TRANSITION TO SOCIALISM
TRANSITION TO SOCIALISM
REACTION TO OPPRESSION. Capitalism forces the transition to socialism by way of its heartless exploitation of labor, the rapacious monopolies that victimize the middle class and small farmers, the offensive against democracy and toward fascism, the threat of a new world war. ALL have their origin in capitalism. This push for oppression cannot but result in a push back. That push back is socialism.
Socialism starts as a political act, capitalist power is overthrown and the workers are installed in power. But because this involves millions, with different agendas, the revolution is much more complex. Today, with a conscious working class, with instant means of communication, the passage toward revolution is much more secure. The success of the revolution is based on four things; the widely held conviction that it is worth the struggle, the degree of consciousness and organizational capacity of the workers, the class struggle as a thing that is never abandoned, the raising of political consciousness and capacity to fight. The very development of capitalism pushes the population into a socialist way of life, by providing the things that are denied to them by capitalism. This is what "sharpening of contradictions" means. This is so intransigent that it becomes an objective law. It is this imperative that fills the workers,along with their vanguard, with unending energy in the revolutionary struggle.
ONE STEP BACK. Nevertheless, the working class are not always up to the task. The ruling class makes its business to join the workers' movements in order to divide it, sometimes with trickery, sometimes with violence. Most dangerous are leaders of social democracy of the right, exemplified by blue dog Democrats, who will do anything to separate the workers from the struggle for socialism, and this in spite of the fact that that struggle is unstoppable. Workers are shaped in the daily struggles, in the fight for a fair salary and working conditions, in the solidarity with others. Even a simple strike will teach the workers something about their strength, and be a reserve for subsequent struggles. The movement becomes a school of political and organizational education, preparing the masses for higher yet forms of struggle.
RESILIENCE. The right wing ruling class will not succeed in destroying the movement with repressive measures, nor with violence. There's a saying in Spanish, mientras mas te empinas, mas el culo se te ve. The harder they try, the worse it gets. There is a point of open terrorism, as was practiced in Chile and Argentina, where the movement for socialism had to go underground, but it always came back due to the need that people have for fair treatment and justice. The terror, the massacres of innocents, are so much dry wood that will turn into a blaze at the first spark.
VARIOUS ASPECTS. Because there is no "pure" capitalism, there can be no "pure" socialism. We have to deal with per-capitalist forms of trade, sequels of feudal relations (as in religion), small mercantile production, etc. Conflicts can be obscured when the workers benefit from the monopolies, or have strong nationalist or religious feelings. That is why the leading vanguard must always be ready and never falter, for on its shoulders rest the hopes an aspirations of hundreds of millions of the population.
The Worker's Party has to gather all the aspirations of the workers and recognize the moment when the workers become convinced that the only way to solve the problems of starvation and exploitation is through revolution. In recent years pro-democracy movements have proliferated. Even though they may not propose socialism as a solution, in certain circumstances they are amenable to be swept up in a revolutionary tide, since they nevertheless are a part of the worker's struggle.
Different types of struggle that can lead to socialism are; the struggle of farmers against the monopolies that pauperize them, the movements of national liberation, as manifested among African-Americans, Chicanos, Indigenous people, etc. the struggle for the defense of democracy, the movement for peace against war, the fight of intellectuals to free expression and defense of culture. Democratic movements can also struggle in favor of nationalizing monopolies, for women's and gender rights, and many struggles that come to the fore precisely because of the oppressive heel of the capitalists. There is also nothing new about these struggles. They are capitalist-democratic, not socialist-democratic. They were very much alive in the revolutions against the monarchy, where the masses demanded equal rights and recognition, separation of church and state, etc. that was the agenda of a ruling class democracy, correct for its time. In the crash of the 30s, the ruling class sought salvation in fascism and war. This inspired the antifascist movements, such as the popular front in France and Spain, and ultimately in the triumph of the USSR over fascism. But now we are seeing a new kind of democracy, democracy of a capitalism in crisis, democracy that demands the end of stock market crashes and the pauperization of the middle class.
CAPITALIST OPPRESSION. The ruling class acts in a way that is harmful to the rest of society. It suppresses democratic movements, (such as with gerrymandering and the electoral college) it finances the race to the most weapons, it engages in adventurist aggression in foreign politics, it exploits its colonies (eg, through NAFTA).These activities are directly contrary to the well being of the national population and to that of the population being attacked. It is exactly these activities by the ruling class that spark democratic movements everywhere.
The ruling class answer to democracy is to strengthen the dictatorship of the monopolies. In wartime Germany it took the shape of open fascism, with the suppression of of Parliament and all democratic institutions. In France, the reactionary dictatorship was installed by degrees, castrating established institutions bit by bit. In the US democratic processes are conserved on paper, while the corporations make out like bandits. In every capitalist country there is a monopoly dictatorship, some more obvious, some more subtle, but everywhere in control, according to internal and external conditions.
THE TIME IS RIPE. This situation today is rife with the possibility of democratic revolution. Such a revolution has the characteristic of being against the monopolies, supporting the working class, the farmers, the middle class, and the democratic intellectuals are its primary impulse. Such as revolution would embrace the widest possible levels of society.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LEFT AND THE MIDDLE. The ultra left, to their detriment, will ignore the rich possibility of working within a middle class revolution. All oppressed levels of society can participate in a successful socialist revolution as long as the working class is at the head of it. The workers, because of their position in the society, are the only ones who can bring it about without corrupting its ideals. A revolution led by the middle class (for which there is a strong tendency today) is not the same as a revolution led by the working class. The middle class revolution, for example, wants the "freedom" of same sex marriage, even though the participants are dripping with money. Women want to be CEOs and dominate men. There is not that much that is revolutionary about it. In the meantime, the workers want decent jobs and security, and the only way to achieve this is by seizing the levers of power, a very different thing. Nevertheless, the capitalist-democratic revolution can be a stepping stone to reach the socialist-democratic revolution, because they both demand change. In the first place, the capitalist system has reached a point where it cannot give any more, and more and more people are fed up with it. Second, People are beginning to realize that we have an empire that exploits others but at the same time takes away our own livelihood, as evidenced by NAFTA and all the other mechanisms for keeping the peoples of the world in line. Third, The working class has matured, developed grown, become more prescient and is ready willing and able to seize the moment. In this conditions, the workers have the duty to take over the middle class and seize power for the benefit of all.
THE SOCIALIST PROGRAM. The democratic revolution under the working class can demand and implement a "democratic dictatorship' that is, forcing people to act democratically and not selfishly. They can nationalize the capitalist ruling class and proclaim a democratic republic, turn the land over to small farmers, raise the living wage and benefits, etc. The next step is to transform the capitalist democracy into socialist democracy by, organized as the ruling class, putting an end to exploitation. Agribusiness and industrial corporations, the military, will all belong to the people, who will decide policy. They will make sure that everyone has annual paid vacations, free hotels and spas, free medical care, free education including university, culture by and for the people, equality for women child care centers.Unemployment will be done away with, trade unions will assure that workers cannot be fired, homelessness will be done away with, rent will be less than 5% of income, all debts will be canceled. War propaganda will be outlawed, as war itself.Poverty will be ended with the recovery of the vast resources now wasted in war production, corporate profits and the extravagant lifestyles of the filthy rich.As production increases, science and technology are advanced, and the environment is protected. Crime will disappear or be greatly reduced. It is the profit system that corrupts the vulnerable, and breeds crime.
COUNTERREVOLUTION, The right wing Democrats, the Republicans, the Libertarians, with the help of international reactionaries, will do everything in their power to stop this and protect Wall St. They will try to deviate the course of the revolution by dividing the working class and pushing for capitalist democracy, which changes little. Failing this, they are capable of counterrevolutionary acts, violence and terrorism. The revolutionary movement must incorporate strong elements from the Army and police, as well as other workers who are erroneously working for the ruling class against their own interests. (Bolivia's failure to do this is an example of how important this is). A strong worker's party, with millions behind it supporting it, can, hopefully peacefully, overcome the counterrevolution that has now been put in a defensive position.
SYNTHESIS. There are further complications withing the democratic groups. They are made up of many factions, with different agendas. The new socialist government has to include these factions. Once the power of the monopolies has been crushed, the people, that is to say, a coalition of democratic forces, farmers, the middle class, and the intellectuals, will take power. Anti-democratic, reactionary forces will be left out in the cold. Now the great corporations will be nationalized and become the property of all the people.
REACTION TO OPPRESSION. Capitalism forces the transition to socialism by way of its heartless exploitation of labor, the rapacious monopolies that victimize the middle class and small farmers, the offensive against democracy and toward fascism, the threat of a new world war. ALL have their origin in capitalism. This push for oppression cannot but result in a push back. That push back is socialism.
Socialism starts as a political act, capitalist power is overthrown and the workers are installed in power. But because this involves millions, with different agendas, the revolution is much more complex. Today, with a conscious working class, with instant means of communication, the passage toward revolution is much more secure. The success of the revolution is based on four things; the widely held conviction that it is worth the struggle, the degree of consciousness and organizational capacity of the workers, the class struggle as a thing that is never abandoned, the raising of political consciousness and capacity to fight. The very development of capitalism pushes the population into a socialist way of life, by providing the things that are denied to them by capitalism. This is what "sharpening of contradictions" means. This is so intransigent that it becomes an objective law. It is this imperative that fills the workers,along with their vanguard, with unending energy in the revolutionary struggle.
ONE STEP BACK. Nevertheless, the working class are not always up to the task. The ruling class makes its business to join the workers' movements in order to divide it, sometimes with trickery, sometimes with violence. Most dangerous are leaders of social democracy of the right, exemplified by blue dog Democrats, who will do anything to separate the workers from the struggle for socialism, and this in spite of the fact that that struggle is unstoppable. Workers are shaped in the daily struggles, in the fight for a fair salary and working conditions, in the solidarity with others. Even a simple strike will teach the workers something about their strength, and be a reserve for subsequent struggles. The movement becomes a school of political and organizational education, preparing the masses for higher yet forms of struggle.
RESILIENCE. The right wing ruling class will not succeed in destroying the movement with repressive measures, nor with violence. There's a saying in Spanish, mientras mas te empinas, mas el culo se te ve. The harder they try, the worse it gets. There is a point of open terrorism, as was practiced in Chile and Argentina, where the movement for socialism had to go underground, but it always came back due to the need that people have for fair treatment and justice. The terror, the massacres of innocents, are so much dry wood that will turn into a blaze at the first spark.
VARIOUS ASPECTS. Because there is no "pure" capitalism, there can be no "pure" socialism. We have to deal with per-capitalist forms of trade, sequels of feudal relations (as in religion), small mercantile production, etc. Conflicts can be obscured when the workers benefit from the monopolies, or have strong nationalist or religious feelings. That is why the leading vanguard must always be ready and never falter, for on its shoulders rest the hopes an aspirations of hundreds of millions of the population.
The Worker's Party has to gather all the aspirations of the workers and recognize the moment when the workers become convinced that the only way to solve the problems of starvation and exploitation is through revolution. In recent years pro-democracy movements have proliferated. Even though they may not propose socialism as a solution, in certain circumstances they are amenable to be swept up in a revolutionary tide, since they nevertheless are a part of the worker's struggle.
Different types of struggle that can lead to socialism are; the struggle of farmers against the monopolies that pauperize them, the movements of national liberation, as manifested among African-Americans, Chicanos, Indigenous people, etc. the struggle for the defense of democracy, the movement for peace against war, the fight of intellectuals to free expression and defense of culture. Democratic movements can also struggle in favor of nationalizing monopolies, for women's and gender rights, and many struggles that come to the fore precisely because of the oppressive heel of the capitalists. There is also nothing new about these struggles. They are capitalist-democratic, not socialist-democratic. They were very much alive in the revolutions against the monarchy, where the masses demanded equal rights and recognition, separation of church and state, etc. that was the agenda of a ruling class democracy, correct for its time. In the crash of the 30s, the ruling class sought salvation in fascism and war. This inspired the antifascist movements, such as the popular front in France and Spain, and ultimately in the triumph of the USSR over fascism. But now we are seeing a new kind of democracy, democracy of a capitalism in crisis, democracy that demands the end of stock market crashes and the pauperization of the middle class.
CAPITALIST OPPRESSION. The ruling class acts in a way that is harmful to the rest of society. It suppresses democratic movements, (such as with gerrymandering and the electoral college) it finances the race to the most weapons, it engages in adventurist aggression in foreign politics, it exploits its colonies (eg, through NAFTA).These activities are directly contrary to the well being of the national population and to that of the population being attacked. It is exactly these activities by the ruling class that spark democratic movements everywhere.
The ruling class answer to democracy is to strengthen the dictatorship of the monopolies. In wartime Germany it took the shape of open fascism, with the suppression of of Parliament and all democratic institutions. In France, the reactionary dictatorship was installed by degrees, castrating established institutions bit by bit. In the US democratic processes are conserved on paper, while the corporations make out like bandits. In every capitalist country there is a monopoly dictatorship, some more obvious, some more subtle, but everywhere in control, according to internal and external conditions.
THE TIME IS RIPE. This situation today is rife with the possibility of democratic revolution. Such a revolution has the characteristic of being against the monopolies, supporting the working class, the farmers, the middle class, and the democratic intellectuals are its primary impulse. Such as revolution would embrace the widest possible levels of society.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LEFT AND THE MIDDLE. The ultra left, to their detriment, will ignore the rich possibility of working within a middle class revolution. All oppressed levels of society can participate in a successful socialist revolution as long as the working class is at the head of it. The workers, because of their position in the society, are the only ones who can bring it about without corrupting its ideals. A revolution led by the middle class (for which there is a strong tendency today) is not the same as a revolution led by the working class. The middle class revolution, for example, wants the "freedom" of same sex marriage, even though the participants are dripping with money. Women want to be CEOs and dominate men. There is not that much that is revolutionary about it. In the meantime, the workers want decent jobs and security, and the only way to achieve this is by seizing the levers of power, a very different thing. Nevertheless, the capitalist-democratic revolution can be a stepping stone to reach the socialist-democratic revolution, because they both demand change. In the first place, the capitalist system has reached a point where it cannot give any more, and more and more people are fed up with it. Second, People are beginning to realize that we have an empire that exploits others but at the same time takes away our own livelihood, as evidenced by NAFTA and all the other mechanisms for keeping the peoples of the world in line. Third, The working class has matured, developed grown, become more prescient and is ready willing and able to seize the moment. In this conditions, the workers have the duty to take over the middle class and seize power for the benefit of all.
THE SOCIALIST PROGRAM. The democratic revolution under the working class can demand and implement a "democratic dictatorship' that is, forcing people to act democratically and not selfishly. They can nationalize the capitalist ruling class and proclaim a democratic republic, turn the land over to small farmers, raise the living wage and benefits, etc. The next step is to transform the capitalist democracy into socialist democracy by, organized as the ruling class, putting an end to exploitation. Agribusiness and industrial corporations, the military, will all belong to the people, who will decide policy. They will make sure that everyone has annual paid vacations, free hotels and spas, free medical care, free education including university, culture by and for the people, equality for women child care centers.Unemployment will be done away with, trade unions will assure that workers cannot be fired, homelessness will be done away with, rent will be less than 5% of income, all debts will be canceled. War propaganda will be outlawed, as war itself.Poverty will be ended with the recovery of the vast resources now wasted in war production, corporate profits and the extravagant lifestyles of the filthy rich.As production increases, science and technology are advanced, and the environment is protected. Crime will disappear or be greatly reduced. It is the profit system that corrupts the vulnerable, and breeds crime.
COUNTERREVOLUTION, The right wing Democrats, the Republicans, the Libertarians, with the help of international reactionaries, will do everything in their power to stop this and protect Wall St. They will try to deviate the course of the revolution by dividing the working class and pushing for capitalist democracy, which changes little. Failing this, they are capable of counterrevolutionary acts, violence and terrorism. The revolutionary movement must incorporate strong elements from the Army and police, as well as other workers who are erroneously working for the ruling class against their own interests. (Bolivia's failure to do this is an example of how important this is). A strong worker's party, with millions behind it supporting it, can, hopefully peacefully, overcome the counterrevolution that has now been put in a defensive position.
SYNTHESIS. There are further complications withing the democratic groups. They are made up of many factions, with different agendas. The new socialist government has to include these factions. Once the power of the monopolies has been crushed, the people, that is to say, a coalition of democratic forces, farmers, the middle class, and the intellectuals, will take power. Anti-democratic, reactionary forces will be left out in the cold. Now the great corporations will be nationalized and become the property of all the people.
THE TIME FOR REVOLUTION. A revolution happens when the time is ripe.
1.- The ruling class cannot continue as before, it undergoes political crisis through which discontent is manifested. "Those on top can't and those at the bottom don't want to" continue as before.
2.- There is a sharp increase in the needs of the people that are not being met.
3.- A reaction not before seen of masses unable and unwilling to go on as before, and the pouring out into the street of millions. None of these points are dependent on anyone's will- they happen spontaneously under a crisis that affects those at the top as well as those at the bottom. The revolutionary leadership has to be equally cognizant of both (top and bottom)- it cannot just focus on the working people and their problems. The approach is scientific, but there is instinct and art in the leadership that must be there.
THE INSURRECTION. 1.- An insurrection is not a plaything, and once it starts, it must be carried to the end.
2.- In the time and place indicated, one must rally a greatly superior force in order not to be destroyed.
3.- Once the insurrection has started, one must pass on to the offensive, never defensive.
4.- The enemy must be caught by surprise at a time when its forces are scattered and relatively weak.
5.- One must have successes, even small ones, constantly, in order to maintain the moral superiority.
The exploiting class may be destroyed in one country, but they have resources and international capital to keep resisting change for a long time. The revolution is often the result of capitalist killing fields, wars and sanctions that make it impossible to go on living. At the same time they have counterrevolutionary forces in the army that can do great damage, and a civil war could ensue.
The working class take into its hands the monopolies and makes them run in a way that all the people can see the advantages of the new means of production and distribution.
posted by ANTONIO at 7:53 AM
<< Home