Crisis and organizing anti-capitalist consciousness in the aftermath of COVID-19

Abstract

For leftists, the “COVID crisis” reveals and intensifies the conditions of exploitation and oppression under capitalism. Can a meaningful movement of workers and the oppressed arise, especially if a longer economic crisis unfolds? Making more visible or intense does not automatically translate into awakening. This essay examines the possibilities for substantial, sustained anti-capitalist organization, given the limits and complexities of worker consciousness. It points to a vicious circle: the absence of widespread anti-capitalist consciousness to populate substantial organizations; the absence of substantial organizations to help foster anti-capitalist consciousness. It suggests a way out via methods and strategies that are appropriate to the “COVID moment.”