The Coming Wave of Struggle

After Right Wing Gains, Working People Search For Way Forward.

The coming year could very well see increased struggle, on par with the explosive movements of 2011 around Wisconsin and Occupy. In 2015, the movements will have a higher consciousness and more openness to socialist ideas. Already by the end of 2014, we will likely see explosive protests against police violence and the biggest-ever actions of low-wage workers demanding $15 an hour on Black Friday and December 4. That’s what Socialist Alternative is preparing for.

“So voters want a higher minimum wage, legal pot, abortion access and GOP representation. Ok then.” –Ben Casselman, in a tweet that went viral

The Republicans have taken the Senate, but this does not indicate a shift to the right in U.S. society. The Republicans didn’t “win” this election; the Democrats lost it. While most “swing” elections were in areas held by Democrats, the minimum wage ballot questions show what a working-class appeal could achieve even in “red states.”

Space will open for independent politics, and more and more young people will be open to socialist ideas. Struggles internationally, likely to increase in coming months, will have a knock-on impact for movements in the U.S. and give more momentum to our growing movement for socialism.

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