Block and Build: A left-wing strategy against the MAGA regime by Cayden Mak, July 2025

“Block and Build”

A left-wing strategy against the MAGA regime

Resistance in the US is still scattered and uncoordinated. A proposal for building effective counterpower.

By Cayden Mak

[This article posted in July 2025 is translated from the German on the Internet, https://zeitschrift-luxemburg.de/artikel/block-and-build/.]

Against the destruction of the future

In the run-up to the 2024 US presidential election, we at Convergence Magazine presented “Block and Build” as a framework for possible left-wing strategies. In view of the escalating global situation, it is essential to push back against the rise and growing influence of the extreme right—united under the slogan “Make America Great Again” (MAGA)—while at the same time expanding the political power of the left so that it can lead a movement for social change and a just and democratic society.

Typical of US democracy is the particularly important position of the president and the stranglehold of a two-party system that leaves little room for third parties. Primary elections, in which it is not the party leaders but the voters themselves who determine the candidates of the respective parties for specific offices, are therefore crucial for effective electoral politics. Following this pattern, the Tea Party took over the Republican Party during the Obama years. And a group of progressive forces known as “The Squad,” which includes Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, has also been able to establish its own Democratic bloc in Congress over the past ten years. The block-and-build strategy embraces this electoral approach, but also assumes that election campaigns must be accompanied by extra-parliamentary initiatives, union organizing, community work, and militant protest as part of an overall strategy to build government power.

The development of a common political line was a logical next step in the evolution of the US left that began in the years after Occupy Wall Street. Obama’s second term (2013 to 2017) was marked by a significant upswing in social movements, from a dynamic climate movement to protests against deadly police violence against unarmed Black people. The thwarting of Bernie Sanders’ candidacy and his combative politics in the Democratic primaries for the 2016 presidential election showed how important it is to seriously engage with the issue of government power and how urgent it is to reclaim electoral terrain that has long been neglected or devalued in favor of other forms of organization.

The 2020 presidential election campaign was not least a case study for organizations whose focus had previously been primarily on electoral politics. This year, the energy of the street protests during the George Floyd uprisings and the outrage over the Trump administration’s criminal handling of the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a wave of support for an election campaign that ultimately forced Trump out of office and expanded the progressive camp in Congress.

“Block and Build offers an effective approach to shifting the balance of power in favor of those who stand for a just, diverse, and democratic society.”
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2024 was therefore an opportune moment to formulate a clear strategic framework that brings together the most important lessons from the last two presidential elections: Election-related and extra-parliamentary organizing strategies must be more closely coordinated. a deeper understanding must be developed of how government power shapes the political terrain on which we fight; and the fight against authoritarianism must be highlighted as a shared priority. The Block and Build strategy is based on the assumption that we are currently at the peak of the reaction to the achievements of the civil rights era. The far right’s response to these advances has been both cultural and political, and its strategy has been to attack the left’s efforts to build government power from all sides. In our analysis of this backlash, we draw on an understanding of government power developed by the left-wing think tank Grassroots Power Project: It is about the ability to establish a new collective understanding of governance, to rethink the way the state, the economy, and society function and interact with each other. To address the current situation, we have developed a study program that examines the current state of affairs in seven sessions and highlights the interactions between blocking the authoritarian right and building independent left-wing power.

Various influential national organizations used “Block and Build” as an explicit or implicit framework to prepare for the crucial 2024 election cycle. Party organizations such as the Working Families Party integrated it into their strategic concept. Organizations such as Seed the Vote, which operate outside party structures but are explicitly focused on elections, used it to mobilize volunteers. Socialist organizations such as Liberation Road and some factions of the Democratic Socialists of America used “block and build” for political education, while left-wing movement organizations such as Rising Majority used the concept for internal discussions, for example on how initiatives that are not directly focused on electoral politics can complement those that are directly involved in election campaigns.

Although “block and build” has resonated with influential groups and networks, the concept is still far from being part of a general understanding of how to deal with the current political situation. We at Convergence Magazine want to continue to promote it in order to help the US left develop a strategy for building its political (counter)power. Block and Build offers an effective approach to shifting the balance of power in favor of those who stand for a just, diverse, and democratic society.

Cracks in the Democratic Party’s base
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The balance of power in 2024 already suggested the worst: while the right wing was able to consolidate around Trump’s reelection, the Democratic Party seemed divided and unprepared. Despite some contradictory hints in the past, the Biden administration lacked a political vision that would have made it clear that the Democratic Party is prepared to abandon the path of neoliberalism and address the very real suffering of impoverished Americans and the working class across ethnic lines. This is primarily due to the party leadership’s close ties to the world of big business and its alignment with its interests. It consistently courted white middle-class voters in the suburbs, thereby devaluing its base among workers and people of color. Internal party struggles have so far been unable to significantly change this dynamic. These reached their peak in the 2016 presidential primaries, which were enlivened by a more open election process. Bernie Sanders was able to challenge the party because there was massive support for the “grassroots change” he was seeking—that is, change initiated by influential figures with grassroots support. However, the momentum surrounding Sanders’ candidacy was slowed down by the money and influence of the dominant, corporate-friendly center-right wing of the party, which conveyed the message that the Democrats do not have the interests of ordinary people at heart.

2024 was also a year in which more people began to see political parties as important venues for political debate. This was prompted by the genocide in Gaza and the US’s unconditional support for Israel. The Uncommitted movement—launched by Arab-American and Muslim members of the Democratic Party and their allies—was an attempt by the grassroots to move in precisely this direction. Unfortunately, the party leadership chose to ignore this important dissent, which led many potential Democratic voters to simply stay home on Election Day.

Looking at internal party disputes, four central conflicts can be identified:

➔ the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, one of the most powerful lobby groups in the country, which advocates continued US military support for Israel;

➔ the influence of corporate interests and the continued dominance of neoliberal logic within the party, despite a combative progressive wing;

➔ the Biden administration’s capitulation to big business and right-wing narratives about the “end” of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the failure to extend key social programs from the pandemic period;

➔ The party’s shift to the right on important issues that are strategically exploited by the far right, particularly on immigration and border policy and on the right to bodily autonomy (both in terms of women’s reproductive rights and the rights of trans* people).

In 2024, the party establishment too often tended not to take critical voices within its own party on these issues seriously or even to disparage them. The same was true of those sections of the population who were dissatisfied with the developments promoted by these dominant forces. After the election defeat, however, it was easy for the party leadership to point the finger at others—for example, at trans* people who had “gone too far” in their demands for greater visibility and integration into society, or at those of us who clearly oppose US imperialism and genocide in order to break up a strategic bloc.

Nevertheless, this election has shown that progressive issues resonate with voters. Progressive initiatives to expand voting rights, protect and extend abortion rights, and improve labor laws and social security were extremely successful nationwide. Many candidates who campaigned at the state and local levels for unrestricted access to safe abortions, protection and expansion of voting rights, a minimum wage, sick pay, and maternity leave were successful at the ballot box despite difficult conditions.

Understanding the current situation in the US
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Clearly, we were unable to prevent Donald Trump from returning to the highest office in the country, even though less than a third of voters voted for him. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives are now controlled by Republicans, albeit by a narrow majority in some cases. We are facing a rapid dismantling of democratic values and institutions, which Trump and his followers are pushing forward with frightening speed and consistency. The situation is fundamentally different from 2017. This time, the Trump administration is prepared. It has the tools, an ideological framework, and the determination to dismantle many of the institutions that stood in its way during its last term in office. In addition, the conservative takeover of the courts that began during Trump’s first term has progressed further, and the media, both broadcast and social, have lost their critical and monitoring potential.

At the state level, meanwhile, there has been a partisan shift in some places, and another ray of hope is the willingness of some attorneys general, governors, and legislators to oppose the Trump agenda. But the situation is confusing and changing rapidly, especially as the Trump-led White House does everything it can to undermine and demoralize movements for justice and democracy. We are also heading toward a serious constitutional crisis. The Trump administration refuses to comply with a federal court order to halt deportations that were ordered under a 1798 law and are now considered illegal. To address this crisis, we are also adapting our block-and-build strategy. It is not enough to oppose the extreme cuts that the unelected billionaire Elon Musk has imposed through his Department of Governmental Efficiency, even though resistance to these measures requires our full commitment. There are vulnerable populations in the US who are under acute threat and need our support, and activist networks are mobilizing against these threats. However, being stuck in a cycle of permanent mobilization does not guarantee that we will build power in the long term and be better positioned at the end of these struggles.

On the whole, the Democratic Party has not yet developed a real will to fight politically, even if individual elected officials are taking up the task. There are many reasons for this, not least the unresolved conflicts within the party, which were already evident in the 2024 election year and are now continuing. Many Democrats at the federal level appear cowardly and calculating, seemingly following a specific political calculus: If the MAGA regime fails in the short term, they could capitalize on this in the 2026 midterm elections. However, this is a fatal fallacy. It is based on the assumption that the current situation is essentially comparable to that of 2017 or that it is a political exception. However, this fails to recognize the racist and anti-democratic traits that have shaped US politics since the founding of the United States (see Davidson/Fletcher in this issue). Many of the people who are in the crosshairs of the MAGA movement simply cannot afford to wait for the right wing in the US to fail. For them, it is a matter of survival. The political shifts at the federal level are literally life-threatening: for older people, for people with disabilities, for trans* and queer people, for migrants and their families—basically for everyone except wealthy white men. So what is to be done?

Blocking is intuitive, but what do we want to build?
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The goals of the MAGA movement—increased wealth redistribution from the bottom to the top and further cementing political and economic power relations—are completely unacceptable and run counter to humanity’s efforts to survive on this rapidly warming planet. In the long term, however, a left-wing movement cannot limit itself to organizing the blockade of the MAGA agenda, even if this is in many ways the simpler political program.

At Convergence Magazine, we see our role as sharpening people’s focus and confronting them with questions whose discussion and resolution would contribute to greater political consensus and unity—a unity that strengthens us and that we can rely on. The pace at which we work naturally does not match the flood of MAGA measures and announcements, but that is not our top priority. Rather, it has become clear in our conversations with organizers and committed people across the country that what is crucial at this time is to maintain space for strategic dialogue.

From our perspective, there are four interrelated approaches to building that should be at the center of left-wing strategy today and that demand our full attention:

Building means building the left. It is about consolidating our political power, growing our organizations, and expanding our resources. This includes fighting for influence within existing structures such as the Democratic Party: fundamental renewal will not happen overnight, and the winner-takes-all principle of our electoral system effectively blocks the formation of serious third parties. Nevertheless, elections and election campaigns are among the most important events through which most people in the US can be reached politically.

Building means building a broad front. We need to involve more people in our political movements by recruiting new members, but also by identifying goals we may share with organizations and actors we have not worked with before, whether they are unorganized workers, faith communities, or dissident Republicans who oppose the MAGA agenda. The number of people who want to join the resistance will grow as the social damage caused by MAGA policies expands, and it is the job of a good organization to welcome these newcomers with openness.

Building means creating infrastructure that supports our political movements. This includes communication channels and technology, as well as recruiting and promoting candidates for political office and providing financial support to organizations. The expansion of our work and the increasing attacks by MAGA-aligned forces inside and outside the government make a resilient, innovative infrastructure a matter of survival.

Building means focusing on a clear, compelling, and connectable political vision. We need a vision of what left-wing government power could mean for our fellow human beings, our families, our communities, our society, and our planet. It must be understandable and credible, inclusive and compassionate.

The challenge is that we must take all four steps at the same time. The last point in particular is a crucial building block for our future success. Such a vision is necessary to consolidate the political power we currently have. And it would be a good argument for why the left should take the lead within a broad anti-fascist front. It would also increase our credibility among the newly politicized and form the basis for all further organizational activities and the cornerstone of any serious political program of a movement that wants to win.

There are no individual elected representatives or organizations that are particularly suited to take on this fourth task of building and decisively advancing this vision. That is why our role as a politically independent media project is so important. We strive to provide a platform for actors at various levels and to bring together social movements, trade unions, and the party-political left to discuss what political leadership should look like in our time. Since November 2024, our publications have focused on how different organizations are dealing with this complex task. Because, as the saying goes, if it were easy, we would have done it already.

A coherent vision of the future for the left
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Given the long history of democracy being instrumentalized in the service of neoliberalism, it is not enough to build a movement for democracy. In fact, much of the authoritarian turn in world politics is a direct response to the failure of neoliberal democracy. Our movement must proactively communicate what a truly democratic and diverse society in the US could look like and what life in it could feel like. Only in this way can we unite people behind such a vision in the long term. This vision of the future must be concrete, credible, and convincing if it is to have any impact (hardly anyone would follow a call for immediate revolution).

A dual block-and-build approach means both exposing the hypocrisy and violence of the current regime and showing real ways in which people can find themselves in our politics and help shape something new. There must be room for both practical approaches and far-reaching visions, and organizers would have the task of working out how these two levels can work together. The widespread skepticism and cynicism toward many forms of civic engagement indicate that we must also find new ways to reach those who have withdrawn, become disillusioned, or are afraid.

“A dual block-and-build approach means both exposing the hypocrisy and violence of the current regime and showing real ways in which people can find themselves in our politics and help shape something new.”
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We currently see two particularly promising developments: The first is the building of independent political power through organizations such as the Working Families Party. The second concerns the building of a militant working class through a revitalized labor movement, which can currently be observed around the United Auto Workers under the leadership of Shawn Fain. At the same time, the increasing militancy of the early 2020s continues in other industries that are being unionized for the first time, or in the public sector, which has been particularly affected by the Trump administration’s cuts.

We have a long road ahead of us, and building a functioning, just, and inclusive democracy after this protracted crisis is a task that will take several generations. We face this challenge knowing that we are not alone. We are part of a global movement grappling with the profound changes that affect us all. The authoritarian crisis is not a uniquely American phenomenon. Climate change, the redistribution of wealth from the bottom to the top, the reorganization of the neoliberal world order, and the transformation of our media systems do not stop at national borders. We are committed to this task because our future is at stake.

Cayden Mak is a movement expert, organizer, and journalist. He publishes Convergence Magazine and hosts “Block & Build: Roadmaps for the Left.”