Welcome to this issue of REVOLUTION. This is the website where you can access and dig into the work of Bob Avakian, or BA, the most important political thinker and leader in the world today. Along with the YouTube show RNL—Revolution, Nothing Less!, this site brings alive a scientific analysis of major events in society and the world—why they are happening, how different events and developments relate to each other, how all this relates to the system we live under, where people’s interests lie in relation to all this, how revolution is in fact the solution to all this and what the goals of that revolution are, how different viewpoints and programs relate, positively or negatively, to the revolution that is needed, and how people can move, and are moving, to build toward that revolution.
The importance of this site—and the importance of you digging into what is on the site—is heightened by one extremely important fact: we are living in the midst of one of those rare times when an actual revolution becomes more possible, even in a powerful country like this. If you are someone who can’t stand this world the way it is, you need to be part of this revolution.
Organizing for an Actual Revolution: 7 Key Points is an invaluable and concise guide to how to go about seizing this rare time—wrenching out of the wretched conditions today a future fit for human beings. Right up top, 7 Key Points lays out why we need an actual revolution and why this is a rare time:
Brutal and murderous white supremacy, male supremacy, and other oppressive relations, the deepening crisis in society and the world overall, including the constant wars and the continuing destruction of the environment: all this cannot ultimately be resolved, in any positive way, within the confines of the system that rules in this country and dominates in the world as a whole—the system of capitalism-imperialism. Under the rule of this system, all this will only get worse. The deepening divisions within this country now, from top to bottom, mean that those who have ruled in this country for so long (the capitalist-imperialist ruling class) can no longer rule, as a “unified force,” in the “normal” way that people have been conditioned to accept—with a system of government that has an outer shell of “democracy” to cover over the fact that it is an actual capitalist dictatorship at its core, relying fundamentally on the armed force of the institutions of “official violence,” the police and the military. Because of big changes in this country and the world overall, one part of the ruling class, represented by the Republican Party, has become fascist: they no longer believe in or feel bound by what have been the “norms” of “democratic” capitalist rule in this country. And the other section of the ruling class, represented by the Democratic Party, has no real answer to this—except trying to maintain the “normal way” that the oppressive rule of this system has been enforced for hundreds of years, while the fascists are determined to tear up those “norms” and rule through more openly and aggressively oppressive means, without the traditional disguise of supposed “democracy for all.”
The crisis and deep divisions in society can only be resolved through radical means, of one kind or another—either radically reactionary, murderously oppressive and destructive means, or radically emancipating revolutionary means. And this resolution could quite possibly happen, one way or the other, within the next few years. This rare situation, with the deepening and sharpening conflicts among the ruling powers, and in the society overall, provides a stronger basis and greater openings to break the hold of this system over masses of people. In a situation like this, things that have basically remained the same, for decades, can radically change in a very short period of time. This rare time must not be wasted—it must be seized on to have a real fighting chance to bring about a truly emancipating revolutionary resolution, and not be subjected to a terrible, reactionary, murderously oppressive and destructive resolution.
The articles and features on this site this week get into different dimensions of that, as well as the overall questions of the goal of this revolution. The key thing, and the way to dig into the overall picture of this, is the extremely important talk given by Bob Avakian last year, 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. That puts everything into context. Go here for the audio, and here for the text.
And read and dig into the news articles that illustrate this. The Fascist Assault on Voting Rights and the Fight for the Future shows the depth of the divisions among those who rule this country. It gets into some of the ways in which the fascists are moving now to “rule through more openly and aggressively oppressive means, without the traditional disguise of supposed ‘democracy for all.’” Drawing on “Something Terrible, OR Something Truly Emancipating,” this article lays out as well potential challenges for those working to make a revolution, and an approach to meeting those challenges.
The important article by Raymond Lotta with the Environmental Working Group of revcom.us on the environment, Worse than Fine-Print Trickery... Biden's Imperialist Climate Bill: The Devil Lies in the Big Picture—which we are continuing to feature—shows the existential character of the environmental crisis—that is the way it threatens the very existence of humanity. It shows the roots of that crisis in this system, why Biden’s bill doesn’t just fall short but is part of the problem, and why only revolution can deal with this. And come back later this week for a clip from this week’s Revolution, Nothing Less! YouTube broadcast that gives a down-to-earth explanation of both the truly catastrophic scope of this crisis, its roots in capitalism, and the need—and possibility—to resolve this through revolution.
From another angle, read our coverage of important developments in the ongoing war in Ukraine, The “Made-in-the-USA” Offensive in the Ukraine Proxy War, which lays bare the intense and jolting recent developments there. Here too, the potentially existential stakes of this moment stand out sharply.
And finally, in her piece taking off from the obituary we ran several weeks ago on the basketball legend Bill Russell, Sunsara Taylor reflects on lessons especially relevant to a critical task laid out further on in 7 Key Points:
Develop and train revolutionary leaders, on the basis of the scientific method and approach of the new communism that has been developed by Bob Avakian.
This hardly gets to everything that is packed into Organizing for an Actual Revolution: 7 Key Points (which in turn concentrates some key elements of the “road map” laid out in 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). So we urge you—begin this issue by reading (or rereading) Organizing for an Actual Revolution: 7 Key Points and then read these and other articles with that in mind.
Finally, the revolution we are actively preparing for in this country is part of a larger, worldwide struggle to emancipate ALL of humanity. In this light, we continue to call on you to read, get into and help spread the news on the important new book, Revolutionary Hope, from the Revolutionary Communist Organization, Mexico (English / Spanish).
Included in this issue:
* Bob Avakian and the New Communism on Internationalism
* Recent Statements From Revolutionary Communist Groups Around the World
* Letters/statements in support of Bob Avakian: “I love—yes, love—Bob Avakian and what he has created for humanity and the possibility of forging a whole new world”
* The Fascist Assault on Voting Rights and the Fight for the Future
* The “Made-in-the-USA” Offensive in the Ukraine Proxy War
* Learning About Bill Russell, Reflecting on Bob Avakian’s Leadership, by Sunsara Taylor
* From the International Emergency Campaign to Free Iran’s Political Prisoners NOW (IEC) : “Death To the Oppressor” Rings Out on Iran’s Streets: Islamic Republic Murders 22-Year-Old Mahsa Amini for “Violating” Mandatory Hijab Rules
* Wednesday, September 21, 6 pm, Revolution Books in Harlem, NYC: A Gathering of Internationalist Solidarity with Iran's Political Prisoners. No to U.S. Imperialism, No to the Hated Iranian Regime. Another World IS Possible
* The RNL—Revolution, Nothing Less!—Show