Ask anyone on the street about the global state of affairs and you would have a near consensus that the world is in deep shit. Between historic levels of wealth inequality, unceasing conflicts and waves of displaced people, and a looming environmental catastrophe that the world’s leaders seem incapable of facing; confidence in the continued progress of our society is minimal. The bumbling and ineffectual response to the threat of the pandemic which has swept across the country resulting in thousands of preventable deaths and levels of unemployment not seen since the era of the Great Depression has created only greater instability not only due to increased economic insecurity but also the loss of trust in our government to lead us out of a crisis. If we do not begin to consider other options we will soon find ourselves out of road and forced to take drastic action. We can no longer stand by idly and let the course of history and the fate of humanity be decided within the confines of a system driven not by the progress of civilization but the accumulation of wealth. It has proven to be incorrigible, predisposed to assume a balance of power which leaves no room but for the suffering of the masses. The only way forward is to take action, take charge of the political process. We who live within the metro area of New York find ourselves in an extraordinarily privileged position, at the heart of the global economic system, where any threat posed to the status quo will send ripples across the world. With this enormous privilege comes an enormous responsibility, daring us to act, to intervene and safeguard a livable future for our families, our species, and the planet.
This letter is addressed to a select group within our society, the intellectuals and academics who through their education are most familiar with the issues which beleaguer our society and alternatives which may be effective. It falls upon you to lead the effort by which all will be liberated. The suburbs actively dampen the flame of democracy and need to be re-engineered. We have once great cities defined by hollowed out cores and desperate poverty. The scars of our industrial past have remained with us as our waters are still dirty and people suffer from abnormal rates of diseases like cancer. The average household struggles to make ends meet from month to month and cannot be expected to take on the burden of leadership. You must step out of your ivory towers, and your positions as technocrats and make the struggle of the common man your own. By rectifying these injustices we should hope to obtain a strong enough democracy that we can be the arbitrators of our own destinies.
The primary objective is to address the systemic inequality present within our region. This means putting an especial emphasis on the neighborhoods where the quality of life is abysmal. Put simply, we set out to organize labor in the most vulnerable and worst treated sectors, and use part of the wealth first to establish a system of mutual aid and then to invest back into more livable spaces. These sectors are primarily warehousing, home health aides, facility maintenance and food production workers. More livable spaces entails cleaning up industrial brownfields close to residential neighborhoods, greater transit connectivity and walkability within neighborhoods, equipping people with skills that can put their natural talents to work in jobs with high forecasted demand, among many other things. We should make these objectives clear to these communities, and then go about doing them in a way that the ruling stratum will not permit. This will put them into direct conflict which I believe the common folk will win, so long as the bourgeoisie (those who live off of capital gains) are seen as being an unnecessary impediment to their progress. This is crucial as this perceived impediment will only serve to increase the latent force of the proletariat which will come smashing through the carefully constructed illusion of the American Dream.
While capitalism is becoming increasingly unstable, we cannot delude ourselves into believing that creating an alternative will be a simple matter. Ridding ourselves of the present antiquated system will be fraught with failure and setbacks. We will find the path forward blocked by innumerable obstacles of impressive magnitude. It will require a concerted and organized effort, and demand all of our energies to surmount it. The masters of capital have proven themselves to be ruthless by their means to subjugate any hint of an existential threat to their power. Yet we cannot afford ourselves to be engulfed by doubt or despair, nor permit differences in ideology to divide us as they will be our downfall. We must be equally relentless and united as our enemies if we are to have any hope of ridding ourselves of the shackles of economic precarity once and for all.