I’m going to make a dogmatic – but true – statement: the only thing that will make any difference in developing an equitable society is organizing the working class, with priority given to the black and Latinx communities. Electoral politics are relevant only to the extent that they foster or inhibit such efforts at organization. This is why it’s critical to support Bernie, regardless of any disagreements you might have with this or that of his policies.

The most effective strategy in organizing the working class and maximizing our power has been the united front. The Democratic Party is the current united front, the largest organization of any kind in the U. S. Within the Democratic Party we unite with people around issues like universal health care, criminal justice reform, getting big money out of politics, rational immigration policies – and we fight vigorously against the neoliberal impetus toward perpetual warfare. Struggle with, struggle against.

This strategy was developed by Lenin in leading the Russian Revolution. It is notable that Stalin abandoned this strategy until Hitler won the election in 1932 with 37% of the vote, compared to 22% for the Socialists (like Bernie) and 14% for the Communists. Had the Communists and Socialist pursued a united front strategy, how different history would have been! After the disastrous Hitler-Stalin pact, the Communists developed the Popular Front – a corollary of the united front as it applied to nations – the only force powerful enough to defeat the Nazi war machine.

Politics is serious business. If you are sincerely interested in moving toward an egalitarian society, you need to study history, economics, and political strategy – and not base your political decisions on subjective notions of purity, supporting only those with which you agree on every dot and comma. And you need to direct your efforts toward organizing the working class – in unions, in cities, in schools, in neighborhoods, in NGOs, and in the Democratic Party.