Hopeful Independence Days

As discussed last week, more than a few options remain open to us, even at this late date, to take power back from the oligarchs. Unfortunately, I feel that window is rapidly closing, and may not crack back open until three or four generations have passed. But let’s avoid such negativity for now, shall we?

Available where books are sold. Even from THAT bookseller.

As promised last week, here’s a third excerpt from our upcoming book, Inequality by Design (available August 25th, published by Upriver Press):

How might a positive reconstruction scenario affect our fictional characters’ children and grandchildren? As with the previous scenarios, the grinding impoverishment of those outside elite circles drives labor unions and non-unionized workers to start a general strike in early 2028. Groups of concerned citizens within unions and churches call on people who work in certain sectors to call in sick and take a day to “walk in the park.” 

Due to widespread nonpartisan participation, the strikes are surprisingly successful. The economy grinds to a halt. Ports close. Truckers stop driving. Teachers do not show up for class. Stores close. Corporate offices are empty. However, America’s oligarchs double down on confrontation by relying on government force. Because the strikers and protesters are peaceful, that tactic backfires. Fence-sitters begin to sympathize with the movement. Those not actively participating in the strikes refuse to pay taxes or patronize corporations run by oligarchs or who oppose American Solidarity. During the next election, people vote out state and federal politicians who support the oligarchy. Many people leave their employment with big firms in favor of starting, or joining, existing cooperatives and  employee-owned firms.   

Marty Junior is just never the good guy in
any of these scenarios, is he?

Marty’s oldest son, Junior, who has a degree in cybersecurity, ends up working in corporate security for a firm that supports the status quo. He thinks the American Solidarity movement is filled with dupes and wild-eyed anarchists. After the general strike and the great conglomerate breakups of the early 2030s, Junior moves his wife and kids abroad. They first travel to Europe, then to the Russian Federation, where Junior works for a St. Petersburg-based cybersecurity firm. The family settles in a neighborhood dominated by American expats, many of whom left the US, following their oligarch bosses. After many bitter years resenting the new order, Junior finally contacts his brother and sister, hosting a family reunion at a dacha outside St. Petersburg in 2053.

Across the multiverse, Jillian sports good hair,
 even seven months pregnant.

Jillian, with her medical degree, returns to the US from Canada just as the general strike heats up. She and her husband spend free time providing first aid and some emergency surgeries to people in need. Congress, in the wake of the general strike, passes a cornerstone law that breaks up medical insurance monopolies and bans private equity firms from owning hospital networks. Jillian, her husband, and their clinic’s medical staff restructure the organization of their clinic, operating it as a worker-owned co-op. Jillian lives a quiet life, a clear conscience, a good salary, and a stable marriage with three kids.

Did you know railroad workers like Bobby
must end a strike if ordered by the 
President?

Marty’s youngest son, Bobby, participates in the general strike and quickly joins the militant side of his local American Solidarity organization. Deeply angered by police violent actions against protesters in a local park, he comes within hours of driving a truck full of explosives to a police station in downtown Detroit. Word reaches him, just in time, that the governor resigned and appointed a labor leader as the replacement, effectively giving in to the protestors’ demands. After several years, and seeing that reforms are working, Bobby ends up working for a reformed police department, which now focuses on policing violent crime rather than on criminalizing poverty and vice. By the end of the 2050s, he retires as a captain and moves to north Ohio to be closer to Jillian and his nieces and nephews.

Here backpack contains nothing but hand-
printed copies of The Anarchist's Cookbook.

Jenny’s granddaughter, Allison, joins Solidarity Memphis. She gathers intel and plans demonstrations. She never opts for the violent side of the movement, but she is nevertheless arrested on trumped-up charges and spends several years in and out of jail. With the election of a pro-Solidarity governor, she and many others are released in 2033. A year later, Memphis voters elect her as a state representative. Her experience with the movement makes her an ideal legislator to oversee implementation of Tennessee’s revocation of corporate charters and the turning over of corporate assets to the employees. Allison eventually leaves public office, deciding to run a repurposed strip mall that is home to for-profit businesses and mutual aid organizations. The economy is much more equitable, but people still have problems that require a helping hand. On this path forward, Allison lives a quiet home life with her wife, adopting a pair of orphans whose single mother died in the protests.