Peace! Democracy! Socialism!

On the International Workers Day, that of May 1, commonly referred to as May Day, there were a great many protests, all across the country. It is to the credit of the journalists, those who work for the mainstream press, that they did a rather fine job of giving a fair, balanced, accurate description of those events. This is rather surprising, as the capitalists do not want the working people to be made aware of the fact that the Hands Off Movement is growing, daily becoming ever stronger.

One video in particular, posted on the internet, deserves our attention. It is clear that the narrator is Leftist, even though he was reporting for a highly respectable mainstream outlet. It is titled, ‘’Anti Trump May Day Protests Erupt Coast To Coast’’. 

This particular protest was most impressive, with a rather sizeable crowd. As it was reported to be sponsored by the AFL-CIO labour union, it was mainly attended by members of the working class. Senator Sanders was the keynote speaker, and he was warning of the ‘’dangers and perils of the Oligarchy’’. As if the workers are not already well aware of this! 

The narrator made the point that there was a great deal of profanity on the signs. For that reason, the camera did not scan the crowd very closely. This shows proper respect for the viewers, and is most commendable. It also serves as a friendly bit of advice to those who take part in protest. Avoid profanity! That defeats the purpose of the posters! Instead of spreading the message, it limits the message!

Yet there was one sign which caught my attention. It stated: 

Peace! Democracy! Socialism!

This is a really fine slogan! Brief and right to the heart of the matter! Precisely what working people need!

It is reminiscent of the slogan of the working people of Russia, immediately before the Revolution of 1917. At that time, Russia was at war with Germany, people were starving, and the farmers wanted to own the land they were tilling. For that reason, the slogan was:

Peace! Land! Bread!

Now American working people are in a similar situation. They are suffering terribly, hungry, relying on food banks, many homeless, the ‘’more fortunate’’ living out of cars. Others are faced with the choice of paying rent or putting food on the table, trying desperately to ‘’make ends meet’’. Gang violence is wide spread, with ‘’drive by shootings’’ common place. Mass murder! The police are helpless against these well organized gangs, armed as they are with automatic weapons.

In terms of democracy, Trump is ever more blatantly showing his contempt for all laws. He has ordered ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to round up anyone they even suspect is an illegal immigrant, and send them out of the country, without any due process of law, as is guaranteed in the Constitution. Even American citizens are being deported! Court orders are being openly defied. District court judges and now being arrested! That madman must be stopped!

That is where socialism becomes so important. More precisely, Scientific Socialism, Communism, guided by the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin.

As yet, working people are being offered only Utopian Socialism, such as that of the Democratic Socialists of America, the DSA. Such people, although honest and well meaning, are attempting to divert the revolutionary movement, onto some harmless path of social reform. Harmless to the capitalists, the multi billionaires! The bourgeoisie!

Then there are those who claim to be Marxists, true Communists, but are not. Such people deny the need for revolution and the subsequent Dictatorship of the Proletariat, the ‘’touchstone of a true Communist’’, according to Lenin! Social chauvinists, socialists in words, chauvinists in deeds!

A similar situation existed in Russia, before the Revolution of 1917. Lenin covered this supremely well in his excellent book, What Is To Be Done?

At that time, the Russian Communist Party was referred to as the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. That Party was split, with a revolutionary faction, led by Lenin, as opposed to a reformist faction. Aside from the fact that we do not- as yet!- have a true Communist Party, that is very similar to our current situation. 

As far as Lenin was concerned, the opposing faction had their own agenda, which had nothing to do with Scientific Socialism. As he phrased the crux of the disagreement:

‘’Social Democracy must change from a Party of the social revolution into a democratic party of social reform’’. 

Compare this to that which Sanders and AOC are saying. Those two are calling for ‘’due process of law’’, to ‘’stop the Oligarchy’’, to ‘’fight for democracy’’, for ‘’judicial independence’’, for the ‘’rule of law’’, for ‘’immigrant and workers rights’’. All of this is nothing more than ‘’social reform’’!

This is characteristic of those who are Utopian Socialists, although they may refer to themselves as Independent Socialists, or Democratic Socialists. They have chosen to reject the Scientific Socialist theories of Marx and Lenin. They know better! They think that liberalism and socialism are the same! They deny the class struggle, and are careful to make no mention of classes, as we ‘’all live in a democratic society’’! ‘’Majority rule’’! Perish forbid that there should be any mention of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat!

Of course, just as in Russia, this criticism of the Scientific Socialist revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin, has merely been transferred from the bourgeois literature, as is taught in Universities, to the Utopian Socialists who are  calling for paltry reforms. The revolutionary movement, of the working class, must be diverted!

It is a fundamental tenet of Marxism, that the working class, the proletariat, is not aware of itself, as a class, with its own class interests. The conditions of life, of the proletariat, do not lead to that awareness. That awareness, class consciousness, must be brought to it, from an outside source. That outside source is middle class intellectuals. Or at least, that was previously the case. Now, not so much!

We now have a highly cultured working class, complete with various digital devices. We also have the internet, a most valuable source of information. This includes many of the revolutionary works of Marx and Lenin, which can be easily down loaded. Equally without doubt, advanced workers can do just that, and study them. It is better to study them with others, if at all possible. With the various ‘’social networks’’ available, on the internet, that is not difficult. Whatever it takes to make workers aware of those revolutionary Scientific Socialist theories! The more advanced workers can then pass that awareness on to those who are less advanced.

Bear in mind that, as Lenin stressed, ‘’Without a revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary movement’’. Revolution is what is needed! Scientific Socialism, in the form of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, is needed! The working class, the proletariat, must be made aware of this. The revolutionary motion needs direction! Proper leaders! Otherwise that revolutionary motion is like a ship sailing, but without a captain! Rudderless! Drifting around the ocean!

Just as a ship needs a captain, so too, the working class needs leaders. These leaders must be Scientific Socialists, true Marxists, Communists, those who call for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. 

We can take this comparison one step further, and compare the Scientific Socialist theories of Marx and Lenin, to a compass. Just as the captain of a ship uses the compass to chart a course for the ship, so too, the Communist leaders of the working class, can use those same Marxist theories to give direction to the working class revolutionary movement.

We can further compare the Captain of the ship to the true Communist Party, one which calls for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. 

The astute reader may have already guessed that the destination, of the working class movement, is first an Insurrection, in order to overthrow the ruling class of monopoly capitalists, the bourgeoisie, followed by the smashing of the existing state apparatus, that which is used to crush the working class. This must be immediately followed by setting up a different state apparatus, in order to crush the former billionaires, as they make every effort to ‘’restore their paradise lost’’. This new state apparatus is known as the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. The worst nightmare of every capitalist! With good reason, I might add!

This stands in stark contrast to the advice of the Utopian Socialists, those who are acting as ‘’Captains of the Ship of the Second American Revolution’’. For them to advise working people of the dangers of the Oligarchy, is similar to warning sailors of the dangers of storms! Tell them something they do not already know!

As for those readers who consider themselves to be ‘’landlubbers’’, unable to relate to ‘’nautical matters’’, may I suggest thinking of the class struggle as a ‘’boxing match’’. 

In this imaginary boxing match, one of the boxers is blind folded. That poor soul is swinging wildly in all directions, and on occasion, is able to land a solid punch, more or less by chance. By contrast, his opponent, who can see supremely well, is able to land blow after blow. 

Of course, the preceding was a none too subtle reference to the class struggle, that of the working class, the proletariat, against the capitalist class, the bourgeoisie. The boxer who is blindfolded is the proletariat, while the boxer who can see very well is the capitalist. 

The blindfold is a reference to the fact that the working class is not aware of itself, as a class, with its own class interests. Still less is it aware of the revolutionary Scientific Socialist theories of Marx and Lenin.

By contrast, the capitalist class is supremely well aware of itself, as a class. They are equally well aware of those same revolutionary theories, that of Marx and Lenin, as they learned about them in University. After all, it is only in University that the distortion of those theories is taught.  

As a means of ‘’levelling the playing field’’, so to speak, it is necessary to raise the level of awareness of the working class, to make them ‘’class conscious’’, to ‘’remove the blindfold’’. This is to say that they must be made aware of the Scientific Socialist revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin. 

Granted, the previous two metaphors are childish over simplifications. Certain readers may even find them to be somewhat offensive. Bear in mind that my main concern is with raising the level of awareness of the working class, including those who are somewhat less advanced. They have to start somewhere, and most can relate to sports comparisons.

It is not enough to ‘’Stop the Oligarchy’’, as recommended by the Utopian Socialists! They must be overthrown and crushed! And the whole class of multi billionaires, the bourgeoisie, along with them!

Those who are trying to divert the revolutionary motion of the working class, onto some harmless path of social reform, are in the service of the bourgeoisie. Regardless of their intentions! Frequently, they are not even aware of this! Unwitting pawns of the multi billionaires!

Those who are Utopian Socialists, such as Sanders and AOC, are not the enemy! They are merely misguided. The billionaires are using them, for their own purposes, that of diverting the revolutionary movement, onto some harmless path of social reform. 

It is important to realize that the two mainstream political parties, serve the same class. Regardless of what the Utopian Socialists may say, salvation does not lie with the Democratic Party! Further bear in mind that the legislative branch, both Houses of Congress, have abdicated their authority, to the executive branch. As well, the judicial branch is- at best!- slow to respond to any challenge.

We can only hope that a considerable number of Utopian Socialists will read the Scientific Socialist theories of Marx and Lenin, this time with an open mind. Once they grasp the fact that those theories are correct, then they can bring this awareness to the working class. That would be a fine service, and it is in their best interest to do so. After all, the bourgeoisie is determined to also wipe out the middle class. Such middle class intellectuals have no future under capitalism, but a bright future under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. 

The choice is stark and clear. Either the collapse of the democratic republic, to be replaced with the rule of the Oligarchy, headed by Trump, or revolution and the subsequent Dictatorship of the Proletariat. 

Gerald McIsaac