other point in history.

Amongst such contentious times, the duopoly of the American electoral system has unashamedly offered us two neoconservatives. The only distinction being a slight deviation in social policy, their eagerness to destroy innocent lives in the middle east and the nature of their character.

Where an increasing amount of homeless people are freezing to death on the streets, working families are almost starving at home in the hope their unprotected jobs are not pulled out from underneath them or their local food bank is not overwhelmed by the influx of unemployment, the two potential leaders of the free world are pandering to identity politics and a meaningless measurement of personal character.

Amongst this circus progressives are told “settle for Biden”, they say choosing the lesser of two evils is better than not choosing at all. Though this statement comes from a place of good intent — it is the worst possible decision anyone who wants to see change can make.

By involving yourself in the electoral process which by its design forces out revolutionary politics time and time again in the face of crisis and opportunity for the working class, you have legitimised a form of governance that is inherently designed to insure the grounds for revolution are not only supressed but the form of governance that prioritises identity politics over real economic change is one that is credible and representative of the American citizen.

Even choosing to be apathetic is a more meaningful political praxis than voting for the lesser of two evils as large swathes of apathy will force the democratic party to realise they cannot win as the progressive wing of American politics unless they disarm their bureaucracy that forces real progressives like Bernie Sanders from the general election.

Between Joe Biden and Trump — Don’t vote. Don’t legitimise the system that exists to limit change in a time when change is needed more than ever.

“The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class shall represent and repress them in parliament” — Karl Marx