This is Bob Avakian—REVOLUTION—number Ninety-Five. 

A while ago, a gang member was quoted as saying: “Gangs will never end—you gonna give all of us jobs?”

This question was put to those who run the system that now rules in this country (and dominates the world): the system of capitalism-imperialism. The truth is that this system in this country has robbed large numbers of people of a decent life, locking many out of the formal economy—especially youth in the inner cities—and this has fed the growth of gangs and violence among the people forced into this situation.

But, with the completely different system that can be brought into being through a real revolution, this situation can be radically changed, and a basic part of that will be a whole different economy—which, yes, will provide everyone with meaningful work.

As we revcoms have made clear, in the statement We Need And We Demand: A Whole New Way To Live, A Fundamentally Different System, this fundamentally different system will not be based on the U.S. Constitution, which was written by and has served the interests of slave-owning and capitalist exploiters. It will be based on a radically different Constitution: The Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America, which I have written. (This Constitution and “We Need And We Demand” are available at revcom.us)

As “We Need And We Demand” spells out, with the system based on the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic there will be:

A Whole Different Economy—To Meet Fundamental Needs and Serve Highest Interests.

With the new socialist economy, everyone will be guaranteed employment, and people will no longer be forced to labor, under conditions of life-stealing, soul-crushing exploitation, to create wealth for capitalist parasites. The technology and other means to create wealth will be converted into the common property of society and utilized by the government, in a planned way, to meet the needs of the people for a decent life, worthy of human beings, materially as well as intellectually and culturally, on a continually expanding basis, and to carry forward the revolutionary transformation of the new society, and the whole world, with the ultimate goal of emancipating all of humanity. The new socialist economy will not function on the basis of global supply chains of exploitation and plundering the planet’s resources. There will be systematic and ongoing attention to developing the economy on an environmentally sustainable basis. The ideas and proposals of the masses of people will be drawn on as an important resource in the planning and development of the socialist economy. The creative potential of people—which is so often suffocated under this system of capitalism-imperialism—will be unleashed to contribute to the emancipating goals.

Of course, it will not be possible to accomplish all this right away, with the new system. To bring about the basic changes in the economy, in line with what is spoken to in “We Need And We Demand,” there will need to be a period of transition with the new system, marked by the profound struggle that will be necessary in order to break free of the way the capitalist-imperialist system has dominated and deformed the economy, and to actually achieve environmentally sustainable economic development, which does not depend on the global supply chains of exploitation and plundering the planet’s resources.

But, right from the beginning with this new emancipating system, and through this transition period, everyone will be enabled to work, and the basic orientation and approach will be to provide the means for masses of people—definitely including those who had been denied a decent life under this system of capitalism-imperialism—to apply their creative energy and initiative in carrying out the necessary transition and building the new socialist economy “to meet the needs of the people for a decent life, worthy of human beings, materially as well as intellectually and culturally, on a continually expanding basis, and to carry forward the revolutionary transformation of the new society, and the whole world, with the ultimate goal of emancipating all of humanity.”

So, once again, the answer to that basic question is: Yes, the revolution has work for everyone, and the socialist system brought about through this revolution will give everyone productive and meaningful work—in the service of bringing about the most uplifting and emancipating goal of ending all exploitation and oppression, of all people everywhere.

As I have emphasized throughout these messages, this is a rare time when revolution has become more possible, because of the deep and continually sharpening divisions throughout society, and especially the bitter conflicts among the oppressive rulers of this system. So:

This is not a time to be siding with one group of oppressors or another. This is a rare time—a very rare opening—a chance that may come only once in a lifetime—a chance to take advantage of the deep divisions among the ruling oppressors and go after their whole system, with the aim of bringing the whole thing down, and putting something much better in its place.

Right now, there is crucial and urgent work that cries out to be done—the work of building up the basis for the revolution that will make all this possible: becoming part of the Revcom Corps for the Emancipation of Humanity...winning more people to revolution....getting organized for revolution in rapidly growing numbers...acting together to prepare the situation, the people, and the leadership for this revolution—actively working to get ready for the time to go for the whole thing, with a real chance to win.