Permanent Counter-Revolution

In Newton’s universe, every action precipitates an opposite but equal reaction. History isn’t governed by Newton’s law. Trotsky’s Permanent Revolution, the need to continuously press the revolution forward, to refuse to stand still and mark time lest the bourgeoisie regain their strength and punish our hesitation, has triggered a more than equal pre-emptive Permanent Counter-Revolution for about a century, with the counter-revolution gaining force for the past few decades. The bourgeoisie’s constant assault upon the working-class, refusing to allow us any reprieve to organize ourselves and fight back can be seen in their exact reversal of our program for dealing with the Covid-19 crisis. We called for the opening of FEMA stockpiles for distribution and utilization by councils of medical workers, what we are seeing today is the exact opposite. There are two facts to establish.

There have been multiple hospital reports of the federal government seizing shipments of life-saving PPE and ventilators and taking them to who knows where. We know where.

Several short weeks ago, ex-GOP fundraiser Mike Gula created a new company Blue Flame Medical which claims to be “the largest global network of COVID-19 medical suppliers providing healthcare logistics and hard to find medical supplies to beat the outbreak.” We do not wonder where these ‘hard to find’ medical supplies came from. When asked point blank about it Gula said “I have relationships with a lot of people.” and his partner, John Thomas said similarly regarding their access to supply “it’s just relationship-based. I can’t say anything else.”

Rather than subordinating production to meeting and expanding human need, capitalism has subordinated human need to generate scarcity, with scarcity being the first and last refuge of capital. Rather than seizing supplies from FEMA to distribute on a need based basis, supplies are being seized from hospitals to be re-sold to them or re-directed to political allies.

Where does that leave the rest of our program?

The suspension of all consumer debt turns in to the crushing weight of medical debt forever hounding the survivors of this global pandemic.

The construction of functional institutions of public health turns in to the ravaging of these institutions as doctors and nurses are haphazardly exposed to the virus and overworked to the point of exhaustion.

The absorption of unemployed workers in order to shorten the length of the working day turns in to the liquidation of the unemployed workers, either in to prisoners or corpses. With the massive weight of this reserve army serving as an immense drain on wages for the rest of the class.

The demand for no evictions or foreclosures turns in to the massive expansion of homeless camps on the outskirts and slums of towns.

The bourgeoisie started enacting their program well over 26 days ago, are we prepared to begin building our own movement now?