Revolution #233, May 22, 2011
Part 2: BUILDING THE MOVEMENT FOR REVOLUTION
A Radical Revolt Against a Revolting Culture
But at the same time, a genuinely radical, liberating revolt—as opposed to a reactionary "rebranding" and celebration of parasitism—must be fostered among the youth in today's conditions, a revolt within which the need is powerfully raised for a new society and a new world, which will move to eliminate the urban/suburban contradiction, and antagonism, in the context of the transformation of society, and the world, overall and the abolition of profound inequalities and divisions—opposing, overcoming and moving beyond the parasitism which is such an integral and indispensable part of the operation and dynamics of imperialism, and has reached such unprecedented heights in "late imperial America." In short, we need, in today's circumstances, a counter-culture that contributes to and is increasingly part of building a movement for revolution—in opposition to a counter-revolutionary culture. We need a culture of radical opposition to the essence of everything that is wrong with this society and system, and the many different manifestations of that; we need an active searching for a radically better world, within which revolution and communism is a powerful and continually growing pole of attraction.
What we are talking about then is a whole different, a radically different ethos—and potentially a whole different, and much better, way of life, in which (to recall the words of our Party's Manifesto, Communism: The Beginning of a New Stage) people can truly be citizens of the world, members of a world community, without the destructive antagonistic conflicts that, for thousands of years, have marked relations among human beings, within and between different societies and parts of the world.
The situation cannot be allowed to continue where the alternatives with major social impact within this society are self-indulgent individualism, on the one hand, or, on the other hand, religious fundamentalism and subordination and sacrifice of the self to the collective juggernaut of imperialist conquest and plunder, as for example in the U.S. military; and where, in one form or another, a culture and morality serving the interests of the most monstrous exploiters and oppressors—and a system which does indeed, without the slightest bit of exaggeration, crush lives and mangle spirits on a massive scale, throughout the world, while having the audacity to present itself as the best of all possible systems and a shining example for the world—has virtually unchallenged hegemony.
The point is that there is a real need and a real basis to be bringing forward, fighting for—and, yes, living, even now—a radically different philosophy and a radically different culture and morality. And besides the realms of culture and morality there is a need, as has been emphasized before, for a fierce battle in the ideological/epistemological realm, particularly against relativism and its pernicious effects. Again, we see now a situation that is too much like that described in the poem by William Butler Yeats: "The worst are full of passionate intensity"—and absolutist certainty, we might add—while "the best lack all conviction." This has to be radically taken on and radically changed.
There is the point about where epistemology meets morality—and that it's not acceptable to say "I don't choose to know about that," or "I choose not to believe that," or "I choose not to do anything about that," because it gets you outside of your comfort zone. This is morally reprehensible and unacceptable and has to be challenged. It has to be challenged not only straight up and sharply but fundamentally on a materialist foundation, which goes back to all of the things that were discussed in the first part of this talk.
This calls to mind the comment that I made in the exchange with Bill Martin, which became the "Conversations" book, Marxism and the Call of the Future. I said to him: You are concerned about materialism not grounded in ethics; I am concerned about ethics not grounded in materialism. And he agreed that this focused and sharpened things up in a good way.1 The point is not that we don't need ethics, and not that we don't need to actually live and to struggle for a radically different morality in line with the objective of advancing to a communist world and building a revolutionary movement to that end; the point is that this has to be grounded in science, or else it won't be able to be sustained, it won't be able to have enough of a firm foundation to stand up to and to find its way amidst all the blowing winds, including the still powerful wind of relativism. We've seen this play out again and again. It comes back once more to "who are you to say what's right and wrong?" and "who are you to criticize?" If we're not grounded firmly enough in materialism, we're not going to be able to answer that. We're not going to be able to really deeply engage, criticize and dissect and show people what's wrong not only with relativism, but also with these other, openly reactionary points of view and values.
And that brings me back to the question of religious fundamentalism—and religion in general. Once again, we must make a distinction between people whose religious beliefs inspire or lead them to take progressive stands and to oppose oppression and, on the other hand, those whose religious beliefs lead them to do the opposite; but, even while keeping in mind and maintaining that distinction, it is very necessary and important to wage a vigorous struggle, ideologically—in regard to philosophy and morality and in the cultural realm—against religion of all kinds, against the religious worldview and what it promotes and the way it paralyzes people. We need to be boldly propagating atheism, and a liberating worldview and morality, based on the scientific outlook and method of communism.
So here again is the great need for a "cultural revolution": what I've referred to as a mass revolt—with youth as a driving force—daring to defy and repudiate the oppressive, degrading and suffocating relations, values and morals of this system, and those who enforce and uphold all this; being, in opposition to that, in many different ways and to the greatest extent possible, a living embodiment of new and liberating morals, values, relations and culture, as well as a growing force of resistance against the continual outrages and injustices of this system. And those who consciously, scientifically understand the need for revolution to do away with this system and bring a new, radically different and better system into being, with the ultimate goal of a whole new world, a communist world, must foster and breathe further life into this "cultural revolution," with all the creativity and imagination, the questioning, ferment and upheaval that this would, and should, involve, as part of building a movement for the revolution we need—fighting the power, and transforming the people, for this revolution—aiming for nothing less than to do away with this system and actually bring that new world into being.
This "cultural revolution," while having its own dynamics and characteristics, will also be closely interconnected with political and ideological work and struggle to bring people to see how the many outrages and injustices, and the suppression and suffocation, in many different spheres, that people abhor—how all this flows from and is rooted in the capitalist-imperialist system, and that a radically different and better system and world is possible—and in fact the possibility of that world is straining against the confines and constraints of this horrific present system and world.
Also, as an important part of all this, and of striving to have it serve the building of a revolutionary movement, there is a great need to foster and promote a culture and a community of resistance, with many different forms and expressions—within which the "pole" of revolution and communism is a growing and vibrant influence and attractive force.
All this is not just of minor or secondary significance, but is of strategic importance, has strategic implications, in terms of repolarization—for revolution.
1. Bob Avakian and Bill Martin, Marxism and the Call of the Future: Conversations on Ethics, History, and Politics, Chicago: Open Court, 2005. The exchange referred to here is found at the beginning of chapter 3, "Ethics and the Question of Truth," p. 32 and following. [back]