Supreme Court says fundamental reform is not an option!
“If a president does it, it is not illegal” Richard Nixon
U.S. Supreme Court 2024 “Nixon was right!”
“Those who make peaceful reform impossible make violent revolution inevitable” John F. Kennedy
U.S. Supreme Court 2024 “Peaceful reform? Forget about it!”
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Liberal Reform or Revolutionary Transformation?
There will be two major responses to the U.S. Supreme Court’s “ Presidents are above the law” decision. Liberals will demand reform, even radical reform: term limits, pack the Court, demand binding ethics rules etc.
Their goal will be to fix a “broken” system. “ We must restore faith in our institutions.” will be the mantra.
This is unrealistic. Procedural reforms will not change the basic nature of the Court as an undemocratic bulwark of the capitalist system. A pig wearing lipstick is still a pig. Faith in the Court will disarm people in the fight for positive change. It is better to bust unrealistic illusions than build false hopes.
The more realistic response will come from revolutionaries: The system is not broken. It works as it was designed to. It favors the rich and powerful. It protects the property rights of those with property. It protects the power of those who defend property. It defends the current racial and gender order . It cannot be fundamentally changed by mere reform.
In fact, the USSC decision formalizes what has been reality since 1789. No president has ever been prosecuted for official presidential acts no matter how heinous. Why? Were they all Boy Scouts?
No, they committed horrific crimes but the system of bourgeois “democracy” lets presidents commit crimes against humanity with impunity . Were the first 15 presidents indicted for maintaining slavery? Was FDR prosecuted for interning Japanese people in the U.S.? Was Truman charged for incinerating hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians or firebombing Dresden in WWII? Were Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon indicted for the slaughter in Vietnam? Was Bush prosecuted for over one million Iraqis killed by the U.S.? Will Biden face accountability for genocide?
The disgusting decision by SCOTUS has formalized what has always been true . It handed revolutionaries excellent arguments on a silver platter. The Court has shown that it and its whole system need to be overthrown.
Don’t fall for the liberal argument. If climate disaster, threat of nuclear war, police murder, ending the right of asylum , removal of bodily autonomy, destruction of LGBTQ rights, genocide and suppression of free speech were not enough, the Supreme Court’s “ We live in a monarchy now” decision should be enough to push people on the road to revolution.
We can fight for some reforms on the road to revolution, but the goal must be revolution!
