Author: Gerald Mcisaac

The fatalities in America, as a result of the corona virus, continue to soar. The reported deaths are currently over thirty six thousand, while the deaths of people who choose to die at home, surrounded by family, are not reported. As well, over twenty two million workers have filed for unemployment benefits within the last month! Even that number is expected to ”rise dramatically” as those who are currently employed, if only on paper, by various small businesses, are ”given their walking papers”. The three hundred fifty billion that Congress made available to small businesses has just run out. Without more government hand outs, far more workers will be laid off. As well, the current small business owners, the petty bourgeois, will also be joining the ranks of the proletariat, also unemployed.

This is to say that the country is sinking ever deeper into a depression. The political scientists, the Marxists, may say that the ”contradictions are sharpening”. I mention this for the benefit of the working people who are reading this article, and I most fervently hope there are a great many such people. All Americans are well aware that the country is deeply divided. Not so many people are aware that it is about to break apart. The country is on the verge of revolution. Separate republics are in the process of formation. The capitalists within those emerging republics are determined to make sure that capitalism persists, even after the revolution.

This could happen. It must be stressed that revolution does not necessarily lead to socialism! During a revolution, people rise up spontaneously, not consciously! I refer to this as an Act of God, while other Marxists, those who may object to the use of the work God, tend to refer to it as a ”mass movement”. I make no apologies for my belief in God. I respect the beliefs of all others, and merely ask the same respect in turn.

The important point to remember is that the vast majority of people who are about to rise up in the approaching revolution are not ”conscious people”. No one wakes up one morning and decides to take part in a revolution. Yet that is precisely what happens. That is also the reason we say that such people are acting in a ”spontaneous” manner. This is not to denigrate the importance of the spontaneous element. This is to say that the people who are spontaneously taking part in the revolution need to become aware that they are part of a working class, technically referred to as the proletariat. They also have to be made aware of the existence of the capitalist class, the class of parasites opposite to them, the billionaires who make up the class of people referred to as the bourgeoisie. The proletariat and the bourgeoisie are class enemies. In other words, we have to raise the level of awareness of the proletariat. In fact, the most advanced workers must have their level of awareness raised to the level of Marxists.

The most advanced workers are exceptional. Their importance lies in the fact that the vast majority of workers, those whom are somewhat less advanced, pay strict attention to what they say. Advanced workers are well respected. The less advanced workers, those who may scoff at middle class intellectuals, listen closely to the advanced workers.

This is not to say that we, as Marxists, should ignore the less advanced. We want to raise their level of awareness, and the best way to do this is through repetition and the use of slogans. Signs and banners must proclaim the existence of classes, that of workers as well as capitalists. Such terms as scientific socialism and Dictatorship Of the Proletariat must become common place. All workers must become aware that it is the Marxist belief that the capitalists must be overthrown and crushed under the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.

Recently, the governors of various states have formed a loose alliance, in that they have agreed to ”work together” to ”reopen their economies”. On the east coast, the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island and Massachusetts have formed a ”coalition”. In the midwest, the states of Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky have agreed to work in ”close cooperation”. On the west coast, the states of California, Oregon and Washington have also formed ”regional pacts”.

These loose ”coalitions” or ”alliances” or ”regional pacts” constitute nothing less than the nucleus of separate republics which are forming out of the impending collapse of the American empire. It is Trump who is forcing these states to come together, to form these alliances. He claims to have ”total authority”. He also stated that the governors who dispute his claim are ”engaging in mutiny”. As Trump put it, ”We have the authority to do whatever we want…will take strong action against states” who dispute this authority. He went on to compare this to the Mutiny On the Bounty.

At that time, the penalty for mutiny was death by hanging. Had the mutineers on board the Bounty been caught, no doubt those people would have faced the death penalty. Equally without doubt, all governors are aware of this. The fact is that Trump has just threatened the governors of all states with the death penalty, if they defy his authority!

Of course Trump does not have this legal authority. Under the constitution, there is a clear division of power, between state and federal branches of government. This does not impress Trump in the slightest, as he has all the power he says he has. As far as he is concerned, the constitution is merely a scrap of paper. No wonder the governors of various states are banding together! Their lives are on the line!

No doubt there are numerous people who think that is an exaggeration. They probably think the idea of the Commander in Chief of the American armed forces, sending troops into individual states, with the intent of hanging any and all governors who dare defy him, is madness. As I am not a medical professional, I am not about to argue the mental status of Trump. I will merely point out that Trump ”welcomes mutiny”, and is prepared to take ”strong action” against mutineers. We know this for a fact, because those are precisely the words he used!

As for those who are skeptical, may I draw your attention to a previous head of state, one whom also made some very wild, reckless statements. He threatened to invade neighbouring countries, kill most of the citizens, and enslave the rest. He also threatened to kill a whole race of people, an act of genocide. He was not joking. We know this for a fact, as he went on to do precisely as he threatened. It is not clear why so many people were shocked.

It was Marx who pointed out that in a time of crisis, ”the ruling class can no longer rule in the old way. They have to change their method of rule”. This is a time of crisis, the bourgeoisie are the ruling class, they can no longer rule in the ”old way”, and they have decided to ”change their method of rule”. They have decided to set Trump up as a dictator.

In a very short time, the situation has changed dramatically. It is doubtful that there will be a federal election in November, or if there is such an election, it will likely be pointless. The bourgeoisie have almost certainly decided that Trump will continue as ”president”, but with unlimited powers. He is one of their own, a fellow billionaire, and they can count on him to protect them.

No doubt other states will form other coalitions, or possibly join the coalitions which already exist. For their own safety, they are being forced into this. There is safety in numbers. It is very likely that Trump will send federal troops into states which he considers to be ”mutinous”, with the intention of hanging the governors of those states, as well as anyone else who dares defy him. It will no doubt come as a comfort to know that member states are about to come to their aid. This is another way of saying that America is on the brink of another civil war! Now it is up to conscious people, Marxists, to transform this approaching civil war into a revolutionary war, a class war, a war for scientific socialism, a war for the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.

Trump has already introduced a ”three phase plan” to open up the country, because as he put it, ”there has to be a balance…there’s also death involved in keeping it closed”. He neglected to point out just what death was ”involved in keeping it closed”. Trump is merely focused in opening up the country, returning to ”business as usual”. He refuses to face the fact that those ”good old days” are gone, never to return.

Perhaps the idea of American troops invading states will be sufficient to motivate conscious people, those who are aware of the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin, to become active. A Communist Party is desperately needed. That is the one and only Party which can provide the proletariat with the leadership they need. All other parties will merely steer the revolution onto the bourgeois path. Recall the words of Lenin: ”Without a revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary motion”. (my italics)

Trump has already been busy, hurling insults at various governors who have the gall to stand up to him. He appears to have a particular hatred for the governors of New York and Washington state. He is calling for citizens of those states, among others, to defy the bans on social distancing and to not stay at home. The governors are in turn confused and frustrated, as Trump consistently contradicts himself, first saying one thing one day and the exact opposite the next. Crazy or not, he is clearly not stable.

Any day now Trump could send troops into states which he perceives to be ”mutinous”. It is not clear that those troops would obey his orders. It is clear that such an act would likely cause the start of a civil war. Perhaps the thought of American troops invading American states will inspire American intellectuals, working class as well as middle class, to do that which needs to be done.

Form a Communist Party.

Since the publication of my article Ichthyosaurs In Okanagan Lake?, I have received quite a response. I have been told that Okanagan Lake is considered to be the Cryptid Capital of Canada, a regular ”hot spot” for cryptid sightings. Many people who consider themselves to be ”cryptid scientists” are trying very hard to find proof of the existence of the animal.

They have drawn my attention to a video which was recently posted on the internet, of an animal which they insist is the animal referred to as ”ogopogo”. After carefully reviewing the video, I strongly suspect that it is authentic. The reason for this belief is quite simple. It is too ridiculous to be a fake! No self respecting forger would fake a huge animal with seven humps, and seven sets of fins protruding from each hump, all working in tandem, much as a set of oars on a huge canoe, propelling the animal through the water.

The individual who took this video estimates the length at 120 feet, or 36 meters. Other sightings have estimated the length of this animal to be ”as long as two city busses.” A city bus is 35 to 40 feet, or 14 meters, so the length of the animal could be 70 feet or 28 meters. Either way, that is one huge animal.

I should add that for the purposes of this article, I am expressing the length in metric as well as imperial measurements, for the benefit of those who are not used to metric.

All of those who have seen this animal up close -and there is no shortage of them- swear that the animal has a huge set of eyes. The one and only swimming animal which has such a huge set of eyes is the ichthyosaur, with eye sockets of 25 centimetres or 10 inches. The scientists swear that this animal went extinct 80 million years ago. I suspect the scientists are mistaken, the eye witnesses are correct. Now there is the not so little matter of proving this.

For the moment -strictly for the moment- all we have to go by, aside from eye witness accounts, is fossilized remains. With that in mind, the scientists assure us that in Germany, there are Holzmaden shale quarries with 180 million year old marine fossils, including ”dolphin like reptiles”, or ichthyosaurs. These are referred to as ”fish lizards”. Their remains are in remarkably fine shape as the animals were buried in deep sea with low oxygen content. It is thought that the animals evolved from lung breathing, land dwelling reptiles. They were thought to have leathery skin, slender jaws and bodies built for speed. They are considered to be the ”dolphins of the Mesozoic age”. Remarkably, there are ”chemical clues” that suggest these prehistoric animals had whale like blubber.

The largest such fossil discovered so far was in the United Kingdom, with a length of 85 feet, or 25 metres. Other fossilized remains make it clear -at least to the scientists- that the animal was viviparous, in that it gave birth to live young. It is thought that it usually gave birth to several young, and very likely on land, as the youngsters were born head first.

This is most significant, at least in terms of proving they exist, as giving birth can be a long and tortuous experience. Any woman who has gone through the experience can testify to that. In the case of dolphins, the calves are born tail first, and after several minutes the whole body emerges, the calf immediately swims to the surface and gets its first whiff of fresh air. The point is that the only reason the dolphins can give birth in the water is because the calves are born tail first. If they were born head first, the calf would drown.

The ichthyosaurs, otherwise known as ogopogo, do not have the option of giving birth in the water. As the youngsters emerge head first, they have to give birth on dry land. It is very likely that they use the same beach each year, and that could explain the sightings of the animal on beaches. Assuming that to be the case, it is simply a matter of identifying those beaches. At least, it is a pleasant thought. Then cameras can be set up to catch them in the act. Also, it is almost certain that the animals will leave behind a good bit of DNA.

As they are related to dolphins, I did some research on dolphins. They are intelligent animals, remarkably so. Also complex, far more so than most other animals. They are capable of breeding at several times each year, and the gestation period for bottle nose dolphins is twelve months. In the case of places such as Florida, this is not a problem, as it is always warm. On the other hand, in such places as Okanagan Lake, it is a problem. Mating season must be adjusted to fit the gestation period of the female, as otherwise calves could be born in winter, with no chance of survival.

That begs the question of the length of the gestation period of the ichthyosaurs. On this subject, the fossils are silent. There is only so much we can learn from fossils. The orca, otherwise known as the ”killer whale”, is the largest species of dolphin in the world, and the gestation period of that animal is 16-17 months. So it is reasonable to assume that the gestation period of the ichthyosaur is considerable.

Further eye witness accounts of the cryptid researchers suggests that the animals move around in pods -assuming that is the correct word- much as orcas travel in pods. As Okanagan Lake is 135 kilometres or 84 miles long, and 4 to 5 kilometres or 2.5 to 3 miles wide, it is a rather large lake. Further, it is an average of 76 metres or 249 feet deep. Most of the fish in the lake are rainbow trout and salmon, no doubt the main supply of food for the animal. Equally without doubt, as the animal is a carnivore, it also preys upon other sources of food. In fact, it almost certainly preys upon any and all animals that stray into the water. So how is it that no one has reported any people being attacked by this animal?

They may be more intelligent than the average reptile, possibly instinctively aware that it is not a good idea to prey upon our species. The alternative, that they are really mammals which are classified as reptiles, is dubious. The fact is that mammals, pound for pound, require ten times the nourishment of reptiles. In order for that lake, large as it is, to support a population of mammals that size, is to stretch the imagination to the limit. It is far more likely that these are reptiles with characteristics of mammals.

That may not be quite as strange as it sounds, as monotremes are mammals which have characteristics of reptiles. The platypus and the ichidna lay eggs, as do reptiles. Or at least most reptiles lay eggs. The ichthyosaurs give birth to live young, and they do so on land.

That is the key to proving they exist.

In my previous article, I mentioned that we are in desperate need of a true Communist Party, one which calls for the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. There are numerous political parties, all of which can legitimately be referred to as ”Leftist”, and some of whom refer to themselves as Marxist. Each and every one of these parties says something different. As a result of this, the members of the public, the common people, tend to be confused. The best way to draw a clear distinction between the revisionist Communist parties and the true Communist Party is revealed by Lenin in his work, State and Revolution. ”A Marxist is one who extends the acceptance of the class struggle to the dictatorship of the proletariat...This is the touchstone on which the real understanding and acceptance of Marxism should be tested.”(italics by Lenin)

The fact is that Marx stated quite clearly that he did not discover the existence of classes, just as he did not discover the struggle between them. These had been discovered by bourgeois historians, and bourgeois economists had described the ”economic anatomy of the classes”. It is to be stressed that the struggle between the classes is well known and accepted by the bourgeoisie. The step forward which Marx did was not acceptable to the bourgeoisie. As Marx put it, ”What I did that was new was to prove: 1) that the existence of classes is only bound up with particular historical phases in the existence of production; 2) that the class struggle necessarily leads to the dictatorship of the proletariat; 3) that this dictatorship itself only constitutes the transition to the abolition of all classes and to a classless society.”(italics by Lenin)

I have chosen to use capital letters as a means of emphasizing the importance of that dictatorship, rather than italics. So my suggestion is that the name be Communist Party, Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, CP,DOP.

Without doubt, the Party will have to be formed by intellectuals, most of whom will be current or former members of the middle class, although others could be working class intellectuals. A Party platform will have to be worked out, and I could suggest a platform similar to the original platform of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, RSDLP, written by Lenin.

For the sake of those who are new to the revolutionary movement -and I hope there are a great many of you- I will mention that in the year 1898, a handful of middle class revolutionary Russian intellectuals gathered together to form the nucleus of that which came to be known as the Russian Communist Party. The meeting was conducted in great secrecy, as the Czar was completely reactionary and such gathering were strictly forbidden. This did not stop those few people from doing that which had to be done. They put their freedom and even their lives on the line, as a matter of principle. One of those dedicated revolutionaries was Lenin. He and several others were quickly rounded up, sent to prison and then exiled. A couple others were left free, but only for the purpose of attracting other ”subversives”.

I mention this as a precaution to all Marxist, those who are interested in forming a true Communist Party. We are not cursed with a Czar, as was Lenin and the early revolutionaries. In fact, Americans are blessed with a Bill of Rights, thanks to the American founding fathers, those who refused to sign the American Constitution, as it did not contain a Bill of Rights. Those men stood on principle, and we owe them a debt of gratitude. Now it is our turn to follow in their footsteps.

With that in mind, I can suggest that reasonable precautions be taken. Just because we have certain democratic rights, as is guaranteed in the Constitution, does not mean that those rights will be respected. A certain circumspection is probably a good idea. Meetings are required, but it is perhaps best not to advertise. Those who are proficient with computers can very likely set up such events on the internet, using skype or some other ”social networking” program, assuming that is the proper terms. Even then, various government agencies may well try to eavesdrop. On the other hand, there is a group who call themselves Anonymous, and they are broadcasting with considerable success. Then there is the White House Resistance, which appears to be still on the loose. The federal government has as yet failed to track them down and silence them.

The original platform of the RSDLP, as written by Lenin, is available on the internet, and is no doubt contained in his collected works. Those works are not readily available. However, as we have the internet, feel free to make use of it.

The very important point is that the introduction contains the following clause: ”A necessary condition for this social revolution is the dictatorship of the proletariat, that is, conquest by the proletariat of such political power as will enable it to suppress any resistance by the exploiters.” I consider that to be an absolutely key clause, one which is completely unacceptable to the bourgeoisie. The introduction also calls for the organization of the proletariat into an independent political party, opposed to all the bourgeois parties, a proletarian party which exposes the lies and deception of the bourgeoisie, guides and explains the revolution to the working class.

It also calls for a legislative assembly, a ”single chamber”. In terms of the American revolution, this means that the Senate should be abolished, in order to make the federal government more democratic. Then there is the call for a ”progressive tax” on income, and an inheritance tax. All judges should be elected. I am sure we can all agree on those points.

The new platform of the American Communist Party should also call for the abolition of the Electoral College. All student loans should be declared null and void. Education should be tuition free. There should be an increase to the minimum wage and to pensions. Everyone should be guaranteed free medial care, a human right.

The current situation is becoming ever more tense, ever more revolutionary. The contradictions are becoming ever sharper. The journalists are describing Trump as in the grip of a ”melt down”. He has produced a propaganda video, at tax payer expense, in which he denies the warnings he received concerning the virus. His lies are becoming ever more blatant. One journalist even went so far as to use the word ”dangerous”. This is in a reference to the claim of Trump that he has the ”absolute right” to ”reopen the country”, to open up all states for business. He does not have that right. His power is not absolute. As a result of this, the governors of various states, on each coast, are coming together, forming ”coalitions”. It is a small step from coalitions to the formation of separate republics, independent from the United States. Such republics could well trigger another civil war, a true revolution.

All of this in no way changes the fact that Americans are among the leaders of the international revolutionary movement. Further, it is American women who are in the forefront of the revolution, if only because the upper stratum of the working class has been bought off by the capitalists. At least, that used to be the case. Now that we are entering a depression, the ”perks” those worker used to receive are a thing of the past. As well, the middle class is being devastated. Countless small businesses are closing, with more on the way. It is difficult to see how any small business can survive the depression.

With that in mind, I can suggest that the leaders of the women’s movement, many of whom are, or were, members of the middle class, should once again become active. No doubt many of you are aware of the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin. Feel free to put those theories into practice. The ”good old days” of a comfortable middle class existence are a thing of the past. Now there is a need for a true Communist Party, and it is doubtful that anyone else is prepared to rise to the occasion. I have complete confidence in you.

Only a true Communist Party can bring to the working class, the proletariat, the awareness of themselves as a class, with their own class interests, which are diametrically opposed to the interests of the bourgeoisie. They have to be prepared for the approaching revolution and the subsequent Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. There are various ways to raise the level of awareness, so feel free to be creative. So much of the propaganda from various Leftist groups is a supreme bore. People get tired of listening to the same old expressions, so that they tend to lose any meaning. The best way to educate people is to entertain them at the same time. As a bonus, this also irritates the bourgeoisie to no end.

A number of leaders of the women’s movement are professional entertainers, and they did some fine work exposing the bourgeoisie in the recent past. Several of these performances were so fine, they appeared on the main stream media. We need more of this, except with more class content. This can be in the form of signs, banners, slogans or even songs. You ladies are talented -do not deny it- so put those talents to good use.

There is a time and a place for protests and demonstrations, and there are other ways to raise the level of awareness of the proletariat. Of course I am referring to the internet. Most members of the public are literate, and now the vast majority have personal computers, or at least have access to them. Certain videos go ”viral”, if that is the correct word, in that people find them to be quite entertaining. For the most part, this happens more or less by accident. Feel free to produce such videos, hopefully to go viral, but by design.

The American revolution is of particular importance because it will no doubt spread to other countries of the world. Other revolutions in other parts of the world will also spread, so that in the not too distant future, we will see a World Socialist Republic, of which Lenin wrote.

The monopoly capitalists, the bourgeoisie, in the most highly industrialized countries have to be overthrown and crushed under the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. In such countries, it is exceptionally difficult to start the revolution, but once started, it is much easier to proceed. This stands in stark contrast to under developed countries, in that it is relatively easy to start a revolution, but far more difficult to carry it through. The fact that capitalism was restored in Russia as well as China, both under developed countries, is not a coincidence.

Perhaps the ladies who are leading the revolution will take some encouragement from the fact that we can expect a great many more men to take part in the revolution. Those workers who were receiving extra ”perks” from the capitalists are now feeling the pinch. A great many middle class people, men as well as women, are now ruined, forced into the ranks of the proletariat. The proletarian army has just increased dramatically in size, becoming far stronger. Now it is no longer quite so difficult to start the revolution, thanks to the bourgeoisie.

This is not to say that we are about to enter the ”Age of Aquarius”, at a time of ”peace and tranquility”, because we are not. As anyone who has ever lived through a revolution can testify, it is anything but peaceful. It is on the horizon, it is going to be difficult, it is necessary, and without the proper leadership provided by the Communist Party, it will be a failure.

I have no doubt that conscious people, those who aware of the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin, will rise to the occasion and form a true Communist Party. We will know we are on the right track when the expression Dictatorship Of the Proletariat is on the lips of all working people.

Forward to the Revolution, my Brothers and Sisters, my Comrades!

The world of capitalism is being rocked by twin crises. The corona virus is sweeping the world, causing wide spread sickness and death. The most highly developed countries have responded by declaring a state of emergency, closing their borders, placing their citizens under a ”lockdown”, in that most people are not allowed to leave their homes, unless it is for an emergency or to buy groceries. Even then, all must practice ”social distancing”, keeping a respectful distance from others. Only ”essential personnel” are allowed to keep working, such as hospital staff and ”first responders”. The idea is to contain the spread of the virus. The effectiveness of this policy varies from one country to another.

The countries which recognized the threat of the virus and immediately took steps to contain it, suffered the least amount of sickness and death. By contrast, the most highly industrialized countries were slow to respond to the crisis caused by the virus. The capitalists who are in charge of such countries were most reluctant to place their countries in ”lockdown mode”, as that is ”bad for business”, or as they are so fond of saying, ”harms the economy”. By that they mean their profits will suffer.

Naturally, of all countries, America was perhaps the slowest to respond. So now they are paying the price, with a half million people who have been confirmed to be infected with the virus, and twenty thousand dead. The vast majority of these fatalities have been seniors.

In addition, all capitalist countries are now entering a depression, although most bourgeois economists are denying this. As Lenin put it, ”it is in their interest to do so”. Such economists come out with glowing predictions, which are far removed from reality. The alternative is to tell the stock holders the facts, in which case their bosses, the corporate directors, will find some one who is more agreeable. The European Union is on the verge of collapse. None of the bourgeois economists are prepared to admit this, just as they deny that numerous countries are facing bankruptcy. Denial is the ”order of the day”.

A similar situation existed towards the end of the First World War, in that the most industrialized countries were in a state of crisis. As Lenin put it, ”Europe’s greatest misfortune and danger is that it has no revolutionary party. It has parties of traitors…and servile souls…But it has no revolutionary party.” (italics by Lenin) He goes on to say that ”a mighty, popular revolutionary movement may rectify this deficiency, but it is nevertheless a serious misfortune and a grave danger.”

At that time, the Marxists of the day fully expected the Russian revolution to spread to other countries of the world. May I suggest that one reason it did not, is that the ”grave danger”, the lack of a ”revolutionary party”, was at least partly responsible for this. May I also suggest that we suffer from a similar ”misfortune”, and not just in Europe.

The fact is that people need leaders. This is especially true of the working class, the proletariat, as members of that class are not aware of themselves as a class. This gives the capitalists, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie, a huge advantage. It is the duty of conscious people, Marxists, to bring this awareness to the working class. Further, the most advanced members of the working class must be raised to the level of Marxists.

This is a ”tall order”, but no where near as difficult as it used to be. The breakthrough in modern communications, that which I refer to as the internet -for lack of a better word- has given the working class a powerful tool. The members of the public are far better educated now than ever before. In particular, various popular television shows have exposed the inner workings of the political system. True, these are works of fiction, but based on fact. The writers of those shows know precisely what they are doing. We are grateful to them.

No doubt there are a great many working class people who are now politically active, as a result of the revolutionary motion. I write this article with those people in mind. Welcome, my brothers and sisters, my comrades!

It is very likely that most working class people are somewhat confused by the people on the Left, by which I mean those who claim to be socialists, independent socialists, Marxist-Leninists or Communists, among other things. But then it is confusing. Which is not to say that the ”revolutionary” theories they spout is new and original, because it is not. It is merely a rehash of the same old garbage which was blurted out many years ago, and Lenin had a few choice words for those who endorsed this revisionist nonsense.

During the time that Lenin worked, that which we refer to as Marxism or Communism was referred to as Social Democracy, as it was considered that those who strive for socialism also strive for democracy. That is quite clear and simple, yet there is nothing so simple that bourgeois intellectuals cannot complicate. Social Democracy is no exception.

At that time, a number of bourgeois intellectuals, those who claimed to be Marxists, but were in fact revisionists, which is to say that they were determined to revise the revolutionary theories of Marx, distinguished themselves by coming to the fore front of the revolutionary movement which was then sweeping the country. A similar situation is taking place today. Lenin had a few words for these imposters, those who claim to be Marxists, but are not. As that is the case, perhaps it is best to check in on the lad.

In fact, Lenin wrote What Is To Be Done? with those frauds in mind. As it is so important, I have decided to quote it at some length. The revisionists were of the opinion that ”Social Democracy must change from a party of the social revolution into a democratic party of social reforms…The possibility of putting socialism on a scientific basis and of proving that it is necessary and inevitable from the point of view of the materialist conception of history was denied, as also were the facts of growing impoverishment and proletarianization and the intensification of capitalist contradictions. The very conception, ‘ultimate aim‘ was declared to be unsound, and the idea of the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat was absolutely rejected. It was denied that there is any difference in principle between liberalism and socialism. The theory of the class struggle was rejected on the grounds that it could not be applied to a strictly democratic society, governed according to the will of the majority, etc…Thus, the demand for a definite change from revolutionary Social Democracy to bourgeois social reformism was accompanied by a no less definite turn towards bourgeois criticism of all the fundamental ideas of Marxism” (italics by Lenin)

Lenin went on to say that this ”trend” in Social Democracy is nothing else than a ”new species of opportunism”. (italics by Lenin) For those who are new to the revolutionary movement, I should explain that the word means unprincipled. Further, it has been my experience that those who strive to revise the theories of Marx tend to be completely devoid of principle.

Today few people can deny the ”growing impoverishment and proletarianization and the intensification of capitalist contradictions”. Certainly the millions of workers who are being laid off can testify to that! In addition to their jobs, they are about to lose their life savings, their houses, cars and everything else they have worked all their lives to attain.

By the same token, the small business owners, the middle class people, the petty bourgeois, are equally well aware of the fact of ”proletarianization”, as they are being ruined by this crisis in capitalism. Their businesses are closed, never to reopen. They have been forced into the ranks of the proletariat.

As for the ”intensification of capitalist contradictions”, it is clear for all to see that the capitalists, the billionaires, the bourgeoisie, are thriving! Now more so than ever, they are indeed living in the ”lap of luxury”. Countless people are sick and dying, so the price of medical equipment has gone through the roof! Simple face masks are now selling for ten to twenty times the usual price! Medical personnel and first responders, those who are placing their health and even their lives on the line, are being gouged!

Not only are the capitalists reaping ”windfall profits” as a result of the virus, they are also stealing countless billions of tax payer dollars and giving it to themselves and the corporations which they own. They justify this with the rationale that such corporations are Too Big To Fail. Clearly the rest of us are Too Small To Succeed!

It is vitally important that true Communist parties be formed in all the industrialized countries of the world, and not just in Europe. The reason for this is quite simple: The success of the revolution depends upon this!

As for those who are skeptical, who think the working class can spontaneously revolt and establish a socialist republic, may I suggest that you could not possibly be more mistaken. As Lenin put it, ”Without a revolutionary theory, there can be no revolutionary movement…the importance of theory… is still greater for three reasons…our Party is only in the process of formation, its features are but just becoming outlined, and it has not yet completely settled its accounts with other tendencies in revolutionary thought which threaten to divert the movement from the proper path…what at first sight appears to be an ‘unimportant’ mistake may give rise to most deplorable consequences… the second reason is that the Social Democratic movement is essentially an international movement…It also means that a movement that is starting in a young country can be successful only on the condition that it assimilates the experience of other countries…The third reason is that the national tasks of Russian Social Democracy are such as have never confronted any other socialist party in the world…the role of vanguard can be fulfilled only by a party that is guided by an advanced theory.” (italics by Lenin)

In the same work by Lenin, he went on to quote extensively from Engels. As he put it, ”Engels recognized not two forms of the great struggle Social Democracy is conducting (political and economic)…but three, adding to the first two the theoretical struggle.” (italics by Lenin)

We are now faced with a similar situation, in that the most industrialized countries of the world, including America, are suffering from the ”grave danger” and ”serious misfortune” of not having a proper Communist Party to give the working class the guidance it so desperately needs. It is absolutely essential that each and every country form its own Communist Party. As for those countries which are cursed with political parties which claim to be Marxist, but are in fact revisionist, may I suggest the name of the party be Communist Party, Dictatorship Of the Proletariat, or CP, DOP. In this way, the true Marxist parties can be distinguished from the revisionists, as no Marxist revisionist acknowledges the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat.

The Communist Party of each country can then focus on raising the level of awareness of the working class, the proletariat. The most advanced workers can be raised to the level of Communists. They in turn will lead the less advanced.

As Lenin pointed out, regardless of the strength of the revolutionary movement, it will not lead to Social Democratic, which is to say Marxist or Communist consciousness. ”This consciousness could only be brought to them from without. The history of all countries shows that the working class, exclusively by its own efforts, is able to develop only trade union consciousness…The theory of socialism, however, grew out of the philosophical, historical and economic theories that were elaborated by the educated representatives of the propertied classes, the intellectuals…the founders of modern scientific socialism, Marx and Engels, themselves belonged to the bourgeois intelligentsia.”

I should add that this ”trade union consciousness”, this awareness of the working class, or at least the more advanced members of the working class, that there is ”strength in numbers”, is as far as the working class can go, by itself. The political revisionist parties which demand only paltry reforms, such as an increase in wages and working conditions, are referred to by Lenin as ”Economists”. It is characteristic of such people that they ”worship” the spontaneous revolutionary movement, and oppose the non-labour ”socialist intelligentsia”, event though they claim to be members of the socialist intelligentsia! That is a marvel of intellectual gymnastics!

I have no doubt that each country will soon rectify the ”grave danger” and ”misfortune” of not having a true Communist Party. Just bear in mind that, as Lenin put it, ”all subservience to the spontaneity of the labour movement, all belittling of the role of the ‘conscious element’, of the role of Social Democracy, means, whether one likes it or not, the growth of influence of bourgeois ideology among the workers. All those who talk about ‘exaggerating the importance of ideology’, about exaggerating the importance of the conscious element, etc., imagine that the pure and simple labour movement can work out an independent ideology for itself, if only the workers ‘take the fate out of the hands of the leaders’. But this is a profound mistake…Since there can be no talk of an independent ideology being developed by the masses of the workers in the process of their movement, the only choice is: either bourgeois or socialist ideology. There is no middle course…to belittle socialist ideology in any way, to deviate from it in the slightest degree means strengthening bourgeois ideology.” (italics by Lenin)

It is my personal opinion that the Russian revolution could not have succeeded without the leadership provided by Lenin. It is further my personal opinion that the revolution did not spread beyond the borders of Russia, because of the ”grave danger” and ”misfortune” of the lack of a Communist Party in other countries.

No doubt skeptical readers will question why the spontaneous movement, the movement along the line of least resistance, lead to the domination of bourgeois ideology? As Lenin responded, ”For the simple reason that bourgeois ideology is far older in origin than Social Democratic ideology; because it is more fully developed and because it possesses immeasurably more opportunities for being distributed.”

There can be no doubt that the current crisis in capitalism has given birth to a truly revolutionary situation, not just in Europe but also in America. Or especially in America, as the tension is extreme. The revolution could break out any day, but without a Communist Party to provide direction, it is bound to fail! The current pack of imbecilic leaders would only be replaced by a new pack of thieves and liars. Capitalism would continue, despite the change of faces.

Under these circumstances, I am convinced that there is nothing more important now than the formation of a Communist Party, in each industrialized country. I consider this to be the ”key link” in the chain, as Lenin refers to it. With that in mind, as an answer to my question of Now What To Do?

Create a Communist Party

Capitalism has just given rise to no less than two crises, which are happening at the same time. The corona virus is sweeping the world, leaving death and devastation in its wake. At the same time, the capitalist world is now entering a Second Great Depression. More death and destruction!

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.”

The twin crises we are currently experiencing are providing us with very clear cut examples of this. In the last three weeks alone, an estimated 17 million workers filed for unemployment insurance benefits. Countless small businesses are shut down, the vast majority of which will never reopen. Even after the country recovers from the effects of the corona virus, the depression will continue. The major businesses, the monopolies, the ”chains” of super markets, airlines, railroads, hotels, mines and mills, for example, are open for business now and will continue to remain open. The only difference is that now, they do not have any competition from the small business owners. The monopolies are now stronger, more complete. Those whom the capitalists have deemed ”Too Big To Fail” will thrive, while the rest of us, those who are Too Small To Succeed, will go the way of the dodo bird.

This is to the advantage of the monopoly capitalists, the billionaires, the Sacred Six Hundred, the bourgeoisie. They own these corporations, and have already given themselves trillions of dollars of tax payer money. For the benefit of those who are not aware, I will point out that a trillion is a thousand billion! The crisis continues to intensify. The small business owners, the middle class, the petty bourgeois is being wiped out. As Lenin put it, ”it is the petty bourgeois that every war and every crisis ruins and destroys first”. Yet they are not the only ones who are facing ruin.

Millions of workers, proletarians, are losing their jobs, soon to lose their houses and everything else they own, including their life sayings, forced into bankruptcy. And the bourgeoisie? They are rolling in wealth! They have never been richer. Those who used to have billions now have tens of billions! This is truly ”the best of times, the worst of times”.

This is another way of saying that the situation is revolutionary. The suffering of the common people, the members of the public, is severe and about to become ever more intense. The capitalists expect us to suffer through this depression, much as our grand parents suffered through the first great depression. Possibly they are not aware that we are not our grandparents. We are far more aware than they ever were. We are not about to put up with the this crap, as our grandparents did. Perhaps we should let them know this!

The internet, movies and popular television shows have helped to educate the members of the public. Now it is up to conscious people, Marxists, to further educate the working class, to raise their level of awareness, to explain to people the existence of classes, of the necessity of revolution and the subsequent Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. We currently live under the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie. The capitalists are in charge and fully intend to remain in charge. The only alternative is the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat. As we live in a class society, there is no third alternative.

We can learn from the Russian revolution, as it was similar to the current situation, but there were also important differences. Three quarters of the Russian population was composed of peasants, most of whom had no education. As most of the country was not highly industrialized, it was different from the current American situation. As Lenin put it, ”In such a country it was quite easy to start a revolution”. On the other hand, in such a country, carrying through the revolution is exceptionally difficult. Or as Lenin phrased it, ”it was easy for the Russian revolution to begin but difficult for it to take further steps.”

Lenin went on to compare the Russian revolution to that of highly industrialized countries, within Europe. ”The European revolution will have to begin against the bourgeoisie, against a much more serious enemy and under immeasurably more difficult conditions. It will be much more difficult for the European revolution to begin. We see that it is immeasurably more difficult to make the first breach in the system that is holding back the revolution. It will be much easier for the European revolution to advance to the second and third stages.” That is because ”the degree of organization and solidarity of the proletariat there is incomparably greater.” He went on to say that ”It is more difficult to start a revolution in West European countries because there the revolutionary proletariat is opposed by the higher thinking that comes with culture, and the working class is in a state of cultural slavery.”

That which applies to Western Europe also applies to America, but with an additional difference. In respect to America, there is one more detail which has to be taken into account. As Lenin also stated, ”The trade unions have never embraced more than one fifth of the wage workers in capitalist society, even under the most favourable circumstances, even in the most advanced countries… only a small upper stratum were members, and of them a very few were lured over and bribed by the capitalists to take their place in capitalist society as workers leaders. The American socialists called these people ‘labour lieutenants of the capitalist class….who were bribed and bought by it.”’

The point is that there are members of the working class, within America, who are quite well paid, ”bribed” by the capitalists, those who may or may not be union leaders, but quite content to serve their masters, the capitalists. To these ”labour lieutenants of the capitalist class”, may I suggest that you ”mend your ways”. You are probably not aware of the fact that you are about to become a target of the revolution. Feel free to ”convert”, as otherwise the experience of the revolution will make you wish you had. If there is one thing we find more contemptible than the capitalists, it is their belly crawling boot lickers.

Now to the American women, my female comrades, I can only say that you have proven yourselves to be excellent organizers. That is fine, as far as it goes, but it does not go far enough. Those of you who are not aware of the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin have to ”brush up”, to educate yourselves. Those of you who are aware of the revolutionary theories have to put it into practice. Face the fact that capitalism has had its day, it is in its death throes. There is no way out of this crisis, this depression. The world will never again be the same.

Now is the time to step up, to distinguish yourselves as revolutionary leaders, to follow in the footsteps of Rosa Luxembourg. She was a fine revolutionary, one who devoted her life to the cause of revolution. She refused to compromise her principles, never became a revisionist, never betrayed the working people. It was for that reason that she paid the ultimate price, was murdered by the reactionaries. May her sacrifice be an inspiration to women around the world!

To American men, my comrades, may I offer similar advice. Now is no time to march for paltry reforms -not that it ever was- but to march for the revolution, to overthrow the capitalists, the bourgeoisie. Join your women folk, protect them, prepare to do battle. They call us ”rednecks”, so embrace the term. Wear red kerchiefs, perhaps over your nose and mouth, to prevent the spread of the virus. Do not allow fear of the virus to divert you from the greater enemy, the bourgeoisie. March to destroy capitalism. March for your women and children. March for scientific socialism. March for the Dictatorship Of the Proletariat!