The current ‘’trade war’’, initiated by Donald Trump, has resulted in some ‘’unforeseen consequences’’, to phrase it politely. In particular, his 145% tariffs on all Chinese goods, imported into the country, has resulted in an ‘’economic crisis’’, within the country of China, according to an independent Leftist journalist. This he has documented reasonably well, in the video titled, Dark Days Started In China: Chinese Workers Turns Against Xi Jinping- Mass Protest & Strikes Rises!
Allow me to stress the fact that the details which are presented in this video, are valuable, if only because the Chinese government censors have done such a fine job of keeping all news reports, concerning any and all protests, ‘’under wraps’’. These details stand in stark contrast to the analysis, by the narrator, which is limited strictly by his bourgeois outlook. This is to say that his analysis is largely bogus.
The video documents the fact that Chinese protesters are chanting, ‘’Xi Jinping step down’’, as well as ‘’End Beijing’s Lockdown’’, and ‘’End Lockdowns All Over China’’. The narrator also makes the point that the situation is ‘’the same’’ in numerous cities, in that the ‘’people are in revolt, and hold Xi Jinping responsible for the economic crisis’’. He went on to say that, ‘’Millions of young Chinese, desperate about their future, have taken to the streets, for the first time, with such courage, carrying anti Ji banners. Opposition posters, graffiti and anti Ji slogans on the streets, are signs that many things are indeed changing in China.’’
These facts are promptly followed by an analysis: ’’What is the reason behind all this? Why is the Chinese people so angry with the government? The most obvious reason is the economic crisis in China’’, as well as the ‘’145% tariff imposed by the US on China’’, which has had a ‘’devastating impact on the Chinese economy…moreover, the social repercussions of this pressure are bringing to the fore a series of issues ranging from protests to tensions between the police and citizens.’’
This analysis is also somewhat valuable, as it provides us with a rather typical example of the bourgeois understanding of all revolutionary motion. The existence of classes, and of the class conflict, especially between the working class, the proletariat, and the monopoly capitalist class, the bourgeoisie, is carefully not mentioned. With that in mind, they are careful to refer to the crisis in capitalism, as an ‘’economic crisis’’, which has given rise to ‘’social repercussions’’, ‘’ranging from protests to tensions between the police and citizens’’.
As well, the fact that the existence of classes necessarily gives rise to a state apparatus, of which the police are the most visible presence, is carefully overlooked. I use the word ‘’necessarily’’, as it is necessary for the class in power, in this case the bourgeoisie, to subjugate all other classes, especially the proletariat. I use the word ‘’especially’’, as it is the proletariat, which is the only consistently revolutionary class. As the capitalists are well aware!
Incidentally, I mention this for the sake of countless working people, those who are just now becoming politically active. Welcome my Brothers and Sisters, my Comrades!
With that in mind, I will also mention that China was once a Socialist country, from the Chinese Revolution of 1949, until the death of Mao, in 1976. After his death, the capitalists were able to return to power. To this day, the new capitalist rulers, of China, have maintained that which they refer to as the Communist Party of China, CCP, as their preferred instrument of rule. It is absolutely not a true Communist Party, as it once was, under Mao. It is Communist in name only! Do not judge a book by its cover! The current members of the Chinese Communist Party are bourgeois, capitalist, to the very core of their being!
The video goes on to state that, in certain cities, the ‘’unemployment rate has reached double digits, with record levels of unemployment among young people with college degrees…reports of an increase in the numbers of protests in China are frequently making headlines….police intervention has been used in some cases….some unemployed young people, organized online, have criticized some government policies as inadequate, saying that they cannot provide jobs, and that there is not enough resistance against Trump’s sanctions…attempts are being made to delete or block them…Although large scale mass protests are being suppressed…small but determined street demonstrations are now being turned into mass popular uprisings…The young population…is now demanding jobs, bread and a future…Xi Jinping’s administration is struggling to cope with the social unrest it is trying to suppress domestically….protests are still making headlines….deflation, uncertainty, and unemployment, are combining to stifle the domestic market. This inevitably leads to protests, clashes with the police, and anti establishment sentiments…the interests of the Xi government, and the citizens, are increasingly at odds with each other, the country could be dragged into a process of chaos…Young people are faced with bankrupt factories, closed workshops, and empty container ships…the possibility of a sharper social reaction, within the country, may emerge…real stagnation and social unrest have yet to emerge…could the Chinese people’s uprising lead to a revolution in the country?’’
I have deliberately chosen to quote the preceding, in such detail, in order to drive home the point that the bourgeois journalists, even those who are Leftist leaning, will go to great length, will resort to such ‘’verbal gymnastics’’, in order to avoid any mention of revolution. Yet that particular journalist was finally able to face that prospect, however reluctantly, which is the reason I placed it in italics.
There is a good reason that the journalist is so worried that a revolution could soon break out in China. A second Chinese Revolution! Because he has accurately described a revolutionary situation!
As Lenin stated, in his work Left Wing Communism, An Infantile Disorder, ‘’The fundamental law of revolution, which has been confirmed by all revolutions, and especially by all three Russian revolutions of the Twentieth Century, is as follows: for a revolution to take place, it is not enough for the exploited and oppressed masses to realize the impossibility of living in the old way, and demand changes; for a revolution to take place, it is essential that the exploiters should not be able to live and rule in the old way. It is only when the ‘lower classes’ do not want to live in the old way and the ‘upper classes’ cannot carry on in the old way, that the revolution can triumph’’. (italics by Lenin)
The current situation in China, as described in the previously mentioned video, fits the description of a revolutionary situation. The Second Chinese Revolution is on the horizon!
The common people of China, by whom I mean the workers and family farmers, have one important advantage, in their war with the capitalists. That advantage lies with their experience of the Great Chinese Proletarian Cultural Revolution.
This calls for a little explanation. First, let me stress the fact that the ‘’Road to Scientific Socialism’’, is not similar to a four lane highway. On the contrary, the capitalists have placed ‘’potholes and roadblocks’’ at every opportunity. They are determined to maintain their life of luxury, at the expense of the working class. The experience of previous revolutions has confirmed this, beyond any shadow of a doubt.
As is well known, the Great October Soviet Socialist Revolution of 1917, led by Lenin, gave birth to the Soviet Union. The first Scientific Socialist Republic! After the death of Lenin, in 1924, Stalin became the new leader. He was responsible for transforming the Soviet Union, from a rather backward, primarily agrarian country, into a highly industrialized country, on a par with the United States, through several Five Year Plans. This placed them in a good position to face the Nazis, in 1941. They refer to this as the Great Patriotic War.
Several years later, in 1949, the Chinese Revolution was also successful. Mao Tse Tung and the Chinese Communist Party led the Revolution to victory. Two of the largest countries in the world were, at that time, socialist.
After the death of Stalin, in 1953, the capitalists of the Soviet Union were able to return to power. To say that the world, or at least the most progressive people of the world, Scientific Socialists, Communists, were surprised, is an under statement. At first, all too many could not believe it. This is referred to as ‘’living in denial’’.
Such an attitude is common place, to this day, even among those who are Scientific Socialists. It is also inexcusable, as Lenin warned that, after the revolution, after the capitalists are overthrown, after the capitalists are crushed, under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, they will not resign themselves to their fate! On the contrary, their resistance will ‘’increase tenfold’’, as they make every effort to ‘’restore their paradise lost’’!
Lenin was not joking! The capitalists weaselled their way into the Communist Party, and with Stalin out of the way, seized power.
The Chinese Communist Party was slow to respond, but respond they did. They conducted a proper criticism of Stalin, and concluded that Stalin was a great revolutionary, but had made some rather serious mistakes. It was those mistakes which enabled the capitalists to return to power. In addition, the Chinese Communist Party launched the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, in 1960. A truly magnificent, ten year Revolution.
For ten years, the common people of China took part in this Revolution, in which the capitalists were rooted out of various fields of culture. In the process, they became schooled in the class struggle. For that reason, Mao was of the opinion that any return to power, of the Chinese capitalists, would not last for long. At worst, a few decades. As it has been several decades, since they returned to power, it is high time they were overthrown.
No doubt, the veterans of the Cultural Revolution will now coach the younger generation, in the class conflict. More accurately, class war, as it is a class war.
We can only hope that they will be able to download the revolutionary works of Marx and Lenin, as well as Mao, from the internet. As the situation is now far different from that of 1949, with parts of the country now highly industrialized, the works of Marx and Lenin are more relevant.
There can be no doubt that the Chinese people will once again, overthrow their capitalists, and crush them, under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Except that this time, they will do a more thorough job.
As I have mentioned, in a previous article, the mistake of the Chinese Communists, lies in that of not carrying the Cultural Revolution through, to its logical conclusion, that of a Scientific Revolution. Just as the capitalists were hiding in various fields of culture, so too, they were hiding in various fields of science. By and large, they remained hidden, biding their time, waiting for the moment to strike. The death of Mao provided them with that moment. The rest is history, as they say.
Bear in mind that I use the word science, in the loosest possible sense, to include all fields of academia. All such fields are crawling with capitalists, and must be cleansed.
This is to stress the fact that Scientific Socialism, Communism, is a science, and should be treated as a science. The revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin, as well as Mao, must be put into practice and refined. We must learn from the experience of previous revolutions. All of us are human, we all make mistakes, including the best of the Communists. It is our duty to learn from the successes, as well as the failures, of previous revolutionaries.
As for those who are discouraged by the fact, that the two previous attempts at Scientific Socialism, have resulted in the capitalists returning to power, may I suggest that no one promised you a rose garden. This is war, class war, every bit as real as any other war throughout history. Further, there is a big difference between losing a battle and losing a war.
Feel free to take some comfort from the experiences of previous revolutions. Shortly after the successful Russian Great October Soviet Revolution, the counter revolutionaries, the ‘’Whites’’, controlled possibly three quarters of the country. The Soviets were ‘’hanging on by their fingertips’’, desperately protecting the major cities, with their key factories and railroads. The Whites were within a few kilometres of the capital, Saint Petersburg. Yet the Communists did not despair. They called upon the working class, the proletariat, and the most advanced workers responded. With great sacrifice, they pushed the Whites back.
A similar situation unfolded in the late fall of 1941. The Nazis were within a few kilometres of the capitol of Moscow. World leaders were convinced that the Soviet Union was defeated. The exception was the Soviet High Command. They were of a different opinion.
In fact, to the astonishment of everyone, especially the Nazis, the Soviets conducted a November 7, Victory Day Parade in Moscow! This had the desired effect of raising morale. Every member of the military, from the highest ranking general to the raw recruits, knew that the war was far from over. They were determined to drive out the Nazi invaders.
This was followed by a massive offensive in December, which succeeded in pushing the Nazi invaders back, a considerable distance.
I offer these as examples of courage and sacrifice, on the part of working class people, against over whelming odds. Bear in mind that workers, proletarians, have no country. We do have a common enemy, the monopoly capitalist class, the bourgeoisie.
Perhaps those who are experiencing despair, can take some inspiration from this. If not, then by all means, get out of the way! The crisis in capitalism has spread to numerous countries, as has the revolutionary movement. A multi national revolution is about to take place. We have no use for quitters! Get active or get out!
Gerald McIsaac
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 