Author: Gerald Mcisaac

As anyone who has paid the slightest bit of attention to the news can testify, the current revolutionary motion has given rise to the demand, of almost everyone on the ”Left”, to defund the police, and apply the money saved, towards social programs.

To this, the people on the ”Right” have responded that this will result in anarchy. As a great many people are concerned with this, it should be taken seriously. After all, anarchy is understood as a complete break down of law and order.

The fact that so many people are concerned is a natural result of the revolutionary motion, in that countless people, those whom have formerly been apathetic, are now politically active, demanding change, taking part in autonomous zones, demonstrations, marches and especially demanding an end to the killing of Black people. They are just afraid that with the police ”defunded”, criminals with guns will run wild, robbing and killing at will. Their concerns are certainly legitimate.

So for the benefit of the newly awakened working people -welcome, my Brothers and Sisters, my Comrades!- I will start by mentioning that we live in a class society. In North America, there are basically two classes, the working class, technically referred to as the proletariat, and the capitalist class, technically referred to as the bourgeoisie. The capitalists are the people commonly referred to as the ”super rich” or the ”billionaires”, formerly referred to as the ”one percent”. As there are only a few hundred billionaires in the whole country, they are not so much the ”one percent”, which is to say one in a hundred, as one in a million.

True, there still exists the remnants of other classes, such as the occasional small family farmer, referred to as peasants in other parts of the world. It is also true that there is the occasional small business owner to be found, here and there. For the most part, they are ”hanging on by their finger tips”, scraping by as best they can. Their ”days are numbered”, as the monopoly capitalists are applying ever more pressure, squeezing out all family farms and small businesses. Incidentally, all small business owners are referred to as middle class, or petty bourgeois.

The capitalists are of course well aware of the existence of classes, yet choose to deny this. Not too surprising, as it is in their interest to do so. Workers and capitalists are natural enemies, as our interests are diametrically opposed. That which is good for the capitalists, is bad for the workers. They are concerned with their profit, and only their profit, which they obtain from our labour power. The harder they work us, and the less they pay us, the higher their profit. The last thing the capitalists want is to have workers united, aware of ourselves as a class, challenging their authority.

For what it is worth, all other classes are aware of themselves as a class, yet the conditions of life of the working class, do not lead to that awareness. That is just the way it is.

As that is the case, it follows that class awareness must be brought to the working class, and that can be done only by members of the middle class intelligentsia. For those who are prejudiced against the intellectuals, bear in mind that Marx and Lenin were middle class intellectuals.

Now that we have the internet, and most working people have computers, in one form or another, the task of raising the level of awareness of the proletariat, is much easier. We can just send the information electronically. We would be fools not to use the tools on hand.

The current situation should also provide us with a little stimulation, and I am not referring to ”stimmy checks”. I am referring to the ”double whammy”, otherwise known as the twin crises in capitalism, in the form of the ”severe recession”, (the capitalists are not about to admit that it is a depression!), as well as the Virus. This has given rise to massive unemployment. People are not paying their bills, not because they do not want to, but because they cannot! They are no longer being forced to choose between putting food on the table and paying the rent, because they cannot pay either! Working people are going broke, not because they are lazy, but because there are no jobs! They are being forced into bankruptcy, losing their homes, life savings, vehicles and self respect, as they are reduced to relying on food stamps and hand outs. Such a manner of life is degrading. Yet the capitalists, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie, are becoming ever more wealthy!

It does not take an intellectual giant to figure out that something is dreadfully wrong. A handful of people, those who are extremely rich, the capitalists, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie, are becoming ever more wealthy, at the expense of the dirt poor, the working class, the proletariat. Further, only the most die hard, optimistic, kind hearted soul, is prepared to believe that such people, the billionaires, are about to respond to sweet reason. The billionaires know that the working class, the vast majority, the proletariat, is suffering. They just do not care.

The fact of the matter is that we live under capitalism, and not just any capitalism, but monopoly capitalism, which is capitalism at its highest, most rotten stage, referred to as imperialism. What we have now is complete reaction, which is to say that there is nothing progressive about the imperialists. They cannot be reformed. They can only be destroyed.

Capitalism must be destroyed and replaced with socialism, and not just any socialism, but scientific socialism. Of course I am referring to the socialism first put forward by Marx and Engels, two social scientists, who lived in an age of pre monopoly capitalism. In later years, as capitalism reached the monopoly stage, it was Lenin who applied it to the age of monopoly capitalism, or imperialism.

All other forms of socialism, referred to as utopian socialism, have been proven to be abject failures.

The revolutionary motion is nothing other than an expression of the class struggle, the working class against the capitalist class, the proletariat against the bourgeoisie. In each country, the revolution takes its own particular shape.

In America, the recent uprising in Seattle, of June, 2020, gave rise to an ”Autonomous Zone”, which lasted three weeks, before it was crushed. But then other Autonomous Zones have sprung up across the country, and we can expect many more to follow. As the Seattle zone lasted the longest, we can examine this particular zone, in order to know what to expect.

The zone resembled a commune in many respects, especially the Paris Commune of 1871. As I have documented this in a previous article, there is no need to repeat it here. For this article, the issue of police presence, or lack thereof, is our focus.

The police detachment within the zone was abandoned, yet this did not lead to anarchy. On the contrary, the zone was almost crime free. The ”protesters”, as the press referred to them, or revolutionaries, as is the more accurate term, those who occupied the zone, made sure of that! Armed guards patrolled the zone, at least along the perimeter, especially at night. These guards were armed with semi automatic rifles, and kept the crime to a minimum. Barriers were placed on the streets to prevent vehicles from running people down. As a result of this, the zone was possibly the safest place in all of Seattle! Yet there were no police!

This gives us an idea of what to expect, as it is a fundamental tenet of Marxism that the police and standing army (the National Guard) are used mainly to keep the working class subjugated. They are key parts of the ”state apparatus”, that which is used by the capitalists, in order to stay in power. In order for the revolution to be successful, this state apparatus must be destroyed. It must be replaced by a different state apparatus, a proletarian state apparatus, in order to crush the ”desperate and determined resistance of the capitalists”, as they try to ”restore their paradise lost”. This working class state apparatus, set up in order to crush the capitalists, is referred to as the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. It is the worst night mare of all capitalists.

The Seattle Autonomous Zone gives us an idea of the precise form this American Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, will assume. All members of the Zone worked together, came to a consensus, and no doubt, guards were selected by the members. There was no need for an outside police force.

Now we can examine the current situation, under the rule of the capitalists, the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie.

As I write this, the former police officer, Derek Chauvin, has recently been convicted of the murder of George Floyd. Yet the police killing of black people, in particular, continues.

In Minneapolis, Duante Wright, a Black driver, was pulled over for a traffic violation and shot dead. Apparently, the officer, a veteran of twenty six years, confused her hand gun with her taser.

In March of 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky, a 26 year old Black medical worker, Breonna Taylor, was shot dead in her apartment, during a botched raid. Apparently, the police were looking for her boyfriend.

In Columbus, Ohio, sixteen year old Ma’khia Bryant, a Black girl, was shot dead by police.

In Chicago, a thirteen year old Black boy, Adam Toledo, was shot dead by police.

In Virginia, a thirty two year old Black man, Isaiah Brown, was shot by police, while holding a cordless phone, speaking to police dispatch, no less. Apparently, the officer confused the phone with a gun.

Now another Black motorist, Andrew Brown, was shot dead in North Carolina. Apparently ten deputies were involved, in trying to serve an arrest warrant. It is reported that of those deputies, seven have been ”placed on leave”, two have resigned and one has retired. Eye witnesses report that Brown was ”shot in the back”, possibly ”six or eight times”, while trying to drive away. They also report bullet holes in the rear window. Other witnesses report fourteen shell casings were found on the ground. The body cam videos have yet to be released, as the authorities do not want to ”hinder the investigation”. More likely, they are stalling. Possibly ”visions” of correcting those body cams are ”dancing in their heads”.

As a response to the revolutionary movement, and especially to the calls for ”defunding the police”, our democratically elected leaders, those who do such a splendid job of misrepresenting us, are rising to the occasion. In the finest tradition of service to the capitalists, they are making noises to the effect of ”reforming the police”.

This is little more than a fairy tale, as the police are part of the state apparatus, set up by the capitalists, in order to keep their wage slaves, the working class, the proletariat, under control, subjugated. As that is the case, it is not a matter of reforming them, but of destroying them. They must be replaced with another state apparatus, a proletarian state apparatus, as was demonstrated in the Seattle Autonomous Zone.

The one and only way this can happen is through full scale revolution. Working people across the whole country have to come together and oppose the capitalists, on all fronts. Various protest groups and organizations have got to unite. We do not have to love each other, but we have to respect each other. We have a common enemy.

Speaking of respect, I am well aware that there are countless working people, including some of those who took part in the Seattle Autonomous Zone, who think that the system can be changed from within. To those workers, I can only say that I respect your belief! With that in mind, may I suggest that you join the two mainstream political parties, as card carrying members. May I further suggest that you encourage your family and friends to also join both parties. And they can, in turn, encourage their friends to join, and so on and so forth. Before long, you may find that the two parties are filled with working class people, you and all of your friends. Then, as card carrying members, you can decide the candidates to run for any and all political office. Feel free to run as candidates of both parties. Run against yourself, if you like. Now that would be a hoot!

Why, before long, I can just imagine Congress, the House of Representatives, brimming over with working class people, the same people who are now marching and demonstrating, members of various Autonomous Zones. The Squad will no longer be a minority, as hundreds of workers become Members of Congress! AOC and her friends will no longer be quite so lonely! Nancy Pelosi will be thrilled!

No doubt Joe Biden is looking forward to joining the ranks of single term presidents. Perhaps he can assist Jimmy Carter in building houses for the homeless! I just hope that boy knows how to swing a hammer. To think that we may have our very own first lady president! (Not to be confused with the First Lady) A working class girl, no doubt. Or should I say presidentess? These days, it is so important to be politically correct.

As the members of the Senate serve six year terms, it will take a little longer to flood the Senate with working people. Chuck Shumer will just have to be patient!

Lest we forget, there are fifty offices of governor to be filled. Or should I refer to them as governess? As the American ladies are currently leading the revolution, perhaps a slogan can be Fight Like A Girl!

The list is endless, with local mayors and such. Feel free to take your pick, or get together and draw straws. Your choice.

Just remember that the capitalists assure us that this is democracy, and democracy means ”majority rule”. Feel free to take them at their word. Let us put that ”majority rule” to the test!

As for those who think that I am joking, you are mistaken. I mean, it is not like I have a sense of humour or anything. No, nothing like that. It is just that I am convinced that people learn from their own experience. At least, I do. Or I end up wishing I had. Repeating the same stupid mistakes can be most tiresome. It is so much easier to do something right the first time, rather than explain why we did not.

To all my American readers, I can only suggest that you get over your shyness, and join the Democrats and Republicans, as card carrying members. I guarantee you will receive a lesson in democracy, bourgeois democracy, no less. Do not be surprised if you find yourself having fun, at the same time.

For the moment, during marches and demonstrations, let the banners proclaim:

Become Card Carrying Democrats And Republicans

In 1871, in the city of Paris, country of France, the workers rebelled against the ruling class, the capitalists, the bourgeoisie, and established that which they referred to as the Paris Commune. This first attempt, by the working class, the proletariat, to seize state power, was short lived, as they first revolted on March 18, and the Commune was crushed on May 28, just over two months later. Yet Marx praised this as the ”first great uprising of the proletariat against the bourgeois oppressors”.

At that time, Marx was living in Britain, but was keenly watching the events, as they unfolded. He corresponded with the leaders of the Commune, yet his advice was largely ignored. The workers within the Commune, those who referred to themselves as Communards, paid a heavy price for this.

A few of the leaders were Jacobins, and they were determined to follow the French revolutionary tradition of 1793. Other leaders were Prondhonists, ”socialists” who supported a federation of Communes throughout the country. Still other leaders were Blanquists, also ”socialists” who demanded violent action. All were of the opinion that they knew more about revolution than Marx. They could not possibly have been more mistaken.

At the time of the uprising, the French government relocated to the nearby city of Versailles, and promptly plotted the overthrow of the upstart workers government, the Paris Commune. How dare the workers to challenge their betters! They needed to be put in their place! They needed to be taught a lesson they would never forget!

Marx was well aware of the attitude of the French bourgeois government, that which had relocated to Versailles, and encouraged the Communards to march on Versailles. He knew that it was their one and only chance to maintain power. Yet the leaders of the Commune preferred to ”live and let live”, so to speak. Rather than go on the offensive, they sat back and proceeded to build a new, proletarian state apparatus. It was a huge mistake, one for which the Communards paid dearly.

The capitalists are not about to share state power! As we live in a class society, the fact is that within any country, one class, and only one class, will hold state power. There can be no dual power! Either the slave owners will rule, or the slaves will rule. History has confirmed that any revolt by the slaves, has resulted in an immediate response by the slave owners, in that such a revolt is immediately crushed.

That was true at the time the first classes appeared, that of slaves and slave owners, and it is true now. The only difference is that the current crop of slave owners are the capitalists, the ”super rich”, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie, and the current slaves are ”wage slaves”, workers, proletarians. The capitalists are in charge, they hold state power, and they certainly intend to maintain state power!

In the case of the Paris Commune, the French capitalists were able to raise a huge army and attack the Commune. After a week of heavy fighting, the Communards surrendered, as they ran out of ammunition. At that point, possibly twenty thousand prisoners, workers, both men and women, were murdered. This was the ”lesson they would never forget”. It is up to us to make sure that all workers never forget this!

The capitalists have not ”turned over a new leaf”. They have not ”changed their stripes”. The American capitalists, of the twenty first century, are no different from the French capitalists, of the nineteenth century! The American capitalists are not about to share state power! Any challenge to their authority will not be tolerated!

One of the latest uprisings, in Seattle, Washington, provides a clear cut example of this. During the first week of June, 2020, the American workers went on the offensive. The bourgeois press refers to these people as ”protesters”, and although the capitalists are trying to obscure the issue, it is clear that the workers were demanding an end to police brutality, especially as it applies to ”people of colour”, Black and Brown people. The organization Black Lives Matter, BLM, was intimately involved.

The ”protesters”, those who are really revolutionaries, achieved some remarkable success. A six block area of the city, as well as Cal Anderson Park, were occupied by the revolutionaries. As the result of extreme pressure, on June 8, the Seattle City Police abandoned the East Precinct.

At that time the situation was fluid, with no designated leaders. It is reported that the people within the zone favoured ”consensus decision making in the form of a general assembly, with daily meetings and discussion groups, as an alternative to designated leaders”. Other observers described this as ” a hybrid of other movements, part protest, part commune”, as a ”cross between a sit in, a protest and a summer festival”, a ”blend of Occupy Wall Street and a college dorm”. A large tent encampment was established, along with a community garden. Free food was available, as well as free health care and portable toilets. Observers were deeply impressed by the art work, in the form of murals, as well as the fact that the zone was absolutely clean.

There was also some slight confusion, in that there were people within the zone who protested that the zone was not an autonomous zone, but a Capitol Hill Organized Protest, or CHOP. This particular fellow, who was identified as a BLM organizer, was quoted as saying ”This is not an autonomous zone. We are not trying to secede from the United States. We are merely trying to have our rights upheld”. It is too bad that the capitalists do not see it that way!

This stands in contrast to a sign at the entrance to the zone, which stated ”You are entering Free Capitol Hill. You are now leaving the USA.” No doubt, that was merely the opinion of one person, but it was closer to the opinion of the capitalists.

Yet most of the people taking part in the protest, within the Zone, were of the opinion that the ”police should be defunded, more money should be spent on community based health and safety, and that all charges against protesters should be dropped.” Those were the three main demands put forward by the people within the Zone.

Of course Trump attacked these people as ”Domestic Terrorists” and ”Radical Left Democrats”. In fact, that was among the nicer things he said about them. The most right wing news outlet in the country joined in the offensive, accusing the protesters of shootings and acts of vandalism. Clearly a pack of lies, but considering the source, something of a compliment!

One journalist correctly assessed the situation, when he stated ”the Left is pretty much setting up a parallel country, a parallel system of law and order, and parallel media”. That was precisely what they were doing, even though it is likely that most of them were not aware of this. It may help to think of such ”Autonomous Zones” as the American equivalent of the Paris Commune.

As is characteristic of a revolutionary situation, as the police abandoned their precinct, they left behind ”barricades and walls, which provided the protesters the resources they need…Barriers have been placed in a zig zag maze” as a means of preventing people from speeding through the zone. All too often, radical right wing fanatics have used vehicles as weapons, attempting to drive over peaceful protesters.

As the capitalists are not entirely stupid, they quite correctly feared that such an Autonomous Zone, as small and weak as it was, could ”metastasize across the country”, as stated by one of the most ardent supporters of the capitalists, a truly right wing outlet. They went on to bewail the fact that the city council ”has handed over an entire portion of the city to domestic terrorists”. They went on to say that this ”group of rogue protesters” is attempting to ”get a stranglehold on the city”. This radical ”army” of ”Conquistadors” has ”rolled over the police like Cortez rolling over the Aztecs”.

They certainly do have a way with words!

A more moderate news outlet expressed it in somewhat different terms. ”The fluid protests, spearheaded by BLM but involving a wide spectrum of activists and ordinary citizens, coalesced with surprising rapidity into something like a provisional government, one which shook the world.”

That is perhaps less poetic than the view of the right wing journalists, but far more accurate.

Just as the French capitalists could not tolerate the Paris workers setting up a provisional government, the Paris Commune, so too the American capitalists could not tolerate any Autonomous Zone. On July 1, the police responded in force, tore down the tents, reclaimed their East Precinct detachment, cleared the area of ”protesters”, and restored ”law and order”.

If they thought that was the end of the Autonomous Zone, they were sadly mistaken. The protesters were perhaps dispersed, but not silenced. On July 25, several thousand protesters gathered in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood for demonstrations in solidarity with Portland, Oregon. The worst fear of the capitalists, that of the Autonomous Zones ”metastasizing across the country”, had by that time, already taken place.

In the case of Portland, on June 18, another Autonomous Zone appeared. It was declared the Patrick Kimmons Autonomous Zone, in honour of a 27 year old Black man who was killed by Portland police in September of 2018. This particular Zone lasted merely a few hours.

On June 22, in Washington, DC, in an area just north of Lafayette Square, another Autonomous Zone was established. This zone was named the Black House Autonomous Zone, in contrast to the White House. This choice of names was probably chosen in an attempt to infuriate the federal officials, and was almost certainly successful. It was quickly dismantled, by the police.

Later that week, on June 27, in Philadelphia, a crowd marched to an abandoned hospital, in a predominantly Black and low income neighbourhood, and reopened the hospital. Nurses began to treat patients ”on the spot”. The occupation was led by a coalition of health care workers and community members called ”Care Not Cops”. They call for funding, which currently goes to the local police force, to be reinvested in preventative public services, such as health care and community centres.

The city of Seattle remains a flash point for the revolution, as later that year, on December 10, protesters gathered once again and set up barricades, this time to prevent the eviction of a Black family from their home. The federal government responded by sending in federal agents, dressed in plain clothes and driving in unmarked vans, to quell the ”rebellion”. This despite the opposition of local authorities, both city and state, so that the appearance of federal officials was very likely illegal. Not that the capitalists care. This is their idea of ”law and order”. They make the law and they give the order!

The protest movement, a truly revolutionary motion, has spread across the country, and common people are responding. They are spontaneously coming together, supporting the protesters. Other examples of this include groups such as Wall of Moms and Wall of Vets. These protests are not limited to Autonomous Zones.

The strength of the movement is reflected in the fact that certain government officials, such as city officials, have joined the protesters. It was Marx who pointed out that, as the revolution ”approaches the decisive hour, a small section of the ruling class cuts itself adrift, and joins the revolutionary class”. It is clear that the ”decisive hour” is fast approaching.

The problem now is to raise the level of awareness of the working class, the proletariat, to bring together the various groups and organizations, those which have formed spontaneously. This is to say that we need a true Communist Party, one which calls for the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. Lenin refers to this Dictatorship as the ”touchstone” of a true Marxist. Without a proper Party to provide the direction, the working class will continue to flounder, striking out blindly in all directions, without coordination. It is only the American Communist Party, Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, which can manage this.

As the working class is not class conscious, not aware of itself as a class, it is up to class conscious people, mainly middle class intellectuals, to take part in the creation of such a Party. This may not be as difficult as it once was, because the various crises in capitalism have caused the ”lower stratum of the middle class to sink gradually into the proletariat”, as Marx phrased it. He went on to say that these ”supply the proletariat with fresh elements of enlightenment and progress”. The very people we need to help create a true Communist Party!

April 15. Another day, another shooting. This time in the city of Indianapolis, leaving eight people dead and five seriously wounded. The press is referring to this as the FedEx shooting. Ho hum.

On the day of the massacre, at the time of shift change, in that the ”night shift”, or second shift, was going off duty, and the ”graveyard shift”, or third shift, was just going to work, someone drove into the parking lot and started shooting. It is reported that all of the dead and wounded were workers, guilty of the ”crime” of going to work and earning a living.

Not too long ago, such an incident of mass murder would have given rise to major headlines, followed by magazine articles, and even documentaries, deploring the senselessness of the shooting. Now it is met with near indifference. The sad fact is that within the last month, there have been fifty ”mass casualty shootings”, to use the jargon of the press. As a result of this, now the public is no longer shocked by such events.

There is a reason that such acts of mass murder are now almost common place. Capitalism has now reached a state in which the working class, the members of the public, or common people, as they refer to themselves, are suffering terribly. Unemployment is at a level not seen since the Great Depression, the Covid 19 virus is raging out of control, countless people cannot meet their rental or mortgage payments, and expect to soon be homeless. Many of the homeless people count themselves fortunate if they are able to live in a car. Others seek refuge under bridges. Most have no medical coverage and are constantly hungry. The food banks cannot keep up with demand. Under such extreme pressure, people are ”cracking up”, to use the popular expression, or simply ”going crazy”.

On the other hand, the stock market is soaring, breaking records on almost a daily basis. The profits of the capitalists, the ”super rich”, the billionaires, technically referred to as the bourgeoisie, are at an all time high. It is truly, ”the best of times, the worst of times”.

Against this background, the public is focused on the trial of the former police officer who has been charged in the death of George Floyd. He has been charged with second degree unintentional felony murder, third degree depraved mind murder, and second degree manslaughter. To think that one man died, and yet the accused is charged with three separate crimes! Further, the jury can find him guilty of one, two or all three charges, or not at all. It would appear that the prosecution is trying to cover all the bases, and in so doing, managed to spread mass confusion. It also increases the chances of a mistrial, in the form of a hung jury, as the jury could be split, with several jurors wanting to convict on one charge, several others wanting to acquit on a second charge, and still others wanting to convict on a third charge. Then too, jurors may want to convict on two or even three charges, while others may disagree. Of course there is always the possibility of an acquittal.

As I write this, the press reports that the jury has just begun deliberations. It is safe to say that the tension within the country is extreme. It is also safe to say that the capitalists are well aware that the country is a ”powder key”, and that the results of this trial could be the spark that causes an explosion.

As Marx pointed out, in a time of crisis, the ruling class, in this case the capitalists, the bourgeoisie, can no longer rule in the old way, and have to change their method of rule. The ”bright lights” of capitalism, the leaders who were formerly so confident, so self assured, are now floundering, contradicting themselves and each other, even resorting to personal insults. They sound more like school yard kids than elder statesmen!

So now the Republican Party, in particular, is praising ”woke corporations”, by which they mean ”corporations with a conscience”. If there are two words which should never be mentioned in one sentence, it is ”corporations” and ”conscience”. This is referred to as an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. We can add this to the list of other oxymorons, such as ”friendly fire”, ”military intelligence”, ”secret bombing”, and my all time favourite, ”Holy war”. Just as war is anything but holy, so too corporations are strangers to a conscience.

Now the journalists are quite gleefully pointing out the hypocrisy of the capitalists. It should be noted that for perhaps the first time in living memory, the press is daring to use words such as capitalism and working class. On all previous occasions, capitalism was referred to as ”democracy”, or ”free enterprise”, while the working class, the proletariat, was referred to as ”blue collar”. The existence of all classes, at least in North America, was quietly and calmly denied.

As an example of that hypocrisy, the journalists are playing a clip from an old movie, one which was praised by all capitalists. In the film, the ”star” of the show states: ”Capitalism is good. Greed is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed is the essence of evolutionary spirit. Greed will save America”.

Now they are walking that back, stating that the Republican Party (!!) must ”rebrand its Wall Street image” (it is the essence of Wall Street), and ”must be more of a working class party” (and the lion shall lie down with the lamb! Ha!), and it ”must not not appear to be pro corporation” (which is precisely what it is!)

There can be no finer, more clear cut example of the confusion within the ranks of the capitalists!

Our task, the task of the revolutionary Communists, as leaders of the working class, is to raise the level of confusion and backstabbing within the community of capitalists, to an absolute brawl. This can best be done by raising the level of awareness of the working class, the proletariat, making them aware of the existence of classes. We must offer our whole hearted support to the Seattle Autonomous Zone, and encourage the formation of similar zones in other parts of the country. It matters not that the Seattle Autonomous Zone may be led by anarchists, or not. We can also encourage all Americans to join the two mainstream political parties, as card carrying members, and to run for any and all political office. This will serve as valuable training, in preparation for the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.

Communists must also form a truly Communist Party, one which calls for the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. Marches and demonstrations must be organized, and it would be best if they were also entertaining. We can support workers who are running for office, while at the same time making it clear that the system cannot be changed from within. It has to be destroyed.

We must also oppose the social chauvinists, those who claim to be Marxists but oppose the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, the very ”touchstone” of a Marxist. Such people are the most devoted servants of the capitalists, the worst enemies of the working class.

As I send this article to be published, the press reports that the jury has retired for the night, to resume deliberations in the morning. They also report that the whole country is waiting for the verdict, with protesters already gathered around the court house. Regardless of the verdict, our task is clear:

Prepare for the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat

In February of 1917, after three hundred years of Russian rule, the Romanov dynasty came to an end, with the abdication of Czar Nicholas 11. That gave rise to a Russian democratic republic, commonly referred to as the Kerensky regime, in which the capitalists, the bourgeoisie, came to power. Under the newly created republic, many Russian citizens, those whom had been exiled, were allowed to return to Russia. One of those people was Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, otherwise known as Lenin.

In April of that year, Lenin arrived in Saint Petersburg, the capitol of Russia. As the leader of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, as that was the official name of the Party at that time, he was immediately faced with a problem which no one had foreseen, or could have foreseen, as no one had thought it possible. The Russian revolution had spontaneously brought about a second layer of power, a dual power (italics by Lenin), one which challenged the rule of the capitalists!

As I am writing this article with working people in mind, those who have just recently become politically active, I will mention that revolutionary motion happens. There are occasions when millions of working people get into motion, pursuing a common goal, and this motion happens spontaneously. They do not know why they are doing this, they just do it. But then that is the reason it is referred to as a spontaneous uprising.

I refer to this as an act of God, although there are many people who do not believe in God. To such people, I can only respond that I respect your beliefs, and in turn I only ask that you respect the beliefs of all others, including those of us who believe in God.

To proceed. It was the Russian February revolution which managed to overthrow the Czar, and remarkably enough, that revolution lacked leaders. The reason for the lack of proletarian leaders was due to the simple fact that under the rule of the Czar, all such leaders, including Lenin, had been first thrown into prison and then either executed or exiled. Lenin had been one of the fortunate ones to be exiled.

The Russian capitalists were of the opinion, quite reasonably, that with the trouble making leaders out of the way, the working people would be much easier to manage, the revolution would die down, and the capitalists could continue to live a life of luxury, at the expense of the working people, of course. Except that it did not work out quite the way the capitalists had in mind. In fact, they could not possibly have been more mistaken.

Lenin, as well as other Russian Marxists whom had been exiled, did not resign themselves to a life of exile. Instead, they continued to carry on their revolutionary work, but from a distance. At the same time, at home in Russia, the revolutionary motion continued to grow.

As the Russian workers were left to their own devices, and they desperately wanted their own leaders, they came up with a novel solution. In numerous locations throughout the country, workers came together and shared their limited resources, elected a Council of people to lead them, and these Councils were referred to as Soviets. In fact, this was the very thing that previously happened in the Paris Commune of 1871!

As Lenin saw it, the existence of these Councils of workers, these Soviets, was not the problem. The problem was that the Soviets, in 1917, were voluntarily surrendering their power to the capitalists!

It was the Russian capitalists who saw these Councils, these Soviets, as a major problem, as a threat to their authority, as indeed they were. But then all capitalists have the advantage in that they are aware of the existence of classes, and the Russian capitalists were no exception. They knew that we live in a class society, and also knew that state power cannot be shared. One class or the other can hold political power, but not both.

By contrast, the Russian proletariat, the working class, was typical in that they were not class conscious, not aware of themselves as a class. They were not aware that their interests were diametrically opposed to the interests of the capitalists. The Russian workers had no suspicion that the Councils, or Soviets, were a direct threat to the rule of the capitalists. Still less did they realize that the capitalists were determined to destroy them.

With that in mind, Lenin took the bull by the horns and wrote an article, titled The Dual Power. The first paragraph is of vital importance: ”The basic question of every revolution is that of state power. Unless this question is understood, there can be no intelligent participation in the revolution, not to speak of guidance of the revolution”. (my italics)

Now we have a similar situation in America, in that another ”dual power” has taken shape, at least within the city of Seattle. Those who are referred to as ”protesters”, but are in fact revolutionaries, have established an ”Autonomous Zone” within the city. They have pooled their limited resources, sharing the little they have, elected a Council of leaders, and are self governing. That is the very thing the workers of Paris attempted in 1871, when they established the Paris Commune, and the workers of Russia attempted, in 1917.

Information is scarce, as the press is giving it little coverage. As the journalists work for the capitalists, and the capitalists are trying to crush the ”protesters”, as they refer to them, this is not too surprising. The members of the Autonomous Zone are engaging in revolutionary work, even though they may not be aware of this. It is very likely that they are even less aware that the capitalists are determined to crush them, as the Autonomous Zone they have established, within the city of Seattle, is nothing other than a dual power, a government of working people.

This dual power is as yet weak, very weak. Even so, the capitalists, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie, are determined to crush this Autonomous Zone, as they recognize it as the threat that it is. The bourgeoisie stands for the undivided rule of the bourgeoisie!

Bear in mind that the French capitalists did not tolerate the existence of the Paris Commune. In fact, they crushed it, with great brutality. Neither did the Russian capitalists allow the Soviets of Workers. Any challenge to the authority of the capitalists is simply not tolerated. Anyone who expects the American capitalists to be any different, is merely kidding themselves. No doubt they are equally determined to crush the Seattle Autonomous Zone.

In that same article, Lenin called for the creation of a ”proletarian Communist Party…let us rally our ranks for proletarian class work…actual experience will from day to day shatter the petty bourgeois illusions of those ‘Social Democrats’…for undivided power made possible not by adventurist acts, but by clarifying proletarian minds, by emancipating them from the influence of the bourgeoisie…This is the actual, the class alignment of forces that determine our tasks”. (italics by Lenin)

Now in America, we also need a ”proletarian Communist Party” in order to ”clarify proletarian minds”, to ”emancipate them from the influence of the bourgeoisie”.

Granted, we have a number of political parties who claim to be Leftist, even Communist. But as Lenin pointed out, the acceptance of the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat is the ”touchstone” of a true Communist. None of the existing ”Leftist” political parties makes any mention of the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, so that none of them are truly Communist. Only such a Communist Party, Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, will be able to ”clarify” the minds of workers, to ”emancipate” them from the influence of the bourgeoisie.

The workers are doing their part. They can go no further, at least not without the leadership provided by a true Communist.

This is the reason I say that conscious people, those who are aware of the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin, must get active and form a true Communist Party, Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. Then the revolution will be led to victory over the capitalists.

It is clear that the capitalists are at their ”wits end”, not sure ”which way to jump”, to put it in popular terms. In Washington, the top politicians are calling for unity, while at the same time demanding the impeachment of Trump, even though he is no longer president, (which makes no sense!) and the removal from office of various top politicians, from both the Senate and the House of Representatives. (which makes even less sense) In fact, a top Republican politician is telling other Republicans to stop attacking each other, or as he put it, in terms which were something less than eloquent, to ”cut that crap out”. (This is their idea of unity!)

This is merely an indication of just how confused the bourgeois politicians have become. As Lenin phrased it, in a similar situation, referring to the idiotic remarks of a bourgeois politician, ”this argument shows in particular how muddled even the most intelligent members of the bourgeoisie have become and how they cannot help committing irreparable blunders. That, in fact, is what will bring about the downfall of the bourgeoisie”.

The only difference between the time in which Lenin worked and the present, lies in the fact that the present situation is much simpler. We no longer have to deal with the class of people known as the nobility. As well, the peasantry and the petty bourgeois, the middle class, have been pretty well wiped out. The bourgeois have simplified the class struggle, in that they have largely succeeded in destroying those classes. Now it is a simple matter of workers versus capitalists, proletarians versus bourgeois. Yet the bourgeois is still as confused as ever!

In addition, the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, recently announced that ”the enemy is within the House of Representatives”. In this, she is correct, and that is an indication of the strength of the revolutionary movement. There are now members of Congress who are revolutionary!

As for those who find this to be shocking, may I suggest that people read the Communist Manifesto, written by Marx and Engels. They explain this quite clearly: ”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”.

There can be no doubt that the class struggle is near the ”decisive hour”, that the ”dissolution going on within the ruling class”, in this case the capitalists, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie, has caused a ”small section” of the bourgeoisie to ”cut itself adrift”, and that this small section has joined the ”revolutionary class”, in this case the workers, the proletariat, the class which ”holds the future in its hands”.

This is not to say that the bourgeois is entirely stupid, and in fact the sharper ones have noticed this revolutionary motion. In response, they recommend the building of another wall, this time a ”permanent wall”, (as opposed to a temporary wall?) around the Capitol Building. As if a flimsy wall is going to stop a million angry workers! They do not know much about workers! Yet the bourgeois certainly do love their walls! Such childish faith in flimsy walls is touching! We will see how strong their faith is, when the workers put that wall to the test!

The press, which serves the capitalists so well, is having a difficult time in presenting the news in a manner which is favourable to the bourgeois. Now the journalists have been forced to admit that even before the Capitol Building was ”stormed” on January 6, another Capitol Building, in the state of Oregon, was also ”stormed”. As that is the case, it is reasonable to conclude that the working class, in the state of Oregon, and especially in the city of Seattle, is a leader of the American revolution.

In particular, there are scattered reports that the workers who have occupied part of Seattle, as well as other parts of Oregon, are now well organized and on the offensive. Videos show them with helmets and shields, and by now, they very likely have been armed with ”night sticks” or clubs. As well, the press reports that they have ”bullet proof vests”, or body armour. (The journalists also think this is terrible!) That is in addition to the tasers, pepper ball guns and ”fireworks”. We should not lose sight of the fact that those fireworks are nothing less that gun powder!

As yet, there are no reports of those workers being armed with slings. With a little practice, and armed with the proper ammunition, such as marbles, slingers can become surprisingly accurate. The advantage of marbles, as ammunition, is that each is precisely the same size and weight. Such weapons, as well as tasers, can be quite effective when used against people mounted on horses. When a horse is struck with a taser or a marble, the horse will in turn very likely give the rider flying lessons.

No doubt, the capitalists will continue with the tried and proven method of using water cannons against the revolutionaries. The water trucks get their water from fire hydrants, so that a simple way to neutralize the water cannons is with the use of pipe wrenches, in order to open up as many of the fire hydrants as possible. In that way, the water pressure will quickly drop to nil, so that there will be no water for the water cannons.

The journalists are unwilling, or unable, to refer to the people who are protesting as revolutionaries. Instead, they prefer to use the terms ”rioters”, ”anarchists” or ”domestic terrorists”. Possibly the idea of another American revolution is too terrible for words. Or possibly it is not in their interests to mention the word. Either way, very soon they are about to learn the meaning of the word.

As an indication of the confusion surrounding the revolutionary uprising, a statement by the head of the Republican Party of Oregon is revealing: ”Whereas there is growing evidence that the violence at the Capitol was a ‘false flag’ operation designed to discredit President Trump, his supporters, and all conservative Republicans; this provided the sham motivation to impeach President Trump in order to advance the Democratic goal of seizing total power, in a frightening parallel to the February 1933 burning of the German Reichstag”.

I mention this merely as an example of the ”process of dissolution” going on within the bourgeoisie. They are turning upon each other, much as mad dogs bite each other.

The DHS has also issued a bulletin to the effect that there is a ”heightened threat from domestic violent extremists”. That same bulletin also mentions the fact that ”domestic terrorists” may be motivated by a range of issues, ”including the virus”.

If nothing else, this provides a very clear cut example of the difference of outlook of the two classes, workers and capitalists. Working people are concerned with the suffering and death of so many of their fellow workers, while the capitalists are concerned that it may give rise to a ”threat from domestic violent extremists”. In other words, in simple English, the capitalists are afraid that the working people, whom they refer to as ”domestic violent extremists” and ”domestic terrorists”, may revolt!

It is also clear that the labels of ”rioters”, ”anarchists” and ”terrorists” has been replaced by ”domestic violent extremists” and ”domestic terrorists”. Perhaps the working class revolutionaries have been given a promotion!

The death rate due to the virus is perhaps the highest in the world, because the one and only way to control the spread of the virus is through social isolation. The trouble is that people who are not moving, are also not spending their money. Americans are being encouraged to travel and enjoy themselves. Planes, bars and clubs are hot spots for the virus, yet that is precisely the places that people are being encouraged to frequent. Profits before people!

The bourgeois have clearly not learned the lessons of the first American revolution, or of the following French revolution, of 1789. For that matter, they have absolutely failed to grasp the significance of the February Revolution of Russia, 1917. That Revolution, which resulted in the overthrow of the Russian Czar, was completely spontaneous. There were no leaders! We know this for a fact, because all the leaders of the workers and peasants, by which I mean the Marxists, had been thrown in prison and either killed or exiled.

Lenin was one of the Marxists whom had been first thrown in prison and later exiled. At the time of the February revolution of 1917, he was living in Switzerland. It was not until April of that year, that he was able to return to Saint Petersburg, the capital of Russia. He was then able to complete the revolution, to lead the Russian common people to victory over the nobility, landlords and capitalists, on October 25 (old style calendar) or November 7 (new style calendar) of 1917. A Soviet Socialist Republic was established, under the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.

The point is that working people spontaneously get into motion, and on occasion, manage some very impressive victories. The overthrow of the Russian Czar was one such victory. The occupation of the Capitol Building, on January 6 of this year, was also quite impressive.

Yet the fact remains that the Russian working people were not capable of carrying through the revolution to scientific socialism. Through no fault of their own, they were not class conscious. That consciousness was brought to them by the Russian Communist Party, with Lenin as the leader. Armed with that knowledge, the working people of Russia were then able to overthrow the capitalists and establish a proper socialist republic, under the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.

A similar situation exists today in America. The American workers have managed to secure some impressive victories, and for this they deserve full credit. Yet it is safe to say that the American workers can carry the revolution no further. They too are not class conscious. They require knowledge, which can only be brought to them by Marxist intellectuals. Of necessity, most of these intellectuals will be middle class, or more likely former members of the middle class. The capitalists will see to that!

As for those who are prejudiced against middle class intellectuals, bear in mind the words of Lenin: ”According to their social status, the founders of modern scientific socialism, Marx and Engels, themselves belonged to the bourgeois intelligentsia”.

Now it is up to modern day bourgeois intellectuals to raise the level of awareness of the American proletariat, or at least that of the most advanced workers, to the level of conscious people, which is to say Marxists. They have to be made aware of the necessity of overthrowing the capitalists, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie, of smashing the existing state machine, and replacing it with a proletarian state apparatus, to be used to crush the desperate and determined resistance of the capitalists. This new state apparatus is referred to as the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.

As Lenin went on to state, quite clearly, ”Without a revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary movement”. He further stated that ”the role of vanguard can be fulfilled only by a party that is guided by an advanced theory. (italics by Lenin) He placed the preceding in italics as a means of stressing the importance of a truly scientific socialist Communist Party, one which calls for the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. Without such a Party, the revolution is in danger of being diverted onto a Right Wing tangent.

Here too, the Communist Manifesto makes it quite clear that the purpose of the Communist Party is the ”formation of the proletariat into a class, overthrow of the bourgeois supremacy, conquest of political power by the proletariat”.

That is a fact, just as it is also a fact that the current crisis in capitalism has forced a great many middle class intellectuals into the ranks of the proletariat. They bring with them their knowledge of the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin. To such people, I can only say that now is the time to become active, to put those theories to good use, to form a true Communist Party, Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, and lead this, the Second American Revolution, to victory. The workers are doing their part. Now it is time for you intellectuals, scientific socialists, true Marxists, to do your part. The fate of the Second American Revolution depends on this.