A Theoretical Justification of the Struggle for Constitutional Rights

In socialist work, it is not enough to simply develop a plan of action willy-nilly. A theoretical justification must be provided that lays out the overall goals of the plan, how it will advance the struggle for worker sovereignty, and demonstrates that the plan is made in accordance with known principles of social development (or explains precisely why said principles do not apply). We do this not because all socialist political action must conform with some Marxist ‘canon’, but because we approach political problems in the same manner as scientists and engineers approach physical problems; that is, we define problems and develop solutions based on a systematic method, and we further refine that method according to the real-world results of our attempted solution. The following article is a Marxist theoretical justification for the proposal outlined in “For Workplace Rights”. It may contain terms which are unfamiliar to some readers. Go here for an introduction to Marxist theory.

The contradiction between the formal rights granted to workers by the Constitution and their negation in the workplace is one that is most obvious to the vast majority of the working class at the present moment. It is a contradiction that is deeply felt, particularly by non-union workers, nearly every working day. We do not mean to say that the Constitutional rights contradiction is necessarily the ‘main’ or most important contradiction, but only that it is the most easily comprehensible and visible to the greatest number of people. It is a starting point for developing class consciousness and political literacy. Taking up the banner of Constitutional rights does not mean that we ignore other struggles; we do not here advocate for ‘class over race’ or other such vulgarization. Rather, it is the most effective starting place, a weak point in the whole rotten edifice of racist, misogynist, anti-LGBT+, anti-immigrant, chauvinist ideology.

Most politically active workers think about politics in terms of the Constitution and rights talk, and have little or no familiarity with Marxist terms. In an ego-driven, anti-communist society such as ours, in which unfamiliar ideas are often greeted with hostility, it does us no good to talk to people straight away in terms of the dictatorship of the proletariat, surplus value, and the like. Instead, we must choose carefully where to begin, where the weakest point in the official narrative is, and how we can approach people with respect. Make no mistake: we should not discard the underlying theory, merely consider how best to convey it. We can start by developing the idea that people have rights at work, and that they need to retake their Constitutional rights in the workplace; through this initial struggle, we can begin to create a shared identity among people who, generally speaking, view themselves as isolated individuals or family units. Once people accept the idea of Constitutional rights at work, the question naturally arises as to how those rights are exercised and protected. We can then start speaking in terms of a ‘civil society’ at work to introduce the idea of democracy in the workplace, that workers should have power in the economic life of society. From there, we can develop the idea of democracy into worker sovereignty. We do not expect, however, for each step to proceed smoothly from one to the next. On the contrary, we expect the capitalist class to fight tooth and nail against the introduction of Constitutional rights at work and all the derivatives thereof. It is, in fact, this very opposition that will drive the process forward and increase the class consciousness and level of political education of the working class; for in order to explain why the ruling classes so vociferously oppose the idea of expanding their supposedly most cherished rights and ideals into the workplace, we will have to make full use of Marxist theory. In their struggle against Constitutional rights at work, the bourgeoisie will graphically illustrate the theory that they deny. In this way, liberal ideas that once served to obscure or justify capitalist exploitation will become weapons in the arsenal of working class ideology.

Does this mean that we will make the struggle for Constitutional rights at work our only goal? It does not. The struggle for Constitutional rights is firstly a vehicle for deepening other struggles by exposing the hypocrisy of bourgeois ‘rights’ that in reality only apply fully to the bourgeoisie and its lackeys. Secondly, it is a mechanism for building unity among the entirety of the US working class. While it is true that sections of the nonwhite working class are more advanced politically than their white counterparts, no part of the working class can hope to contest power on its own. The backwardness of the white working class is no reason not to organize white workers. In fact, our “backwardness” highlights the need for organization and special efforts made by the most aware and advanced workers.  Marx encouraged us not to “despise” workers for taking backward positions, but to do our best to educate and enlighten them in a respectful way.

Does employing rights talk and appealing to the Constitution mean that we are making concessions to bourgeois ideology? It does not. We must meet the politically engaged sections of the working class where they are, not where we wish them to be. Like it or not, rights talk and the Constitution are the terms in which most of the US working class, especially its white contingent, thinks about politics. We employ these terms, not in the opportunist fashion, but as a vehicle for advancing more progressive positions and to highlight the hypocrisy of bourgeois ‘rights’.

We see, then, that the only route to the final victory over capitalism lies in the unity of the entire US working class, not its component parts individually. We can achieve this unity by emphasizing the glaring contradiction between formal rights and actual rights, igniting a struggle for full Constitutional rights at work, and build upon this initial struggle a new ideology: an ideology of the US working class.