By Richard Mellor in the USA
(Afscme Local 444, retired)
The Huffington Post reported that Les Wexner, the Ohio billionaire who owns what Forbes describes as a “global real estate empire that includes Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works” and is worth some $4.7 billion, is done with the Republican Party.
In 2015, Wexner handed over $500,000 to the Jeb Bush campaign for president but like most of the top capitalists in the US, having two parties to choose from, they often donate to both to ensure one of their candidates gets in. Wexner also donated $2.8 million to “With Honour” a super PAC that doles out cash to candidates of both capitalist parties. What a deal, you can’t lose – until now. The title of the super-PAC is confirmation that the old adage that there is honour among thieves is spot on.
As this blog has pointed out many times, the US is in a severe political crisis as the two parties that have dominated US society for a hundred and fifty years or so are in turmoil and in danger of splitting. Putting it bluntly, the era of the domination or dictatorship of the two parties of capital is coming to an ignominious end.
“I’m no longer a Republican”, Wexner announced to the legislators of both parties that are supposed to represent his interests, and that he “won’t support this nonsense in the Republican Party” anymore. The nonsense he’s referring to is the Predator-in-Chief Donald Trump and his administration, as well as the right wing evangelicals who have infiltrated the party.
The more strategic sections of the US capitalist class are extremely worried that Trump is undermining the institutions of capitalism to the point where civil unrest will emerge sooner than later. The problem with Trump is that he does not abide by the “Honour Among Thieves” rule. He is a traitor to his class in that sense and threatens the relative equilibrium and social cohesion necessary for profit-taking to continue unabated.
The capitalist class uses racism as a useful divide and rule strategy and need to keep a healthy tension around that issue in society. They need it to prevent working people from banding together against them, after all, most workers recognize that we all have very much the same interests and when our interests are threatened there is a natural tendency for us to seek class allies, to unite. The capitalist class do not want racism to break out in to open race warfare, because history has taught them that this can be very expensive, destructive and unprofitable. They are forced to use racism to defend themselves against the more populous working class but they need to control it.
Trade war will invite retaliation
Trump’s trade war and his international behaviour is also a threat. The US capitalists are very well aware of what the Smoot-Hawley tariffs did. It is likely Trump’s recent tariff threats to China will be met with retaliation and this could really hurt sections of the US capitalist class as we have seen with Harley Davidson, the auto industry and certainly the US apparel market. US workers are also going to be feeling the pinch further as other countries retaliate and this worries Wexner. The Wall Street Journal recently attacked Trump for daring to suggest Harley Davidson should lose money (profits) by bringing production on-shore. This is second only to communism as far as sacrilege goes – suggesting such a thing to capitalists.
Wexner’s decision is what I want to emphasize here. The motive for his decision was Barack Obama’s visit to the state. “I was struck by the genuineness of the man; his candour, humility and empathy for others,”, Wexner says. They’ve got no shame these people, saying anything about anyone that ensures their interests, social power and lifestyles are protected and Obama has proven to the US ruling class that he is a solid guardian at the gate. In addition, he is educated, intelligent, cultured, as is Michelle Obama. They have class. Obama is the consummate capitalist politician.
Wexner owns a 30-room mansion on a $47 million, 336-acre estate, according to Wikipedia. He has one of the largest private yachts in the world. He is a Zionist. As a much more strategic and thoughtful member of the US elite and as a Jewish-American he is rightly concerned about Trump’s Nazi and fascist base. There were Nazi fliers dumped at the Jewish synagogue just around the corner from where I live. This has not happened in all the years I’ve lived here. As the only electoral option these days, Wexner turns to the Democrats and Barack Obama who served the US capitalist class well for 8 years and proved himself a reliable ally, as he rose among the ranks as head of the Harvard Law Review and became a senator before becoming President.
Can people like Obama solve workers’ problems?
So I ask my working class friends who praise the Democratic Party as the ‘way forward’, who put all the “I love Obama” memes on Facebook, do you really believe politicians like him and his party are capable of solving the horror of urban and rural poverty, homelessness, declining living standards and the never-ending crises we find ourselves in today? Do you actually believe that people like Wexner and his pal Obama actually have our, (workers’) interests at heart?
It is inconceivable that Wexner hasn’t talked to Obama like his class colleagues have, and are urging him to step forward and help end this nightmare that is Trump and co. Help the other capitalist party in to power. Wexner’s praise of Obama has nothing to do with Obama possessing humility or empathy. And humility, empathy and a love for the poor are not the qualities necessary for one human being to accumulate $4 billion. In fact, they would be a hindrance. Obama hasn’t shown too much empathy for Iraqis, Yemenis Afghanis or even the poor of this country. The elite in this country are in crisis and some of them are becoming desperate and fearful of civil unrest due to Trump’s brutal approach as that capitalist strategist and free market guru pointed out in an article published here. Fear, that’s what has drawn Wexner to Obama. He has gone to one person they know works for the capitalists’ collective well being.
If someone tells me they are not hopeful but we have to stop Trump, elect Democrats and then turn to our problems, in other words the lesser-of-two-evils argument, I respect and sympathize with the argument, but I believe it is flawed. There is no way out along this road.
Also, that such an historic event as the US with its brutal racist history electing a black president is so overwhelmingly emotional for some black folks I can understand and sympathize with that. I had a good friend of mine admit they didn’t think he would bring much change but having a respectable powerful black man and black family in the White House, was so important for her son to witness, and that’s why she voted for him. A successful person that looks like him.
These are just some thoughts that I had after reading this news.
September 18, 2018
From the US socialist blogsite:
https://weknowwhatsup.blogspot.com/
