Cornel West at the People's Convention

The system is corrupt beyond repair and we need to transform our American empire. That's why West is all-in on starting a People's Party to enact and embody a truly democratic republic, something the two-party system just cannot do. And of course it is we the people that are going to have to do it, for the system will never allow anything to challenge the status quo they are quite comfortable in. 

This of course raises a key issue during our last election. The Democratic Party and its apologists claim that we progressives HAD to stick with them because otherwise another term of Twitler would result in a full fascist takeover of government. Now that was true and that's why even West said he'd vote against Twit and for Biden. But he also made clear that Biden was just another establishment neoliberal who would maintain the 1% status quo and he was correct.

This same issue continues with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, with the idea that the only way we can change the system is from within the system. Hence Bernie and the Progressive Caucus continue to try to implement this change by electing more and more to their caucus. And we have made progress, most notably with AOC and The Squad. And yet for all of their good work the system time and again, while throwing them a few meager bones, still crushes them at every opportunity. We saw it again with Bernie's campaign for President. And again in the Party caving on including the minimum wage hike in the Reconciliation Bill. And there are countless other examples.

I too was sold on the notion that progressives could some day gain a majority in Congress and achieve the White House so that we could indeed transform our corrupt system into a true democracy. I am now giving up on that delusion. It's a false dream that the system itself feeds us to keep us enslaved, to keep us from actually rising up and trying to get rid of it. That system will never allow that to happen from inside itself. Our only real option is indeed to form a People's Party and win the hearts and minds of the American people and hence their votes. If we really want this then we the people must start working on doing it now. The alternative, as we continue to see, is and will always be more of the same.