Post by independent on Jul 13, 2024 14:35:38 GMT -8
Howie Hawkins wrote this article:
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As socialists, how should we approach the 2024 presidential election? The two major parties, ideologically capitalist to their cores, present us with a choice between a neoliberal corporate militarist and a neofascist criminal maniac.
As I write this (July 7), Democratic leaders and donors are fighting over whether to stick with Biden or replace him after his shockingly bad debate performance on June 27. Even if the physically and mentally declining Joe Biden is replaced by a younger, more vigorous candidate, he or she will still be a tribune for the neoliberal and imperialist policies of the Democratic Party and its big donors in the corporate power elite.
The answer to the question of who is the lesser evil is easy. The Democratic corporate centrist is the lesser evil to Trump, the wannabe rightwing dictator. But does that mean socialists should support the Democratic candidate to stop Trump?
I think Hal Draper had the right answer the lesser evil question in his 1967 essay “Who will be the lesser evil in 1968?” Looking at the cases of progressives who voted for the lesser evil conservative Von Hidenburg to stop the fascist Hitler in 1932 Germany or for the liberal cold warrior Johnson to defeat the conservative cold warrior Goldwater in 1964 America, Draper said, “The point is that it is the question which is a disaster, not the answer. In setups where the choice is between one capitalist politician and another, the defeat comes in accepting the limitation to this choice.”
As I write this (July 7), Democratic leaders and donors are fighting over whether to stick with Biden or replace him after his shockingly bad debate performance on June 27. Even if the physically and mentally declining Joe Biden is replaced by a younger, more vigorous candidate, he or she will still be a tribune for the neoliberal and imperialist policies of the Democratic Party and its big donors in the corporate power elite.
The answer to the question of who is the lesser evil is easy. The Democratic corporate centrist is the lesser evil to Trump, the wannabe rightwing dictator. But does that mean socialists should support the Democratic candidate to stop Trump?
I think Hal Draper had the right answer the lesser evil question in his 1967 essay “Who will be the lesser evil in 1968?” Looking at the cases of progressives who voted for the lesser evil conservative Von Hidenburg to stop the fascist Hitler in 1932 Germany or for the liberal cold warrior Johnson to defeat the conservative cold warrior Goldwater in 1964 America, Draper said, “The point is that it is the question which is a disaster, not the answer. In setups where the choice is between one capitalist politician and another, the defeat comes in accepting the limitation to this choice.”
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see link above for entire article
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