That’s what you often hear from youth these days—especially the youth who see so many around them dying so young. And broadly among the younger generations, you hear a lot of “fatalism” about how the governments and the people who control things have messed things up so badly and ruined the future for everybody—with their destruction of the environment, and their wars, like the one in Ukraine, that could end up becoming far worse, wiping out huge numbers of people, in many countries, or even possibly destroying human civilization as a whole.

In one sense, there is a lot of truth to this. It is true, of course, that everybody is going to die at some point. Right now it is true that far too many are dying way too young—and for no good reason or purpose. It is true that, for masses of humanity, not just in this country but around the world, life is already a living hell—while for humanity as a whole there is no future worth living in, or no future at all—under this system.

And that is just the point. We need to get rid of this system—overthrow it, and replace it with a radically different and much better system.

And what is not true is that nothing can be done about all this. There is no reason—no “permanent necessity”—for this capitalist-imperialist system of oppression, plunder and destruction to just go on... and on... and there is a way we could put an end to it and replace it with a radically different and much better system, an emancipating system. To do this, we need a revolution, a real revolution. That is something worth dedicating your life to, and putting your life on the line for.

This is not just “talk,” or a “wish” with no basis in reality. A lot of work has been done, and more is being done every day, to develop the strategy and plan for how this revolution could actually be carried out, and how the conditions could be brought into being that would make that possible: how this revolution could actually win, even up against the powerful forces of oppression that it would need to overthrow, and how a radically different and emancipating system could actually be built, in place of this monstrosity of a system.

As I have shown in recent works, this is one of those rare times when revolution becomes more possible, even in a powerful country like this. (The reasons why this is so are spoken to in depth in “Something Terrible, Or Something Truly Emancipating” where I examine the conflicts within this country, and particularly those between different sections of the ruling class of this country, which are increasingly preventing them from ruling in the “normal way” they have done for generations—and which could lead to real openings for revolution, especially if the people who really need this revolution are shaken awake by the work of revolutionaries, recognize this rare possibility, and become part of working actively for it. “Something Terrible, Or Something Truly Emancipating”* was written before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but it contains essential analysis and strategic direction in terms of actually making revolution in this powerful country, and the basic principles and methods it speaks to definitely can be, and need to be, applied to the current situation, following this Russian invasion and the events that have unfolded in relation to it.)

We cannot afford to waste this rare opportunity—condemning people just like ourselves, everywhere, to the continuing hell of this system, which is ongoing and threatens to get far worse—robbing people alive today of a life worth living, denying humanity as a whole a decent future, or any future at all... when all that is completely unnecessary, and we could have a world, and a future, that is truly worthy of human beings and gives expression to the full potential of our humanity.

There are people right now, the revcoms, who are carrying out this strategy and plan, working every day for this revolution. You need to get with this, and make your life count for something real. You need to go to revcom.us and watch the YouTube RNL—Revolution, Nothing Less!—Show to get the basic knowledge about how we can really make this revolution, and how you can become part of this revolution and bring a lot more people into working for it too.

Yes, at some point we are all going to die. But how we live, and what our lives are dedicated to—what we are willing to fight for and put our lives on the line for—makes all the difference.

I have said it many times, and it is profoundly true: Revolution is the hope of the hopeless, and dedicating one’s life to revolution is the greatest thing anyone can do with their life.

Become part of this revolution—become part of, and bring forward many more to join, the emancipators of humanity.

_______________

FOOTNOTES:

* “Something Terrible, Or Something Truly Emancipating: Profound Crisis, Deepening Divisions, The Looming Possibility Of Civil War—And the Revolution That Is Urgently Needed, A Necessary Foundation, A Basic Roadmap For This Revolution” is available at revcom.us. Also available at revcom.us is the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America, a sweeping vision and concrete blueprint for a radically different and emancipating society, which has been authored by Bob Avakian. [back]