Pei Shaohua: On the Characteristics and Development Trends of American Left-Wing Ideology in the Post-Crisis Era

The capitalist economic crisis triggered by the 2008 international financial crisis was a total eruption of the inherent contradictions of capitalism; its essence was a crisis of the capitalist system. In recent years, although some countries have gradually emerged from the mire of economic crisis, their inherent fundamental contradictions have not been fundamentally resolved. Crises in various fields are intertwined, and most capitalist countries are struggling. Under these complex circumstances, left-wing figures have expressed their political positions and interest demands through various means, causing left-wing thought to exhibit several new characteristics. This article attempts to analyze the main characteristics and development trends of left-wing thought in the United States in the post-crisis era, seeking to provide a unique perspective for our understanding of the development of capitalist countries under the changes unseen in a century ^[1].

I. Main Characteristics of US Left-Wing Thought in the Post-Crisis Era

Since entering the post-crisis era, and in light of actual developments, various political forces and their representatives in capitalist countries have proposed a variety of solutions to the crisis, forming a wide array of social trends across the fields of philosophy, economics, political science, sociology, and Marxist theory. In the United States, left-wing figures utilize the annual New York Left Forum to express their political positions and interest demands, proposing different schemes to transform the multifaceted crises of capitalist countries. These schemes exhibit the following three new characteristics.

First, different perspectives exhibit characteristics of being both superimposed and integrated. During the international financial crisis, capitalist countries experienced a situation where various crises—economic, ecological, and social—were superimposed upon one another. Correspondingly, left-wing trends such as eco-socialism, democratic socialism, feminist socialism, and Marxism have all proposed targeted insights. Eco-socialists argue that the capitalist mode of production is the primary culprit behind the global ecological crisis; they contend that capitalist countries need a socialist revolution that is both pro-people and pro-ecology. This trend attempts to use Marxist methods to re-examine the relationship between humanity and nature, as well as the relationship between ecological issues and the capitalist system, seeking realistic schemes and paths for the realization of eco-socialism. Democratic socialists propose that the Left should make full use of existing capitalist electoral systems and adopt correct strategies to win elections and ultimately achieve social transformation. This trend calls itself "socialism," but it is actually the "petit-bourgeois socialism" that Marx and Engels criticized long ago; it advocates for the reform of existing relations of production without changing the capitalist system. Feminist socialists focus more on issues such as gender discrimination and racial oppression, proposing that true women's liberation should be a comprehensive liberation that includes the economic sphere. While this trend plays a certain progressive role in women's opposition to the capitalist system, it possesses great limitations because many of its propositions are detached from reality or even contain utopian elements. Marxists focus on the interpretation of classic Marxist theory, proposing the need for a thorough revolution to ultimately realize the transition to socialism. On the one hand, these left-wing trends are superimposed because they all propose their own solutions to the crisis of the capitalist system, each with different emphases and interest demands; on the other hand, they are integrated, as most schemes point toward a transition to socialism, differing only in their paths, methods, and means.

Second, some major left-wing trends in the United States are attempting to move toward practice. Currently, most left-wing thought remains at the level of academic discussion, criticizing the existing capitalist system on the one hand while defending it on the other. In the post-crisis era, left-wing figures have utilized the Left Forum—the largest stage for such activity in North America—to gradually attempt to convert their political demands into action plans. On this stage, left-wing organizations and parties such as the Union for Radical Political Economics (URPE), the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism (CCDS), the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), the Socialist Party USA (SPUSA), and the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA (RCP) are all active. They propose that, in the face of intensifying capitalist inequality and prominent social contradictions, it is necessary to identify the weaknesses in the capitalist system and establish a united and independent left-wing party, thereby enabling the proletariat to compete politically with bourgeois parties. This independent left-wing party should be an autonomous party, representing the most conscious and purposeful part of the proletariat. They also propose that left-wing parties and organizations should formulate unified strategies and tactics to accelerate the transition of the United States toward socialism. They believe that the rise of socialist thought in the United States in recent years and the growth of radical left-wing coalitions in Europe have made the left-wing forces in the capitalist world increasingly powerful. Consequently, left-wing figures should strengthen anti-monopoly alliances. This indicates that in the post-crisis era, left-wing figures are not satisfied with academic discussions but are anxious to convert left-wing thought into action plans; they are not satisfied with tinkering within the capitalist framework but seek to achieve a thorough transformation of society.

Third, socialist thought is gradually moving toward a revival in the United States. In the 1960s, along with the development of the New Left movement in the United States, Marxism spread rapidly, forming several influential academic groups and schools of thought. However, as neoliberalism came to dominate capitalist countries, Marxism gradually entered a low ebb. In the post-crisis era, Western society has generally recognized that Marxism is a powerful weapon for understanding and criticizing capitalism; cracking the crisis of the capitalist system is inseparable from Marxism. In the 2016 US election, Bernie Sanders set off a "socialist" whirlwind, reigniting the interest of American society in "socialism." Some youth groups, who were originally indifferent to politics, began to develop a favorable view of socialism. They believe that the socialist label is not so terrifying; socialism is not a reform of capitalism but an alternative to it, and one that will ultimately succeed. In fact, recent years have seen a large number of research achievements in Marxism within the fields of economics, philosophy, political science, and international relations in the United States, which has, to a certain extent, led Marxism toward a revival in the country.

It is worth noting that while some left-wing scholars and organizations hope to realize the conversion of left-wing thought "from theory to action" by establishing a unified left-wing party, this goal is difficult to achieve due to their unclear objectives, inconsistent theories, and uncoordinated actions. Some left-wing scholars conduct in-depth research on Marxism and propose new viewpoints based on the current state of capitalist development. However, their research shows a trend of "re-examining" and "re-studying," as well as "communicating" and "synthesizing" with theories of other schools, leading to theoretical inclinations toward Sraffa, Post-Keynesianism, the Modern Institutionalist school, and some Neoclassical economics. Therefore, we must apply dialectical analysis and maintain an objective understanding of US left-wing thought in the post-crisis era.

II. Cultural Roots of the Development of US Left-Wing Thought in the Post-Crisis Era

Looking across US left-wing thought in the post-crisis era, pragmatism is ubiquitous. The famous scholar Harold Laski, in his introduction to Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, pointed out: "The American people are a practical people, not very good at thinking. They consider immediate interests in everything and do not much pursue long-term interests. What they value are things that can be reached, touched, tangibly exist, and be valued in money." This pragmatic spirit permeates all aspects of American society, and left-wing thought is no exception.

American pragmatism first originated in the late 19th century, represented by William James and Charles Sanders Peirce. It was later developed and expanded by John Dewey and others, receiving support from the American bourgeoisie and becoming the most representative indigenous philosophical school in the United States. James, in his collection of lectures Pragmatism and Other Essays, argued that truth is instrumental and beneficial. He said: "As long as they [ideas] help us to get into satisfactory relation with other parts of our experience, to summarize them and get about among them by conceptual short-cuts instead of following the interminable succession of particular phenomena, they [the ideas] become true... Any idea that helps us to deal, whether practically or intellectually, with either the reality or its belongings, that doesn't entangle our progress in frustrations, that fits, in fact, and adapts our life to the reality’s whole setting, will hold true so far forth, will be true instrumentally." Peirce wrote in The Fixation of Belief: "The object of reasoning is to find out, from the consideration of what we already know, something else which we do not know. Consequently, reasoning is good if it be such as to give a true conclusion from true premises, and not otherwise. Thus, the question of validity is purely one of fact and not of thinking." The aforementioned views of James and Peirce were mainly proposed in opposition to traditional metaphysics represented by Kant. Classical pragmatism rejects traditional monistic ontological or substantive metaphysics, aiming to emphasize the importance of experience, nature, action, and practice for the realization of individual and public good, and opposing individual worship of traditional authority. We can understand pragmatism from the perspectives of empirical naturalism, practicism, and experimentalism: a "hypothesis" is true if and only if it is useful. This is the rule of pragmatism. The "advantage" of pragmatism lies in its allowing humans to choose to focus on problems and using "whether it can bring about results satisfactory to oneself" as the evaluation criterion; this practical attitude makes pragmatism an important tool for Americans seeking a perfect society. Dewey brought American pragmatism to a peak and is known as the "great synthesizer of classical pragmatist philosophy." He established a new form of pragmatism called "empirical naturalism" or "instrumentalism," emphasizing "pragmaticization," viewing truth as a kind of "good," and believing that the procedure of generating warranted hypotheses is itself valuable and serves the common interests of humanity. In general, the philosophical attitude of "utility is truth" preached by pragmatism is the main value orientation of Americans in handling various affairs, the most representative philosophical attitude in the United States, and has had a profound impact on American culture and values.

In the left-wing thought of the post-crisis era in the United States, pragmatism is everywhere. First, US left-wing thought embodies a Jamesian "result-oriented" political stance and interest demand based on "utility is truth." This can be seen in the themes of successive Left Forums. In the post-crisis era, the themes of the Left Forums included: "Occupy the System: Confronting Global Capitalism" (2012), "On to an Ecological and Economic Transformation" (2013), "Reform or Revolution: Imagining a World of Transformative Justice" (2014), "No Justice, No Peace: Confronting the Crises of Capitalism and Democracy" (2015), "Rage, Rebellion, Revolution: Organizing our Power" (2016), "Resistance: Strategies, Tactics, Struggles, Solidarity, and Utopia" (2017), "Towards a New Strategy for the Left" (2018), and "What Is to Be Done on the Left" (2019). All were proposed in conjunction with the realistic problems of the United States and other capitalist countries at the time, exhibiting clear pragmatic characteristics. Second, US left-wing thought embodies the value orientation of Americans attempting to pursue dreams with an equal status and a better future with a pragmatic attitude. In the Left Forum, participants include social activists—such as environmentalists, anarchists, socialists, communists, and unionists—as well as different groups like Black people, teachers, doctors, and students. They have their own demands and naturally have different propositions. They set up sub-forums at the Left Forum to elaborate on their political positions and interest demands, accusing capitalism of unfairness and injustice, and placing their hopes in changing government policies, transforming social structures, and realizing the construction of a just world. When they realize that it is impossible to thoroughly change their situation within the capitalist framework, they place their hopes in socialism. This utility-oriented philosophical attitude reflects the value orientation of Americans and also leads the development of US left-wing thought.

However, US leftist ideological trends, which take pragmatism as their value orientation, inevitably face limitations in their further development. These trends emphasize results-orientation, treating human thoughts, theories, and principles as "instrumental hypotheses" whose sole significance lies only in motivating human action. US leftist trends also view human practical activity as the isolated objective behavior of individuals, denying the existence of objective laws and transforming what ought to be collective action into the blind, adventurous behavior of individuals unconstrained by objective laws. Consequently, while leftist scholars attempt to construct a viable socialist program in the US—hoping to shape an independent political force through an independent leftist party, seeking profound and lasting change through peaceful movements and electoral participation, and attempting to formulate unified strategies and tactics to accelerate the transition to socialism—these visions remain difficult to realize. They can see the decay of the capitalist system, possess a vision for the future development of socialism, and recognize that an independent leftist party must be formed to achieve profound and lasting change. This both consolidates the subjective forces of the US leftist movement and points out its developmental direction. Yet, in practice, these visions are difficult to achieve due to organizational lack of clarity, ideological disunity, theoretical incompleteness, and uncoordinated action. Some leftists pin their hopes on establishing leftist parties to win elections or achieving social change through peaceful movements; this is impossible to achieve.

Broadly speaking, pragmatist philosophy is a product of American history and culture. It emphasizes the importance of liberty, democracy, science, and justice for the development of each individual and society as a whole. It everywhere reveals shadows of Ancient Greek philosophy, German classical philosophy, and British utilitarianism; it is not only a product of American history and culture but, moreover, a critical transformation and development of classical Western thought and culture. In studying US leftist ideological trends on this basis, one must recognize that it is not only the philosophy of the American monopoly bourgeoisie and imperialism, but also the philosophy of the American middle class and petty bourgeoisie. Recognizing this point allows for a deep understanding of the characteristics and developmental trends of US leftist thought.

III. The Developmental Trends of US Leftist Ideology in the Post-Crisis Era

In the post-Crisis Era, US leftist ideology has achieved significant development. Whether it be ecosocialism, democratic socialism, or socialist feminism, they all point toward Marxism. This also confirms from another perspective that Marxism is the fundamental ideology for resolving the current crisis of the capitalist system. Since the outbreak of the international financial crisis in 2008, the fact that Marxism and its classic works have become bestsellers in European and American countries confirms the truth of Marxism. As Lenin said, "The Marxist doctrine is omnipotent because it is true. It is comprehensive and harmonious, and provides men with an integral world outlook irreconcilable with any form of superstition, reaction, or any defence of bourgeois oppression." This is something pragmatist philosophy cannot rival.

Within the US leftist trends of the post-Crisis Era, leftist scholars have explored the possibility of and the path for the United States moving toward socialism. In fact, this point was discussed long ago in history. As early as 1906, the German scholar Werner Sombart proposed "American socialist exceptionalism" in his book Why is there no Socialism in the United States?. Using a large volume of data to compare the differences between American and European workers in terms of political status, economic conditions, and social standing, he proposed that American workers do not believe in Marxism and therefore lack class consciousness. Sombart went so far as to say, "The United States is the country with the most advanced capitalist development, and therefore its economic structure represents our future." This view received responses from some scholars, but more often encountered criticism, with critics arguing that this view to some extent catered to the needs of the monopoly bourgeoisie to maintain their rule, providing the American Right with sufficient justification to refute the policy propositions of the Left. Contrary to Sombart, the American scholar John Nichols argues in The "S" Word: A Short History of an American Tradition that socialism is a constituent part of American history, and without socialism, the America of today would not exist. After Marx and Engels published the Communist Manifesto in 1848, scientific socialism was brought to the United States in the late 1840s and early 1850s by the working class among German immigrants. Marx once said that after the failure of the 1848 revolutions, all party organizations and party organs of the working class on the Continent were crushed by the iron hand of violence, and the most advanced sons of the working class fled in despair to the republic across the ocean. These "most advanced sons of the working class" included Adolf Cluss and Joseph Weydemeyer, who played important roles in the early dissemination of scientific socialism in the United States. Beginning in the 1870s, several socialist parties or parties with socialist leanings appeared in the US, such as the Workingmen's Party of the United States established in July 1876, which was the second socialist party in the world. A few years later, multiple major strikes and large-scale agrarian movements broke out in the US; in particular, the national workers' strike of 1886 was hailed by Marx as "one of the most important events of 1886," causing the socialist movement to gradually consolidate in the United States and become an organized force.

However, as a highly developed capitalist country, the socialist movement in the United States has always developed slowly and experienced a tortuous developmental process after World War II. The Socialist Scholars Conference (renamed the Left Forum in 2005 ^[2]), which began in the 1960s, has developed over more than half a century into the most influential stage for leftist figures in the United States today. it has continued the American socialist tradition, consolidated the strength of leftist scholars, organizations, and groups, exposed and criticized the flaws and crises of the capitalist system, utilized Marxist theory to envision a socialist future for America, and attempted to form a unified party and adopt unified strategies to accelerate the American transition to socialism. This has made the US Left a force that cannot be ignored, occupying an important status and role in the history of the world socialist movement and the workers' movement.

Since entering the 21st century, the world socialist movement has already recovered and developed to some extent, showing signs of revitalization. The world today is undergoing great changes unseen in a century ^[3], and in the struggle between the two systems of capitalism and socialism, signs advantageous to the development of socialism have appeared. The development of the 21st-century world socialist movement depends to a certain extent on the socialist movement in developed capitalist countries. Regarding the development of socialism in the United States, we can combine the expositions of classical Marxist writers with an analysis of the academic viewpoints and political demands at the Left Forum to catch a glimpse of the developmental trends of US leftist ideology.

First, the development of US leftist ideology in the post-Crisis Era requires guidance from Marxist theory. Marxism is a powerful weapon for the working class to organize workers' movements and socialist movements; it is not yet obsolete and radiates strong vitality in the 21st century. The Left Forum has a large number of participants with widely divergent views and positions; furthermore, because the United States lacks education in Marxist theory, Marxist theory at the Left Forum does not constitute the mainstream from an overall perspective. Engels once pointed out that Americans "are ahead of everyone else in practice, but still in swaddling clothes in theory," and that "the Yankees... even let the greenback swindle be repeated... their 'obstinacy' is due to their theoretical backwardness and the contempt these Anglo-Saxons have for all theory. The punishment they receive for this is that they are superstitious about various philosophical and economic fallacies, falling into religious sectarianism and foolish economic experiments, from which certain bourgeois groups profit." As the most developed country in the world, the United States has severe class struggle and polarization, yet the socialist movement is relatively stagnant. An important reason for this is the lack of guidance from Marxist theory. Therefore, American leftists must take up the theoretical weapon of Marxism to expose and criticize the systemic crisis of capitalism, awaken the class consciousness of the working class, seize favorable opportunities, and vigorously carry out the socialist movement.

Second, the US leftist movement in the post-Crisis Era needs to establish a "strong party." At the Left Forum, leftist organizations and parties such as the Communist Party USA, the Green Party, the Socialist Party USA, and the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA are very active in promoting their theoretical propositions. However, none of these parties is strong, nor are they even true proletarian parties. Because the Communist Party USA is too weak, it cannot truly represent the interests of the proletariat. Engels pointed out, "The small farmers and the petty bourgeoisie will hardly ever succeed in forming a strong party; they are composed of elements that change too rapidly." To carry out a socialist movement in the 21st-century United States, a "strong party" must be established that truly represents the interests of the proletariat and the broad masses to carry out the struggle against bourgeois parties. Currently, the capitalist system faces an unprecedented crisis, and in the systemic struggle between capitalism and socialism, factors advantageous to the socialist system have emerged; thus, there is an urgent need for a strong political party to carry out the socialist movement in the United States. As Marx pointed out, "Even under the most favorable political conditions, any major victory for the working class depends on the degree of maturity of the organization that trains and concentrates the forces of the working class." Some leftist organizations and parties believe that only by using the perspectives of 20th-century socialist revolutions to organize social and political movements can the potential of the great working class be realized. This view has certain value. According to the results of a US survey, 40% of Americans would prefer to live in a socialist country. At the Left Forum, some leftists also claimed that the "socialist" label is no longer as fearsome as it once was. This indicates that factors conducive to promoting a socialist revolution have already emerged in American society. This requires US leftist parties and organizations to conduct a broad united struggle and seize favorable opportunities to effectively carry out the socialist movement.

Finally, the US leftist movement in the post-Crisis Era requires a thorough revolution. At the Left Forum, some leftist organizations and parties pin their hopes on achieving profound and lasting change through peaceful movements and electoral participation. However, this is impossible to realize. The bourgeoisie will not hand over political power voluntarily; the cruel suppression of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement by US authorities is a vivid example. Therefore, without a thorough revolution, the American socialist movement cannot achieve final victory. As Lenin pointed out, "None of the tasks of the Communist movement can be fulfilled without effort, and effort must be spent on the fulfillment of the practical tasks, increasingly diverse, increasingly involving all branches of social life, and winning one branch, one field after another from the bourgeoisie." At the Left Forum, some scholars believe that the American proletariat remains the most revolutionary class, which is also the most favorable factor for carrying out a thorough socialist revolution in the United States. (Notes omitted)

(Author’s affiliation: School of International Exchange, Shanghai Urban Management and Construction Vocational College) Online Editor: Zhang Jian Source: Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaping Theory Studies, Issue 7, 2020