There are striking similarities between the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the American revolution of today, that which is currently brewing. I should note that, strictly for the purposes of this article, I am referring to the Russian spring revolution, in which the Czar was deposed, as the Russian revolution.
Further, in the interests of clarity, I should also point out that the word Czar is the Russian word for emperor, and that such an individual is the ruler of an empire, which may compose of many kingdoms. Of course the king is the ruler of a kingdom, while a dictator controls a country through military might. I mention this for the benefit of the members of the working class who are just now becoming politically active, taking an interest in the class conflict. I have no doubt there are a great many of such people, and the numbers are growing. Welcome!
President Donald Trump makes no secret of the fact that he intends to serve a second term as president, and continue to serve as president after his second term ends, even though that is forbidden by the constitution. But then Trump is not a man to be bothered by such incidentals as a constitution, which is a mere ”scrap of paper”, as far as he is concerned. He is a man of impulse, a man who is accustomed to getting his own way. After all, money talks, and in fact it talks loud and clear, and Trump has no shortage of money. He decided to run for president on a whim, and was rather surprised at his own success. But now that he is president, he has decided to remain as president, more or less as a favour to the country. It is the least he can do for America!
His ambition is to set himself up as president for life, effectively a dictator. He has also decided that at some point, after he is tired of playing president, his daughter should take the reins of power. He is effectively blurring the lines between a president who plans to become a dictator, and a monarch, in that a monarch is a king or an emperor. A monarchy does not end with the death of the king or queen. The throne, as it is called, is merely passed on to one of the offspring, usually the oldest son.
In the case of Trump, he has decided that his daughter should inherit the throne. Accordingly, he has already set her up as his top advisor, and she has wasted no time in antagonizing a number of high ranking American officials, while at the same time confusing a great many foreign officials. It is bad enough that Trump changes his mind on various matters on a daily basis. Now the foreign officials have to determine if his daughter speaks for him or if the designated officials speak for him. Very likely, no one speaks for Trump, as he merely does as he pleases.
In fact, this is just a continuation of the chaos which reigns within the Trump administration, which is the current American government.
We can compare this to the situation which existed in Russia in 1917. It is reported that on March 15 of that year, Czar Nicholas Romanov 2, otherwise known as Nicholas the Bloody, abdicated the throne. It is also reported that there are two dates for events of that year, according to the old calendar and the new calendar. As I am not terribly concerned with dates, I just refer to this as the abdication which was the result of the spring revolution. The important thing to remember is that Nicholas the Bloody had his own idea concerning the meaning of the word abdicate. To most people this means to ”renounce or relinquish a throne”, as per the dictionary, but not to Nicholas the Bloody. He had his own ideas.
Nicholas wanted the throne to be placed in the hands of his brother, Michel Romanov, at least until such time as the son of Nicholas, which was Alexei, aged 12, could be of age to ascend the throne, possibly on his nineteenth birthday. During the intervening years, the ex Czar Nicholas wanted to be placed in charge of the whole Russian army. That way, with the army behind him, he could ensure a smooth transition of power. In other words, the new Czar Michel would do as the ex Czar Nicholas told him, and in due time, his son Alexei would become emperor and also do as his father told him. Some abdication! But then this is typical of such people, whether monarchs or dictators. When placed under extreme pressure, rather than relinquish power, they prefer to place a puppet in their place, and promptly pull the strings. We can expect some such similar shenanigans from Trump, as soon as he is deposed.
As a result of this, the people who supported the monarchy were divided. All of the monarchists, as they referred to themselves, wanted to place a Romanov back on the throne, but some backed Michel and some backed Nicholas and his son Alexei. The capitalists, the bourgeoisie, were also divided. Some of them wanted to restore the monarchy, while many others were in favour of a democratic republic. (It should be noted that a republic does not recognize any monarch.) The capitalists were also divided over the precise form the new republic should assume.
It is an understatement to say that the situation in Russia, after the spring revolution, was unusual. On the one hand, political power passed from the feudal landed nobility, led by Czar Nicholas Romanov, to a new class, the capitalists, the bourgeoisie. This did not surprise the Marxists in the slightest. It was merely the natural result of two classes which were in conflict, in this case the nobility and the bourgeoisie. Of course, the bourgeoisie, with their ever increasing wealth and power, were able to wrest power from the nobility.
That which amazed the Marxists were the events which were unfolding in Petrograd, otherwise known as Saint Petersburg. At that time, Petrograd was the capital of the country, and possibly the largest city. Also at that time, most of the military personnel were peasants. Much to the astonishment of everyone, especially the Marxists, the workers and military personnel of Petrograd spontaneously came together and formed the Soviet of Workers and Soldiers Deputies. (I should add that this was the term that the military personnel chose for themselves, which is not entirely accurate, as many of them were member of the navy.) For possibly the first time in history, at least under capitalism, there appeared a dual power-the dictatorship of the proletariat existed side by side with the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie.
This working class organization, that of the Soviet of Workers and Soldiers Deputies, was not formed by the Marxists of the day, if only because all the Russian Marxists had been thrown into prison and either executed or exiled.
Of course, no Marxist had foreseen this event taking place, for the very fine reason that it had never before made an appearance. Now that this particular working class organization has revealed itself, it is reasonable to assume that it will again appear, within the American revolutionary movement, possibly in a slightly different form. In fact, the nucleus of such an organization may already exist in Washington, in the House of Representatives, in the form of members of the House who refer to themselves as ”Women of Colour”, also known as the Squad. At the moment there are merely four of them, but that number is expected to grow. The spokesperson for the group claims that they are being ”singled out” by the Speaker of the House, and that such behaviour is ”outright disrespectful”. The Speaker of the House says that the only thing these freshman members of Congress have going for them is ”public whatever”. To this the spokesperson responded that the ”public whatever” is nothing less than ”public sentiment”. In this she is absolutely correct.
Clearly the Speaker of the House is completely unaware of the firestorm, the full rage and fury of the working class, which is about to be unleashed upon Washington.
For the moment, this small but vocal minority, these self proclaimed ”women of colour”, is nothing more that a minor annoyance to the leaders of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives, and to the capitalists, the bourgeoisie. I suspect that even the women are not aware that they form the nucleus of a dual power, an American Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.
For the moment, these few ”women of colour”, this nucleus of the American Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, this proletarian headquarters within the heart of the American capital, are very few in number and rather weak. No doubt they are under extreme pressure, as the capitalists, the bourgeoisie, are determined to crush them. They need our support. The least Americans can do is to send emails, from individuals and especially from groups, expressing solidarity with those women. Let them know that reinforcements are on the way. Soon they will no longer be a small minority, and possibly not a minority at all, but the nucleus of a majority.
The experience of the Russian revolution is most instructive. The bourgeoisie, the capitalists, were determined to crush the Soviet of Workers and Soldiers Deputies, but were hampered by the fact that it was physically not possible. Within the capital city of Petrograd, there was no police force, no army apart from the people and no officials standing over the people. Much as the capitalists found this to be extremely frustrating, they took comfort in the fact that these same workers and peasants, the members of the Soviet of Workers and Soldiers Deputies, were voluntarily surrendering their power to the bourgeoisie! The point is that the bourgeoisie maintains itself in power not only by force but also by virtue of the lack of class consciousness and organization.
In America, we can expect the capitalists, the bourgeoisie, to be faced with the same problem, especially as ever more working people, members of the Left, are elected to office in Washington. This will happen as a natural result of working people joining both parties, as card carrying members, and nominating Leftist people to run for office on behalf of both Democratic and Republican parties. The American capitalists will be faced with the same frustration that the Russian capitalists faced in 1917, in that the American capitalists will be unable to physically crush the proletarian headquarters in Washington, because they are the democratically elected leaders of the country!
But then the bourgeoisie counts upon the lack of class consciousness and organization of the proletariat, and expects the leaders of the proletariat, including the democratically elected officials in Washington, to surrender their power. It is up to Marxists, conscious people, to make sure that does not happen.
With that in mind, I can suggest that as working people receive cards in the mail which certify them as members of the two parties, they should notify the four women in Congress. Let them know that they are not alone, that a great many more Leftist people are heading for Washington, and not just as members of Congress. Further, such Leftist people will soon be flooding the local and state offices. As students, seniors, union members, members of sports clubs and others join the two parties, feel free to let the Squad in Washington know about this. They are spearheading the proletarian revolution, are under great pressure and need the encouragement. The last thing we need is for those women, those who constitute the proletarian headquarters, to voluntarily surrender their power to the bourgeoisie.
Instead, it is up to Marxists, and in fact all conscious people, by which I mean all people who are aware of the existence of classes, to explain to the working people the fact that classes exist. There are any number of ways that this can be done, but it is best to use current examples of abuse which are making headlines. The mistreatment of undocumented immigrants is currently a hot topic, including the separation of children from their parents and placing these children in jail.
That is merely one example, and the point must be driven home that Trump is merely a figurehead, a man who serves the class of people whom are technically referred to as the bourgeoisie. Explain to workers that these monopoly capitalists, these billionaires, are the problem. Be sure to use popular language language, along with technical terms, as I do, which is repetitive, but that is the way in which we learned the alphabet. On the other hand, avoid all vulgarity.
There are now a great many entertainers who are involved in the revolutionary movement, and they should be encouraged to protest in a manner which is entertaining. One of the finest examples of this was the disruption of a fancy dinner, which a high ranking official of the Trump administration was enjoying, which caused her great embarrassment. It also appeared on the mainstream news, so that countless working people saw this.
We need more such entertaining exposures, but complete with posters, banners and signs which contain class content. We want to reach as many working people as possible, making them aware of the existence of classes, as well as the fact that it is the capitalists who are the problem, and not just Trump. We have to face the fact that working people get tired of reading literature which is at best boring. It may be true, but if it is not presented in a manner which is entertaining, workers will very likely not read it.
In short, I can only say to the entertainers: Keep it up, Entertain!
On a more practical, day to day basis, we should pay particular attention to the four congressional districts which are represented by the ”women of colour” who compose the proletarian headquarters, based in Washington. Within those districts, the working people who join the two mainstream political parties should notify those women, possibly by email. Let them know that we are behind them, they are not alone. Soon more Leftist people will be sent to Washington, and not just to Congress. As well, numerous others will be elected on a state and local level. The working class, card carrying members of the two parties, Democratic and Republican, will make sure of this.
The main thing is to make sure that the capitalists cannot place any undue pressure on them. Although they may not be aware of it yet, they are the proletarian head quarters, based in Washington, the spear head of a great wave of proletarian revolutionary movement. They must be protected.
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 