Tag: politics

Council Power

Gerald Mcisaac

Russia, 1905. The time of the first Russian Revolution, of the Twentieth Century. Also the first time that Councils made their appearance. 

In the Russian language, these Councils are referred to as Soviets. For the purposes of this article, as I am writing with Americans in mind, I have chosen to refer to them as Councils.

Contrary to popular belief, these Councils, or Soviets, were not a creation of the Marxists. They were created spontaneously, by the common people, by whom I mean the workers and family farmers, those who are referred to as peasants. As the ‘’mass movement’’, the revolutionary motion, of the common people gained strength, that same movement gave birth to the Councils.

The Marxists of that time, referred to as Bolsheviks, later referred to as Communists, could not possibly have been involved in the creation of those Councils. The reason for this is quite simple. All such Marxists had been previously arrested, sent to prison, and were either executed, died or had been exiled. Lenin was no exception. He was first sent to Siberia, and only later, allowed to leave the country. Exiled.

In 1905, the Russian Empire was huge, one of the largest, most powerful Empires in the world. For three centuries, it had been ruled by the Romanov family. The Emperor, or Tsar, at that time, was Nicholas the Second, commonly referred to as ‘’Nicholas the Bloody’’. He believed in ‘’running a tight ship’’! He was not one to tolerate any discontent! As he was ‘’appointed by God’’, he had a rather high opinion of himself. Further, it was his belief that his ‘’subjects’’ needed a ‘’firm hand’’. Nicholas was just the man to apply that ‘’firm hand’’!

Yet in that same year, the common people rose up, in that which has gone down in history as the ‘’Russian Revolution of 1905’’. For three years the Revolution raged, and the Romanov monarchy was deeply shaken, but not toppled. At the end of the Revolution, Tsar Nicholas remained in power.

The Revolution of 1905-07, was followed by a time of reaction. All dissent was crushed, with the utmost brutality. The Councils were forced ‘’underground’’, all but wiped out. 

Several years later, around 1910, the mass movement picked up, once again. At first, it was weak, but gradually gained strength. As the revolutionary motion gained strength, so too, the Councils also gained strength.  

The Second Russian Revolution, of the Twentieth Century, broke out into open rebellion, in February of 1917, partly as a result of the First World War. As Lenin pointed out, this War served to ‘’accelerate the course of world history’’. 

It is no exaggeration to say that, in February of 1917, the whole world was shocked. Tsar Nicholas was forced to ‘’abdicate the throne’’. For three centuries, the Romanovs had ruled one of the biggest, most powerful Empires in the world. Now the Tsar was forced to ‘’step down’’, by the ‘’common people’’, no less! The power of revolution!

As if that was not ‘’bad enough’’, it soon became apparent that the Councils, which had been working underground, illegally, gaining strength, were now a force with which to be reckoned! In fact, they were strong enough to challenge the authority of the Provisional Government, of the Kerensky Regime! Almost evenly matched!

This is to stress the fact that Councils do not just ‘’magically appear’’, at the time of a Revolution, as if a ‘’fairy godmother waved her magic wand’’. Indeed not. They come into existence as the revolutionary motion gains strength, underground, illegally, before the beginning of open hostilities. 

Nor do they always appear, in every Revolution. Yet they are certainly ‘’alive and well’’ in North America. The experience of the city of Seattle, in which a segment of that city declared itself to be autonomous, the ‘’Capital Hill Autonomous Zone’’, is proof of that. The Zone was led by a Council.

Of course, that Zone was crushed, with considerable brutality. After all, it was a challenge to the state power, of the monopoly capitalists. By declaring the Zone to be ‘’Autonomous’’, the revolutionary members of that Zone, were challenging the authority of the ruling class of monopoly capitalists, the multi billionaires, the bourgeoisie. Not to be tolerated!

Bear in mind that, as Lenin said, writing in July of 1917, ‘’Let us not forget that the issue of power is the fundamental issue of every revolution’’. This is to say, ‘’Which class holds state power’’?

On that subject, it is significant that, at the time of the February Russian Revolution of 1917, Lenin was still in exile, living in Switzerland. He was able to return to Russia, in April of that year. To this day, bourgeois scholars cannot understand the reason that the Provisional Government of Kerensky, did not arrest him, as soon as he stepped off the train, in Saint Petersburg.

Because they did not dare! The Councils were that powerful! Immediately after the February Revolution, which overthrew Tsar Nicholas, the Provisional Government was forced to share power with the Councils!

Of course, this ‘’sharing’’ of state power could not last, and did not last. After all, the state apparatus is merely set up by one class, the ruling class, in order to crush any and all subordinate classes. One class must rule! The other class must submit!

In the case of Russia, in early 1917, the situation was further complicated, due to the existence of various classes. These included the nobility, with the Romanovs at the head. Closely allied with the nobility, was the class of landlords, those who took great delight in exploiting the family farmers, the peasants, a different class. Then there was the class of monopoly capitalists, the multi millionaires, the bourgeoisie, as well as the small time capitalists, the middle class, the petty bourgeois. And lest we forget, the one and only consistently revolutionary class, the working class, the proletariat.

As can be expected, these different classes were represented by different political parties, who fought for their best interests. These included the Constitutional Democrats, or ‘’Cadets’’, considered to be very ‘’Right Wing’’, as they were deeply concerned with the nobility and landlords. The Socialist Revolutionaries, SR’s, were considered to be more ‘’moderate’’, and represented a great many family farmers. They in turn were divided into ‘’Left’’ and ‘’Right’’, with the Left Socialist Revolutionaries closer to the Bolsheviks. Then there were the Mensheviks, those who claimed to be Marxists, but were revisionists. 

All of these Parties had a voice in the Russian government, whether in the Provisional Assembly, or in the Councils. If I am not mistaken, they even shared the same building, within the capitol of Saint Petersburg. This is to say that Lenin certainly has his hand full!

There is a reason I have gone into the political situation, in Russia, in the middle of 1917, in detail. Because it bears a striking resemblance to our current situation. Our forthcoming American Revolution will closely resemble the Great October Russian Proletarian Revolution. 

That Revolution is referred to as a ‘’Proletarian Revolution’’, even though the Russian proletariat was in a minority. That is because it was the proletariat that led the Revolution!

By contrast, in North America, the proletariat is in the vast majority. The monopoly capitalists have done -and are continuing to do!- a most impressive job, of wiping out all other classes. It is safe to say that only the remnants of other classes, are still in existence. These include the family farmers, and the small business owners. 

The class struggle is now sharp and clear. The multi billionaires, the bourgeoisie, against the working class, the proletariat. 

It is my most fervent hope, that those who consider themselves to be Independent Socialists, will take these facts into account. It was Lenin, a true Marxist, a Scientific Socialist, who led the Russian October Revolution to victory, against all the odds. But only because he followed the scientific theories of Marx!

Feel free to take note, Independent Socialists, my Brothers and Sisters, my Comrades in Arms. The only true socialism is Scientific Socialism, as outlined by Marx, as applied to monopoly capitalism by Lenin, and carried through to success in October of 1917, in Russia.

At the same time, face the most unpleasant fact that you have been lied to, deceived, misled, by professional liars. The Universities are filled with such individuals! The best of them are quite charming! Smooth! Sophisticated! Persuasive! With years of experience! Experts at faking sincerity!

There is no need to be too hard on yourselves. Over a period of many years, these bourgeois frauds have mastered the fine art of deception. As they are so highly respected, they are able to exert a certain influence over honest people. The spiritual power of the bourgeois intellectuals! Professor Power!

Now is the time to cast off that spiritual power! Break those invisible chains! Face the fact that Marx and Lenin were correct all along! That the only true socialism is Scientific Socialism!

Now is also the time to stop the Oligarchy, before the democratic republic is completely destroyed. To combine legal with illegal work. To legally challenge the imperialists, in a court of law. To get involved with Councils. To arm, train and equip working people, in preparation for the approaching Insurrection. Illegal work!

Time is not on our side. Project 2025 is currently being put into place. We are very close to a fascist dictatorship. The Oligarchy is wasting no time. 

Bear in mind that you have no future, under monopoly capitalism. The imperialists will see to that! By contrast, you have a bright future under Scientific Socialism. Your organizational skills, as well as your training and experience in running a business, will be in demand. As a highly skilled professional, you will be appreciated and rewarded, most handsomely. Any past service to the monopoly capitalists, will not be held against you. Those of us who are Scientific Socialists, Communists, will make sure of that.

That is certainly preferable to a fascist dictatorship.

Gerald McIsaac

Constitutional Crisis

Gerald Mcisaac

It is to the credit of a considerable number of bourgeois scholars, that they are deeply concerned with the American democratic republic. They are convinced that President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, are determined to overthrow that republic, and establish a dictatorship, possibly even a state of fascism. Which is precisely what they are attempting, as they are following the directions contained in Project 2025. It may help to think of this as the American version of Mien Kampf.

As not all readers are Rhodes Scholars, for the benefit of those who may not be aware, I should mention that there are three branches of the American government. These consist of the legislative, judicial and executive, as per the Constitution. The intent, of the Founding Fathers, was to ensure that no individual or group will have too much power. 

Each branch has the authority to respond to the actions of the other two. This is referred to as the ‘’system of checks and balances’’. 

The legislative branch is essentially made up of Congress, which is the Senate and House of Representatives. They make the laws, can confirm or reject presidential nominations for federal agencies, federal judges and the Supreme Court. As well, only the Senate has the authority to declare war, while the House of Representatives controls the money. 

For example, the president, as head of the executive branch, can veto legislation created by Congress, although the Congress can also override that veto. Congress can also confirm or reject the nominees of the president. That same Congress can also remove a president from office, although this has never happened. At least, not yet!

The judicial branch is mainly composed of courts, headed by the Supreme Court. The justices of that Supreme Court, nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, have the authority to strike down any laws which they consider to be Unconstitutional. 

Since the creation of the country, this system has worked reasonably well.  Not any more! The multi billionaires, monopoly capitalists, imperialists, the class of people technically referred to as the bourgeoisie, currently referred to as the ‘’Oligarchy’’, can no longer rule in the ‘’old way’’. They have decided to change their method of rule! That is where Donald Trump and Elon Musk come into play. And make no mistake, they must be stopped!

There are a number of videos available on the internet, concerning that subject. In my opinion, one of the finest is titled, ‘’Judge slaps Trump with brutal criminal warning’’. 

In this video, the narrator does a fine job of documenting the fact that ‘’the whole point of signing a whole mountain of ridiculous, disruptive and illegal executive orders, on day one, was not only to create chaos, but (also) a confrontation with the judiciary’’. 

Remarkably enough, this is very likely the case! Bear in mind that only a madman would deliberately challenge the judiciary! A judge, especially a federal judge, has tremendous power! That power has been given to them, by the Founding Fathers, in the Constitution. To challenge a federal judge, is to challenge the Constitution! Trump is placing himself above the Constitution! The law does not apply to him! He thinks that he can do anything he wants!

According to a legal expert, this challenge, to the judicial system, is ‘’maybe the most critical of our lifetime…our democracy depends upon the courts being able to enforce and interpret the law…Vice President Vance says that ‘judicial orders need not be followed’…there is no more control or restraint around the executive…no guard rails…three branches of government turned into one’’.

The narrator refers to this as ‘’full blown fascism’’, and ‘’must be taken seriously’’. 

Yet it is also a fact that the courts are taking action. In fact, a separate legal expert is of the opinion that the federal court will ‘’move to criminal contempt…they are going to rule against the administration in that case, and the Supreme Court is going to back them up’’. We can only hope that is true!

The narrator went on to state that a federal judge, in the state of Rhode Island, has ruled that the Trump administration has defied his ruling, and his order.

Apparently, this has attracted the attention of one of the most highly respected news papers in the country, the New York Times. According to the narrator, he quotes the NYT as saying, ‘’ (Judge) McConnell said the White House has defied his order to release billions of dollars in federal grants, marking the first time a judge has expressly declared that the Trump White House was disobeying a judicial mandate. …The ruling by Judge John J. McConnell Jr in Rhode Island federal court ordered Trump administration officials to comply with what he called the ‘plain text’ of an edict he issued on January 29’’.

The narrator considers this to be the ‘’initial step to define contempt’’. This was followed by a further statement, by the judge: ‘’Persons who make private determinations of the law and refuse to obey an order generally risk criminal contempt, even if the order is ultimately ruled incorrect’’.

This brings us to the ‘’interesting’’ question, posed by the narrator,  as to whether ‘’the US Marshalls will follow through on a court order? This is where the real test of our democracy will come to a head. Our courts lack the legal means of enforcement. They rely on the US Marshalls service, to carry out the will of the court. And guess which branch the US Marshalls service is in? Yes, the executive. That would be the very branch that Trump is purging and replacing with loyalists. Democracy will hang in the balance of that decision’’.

The narrator could have added that, in order to make the transition, from a democracy to a dictatorship, all officials must first take a different oath, from that of perhaps ‘’preserving, protecting and defending the Constitution’’, to that of loyalty to an individual, perhaps Donald Trump. 

As that is the case, we certainly have cause for concern, especially as he has been busy purging various government agencies, including the Marshalls service. Dedicated, patriotic, hard working Americans are being replaced, with those who are completely MAGA, loyal to Trump, above all else. Or so the Project 2025 people believe!

In my opinion, Trump and Musk have ‘’bitten off more than they can chew’’! I personally know a great many Americans, and rest assured, have deep differences with most of them. Not too surprising. Yet I would never accuse any of them of being traitors, people who would betray their country, break their oath of allegiance. I suspect that is true of the most die hard fans of Trump. 

I am sure that, if a member of the Marshalls service was ordered, by the courts, to arrest a member of the Trump administration, even Donald Trump himself, then that arrest would take place. 

No doubt, a great many readers may wonder why a Scientific Socialist, a Communist, would be so concerned with a democratic republic. Because, according to Lenin, ‘’The democratic republic is the best form of the state, under capitalism. But we have no right to forget that wage slavery is the lot of the people, even in the most democratic bourgeois republic’’. 

As that is the case, it is up to all Scientific Socialists, as well as all Independent Socialists, to unite with all those who are determined to preserve the democratic republic. That includes those who are the most avid supporters of capitalism. 

As the federal courts are already taking an interest, preparing to charge members of the Trump administration- perhaps even Trump himself!- with ‘’criminal contempt’’, then may I suggest that we ‘’add to his burden’’. More charges! It is the least we can do!

Of course, I am referring to the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution. That outlines the procedure to be followed in all federal elections! As that procedure was not followed, in the ‘’2024 presidential election’’, then it follows that Trump is a fraudulent President, and Vance is a fraudulent Vice President.

I am sure that all bourgeois intellectuals, with a democratic sense, can agree to work with us, on this one particular goal. That is so much better than fascism. 

American Republic Close To Collapse

Gerald Mcisaac

Friday, February 7, 2025. Black Friday! A day which may go down in history, as the beginning of the end of the American democratic republic. The day that American Members of Congress, democratically elected ‘’law makers’’, were blocked from entering several federal agencies. These include USAID, as well as the Departments of the Treasury, Labour and Education. The people conducting the ‘’blockade’’ were unelected officials, working for DOGE, the Department Of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, appointed by President Trump. 

A spokesperson for that group, herself a Member of Congress, warned that ‘’Trump’s spending cuts will merely enrich Elon Musk, and harm American families’’. She gave some excellent advice, that of, ‘’Follow the money. Who they are taking it from, and who they are giving it to. Outrageous. Taking it from our kids, and giving it to billionaires’’. 

Well spoken! In cases of suspected fraud, it is always a good idea to ‘’follow the money’’. Yet she was careful to avoid any mention of classes. The fact is that the ‘’billionaires’’, to whom she so delicately referred, are members of a class of people, referred to as the bourgeoisie. They are monopoly capitalists, imperialists, and as such, are completely reactionary. 

Particular Members of Congress, those who are members of the Democratic Party, assure us that they are not about to take this, ‘’lying down’’. Indeed not. After all, it is the Congress that ‘’controls the purse strings’’. They assure us that the ‘’real fight is still ahead’’. This is a reference to the March 14 ‘’funding deadline’’, at which time the federal government will ‘’run out of money’’, unless the debt limit is increased, once again. Otherwise, the federal government could shut down.

As is well known, the Republican Party has a ‘’razor thin’’ majority in Congress, with a few of those Members considered to be ‘’mavericks’’, completely unreliable, if not outright crazy. For that reason, it is thought that the Speaker of the House, Republican Member Johnson, ‘’could be faced with a shutdown, if Democrats withhold their vote’’. 

Consider the fact that the authority of Congress, the legislative branch of government, is being directly challenged, by locking the Members of Congress out of key government agencies, and this is the best they can do! Threaten a federal government shutdown, next month, no less! Reality check! Next month may be too late! By that time, Trump may have already seized power, completely! He may just disband Congress, and declare himself to be President For Life! Dictator! As laid out in Project 2025! Wake up!

Now is not the time to sit and wait, to ‘’play it safe’’. There can be no thought of ‘’straddling the fence’’. Now is the time to take action, to combine legal with illegal work. We live in a class society, and the class struggle is about to break out, into open class warfare.

Even the most dedicated, middle class intellectuals, although defenders of capitalism, are now deeply concerned with that which they refer to as a ‘’Constitutional crisis’’. They are convinced that Trump is ‘’wiping his feet on the Constitution’’, dismantling the democratic republic. And so he is!

On the ‘’legal front’’, so to speak, may I suggest challenging the 2024 Presidential Election, on the grounds that it violated the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution. It is the Twelfth that lays out the procedure to be followed, in all federal elections! There is no ‘’Presidential Election’’! For that reason, Trump is a fraudulent President, and Vance is a fraudulent Vice President. As I have gone into this in detail, in other writings, there is no need to repeat it here.

Allow me to urge all Scientific Socialists, as well as all Independent Socialists, to unite with all those who are determined to defend the democratic republic, no matter how objectionable they may be. Feel free to console yourself with the thought that this alliance is strictly temporary. As well, this individual probably feels the same way about us!

Act now, while we still have a Supreme Court! Tomorrow could be too late!

This brings me to the illegal aspect of revolutionary work, arguably more important. We can learn from previous revolutionary experience, especially from that of the three Russian Revolutions, of the Twentieth Century. That is because the forth coming American Revolution, is almost certain to closely resemble the Great October Soviet Socialist Russian Revolution.

The Russian Revolutionaries of 1917, built upon the experience, of the earlier Russian Revolution of 1905. Even though that Revolution failed, in the sense that the ruling noble family of Romanovs was not toppled, it did succeed in raising the level of awareness of the common people. 

At the start of the Revolution of 1905, the common people, workers and family farmers, were mainly honest, hard working, patriotic, tax paying, loyal subjects of His Majesty, Tsar Nicholas. For that reason, when they rose up, in peaceful protest, respectfully asking their beloved Tsar to address their legitimate grievances, they actually expected him to respond accordingly. Instead, he turned the military loose on them. He was not about to allow any discontent!

The 1905 Revolution raged for three years, before dying down, in 1907. Then things quickly ‘’returned to normal’’, or so it appeared. The nobility, landlords and capitalists, breathed a ‘’sigh of relief’’. They actually thought, that was the ‘’end of the matter’’! It most certainly was not! The ‘’mass movement’’, the revolutionary motion, had merely died down! Temporarily!

But as Marx pointed out, these revolutionary motions continue to rise up, ‘’ever stronger, ever finer’’! And so it was!

Several years later, the revolutionary motion flared up, once again. Yet this time, the common people had no illusions. They knew what to expect. They had been ‘’schooled in the class struggle’’. They were still patriotic citizens, but not the ‘’loyal and devoted subjects of His Majesty’’, they once were. Those days were gone! They recognized the Tsar as the butcher that he was.

This, the second Russian Revolution of the Twentieth Century, came to a climax in early 1917. At that time, Lenin was living in exile, in Switzerland, but closely following events in Russia. He wrote five letters, referred to as ‘’Letters From Afar’’, in late March, concerning those incredible developments. As it is so important, I have chosen to quote it, at length:

‘’How could such a ‘miracle’ have happened, that in only eight days…a monarchy collapsed, that had maintained itself for centuries, and that in spite of everything, had managed to maintain itself throughout the three years of the tremendous, nation wide class battles of 1905-07?

‘’There are no miracles in nature or history, but every abrupt turn in history, and this applies to every revolution, presents such a wealth of content, unfolds such unexpected and specific combinations of forms of struggle and alignment of forces of the contestants, that to the lay mind there is much that must appear miraculous.

‘’The combination of a number of factors of world historic importance was required for the tsarist monarchy to have collapsed in a few days. We shall mention the chief of them.

‘’Without the tremendous class battles and the revolutionary energy displayed by the Russian proletariat, during the three years 1905-07, the second revolution could not possibly have been so rapid, in the sense that its initial stage was completed in a few days. The first revolution (1905) deeply ploughed the soil, uprooted age old prejudices, awakened millions of workers and tens of millions of peasants to political life and political struggle, and revealed to each other- and to the world- all classes (and all the principle parties) of Russian society, in their true character and in the true alignment of their interests, their forces, their modes of action, and their immediate and ultimate aims. This first revolution, and the succeeding period of counter revolution (1907-14), laid bare the very essence of the tsarist monarchy, brought it to the ‘utmost limit’, exposed all the rottenness and infamy, the cynicism and corruption of the tsar’s clique…those landlords…who own millions of dessiatines of land and are prepared to stoop to any brutality, to any crime, to ruin and strangle any number of citizens, in order to preserve the ‘sacred right of property’, for themselves and their class.

‘’Without the Revolution of 1905-07, and the counter revolution of 1907-14, there could not have been that clear ‘self determination’ of all classes of the Russian people….which manifested itself during the  eight days of the February -March Revolution of 1917. …

‘’For the first great Revolution of 1905…. led, after the lapse of twelve years, to the ‘brilliant’, the ‘glorious’ Revolution of 1917’’. (italics by Lenin)

It may be objected that America has not experienced a revolution, such as that of 1905. True! But America has experienced something very similar, which is the Occupy Movement of 2011.

At that time, in America, the common people, the vast majority of whom were honest, hard working, law abiding, tax paying, patriotic citizens, decided to exercise their democratic right to peaceful protest, as is guaranteed in the Constitution. They were merely trying to draw the attention, of their democratically elected leaders, to the glaring inequalities within society. They actually thought that the system was not working properly, but that once this was brought to the attention of the proper authorities, it would be corrected. They could not possibly have been more mistaken!

As is well known, the authorities responded with clubs, tear gas and pepper spray. The tents of the protesters were torn down, with many  people thrown in jail. The system was working precisely the way it was supposed to work! In favour of the multi billionaires!

This was a ‘’rude awakening’’, a ‘’bitter pill to swallow’’. Just as the common people of Russia had learned, in the previous century, the American protesters learned that they had been lied to, all their lives. It was with the utmost bitterness, that the protesters faced the fact that the ruling class of monopoly capitalists, the multi billionaires, the bourgeoisie, at that time referred to as the ‘’one percent’’, were in charge, and fully intended to remain in charge!

This revolutionary motion was followed by a time of reaction, as it was in Russia, after the Revolution of 1905. 

Now the revolutionary motion has picked up again, but is now ‘’finer and stronger’’. Those who took part in the Occupy Movement, are now seasoned veterans, tempered in the class struggle. They know what to expect, and are leading this current revolutionary movement. 

There are numerous videos, on the internet, produced mainly by bourgeois intellectuals, who recognize the danger, posed by Trump and his Oligarchy. Yet none of them can foresee that the future lies with Councils and Scientific Socialism. 

It is significant that, immediately after the Russian Tsar was overthrown, in March of 1917, numerous Soviets, Councils,  made their appearance. Up until that time, they had been working ‘’underground’’, of necessity, as they were illegal. But at the time of the Revolution, they emerged, and were almost as powerful as the Provisional Government!

This is my less than subtle way, of suggesting that Scientific Socialists get involved with Councils. Illegal activity. Train, arm and equip working class people, in preparation for the approaching Insurrection. The future belongs with these Councils.

Gerald McIsaac

Americans Protesting Against Oligarchy

Gerald Mcisaac

Barely two weeks into the second presidency of Donald Trump, and the news reports are quite revealing. First he took credit for securing peace in the Middle East, or at least in the Gaza Strip. Now, as a reward for this selfless act, he plans to create a play ground for himself, and the members of his class of multi billionaires, the bourgeoisie. It is simply a matter of ‘’relocating’’ the two million people who live there, referred to as Palestinians, tearing down the shattered buildings, and ‘’building spectacular developments in Gaza’’. 

Who would have thought that we would ever see the day, that the President of the United States, openly called for ethnic cleansing? A crime against humanity! 

Yet that is precisely what he is doing! Further, he thinks that he can get away with this. Who can blame him? All his life, he has broken various laws, and not served even one day in jail. This despite thirty four felony convictions! 

As well, there have been numerous allegations of sexual assaults! Various women can testify to that! These ladies have every reason to feel bitter. They have been denied justice, as the law does not apply to billionaires. Not only that, but they have also been denied financial compensation!

To such unfortunates, I can only respond that nothing can change the terrible trauma that you endured, nor the fact that you have been denied justice. Yet let me add, that now is not the time to ‘’get mad’’. Now is the time to ‘’get even’’! Rest assured, the latter is far more satisfying! It is just a matter of selecting the proper approach.

With that in mind, consider the fact that there are countless videos, on the internet, containing suggestions, concerning the proper course of action. Most of them are of questionable value, at best, but a few of them are rather revealing.

One of the better videos, is titled ‘’President Musk and his assistant Trump have woken a sleeping giant’’. The narrator, clearly a man with a strong democratic sense, maintains that he ‘’noticed something different over the last couple of weeks…took part in an uprising against Elon Musk’s illegal, Unconstitutional power grab, to shutter government agencies, to hijack American data, installing private servers at the Treasury….there is no oversight…He (Musk) has been appointed to a position of great power, that is outside the purview of Congressional oversight, the coequal branch that has a check on the executive branch….At the Treasury protest, there was a different tone….shifting….from general protest to turning on Democrats, demanding Democrats do their job, to be an opposition Party…This is not the moment to find common ground, this is the moment to save the Republic’’. 

This individual is correct, when he states that ‘’something different’’ has taken place, within the last ‘’couple weeks’’. That something different is the mass movement, or more accurately, the revolutionary motion, which has increased dramatically. He is also correct when he states that ‘’this is the moment to save the Republic’’. 

Yet his ‘’solution’’, that of ‘’calling the Capitol Switchboard’’, in order to express disapproval with the Democratic officials, would have little effect. Those who took part in the Occupy Movement, of several years ago, can testify to the fact that the two mainstream political parties, Democrats and Republicans, serve the same class. That class is the monopoly capitalist class, the multi billionaires, currently referred to as the Oligarchy, technically referred to as the bourgeoisie. 

Yet the title of his article, in which he refers to ‘’waking a sleeping giant’’, exposes an awareness on his part, that the revolutionary motion has now spread to all segments of American society. 

A second video is perhaps a bit more pro active. It is titled, ‘’American citizens protest Elon Musk hijacking US Treasury’’. 

The narrator says he took part in a protest, against that which he referred to as ‘’Donald Trump’s dangerous agenda, a man who inserted Elon Musk into the actual functioning of the government. They have forced out Treasury officials, overtaken payment systems within the Treasury Department, and in the absence of Congress actually stepping up to do something, citizens are exercising their First Amendment rights, under the Constitution, to redress their government, and express their displeasure and outrage over what is taking place. If you are not able to join in movements like this, in uprisings like this, you find a local group to express your displeasure. It is going to take citizen action, to get anything done, to actually make some change here, so get ready for a fight. People have woken up’’. 

In this, he is correct, when he states that it is going to take ‘’citizen action’’, in order to ‘’make some change here’’. He is also correct, when he says that people should join ‘’local groups’’. These groups are known as Councils, many of which are working ‘’underground’’, and are preparing working people for the approaching Insurrection. 

This was followed by a speech, by a Democratic Senator. He made the appropriate noises, as was expected from a member of the ‘’opposition Party’’. As it was so completely meaningless, there is no need to repeat it here.

The only surprise was when he stated that ‘’people have woken up’’, and further, ‘’We have to reach out to everyone in this country, conservatives, liberals, republicans, democrats, and tell them that we have not months, and not weeks, but we have days to stop the destruction of our democracy. In this country, it is the people that rule, not the billionaires, we are taking this country back from Elon Musk.’’

To think that even a Democratic Senator was forced to admit that ‘’people have woken up’’! He also faced the fact that the Financial Oligarchy is determined to destroy the American democratic republic. That is an indication of the strength of the revolutionary movement.

Even the highly respected, self described Independent Socialist, Senator Bernie Sanders, expressed deep concern. He is afraid that the Oligarchy is transforming the American democratic republic into a ‘’Kleptocracy’’. Yet, in an interview with CNN, he offered no viable method of opposing this trend. Perhaps he has given up?

Incidentally, by definition, a kleptocracy literally means ‘’rule by thieves’’. It is used to describe governments whose leaders misuse their powers, to steal from their people. It is also referred to as a ‘’thievocracy’’. An accurate description of events unfolding, within the American democratic republic!

Without doubt, the ruling class of multi billionaires, the bourgeoisie, has decided to change their method of rule, from a democratic republic, to a Financial Oligarchy. In the process, they have accelerated the revolutionary motion. The opposition, to this Rule of the Oligarchy, is now broad and deep, extending to almost all classes and segments of society. Even the most dedicated, die hard defenders of capitalism, are expressing their concern. The situation is truly revolutionary! 

An Insurrection could break out at any time! The success of that Insurrection depends largely upon the ‘’class consciousness’’, the level of awareness, of the working class, the proletariat. 

Lenin went into this supremely well, in his landmark work, State and Revolution. This was written in preparation for the Great October Soviet Socialist Revolution, of 1917. That revolution was successful, because it followed the advice of Lenin.

In State and Revolution, Lenin stresses the fact that the state apparatus came into existence, with the first appearance of classes. The sole purpose of any state apparatus is to ensure the rule of the class in power, by subjugating the ‘’lower classes’’. Under monopoly capitalism, it is the ruling class of monopoly capitalists, the bourgeoisie, which subjugates all other classes. To this end, they carefully established a state apparatus, in order to crush the vast majority of working people, especially the proletariat.

At the time of the forth coming American Revolution, we can first expect to see a ‘’popular uprising’’, technically referred to as an ‘’Insurrection’’, in which the ‘’common people’’ rise up and overthrow the ruling class of monopoly capitalists. But then what?

As Lein phrases it, ‘’This course of events compels the revolution ’to concentrate all its forces of destruction’ against the state power, and to regard the problem, not as one of perfecting the state machine, but one of smashing and destroying it’’. (italics by Lenin)

Lenin clearly stressed the need to smash the existing state machine, with good reason. Previous revolutionary experience- the most bitter revolutionary experience!- has revealed that if the state apparatus is not destroyed, the leaders of the revolution merely take control of that state apparatus, and set themselves up, as the new rulers! Out of the frying pan, into the fire!

Yet after the revolution, after the ruling class of monopoly capitalists are overthrown, classes will continue to exist! And rest assured, the former multi billionaires are not about to ‘’resign themselves to their fate’’. They are not about to embrace a life of ‘’manual labour’’, as that is merely a ‘’Mexican worker’’! On the contrary, they will make every effort to ‘’regain their paradise lost’’! They will resort to every lie, deceit, deception, bribery and threat, to return to power! The experience of the former Socialist Soviet Union, and former Socialist China, leave no room for any doubt!

For that reason, a state apparatus is still required, after the revolution, in order to ‘’crush the desperate and determined resistance’’ of the monopoly capitalists. But as Lenin phrased it, ‘’It is still necessary to suppress the bourgeoisie and crush its resistance. This was particularly necessary for the (Paris) Commune; and one of the reasons for its defeat was that it did not do so with sufficient determination. But the organ of suppression is now the majority of the population, and not the minority, as was always the case under slavery, serfdom, and wage slavery. And since the majority of the people itself suppresses its oppressors, a ‘special force’ for suppression is no longer necessary. In this sense the state begins to wither away. Instead of the special institutions of a privileged minority (privileged officialdom, heads of the standing army), the majority itself can directly fulfill all these functions, and the more the functions of state power devolve upon the people generally, the less need is there for the existence of this power. ‘’ (italics by Lenin)

Incidentally, this new state apparatus, which exists only under a state of Scientific Socialism, is referred to as the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. 

After the successful Insurrection, after the monopoly capitalists are overthrown, after we establish the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, we must avoid the mistakes of previous great revolutionaries, including those of Stalin and Mao. As I have gone into this in previous articles, there is no need to repeat it here. 

There is a reason for the sense of urgency, expressed by the bourgeois intellectuals, concerning the attack on the American democratic republic. The fact is that the state of California is now openly calling for separation, from the United States. As well, the state of Texas, the ‘’Lone Star State’’, may once again form a separate, independent republic, as it once was.

As I have previously documented, the state of California recently formed an alliance with the two other Pacific Coast states, that of Washington and Oregon. It is very likely that those three states will soon separate and form a separate, independent, Socialist Council Republic. 

As well, on the east coast, seven state have also formed an alliance. In the midwest, the industrial heartland of the country, yet another seven states have also formed an alliance. Two more Socialist Council Republics, soon to be created! 

Truly, the bourgeois scholars have good reason to be concerned! The American Empire is on the verge of collapse! It will soon give birth to several independent, Socialist Council Republics. It is also very likely that those Republics will form a North American Socialist Council Union. 

That largely depends upon the American Revolutionary leaders, taking the advice of Lenin. Choose wisely.

Gerald McIsaac

Trump and Tariffs

Gerald Mcisaac

It is well known that Donald Trump campaigned for the office of President, on the ‘’platform’’, or the promise, of ‘’reducing grocery prices’’, bringing ‘’jobs back into the country’’, bringing inflation ‘’under control’’, and in general, ‘’Make America Great Again’’, or ‘’MAGA’’. 

Just how he planned to achieve these ‘’noble goals’’, is not so well known. At least, not until now. His plan is simplicity itself. It is simply a matter of imposing tariffs! He could not possibly be more mistaken!

As Trump sees it, in the simplicity of his soul, ‘’The higher the tariff, the more likely it is that a company will come into the US, and build a factory, so that it does not have to pay the tariff’’. 

It should be noted that a tariff is nothing other than a tax, on all imported goods, paid for by the company which buys the products, and then passes that added expense, on to the consumer. Higher prices! Inflation! The very thing that Trump promised to reduce!

With that in mind, Trump announced a twenty five percent tariff on almost all products coming into the US, from Canada and Mexico, and a ten percent tariff on products coming from China, starting on February 4. The three largest trading partners, with the US!

To the surprise of no one, with the possible exception of Donald Trump, those three countries responded with tariffs of their own. Imagine that! A good old fashioned trade war! Not at all what Trump had in mind!

Faced with strong opposition to his hare brained scheme, Trump backed down. He announced a ‘’thirty day pause’’, on imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

As one mainstream journalist phrased it, ‘’Faced with real world consequences, Trump ‘blinked’. Many countries have tried various tariff efforts, for many decades, affecting supply chains, products, grocery prices and shipping. A sudden one way effort, which does not tend to benefit the country that started the trade war’’. 

That same journalist then introduced a ‘’Nobel Prize Winning Economist’’, an expert on the subject, who quickly agreed with the narrator. He stated that such a tariff ‘’effectively becomes a new tax, increasing inflation’’. 

The conversation which followed was somewhat disjointed, but I have attempted to reproduce the gist of it here, as the economist stated: 

‘’There is no US manufacturing sector. The free trade area has been integrated for over thirty years now. Different pieces of cars are made in all three countries (United States, Canada and Mexico), components may cross the border seven or eight times, so that tariffs merely impose costs on our industry. If Canada and Mexico respond in kind, that will further increase costs, more hurt to the US. The countries are mutually dependent. A tariff is crazy! It is an effective tax on neighbouring countries, will increase inflation, will not lower prices. Even the threat of tariffs will raise costs!’’
That is the professional opinion of a highly respected, bourgeois economist, one of the finest. In his opinion, Trumps plan to impose tariffs are ‘’crazy’’!All Americans, including Donald Trump, would be well advised to take note!

Yet the Trump plan, that of introducing tariffs, as a means of raising prices to the point that a ‘’company will come into the US, and build a factory, to that it does not have to pay the tariff’’, may make sense to a great many working people. The implication is that the factory would merely sell its products, within the US. 

In fact, this is characteristic of capitalism, in its early, competitive, pre monopoly stage. Although under competitive capitalism, goods were frequently sold abroad.

There is only one problem with this rosy picture. We already live under monopoly capitalism! Imperialism! The ‘’good old days’’ of competitive capitalism, are a dim and distant memory! 

Monopoly capitalism has characteristics which are quite different from that of competitive capitalism, as Lenin explained so well, in his landmark work, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism. As Lenin phrased it: ‘’If it were necessary to give the briefest possible definition of imperialism, we should have to say that imperialism is the monopoly stage of capitalism…..But very brief definitions, although convenient, for they sum up the main points, are nevertheless inadequate, because very important features of the phenomenon that has to be defined, have to be especially deduced. And so, without forgetting the conditional and relative value of all definitions, which can never include all the concatenations of a phenomenon in its complete development, we must give a definition of imperialism that will embrace the following five essential features:

1) ’’The concentration of production and capital developed to such an extent that it creates monopolies which play a decisive role in economic life.

2) ‘’The merging of bank capital with industrial capital, and the creation, on the basis of ‘finance capital’ , of a financial oligarchy.

3) ‘’The export of capital, which has become extremely important, as distinguished from the export of commodities. 

4) ‘’The formation of international capitalist monopolies, which share the world among themselves.

5) ‘’The territorial division of the whole world among the greatest capitalist powers is completed.

‘’Imperialism is capitalism in that stage of development in which the domination of monopolies and finance capital has established itself; in which the export of capital has acquired pronounced importance; in which the division of the world among the international trusts has begun; in which the partition of all the territories of the globe among the great capitalist powers has been completed.’’

Allow me to stress the fact that ‘’monopolies play a decisive role in economic life’’. In fact, it is ‘’finance capital’’ which gives rise to a ‘’financial oligarchy’’! In America, this small group of multi billionaires are simply referred to as the ‘’Oligarchy’’! They are determined to seize power, to destroy the democratic republic!

As well, under imperialism, it is ‘’capital’’ which is exported, and not just ‘’commodities’’, as are exported under competitive capitalism. This capital includes such items as factories!

We now have ‘’international capitalist monopolies’’, so that the multi billionaires who control them, are members of different nationalities. The American multi billionaires have no loyalty to America! Their loyalty lies with the international monopolies! They are not the slightest bit patriotic!

The ‘’whole world’’ has been divided up! They ‘’share the world among themselves’’! There is no competition!

As that is the case, consider the ‘’brain storm’’ of Trump, to ‘’impose tariffs’’, as a means of ‘’forcing companies to build factories, so that it does not have to pay the tariffs’’. 

Donald Trump is ‘’living in the past’’! He actually thinks that he can ‘’turn back the hands of time’’! He plans to set the American economy back one hundred years! To the time of competitive capitalism! Which can only lead to monopoly capitalism!

As I was wondering if that man even has a brain in his head, I received an email, on that subject:

‘’Don’t try to explain anything complicated to a man who felt it necessary to explain to the nation and the world that the helicopter or the plane involved in the Washington crash should have moved out of the way.’’

That answered my question!

Monopoly capitalism is not about to revert to competitive capitalism! The ‘’international capitalist monopolies’’ are already in existence! As well, the ‘’Financial Oligarchy’’ is also in existence! They ‘’share the world among themselves’’! The American Oligarchy is not about to relinquish their wealth and power! They are not about to allow an independent company to ‘’come into the country and build a factory’’. This would require the banks to provide the financial backing, which the Oligarchy would never allow.

Placing tariffs on goods coming into the country, would only result in higher prices, within the country. Other countries would in turn retaliate, imposing their own tariffs, giving rise to a trade war.

In conclusion, we can say that capitalism has long since reached its highest stage, that of monopoly, imperialism. There can be no question of reverting to competitive capitalism, or even of ‘’patching up’’ imperialism. The Financial Oligarchy is focused on enhancing their wealth and power. Nothing else! 

The imperialists have to be overthrown, and this can happen only through revolution. The revolutionary movement is growing steadily, and will soon result in an Insurrection. The success of this Insurrection depends largely upon the level of consciousness of the revolutionaries. They have to become class conscious, aware of themselves as a class, with their own class interests, which are diametrically opposed to the interests of the imperialists.

As Lenin made clear, in State and Revolution, the existing state apparatus, which has been set up to crush the ‘’lower classes’’, must be smashed, and replaced with a different state apparatus, in the form of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. Scientific Socialism!

As the astute reader may have already guessed, this is my way of giving a broad hint, to middle class intellectuals, who are aware of the revolutionary theories of Marx and Lenin. It is up to such ‘’Conscious People’’ to bring that awareness to the working class, the proletariat.

For those who are reluctant to ‘’shoulder that burden’’, may I suggest that you consider the alternative. The Oligarchy has determined to abolish your democratic republic. No more democratic rights! Scrap the Constitution! At the same time, wipe out the middle class. No more small businesses! Only the ‘’Chosen Few’’, those that are ‘’Too Big To Fail’’, are to be allowed to survive!

Do not wait for the ‘’axe to fall’’! Become politically active!

Take action, before it is too late! Become involved with Councils! Spread the message! Take part in challenging the 2024 Presidential Election, on the grounds that it violated the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution! Unconstitutional! Trump is a fraudulent president, just as Pence is a fraudulent Vice President. Act now, before it is too late! Before the Supreme Court is abolished! Which is precisely what the Oligarchy has planned!

By contrast, all middle class professionals have a bright future, under Scientific Socialism. We are supremely well aware that it is one thing to run a machine, and something else entirely, to run a business. And under Scientific Socialism, it is necessary to run businesses, not for the purposes of profit, but for that of the common good. That requires the expertise of highly educated, will trained professionals. You will be paid accordingly.

As the working class is quite well cultured now, complete with various digital devices, it is much easier to ‘’spread the word’’. We have the technology, and would be fools not to use it. 

I have long maintained that the best way to educate people, is to entertain them, at the same time. Education through entertainment!

There is no shortage of professional entertainers, in America. May I suggest that such people apply your skills, to the cause of Scientific Socialism. May I also suggest that those same, highly skilled professionals, avoid the use of vulgarity. There is already far too much of that, in the videos on the internet. It is not only disrespectful, but detracts from the message. 

I am sure you will do a masterful job. I have complete confidence in you.

Gerald McIsaac