Recently, within the state of Minnesota, two working class protesters, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, were murdered, by federal officials. The common people of Minnesota, both workers and family farmers, have responded with mass protests, against various federal government agencies, including ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI and Border Patrol, among others. This has succeeded in forcing those federal agencies to ‘’scale back’’ their efforts to ‘’apprehend’’ people, those who are classified as ‘’undocumented immigrants’’, to use their terminology.
It is clear that the working people of Minnesota are in the forefront of this, the Second American Revolution. As that Revolution is part of the world wide movement, or more accurately, the revolutionary motion of the world, for Scientific Socialism, commonly referred to as Communism, this calls for our whole hearted support.
There can be no doubt that this, the Second American Revolution, which is currently unfolding, will closely resemble the Great Russian Soviet Socialist October Revolution of 1917.
No doubt, there are a great many people who will dispute that statement, with good reason. After all, at that time in Russia, there were a great many family farmers, referred to as peasants, possibly as many as three quarters of the population. No one seems to know the precise number, but it was considerable. Yet the working class, the proletariat, although in the minority, possessed considerable political power, out of all proportion to their percentage of the population.
Lenin went into this, in considerable detail, in 1920, with the writing of Left Wing Communism, An Infantile Disorder. He immediately cut straight to the heart of the matter, with the title of the first section:
‘’IN WHAT SENSE WE CAN SPEAK OF THE INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
‘’In the first months after the proletariat in Russia had won political power (October 25, old style calendar, November 7, new style calendar, 1917), it might have seemed that the enormous differences between backward Russia and the advanced countries of Western Europe, would lead to the proletarian revolution in the latter countries bearing very little resemblance to ours. We now possess quite considerable international experience, which shows very definitely that certain fundamental features of our revolution have a significance that is not local, or peculiarly national, or Russian alone, but international. I am not speaking here of international experience in the broad sense of the term: not merely several but all the primary features of our revolution, and many of its secondary features, are of international significance in the meaning of its effect on all countries. I am speaking of it in the narrowest sense of the word, taking international significance to mean the international validity or the historical inevitability of a repetition, on an international scale, of what has taken place in our country. It must be admitted that certain fundamental features of our revolution do possess that significance.
‘’It would, of course, be grossly erroneous to exaggerate this truth, and to extend it beyond certain fundamental features of our revolution…
‘’At the present moment in history, however, it is the Russian model that reveals to all countries something- and something highly significant- of their near and inevitable future. Advanced workers in all lands have long realized this; more often than not, they have grasped it with their revolutionary class instinct, rather than realized it. Herein lies the international ‘significance’ (in the narrow sense of the word) of Soviet power, and in the fundamentals of Bolshevik theory and tactics.’’ (italics by Lenin)
Allow me to mention, for the sake of those who are just now becoming politically active, that the Russian word ‘’Soviet’’ means ‘’Council’’, in English. Also, the Russian word ‘’Bolshevik’’ means ‘’Majority’’, in English. At the time this article was written, it referred to a true Marxist Party, formerly known as the Social Democratic Party, which split into a minority and a majority. The majority, or Bolshevik, led by Lenin, remained a true Marxist Party, one which called for Soviet Power and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. That same Party later changed its name to the Communist Party.
The reference Lenin makes to ‘’Soviet power’’, requires an explanation. These Soviets, or Councils, first appeared, quite spontaneously, during the First Russian Revolution of 1905. Common people, or at least workers, proletarians, came together spontaneously, and elected leaders who formed a Soviet. These Soviets then spread to peasants and the military. This gave rise to Soviets of Workers, Soviets of Peasants, and Soviets of Soldiers.
As the First Russian Revolution was crushed, the Soviets were also crushed. Or more accurately, they were forced to adapt, to go ‘’underground’’, to work in the service of the common people in secret, hidden from the view of the Russian government. Despite the pressure ‘’from above’’, they were never completely destroyed. And as the revolutionary movement ‘’picked up’’, becoming ever stronger, the strength of the Soviets also increased. As a result, at the time of the Russian Revolution of February, 1917, the Soviets were almost as strong as the Constituent Assembly.
The creation of Soviets happened spontaneously, as all Scientific Socialists, which is to say Marxists, at that time referred to as Social Democrats, had earlier been arrested and either executed, imprisoned or sent into exile. Lenin was in exile. For that reason, they had nothing to do with the creation of Soviets.
This is to say that revolutionary motion frequently, but by no means always, gives rise to Soviets. Without doubt, the Second American Revolution, currently raging, has given rise to Soviets, referred to as Councils. We know this for a fact, because recently, a portion of the city of Seattle, in a display of ‘’starry eyed optimism’’, declared itself to be ‘’Autonomous’’. Their leaders formed a ‘’Council’’, and declared the creation of the ‘’Capital Hill Autonomous Zone’’.
It is a fundamental tenet of Marxism, that ‘’state power is the fundamental question of every revolution.’’ Which class holds state power? By declaring itself to be ‘’Autonomous’’, Capital Hill was challenging the state power of the capitalists. The capitalists responded by crushing that Autonomous Zone, with considerable brutality.
Incidentally, it remains to be seen if the word ‘’Council’’ will continue to be used, in America, or if the word ‘’Soviet’’ will take its place. For the purposes of this article, I will use the word ‘’Council’’, when referring to the American Revolution.
It was Marx who conducted a detailed, thorough analysis of capitalism, and based on that study, proved that capitalism would give birth to socialism. This is to stress the fact that Marx was a Scientific Socialist. In fact, he spelled it out quite clearly, in his letter to Weydemeyer, in 1852. As Marx stated:
‘’What I did that was new was to prove: 1) that the existence of classes is only bound up with particular historical phases in the development of production; 2) that the class struggle necessarily leads to the Dictatorship of the Proletariat; 3) that this Dictatorship itself only constitutes the transition to the abolish of all classes and to a classless society.’’ (my italics)
At the risk of pointing out the obvious, allow me to state that it is one thing to be destined to establish a state of Scientific Socialism, in the form of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, and something else entirely to be aware of this. What is more, the working class, the proletariat, is not aware of this!
The conditions of life, of the working class, do not lead to the awareness of itself, as a class! Lenin covered this supremely well in his article, What Is To Be Done? As he stated:
‘’We said that there could not yet be Social-Democratic consciousness among the workers. This consciousness could only be brought to them from without. The history of all countries shows that the working class, exclusively by its own efforts, is able to develop only trade union consciousness, i.e., it may itself realize the necessity for combining in unions, for fighting against the employers and for striving to compel the government to pass necessary labour legislation, etc. The theory of socialism, however, grew out of the philosophic, historical and economic theories that were elaborated by the educated representatives of the properties classes, the intellectuals. According to their social status, the founders of modern Scientific Socialism, Marx and Engels, themselves belonged to the bourgeois intelligentsia.’’ (italics by Lenin, ‘’i.e.’’ means ‘’that is’’, and ‘’Social Democratic’’ consciousness is consciousness of Scientific Socialism)
It is the duty of Scientific Socialists, Communists, to raise the level of awareness of the working class, to make them aware of themselves, as a class, with their own class interests. Further, these class interests are diametrically opposed to the interests of the monopoly capitalists, the bourgeoisie. Hence the need to overthrow those imperialists, smash the existing state apparatus, and crush them, under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat.
It is also a fact that the less advanced workers pay strict attention to the most advanced workers. Advanced workers lead, the less advanced workers follow. It stands to reason that we should focus mainly on the most advanced workers. Further, the most advanced workers are currently focused on the events taking place in the state of Minnesota.
With that in mind, it follows that we should support the common people of Minnesota, in their struggle against ICE, in every way possible. In the interest of raising their level of awareness, we can encourage them to read the Communist Manifesto, by Marx and Engels, as well as the Essential Works of Lenin. Perhaps the most important of those works is State and Revolution, in which the importance of smashing the existing state apparatus, at the time of the Revolution is stressed, and replacing it, with the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Other required reading includes Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, What Is To Be Done?, and Left Wing Communism, An Infantile Disorder.
All of those Scientific Socialist writings are available on Amazon, and can be easily downloaded from the internet. An understanding of those books will go a long way towards raising the level of awareness, of those advanced workers, to the level of true Communists, Scientific Socialists.
Bear in mind that, as Lenin stated, those of us who live in a highly industrialized country, are confronted with ‘’a bourgeoisie that is fully organized and can rely on all the achievements of modern civilization and engineering.’’ For that reason, it is supremely difficult to start the Revolution, but once begun, is much easier to continue.
Our current situation closely resembles that which Lenin faced, immediately after the October Revolution of 1917. At that time, Lenin was of the opinion that it was the ‘’eve of a world wide socialist revolution’’. As indeed it was.
That was also the opinion of the bourgeoisie. For that reason, they decided to bribe as many working class leaders as possible, intimidate countless others, and murder those who were ‘’completely unreasonable’’, as they phrased it. Lenin was murdered. Shot in 1918, and died in 1924, as a result of complications from those wounds.
As I have documented in previous articles, his successor was Josef Stalin, a great revolutionary, but one who made some serious mistakes. This allowed the capitalists to return to power, after his death. In much the same way, Mao Tse Tung was also a great revolutionary, but also made some serious mistakes. After his death, the Chinese capitalists were also able to return to power.
This is no cause for despair, on our part. The class struggle is not to be confused with a ‘’tea party’’. A ‘’rose garden’’, it is not! Without doubt, it will soon break out into open class warfare. Civil war! Capitalists against workers! Bourgeois against proletarians! And if previous revolutions are any indication, there will be no quarter!
In preparation for that approaching Revolution, it is up to us to learn from the mistakes of previous great revolutionaries. Better to learn from those mistakes, rather than repeat them. Bear in mind that the better prepared we are, the better the chances of our success.
This brings me to that which Lenin referred to as ‘’Europe’s greatest misfortune and danger’’, that of a lack of a revolutionary party. I would add that it has now extended to other parts of the world, including North America. I can even go so far as to say that, at present, there is no true Scientific Socialist, Communist Party, one which calls for Soviet Power and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, in the world.
On the other hand, Lenin added that,
‘’A mighty, popular revolutionary movement may rectify this deficiency, but it is nevertheless a serious misfortune and a grave danger.
‘’That is why we must do our utmost to expose renegades like Kautsky, thereby supporting the revolutionary groups of genuine internationalist workers, who are to be found in all countries. The proletariat will very soon turn away from the traitors and renegades and follow these groups, drawing and training leaders from their midst. No wonder the bourgeoisie of all countries are howling about ‘world Bolshevism’.
‘’World Bolshevism will conquer the world bourgeoisie’’. (italics by Lenin, Kautsky was once a fine Marxist, but ‘’turned his coat’’, became a ‘’renegade’’, and Scientific Socialism, also known as Communism, was at that time referred to as Bolshevism)
We are now experiencing a ‘’mighty, popular revolutionary movement’’, and it may indeed ‘’rectify this deficiency’’, this ‘’grave danger’’. Without doubt, this ‘’revolutionary movement’’ is taking place in various parts of the world, including America, Iran, Russia, China, Western Europe and the African Sehel.
Whether or not this ‘’grave deficiency’’ is ‘’rectified’’, is largely up to us. To phrase it in popular terms, the ‘’ball is in our court’’. Those of us who are aware of the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin, Scientific Socialists, may choose to come together and form a true Communist Party, one which calls for Soviet Power and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, or not. As I have covered this in previous articles, there is no need to go into it here.
Either way, as Lenin pointed out, it is our duty to expose the renegades, the traitors to Scientific Socialism, those who claim to be Marxists, Communists, or even mere Socialists, while distorting those same revolutionary theories. There is no shortage of such people. They take great delight in misleading the common people, encouraging them to fight for mere reforms, to ‘’patch up’’ the system, to ‘’change the system from within’’, to ‘’send Democratic Socialists to the nations capital’’, as a means of securing political power, and other such foolishness.
That being said, perhaps the best way to expose them is to support them, in their efforts to ‘’flood Washington with Democratic Socialists’’, for example. It will not change the fact that the class of monopoly capitalists, the bourgeoisie, are in charge, and fully intend to remain in charge. Within all capitalist countries, which have embraced imperialism, there can be no peaceful transition to socialism.
Allow me to stress the fact that our support for certain Democratic Socialists, for example, on certain issues, does not reflect our support for those individuals. It is merely a means of persuading as many working people as possible, of the correctness of the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin, Scientific Socialism.
This brings me to the statement of Lenin, which is all too often overlooked. That is the fact that there are ‘’revolutionary groups of genuine internationalist workers, who are to be found in all countries.’’
It is my understanding that his reference to ‘’internationalist workers’’, as opposed to ‘’advanced workers’’, is to say that these internationalist workers are nothing other than the most advanced workers.
Further, as ‘’birds of a feather flock together’’, these revolutionary internationalist workers have come together in groups, in all countries. It is up to us to identify these groups, of revolutionary internationalist workers, and to support them, to raise their level of awareness, to that of Scientific Socialists. After all, as the ‘’traitors and renegades’’ to socialism are exposed, so many working class people will follow these groups. The members of those groups who are able to raise themselves theoretically, to the level of Scientific Socialists, will become the new leaders.
We will know that we are being successful, in this noble endeavour, when the bourgeoisie of all countries, start howling about ‘’World Communism’’.
Concerning the subject of ‘’World Communism’’, as the bourgeois phrase it, Lenin had a few words to say, although not in those precise terms. Immediately after the October Revolution of 1917, the most advanced strata of the proletariat, at least in the most highly industrialized countries, embraced Soviet Power and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Such is no longer the case.
As Lenin phrased it, in Left Wing Communism, An Infantile Disorder:
‘’The chief thing- though, of course, far from everything- the chief thing has already been achieved: the vanguard of the working class has been won over, has ranged itself on the side of Soviet government and against parliamentarianism, on the side of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat and against bourgeois democracy.’’
From this, it is clear that our immediate goal, or ‘’chief thing’’, as Lenin phrased it, is to ‘’win over’’ the ‘’vanguard of the working class’’, in favour of ‘’Soviet government’’ and the ‘’Dictatorship of the Proletariat’’, as opposed to ‘’parliamentarianism and bourgeois democracy’’.
This is indeed a ‘’tall order’’, but nowhere near as difficult as it was a few years ago. The important difference is that now, the capitalists have seen fit to bless us with the internet. For their own purposes, mind you, but it remains a blessing. The least we can do, in return, is to express our appreciation by using that same internet against them. A weapon in the class struggle! Or perhaps more accurately, a weapon in the class war!
We can use it to get in touch with each other, as well as countless working people, literally around the world. There is no need to get together, in person, or even write letters. We can send emails and access private web sites. If the pedophiles can do this, then we can too!
Although I say this in jest, it is a serious matter. The bourgeois will not hesitate to murder anyone they see as a serious threat. Bear in mind that they murdered Martin Luther King, even though King was a pacifist!
In conclusion, may I suggest that Scientific Socialists, Communists, all around the world, get in touch with each other. True Communist Parties, which call for Soviet Power and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, must be established. May I further suggest that such Parties be International. There is no need to have a separate Communist Party in each and every country, although there is no harm in that either. Perhaps a Communist Party of Western Europe, for example. As well as North America. Huge countries, such as Russia and China, may prefer to have their own Communist Parties.
These Communist Parties, once established, are better able to raise the level of awareness of the working class, in various parts of the world. Once the vanguard of the working class is ‘’won over’’ to Soviet Power and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, then we can proceed from there. First things first!
With Most Sincere Communist Greetings,
Gerald McIsaac
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 