Author: Gerald Mcisaac

The title of this chapter may seem to be rather strange, but I have deliberately chosen it, as it correctly expresses the concern of numerous journalists. Many of them are well respected, considered to be among the finest in their profession, even though ‘’Left Leaning’’. Their presentations, concerning the ‘’debt crisis’’, accurately states the facts. At the same time, their analysis is frequently in direct contradiction to those facts! 

Yet this is characteristic, of the rather strange behaviour of middle class journalists. As Lenin pointed out, middle class people, those whom are technically referred to as ‘’petty bourgeois’’, are members of the most patriotic class. Their position in society leads to this patrIotism! It is clearly painful for them, to even consider the possibility that their elected leaders, in Washington, would deliberately allow the country to default! They consider this to be nothing less than an act of treason! 

For the sake of those who are not familiar with American politics, perhaps a little background is in order. 

In American bourgeois politics, there are basically two political parties, Democrats and Republicans. The president, Joe Biden, is currently a Democrat, and the Democrats control the 100 member Senate, by the slimmest of margins. 

On the other hand, the Republicans control the 435 Member House of Representatives, also by a razor thin margin, of 221-211.

This is significant, as the Republican Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, can afford to ‘’lose’’ only four votes, in order to get a bill passed, by the House. 

Yet the American government is close to ‘’default’’, which is to say that they have no money to pay their bills. They have reached their ‘’debt ceiling’’. They cannot go any deeper into debt, without the approval of the House, as by law, the House controls the money.

In fact, the government ‘’reached the debt ceiling in January’’, according to the economists, and has since ‘’resorted to extraordinary measures’’, other wise known as ‘’creative book keeping’’, in order to pay the bills. Such book keeping is commonly referred to as fraud.

Still, the economists are pointing out that the default cannot be avoided, and may happen as soon as early June. Unless, of course, the government is allowed to ‘’increase the debt ceiling’’, so that they will be allowed to borrow more money. As the House controls the money, it is up to the House to act. Or not!

So now it is up to the Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, to gather enough votes, within his own Party, to raise the debt ceiling. Otherwise, he will be blamed for the American default.

With possibly a mere five weeks remaining, before the country is unable to pay its bills, it is up to Kevin McCarthy, as Speaker of the House, to come up with a bill to increase that debt ceiling. In fact, he made a supreme effort, and did just that, on April 26. 

That bill is widely seen to be DOA, Dead On Arrival. It has absolutely no chance of being signed into law. Both the Senate and President Biden have vowed to kill the bill.

Some of the finest of the bourgeois journalists, who make a career of covering Washington politics, are reporting that the Republican Members of Congress are deeply divided.

In particular, they have identified no less than eight Members of Congress, whom they refer to as the ‘’Five Families’’. This is their less than subtle way of comparing them to the Mobsters, of New York City. 

Be that as it may, it is clear that the journalists have a very low opinion of those Members. They think that those particular Members are placing their own personal concerns above the interests of the country. 

In this, the journalists are absolutely correct!   

For some time, there was speculation that the Republican House Members could not possibly agree to any bill, which involved raising the debt ceiling. Yet over a period of several days, and in the process of ‘’tense negotiations’’, McCarthy managed to get together just enough votes, to get such a bill passed. 

The critics point out that in order to get that support, McCarthy had to make numerous concessions. Up until the moment the bill was sent to the ‘’House Floor’’, to be voted on, changes were being made. 

These changes are significant, as the ‘’spending bill’’, that which ‘’raises the debt ceiling’’, is tied in with that which is  referred to as ‘’dramatic cuts to the social safety net and its safety infrastructure’’.

That is putting it politely! 

In terms of the ‘’social safety net’’, it will ‘’end critical food assistance’’, so that the hungry will not receive food stamps. Also, there will be dramatic cuts to Medicaid, with so many people being deprived of medical coverage. Others will have to pay a great deal more. There will be no housing assistance, for those who need it most. The number of homeless people is expected to sky rocket. The promise of President Biden, to forgive student loans, will be cancelled. Those with student loans will be forced to continue making payments. There will be cuts to early childhood education, as well as cuts to Veterans Affairs. There will be no support for that which is referred to as ‘’Green Energy’’. There will be far fewer people in the IRS. In fact, it is anticipated that ‘’countless people will lose their jobs’’, and not just in the IRS! 

As concerns the ‘’safety infrastructure’’, there will be far fewer rail safety inspections, as well as fewer air traffic controllers. Both air and rail travel are about to become far more dangerous! 

Certain journalists are referring to this as a ‘’symbolic victory for McCarthy’’. They are of the opinion that it will ‘’give him leverage, in order to negotiate with Biden’’. Nonsense! Such is hardly the case! Negotiation is out of the question! The two are deadlocked!

McCarthy was forced to include all of those demands, in order to secure sufficient votes to get the bill through the House. If he ‘’negotiates away’’ even one demand, then the Member who insisted on that demand, will change his vote, and then the revised bill will not pass the House!

On the other hand, Biden can not possibly agree to any of those demands, because it would cost him the next presidential election! Not that the bill will ever get to his desk, because it first has to be passed by the Senate! Not about to happen! Especially as the Democrats are just as deeply divided as the Republicans!

One journalist, in particular, described this in rather dramatic terms. She is of the opinion that the Republican Members of Congress, are using the ‘’threat’’ of ‘’driving the country into default’’, for their own purposes, that they are ‘’holding the American economy hostage’’. As she stated, now that McCarthy has finally brought the bill to the floor of the House, the ‘’ransom demands’’ have finally been announced: Massive cuts to social and safety programs!

In support of this bill, a great many of the more ‘’Right wing’’ economists are predicting that the ‘’debt ceiling can be breached with only minimal impact.’’

In fact, that ‘’minimal impact’’ would include a dramatic increase to the suffering of the ‘’common people’’, the working class, the proletariat! Yet that is of no concern to the monopoly capitalists, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie! 

In all fairness, we have to admit that they have a point! It all depends upon your class outlook! The members of the capitalist class, the billionaires, care not in the slightest, about the members of the working class!

Naturally, the opinion of the more honest, ‘’Left leaning’’ economists, which is to the effect that ‘’breaching the national debt’’, could well lead to ‘’economic disaster’’, is largely ignored. 

In fact, it is fast approaching! Neither Biden nor McCarthy is in any position to negotiate!

This is to stress the fact that the ruling class, in this case the monopoly capitalists, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie, have come to a state of crisis. They ‘’can no longer rule in the old way’’. It is also a fact that the ‘’lower classes’’, in this case the working class, and the -soon to be ruined!- middle class, are supremely well aware that they can ‘’no longer live in the old way’’. This is the very definition of a ‘’Revolutionary situation’’, as per Lenin, in Left Wing Communism, An Infantile Disorder. 

Yet that in no way changes the fact that the working class, the proletariat, is still not aware of itself as a class, with its own class interests. It is still less aware of the Revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin. Through no fault of its own, I might add. After all, those Revolutionary theories are only mentioned in university. 

My point is that the creation of a true Communist Party, one which calls for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, is urgent. Only such a Communist Party can provide the proletariat with the awareness, the direction, which it so desperately needs.

For now, as always, the working class is struggling. Yet this struggle is not focused! How can it be focused? They are not aware that the capitalists are the enemy! They are not aware that the state apparatus must be smashed, and replaced, with the Dictatorship of the Proletariat! They are not aware of the need for Revolution!

In a previous article, I compared this class struggle to two boxers, one of whom is blindfolded. Of course the capitalists are supremely class conscious, focused on squeezing as much money from the working class as possible. By contrast, the working class is not aware of itself as a class, that the capitalists are the class enemy. For that reason, the working class can be compared to the boxer who is blind folded, swinging wildly, striking out in all directions. For that reason, I say: remove the blind fold! Raise the level of awareness of the working class! Allow the working class to focus their anger, to strike out at their class enemies, the capitalists!

Of course that comparison is an over simplification. Yet it serves to make the point. It is absolutely necessary that the working class become aware of themselves as a class, aware of the Revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin, aware of the necessity of smashing the existing state apparatus, aware of the necessity of replacing it with the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Then, and only then, can the Socialist Revolution be successful. 

With that in mind, we can only hope that those who are taking part in this Revolutionary Movement, will take advantage of the internet, and either download or buy the Revolutionary works of Marx and Lenin. As I have covered this in a previous article, there is no need to repeat it here.

Then perhaps a few working class intellectuals, can take part in the creation of a true Communist Party. It is very likely that a number of  middle class intellectuals will join in. As their world comes ‘’crashing down’’, as ever more middle class people become impoverished, the smarter ones will realize that they have ‘’no future’’ under capitalism. 

The Revolution is bound to happen, and soon. At that point, one of two things will happen. Either the state apparatus is smashed, and replaced with the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, and we will embrace Socialism. Or a different group of people  will take over the current state apparatus, and set themselves up as the new rulers. More capitalism!

That choice is in the hands of the Revolutionaries.

But now to return to the current situation. 

It is significant that the journalists are focused on the ‘’political infighting’’ which is taking place in Washington, mainly within the two parties. There is a reason for this!

As Lenin pointed out, in State and Revolution, ‘’Take any parliamentary country, from America to Switzerland, from France to Norway and so forth -in these countries the actual work of the ‘state’ is done behind the scenes and is carried on by the departments, the government offices and the General Staffs. Parliament itself is given up to talk for the general purpose of fooling the ‘common people’’’. 

While the journalists are focused on the politicians, who are making speeches, the actual ‘’work of state’’ is being done ‘’behind the scenes’’. These speeches are nothing more than a ‘’smoke screen’’, a ‘’diversion’’, a ‘’decoy’’, a ‘’red herring’’, to put it in popular terms. 

The journalists have ‘’taken the bait’’, are focused on the speeches of the politicians, are speculating on the possibility  of the unthinkable, a government default…while the people in charge, working ‘’behind the scenes’’, have already decided on that default!

The fact of the matter is that ‘’someone’’, who is working ‘’behind the scenes’’, has been very busy, ‘’pulling the strings’’ of various politicians. These politicians are mere ‘’puppets’’, who ‘’dance to his tune’’. He writes the speeches, and the politicians recite them!

That certain ‘’someone’’, is very likely the individual who is focused on becoming president, once again. Whatever the expense! If that means sending the country into default, then so be it! He can then come to the rescue, like a knight in shining armour, riding on a white horse!

It has, very likely, already been decided, that the country will go into default, and that will result in ‘’widespread economic devastation’’. President Biden will then get the blame, and theRepublican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, will easily win the next presidential election. Or so they think! That is their plan!

The journalists, in turn, are also ‘’dancing to his tune’’, whether they know it or not. They are dutifully reporting on the speeches of the politicians. In this way, they too, are doing their part in ‘’fooling the common people’’. 

Yet it is clear that the crisis in capitalism is coming to a conclusion. Marx and Engels had a few words to say on the subject, in the Communist Manifesto: ‘’In times when the class struggle nears the decisive hour, the process of dissolution going on within the ruling class, in fact within the whole range of old society, assumes such a violent, glaring character, that a small section of the ruling class cuts itself adrift, and joins the Revolutionary class, the class that holds the future in its hands. Just as, therefore, at an earlier period, a section of the nobility went over to the bourgeoisie, so now a portion of the bourgeoisie goes over to the proletariat, and in particular, a portion of the bourgeois ideologists, who have raised themselves to the level of comprehending theoretically the historical movement as a whole.’’

No doubt those ‘’bourgeois ideologist’’ will be a most valuable addition to the Revolutionary Movement, especially those who are theoreticians. Equally without doubt, they will assist the working class intellectuals in creating that which is so urgently needed, an American Communist Party, Dictatorship of the Proletariat. ACP, DP. 

Late April, 2023. The countdown is on. Six weeks until D Day. ‘’Default Day’’. The day America Defaults on its national debts, unless the ‘’debt ceiling’’ is raised. D Day may also go down in history as ‘’Depression Day’’, as it is also in danger of entering a Second Great Depression!

That is the opinion of the more honest of the bourgeois economists, although they dare not mention the dreaded D word, that of Depression. Instead, they use such expressions as ‘’economic catastrophe’’, ‘’collapse of the stock market’’,  ‘’deep recession’’, ‘’high inflation’’, and ‘’high unemployment’’. What is that but a Depression?

Not that the leaders of the country are terribly concerned. In the finest tradition of true visionaries, they are focused on the ‘’big picture’’. The presidential election of November, 2024, is a mere eighteen months away, and that has managed to secure their undivided attention. 

Nero fiddled while Rome burned!

Indeed, President Joe Biden has just announced his candidacy for a second term in office. He is running for re-election! No surprise there. 

As well, the former president, Donald Trump, has also ‘’thrown his hat into the ring’’. He too wants to run for president, once again! 

‘’So what’’, if the country defaults!

Mind you, it is entirely possible that President Joe Biden, and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, will come to some sort of an agreement, to raise the debt ceiling, yet again. No one is quite sure just what kind of agreement that could be, as there are various factions within the Republican Party of the House, and none of those factions seems to know just what they want! Yet they are not about to budge, until they get it, whatever that is!

The journalists who closely watch the political maneuvering, within the House of Representatives, have given the name of ‘’Five Families’’ to the various ‘’factions’’ within the Republican Party. They are speculating that perhaps Trump is ‘’calling the shots’’ from ‘’behind the scenes’’. His plan may be to force the country into default, blame it on Biden, and once again become president, in order to ‘’Make America Great Again’’.

It may well be that Trump deserves credit for being far more cunning, than most people think!

Biden is certainly ‘’caught between a rock and a hard place’’. If he agrees to their list of demands, -which are constantly changing!- he is almost guaranteed to lose the next election. If he does not agree to their demands, then the country faces default. On his ‘’watch’’, no less! He will be held responsible!

The current list of demands, of the ‘’Five Families’’ within the House, includes that of ‘’remaking national energy policy, to suit the oil and coal companies, throwing the unemployed off Medicaid and food stamps, defunding the IRS and cancelling the cancellation of the student debt’’. For Biden to agree to those demands, would result in political suicide!

Yet even if, by some minor miracle, the two sides do come to some sort of an agreement, and avoid default on the national debt, that in no way changes the fact that the banks are grossly over extended! 

According to the FDIC, there are currently ‘’4,844 insured commercial banks’’ in the country. This is to say that each deposit, in those banks, is insured, up to 250,000! No more!

Yet as possibly all banks are over extended, facing bankruptcy, the FDIC has decided to support those that are ‘’Too Big To Fail’’, while ‘’throwing under the bus’’ those that are ‘’Too Small To Succeed’’! The ‘’Fortunate Few’’ may amount to no more than five or six! Several thousand American banks are about to go broke!

The alternative is to ‘’prop up’’ all banks. That only requires money! At least, nine Trillion, although estimates go as high as twenty three Trillion! 

Yet the Treasury Secretary claims that the government is not about to allow those banks to go broke. Fine! Just where do they plan to get their hands on that much money? There are only two options. Either from the tax payers, or ‘’create it out of thin air’’!

If the tax payers are ‘’on the hook’’, for all those Trillions, then the national debt will  have to be raised, immediately, to well over fortyTrillion!

The alternative, to ‘’create money out of thin air’’, as suggested by the Treasury Secretary, would lead to raging inflation! Far more than what we have now! This despite the fact that the Treasury Secretary denies that this is inflationary! She must be on drugs!

Either way, with a government default, or massive bank failures -possibly both!- the working people of the country are about to face an ‘’economic catastrophe’’, to use the expression of the economists. Their suffering is about to become far more intense!

Unless, of course, the capitalists are overthrown! That is only possible through Revolution! And that is where the women have a key role to play. 

As Lenin stated, ‘’There can be no Socialist Revolution unless very many working women take a big part in it.’’ Yet that is most difficult, as Lenin also stated that ‘’one of the hardest things in every country has been to stir the women into action’’.

May I suggest that in the case of America, a great many women have already been ‘’stirred into action’’, so that the  Socialist Revolutionary Movement is now even stronger than most people think!

In the past, American women have proven themselves to be excellent organizers.

Without doubt, one of the biggest, most successful protests, which spread around the world, was the Women’s March, on January 21, 2017. It took place on the day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump. It was supremely well organized!

As well, a great many women have taken part in the ‘’Me Too’’ Movement, which started in October of 2017. This ‘’prompted women from around the world to publicly share their experiences of sexual assault or harassment’’, according to the Internet.

It is reasonable to assume that the leaders of those protests were mainly middle class, petty bourgeois. Especially as the journalists report that the Me Too Movement was started by young women, who were anxious to ‘’break into’’ acting, to get a role in a movie. They found that the ‘’price’’ for such a role was ‘’sexual services’’ with certain very rich and powerful men, within the industry. 

For many years, this has been considered to be a ’’reasonable request’’, among the entertainment industry. In fact, it is nothing other than a ‘’polite’’ form of rape. 

From the viewpoint of the Revolutionary Movement, it is most significant that the women are in motion. Further, the fact is that they may be middle class, for the moment, but likely not for long!

As the crisis in capitalism intensifies, the middle class will be almost completely ‘’wiped out’’! Those who have a ‘’mere’’ few million ‘’in the bank’’, or at least in ‘’regional banks’’, are about to lose almost all! The FDIC covers only the first quarter million!

The vast majority of banks are about to ‘’go under’’! The popular understanding of ‘’small business’’ is about to expand, to include those, such as regional banks, which are worth less than tens or hundreds of millions!

Those who have money in those ‘’small, regional’’ banks, are about to lose them! Those who have money invested in small businesses, are about to lose that! Those who have money -capital- invested in stocks and bonds, are about to lose that! The stock market is about to ‘’crash’’! A repeat of the ‘’crash’’ of 1929! On steroids! Welcome to monopoly capitalism! Imperialism! 

That is the ‘’one side of the coin’’, so to speak. The ‘’other side of the coin’’, is the fact that many of the middle class people, who are about to lose their life sayings, are well educated, aware of the Revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin. After all, university education is mainly limited to the middle and upper classes. As well, it is only in university that those theories are even mentioned! And then only with a view to distorting them!

Yet no one has ever accused middle class people of being ‘’entirely stupid’’. Once these people are financially ruined, they will no doubt re-examine those Revolutionary theories, in a ‘’new light’’. 

They will face the fact that they are ‘’ruined’’, and have ‘’no future’’ under capitalism. On the other hand, they have a ‘’bright future’’ under Socialism! After the Revolution, there will be a ‘’big demand’’ for people who know how to run a factory! As well as numerous other enterprises, for that matter!

After all, there is a big difference between running a machine, and running a factory!

With that in mind, we can expect the intellectuals, among the ‘’soon to be ruined’’ middle class,  to ‘’take the bull by the horns’’, and take part in the formation of a true Communist Party. After all, they will soon realize that such a true Communist Party is necessary! Only such a Party can give proper direction. 

It is very likely that many of those intellectuals will be women, as so many of them are now taking a leading role in the Revolution.

Perhaps it would be helpful to let them know what to expect. 

After the Russian Socialist Revolution, of 1917, Lenin spoke of the role of women. He pointed out that under capitalism, ‘’In all civilized countries, even the most advanced, women are actually no more than domesticated slaves’’. He went on to say that ‘’One of the primary tasks of the Soviet Republic is to abolish all restrictions on women’s rights. The Soviet government has completely abolished divorce proceedings, that source of bourgeois degradation, repression and humiliation.’’

Perhaps as a means of stressing the importance of this, Lenin went on to state ‘’The status of women up to now has been compared to that of a slave; women have been tied to the home, and only Socialism can save them from this’’.

Lenin further went on to say: ‘’But you cannot draw the masses into politics without drawing in the women as well. For under capitalism, the female half of the human race is doubly oppressed. The working woman and the peasant woman are oppressed by capital, but over and above all that, even in the most democratic of the bourgeois republics, they remain firstly, deprived of some rights because the law does not give them equality with men; and secondly -and this is the main thing- they remain in ‘household bondage’, they continue to be ‘household slaves’, for they are overburdened with the drudgery of the most squalid, back breaking and stultifying toil in the kitchen and the family household.’’

Of course, after the Russian Revolution, under Socialism, the law was changed, so that men and women were equal. Yet changing the law was merely the ‘’first step’’. 

Lenin went on to say that ‘’The second and most important step is the abolition of the private ownership of land and factories. This and this alone opens up the way towards a complete and actual emancipation of woman, her liberation from ’household bondage’, through transition from petty individual housekeeping to large scale socialized domestic services…To effect her complete emancipation and make her the equal of the man, it is necessary for the national economy to be socialized and for the women to participate in common productive labour. Then women will occupy the same position as men.’’

This brings us to a popular misconception. Many people, on the Left, think that under Socialism, women will be expected to do the same type of work as men, to work the same hours, and produce the same amount. Such is not the case! As this subject is of such exceptional importance, I have decided to quote Lenin, at considerable length.

As Lenin explained: ‘’Here we are not of course speaking of making women the equal of men as far as productivity of labour, the quantity of labour, the length of the working day, labour conditions, etc., are concerned; we mean that the woman should not, unlike the man, be oppressed because of her position in the family. You all know that even when women have full rights, they still remain factually down trodden because all house work is left to them. In most cases house work is the most unproductive, the most barbarous and the most arduous work a woman can do. It is exceptionally petty and does not include anything that would in any way promote the development of the woman.

‘’In pursuance of the Socialist ideal, we want to struggle for the full implementation of Socialism, and here an extensive field of labour opens up for women. We are now making serious preparations to clear the ground for the building of Socialism, but the building of Socialism will begin only when we have achieved the complete equality of women and when we undertake the new work together with women who have been emancipated from that petty, stultifying, unproductive work. This is a job that will take us many, many years.

‘’We are setting up model institutions, dining rooms and nurseries, that will emancipate women from house work…This is a matter for the women themselves…our task is to make politics available to every working woman’’

In my opinion, too many people, on the Left, are focused on ‘’demanding equality’’, women with men. 

For one thing, such a demand requires women to work the same hours, the same labour conditions, the same productivity, and so forth. That is simply not reasonable, especially under capitalism. As most women are also responsible for house work, it merely adds to their burden!

Lenin went on to say: ‘’It is the chief task of the working women’s movement to fight for economic and social equality, and not only formal equality, for women. The chief thing is to get women to take part in socially productive labour, to liberate them from ’domestic slavery’, to free them from their stupefying and humiliating subjugation to the eternal drudgery of the kitchen and the nursery.’’

The equality of women is possible only  under Socialism, and that, only after a great many years!

In the interests of the ‘’chief task’’, of the ‘’women’s movement’’, that of fighting for ‘’economic and social equality’’, to ‘’liberate them’’ from the ‘’drudgery’’ of ‘’domestic slavery’’, may I suggest that women fight for such things as day care and nurseries. 

It may help to think of these demands as part of the Revolutionary Movement for Scientific Socialism. But then, that is precisely the case!

The capitalists have managed to weather the Covid Virus epidemic, but are now facing an ‘’epidemic’’ of bank closures. The very few banks, which are considered ‘’Too Big To Fail’’, will be propped up, with tax payer money, of course.  The remainder, which are ‘’Too Small To Succeed’’, will join the countless other small businesses, as well as so many individuals, in the ‘’shelter’’ of bankruptcy protection.

This is not terribly surprising, because as Lenin pointed out, in Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, ‘’Crises of every kind -economic crises more frequently, but not only these- in their turn increase very considerably the tendency towards concentration and monopoly’’.

Even the most optimistic economists are predicting massive unemployment, as well as a ‘’Great Recession’’, at best. The American national debt, which currently stands at over 31 Trillion, is expected to reach 50 Trillion, within ten years. The country is further expected to ‘’go broke’’ within seven weeks, unless the politicians in Washington can come to an agreement, raising the debt ceiling, yet again. 

Yet those same politicians are ‘’at each others throats’’. The leaders of the two parties are not even speaking to each other. Not that either has a great deal to say, because each party is deeply divided. Different factions within each party, want different things. Yet no one seems to know just what that is! It would appear that the one and only thing they can agree upon, is the upcoming federal election, still eighteen months away! They are focused on that election!

By contrast, the working people, the members of the public, are concerned with more mundane subjects. Such as survival! Unemployment is widespread. Homelessness is common place. Those who are able to live in a vehicle, are considered to be ‘’fortunate’’, to be ’’half homeless’’. Hunger is common place. Food banks are running out of food. Deaths from drug overdoses, are now at epidemic proportions. Mass shootings, in which four or more people are killed, are now almost a daily event. Criminal gangs now rule the neighbourhoods. In the city of  San Francisco, drugs are now being sold, at ‘’open air markets’’. The police are powerless, in the face of criminal gangs!

Various cities are now considering calling in the National Guard, declaring martial law. And the American leaders are focused on the next federal election!

Without doubt, this is the very definition of a Revolutionary situation. As Lenin stated, the ‘’ruling class’’ can ‘’no longer rule in the old way’’, and the ‘’lower classes’’ are ‘’not content to live in the old way’’. We have all had enough! 

But as yet, there is no true Communist Party, one which calls for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Such a Communist Party is necessary, in order to give direction, to the people taking part in this Revolution.

No doubt, as ever more middle class people are ruined, the intellectuals within that class, will take part in the creation of such a Communist Party. They will soon realize, that it is in their best interests to do so! Poverty is a great persuader! Those intellectuals -soon to be ruined!- have a bright future, but only under Socialism!

After the creation of that Communist Party, it will be up to the Party members to give direction, to those taking part in the Revolution. In the mean time, Communist Party or not, we have to prepare for Revolution, and the subsequent Dictatorship of the Proletariat. To paraphrase an old and worn out expression, ‘’time and Revolution wait for no one.’’

As I write this, the press is reporting that ‘’young people’’, in several American cities, most notably Chicago, Detroit and San Francisco, have been ‘’wilding’’. That is a word they ‘’created’’, as a means of describing teens running wild, out of control, chaotic, ‘’running amok’’, smashing windows and burning vehicles. But then these teens are tired of being shot, by the police, no less!

No doubt, the teens are taking action, out of a sense of deep anger and frustration. After all, they are living in poverty, and can see no way out! But only because there is no way out! Not under capitalism! Decent jobs are practically non existent. Even if they do manage to secure a proper education, that will get them no where! And they know it! They too are fed up!

This is to stress the point that the young people, in this case the teens, are no different from any other strata of the common people. They have got to be made aware of the Revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin. They are not too young to understand these theories! Their anger and hatred must be redirected and focused, on their class enemies, the capitalists! 

The fact that the teens are in motion, is an indication of the strength of the Revolutionary motion. It is clearly quite broad and deep. 

As Lenin stated, under capitalism, it is the duty of Communists to overthrow the capitalists, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie. Our main task involves arousing hatred, of that class, among the working people. This involves raising the level of awareness, of the working class, making them aware of themselves, as a class, with their own class interests!

The young people, including the teens, comprise a particular strata of the working class. It is necessary for Communists to approach them, but in a slightly different manner, from that of most members of the working class. Bear in mind that the young people tend to be ‘’social media savvy’’, to use the expression of the journalists.  Perhaps for that reason, the younger generation has proven themselves to be excellent organizers! 

Several examples may be helpful. 

On February 14, 2018, a gunman walked into Margory Stoneham Douglas High School, in Parkland, Florida, and killed 17 students, wounding 17 more. 

The surviving students decided that they had been used for ‘’target practice’’ long enough! They responded by organizing rallies, protests and walk outs. They also marched, ‘’by the millions’’, according to the press, onto Washington, D.C., demanding gun control legislation.

A couple years earlier, in 2016, near Bismarck, North Dakota, a planned pipeline was rerouted, to pass by the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Such a pipeline was a threat to their clean drinking water, and would destroy their sacred lands. For that reason, Native Americans from all over the country, led by the Standing Rock Sioux, protested the pipeline. 

It is significant that this protest gave birth to the International Indigenous Youth Council. Their stated goal is to ‘’organize and empower young activists on behalf of the environment’’. 

It is also a fact that Black Lives Matter came into existence in 2013. But then Michael Brown, an unarmed Black man, was killed in August of 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri. This gave rise to demonstrations and protests, mainly organized by young people, all across the country. At that point, BLM became a nation wide protest organization.

The point is that the younger generation has not only managed to organize, but also to establish national, and even international, networks. Excellent! Most impressive!

Now, it is the duty of Communists, to reach out to those networks, to establish connections, to give direction, to attempt to work together.

The young people of today, say that they ‘’have no future’’, they have ‘’nothing to look forward to’’. Even an education will not assure them of a job, because there are no jobs! True!

It is true that they have ‘’no future’’, under capitalism! On the other hand, they have a ‘’bright future’’, under Socialism!  Now they have to be made aware of this! After all, they are not psychics!

Under Socialism, under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, the young people will have their work cut out for them! We have plans for those youngsters! They are about to play a key role, after the Revolution, in building Socialism!

This calls for a little explanation.

After the Revolution, after the state apparatus of the capitalists is destroyed, after we establish Socialism, we will still have classes! The capitalists, the billionaires, and their devoted servants, will not just ‘’disappear’’! Nor will they ‘’resign themselves to their fate’’! They are not about to embrace their new life of manual labour! This I guarantee!

On the contrary, their hatred, their bitterness, their determination to regain their ‘’paradise lost’’ will increase ten fold! They will resort to any lie, any deceit, any promise, any subterfuge, in an attempt to regain ‘’that which is rightfully theirs’’!

Even after they are deprived of their ‘’ownership’’ of various businesses, as well as their ‘’paper fortune’’, in the form of ‘’stocks and bonds’’, they will still have a certain amount of wealth. This may take the form of gold or silver coins, as well as jewelry and art work, for example. Then there are the national and even international ‘’connections’’ they have. This makes them a force with which to be reckoned, even under Socialism!

For that reason, they must be suppressed! That is the reason for the working class state apparatus, the Dictatorship of the Proletariat!

The capitalists are not to be underestimated! They managed to return to power, in the Soviet Union, after the death of Stalin! They also managed to return to power, in China, after the death of Mao!

As I have covered this in other articles, there is no need to repeat it here. Suffice it to say that both Stalin and Mao were great Revolutionaries. That is a fact. It is also a fact that both were human. Both made mistakes. Those mistakes allowed the capitalists, in each country, to return to power. We are determined to learn from those mistakes. We will not repeat them. The capitalists, whom we are about to overthrow, will not be allowed to return to power!

That is where the young people come in handy! As a key part of the new working class state apparatus, the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, they will make sure that the capitalists are crushed, wherever and whenever they try to hide!

With that in mind, I can only suggest that we ‘’take a page from the book’’ of the Chinese Communists, and in particular, the Central Committee.

After the death of Stalin, in the Soviet Union, in 1956, the Russian capitalists were able to return to power. In response, the Chinese Communists took action, in an attempt to prevent a similar occurrence in China.

In particular, the Central Committee, of the Chinese Communist Party, passed a resolution, which was unprecedented. They said that the young people of China, who were protesting, should be allowed to protest! No interference! Except in cases of murder, arson or rape, the police and army were ordered to stay out of this!

This day has gone down in history as the beginning of the Great Chinese Proletarian Cultural Revolution! For ten years, the young people of China were allowed to protest, without any police interference!

As is well known, it is my contention that the Cultural Revolution -which was magnificent!- did not go far enough! It was largely limited to culture! It only touched on science and education!

True, the capitalists who were hiding in culture, were exposed, humiliated, reeducated and either reformed, or removed from  those particular areas of culture. That is a fact.

It is also a fact that other capitalists, who were hiding in various fields of science, remained largely unaffected! They remained hidden, biding their time, waiting for the ‘’proper opportunity’’ to emerge, and then attempt to seize power. That ‘’opportunity’’ came upon the death of Mao!

For that reason, I can only suggest that, at the time of the Revolution, on the very day the new proletarian government comes to power, that one of the first things the Central Committee should do, is issue a similar proclamation.

May I suggest the following: ‘’The young people who have been taking part in our successful Socialist Revolution, protesting against the capitalists, should be allowed to continue with their protests. Except in cases of murder, arson, rape or looting, the police and army are ordered not to interfere.’’

Those young protesters, Revolutionaries, should also be encouraged to attack their class enemies, the capitalists, in all fields, and not just business! 

Of course, I am referring to various fields of culture and  science. I use the word ‘’science’’ rather loosely, so as to include such fields as medicine and education. 

For that matter, I also use the word ‘’culture’’ rather loosely. I rather doubt that young people consider ‘’adult entertainment’’ -pornography!- to fall within the field of ‘’culture’’, but I suspect that may have something to do with the gender outlook! I leave that within the capable hands of the youth!

This brings me to the subject of ‘’professional sports’’. This expression, I consider to be nothing less than an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms! Sports are sports, and professionals are professionals, and ‘’never the two shall meet’’, if you will excuse the terrible joke!

That which is politely referred to as ‘’professional sports’’, is a business, a big business, and as such, is home to countless capitalists! 

It is the duty of Revolutionaries, Communists, to exercise complete and total Dictatorship over the capitalists! Half measures get us nowhere! We must root them out, wherever they are hiding! Give them no rest! Feel free to show them all the compassion and mercy, that they have shown us, under capitalism! None whatsoever! That is only what they deserve! It could not ‘’happen to a nicer bunch of people’’!

That is where the young people come in! They must be ‘’turned loose’’! They must be allowed -better yet, encouraged!- to seek out and destroy their class enemies, the capitalists! Yet that is after the Revolution. 

For the moment, we live under capitalism, and now we must prepare for the Socialist Revolution, and the subsequent Dictatorship of the Proletariat. For that reason, it is now the duty of Communists, to establish contact with the young people, especially those who are protesting, taking part in the Revolution, and explain this to them. It is entirely possible that there will be an enthusiastic response.  Further, the young people who are interested, should be encouraged to establish a Young Communist League, YCL. 

As Lenin explained it, ‘’The Young Communist League must be a shock force, helping in every job and displaying initiative and enterprise. The League should be an organization enabling any worker to see that it consists of people whose teachings he perhaps does not understand, and whose teachings he may not immediately believe, but from whose practical work and activity he can see that they are really people who are showing him the right road.’’

It is also possible that the young people may want to form Soviets (Councils), as they are created by Revolution. That is entirely up to them. 

Either way, may I suggest that, as soon as these take shape, the young people should start by explaining, to working class people, the meaning of the word Communist. After all, the capitalists have managed to persuade a great many people, that it means a ‘’terrorist dictatorship’’.

Basically, it just means ‘’common’’. Communist society is a society in which all things -the factories, mills, mines, railroads, airlines, shipping lines, and anything else of any considerable value- are owned in common, and the people work together, in common! Teamwork!

This is not to say that after the approaching Revolution, we will live in a Communist society. We most certainly will not! Even after the Revolution, classes will continue to exist. The capitalists will be ‘’down but not out’’! They will still be a force! We can count on them to make every effort to return to power!

This class society, immediately after the Revolution, is referred to as Socialism, or the ‘’lower stage’’ of Communism, according to Marx.  Under Socialism, we need a state apparatus, in order to crush the resistance of the  capitalists.

This state apparatus, of the working class, is known as the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. The young people, whether organized in Soviets or CYL, -or both!- will play a key role in this state apparatus, in the suppression of the capitalists. The Dictatorship of the Proletariat will be necessary as long as classes exist.

It will be only after the capitalists are completely wiped out, that society will enter the higher stage of Communism. At that point, the Dictatorship of the Proletariat will no longer be necessary, as there will no longer be a class to suppress.  

That is going to take time and patience, as under Socialism, we want everyone to be useful. Indeed, many of these capitalists can be quite useful, as they have the skills required, in running a factory, for example. After all, this requires something other than manual labour!

No doubt, a certain amount of ‘’persuasion’’ will be required, in order to secure their cooperation. Equally without doubt, some of them will resist, vigorously. It may be necessary to make an example of those who are most ornery! This will no doubt have the effect of making so many others ‘’sweetly reasonable’’.

This is where the young people will prove to be so valuable! The young people of China proved themselves to be ‘’great persuaders’’ during the Cultural Revolution, and soon, other young people, in other parts of the world, will once again, ‘’rise to the occasion’’!

This ‘’show of force’’ is necessary, under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, as long as we have classes. In due time, as all people become accustomed to working together, as a team, in the interests of the common good, there will no longer be a need for such methods. In other words, as the capitalists are gradually eradicated, the need to suppress them will also be gradually eliminated. Engels referred to this as the ‘’withering away’’ of the state apparatus.

Such a society, without classes, is knows as Communism, a classless society, in which all work together, for the common good.

But first, we have to overthrow the capitalists, which requires a Revolution. This, in turn, will give rise to that which we refer to as Socialism, in that classes still exist, but the working class, the proletariat, will be in charge. 

No doubt, a great many people are wondering, just how long can we expect this transition time, that of Socialism, to last? 

Lenin estimated that those of us who are over fifty, will not live to see Communism. On the other hand, he was of the opinion that ‘’the generation of those who are fifteen will see a Communist society’’. 

This is to say that the teen agers can expect to see the day when classes no longer exist! No more capitalists! A true Communist Society!

The reasons this failed to happen, at the time of Lenin, I have covered, in a different article. There is no need to repeat it. As previously mentioned, we are determined not to repeat the mistakes of our great Revolutionary ancestors. We must learn from those mistakes!

Now to return to the present moment, one of capitalism, and the duty of the young people. After all, there is no need to wait for the Revolution! As previously mentioned, now is the time to prepare for Revolution! There is an urgent need to raise the level of awareness of the working class. They must become class conscious, aware of the existence of classes. 

Stress, to the members of the working class, the fact that those of us who work for wages, are technically referred to as ‘’proletarians’’. We sell ourselves, by the hour, for the very fine reason that we have nothing else to sell! We are wage slaves!  

By contrast, those who own the factories, mills, mines, railroads, shipping lines, airlines, internet and everything else of any considerable value, are capitalists, billionaires, technically referred to as the ‘’bourgeoisie’’. They make their profit, off of our labour power. They are members of a different class.

It is in the interest of the capitalists to pay us, their workers, as little as possible, in order to make as much profit as possible. It is in our interest to get paid as much as possible, in order to survive! 

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that our interests are completely opposite, or ‘’diametrically opposed’’, to use the technical term. In fact, the workers and the capitalists, are class enemies!

Now the young people can do a great service, for the working class, by making the working class aware of that fact! As well, let workers know that Revolution is necessary, as is the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. The capitalists must be overthrown, and then crushed!

There are a few other things which must be explained to working class people, as the capitalists have managed to confuse a great deal.

For one thing, the capitalists have managed to confuse the words ‘’democracy’’ and ‘’capitalism’’. They would have us believe that capitalism is democracy! At the same time, they would have us believe that Communism is a dictatorship! The confusion must be straightened out!

Perhaps the young people can help to explain, to the working class people, that under capitalism, democracy exists, but only for the capitalists! For the working class, there is no democracy! Capitalism is a dictatorship! Over the working class!

By contrast, Socialism is a democracy, but only for the working class. For the capitalists, Socialism, in the form of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, is just that, a Dictatorship!

The youth can further explain that our goal, the goal of Communists, is to establish a democratic republic, called Socialism, for the working class. The only way we can accomplish this, is by overthrowing the capitalists, through Revolution, smashing the existing state apparatus, and setting up the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Democracy for the working class, a Dictatorship for the capitalists!

It is note worthy that the capitalists are reluctant to even use the word capitalism! They prefer the expression ‘’private free enterprise’’, while referring to themselves as ‘’entrepreneurs’’ or ‘’business people’’. They are capitalists!

As all working people are well aware, the select few, the billionaires, live in the ‘’lap of luxury’’. The rest of us, common people, are constantly struggling to survive. Even that is becoming ever more difficult!

The young people must stress the fact that the capitalists have to be overthrown. That requires a Revolution, as no capitalist is ‘’sweetly reasonable’’! They are not at all anxious to part with their hard stolen wealth! They would sooner crawl on their bellies over broken glass!

Further stress the fact, that after the Revolution, the existing state apparatus, which has been set up to crush the working class, must be smashed! It must be replaced with the Dictatorship of the Proletariat!

Feel free to use the example of so many young people being clubbed, tear gassed and even shot, by the members of that state apparatus, as an example!

After the Revolution, under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, the ‘’shoe will be on the other foot’’! The capitalists will have no rights! The former billionaires will be forced to work for a living! We will see how they like it!

For the moment, the young people have no hope, under capitalism. Rest assured, after the Revolution, under Socialism, they will have a bright future. We will see to that! And not just in crushing the capitalists! Training will be made available, for highly skilled jobs! Building a Socialist society is going to take a great deal of work!

In summary, we can state the task of youth today:

Prepare for Revolution!

Prepare for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat!

As is well known, it is my contention that there are two huge species of animals in Okanagan Lake. These animals are commonly referred to as ‘’Ogopogo’’, by the members of the public. The scientific community refuses to acknowledge their existence. 

I maintain that one is an ichthyosaur, and the other is a whale. Both are nocturnal, so that they spend the daylight hours inside caves, as well as the winter months. Both are also omnivores, which is to say that they eat vegetation, as well as flesh. This means that during the warm months, these animals come out of the water, in order to graze. 

For the purposes of this article, I am concerned with the whale, referred to as basilosaurus. The scientists consider this whale to be extinct.

The method I use, to investigate the possible characteristics of such animals, those which are thought to be extinct, is to compare them to their closest living relatives. In the case of basilosaurus, it must be similar to another toothed whale, that of the sperm whale. The two are quite similar, close to the same size and weight.

To my surprise, I found that the ‘’poop’’ of sperm whale is considered to be supremely valuable! Even more valuable than gold!

This is referred to as ‘’ambergris’’, or ‘’amber grease’’, or ‘’grey amber’’, and according to the internet, ‘’among the secret scatological world of whale poo traders’’, is considered to be the most valuable poo in the world!

Further according to the internet, this ambergris is ‘’prized’’ by the perfume industry. It is ”used as an ingredient in the most expensive scents”. It is also occasionally used as incense, an aphrodisiac, and a medicine.

The scientists are agreed that this, the ‘’worlds strangest natural substance’’, is produced in the digestive tract of sperm whales. That is about the only thing upon which they agree!

Yet as it is produced by sperm whales, could it possibly be produced by basilosaurus whales?

It is entirely possible that this ambergris is strictly characteristic of salt water whales, not fresh water whales. It may have something to do with their diet, which is different from that of fresh water whales. Or not!

There is one way to find out!

At the time they graze, they also ‘’fertilize’’ the meadow. Their droppings should be examined. Bear in mind that ambergris has been described as an ‘’elusive, smelly substance’’, one which is ‘’frequently mistaken for pebbles and pumice’’. It may have a scent ‘’similar to sandal wood and tobacco’’. 

As for those who object to handling droppings, may I suggest wearing gloves. Then place the disagreeable substance in a plastic container, and have it sent to a lab. 

As these animals are so huge, they very likely graze on all of the meadows adjacent to the lake, or at least, all meadows which are accessible. On that subject, there is bound to be a ‘’slide’’, at the point that they enter and exit the water. That may also be a fine place to set up a trail camera. 

There is no harm in making the attempt! If nothing else, you will take part in a major scientific breakthrough! That alone should serve as sufficient motivation!

As I have previously stated, it is a fact that Soviets -or Councils, in English- first appeared, quite spontaneously, during the Russian Revolution of 1905. They were not a creation of Marxists, and could not have been created by Marxists, for the very fine reason that at that time, all of the Russian Marxists had been first thrown in prison, and were then either killed or exiled. As is well known, Lenin was exiled. 

It is also well known that these first Soviets were crushed, at the same time the First Russian Revolution was crushed, in 1907. This was followed by the ‘’counter Revolution’’ of 1907-14. Yet the Soviets reappeared, at the same time as the Russian Revolutionary Motion once again flared up, in 1914. The lesson to be learned from this, is that Revolutionary Motion gives rise to Soviets. 

This is of exceptional importance, because as Lenin stated, ‘’The basic question of every Revolution is state power’’. Soviets are nothing other than state power! Proletarian Power! A workers government! A direct challenge to the authority of the capitalists!

Just as the Russian Revolution gave birth to Soviets, so too the current Revolutionary Motion is also giving birth to Soviets, in various parts of the world. 

We know this for a fact, because in the city of Seattle, within the state of Washington, on June 8, 2020, a sector of that city declared itself to be ‘’autonomous’’. They referred to this as the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. In the spirit of the finest tradition of the United States of America, they issued a ‘’Declaration of Independence’’. No one was terribly surprised when that Declaration of Independence, was ‘’shot down’’.

This self declared ‘’Autonomous Zone’’ was brief, lasting a mere three weeks, as it was crushed on July 1. Yet it gives us an idea of what to expect, after the Socialist Revolution.

A huge Black Lives Matter mural was created. There were free film screenings. Live music. A ‘’no cop co-op’’ was formed. There was free food and other supplies. A community vegetable garden was constructed. Donations were taken up for the homeless. Portable toilets were set up, as well as tents and medical stations. 

As well, there were frequent ‘’town hall’’ meetings. The ‘’occupants’’ within the Zone favoured consensus decision making, although there were references to an elected Council (Soviet). The press is reluctant to make any mention of this, because the very idea of Soviets within America, is too terrible to print!

It is significant that the Zone embraced the ‘’open carry of firearms’’. After sundown, armed guards of volunteers kept watch. For that reason, the Zone was one of the safest neighbourhoods in the city of Seattle.

Those within the Zone, who were variously referred to as ‘’occupants’’, or ‘’protesters’’, or more accurately, ‘’Revolutionaries’’, initially came up with a list of three demands, although additions came later. 

1. Cut the budget of the Seattle Police Department by half
2. Shift funding to community programs and services in historically Black communities
3. Ensure that protesters would not be charged with crimes 

The response from onlookers varied, depending upon their class background, and upon their identification with the ‘’Left’’ or the ‘’Right’’.

Several of the more ‘’kind’’ descriptions, from the Right, included that of the Mayor of Seattle, who stated that the Zone had a ‘’block party’’ atmosphere. Others mentioned getting the impression of a ‘’hybrid of other movements’’, of ‘’part protest, part commune’’, a ‘’blend of Occupy Wall Street and a college cooperative dorm’’, a ‘’centre of peaceful protest, free political speech, co-ops and community gardens’’. One of the more accurate descriptions was that of ‘’an anti capitalist vision of community sovereignty, without a police presence.’’

From this, it is clear that the Right leaning critics could not find anything ‘’bad’’ to say about the Zone, so tried to come out with neutral statements. 

On the other hand, the response of Donald Trump was more honest, as he spoke from the heart. He referred to those protesters, those Revolutionaries, as ‘’Ugly Anarchists’’! Typical Trump! Supremely ignorant!

Of course, the occupants of the Zone were anything but anarchists, but that in no way alters the fact that they amounted to a challenge, to the authority of the capitalists! State Power! The Zone was a challenge to the state power of the capitalists! The ‘’basic question of every Revolution’’! No wonder the capitalists were so anxious to crush the Zone!

That in no way changes the fact that these American Councils (Soviets), one of which emerged in Seattle, represents another government! As yet they are very weak, well hidden, never mentioned in the mainstream press. For that matter, much of the mainstream press may not even be aware of their existence. 

For the purposes of this article, I have chosen to refer to these proletarian organizations as Soviets. It remains to be seen if the American Revolutionaries will continue to refer to them as Councils, or as Soviets. That is entirely up to them.

Weak they may be, at present, but very soon, they will become very powerful. These Soviets amount to ‘’an organization of the workers, the embryo of a workers government’’, according to Lenin. For the moment, they are no match for the ‘’magnificent organization of the bourgeoisie’’. Yet in Revolutionary times, ‘’the limits of what is possible expand a thousand times’’, also according to Lenin! Bear in mind that we are currently living in Revolutionary times!

Perhaps an example will be helpful. 

Immediately after the Tsar was deposed, in March of 1917, there existed a dual power in Russia! No one thought this was possible! Yet it happened!

As Lenin explained: ‘’Along side the Provisional Government, the government of the bourgeoisie, another government has arisen, so far weak and incipient, but undoubtedly a government that actually exists and is growing- the Soviets of Workers and Soldiers Deputies …It consists of the proletariat and the peasants (in soldiers’ uniforms)….it is a Revolutionary Dictatorship, a power directly based on Revolutionary seizure, on the direct initiative of the people from below, and not on a law enacted by a centralized state power’’. (italics by Lenin)

Lenin went on to stress the importance of ‘’the only possible Revolutionary government’’, the ‘’Soviet of Workers’, Agricultural Labourers’, Peasants’ and Soldiers’ Deputies’’.

Of course, he was referring to the situation in Russia, early 1917.

Our current situation is somewhat different, more simplified. At least in North America, as well as in other parts of the world, we have very few peasants, or family farmers, as they sometimes refer to themselves. Yet the fact remains that the ‘’only possible Revolutionary government’’ is that of the ‘’Soviets of Workers’’, along with Soviets of other groups of working people, including the military personnel, whose titles have yet to be determined.

At the time of the forthcoming Revolution, the existing state apparatus, of the capitalists, must be destroyed. It must be replaced by these Revolutionary Soviets. This will be the form of the new Dictatorship of the Proletariat, a proletarian state apparatus, which will be used to crush the capitalists.

But first, the level of awareness of the working people, the common people -as that is the manner in which they refer to themselves- must be raised. The majority of working people must be won over to our side, the side of Revolution, to the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. 

That is where a true Communist Party comes into play, one which calls for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Only such a Party can organize country wide -or even international!- exposure of the capitalists. 

As Lenin went on to state, ‘’The class conscious workers stand for the undivided power of the Soviets…for undivided power made possible not by adventurist acts, but by clarifying proletarian minds, by emancipating them from the influence of the bourgeoisie.’’

As I stated in my previous article, such a Communist Party, Dictatorship of the Proletariat, will no doubt, soon be created. We can count on the capitalists, to persuade middle class intellectuals, to form such a Party! So many of them are about to be driven into bankruptcy! Too Small To Succeed!

No doubt, there are many who are skeptical, who think that the capitalists are prepared to reward their loyal and devoted servants, those who have ‘’given the best years of their life’’, in the service of their capitalist masters. Such is hardly the case!

Allow me to point out one example, one which is well known to most Americans, that of former President Richard Nixon. 

Historians rate Nixon as one of the most corrupt presidents that ever held that office! That is quite an accomplishment, as the competition is so fierce! They also rate him as one of the most stupid! Also a ‘’high bar’’! But then, he is the one and only president who ‘’wiretapped himself’’!

Indeed, Nixon set up a tape recorder, in his desk, in his own office! In that office, he ordered his most trusted ‘’associates’’ to commit a burglary! A burglary they ‘’bungled’’! They were caught! And the order which their boss, Richard Nixon, had issued, had been ‘’taped’’! By Richard Nixon! The height of stupidity!

Incidentally, I use the word ‘’associates’’, as a reference to the people who were closest to Nixon. They were the members of his ‘’inner circle’’, his most loyal, devoted followers. At least, most of them were loyal. But not all!

This simple burglary gave rise to a ‘’public outcry’’, or a mass movement, to put it in scientific terms. The government officials were forced to investigate, to ‘’find and prosecute the perpetrators, to the fullest extent of the law’’, to use their stilted jargon.

Nixon saw this in different terms. As far as he was concerned, the ‘’wolves were closing in’’. So in the interests of ‘’saving his own skin’’, self preservation, he decided to ‘’throw’’ his closest followers ‘’under the bus’’. These included the people whom had committed the burglary, as well as those whom had taken part in the subsequent ‘’cover up’’.

For such psychos, loyalty is a ‘’one way street’’! 

The fact that Nixon did not hesitate to ‘’sacrifice’’ his most loyal, devoted followers, should serve as a warning to other servants of the capitalists! As far as the capitalists are concerned, ‘’sentiment’’ is a weakness! It has no monetary value! 

Of course, Nixon decided to personally destroy all ‘’incriminating’’ tapes, to erase them. Except that he missed one. The one in which he directed John Dean to ‘’stonewall’’ the investigation, to ‘’bribe’’, to ‘’cover up’’. This is commonly referred to as a ‘’smoking gun’’!

But as I previously implied, not everyone was prepared to ‘’fall on their sword’’ for Nixon! John Dean was one of them! In an effort to secure a lenient sentence, he ‘’ratted out’’ his former boss, Richard Nixon. The audio tape which Nixon failed to erase, supported his testimony! 

As a result of this, the police were forced to believe John Dean, as opposed to their president! Dean objected to being ‘’thrown under the bus’’! Not for Richard Nixon! As a result, Nixon was in turn, forced out of office!

I use this as an example of a very powerful man, in this case a president, being ‘’brought down’’, due to the Revolutionary Motion of the common people! 

Bear in mind the words of Lenin, that during a time of Revolution, ‘’The limits of what is possible expand a thousand times’’! Further bear in mind that we are experiencing a full blown Revolution!

Now to return to the subject of the self declared Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone.

Much as we admire the courage of the Revolutionaries, the Soviets, of the Zone, we also have to face the fact that our Soviets are, as yet, too weak to come out with an open challenge to the capitalists. For the moment, it is perhaps best to keep a ‘’low profile’’, to ‘’bide our time’’, to ‘’spread the word’’, to train, arm and equip those Soviets, in preparation for an insurrection. 

Most working people, at least here in North America, have digital devices, and know how to use them. We would be fools not to take advantage of that fact. Further, just as Lenin focused on the Russian military, especially prisoners of war, we too should focus on all members of the military. Their military training will serve the Revolution well!

I should add that Lenin focused on the Russian prisoners of war, because he was able to write directly to them. There were no military censors in the prisoner of war camps!

By contrast, there was no shortage of censors in the military! That made it impossible for Lenin to communicate with them.

We do not have that problem. We can now use the internet, avoid the printed word, and get in touch with all members of the military, bypassing the censors. 

Bear in mind that common people are avid readers. They follow the news closely. They are paying strict attention to the antics of Trump, as well as others. They are well aware that Trump is facing no less than thirty four felony charges. As well, other people, notably women, are alleging that he committed ‘’more serious crimes’’.

The District Attorney of Manhattan has dared to do the ‘’unthinkable’’, to press charges against Trump, thereby setting a precedent, ’’opening the floodgates’’, so to speak. It is very likely that other prosecutors will soon ‘’grow a set’’ and ‘’follow suit’’. 

The results should be interesting, as so many people are paying strict attention! 

Almost all common people are of the opinion that the ‘’super rich’’, the billionaires, are ‘’above the law’’. Their vast fortunes allow them to do anything they please! They  know this from experience!

For the most part, this is true, in ‘’ordinary times’’! These are not ‘’ordinary times’’! These are Revolutionary times! Now it remains to be seen if a billionaire, a former president, no less, finds himself in prison! The strength of the Revolution is not to be underestimated!

The reason I have referred to Trump in this article, is because the mainstream press is referring to Trump, frequently and at great length! So that is what the common people are talking about! As well, they are discussing President Biden and his offspring!

It remains to be seen if the offspring, of both Trump and Biden, those who are also ‘’in the headlines’’, also facing allegations of ‘’criminal misconduct’’, are a true ‘’chip off the old block’’, concerned only with ‘’number one’’! It is entirely possible, if ‘’push comes to shove’’, that they may also ‘’throw their dear old Dad under the bus’’! It depends upon how well they have learned their lessons! 

But now to return to the subject of Soviets. Without doubt, the most advanced workers have gravitated to these Soviets. That is not to say that they are class conscious. Now it is up to Marxist intellectuals, Communists, to raise their level of awareness. 

With that in mind, be sure to use current events, in the interest of making a point. Stress the fact that Trump is not exceptional. On the contrary, Trump is merely a typical capitalist. He ran for president, on impulse, and the press reports that he was quite surprised, when he won. Now that he has tasted political power, it is safe to say that he wants far more. 

By contrast, most members of his class of capitalists, billionaires, the bourgeoisie, are quite happy to ‘’keep a low profile’’. They prefer to let their flunkies run for political office, make speeches and lie to the people. That is the only difference.

Bear in mind that time is not on our side! All of the banks are over extended, and could fail at any time! America is expected to go broke in June, unless Congress raises the debt ceiling. The various factions within Congress are at each others throats! Each faction does not even know what it wants! Yet they are expected to come together and raise the debt ceiling! Even though they are facing financial disaster, they are focused on the next federal election!

We can expect a financial collapse, very soon. That will have the effect of dramatically increasing the level of suffering, among the common people. As their suffering is at horrendous proportions now, it may not take much to trigger a full scale Revolution.

There is clearly a desperate need for ‘’another government’’. That government can only be Socialist, because as Lenin said, ‘’there is no other social force in the political arena, nor can there be’’! 

Soviets! Currently ‘’weak and incipient’’, no match for the ‘’magnificent organization’’ of the capitalists! Yet it is these Soviets which are destined to take political power! There is no alternative!

With that in mind, feel free to flood the social media outlets, facebook and such, with calls for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Make that expression a household term. Get in touch with the military enlisted personnel. Raise their level of awareness. Let them know that the government is about to collapse. 

We can expect marches and demonstrations, as the financial crisis deepens, and working people are forced ever deeper into poverty. Allow the posters and placards to call for:

Scientific Socialism!

Workers of the World, Unite!

Dictatorship of the Proletariat!