A Marxist IQ for Labor Day, 2015 by Norman Markowitz

by: Friday 4 September 2015

 

 

     1.   The spirit of Labor Day 2015 is best represented by

 a.Donald Trump’s call for the mass deportations of undocumented workers

b  Chris Christie’s suggestion that bar codes be added to visas to prevent foreigners from overstaying their

 

visits to the U.c.

 

c.  Bernie Sanders support for the 15 dollar minimum wage campaign and  the Employee Free Choice Act

 

d.Mike Huckabee’s support of the government of Paraguay’s refusal to permit a ten year old girl raped by

 

his step-father to have an abortion

 

2 Peter McGuire, the Socialist leader of the Carpenter’s Union who in the 1890s spearheaded the

movement to establish a Labor Day Holiday, hoped that Labor Day would eventually

  1.  Lead to peace between capital and labor

  2. Encourage the Republicans and the Democrats to endorse pro labor policies

  3. Lead to the formation of a Labor party in the U.S at a time that such parties were coming into existence in Europe

  4. Encourage employers to raise  workers wages

3   Conservative “business unionists” in the American Federation of Labor(AFL) and their leader, Samuel

      Gompers sought to

  1. Use Labor Day  to oppose May Day in the labor movement

  2. Oppose the organization of unskilled workers in the mass production industriies as undermining union’s bargaining power

  3. Oppose the organization of Blacks, other minorities and women in unions as undermining unions bargaining power

  4. All of the above

 

4   During the depression, workers established industrial unions, tripled trade union membership, and

used their mass struggles to help enact social security, minimum wages, the forty hour week,  and other

path-breaking pieces of legislation,  These victories were the result of

  1. The alliance of liberal Republicans and liberal Democrats in Congress

  2. The support of enlightened business interests for the New Deal government of Franklin Roosevelt

  3. The alliance of Communists and progressive militants to establish unions, lead strikes, and support and use labor and social legislation that the New Deal government enacted in response to their struggles.

  4. The policy advanced by Trotskyists and others on the left of opposing any support for the New Deal government and trying to use the strikes as the spark for a socialist revolution

 

      5      Perhaps the most important lesson for workers on this Labor Day would be

a.to oppose Chinese imported consumer goods and goods produced abroad to safeguard labor

 

b. to keep undocumented workers from entering the country and taking jobs away from U.S. citizens

c. to unite in militant trade union and political action at the community and national level to defeat the

demagogues of the right and restore and renew workers rights and trade union power

d. To support a third party opposed to capitalism, imperialism, and war

Answer to last month's I Q

1.d

2.b

3.b

4.d

5.d

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  • The third sentence in my last comment should end: "-a necessarily unified answer with answer c."

    clay

    Posted by E.E.W. Clay, 09/15/2015 1:22pm (9 years ago)

  • 1. c
    2. c
    3. d
    4. c
    5. c

    Questions 2 and 5 are interesting.
    It should be clear to all of us given that the answer to 2 is not d., that does not mean that brother Peter, like the Apostle, did not strongly support raising wages, as increasing wages for workers is and was essential for the sustenance and establishment of socialism, but of also its direct opposite, capitalism-Marx made this clear in his Capital.
    Likewise, just because letter d. in five is not the best answer, does not mean it is not a good answer-even a very strongly dialectically inter-related answer-an necessarily unified answer with answer d.
    Labor cannot unite a militant movement for labor rights without opposing capitalism, war and imperialism-war and imperialism is capitalism; and its opponent is labor-the world's labor. Political and direct action, strikes, social legislation support and passage, with collective militant support from all our communities of labor, for the revolutionary change of socialism-all of these non-antithetical, or commensurate forces and movements.
    Lastly, a third party of progress and revolution would be one which would oppose capitalism, imperialism and war-but also maybe most importantly-sexism and racism.

    Posted by E.E.W. Clay, 09/08/2015 10:50am (9 years ago)

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