Disillusioned twice over!

The double dissolution election being set up by Prime Minister Turnbull will at least spare us from the endless detailed reports of point-scoring in the American primaries.

Unlike present-day America, the main contenders in our election will generate little passion or enthusiasm among the people. This is because the people sense that there are really no fundamental differences between the Coalition parties and Labor.

Both want to steer the good ship Australian Capitalism on a course set down by US imperialism and the Business Council of Australia. The Coalition will hold the course regardless of storms and reefs (South China Sea can be tricky) while Labor will zig and zag and backtrack, but end up in the same place.

Neither will challenge the unelected holders of power that rule Australian political and economic life from foreign boardrooms, private think-tanks and wealthy clubs, and the top echelons of the public service and military. Neither will challenge the political and economic domination of US imperialism that these collaborators work to uphold. Neither will reverse the transfer of wealth from the working poor to the rich that accelerates inequality and spreads insecurity across the middle sections as well.

Sensing that the differences are not so great, most people will still vote, without much enthusiasm, for the ‘least worse” of the main parliamentary parties on offer.

Greens and protest votes

And, as usual, a solid percentage of voters will vote for the Greens or other progressive independents, hoping that capitalism/imperialism can be regulated or reformed to exploit and oppress the people in a nicer way. In some ways this vote can be a reflection of ‘mass consciousness’ even when it reinforces illusions about parliamentary democracy. At least it reflects the desire for substantial, if not fundamental, change. It is more significant than a pile of informal votes that can be interpreted any way you like.

Real democracy

While respecting this, our party believes that real democracy should have more content than an election every few years to shuffle personalities. We think that democracy should extend to workplaces and communities where working people can participate in the development of plans and policies and actively monitor their implementation. This empowers the people rather than focus groups, lobbyists and bureaucrats, and gives them ownership of decisions affecting their lives and the future of the country.

Although socialist democracy is not currently a hot topic, the election will provide plenty of opportunities for raising working class demands and building greater awareness of corporate greed, the threat of imperialist war, and the need for national independence  and socialism.