The year 1917 gave rise to a number of events, which stunned the world, especially the monopoly capitalists, the imperialists, the bourgeoisie. The First World War was raging, as the leaders of the so called ‘’Great Powers’’, the most highly industrialized countries of the world, squabbled over their colonies.
The ‘’Central Powers’’, which is to say Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire, attempted to separate the leaders of Britain, France and Russia of ‘’their’’ colonies. Of course, the slaughter of countless common people, workers and family farmers, was of absolutely no concern to the imperialists.
First, the Russian February Revolution managed to overthrow the Romanov dynasty, led by Czar Nicholas, which had been ruling Russia for three centuries. All of the European nobility was completely appalled. As it is the opinion of the nobility that it is ‘’God’s will’’ that they should rule over the rest of us ‘’commoners’’, their astonishment is completely understandable.
As if that was not ‘’bad enough’’, the second Russian Revolution of 1917 took place. This has gone down in history as the Great October Soviet Socialist Revolution. The common people, the workers and family farmers, led by the Bolsheviks, rose up and overthrew the Provisional Government, that which represented the landlords and capitalists. The existing state apparatus was destroyed, and a state of Scientific Socialism was established, in the form of Soviet Power and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat and Poor Peasants.
As leader of the newly created Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, Lenin proposed peace terms to all of the warring countries. Of course these terms were rejected, and the ‘’great slaughter’’ of the working people continued. As well, the huge Russian Army simply disintegrated, and had to be rebuilt, but as a Socialist Army. So Lenin was forced to sue for peace terms, from the Central Powers, on behalf of the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Peace was finally concluded, on March 3, of 1918, in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The peace terms were harsh. Soviet Russia was forced to concede a third of her population, half of her industry, and almost all of her coal mines. Yet the Bolsheviks accepted these terms, as the alternative was complete destruction. Further, in August of that year, Russia was forced to pay an additional six billion marks in ‘’war reparations’’ to Germany.
Incidentally, the treaty was ‘’short lived’’, which is to say ‘’annulled’’, following the defeat of Germany and the Central Powers in the Armistice of November 11, 1918.
The preceding brief ‘’history lesson’’ is well known to all middle class readers, and of course they find such ‘’trivia’’ to be most tiresome. Yet my focus is upon the members of the working class, hourly employees, proletarians, those who were previously ‘’apathetic’’, and have now ‘’woken up’’, as they phrase it, as a result of the revolutionary motion, and are ‘’capable of waging the political struggle’’, as Lenin stated, in Left Wing Communism, An Infantile Disorder.
Bear in mind that it is the working class, the proletariat, and only the proletariat, which is capable of reversing the decline of our civilization, of overthrowing the ruling class of completely reactionary monopoly capitalists, the bourgeoisie, of smashing the existing state apparatus, and replacing that apparatus, with a new state apparatus, that of Scientific Socialism, in the form of Soviet Power and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat.
Without doubt, the time immediately following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, was quite exciting. For the first time in several years, the country was not at war. Further, the Czar was no longer in power, and the capitalists and landlords had been overthrown. The workers and family farmers, referred to as ‘’Poor Peasants’’, were firmly in charge, determined to build a Scientific Socialist society. Yet the country was in ruins, surrounded by enemies who were far stronger, and the army was practically non existent. As well, the nobility, landlords and capitalists were still a power to be reckoned with, determined to return to power. For that reason, it was necessary to ‘’establish priorities’’. Lenin referred to this priority as the ‘’Key Link’’.
In fact, in March of 1918, Lenin wrote an article, titled: The Immediate Tasks of the Soviet Government:
‘’It is not enough to be a revolutionary and an adherent of socialism, or a Communist in general. You must be able, at each particular moment, to find the particular link in the chain, which you must grasp with all your might, in order to hold the whole chain, and to prepare firmly for the transition to the next link; the order of the links, their form, the manner in which they are linked together, the way they differ from each other in the historical chain of events, are not as simple and not as meaningless as those in an ordinary chain, made by a smith.’’
Our current situation is also ‘’exciting’’, so to speak. Without doubt, the revolutionary motion of the working class, in various countries of the world, and not just the most advanced countries, is approaching a ‘’peak’’. This is to say that a revolution is bound to break out, in one country of the world, and almost certainly spread to other countries. This ‘’begs the question’’: Will those revolutions be truly Scientific Socialist?
To a large extent, that depends upon us, which is to say Scientific Socialists. The conditions of life, of the working class, do not lead to the awareness of itself, as a class. They are certainly not aware of the Revolutionary Scientific Socialist theories of Marx and Lenin. After all, those theories are taught only in Universities, mainly to the children of the ‘’propertied classes’’, the bourgeois, and then only with a view to distorting those theories.
For that reason, it is up to Scientific Socialists to bring this awareness to the working class, or at least the most advanced members of that class. This is nowhere near as difficult as it used to be, as the working people are now quite cultured, with access to various digital devices, as well as the internet. As I have covered this in previous articles, there is no need to repeat it here.
The ‘’Key Link’’ now, in the class struggle, is to prepare the working class, the proletariat, for the approaching world revolution. They must be made aware of the difference between utopian socialism, and Scientific Socialism. They must further be made aware that they are destined to overthrow the monopoly capitalists, the bourgeoisie, smash the existing state apparatus, and replace it with a new state apparatus, in the form of Soviet Power and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat.
Yet there are those who may object, quite reasonably, that ‘’time is not on our side’’, as the revolution could break out at any time, and quickly spread around the world. To such people I can only respond that, you are so right. But bear in mind that in July of 1917, there was a spontaneous uprising in the capital of Petrograd, in Russia. From July 3 to 7, the workers and military personnel of Petrograd were demonstrating, demanding the overthrow of the bourgeois Provisional Government. They were demanding that the Soviet of Workers and Soldiers Deputies assume power.
Yet Lenin was of the opinion that it was too soon to seize power, as at that time, an insufficient number of workers and farmers were supporting the Bolsheviks. So the Party members were ordered to increase the level of awareness among the workers and family farmers, in preparation for the approaching Revolution. Within a few short months, they succeeded.
Our situation is far more favourable, as so many common people are cultured, with access to the internet. Now we can and must use the internet to raise the level of awareness of the working class, so that at least the most advanced workers embrace Scientific Socialism, in the form of Soviet Power and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat.
Bear in mind that the ‘’social chauvinists’’, those who are socialists in words, chauvinists in deeds, also known as ‘’revisionists’’, those who revise the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin, are determined to seize control of the existing state apparatus, at the time of the Revolution, and set themselves up, as the new rulers.
They must be stopped. The only way in which this can be done is by raising the level of awareness of the proletariat. That is the current ‘’Key Link’’. I have chosen to conclude this article with that which Lenin ended his article, in 1918:
‘’The only class that can lead the working and exploited people is the class that unswervingly follows its path without losing courage and without giving way to despair, even at the most difficult, arduous and dangerous stages. Hysterical impulses are of no use to us. What we need is the steady advance of the iron battalions of the proletariat.’’
We will know we are being successful, in our goal of raising the level of awareness of the working class, when banners and posters read:
Workers of the World, Unite!
Scientific Socialism!
Soviet Power!
Dictatorship of the Proletariat!
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 