Skip to main content

What Now? - Socialist Perspectives and Election Analysis from CCDS and DSA

CCDS and DSA
What happened Nov. 8th, and why? Here two socialist organizations present their analysis of both why, and what next. Statements from the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism (CCDS) and Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). -- The fight against the far right assault must be fashioned around specific programs and demands that unite the broadest sectors of the working class, regardless of political stance.

Why Did Trump Win? And What’s Next for Labor in the US?

Peter Olney and Rand Wilson The Stansbury Forum
This article first appeared in Sinistra Sindicale, an internal newsletter of the Confederazione Generale Italiana dei Lavoratori (CGIL), the largest trade union federation in Italy. This article deals with the US election result.

Election Inflections: Expanding the Electorate

Bobbi Murray Capital and Main
The phone bank on Florence Avenue near Western is fully staffed on a Thursday afternoon. Its 20 callers could be hawking solar paneling or copper water pipes to anyone who answers. Instead, the men and women here are selling change in the most populous city in the most populous state in the nation. On this day, shortly before the election, they are contacting potential voters about three of California’s 17 ballot propositions.

The "Women's March on Washington," Explained

Emily Crockett Vox
It could be the biggest mobilization yet in response to a presidential inauguration. March organizers hope that the work of the march will reach far beyond January 21. The work of this march is not only to stand together in sisterhood and solidarity for the protection of our rights, our safety, our families and our environment - but it is also to build relationships and mend the divides between our communities.

Labor and Politics - Labor Must Become a Movement; Learning the Right Lessons from 2016

Moshe Marvit; Jake Rosenfeld onlabor
With the election of Donald Trump, labor faces a unique opportunity. It will face hostility in all branches of the federal government, and will have to maintain a multi-pronged fight. Yes, union density numbers are at historically low levels, and the bulwark of public-sector unionism may suffer a major blow at the Supreme Court through a case challenging the constitutionality of fair-share fees in the public sector...It has the existential imperative to reform itself.

Tidbits - November 24, 2016 - Reader Comments: Not a Revolution - Yet; Slavery, Democracy, the Electoral College; The U.S. Working Class; This Was Not a Working Class Revolt; Labor Leaders Deserve Their Share of the Blame; and more....

Portside
Reader Comments: Not a Revolution - Yet; Hamilton; Enabling Neo-Fascists; Slavery, Democracy, the Electoral College; Understanding the U.S. Working Class; This Was Not a Working Class Revolt; Remembering Tony Mazzocchi; Social Security is NOT Going Broke; Labor Leaders Deserve Their Share of the Blame; Honor the Thousands of Undocumented Workers; Venezuela; Flu Shots: Facts & Fallacies; and more.. Announcement: What Happened? What Now? - Labor Forum with Bill Fletcher

books

Winning at Russian Roulette

Scott McLemee Inside Higher Ed
McLemee looks at 30 academic studies of Hillary Clinton, finding interest in her focusing either as a user of some form of communication media or as an object of media representation. Like the campaign's news coverage, where personality trumped policy, research tended to focus on how Clinton challenged or was constrained by traditional female roles or implicit assumptions about the proper connect between public and private identity than in her work as a public official.

Questions About Next Steps

Howard Machtinger Portside
The following is not intended to be definitive and it is inevitably incomplete. It’s more about raising questions than answering them. The sole goal is to add to and deepen the ongoing discussion. If you find this useful, please share widely and credit simply to Howie Machtinger and other Durham, North Carolina-based social justice activists.

Democracy, Trade, Globalization and Trump

Thomas Piketty; Naomi Klein The Guardian (UK)
Rising inequality is largely to blame for this electoral upset. Continuing with business as usual is not an option. People have lost their sense of security, status and even identity. This result is the scream of an America desperate for radical change. People have a right to be angry, and a powerful, intersectional left agenda can direct that anger where it belongs. Thomas Piketty and Naomi Klein offer up interesting analysis.
Subscribe to 2016 elections