Everywhere around us, the fabric of society is being torn apart by the chaos and crisis of capitalism. The entire working class faces a catastrophe, due to the madness of the profit system.
Trump’s trade war has unleashed havoc in the world economy. British industry is going to the wall. Entire communities, already ravaged by decades of decline and austerity, are at threat of being turned into ghost towns.
Rents are soaring. Councils are going bankrupt. Public services are on their knees. The Labour leaders are slashing welfare to fund warfare. And the genocide in Palestine continues, facilitated by ‘our’ government.
There is nothing on the horizon to suggest any kind of reprieve for the working class. Quite the opposite: Starmer and his cronies are waging war on the poor, looking to make the most downtrodden in society pay for capitalism’s crises.
Divisive distraction
In such times, the ruling class will reach for any release valve at their disposal to provide an outlet for the brewing pressures in society; any tool that can deflect the burgeoning class anger down ‘safe channels’ – that is, away from those at the top.
Enter the culture war. This has been the favoured weapon of the ruling class for years; so much so, that eruptions of manufactured hysteria have become a predictable pattern in British politics.
The whole establishment – from cynical politicians to the capitalist press – is in on this game, happy to use any divisive issue or vulnerable demographic as a political football, to be kicked around as a convenient distraction from the real issues facing ordinary people.
From migrants, to benefit claimants, to trans people: the ruling class and its representatives will willingly make a scapegoat out of anyone, if it helps them pin the blame for capitalism’s ills on someone other than themselves.
Devastating consequences
Yesterday’s ruling by the Supreme Court on the legal definition of a woman, as pertaining to the Equalities Act, is the latest episode in this scandalous saga.
The judges’ ruling has been picked up and amplified by the mainstream media and political parties to once again whip up the culture war.
They claim to care about ensuring fairness, justice, and safety; about protecting the rights of women. In reality, as is always the case, these hypocritical ladies and gentlemen only care about serving their own narrow interests.
At a time when Labour is plummeting in the polls, being thrown from pillar to post, it is obvious why Starmer would welcome a distraction from the genuine crises in society.
Similarly, with Badenoch and Farage, who have built their careers on reactionary demagoguery, positioning themselves as the most fearsome and determined anti-‘woke’ warriors.
The division, panic, and bigotry that these establishment politicians are actively stirring up can have devastating consequences.
This was seen last summer with the far-right riots that rampaged through the streets of Britain. The attacks on mosques, Muslims, and ethnic-minority communities were the pernicious product of years of migrant bashing and dog-whistle racism on the part of the entire establishment.
Similarly, the tragic death of teenager Brianna Ghey in February 2023 showed the murderous impact of the ruling class’ incessant culture war.
Establishment hypocrisy
As communists, we militantly struggle against all forms of oppression, discrimination, and prejudice, which only serve to divide the working class.
And we must state plainly: that is the conscious purpose of the culture war, including the cynical way in which this latest court ruling is being discussed and utilised by the establishment and its mouthpieces.
The hypocrisy of these figures stinks. At a time when the government is attacking disabled people to pay for militarism, or ramping up cuts to local services to enrich the bankers, any talk from Starmer and co. about wanting to ‘protect women’ is nauseating claptrap.
The endless media focus on questions about sports teams, prisons, and toilets is nothing but a divisive distraction.
Definitions about who is and isn’t a woman do nothing to address the fact that the entire working class – male or female, gay or straight, cis or trans – is being battered by capitalism right now.
Zero-sum game?
The ruling class does everything it can to present the situation as a zero-sum game.
White workers are losing out because of ‘woke’ quotas for black people. British workers can’t get housing or jobs because of migrants. Benefit ‘scroungers’ are responsible for the black hole in the public finances. And so on and so forth.
In this respect, the so-called ‘debate’ around the trans question is only the latest example of the establishment looking to throw certain oppressed layers under the bus to suit their own ends.
But taking democratic rights and freedoms away from trans people will do nothing to solve the problems that working-class women or men in general face – just as native workers have gained nothing from years of racist attacks on migrants and refugees.
Class struggle
Trans people will no doubt face increasing insecurity as a result of this latest ruling, and the frenzy that the ruling class and its agents have whipped up in its wake.
Any discrimination or division must be firmly opposed. As communists, we fight for full democratic rights and equality for all – including the right to identify as one chooses.
But this struggle must be waged with class-based methods and demands, not by relying on the bourgeois justice system and piecemeal, liberal reforms.
The truth is, no amount of legal definitions and courtroom decisions can tackle the oppressive material conditions that ordinary women and LGBT people face.
Regardless of what is written on a piece of paper in terms of one’s gender, accessing NHS treatment, affordable housing, and decent employment is increasingly a pipedream for millions – and particularly for the most oppressed layers of society.
The fight against all forms of oppression, therefore, including that faced by trans people, must be a fight to transform society along socialist lines.
Fight for revolution
By expropriating the billionaires, we could easily provide decent healthcare, education, housing, etc. for everyone, regardless of gender or sexuality; ethnicity or nationality.
Only by putting power in the hands of the working class, by taking over the banks and major monopolies, can we utilise the enormous wealth in society for the benefit of all, instead of battling over scraps.
This goal is entirely within our reach. But we will never achieve it if we allow ourselves to be divided by the capitalists and their lackeys.
Instead of fighting amongst ourselves over crumbs, we need united class struggle against capitalism and its custodians.
In short, we must fight their culture war with class war.
Only then can we do away with all the horrors and barbarism of capitalism, and create a world free from oppression and exploitation; war and crisis; misery and want.
To make this a reality, we need to get organised. So join us today. Join the communists. Join the fight for revolution.
