Will the Democrats save America from fascism or do we need a Workers Party? I think it’s the latter. The former, counting on the Democrats, has been tried over and over without success. Fascism in America has been a long time coming, and the many Democratic Party administrations of the past didn’t stop it.

The Workers Party idea isn’t new. It isn’t even American. Lots of other countries, with parliamentary system instead of two-party winner-take-all elections, have Workers Parties or Labor Parties associated with their union movement and pledged to the interests of the working class.

The Democrats and Republicans both represent the interests of the billionaires. Some of the billionaires may have slightly different opinions that are reflected in their choice of which party to support in a given election, but they own both parties in an overall sense.

Would working families be better off with a Workers Party?

Here are few advantages:

* Independent political voice: A workers’ party would provide a platform for workers to voice their concerns and advocate for policies that directly benefit them, independent of corporate influence and the agendas of major parties.

* Addressing economic inequality: Supporters argue that a workers’ party would focus on issues like raising the minimum wage, creating living-wage jobs, expanding social safety nets, and holding corporations accountable for unfair labor practices, which they believe current parties neglect.

* Democratic accountability: A workers’ party, accountable to its members, would ensure that elected officials prioritize the needs of working people and fight for their interests, rather than being influenced by corporate donors or elite interests.

* Building class unity: A workers’ party can unite different segments of the working class and marginalized groups in a common struggle against the influence of the wealthy and powerful.

* Facilitating social change: Such a party could serve as a vehicle for broader social and political change by mobilizing workers and activists to challenge the status quo and push for a more just society.

Is a Workers Party the Best of the Alternatives?

Probably the prevalent hope for stopping fascism is reforming the oldest political party in the world until it gives up its billionaire base and embraces the working class. This is not a new idea. It has been tested time and time again and always failed.

What about just skipping the whole idea of an electoral party for workers and going straight to socialist revolution? This would be the hope of anarchists and amateurs. It has a lot of appeal for them but isn’t much more than a fantasy. Successful revolutionaries in other countries did not turn up their noses at electoral work, nor any other arena of struggle for that matter.

Is a Workers Party Possible in the Present?

Up to now, the answer to that question has always been “no.” The last successful third party was the Republican Party which grew because the Whigs had no solution to America’s division over slavery. Since then, the two billionaire parties have done everything possible to maintain the status quo. The legal barriers to a third party are formidable.

It takes a lot of money to win elections.

While romanticists imagine a working class that is united in its electoral preferences, practical politics tells us that it isn’t true. American workers are all over the map, and voters make their choices the same way they decide what commodities to buy – by emotion rather than reason.

But is it possible?

For a number of reasons, I think that the American Workers Party may have come into its time:

* A growing number of Americans believe that the Democrats fail to adequately represent the interests of the working class.  Witness the growing protest movement, with five million demonstrators on June 14, 2025 alone.

• Low turnout in elections shows that people don’t really care for either party.

• Progressive Democrats like Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett are being passed over for good committee assignments by other Democrats (Dallas Morning News)

• Independent and third-party voter registration is growing, largely at the expense of Democrats  (NBC News)

• Two major labor leaders, Randi Weingarten and Lee Saunders, quit the Democratic National Committee, saying it isn’t doing enough to “open the gates” and win back the support of working-class voters. (The Guardian)

• A democratic socialist won the most votes in the first round of the Democratic Party primary for New York Mayor. He defeated billionaires and union supporters from the traditional wing. So called “moderate” Democrats attacked him during and after the election. They will run their candidate against him as an Independent! (Washington Post).

• Political winners like Trump, Obama, and AOC have proven that they can raise money without the help of the national political party

• People no longer get their information from the major parties. They get it from their phones, social media, etc.

Do these facts prove that a Workers Party is feasible? At the very least, the facts show that it is more feasible than it used to be.

Given that Americans are being forced into fascism, it’s time to develop an alternative.