The Folly of Reformism
Dalton Nolan
8/5/2024
Reforms that improve the material conditions of working people are good things. These reforms aid in enhancing the standard of living and quality of life for working people. However, reforms are just that—reforms. Under the present economic system, reforms represent an improvement of the status quo of working people and nothing more, as the exploitative and oppressive foundations of the present economic system remain intact. This means that Reformism—the aim of passing reforms to make the present economic system and society more aligned with working class interests—doesn’t advance the class struggle.
The purpose of reforms is to modify the existing social order, to “redefine” society bit-by-bit, with reformists believing that the passing of reforms will erode the power of the owning class and usher in a working class world; however, reforms can’t do this as they don’t challenge the class power dynamics of our society. Despite trying to “redefine” the class power dynamics in favor of the working class over the owning class, reforms never reach the heart of the problem: the exploitation and oppression inherent in the present economic system. This is because the owning class, the rulers of our present society, are class conscious, meaning they explicitly operate in accordance with their class interests. As such, the owning class is quick to recognize when something threatens their class interests. In this, everything, including reforms, is subject to their approval, barring anything that even so much as chafes at the supremacy of owning class. This makes any attempt to directly challenge and alter the exploitation and oppression that the owning class benefits from a fierce struggle. Yet, even after the working class has expended and sacrificed so much, the reforms they have achieved are still at the mercy of the owning class who will restrict and attempt to diminish the reforms with all its might. Therefore, even when reforms are achieved, they are never permanent or far-reaching.
Since reforms can only go so far under the ever-watchful eye of the owning class, reformism is an ideology of submission. The passage of reforms doesn’t challenge the class power dynamics of society, meaning that reformists are only able to promote and achieve token reforms for the working class. These token reforms—these crumbs of concession on the part of the owning class—are just enough to “butter up” the working class, bribing them and persuading the workers that the present state of things is “just” and “good.” With these token reforms, the workers become convinced in the system and the program of reformism, resulting in the working class disregarding class struggle, having a weakened class consciousness, and prolonging their exploitation and oppression at the hands of the owning class. In this, the willingness of the working class to be exploited and oppressed is bought by the owning class and given to them by the reformists on a silver platter.
Through reformism, the energy and attention of the working class is directed toward defending reforms and maintaining the status quo. To the reformist, reforms are the ends in themselves. Reformists do not seek revolution—the changing of the ruling class, equating to the transition of the owning class having control over society to the working class holding that power. Workers’ liberation necessitates such a revolution because only through the replacement of the owning class by the working class as the ruling class can a world for working people be built and realized. As such, revolutionaries hold no ties of affection to the present economic system, for they engage in unrelenting class struggle toward the goal of workers’ liberation that establishes a world for the working class.
In contrast, reformists see the highest stage of the class struggle as being the fight for reforms. In this, the reformist doesn’t break with the present economic system, but seeks to work within it to make it more bearable for the working class. However, since reforms are under constant threat and because the working class has been convinced to disregard direct class struggle, every reform is viewed with such preciousness. This view of each reform as precious leaves the working class in a continued state of siege with every single reform passed. In this state of siege, the working class has to direct all its efforts—its limited energy, time, and focus—to vigorously preserve each reform under the command of the reformists. As a result of this, the working class is forced to defend the status quo of exploitation and oppression in exchange for keeping the reform, leaving them trapped by the owning class—trapped between a rock and a hard place.
While reforms to a reformist are ends in themselves, a revolutionary sees reforms as by-products of the class struggle for workers’ liberation. Revolutionaries recognize that reforms are necessary to improve the material conditions of the working class, but revolutionaries see reforms as one of many tools for workers’ liberation. Reforms are essential to the class struggle in that they build working class solidarity and class consciousness.
Since the working class can only overthrow and dismantle the rule of the owning class as a united whole, then we must work tirelessly to unite the working class. This can only be done through addressing each and every issue and concern the working class has. To unite working people, regardless of background and identity, we must tackle the issues most affecting them. In tackling these issues, we show working people that we care about their well-being and material conditions, gaining their confidence and support. Additionally, by tackling these issues, we weaken the ability of the owning class to use these divisive tactics to fracture and weaken the working class.
Reforms are also important to revolution and the class struggle because they are of immense educational value. The struggle to achieve reforms shows the working class what it will take to create a world that we demand, preparing us for future battles in the class struggle. The struggle to achieve reforms shows us that we have the same class interests, aiding in the building of solidarity and class consciousness. Finally, the struggle to achieve reforms shows us that the owning class—the ones who own pretty much everything and are the “haves” of society—will never let the “have-nots” enjoy the same privileges as them nor even stand on equal footing.
Class Struggle Unionism exemplifies the role of reforms in the struggle for workers’ liberation. A contract between unionized workers and the bosses represents the negotiated parameters of exploitation and oppression the workers will go through in exchange for concessions on the part of the bosses. In this, the exploitation and oppression of the workers still persists, making the contract a reform. However, with a Class Struggle Unionist perspective, every successive contract claws more and more from the bosses. A Class Struggle Unionist perspective transforms the contract and better demands (i.e., reforms) into a rallying cry for workers to uphold Class Struggle Unionism. The contract, though a good thing, is not the end goal, but a means of increasing solidarity among the workers, building class consciousness, strengthening democratic control over the workplace, and advancing the working class's interests. In this, the reform—the contract—is a reflection of where the class struggle is at a particular point in time and informs the Class Struggle Unionists where and what they need to do to advance the struggle.
Reforms in a world for the owning class stand in direct contrast to reforms in a world for the working class. In a world for the owning class, reforms are the mere concessions they are willing to shed to keep the workers pacified. In this, reformism strengthens the system of exploitation and oppression and prolongs the rule of the owning class.
In contrast, reforms in a world for the working class empower the workers. Following a revolution—whereby the owning class is overthrown, the structures that empowered them are being dismantled, and a world for the working class is ushered in—reforms are key to sustaining the working class’s rule. The revolution’s immediate results are the end of the rule of the owning class and heralding a world for the working class, but that single event will not resolve everything. This is where reforms come in: they are the means of dismantling the tenacious remnants of the old order and improving the quality of life and standard of living of working people. Through the passage of reforms, the vestiges of the owning class’s influence erodes away, giving way to institutions and systems that empower and strengthen the working class, cementing the rule of the majority working class against attempts at counter-revolution by the disempowered minority owning class.
Reforms should be fought for and defended, but focusing solely on this at the expense of all else will devastate the workers’ struggle for liberation. Revolutionaries sympathize with reformists in their desire to improve the conditions of the working class; as members of the working class, revolutionaries experience the same pains and struggles that the rest of the working class confront, making us keenly aware of what it means to be working class under the present economic system. Yet, for all the torment that working people are forced to confront, the answer to these problems isn’t reforms. Reforms are short-term solutions—smaller reprieves from the onslaught of afflictions wrought by the present economic system. Without a revolutionary perspective and character, without a resolute commitment to break with the status quo and struggle for a world for working people, reforms will erode away in the thousands, leaving the international working class forever shackled to the rule of the owning class. Reforms are necessary and must be tied to class struggle to truly benefit the working class, but if we are to ultimately end the brutalization, exploitation, and oppression of all working and oppressed people, we must push beyond reform to combat the very fabric of this exploitative and oppressive system; we must have workers’ liberation, and that can only be done through revolutionary class struggle. Only then can a world for working people be realized.