I think that's a pessimistic perspective. Especially when we have clear examples of what real material changes, even at the smallest levels of government, awaken people from that same pessimism.

The idea that further suffering is a requirement for progress is exactly what capitalism is offering. That better things aren't possible.

The conservatives will believe it when they are paying over $6 a gallon for gas. That the suffering is a requirement for progress.

The left will believe it as a means of justifying inaction. That "the masses are just not there yet. They need to suffer more".

The job of the left is to get the masses there. To show them what a functioning system actually looks like. That pot holes can be filled. That children can have daycare. That groceries can be affordable. That wars can end. That genocide is not a defensive measure.

If there is no hope, the amount of suffering required to invoke change will never be directed into unified action. The frustration and suffering of the masses will continue to grasp to the scapegoats of the fascist. Because the fascist offer them a hope (falsely) for less suffering.

You can't just wait until people are suffering to the point that they build the guillotines. People build the guillotines when they are suffering and have an organized direction and example of a means of reducing suffering.

The levels of suffering are not the limitation right now. The amount of organization and unity within the left is what is limited. And that is changing quickly. We are building a movement to direct the anger of the masses towards the powers of capital that are causing it.