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The American public is being exposed to the term ‘’stochastic terrorism’’ lately, as the mainstream press is currently accusing Trump and his campaign officials of using that tactic. 

In this they are correct, but that in no way changes the fact that most readers are not familiar with the meaning of the expression. It is also a fact that countless working people are closely following the so called ‘’presidential campaign’’, so that this requires a little explanation. 

In technical terms, it is a reference to the attempt of people to use disgust, to incite violence. This generally involves the use of ‘’hate speech’’, in which a group of people are ‘’dehumanized and vilified’’. It is then far more likely that others, and in particular the less advanced members of the working class, will respond with violence, attacking those poor unfortunates. 

This is nothing other than one of the methods of rule, of the monopoly capitalists, the multi billionaires, the bourgeoisie. This particular method is commonly referred to as ‘’divide and conquer’’. It is considered to be a ‘’time honoured’’ tactic, that of dividing the enemy, to have them fight among themselves, instead of fighting their common enemy. 

In this case, the ‘’enemy’’ being divided, encouraged to ‘’fight among themselves’’, is the working class, the proletariat. The monopoly capitalists are making every effort to have workers fighting workers. In the past, this tactic has proven to be quite successful.

It was Trump who first accused Haitian immigrants, in the city of Springfield, Ohio, of ‘’eating the dogs and cats’’ of the residents. Then his ‘’running mate’’, J.D. Vance,  the individual he chose to run for the office of Vice President, perpetuated the lie. As Vance stated:

‘’The American media totally ignored this stuff, until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes. If I have to create stories, so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that is what I am going to do’’. 

This calls for another explanation, as a great many people are not aware of the definition of the word ‘’meme’’. According to the internet, it is ‘’an amusing or interesting item, such as a captioned picture or video, that is spread online, especially through social media’’. 

To think that J.D. Vance, an individual who could well become the next Vice President of the United States, considers the accusation that ‘’Haitian immigrants are eating the cats and dogs of Springfield’’, to be a ‘’meme’’, an ‘’amusing or interesting item’’, speaks volumes concerning his character. That man is nothing short of contemptible!

It is to the credit of a certain mainstream journalist, that he pointed out the lies and hypocrisy of these racist lowlifes: 

‘’They know it is a lie, yet they are defending their racist hate speech, concerning Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, which is ripping the community apart, and sparking violent threats….J.D. Vance openly admits to and defends lying about Haitian immigrants eating pets…..Admits that he made up the violent smear against Haitian immigrants in Springfield Ohio, in order to create a meme, that the mainstream media had to report on’’.

It is significant that this particular ‘’mainstream journalist’’, admits that the ‘’mainstream media’’, was forced to ‘’report on’’ this particular ‘’meme’’, even though it was clearly a lie! So much for the mainstream press being fair and impartial!

This brings us to another term, which the mainstream press is using, that of ‘’dead catting’’. This is a rather disgusting reference to a ‘’shocking or dramatic and usually false claim’’, in order to ‘’distract from a more damaging story’’, according to the internet. 

Strangely enough, it has its origins in the entertainment industry. In cases where a stand up comedian was ‘’bombing’’, it was customary to ‘’throw a dead cat’’ onto the stage. This crude form of entertainment was apparently effective. It distracted the audience from the comedian, and frequently provoked a laugh. 

It is reasonable to assume that the sight of a ‘’dead cat’’, was not the reason for the laughter of the audience. It is far more likely that the people were shocked and appalled, and used laughter to cover their embarrassment and disgust. 

Just as the entertainers of yesteryear did not hesitate, to resort to vulgarity and disgust, so too, Trump and Vance also embrace such tactics. 

This brings us to yet another term, that of ‘’Hybrid Warfare’’, or ‘’Grey Zone’’. It is a reference to the tactics pursued by those who are completely devoid of principle, those who maintain that the ‘’end justifies the means’’. They do not hesitate to stoop to any lie, fraud or deception, in order to achieve their desired goal.

In the case of Trump and Vance, the goal is the White House. If that goal involves instigating the murder of countless innocent immigrants, working class people, one and all, then so be it. 

It is important to bear in mind that such behaviour is not limited to Trump and Vance. It is characteristic of all monopoly capitalists, imperialists. All are devoid of principle. All imperialists are completely reactionary. In the case of Trump and Vance, it just happens to be very open and clear cut. 

This should be presented to the working class, as a clear cut example of that reaction. Those two are not exceptionally reactionary. They are merely exceptionally stupid. 

Our goal is to raise the level of awareness, of the proletariat, to prepare them for the approaching revolution, and the subsequent Scientific Socialism, in the form of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. 

This can only be accomplished by becoming involved in that which interests them. At the moment, they are taking a keen interest in the ‘’presidential election’’. That is the reason I am focused on that election.

We must respect the beliefs of the countless working people, those who still believe in the ‘’democratic process’’, as put forward by the monopoly capitalists. 

For that reason, we must encourage them to ‘’take the capitalists at their word’’, in order to ‘’change the system from within’’. 

What better way to ‘’change the system from within’’, than by demanding that they abide by the law of the land, the Constitution? After all, every elected politician in Washington, has taken an oath, ‘’to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution’’. They do not get to pick and choose!

Of course, I am referring to the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution, which lays out the procedure to be followed, in all federal elections! Procedures which have not been followed, since the days of the Civil War! For that reason, all federal elections, for the last hundred and fifty years, have been fraudulent!

As I have documented this in previous articles, there is no need to copy the Twelfth Amendment here. Suffice it to say that experts on Constitutional law should be encouraged to challenge the forthcoming federal election, on the grounds that it is Unconstitutional, as it does not follow the procedures outlined in the Constitution. 

There can be no doubt that the working people of America, will pay close attention to such a court case. In this way, their level of awareness will be raised.

Equally without doubt, the ruling class of monopoly capitalists, the multi billionaires, the bourgeoisie, will be forced to change their method of rule. They are in charge, and fully intend to remain in charge!

In this way, they will be more exposed. The working class people will see them as the liars and hypocrites, that they are. As such, they have to be overthrown. 

It is just a matter of time before the working class, even the less advanced strata of the proletariat, comes to realize that those of us who are Marxists, true Communists, are correct. The precise length of time largely depends upon us. It is up to Communists to raise the level of awareness of the proletariat. 

We will know we are being successful, when social media proclaims:

Workers of the World, Unite!

Dictatorship of the Proletariat!

Scientific Socialism! 

On Tuesday, September 10, the ‘’First Presidential Debate of 2024’’, between ‘’Former President Donald Trump’’, and ‘’Vice President Kamala Harris’’, took place. All of the mainstream news outlets covered this event, broadcasting live, during ‘’prime time’’, as they knew that countless people were about to watch this performance. Those viewers were hoping to be entertained, and they were not disappointed. 

It is clear that the ‘’handlers’’ of Harris, her coaches, earned they pay! They deserve a raise! She marched onto that stage, as if she owned it, approached Trump with her hand extended, which took him by surprise, and shook his hand. She said, ‘’I am Kamala Harris’’. In this way, she  took control, placed Trump on the defensive, and maintained control through out the ‘’Debate’’. Bravo, Kamala Harris!

After the ‘’Debate’’, the journalists were unanimous in their opinion that Harris was ‘’well coached’’, that she ‘’prosecuted this debate with surgical precision’’, that her ‘’previous experience as a prosecutor’’, was put to good use. She looked directly into the camera, when speaking. Her ‘’body language’’, facial expressions and gestures, were ‘’flawless’’. When not speaking, she looked closely at Trump. 

By contrast, Trump kept looking down, clearly on the defensive. The contrast was striking! As Harris continued to ‘’bait’’ him, Trump resorted to anger. Perhaps one of his most outrageous accusations, was that of suggesting that Harris was a Marxist! Comrade Kamala! She most certainly is not a Marxist!

Among the lies Trump spoke, perhaps the most ridiculous is that, within the city of Springfield, ‘’immigrants are eating the cats and dogs of the residents’’. If nothing else, this got a good laugh, from the viewers. 

The response of the mainstream media was typical, at least for the most part. They are focused on the effect this may have on the ‘’undecided voters’’, especially in the ‘’swing states’’, as they are concerned with the Electoral College. More on that subject, later on in this article.

The exception was that of a certain bourgeois journalist, who provided the gentlest possible criticism of the ‘’richest people in Manhattan’’. He maintains that the  members of the Economic Club of New York, invited Donald Trump to speak. The journalist took exception to that. I have chosen to reproduce it, as best I can, as he actually made a few significant statements, which deserve our attention:

‘’All the rich people I know are smart, but there are a lot of stupid rich people. New Yorks’ stupidest rich people gathered in a room and proved how stupid they are. …The Economic Club of New York met in Manhattan….All are safe and live and work in New York City….The members of that Club are not economists, mostly Wall Street types, who do not have a graduate degree in anything, never produced anything, have spent their lives massaging money. 

‘’Every one of them has gotten much, much richer, during the four years of the Biden – Harris administration. Now I knew how stupid the speaker was, (Donald Trump- GM) before he opened his mouth. But I did not know how stupid so many members of the New York Economic Club were, until I heard the reactions to the stupidest person who has ever spoken to them. Trump said that RFK Jr. had endorsed him. Trump fired dozens of former officials, who now oppose his election. In answer to a question about child care, his answer, ’child care is child care’. 

‘’The stupidest rich people in New York, gave a huge round of applause. The applause to that huge jumble of words is most disturbing, but then Trump promised all of them another huge tax cut. Those stupid rich people, clapping for the man who tried to overthrow the results of the presidential election, clapping for a man who says ‘child care is child care’, or clapping because he promised all of them another huge tax cut. Those stupid rich people are willing to corrupt American democracy for the stupidest person who has ever spoken to them. They proved who they really are. The question to ‘make child care affordable’. The guy talking is not the problem. It is those people clapping, that has brought this country to this crisis point, in its history as a democracy’’. 

The preceding was not copied in precisely the manner in which it was spoken, because the wording was too non sensical. His speech was disjointed, apologetic and  contradictory, but for all its faults, a criticism of the ‘’rich people’’.  

This bourgeois journalist was making a supreme effort to not offend the ‘’rich people’’, to use his words. Of course he was referring to the multi billionaires, the monopoly capitalists, the members of the class of people who are technically referred to as the bourgeoisie. In so doing, he ended up sounding completely ridiculous. Yet strangely, certain parts of what he said were correct. As this is most unusual, coming from a bourgeois journalist, it merits closer examination.

He is correct when he states that ‘’the members of the Economic Club of New York…. live and work in New York City ….in complete safety’’. True! They are ‘’completely safe’’ because they can afford to hire bodyguards! 

He is also correct when he states that the ‘’members of that Club ….never produced anything, have spent their lives massaging money’’. Once again, true! The members of the class of monopoly capitalists, the bourgeoisie, produce nothing! They are parasites! Leaches on society! Blood suckers!

It is also a fact that those multi billionaires have become ‘’much, much richer, during the four years of the Biden- Harris administration’’.

The fact is that the Democratic Party is every bit the loyal and devoted servant of the bourgeoisie, as is the Republican Party! They serve the same class! The Democratic Party is not the ‘’Party of the little guy’’, the ‘’common people’’, the working class! 

Now for a ‘’reality check’’! The members of the class of bourgeoisie, the multi billionaires, the ‘’rich people’’- as he refers to them- are not entirely stupid! Bear in mind the old adage, ‘’A fool and his money are soon separated!’’ And rest assured, countless people, especially other multi billionaires, are only too anxious to separate their ‘’brethren’’, fellow multi billionaires, from their hard stolen wealth!

Yet those same ‘’rich people’’, multi billionaires, have found certain liars and fools to be quite useful. That includes Donald Trump. 

The journalist was very upset that the audience applauded, after Trump said ‘’child care is child care’’. Yet that is not the reason they applauded! They applauded because Trump promised them ‘’another huge tax cut’’.

The journalist is also correct, when he pointed out that the multi billionaires ‘’are willing to corrupt American democracy’’, although not for the sake of Trump, but for the sake of profit, of not paying taxes. He is also correct when he states that Trump is ‘’not the problem’’. The ‘’problem’’ is the ‘’people clapping’’, the multi billionaires, the bourgeoisie, the class of people who have ‘’brought this country to this crisis point, in its history as a democracy’’. 

The mere fact that a bourgeois journalist was able to point out the lies and hypocrisy of the monopoly capitalists, the bourgeoisie, if only in a most disjointed, apologetic manner, is significant. It is an indication of the strength of the revolutionary motion. 

Even though the presentation was halting and barely comprehensible, without any direct reference to the bourgeoisie, it was still a criticism of that class, and could well result in his dismissal. 

It is reasonable to expect something better from the independent, Leftist journalists, those who do not work for the mainstream press. After all, they do not have to face the constant threat of being fired.

This is precisely what we find in a report by Ring of Fire, a Leftist broadcast. In reference to that same ‘’Trump – Harris Debate’’, this journalist pointed out that the Electoral College is ‘’idiotic’’, that it ‘’disenfranchises millions of people’’.

The Electoral College is anything but ‘’idiotic’’. It is the law. Constitutional law! The fact that it ‘’disenfranchises millions of people’’, is the whole idea! That is the purpose of the Electoral College!

More accurately, the Electoral College disenfranchises all American voters, not ‘’just’’ millions of people! The popular vote is a fraud! Unconstitutional!

As I have documented in previous articles, the Electoral College is a remnant of slavery. It was set up to allow a slave owner to become President. 

The Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution documents the procedure to be followed, in all federal elections! It is the Electors, and only the Electors, who are appointed by the States, and only the States, who have the authority to vote for the candidate, of their choice, for the office of President, as well as the candidate, of their choice, for the office of Vice President.

This procedure was not followed in the 2020 Presidential Election. For that reason, Biden is a fraudulent President, and Harris is a fraudulent Vice President. 

Remarkably enough, Trump is correct, when he states that the 2020 Presidential election was fraudulent. Not for the reasons he gives, but because it did not follow the procedure laid out in the Constitution. 

With that in mind, may I suggest to my fellow Leftist journalists, that we all demand that our democratically elected politicians, those who have taken an oath, to ‘’preserve, protect and defend the Constitution’’, do just that. Their duty!

Granted, that is not about to happen. Yet in the process of making these demands, the level of awareness of the working class, the proletariat, will be raised. They will become more class conscious.

Further, in the interests of giving those misguided souls a little nudge, in the right direction, may I suggest a court challenge. Preferably the Supreme Court could be asked to rule on the legality of the 2020 ‘’Presidential’’ Election. Not to mention the forthcoming 2024  Federal Election!

Bear in mind that the ‘’Trump- Harris Debate’’ was aired in prime time! Because countless working people watched that spectacle! They are focused on the ‘’Presidential Election’’! We can use this to our advantage, to raise the level of awareness of the working class!

Those same working people can be expected to pay strict attention, to any such court challenge. No doubt, they will be surprised, and disappointed, to learn that they have no legal right to vote, in any federal election. We can expect them to demand change! That is the last thing the monopoly capitalists want!

This can be thought of as preparation for revolution, and the subsequent Scientific Socialism, in the form of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat.

I am supremely well aware of the fact that most of my Leftist journalist colleagues, if not all of them, are not Marxists. Most of them think that Socialism may be a good idea, but simply not possible. Sadly, they believe that which is taught in University. The Scientific Socialist theories of Marx and Lenin are not so much taught in University, as distorted. 

These independent Leftist journalists are, for the most part, honest, law abiding, tax paying citizens, determined to ‘’make a difference’’, to ‘’change the system from within’’, to ‘’enact reforms’’. They deserve the whole hearted support, from those of us who are Marxists. 

Without doubt, they will learn, from their own bitter experience, as well as from the revolutionary motion, that the monopoly capitalists, the ‘’super rich’’, the multi billionaires, the bourgeoisie, are in power, and fully intend to remain in power!

With that in mind, may I suggest, to my fellow Leftist journalists, that they once again read the revolutionary works of Marx and Lenin, this time with an open mind.

Bear in mind that capitalism did not always exist. It came into existence with the industrial revolution, as did the creation of two new revolutionary classes, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. 

I deliberately emphasized the word revolutionary, as the working class, the proletariat, is still revolutionary. This stands in stark contrast to the bourgeoisie, which is now completely reactionary, counter revolutionary. 

Now it is up to the working class, the revolutionary proletariat, to overthrow the completely reactionary capitalist class, the bourgeoisie. 

There is a sense of urgency to this, to put it politely. Bear in mind that all previous civilizations have risen to a peak, and then fell into decline. Our civilization has also past its peak, and is in decline. Yet our civilization is the one and only civilization to have experienced an industrial revolution.

It is the revolutionary proletariat which is destined to reverse the decline of our civilization. That is a fundamental tenet of Marxism! That can only be accomplished by overthrowing the bourgeoisie, and establishing a state of Scientific Socialism, in the form of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat!

As yet, the proletariat is not aware of this, because the conditions of life, of the working class, do not lead to the awareness of itself, as a class. This awareness has to come from an outside source, which is middle class intellectuals. 

No doubt, there are a great many Leftist journalists, who may consider that to be a none too subtle hint. Right you are! Now it is up to my ‘’Leftist Brethren’’, as well as my ‘’Leftist Sisters’’, my Comrades, to raise their own level of awareness, to the level of true Marxists. Then in turn, they can bring this awareness to the working class.

In conclusion, fellow Leftist journalists, we will know we are accomplishing our duty, when the signs and posters, the slogans spoken by all working people, is:

Dictatorship of the Proletariat!

Scientific Socialism!

Workers of the World, Unite! 

Canada has two main railroads, Canadian National Railroad, and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railroad, commonly referred to as CN Rail, and CP Rail. On August 22, 2024, for the first time in history, both Railroads went on strike, at the same time. 

Even before the anticipated strike date, the Railroads refused to transport certain articles, perishable goods, such as meat and medicines, as well as hazardous materials, including chlorine. 

This strike, or ‘’labour dispute’’, to use the stilted jargon of the capitalists, is expected to have a ‘’ripple effect’’ across the country, and beyond. One immediate effect, within the country, is that a great many commuters, in several large cities, will have to secure a different means of transportation. 

Without doubt, the bourgeois economists are correct, when they say that ‘’Canada relies on rail’’. After all, perhaps one billion dollars worth of goods are transported, each day, across the country. With the Railroads shut down, we can expect ‘’supply chain hold ups’’, so that ‘’both small and large businesses’’, will be ‘’effected’’.

The fact is that all businesses, large and small, make a supreme effort to ‘’reduce their inventory’’, to keep as little ‘’capital on hand’’, as possible. Rather than ‘’stock up’’, in preparation ‘’for a rainy day’’, as working people do, they are careful to keep as little as possible, on hand. 

In this way, they are able to keep taxes to a minimum. After all, the more stock they have on hand, the more taxes they are forced to pay. 

The two Railways are represented by the same Teamsters Union, but for reasons which defy rational explanation, negotiate separate contracts. Up until the present, the contracts have been careful to expire at different times, so that never before, have both Railroads been on strike, simultaneously. In this way, a strike by one Railroad allowed the other Railroad to ‘’take up the slack’’, thus reducing the pressure on the capitalists, to negotiate a fair settlement. 

According to the internet, ‘’A one year contract extension at CN Rail, in 2022, led to its contracts lining up with CPKC Rail, which expired in 2023. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference has been in negotiations since then’’. 

Clearly the workers have been working without a contract, since the start of the year. The fact that the Teamsters Union was able to force negotiations to take place, with both companies, at the same time, increases their leverage. 

It is significant that this strike is completely legal, as according to a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, on January 30, 2015, ‘’the right to strike is Constitutionally protected’’, at least for workers who are not classified as providing ‘’essential services’’. The Railroad workers are not classified as an essential service.

Both Railroad companies responded to these strikes, by imposing a ‘’lock out’’. This is a tactic the companies use, that of preventing the workers from entering the workplace to work, during a strike, which is precisely the very thing the workers are refusing to do. Even though this makes no sense, it is meant to pressure the workers to accept a new contract. 

On the first day of the strike, on August 22, the leader of the New Democratic Party, Jagmeet Singh, visited the workers on strike in Montreal, and expressed his support for them. He told the workers that if necessary, he will vote against back to work legislation. 

The ruling Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, was clearly in favour of a ‘’negotiated settlement’’, between the Railroads and the Teamsters Union. That was made abundantly clear, up until the day of the Railroad strike. On that day, the government made it quite clear that the strike was not acceptable. The very height of hypocrisy!

With a view to ending this ‘’labour dispute’’, the Labour Minister ‘’passed the buck’’ to the Canada Industrial Relations Labour Board, CIRLB.

In an attempt to ‘’do an end run’’, around the Supreme Court ruling, which guarantees the workers the Constitutional ‘’right to strike’’, the Labour Board applied a rather obscure rule, of the Canada Labour Code:

‘’Under section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, the Minister of Labour can refer the dispute to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) for binding arbitration and prohibit a strike, lockout or end any ongoing stoppage pending a resolution. Alternatively, the government can also reconvene Parliament and introduce back-to-work legislation’’.

As the Parliament was not sitting, it was up to the CIRB to ‘’take action’’. They immediately ruled that the strike by CN Rail was illegal, despite the Supreme Court ruling, and ordered them back to work. 

The response of the Teamsters Union was to return to work, at CN Rail, but at the same time to issue CN Rail with a 72 hour strike notice, so that they will be in a legal position to strike by August 25. CPKC Rail was already in a legal position to strike, so they were not forced back to work.

Then, according to the press, on Aug 24, the government issued a surprise ruling:

‘’The Federal Labour Board orders Rail employees back to work, on Saturday, after three days. Work to start Monday, to continue until binding arbitration process is complete. Also ruled that the contract between CN and the Union, that expired on December 31, has now been extended, until a new agreement comes into effect’’.  

In response to this ruling, a Spokesman for the Teamsters  Union had this to say:

‘’The two major railways in Canada manufactured this crisis, took the country hostage, and manipulated the country once again, disregarding the rights afforded to working class Canadians. The government took this unprecedented step, using this seldom utilized section of the labour code, only because they knew their minority could not gather the support needed to pass a legislated resolution to appease the railroads’’.

This reference to a ‘’minority’’, requires an explanation. 

The Prime Minister of Canada, has to be a member of the Party which has the majority of seats, within Parliament. As no one Party currently has a majority, it was necessary to form a ‘’coalition government’’, of two Parties. Those two Parties are the Liberal Party and New Democratic Party. Taken together, the two Parties have a majority in Parliament. 

The Teamsters Union is correct when they state that the ‘’minority’’, the Liberal Party, ‘’could not gather the support needed to pass a legislated resolution’’. The NDP would merely oppose it!

In fact, such an attempt, by the Liberal government, to legislate the Railroad workers back to work, would almost certainly fail, and probably lead to a ‘’no confidence vote’’, which would force a federal election. That is the last thing the Liberals want!

The President of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, stated his response in somewhat stronger terms: 

‘’ This decision by the CIRB sets a dangerous precedent. It signals to corporate Canada that large companies need only stop their operations for a few hours, inflict short term economic pain, and the federal government will step in to break a Union. The rights of Canadian workers have been significantly diminished today’’.

It is significant that these statements make references to the existence of classes, and to the fact that the government represents the interests of the ruling class of capitalists. The first statement even mentions the working class, while the second statement refers to ‘’large companies’’ and ‘’corporate Canada’’. This is a none too subtle reference to the multi billionaires, the monopoly capitalists, the bourgeoisie, the class of people who rule the country. 

It is to the credit of the Teamsters Union, that they plan to fight this ruling, in federal court. As the President of Teamsters Canada stated, ‘’our legal team is looking at all our options now’’. They are determined to defend the Constitutional right of all Canadians, to engage in strike action. Bravo, Teamsters Union!

The Director of CN Rail has issued a statement, which can  only be considered to be an attack upon the working class. He says the jobs provided, by the Railroad, ‘’are not minimum wage’’, that ‘’they pay one hundred twenty thousand for a conductor, and one hundred fifty thousand for a locomotive engineer’’. 

That may well be true, but is no reason to not fight for higher wages. After all, wages are ‘’tied together’’. It may help to think of this as ‘’invisible chains’’, linking the wages of all workers. If the wages of the highest paid workers go up, so too, the wages of the lowest paid workers go up. It follows that the way to raise the wages of the lowest paid workers, is to raise the wages of the highest paid workers. For that reason, workers should always fight for higher wages. We all benefit!

Allow me to stress the fact, that this is true, only under capitalism. Under Scientific Socialism, a far different social system, we will have a far different economic system, so that we can focus on directly raising the wages of the lowest paid workers. 

As I write this, it is Sunday, August 25, and the workers have been ordered to go back to work on Monday morning. 

It has been reported that a ‘’case management meeting’’ will be held on Thursday, August 29, with the ‘’Board and Parties involved’’, to discuss the ‘’binding arbitration process’’. 

Without doubt, the striking Railroad workers are angry and frustrated. They have the strong Teamsters Union fighting for them, using every legally available option, but that is not enough. They also need to become class conscious, aware of the existence of classes, the war between the classes, of the necessity of revolution, and the subsequent Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Scientific Socialism.

These Railroad workers are in the vanguard of the Canadian working class revolutionary motion. They deserve our complete support. Perhaps the best support can come in the form of copies of State and Revolution, and Left Wing Communism, An Infantile Disorder, by Lenin. Of course, there is also the ‘’Essential Works of Lenin’’, which include What Is To Be Done?, as well as Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism. The Communist Manifesto, by Marx and Engels, is a basic work. 

In this way, they will become aware that their struggle, for better wages and working conditions, is part of the broader struggle, of the working class, against the class of  monopoly capitalists, the multi billionaires, the bourgeoisie. Until they are overthrown, and crushed, under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, nothing of substance will change. 

We will know that we are being successful, when the posters, carried by striking workers, read something more than ‘’on strike’’. They will also contain revolutionary slogans, such as:

Workers of the World, Unite!

Scientific Socialism!

Dictatorship of the Proletariat!

Now that President Joe Biden has ‘’dropped out of the race’’, as he ‘’decided not to run for re-election’’, he has decided to ‘’pass the torch’’ to his Vice President, Kamala Harris. Now it is up to Harris, to make the Democratic Party proud, to bless the country with its first female President, and a ‘’Black Female President’’, at that. Or at least, so say the political pundits.

In fact, Biden was forced to step aside. The ruling class of monopoly capitalists, the multi billionaires, the bourgeoisie, decided that he had to go, for whatever reason. The fact that Biden is very feeble, and probably suffering from dementia, was very likely a factor in this decision. As well, Trump was trouncing Biden in the polls. Better to ‘’place someone else’’ in the White House, someone more ‘’reasonable’’ than Trump, someone who can be counted upon to do as they are told. That ‘’certain someone’’, that more ‘’reasonable’’ person, is Kamala Harris. 

The appointment of Kamala Harris, as the nominee of the Democratic Party, by the Democratic National Convention, is a mere formality. There is no harm in this. The harm comes when the American voters are forced to choose between the two candidates, of the two mainstream political parties, Democratic and Republican, for the office of the Presidency. Especially as they have nothing to say about this! 

In fact, it is completely illegal. Unconstitutional. A violation of the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution. As I have published that Amendment in previous articles, along with the fact that the whole ‘’November Presidential Election’’ process is completely illegal, there is no need to repeat it here.

Of course, the mainstream press is well aware of this, but makes no mention of this ‘’little detail’’, this perversion of the federal election. Completely understandable, as that same press serves the class of people in charge, the monopoly capitalists, the multi billionaires, the bourgeoisie. Yet the ‘’Leftist’’ press, the ‘’Underground’’ press, is also remaining silent! Strange but true. And completely unacceptable!

These ‘’November Presidential Elections’’ give rise to fraudulent Presidents, and fraudulent Vice Presidents. Just as Biden is a fraudulent President, so too, Harris is a fraudulent Vice President. And now she is determined to become a fraudulent President!

At the moment, the press is reporting that a great many protesters have flocked to Chicago, ‘’Ahead of the DNC’’. If nothing else, they are very loud and clear, ‘’making their voices heard’’. The journalists report that they are ‘’calling attention to abortion rights, economic injustice and the war in Gaza’’. They also maintain that their ‘’mission remains the same’’, that they ‘’learned their lesson from the RNC’’, that they ‘’predict bigger crowds and more robust demonstrations’’. 

If only that were true! If only they had ‘’learned their lesson’’! They have not learned a thing! They are merely repeating the same mistakes! Only louder!

These ‘’bigger crowds and more robust demonstrations’’, merely amount to an increase in volume. People are already well aware of the fact, that the American government supports the Israeli’s, in their ‘’War In Gaza’’. Yet protesters are screaming this, at the top of their lungs!

The fact is that the American government represents the interests of the ruling class of monopoly capitalists, the bourgeoisie. Those same capitalists have decided to support the government of Israel, no matter what. President Biden merely does as he is told. Assuming Vice President Harris becomes President, as is very likely, she too, will do as she is told. Different faces, serving the same class. 

No amount of ‘’bellowing’’, on the part of the protesters, will change that fact.

What is needed is not more noise, but an increase- a dramatic increase!- in the level of awareness of the working class, the proletariat. It has to become class conscious, aware of the existence of classes, and the irreconcilable differences between those classes.

The conditions of life, of the working class, does not lead to the awareness of itself, as a class. Nor are they aware of the fact that they are in a constant state of war with the monopoly capitalist class, the bourgeoisie. This war is usually quiet, hidden below the surface, but it occasionally flares up, into open rebellion. Revolution. We are close to a full blown Revolution.

As Marx stated, in the Communist Manifesto: 

‘’The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. 

‘’Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary reconstitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes’’.

Now we are at the point that the ‘’class struggle’’, of the ‘’oppressor and oppressed’’, of the proletariat with the bourgeoisie, is about to become an ‘’open fight’’, which is about to end in a ‘’reconstitution of society at large’’. This ‘’open fight’’ is referred to as a Revolution, and the resulting ‘’reconstitution of society at large’’, is referred to as Scientific Socialism, in the form of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. 

As yet, the working class, the proletariat, is not aware of this. It is the duty of conscious people, those who are aware of the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin, to bring that awareness to the working class. The most advanced workers must be raised to the level of conscious people, referred to as Communists. 

Lenin explains this supremely well, in his excellent work, What Is To Be Done? As he stated, in reference to the history of the Russian proletariat, ‘’the workers were not, and could not, be conscious of the irreconcilable antagonisms of their interests to the whole of the modern political and social system….This consciousness could only be brought to them from without. The history of all countries show that the working class, exclusively by its own efforts, is able to develop only trade union consciousness, that is, it may itself realize the necessity for combining in unions, for fighting against the employers and for striving to compel the government to pass necessary labour legislation, etc. The theory of socialism, however, grew out of the philosophic, historical and economic theories that were elaborated by the educated representatives of the propertied classes, the intellectuals. According to their social status, the founders of modern scientific socialism, Marx and Engels, themselves belonged to the bourgeois intelligentsia.’’

We can add that Lenin also, was a middle class intellectual, an attorney by training. I mention this for the benefit of certain working class people, those who are prejudiced against middle class intellectuals. Get over it! Such a prejudice can only work in favour of the capitalists, and do great harm to the revolutionary motion. 

It is our duty, that of conscious people, previously referred to as Social Democrats, or Bolsheviks, now referred to as Communists, to bring this awareness to the working class, to explain to them the revolutionary Scientific Socialist theories of Marx and Lenin.

This class struggle can be compared to a boxing match, in which one of the boxers is blindfolded, swinging wildly in all directions. No doubt, an occasional blow will be landed, but strictly by chance. Of course, the other boxer, being able to see quite well, is able to land blow after blow.

In this extremely over simplified comparison, the boxer who is blindfolded, is of course the working class, the proletariat. The boxer who can see very well is the monopoly capitalist class, the bourgeoisie. Rest assured, the capitalists are supremely class conscious!

The ‘’solution’’ to the problem, is quite simple: Remove the blindfold. In class terms, this means raising the level of awareness of the proletariat, so that they are class conscious, aware of themselves as a class, with their own class interests. In this way, they can focus on striking out against their class enemies, the monopoly capitalists, as opposed to swinging wildly.

Of necessity, class consciousness includes becoming aware of the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin. The working class, or at least the most advanced workers, must become familiar with those theories. Those advanced workers will in turn, lead the less advanced.

Now to return to the protests at the DNC. 

Of all the signs and posters that were displayed on the internet, only one made any reference to class content. That was a poster by the Green Party of the United States, GPSU, which stated, ‘’We Need A New Party For The Working People’’.

That is most emphatically true! We need a new Party, but not that of the Green Party. They have a Party Platform of ‘’non violence, social justice, environmentalism, grassroots democracy, anti war, anti racism’’. Pacifist nonsense!

We need a true Communist Party, one which calls for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Scientific Socialism! That is the one and only alternative to monopoly capitalism!

It is only such a Communist Party which can properly lead the working class, can raise the level of awareness of the proletariat, in preparation for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat.

Working people need to hear about the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin! They need to become class conscious! At least the most advanced workers must be raised to the level of true Communists!

In the absence of a true Communist Party, one which calls for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, we can still raise the consciousness of the proletariat, if only by becoming involved in the struggles which interest them, and in the process, explaining the class conflict.

At the moment, working people are focused on the DNC, and the protesters. For that reason, we need to make sure that the protesters carry signs and posters, which contain class content.

It is best if these posters are written in a manner which is entertaining. After all, the best way to educate people, is by entertaining them, at the same time. Such details are best left to entertainment specialists. Or as working people phrase it, ‘’never tell a mechanic how to pull a wrench’’!

Having said that, it is important that workers be made aware of the fact that the scientific name for their class, is that of proletariat. They must also be made aware that the scientific name of the monopoly capitalist class, is that of bourgeoisie. The current lack of awareness, of the proletariat, of the scientifically correct class terms, is used by the capitalists, against the working class. 

As well, such posters must call for Revolution, for the over throw of the bourgeoisie, for Scientific Socialism, in the form of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. We will know that we are being successful, that the level of awareness of the working class is being raised, when these expressions become common place. 

This brings us to the ‘’legal front’’, so to speak, one which is closely followed by the workers. 

With that in mind, may I suggest a court challenge to the ‘’November Presidential Election’’, as it is in direct violation of the Twelfth Amendment. Unconstitutional. 

No doubt, there are people who may object that the Twelfth Amendment is hardly democratic, as it does not allow the voters to cast a ballot for their President and Vice President. True. But that is not the issue. The fact is that the democratic republic must be defended. Every effort must be made, to force the government to abide by the Constitution. That is a matter of principle. 

It is of the utmost importance to defend our democratic rights, as they are constantly under attack, by the capitalists. These democratic rights include that of a free and fair ‘’federal election’’, as guaranteed in the Constitution. There is no mention of a ‘’November Presidential Election’’, in the Constitution! Nor is there any mention of any political party! The voters have nothing to say, concerning any federal election! As well, the states have no right to meddle in any federal election! Forcing the Electors to vote for a particular candidate, of one political party, is Unconstitutional!

It is up to the Electors to choose an individual of their choice, for the office of President, as well as an individual of their choice, for the office of Vice President. As per the Constitution!

We will know that the protesters have indeed ‘’learned their lesson’’, when those same protesters challenge the ‘’November Presidential Election’’ in a court of law. We can only ‘’dream of the day’’, when middle class attorneys, experts on Constitutional law, stand before the Supreme Court, making these arguments.

Without doubt, the working people will be closely following these proceedings. For that reason, it is up to conscious people, Communists, to explain to those people, in terms they can understand, that which is happening. This, in turn, will serve to raise the level of awareness of the proletariat.

To have the Supreme Court declare the ‘’November Presidential Election’’ to be Unconstitutional, is to be regarded as a bonus. It is also quite likely. At that point, the Electors will be allowed to vote for the individual of their choice, for the office of President, and on a separate ballot, vote for the individual of their choice, for the office of Vice President. 

The ‘’individual’’ they vote for as President, could well be Kamala Harris. Or not. As well, the ‘’individual’’ they vote for as Vice President, could well be her ‘’running mate’’. Or not. That is entirely at the discretion of the Electors. As per Constitutional law. 

For the moment, may the signs and posters also read:

Workers of the World, Unite!

Scientific Socialism!

Dictatorship of the Proletariat! 

Bangladesh is a densely populated country in South Asia. With a population of 174 million people, it is the eighth most populous country in the world. The country is largely agrarian, with possibly half of the population working in agriculture. Rice is of course the primary staple food crop, as well as wheat and corn, referred to as maize. The cash crops include tea, coffee, cotton, sugarcane, tobacco and jute, otherwise known as burlap.

Yet it also has a considerable amount of industry, especially textile mills, sugar factories, fertilizer factories, cement factories and aluminum works.

These industrial plants are of vital importance, as they employ a great many workers, proletarians. It is these workers who are about to play a key role in the revolution, which Bangladesh is now experiencing. 

It is the students who are ‘’spearheading’’ the revolution. It started when they called for the abolition of the ‘’quota system’’, in which thirty percent of all government jobs, go to the descendants of the ‘’freedom fighters’’, those who won the war of independence in 1971.

The Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, denied this request, and ‘’cracked down’’ on the protesters. This involved the use of wide spread violence, on the part of the police and military, which resulted in the death of numerous people. As well, a great many student leaders, and members of opposition parties, were arrested. In addition, a country wide curfew was imposed, along with an internet blackout. The fact that Hasina was referring to these protesters as ‘’traitors and terrorists’’, did not endear her to them.

These measures did not have the desired effect of ‘’quelling the protests’’. On the contrary, the protests ‘’spiralled into a campaign of social disobedience, all across the nation, worsening by the day, with more and more people joining the students’’, according to the journalists.

In fact, the student led protests spread all across the country, so that all ‘’common people’’, workers and farmers, from all walks of life, young and old, joined the students in demanding the end to the quota system. 

This placed a great deal of pressure on the government, so that the quota system was annulled. Perhaps it was thought that this would satisfy the protesters, as their demands were being met. It most certainly did not. Instead, their demands merely changed, increased to that of demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina.

To those of us who are ‘’conscious people’’, which is to say Marxists, Communists, this came as no great surprise. After all, according to Marx, ‘’Reforms are a byproduct of revolutionary motion. They merely serve to strengthen and further the revolutionary movement’’.

It is estimated that in the capital city of Dhaka alone, a ‘’crowd’’ of possibly four hundred thousand people defied the curfew, and marched on the ‘’most highly guarded residence in the country’’, the private home of the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina. 

The journalists report that the ‘’mob’’ ignored the police, military and armoured vehicles, and ‘’stormed the home of Prime Minister Hasina’’. Those who were guarding that building, rather wisely decided to ‘’step aside’’.

In a state of shock and disbelief, with mere minutes to spare, Hasina was able to jump on a helicopter and escape to India. Rather than facing the people she has been ‘’leading’’, for the last fifteen years, she chose to seek political asylum, in a foreign country. 

Even though she was allowed to enter India, it is not clear that she is entirely welcome. The ‘’Indian Intelligence Services’’ have placed Hasina in ‘’protective custody’’, and moved her to an ‘’undisclosed location’’. She has been granted permission for an ‘’interim stay’’. (Bear in mind that interim means temporary)

Other countries also, are ‘’less than enthusiastic’’ about accepting her. The United States has rescinded her passport, and the United Kingdom has reportedly ‘’shut its doors’’, at least temporarily.  

By contrast, Bangladesh is certainly anxious to welcome her back! They have even requested that India arrest Hasina, and send her back, so that she can face criminal charges. 

As a result of this revolution, the curfew has been lifted, and all previously arrested ‘’protesters’’ have been released from jail. They even succeeded in dissolving Parliament.

Into this ‘’power vacuum’’, an ‘’interim government’’ is being created, with Mohamed Yunus as the ‘’chief advisor’’. He is a very popular figure, an ‘’entrepreneur, banker and economist’’, the winner of a Nobel Peace Prize, for ‘’pioneering the concepts of micro credit and micro finance’’. 

It is perhaps not too surprising that the army has plans of their own. The Army Chief of Staff is calling for people to have ‘’faith and trust’’ in the army, as the army promises to ‘’protect the lives and property of people’’, to ‘’bring peace and harmony back to the country’’, to ‘’stop the violence, murders, looting, hooliganism and protests’’.

In other words, the Army Chief of Staff wants to crush the revolution! 

These plans include taking over the interim government. As the Army Chief of Staff stated, ‘’Now we will form an interim government and continue our work to lead the country. The country is witnessing a period of revolution right now. I have invited all the leaders of the political parties. They came here and we had a good discussion. We have decided to form an interim government. Through the interim government, all the functioning of the government will take place.’’

From this, it is clear that the army and all ‘’opposition parties’’, plans to replace the rule of Hasina and her political party, with their own rule!

The leaders of the revolution have made it perfectly clear, that they are opposed to the plan of the army, to seize power! As they stated, ‘’We do not want a military government, this is not just the end of the tyrant Hasina, we are going to ensure a citizens government….We were ignored by authorities when we were protesting peacefully to reform the quota system. They thought that the students would get tired after protesting for two days. But because they were mistaken, it is no longer a quota reform protest. It’s been turned into a protest to reform the state. The state must take responsibility for all those who have been killed and injured so far…. what we need is a citizens charter, we need a civilian government, and we are going to ensure it’’. 

It is clear that the Bangladesh revolution is far from over! Now that Hasina has been removed from office, the common people have now secured some democratic rights, and not just on paper. 

We can compare this to the revolutionary situation which existed in Russia, immediately after the Emperor, Czar Nicholas was overthrown, in February of 1917. 

At that time, the capitalists seized power, and established a democratic republic. This provided the common people, workers and family farmers, referred to as peasants, with some democratic rights, if only on paper. Yet it did not provide them with much more. 

They remained largely poverty stricken, hungry and cold, still at war with Germany and the Central Powers, longing for ‘’peace, land and bread’’. Their new government responded with an abundance of promises. Nothing else. Sound familiar?

Yet Lenin, who was in exile, was able to return to Russia, in April of that year. He found that, as a result of the revolution, there existed a ‘’dual power’’ in Russia. On the one hand, there was the state power of the capitalists, as was expressed in the government, and supported those capitalists. On the other hand, there was the ‘’Soviet Power’’, in that Soviet means Council, which represented the common people, the workers, military personnel and farmers. 

The ‘’state power’’, of the Soviets, was almost as strong as that of the capitalists! For that reason, the capitalists dared not arrest Lenin, as soon as he stepped off the train, much as they desired to do so. 

The fact is that revolutionary motion frequently gives rise to Soviets. It is a spontaneous creation of working people. They first appeared in Russia, in the first revolution of 1905. They reappeared in 1917. They have since appeared in numerous other revolutions. It is entirely possible that they have also been created in Bangladesh. 

Assuming that is the case, then those Soviets are the nucleus of a new state power. These may take the shape of Soviets of Workers, Farmers, Military and possibly Intellectuals. It is these Soviets which are destined to assume power in Bangladesh. 

As yet, the leaders of the Bangladesh revolution are not speaking in class terms. They are speaking merely in terms of democracy, and that is certainly a step in the right direction. Now they have to be made aware that democracy is nothing other than a method of class rule! It is a form of government in which one class, in this case the ruling class of capitalists, subjugates all lower classes! The classes of workers and farmers. For that reason, no democratic republic can be inclusive! The government can represent only the class in power!

In this case, the ruling class is that of the capitalists, technically referred to as the bourgeoisie. The ‘’lower classes’’ include the family farmers, also known as peasants, and the working class, technically referred to as proletarians.

This brings us to that which the protesters refer to as a ‘’civilian government’’. This is really a ‘’state apparatus’’, or a ‘’state machine’’, to put it in popular terms. Such an apparatus has been set up, by the ruling class of capitalists, in order to crush the ‘’lower classes’’, the workers and family farmers. This apparatus includes that of the police, military, courts, prisons and other ‘’coercive institutions’’.

It is not at all surprising that the Army Chief of Staff wants to quell the revolution, to restore ‘’peace and harmony’’. As part of the state apparatus, one which supports the ruling class of capitalists, the leaders of the Army are most emphatically counter revolutionary!

Incidentally, by contrast, the ‘’rank and file’’ members of the military, the ‘’enlisted personnel’’, and not just those of the army, also tend to be revolutionary. Not too surprising, as most of them are workers and farmers.

Now to return to the fact that the leaders of the army want to seize power, to ‘’form an interim government’’. 

Their plan is to seize control of the existing state apparatus, which was abandoned by Hasina, as she fled the country.

It should be noted that this ‘’state apparatus’’ is treasured, by the capitalists! Even the Crown Jewels could not be more highly valued! Or protected! 

Now with Hasina ‘’out of the way’’, this has created that which is referred to as a ‘’power vacuum’’. She may be gone, but she left behind the ‘’state apparatus’’! It is still very much intact! Just waiting for someone to gain possession!

It is this supremely valuable state apparatus which is now ‘’up for grabs’’! The leaders of various political parties, as well as the leaders of the army, are determined to seize control of that apparatus, and set themselves up, as the new rulers!

This is to stress the fact that the existing state apparatus, which has been established by the capitalists, with the sole purpose of crushing the working people, cannot be used for any other purpose! It must be destroyed! Smashed!

It is up to the revolutionaries to smash the existing state apparatus, as it cannot be used to crush the capitalists, after the revolution. Yet their resistance will ‘’increase tenfold’’, after they lose power, as they make every effort to ‘’restore their paradise lost’’, according to Lenin. 

For that reason, a new state apparatus is required, to be established after the revolution. This apparatus is known as the Dictatorship of the Proletariat! Lenin explains this supremely well in his master piece, State and Revolution. 

To put this book in historical perspective, it was written in the summer of 1917, in preparation for the Russian Great October Socialist Proletarian Revolution, of that same year. That revolution was successful, because it followed the advice of Lenin. 

Now it is up to the leaders of the Bangladesh revolution to become class conscious, to raise their level of awareness,to become aware of the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin. 

They can then bring that revolutionary awareness to the ‘’common people’’, the workers and family farmers, or at least to the most advanced strata of those classes. Those advanced members will in turn explain it to the less advanced.

In this way, the Bangladesh revolutionaries will secure their ‘’citizens government’’, one which will ‘’hold accountable’’, those responsible for the death of so many innocent people. There is no other way! The existing state apparatus cannot be reformed!

Although this is indeed a ‘’tall order’’, it is nowhere near as difficult as it once was. A careful reading of the essential works of Marx and Lenin will be sufficient, at least for the present. At a bare minimum, State and Revolution, by Lenin, is absolutely required. That work is readily available on the internet.

A proper understanding of that work will ‘’pave the way’’ towards a successful Bangladesh Great Proletarian Socialist Revolution. 

With Fraternal Revolutionary Communist Greetings,

Gerald McIsaac