What is Politics?

by Nikoli Weir

Politics is a field that is commented on by many, but understood by few. Generally speaking, there are two overarching ways of viewing politics. The first is one that is idealistic and abstract, and has historically been associated with what is called Classical Liberalism. 

It should be made clear that both conservatives and liberals fall under the category of Classical Liberalism. Both share the same fundamental assumptions such as individual liberty, civil discourse and equality before the law, though they often disagree about the most effective way of implementing these ideas.

For Classical Liberals, politics means discourse. It means free human beings who live in the same society coming together to work out their disagreements in a way that is peaceful and amicable, so that problems can be solved in a way that satisfies the majority of people. This is the view that was held by the Founding Fathers of the United States, and by the founders of most republics.

This is an idea that is appealing, even beautiful. But unfortunately, it is totally incorrect. The second framework for viewing politics, which in my opinion is the more correct one, is as follows. 

The essence of politics is power and struggle which on the surface appears as the arbitrary struggle of disconnected individuals acting in their immediate interests. In any sufficiently complex society, this by necessity develops into the struggle of groups, factions, classes and even nations. This is a struggle that, by its nature, must end in the total victory of one side, and the total annihilation or subjugation of the other. 

Compromise in politics is always temporary and results when neither side is capable of completely defeating the other. Once one side or the other comes to believe that it is again capable of victory, they will inevitably break the compromise and once again go to war. This will compel the other side to mobilize its own forces in order to defend its vested interests. 

This will either end in the total defeat of one side or the other, or it will again end in compromise, but with the balance of forces significantly changed due to the attrition caused by the fight. No matter how frequent compromise may be, it is always temporary, and will always end sooner or later.

In our society, there are two major factions in this struggle; the faction of the working people and the faction of the capitalists. The capitalists are those who own and hold significant stake in all the banks, corporations, news outlets, media conglomerates; they own most of the land, almost all of the world’s natural resources, and have long bought all the most important political officials by means of lobbying and backroom deals. Their economic and political power is backed up by their armed security wing, the police and the Armed Forces.

Compared to the capitalists, the working people have nothing but their numbers and their labor, or rather, their ability to withhold their labor. The most common form of organization which the working people engage in which is uniquely their own is the trade union. By means of the trade union, the working people can do battle with the capitalists on a purely economic basis. 

This of course is vitally important. However, it is imperative that what begins as a purely economic struggle against the economic power of the capitalists transforms into an all-encompassing political struggle against the political power of the capitalists. 

Vladimir Lenin said that everything but power is an illusion. The ruling class of capitalists holds onto power by means of force and subterfuge; first, they enforce their power and deprive everyone else of it, and then they convince everyone that the state of powerlessness to which they have been reduced is power, and that this power can best be exercised by going through the “necessary” channels which the capitalists themselves set up.

If We the People wish to be victorious in the class struggle that bifurcates all of modern society, then we must understand this simple truth; we cannot rely on the power of the capitalists. We must build our own power, and we must build it independently from the power of the capitalists. This necessitates the creation of an independent political organization which operates as a political combat organ of the working people. The building of such an organization is the basic task of socialists and communists nationwide.