We already live in socialism
"We already live in socialism" is one of Infrared's signature theses: socialism is not a blueprint to be established but an objective process already realized within capitalism itself — and recognizing this is the precondition for proletarian politics.
Basis
- Engels (Socialism: Utopian and Scientific): trusts and state takeover demonstrate that "not only private production ceases, but also planlessness." The socialized character of modern production is an accomplished fact; capital has become a fetter on forces that are already social.
- Marx: communism is "the real movement which abolishes the present state of things" — not an ideal against which reality is measured. Definition-mongering about whether X country "counts" as socialist is Anglo Box formalism.
- The mode of production is defined by its telos — who commands the socialized productive forces, and toward what end. America's economy is already planned (by monopolies, the Pentagon, the Fed); the fight is over the planner.
Political function
The phrase shatters social-democratic eschatology (socialism as distant utopia) and left-sectarian gatekeeping alike. It propels workers to see that the only remaining task is the seizure of what is already theirs — and it grounds Infrared's claim that American history (New Deal, the war economy) is itself part of world socialism's process.