It has been pointed out to me that in my book, Occupy Movement and the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, I was mistaken in saying that ”the peasants are not the enemy”. While this is largely true, it is not quite that simple.
As I pointed out in the book, the peasants are divided into three categories, the poor, rich and middle peasants. The poor peasants are the natural and desirable ally of the working class, the proletariat, under all circumstances. The middle peasants are also natural allies, although they tend to vacillate. Our attitude towards the middle peasant must be one of patience. The rich peasant can be an ally, although he can just as easily be the enemy. It all depends upon the situation.
Perhaps a well known historical example will help to clarify matters.
Consider the country of Russia in 1917. At the time of the February revolution, in which the Czar was overthrown, all of the peasants, without exception, were in an alliance with the proletariat, against the monarchy. That alliance remained in place for the following few months, until the ”October Revolution”, in which the capitalists, the bourgeoisie, as well as the landlords, were overthrown and crushed under the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. This took place on October 25, old style calendar, or November 7, new style calendar. Immediately after the revolution, in fact the next day, the situation changed dramatically. On that day, not all the peasants were united behind the proletariat. In fact, the rich peasants, the kulaks, or ”tight fists”, became the enemy of the proletariat and poor peasants.
By way of explanation, all of the peasants were united in their hatred of the landlords, the human blood suckers who exploited all peasants, without exception. The October Revolution overthrew the capitalists, as well as the landlords. In fact, one of the first decrees of the new socialist government was that the land now belonged to the tiller. Under this ”new reality”, the rich peasants, the kulaks, were then able to focus entirely upon getting rich. As the landlords were no longer a concern, it was just a simple matter of hoarding their surplus grain, so that the starving of the working people and poor peasants forced up the price of grain, allowing the kulaks to sell their grain at a huge profit. Literally overnight, the kulaks went form being allies of the proletariat and poor peasants, to being the enemy. The kulaks became the new ”rural bourgeoisie”.
The lesson here is that in a revolutionary situation, alliances can change immediately and dramatically. The friends of today can become the enemies of tomorrow, and the enemies of today can become the friends of tomorrow. It all depends upon the conditions then prevailing.
As mentioned in the book, this particular situation is not one which the people of North America can be expected to face. The bourgeoisie have ”graciously” simplified the class struggle, so that the peasants have been all but wiped out. For that matter, the middle class, the petty bourgeois, has been severely depleted. The remainder are ”living on borrowed time”, to use a popular expression. That is a fact, just as it is a fact that the working class movement is international in scope. This clarification may prove to be helpful to working people in less developed countries, where there may be a significant percentage of peasants.
If nothing else, it may serve as a fine example of the fact that class alliances can change immediately. It is best to be prepared for these changes, because they happen as the situation changes.
The current situation is explosive. Any spark could set off a revolution. Very soon, the working people will rise up and overthrow the capitalists. It is best to be prepared for all possibilities.
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 