“To evaluate Bob Avakian from the standpoint of what passes for political thought today is like trying to evaluate Einstein on the basis of astrology.”

When I heard this from a comrade a few months ago, I thought it captured a big problem that the revcoms and all those who want a better world need to understand, and fight to change—quickly! And I want to share some thoughts on why this is so profound, and so true!

Bob Avakian (BA) is a revolutionary leader who has developed a whole new framework for human emancipation—the new communism. 

In her book, Science and Revolution: On the Importance of Science and the Application of Science to Society, the New Synthesis of Communism and the Leadership of Bob Avakian, the scientist Ardea Skybreak said: 

...this is a completely, a radically and fundamentally, different vision of how the world could and should be. It’s a completely different framework. And when we talk about how “BA is the architect of a completely different framework”—of revolution, of the revolutionary process, and of the new society to bring into being—that's exactly what he is. You can like it or not like it, agree or don't agree, but objectively that's what he actually is. And he's been developing this framework very systematically, on the basis of scientific methods. And that is why we make such a big deal about this one person, BA. There is no one else in the world today who is on the same level in terms of developing the science of revolution and its application to the struggle to transform this society and the world on a radical, a truly radical basis, that deals with fundamental problems. Nobody's taken it as far, and on such a consistently scientific basis, and has as worked out a sense of not only why it needs to be done, but how to do it, and what to bring into being to replace this system. That's why we make such a big deal about him.

(Go here for a longer excerpt from this Interview.)

But when BA's work is brought to most people, most of the time, the responses are way too often on the level of: "why should I look into that, he's an old white guy," or kneejerk opposition to "so much focus on one person," without any analysis into what this person is saying and what the significance of it is, or one of the most unthinking replies, "Bob Avakian is a cult leader." 

In other words, people come back with astrology.

Einstein was a scientist who made a qualitative breakthrough in how humanity understands the material universe. With a major advance in physics, he broke with the prior frameworks, exposed their limitations, and forged new scientific theory that opened whole realms of knowledge and possibility. Einstein's breakthroughs changed the framework that scientists are still working within, even as (as with any science) things have further evolved and changed. 

Astrology is the ridiculous notion that stars—even long-ago dead stars—influence human events and even your personality. This bogus notion emerged thousands of years ago when people were trying to understand things without the tools of science that we have today. If you base yourself on that kind of make-believe, you are prevented from understanding, and blind to, actual reality. 

Einstein was rational, evidence-based and very farsighted, while astrology is irrational and actively resistant to evidence.

With the development of the new communism, Bob Avakian has done something analogous. As BA has said himself: 

...the new communism places great emphasis on the importance of an atmosphere that encourages and supports intellectual and artistic ferment, critical thinking, scientific curiosity and the restless pursuit of the truth, wherever the truth leads. And, as I have repeatedly emphasized, the goal of the new communism is not revenge for those who have been subjected to real horrors under this system of capitalism-imperialism; the goal is the emancipation of humanity as a whole, from every way in which one part of society rules over, exploits and oppresses others. As one key expression of this, there is this crucial principle of the new communism:

The new communism thoroughly repudiates and is determined to root out of the communist movement the poisonous notion, and practice, that “the ends justify the means.” It is a bedrock principle of the new communism that the “means” of this movement must flow from and be consistent with the fundamental “ends” of abolishing all exploitation and oppression through revolution led on a scientific basis. (From social media message @BobAvakianOfficial REVOLUTION #58, “Communism, the new communism and the challenge to “progressive” intellectuals.”)

Similar to Einstein, Bob Avakian broke with prior frameworks, exposed their limitations, and forged new scientific theory that opened whole realms of knowledge and possibility. This new communism "represents and embodies a qualitative resolution of a critical contradiction that has existed within communism in its development up to this point, between its fundamentally scientific method and approach, and aspects of communism which have run counter to this." (From Six Resolutions of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA, January 1, 2016)

Watch this part of the Interview done with BA last January where he walks through the significance of these breakthroughs: 

Bob Avakian has studied deeply the first stage of communist revolution, the tremendous advances that were made toward human emancipation and the very real problems they encountered. He went deeper into the wrong, even very wrong, approaches in how they understood and handled those problems. Based on that interrogation, and studying the developments of human society more broadly, BA is dealing with questions most people haven’t even thought of.

Bob Avakian has developed a concrete blueprint for how to re-organize all of society to meet people's needs while unleashing them to play the decisive role in overcoming all forms of oppression ever more consciously. BA has developed a whole different understanding and approach for how to hold onto socialist state power encircled by a still mainly imperialist world. How do you advance socialism in one country in those conditions, and still advance the world revolution? In other words, Einstein-level science. When most people—including good and progressive people—think about changing society, they just think about how to do some good for a few people as this system and its dynamics destroy the basis for human life on this planet. In other words, they are stuck in the framework of astrology.

BA has developed a strategy for how to really make an actual revolution. Yes, in this most powerful country. He is recognizing that we are now in a rare time when real revolution is more possible, and lays out a foundation and basic roadmap for how to seize on this. Einstein-level science.

Whereas if most people even use the word "revolution," they mean some kind of vague big change that's really just put off to never-never land... or they throw their hands up at the extreme difficulty while being blind to the deeper dynamics of what this huge divide among the rulers of this system could open up even against long odds and extreme danger. Astrology.

BA has the courage to confront, and tell the truth about, the extremely negative situation we face—right now with this fascist regime in power moving very, very quickly. Even at this late hour, too many are shying away from a full confrontation with the nature of this fascism—and what it means to act commensurate with the need to DEFEAT this fascism (and not try to survive it). People don't know how to deal with uncomfortable truths. Or they refuse to fight for what's true if it's going to be "unpopular" or controversial. Not only does BA have the morality and intellectual integrity to face this dangerous situation head on, he digs deep enough to recognize where the people's side has the potential to seize the initiative—exactly in telling people the truth about the profound need, and urgent basis, to unite all who can be united to drive this fascist regime from power.

And, at great personal risk, he continues to put himself out there to fight for this understanding.

BA goes to the root of the problem in this system of capitalism-imperialism. He recognizes that what we're dealing with today is not determined by history, but is shaped by it—and he deals with the dynamism and extreme volatility in all this. Most people skim on the surface of things, coming up with facile "explanations" like the problem is greed, or a handful of rich people, or hyper consumerism. But all that just describes the symptoms, and ignores the disease. 

People are driven to the wrong solutions, because they don't really understand the problem. And they proceed from what "everyone says," or just what "these people from that identity group" say. So they don't take up—and often resist—a rigorous and systematic scientific mode of thinking in trying to sort all this out. This results in too many people accepting or just trying to tweak the system we have—even if they sincerely hate the effects of it.

In this framework, if people encounter Bob Avakian—or if they encounter revcoms really fighting for engagement with Bob Avakian—it just does not compute. Their sights are pitifully and painfully low, they're not thinking about the kinds of burning questions Bob Avakian has broken through on and is continuing to work on. This gets bound up with the extreme individualism in this society that no one can tell ME what to think, ignoring the fact that this system tells them what—and how—to think every day. People apply irrational modes of thinking that are resistant to evaluating the evidence that underlies BA's work. And on top of all this, there is so much laziness and lack of critical thinking that too many resist even being asked to do some serious work when they'd rather just go with gossip or other lazy anti-scientific evaluations.

Astrology, astrology, astrology.

The answer to this is not to "meet people where they're at," but to struggle to change where people are at—raising their sights to the biggest questions of real revolution and human emancipation, and breaking them out of the low dreams and anti-scientific modes of thinking that predominate in this society and culture. Struggling with people to dig into BA's work with the seriousness it merits. And especially now, it's serious! All while working to overcome divide-and-conquer schemes to build the broad unity of millions aimed at driving this fascist regime from power.

I want to close with this invitation from Bob Avakian, to all those who care about the dire state of humanity... and all those who want to see a better world:

Let's go on a crucial journey together—full of unity against oppression and lively struggle about the source of the problem and the solution. Pursue your own convictions—that the outrages that move you are intolerable—to their logical conclusion, and be determined not to stop until those outrages have been eliminated. And if this, as well as learning about other outrages, and ideas about how this all fits together and flows from a common source—and how it could all be ended, and something much better brought into being—leads in the direction of seeing not only the need for bold and determined resistance, but also the need for revolution and ultimately communism, then don't turn away from that because it moves you beyond your comfort zone, challenges what had been your cherished beliefs, or because of prejudices and slanders. Instead, actively seek to learn more about this revolution and its goal of communism and to determine whether it is in fact the necessary, and possible, solution. And then act accordingly.