Strategically speaking, this isn’t a socialist moment, and it’s mistaken and harmful to think so. The necessary constellation of political-social forces, for one thing, is nowhere near the level of organization and understanding to make socialism a near term possibility.

But it is a moment, notwithstanding immense dangers, when – at long last – the effective political-social forces are growing and maturing to the point where a substantive turn, still within capitalism, toward more democracy, equality, economic sufficiency, peace, and sustainability is within reach.

But, of course, it won’t happen on its own, not without well thought out tactics and a soberly crafted strategy, plus – and this is crucial – a much higher level of mass mobilization than is now evident.

Biden’s decision to end a long war as well as his efforts to enact a progressive domestic agenda should earn him the vigorous support of all democratic minded people. The logic is simple: if the white nationalist authoritarian network, in the center of which is Trump and the Republican Party, take down Biden and his progressive agenda, it will sooner rather then later take down the coalition that elected him, beginning in the fall elections next year and then two years later in the presidential elections. Don’t think that if Biden and Pelosi sink, we can still rise.

Las Vegas will give you long odds on that bet. What probably will – and you will get much better odds in Vegas on this bet – is a long night of authoritarian, anti-democratic, racist rule.

What keeps Republicans up at night and motivates them during the day isn’t the fate of Afghanistan or its people. What does is their thirst for power. Without it, they know, they can do little. With it they believe they can transform, the country and state into a white nationalist, authoritarian, anti-democratic, sectarian fortress – irredeemably hostile to any democratic and egalitarian voices and visions.

It’s no surprise then that they are all over Biden for his decision to withdraw US soldiers from Afghanistan and the execution of that decision, even though they said not a word when Trump negotiated the treaty that Biden is essentially carrying out and even though everyone knows (or should know) that there is no such thing as a seamless and smooth way to end a war in which you are the defeated party.

We shouldn’t let allow this Republican demagogy to go unanswered. By the same token, we should take issue as well with critics of Biden’s decision in the Democratic Party.