ABSOLUTISM AND THE STRUGGLE AGAINST THE ANTI-SOCIAL OFFENSIVE The essence of the anti-social offensive is to compel the working class to do the bidding of the financial oligarchy. Whether the actions and demands of the financial oligarchy harm the general interests of the society, or the interests of certain collectives or individuals does not in the least concern the governments. These governments are also not concerned about the consequences of the anti-social offensive to the economy. The working class, on its part, cannot agree with either compulsion as a method of governing or with the view that the society has no responsibility towards the people. The financial oligarchy justifies its absolutism on the basis that the various governments across the country are democratically elected. If the working class does not agree with the actions of a particular government, they are told to wait until the next elections to boot them out. Such a demand on the part of the financial oligarchy is extremely self-serving. Democracy does not mean that elected governments can do whatever they wish. Elections are supposed to be for the purpose of electing democratic governments, not absolutist governments. It is absurd to suggest that an absolutist government is fine as long as it is democratically elected. A real democracy presupposes that governments will do what is in the general interests of the society. However, all governments in Capitalist states deny that such a compulsion on them exists, let alone feel obligated to comply with such a principle. On the contrary, they assert that they have every right to do whatever they wish to do once they are elected. It has become quite clear that in fighting the anti-social offensive, people will have to lay down the law as to what a government can or cannot do. This has emerged as one of the most important questions. While opposing the anti-social offensive, people will have to grasp the necessity to challenge the very functioning of government, to demand that it act according to the interests of the individuals, collectives and the general interests of the society and not do anything that damages those same interests. What a government can and cannot do is the essence of the struggle against the anti-social offensive. During the period of absolutism, under the "divine right of kings," a king would dictate to the people that they were not allowed to dictate what a king could or could not do. Over 393 years later, since the time of James I, governments are asserting the same line as the absolutist monarchs. They are dictating that they have the absolute right to govern for the period they are elected, and, during that mandated period, no one can say what they can and cannot do. Presenting themselves as democrats, these governments are demanding the rights of absolutists. The working class can never accept this. It is crucial that this absolutism is fought in the course of the struggle against the anti-social offensive. Shawgi Tell University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education [EMAIL PROTECTED]