It was rather encouraging to find a political party in America which advocates the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, which is the American Party of Labor, the APL.
They make this quite clear in their Program of the American Party of Labor :
”The APL is a Marxist-Leninist Party in the United States of America whose aim, goal and desire is to establish a vanguard party that will build a socialist republic under the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat on the American continent.”
That is precisely what they say in their Program, but then they also have a General Line, a General Strategy and a Platform, each of which say something different.
In their General Line they state: ”The APL comes from and represents the American working class; it has no interests aside from those of the working class and the workers movement as a whole.”
Clearly they expect us to believe that they come from the working class. This is not likely. There is no way members of the working class could come up with something so completely confusing and contradictory. Such a hodge podge of conflicting statements can come only from the minds of frustrated petty bourgeois people, very likely former members of the middle class.
In their Platform alone they put forward no less that 85 demands, some of which are completely ridiculous. It is not clear just whom these demands are being put forward to, unless it is the American government, but then in the preface to their Platform, they state:
”These are our demands at the present time. We understand that to achieve them a socialist revolution must occur. ”
In fact their ”demands” read as a childrens’ wish list at Christmas. After the socialist revolution, there will be no corporations so there will be no need to ”demand an end to corporate welfare and tax breaks”. So why put forward such a demand? The same is true of putting ”all means of production in the hands of working people”. This can happen, and will happen, but only after the successful overthrow of the capitalists, the bourgeoisie, and the creation of scientific socialism, in the form of the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. There are numerous other ”demands” which are only slightly less ridiculous, such as the ”nationalization of the banks and pharmaceutical industries”.
The APL has taken the changes which we can expect to see under socialism, under the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, and reproduced it as a set of ”demands”. The reason they have done this is not clear. Perhaps they plan to present the American government with this set of ”demands”. Perhaps the politicians would get a good laugh, at APL expense. Perhaps they are deliberately trying to spread confusion. Perhaps they are succeeding rather well.
Under their General Strategy, section 6, they make it clear that there are two major tasks:
a) supporting unity in the revolutionary movement
b) supporting the struggle against revisionism
This begs the question of exactly how we support ”unity in the revolutionary movement”, while at the same time supporting the ”struggle against revisionism”. The APL promptly answers such a question in 7):
”The unity of Marxist-Leninists will occur after we have started what needs to be done; the revisionists will be exposed by refusing to do what needs to be done”.
No doubt the person who wrote that previous sentence did so with a view to sounding profound. Equally without doubt, that same person succeeded in sounding ridiculous. The expression ”what needs to be done” could cover everything from washing dishes to splitting wood. Or it could involve raising the level of awareness of the working class. No one knows.
In fact, the current situation is similar to that which existed in Russia immediately before the revolution of 1905. Then, as now, theoretical confusion was the order of the day. As for those who called for unity, Lenin reminded people that it was Marx, no less, who advised people to come together to satisfy the practical aims of the movement, but not to violate principle.
As Lenin phrased it, in What Is To Be Done?, ”Without a revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary movement”. He went on to explain the importance of a correct revolutionary theory, in opposition to other, revisionist tendencies which may divert the revolutionary movement onto a harmless path of social reform. That which may at first appear to be a very minor mistake may have very serious repercussions down the road.
It is also a fact that the revolutionary Marxist Leninist movement is an international movement, so that it is absolutely essential to learn from the experience of previous revolutions, the failures as well as the successes. If nothing else, we can avoid their mistakes.
Further, it is the American workers, and in particular the American working women, who are currently in the vanguard of the international revolutionary movement for scientific socialism. Lenin stressed the fact that the ”role of vanguard can be fulfilled only by a party that is guided by an advanced theory”. (italics by Lenin). He went on to mention that Engels placed three great forms of revolutionary struggle of the working class on the same level, which is to say that the theoretical struggle was placed on the same level as the economic and political struggle.
This stands in stark contrast to the silly little fable of the APL, that of doing ”what needs to be done”, while the ”revisionists will be exposed by refusing to do what needs to be done”. That is not about to happen. The revisionists will be exposed when we point out the fallacy of their revision.
Just as in early twentieth century Russia, a mass revolutionary movement is sweeping America, and indeed the world. This is not to say that the working class is aware of itself as a class and is fighting for scientific socialism, as indeed it is not. The reason for this is quite simple. It is simply not capable of Marxist Leninist consciousness. This consciousness can only be brought to them from outside the working class.
Left to their own devices, the workers, or at least the more advanced workers, may come to realize the necessity of combining in unions, of fighting against the employers for better wages and working conditions, of lobbying their elected leaders, their politicians, for better labor laws and housing conditions, etc. This is fine, as far as it goes, but is only trade union consciousness, which Lenin refers to as Economism. Even the most advanced workers cannot, by their own efforts, go beyond trade union consciousness. We should not hold this against them, as their conditions of life do not allow any further development. It is simply beyond their ability.
That is where class conscious people come in, Communists. Bear in mind that Marx, Engels and Lenin were members of the bourgeois intelligentsia. As such, they were aware of the scientific theory of socialism, which grew out of the philosophical, historical and economic theories of the educated representatives of the propertied classes, the intellectuals. They then gave these theories a proper revolutionary twist, as the other bourgeois intellectuals were incapable of such a revolutionary insight, and produced the theories which are currently referred to as Marxism Leninism, otherwise known as Communism. As Lenin phrased it, ”the theoretical doctrine of Social Democracy arose quite independently of the spontaneous growth of the labor movement; it arose as a natural and inevitable outcome of the development of ideas among the revolutionary socialist intelligentsia”. (It should be noted that we now refer to Social Democracy as Communism or Marxism Leninism.)
Now it is our task, the task of conscious people, Communists, to divert the working class movement from its spontaneous, trade unionist striving to go under the wing of the bourgeoisie, and to bring it under the wing of revolutionary Communism. This may be not nearly as difficult as it once was. Most workers are literate and many now have personal computers and access to the internet. As well, they now have iphones, ipads, tablets, and God knows what else. (There is a reason my children call me a Caveman.) The precise names of these digital devices are not important. The important thing is that we regard them as communication tools, which is precisely what they are. They were not available at the time of Lenin, but are widespread now, so we would be fools not to use them.
With that in mind, we can encourage workers to download such classic works of Lenin as What Is To Be Done?, State and Revolution, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, Left Wing Communism, an Infantile Disorder, among others. As well, we can write articles concerning current events, which used to be in the form of leaflets, but can now be placed on the internet and sent to the digital devices of workers. These articles should not be merely ”literature for workers”, such as strikes and lockouts. We can write about the government shut down, the proposed troop with drawls from the war zones, the proposed border wall, the democratic candidates for political office, and so forth. These are issues which interest workers, as they read avidly and watch the news. We can then explain to workers that these are merely features of capitalism, and that even if Trump is removed from office, it would fundamentally change nothing. In short, it is our duty to raise the level of awareness of the workers, especially the most advanced workers to the level of Marxist Leninist. It is the most advanced who lead, while the less advanced will follow. This is not to say that the less advanced should be ignored, as they should not, but more popular literature should be made available for them.
We can compare this to that which the APL has in mind:
”We need to build the Party through leading the masses, not leading the masses through building the Party. The Party will come only after we have gone to the masses to serve the people, learn from them and earn their trust and support. This is the one and only way we will see a revolutionary movement in the country. This is because putting Marxism-Leninism into practice comes before even the creation of the vanguard party.”
This last paragraph is a complete muddle. According to the APL, the Party, which does not exist, will come into existence only after the non existent Party goes ”to the masses to serve the people” and we in turn ”learn from them”. And just what are we to learn from them? As if the working people have the foggiest idea concerning the creation of a Communist Party! Further, what is the point of going ”to the masses” if we have nothing to say to them?
In fact, the working class revolutionary movement always develops separately from the movement for scientific socialism. As Marx and Lenin stressed, the two have to be brought together, to be merged. The current revolutionary movement has to become the movement for scientific socialism, for the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. This is not about to happen by itself, spontaneously. This awareness has to come from an outside source, from intellectuals. It matters not in the slightest if these intellectuals are working class or middle class. The important thing is the message, and that message must be correct.
As mentioned in previous writings, it is my opinion that we are in desperate need of a truly Communist party, one that is based on the principles of scientific socialism. There are several self professed Communist Parties in existence, yet as best I can gather, all are a fraud. All serve the bourgeoisie, with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
This is a serious matter, as the recent uprising of the working class has given rise to the majority of advanced workers becoming politically active, embracing the idea of socialism, and looking to become active in a political party. As well, the continuing crisis in capitalism is devastating ever more middle class people, forcing them into the ranks of the working class. The women who took part in the Womens’ March of 2017 probably feel betrayed, as the capitalists have taken it over and turned it into a corporation. The women of the Me Too movement are probably also looking for a political party with which they can become involved.
There are a great many other groups, such as Black Lives Matter, which can and should come together, and help to form an American Communist Party, Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Members of various groups should put aside their differences and assist in forming such a Party.
As just one example, I can mention the fact that many people are passionately pro choice, while there are also a great many people who are, with an equal passion, pro life. I can only suggest that such people put aside their differences, at least temporarily, and come together in proletarian solidarity. We have a common enemy, the class of parasites called the capitalists, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie. As long as we are fighting each other, we are not fighting them. They are deeply entrenched, determined to hold on to their wealth and power. Yet at the moment, they are also deeply divided, fighting among themselves, unable to rule in the old way. Now is the time to strike, when they are at their weakest.
At the same time, the working class is now roused to a fury. Even the much less advanced members of the working class are now politically active, demanding change, taking an interest in politics. I repeat, now is the time to strike, when the enemy, the bourgeoisie, is vulnerable, and we, the working class, the proletariat, are at our strongest.
We can unite in opposition to the capitalists, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie. There is no other way to defeat those human parasites, the bourgeoisie. We can respect each other, while respecting our differences. We can march under the same red banner. Women can wear red pussy hats and men can wear red scarves. We can together carry signs which proclaim:
Dictatorship of the Proletariat!
Workers of the World, Unite!
Scientific Socialism!
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 