The Nevada Democratic presidential primary is very close, and the press is quite gleefully reporting that a very powerful union in the state is opposed to the nomination of Senator Sanders, a self described Democratic Socialist. They further report that it is a very big, powerful union with possibly 60,000 members. Apparently they fought for years to get an excellent medical coverage package, as part of their contract. This is no doubt true, as the capitalists are ”reluctant” to provide medical coverage for their workers. More accurately, it is safe to say that the capitalists would sooner crawl on their bellies over broken glass, rather than spend any money, on medical coverage or anything else, for the benefit of their workers. Now apparently the union, or at least the union leaders, are afraid that if Sanders is elected president, his ”medicare for all” will be a threat to their hard won medical insurance package.
It is very likely that the press is trying to drive a wedge between the unions and socialists, or at least Marxists. The reason for this is not clear, but the fact remains that there are a great many people who take great delight in causing trouble, spreading confusion, even though they have nothing to gain from these actions. No doubt the capitalists would love to see the ”Left”, go to war with the unions. Bear in mind that the word ”Left” is a broad term I use in reference to the people who are fighting for the working people, both working class and middle class. That is not about to happen. But as the issue has been raised, it is best to face it.
Lenin had a few words to say concerning the trade unions, in that he placed the role of the trade unions in the proper perspective. As this is so instructive, I have quoted it at length. Lenin gave a speech on December 30, 1920, three years after the successful socialist revolution. He stated quite clearly, ”Trade unions are not just historically necessary; they are historically inevitable as an organization of the industrial proletariat, and under the dictatorship of the proletariat, embrace nearly the whole of it…a school of administration, a school of economic management, a school of communism…what has necessarily come down to us from capitalism, and what comes from the ranks of the advanced revolutionary detachments, which you might call the revolutionary vanguard of the proletariat.”
Rather than regarding the trade unions as competition for political power, it is correct to regard them as schools of communism, schools which were forced upon the proletariat by the capitalists, schools which train the revolutionary vanguard of the proletariat. It is the duty of all Leftist people, especially Marxists, to work as closely as possible with the trade unions. It is to their credit that they have expanded from the industrial proletariat to embrace workers in all branches of industry. Of course the capitalists do not know it, but they are ”training” workers, preparing them for the approaching revolution and the subsequent Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.
Lenin went into this in more detail in his excellent work, Left Wing Communism, An Infantile Disorder. He made it clear that unions ”educate and school people, give them all round development and an all round training, so that they are able to do anything.” (italics by Lenin) He went on to explain that the proletariat was forced to form trade unions by the capitalists, and that in the most highly developed industrialized countries, the upper stratum of the proletariat has been bribed. As a result of this, a part of the upper stratum of the proletariat is not revolutionary, but in the service of the bourgeoisie. Some of these class traitors can be found in the trade unions. They are able to exercise their influence and are responsible for certain reactionary tendencies. One of the finest union leaders, Daniel De Leon, referred to them as ”labour lieutenants of the capitalist class”.
At the time of the Russian revolution of 1917, a great many people became politically active. Those whom had formerly been apathetic were roused to a fury, and especially in the case of the younger generation, many of them moved too far to the ”Left”. They refused to work in ”reactionary trade unions”! This was a serious mistake, as the workers in the unions tend to be more advanced, even if some of their leaders are class traitors. To refuse to work among the unions is to drive those union members, the rank and file, into the ranks of the capitalists.
We can expect a similar situation to develop in America, possibly even before the revolution. As a grandparent, I can testify to the fact that youngsters in their teens invariably come to the conclusion that we are a bunch of old fools. It is only later in life, possibly as soon as they graduate from those teen years, that they are invariably amazed at just how much we have learned in such a short time! No doubt all grandparents have experienced something similar.
When a similar uprising of the youth happens here, as it most certainly will, we must welcome it. No doubt many young people, and some who are not so young, will lash out at people whom they perceive to be enemies, agents of the capitalists. While there is no shortage of such people, some working people have merely been misled. To attack these misguided workers, those who are perhaps less advanced, is a serious mistake. This is referred to as moving too far to the Left, and working in the service of the capitalists.
The fact of the matter is that the capitalists, the bourgeoisie, must be overthrown. It is also a fact that pure hatred, righteous indignation, is the ”beginning of all wisdom”, the basis of all socialist and communist movement and of its success. It is not enough. It is also necessary to train workers, to raise their level of awareness to that of conscious people, Marxists, to transform them into proletarian politicians. The working class needs leaders. In no other way can the bourgeoisie be defeated.
With that in mind, I can only stress the fact that we can learn from the experience of other revolutions, or we can repeat their mistakes. The previous revolution which most closely matches our own is the Russian revolution, led by Lenin. Without his leadership, it almost certainly would have failed.
No doubt there are conscious people, Marxists, who consider this a none too subtle hint that they in turn should get active and form a truly Marxist party, a Communist Party to lead the working class. My only response is that you are correct. The proletariat is doing their part, and it is up to Marxists to do their part. It may help to consider this your duty, because that is precisely what it is. Without Marxist leadership, it is very likely that the revolution will fail, be diverted by the bourgeoisie, and will merely result in a different method of rule, by the same reactionary class. There is no shortage of servants of the bourgeoisie, including those who masquerade as Marxists, who are anxious to preserve the rule of the bourgeoisie. Of course the workers are confused, which is the reason I recommend the title, Communist Party, Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. It is that Dictatorship which can serve to distinguish the true revolutionary Marxist from the revisionists.
This is not to say that Sanders is a revisionist, as he most certainly is not. At no point has Sanders ever claimed to be a Marxist, but an Independent Socialist. This is to say that he is a utopian socialist, and history has proven that all previous attempts at creating a utopian society have failed. Without doubt, this current attempt, on behalf of Sanders, will also fail.
These are facts, just as it is a fact that Sanders has the support of countless working people. For that reason, we should offer Sanders our unqualified support, encouraging people to campaign for Sanders, carry banners and signs in support, join the two mainstream political parties and endorse Sanders for president. At the same time, we should make our position perfectly clear that no change of face, in Washington, will change the fact that the capitalists, the bourgeoisie, are in charge. There is one way, and only one way to overthrow the bourgeoisie and establish a socialist society, and that is through revolution and the subsequent Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.
The further fact is that the working people have got to learn this from their own experience. That is the reason it is so important to support Sanders for president. It is the best way to prepare people for the revolution, to train the most advanced workers for the key positions they will have to occupy after we overthrow the bourgeoisie and establish the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.
With that in mind, I can only suggest slogans, to be placed on banners and posters:
Workers of the World, Unite!
Scientific Socialism!
Dictatorship Of the Proletariat!
Sanders For President!
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 