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Written by: Cheng Xue
2021-01-08 19:30
Last update date: 2021-01-08 19:30
On January 6, supporters of U.S. President Trump broke into the Capitol with arms in an attempt to prevent members of Congress from verifying Trump's defeat, and clashed with the police, resulting in four deaths.
Vice President Pence said that this is a "dark day"; President-elect Biden even declared that American democracy has been "unprecedented infringement."
Elections are considered to be a "democratic" decision-making method. Why are there violent conflicts triggered by dissatisfaction with the results of the election, let alone in the United States, a country that serves as a "democratic benchmark"?
And Hong Kong, which pursues the same set of neoliberal principles as the United States, needs to learn from the United States’ plight?
The scene of the conflict staged in the Parliament Building on January 6 inevitably reminds Hong Kong people of the scene when anti-revision demonstrators occupied the Legislative Council on July 1, 2019.
Some analysts believe that the identities, political demands, and targets of the occupiers in the two places are different. For example, the occupier of Capitol Hill, as a supporter of the current President Trump, cannot be regarded as an opposition force; but some people believe that the two They all tried to interfere with legal democratic procedures in the form of illegal occupation, and also expressed dissatisfaction with political reality in a way of venting.
How comparable are the two occupations? From a macro to a micro perspective, the answer may be different; however, "comparison" never stops at seeking "identity" or "distance", but how to help us reflect on ourselves.
Trump supporters tried to break through the barrier set by the police at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday.
As Congress prepares to confirm the victory of President-elect Biden, thousands of people gathered to express support for President Trump and his alleged election fraud.
(Profile Picture/Associated Press)
Lost idols project bottom grudges
The Capitol Hill conflict can be regarded as the culmination of Trump’s populist line: disorder, lack of organization, and a mass movement mainly achieved by Trump’s mass mobilization-however, Trump himself convened this group of him The people lack binding force.
How is this mobilization achieved?
There are political tears at the surface and structural contradictions at the bottom.
Due to the structural defects of the capitalist system, the free market and the unrestricted flow of capital have caused the profit-seeking nature of capitalism to be magnified to the extreme, forming a monopoly of social resources, uneven distribution, disparity between the rich and the poor, and class consolidation. Social problems have also caused various grievances at the bottom.
And Trump, who was born four years ago, immediately gained the support of the people at the bottom because of the image that he was able to make a low-level voice that was created during the campaign.
His clear-cut populist political line is also regarded as a good way to break the established order. Although Trump’s bold policies have often encountered resistance from within the Republican Party during his tenure, he has been against the bottom people. However, the motivation of the people is increasing day by day.
The Capitol Hill conflict can be regarded as the culmination of Trump's populist line: disorder, lack of organization, and a mass movement realized mainly by Trump's mass mobilization.
(Profile Picture/Associated Press)
Backlog of structural defects, public grievances will break out without reform
It is not difficult to imagine that populism is rampant. The root cause is the long-term injustice and inability to solve the backlog of structural flaws in the capitalist system. This makes the people at the bottom choose to "destroy democracy" because they see no other way out. -A way to completely break the existing order.
Both the United States and Hong Kong unfortunately need to see the contradictions and grievances accumulated in society through the "occupation movement" and carry out structural reforms to solve social problems.
The riots can be quelled, but if there is no thorough social reform, one can only wait for the next bomb explosion.
It is time to examine whether "effective capitalism" is still "effective" and whether it is worthwhile for Hong Kong to continue to defend itself.
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