Posts by issue number/Posteos por número de la edición

This is Bob Avakian—REVOLUTION, number 107—a special holiday message, 2024:

God-Damn the Trump/MAGA Fascists, Every One!
And God-Damn Everyone Who Tells Us to “Get Along” And “Play Nice” With These Fascists!

With people who support Trump, nothing good can come from trying to “understand” them on their own terms. No matter who they are—and no matter what reason or rationalization they give for doing so—they are supporting fascism, with everything that means. (In a number of previous messages, most recently in message #105, I have laid out very clearly what it means—the very real horror of this fascism—on top of the ongoing horrors perpetrated by this system of capitalism-imperialism as a whole.)

Unless and until people who have supported Trump admit they are wrong, and face up to what they have done in supporting MAGA fascism, there can be no principled way to “get along” with them; and, instead, in any involvement with them, they need to be sharply confronted—called out and firmly held to account for the fascism they have responsibility for supporting and enabling.

Once more: This is not a time for demoralization or despair—and it is definitely not a time for completely wrong-headed and extremely harmful attempts to find “common ground” with fascism and those who support it.

What is needed is an offensive orientation in challenging this fascism—bold defiance and a determined refusal to go along with any of this—now, and in an ongoing way.

And: This is a time for righteous anger and revolutionary determination in the face of this fascism, and the whole system that has given rise to this fascism, along with all its other atrocities (atrocities which I have shined a light on through these messages as a whole, and which are analyzed extensively and in depth in the American Crime series at revcom.us).

As I have emphasized many times, it is a scientific fact that we do not have to live this way—a radically different and far better world really is possible. This is also spoken to very clearly in the Declaration at revcom.us: WE NEED AND WE DEMAND: A WHOLE NEW WAY TO LIVE, A FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT SYSTEM.

This is Bob Avakian—REVOLUTION—number 106. 

IN THE NAME OF HUMANITY, WE REFUSE TO ACCEPT A FASCIST AMERICA! 

THIS WHOLE SYSTEM IS ROTTEN AND ILLEGITIMATE—WE NEED AND WE DEMAND: A WHOLE NEW WAY TO LIVE, A FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT SYSTEM!

In my last message (#105), I answered arguments that are too often raised to justify capitulating to and going along with Trump/MAGA fascism. The fact is that Democratic Party functionaries—and other “liberal” representatives of the ruling class—will approach things on a fundamentally wrong basis: on the terms of what serves this murderously oppressive system of capitalism-imperialism (which they call “democracy”) and the literally genocidal American empire (which they call “the free world”). This must not be allowed to set the terms, and the limits, of the struggle—against this Trump/MAGA fascism, and against the system that has given rise to this fascism, along with all its other atrocities.

Liberals (and “progressives”), who are not part of the ruling class, can play a significant role in building broad unity against this fascism, and in searching out the answer to what has given rise to this fascism, and what is the solution to this—but, at the same time, these liberals and “progressives” need to open their minds, be willing to honestly engage ideas and solutions that are outside of and beyond the confines of this system, and strengthen their backbones for the fight that is necessary.

From the time of the outcome of the election, beginning with my message #102, I have emphasized: This is not a time for demoralization and despair—it is a time for righteous anger and revolutionary determination; and what is needed is bold defiance and a determined refusal to go along with any of this—now, and in an ongoing way.

IN THE NAME OF HUMANITY WE REFUSE TO ACCEPT A FASCIST AMERICA! is not an empty slogan—or merely some kind of general statement of opposition—it is an active orientation for building mass opposition and resistance to Trump/MAGA fascism. 

In its most important dimension, this means uniting all who can be united—mobilizing people growing into the millions, and ultimately tens of millions—in protest and resistance against this fascism.

At the same time, an important part of this will involve defending people against attacks on their rights and even on their very lives. This defense will need to involve many different dimensions: legal and political defense—and defense against attempts to carry out physical attacks on people who are targets of this fascism.

As I emphasized in “Something Terrible, Or Something Truly Emancipating”:

There is plenty that needs to be done, and urgently, which requires real boldness and heart, to stand up against the fascists, and any other oppressive force, in their moves to threaten and intimidate, brutalize and even murder people. Let me make clear that I am not calling for launching unprovoked and unjustified attacks on anybody; but there is a right, and a need—and there is the responsibility—to defend the people who are oppressed and brutalized under this system, and those who represent and stand for what is right, and are being attacked because of that.

Now, with the re-election of Trump, the MAGA fascists are pumped up, feeling they have powerful backing to intimidate and attack immigrants, women, LGBT people, Black people and others who are targets of this Trump/MAGA fascism. Those who recognize the importance of defeating this fascism, need to have an offensive orientation in challenging this fascism, while defense is built against attacks by these fascists.

As we revcoms (revolutionary communists) have made clear in the Declaration WE NEED AND WE DEMAND: A WHOLE NEW WAY TO LIVE, A FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT SYSTEM: “So long as we are still living under the rule of this system of capitalism-imperialism, we will defend people against attacks on their lives and on the rights that are supposed to be guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.”

At the same time, this Declaration goes on to make this crucial point: 

we need a whole different system, with a whole different Constitution—the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America—which will provide much greater rights for the people, including the basic right to have the fundamentally determining role in a new society and government whose purpose and goal is to eliminate all exploitation and oppression, everywhere.

This flows from the understanding that is concentrated in the second slogan I included at the start:

THIS WHOLE SYSTEM IS ROTTEN AND ILLEGITIMATE—WE NEED AND WE DEMAND: A WHOLE NEW WAY TO LIVE, A FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT SYSTEM!

For very good and important reasons, I have repeatedly emphasized this: It is this system of capitalism-imperialism that has given rise to this fascism, along with all its other atrocities. It is this system that must be swept away through a revolution that millions are won to actively fight for, with many millions more supporting this emancipating revolution.

The basic approach to building for and then carrying out this revolution is set forth in the important document at revcom.us: Revolution—Building Up The Basis To Go For The Whole Thing, With A Real Chance To Win: Strategic Orientation And Practical Approach. With regard to what needs to be brought into being, with the defeat of, and in place of, this system of capitalism-imperialism, this document refers to the following, from the Declaration “We Need And We Demand”:

The Existing Capitalist-Imperialist System and Institutions of Government of this Country Must Be Abolished And Dismantled—And Replaced By A New, Socialist System Based On The CONSTITUTION FOR THE NEW SOCIALIST REPUBLIC IN NORTH AMERICA.

“Building Up The Basis” goes on to make the very important point that the Declaration “We Need And We Demand” provides a basic summary of fundamental principles and specific goals of the revolution and the new society and way of living we are working for, as set forth in the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America. And this Declaration:

needs to be very broadly distributed and popularized, among millions of people, in all parts of the country, now and throughout the development toward a full-out crisis. It needs to be driven home very clearly how the new socialist Constitution provides the foundation, the framework and practical guidelines for a radically new, emancipating system, really enabling and empowering the masses of people to move to abolish inequality and discrimination, oppression and exploitation, and to provide powerful support for revolutionary struggles throughout the world striving for the same goal, while also moving quickly, systematically and effectively, to address the already acute and fast accelerating environmental crisis, with the aim of bringing into being a world where humanity can truly be fit caretakers of the Earth.

This is Bob Avakian—REVOLUTION—number 102.

This election brings out sharply that there really are “two countries” within this country.

This, in a real sense, is an extension of a fundamental division that has existed since the beginning of the so-called “United States” of America, with its foundation in slavery and genocide—a division which has never really been resolved throughout the history of this country—not through the Civil War in the 1860s, and not through changes that were brought about through the 1960s and in the years following.

As I have said before, there is a direct line from the pro-slavery Confederacy, at the time of the Civil War, to the fascism of today, with its determination to make America once again openly, aggressively white supremacist, male supremacist, and anti-LGBT people.

This division into “two countries” can find no good resolution under this system. The election of an outright fascist, Donald Trump, as the head of this system is a powerful demonstration of this.

There can be no good resolution under this system because, despite the false promises and lies of the “mainstream section” of the ruling class (represented by the Democratic Party) the whole system rests on ruthless exploitation—and oppression based on race, sex and gender, the plunder of the environment and of people throughout the world, as well as the devastation of war—all this is built into the ruling system of capitalism-imperialism.

One “country” within this country—those who support fascism—demand and celebrate this oppression and madness. 

The other “country” wants an end to this oppression and madness—but there can be no end to it, under this system.

And so long as things are on the terms of this system—and limited within the confines of this system—the fascists will have initiative which decent people cannot have.

Why? Because fascism is one way this system of capitalism-imperialism can be ruled and function, and there is a powerful section of the ruling class that is determined to impose this fascism. But putting an end to all the injustices that decent people want to see ended cannot happen under this system. And, although there is a section of the ruling class that opposes this fascism, this opposition is always on the terms and within the limits of this system. There is no part of the ruling class that will risk the kind of upheaval that will be necessary to defeat this fascism; and no part of the ruling class that will seek to bring about an end to the monstrous atrocities and profound injustices which are built into this system and which this system cannot do without.

And that is just the point: Things must no longer remain, and continue to be confined, on the terms and within the limits of this system and its ruling class.

It is time, and urgently so, for the only positive, revolutionary resolution of all this: time to resolve this fundamental divide by finally and decisively defeating the fascist “country”—and doing so as part of putting an end to this whole system which has given rise to this fascism, along with all its other atrocities. (And, as for people who actually have been misled into being part of the fascist “country”: decisively defeating this fascism, as part of doing away with this whole system, will provide the best means for jolting awake those misled people and winning them to become part of a revolutionary and emancipating resolution to all this.)

As I said at the beginning: This is not a time for demoralization and despair, resulting from accepting things on the terms of this system.

This is a time for righteous anger and revolutionary determination—a time to finally bring about a decisive, emancipating, revolutionary resolution to this conflict which, in a very real sense, has marked the “United States” from the time of its founding in slavery and genocide to the time, today, when it is the world’s most deadly and destructive oppressor, dangerously threatening the future, and the very existence, of humanity.

Time to take up and fight for what we revcoms (revolutionary communists) have clearly put forward in WE NEED AND WE DEMAND: A WHOLE NEW WAY TO LIVE, A FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT SYSTEM:

The Existing Capitalist-Imperialist System And Institutions Of Government In This Country Must Be Abolished And Dismantled—And Replaced By A New, Socialist System Based On The CONSTITUTION FOR THE NEW SOCIALIST REPUBLIC IN NORTH AMERICA.

This is Bob Avakian—REVOLUTION—Number 103.

After calling Trump a fascist, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden and other leading Democrats are now busy bragging about how they are upholding “the peaceful transfer of power,” are helping Trump with his “transition” to power, and they hope he will succeed as President! This is a repeat of what the Democrats did in 2017—even after they kept insisting this time that a Trump presidency now would be far worse than the first time around.

Once more, the Democrats themselves are driving home the crucial point I have repeatedly emphasized (for example, in my article FASCISM AND THE WHOLE SYSTEM, available at revcom.us): The Democrats, and the “mainstream” section of the ruling class that they represent, cannot fight the fascists the way they need to be fought—and this fight needs to be waged as part of fighting to abolish this whole system.

Fascism is not a “swear word”—or just some kind of negative label to put on your opponent in the course of an election. Fascism, as represented by Donald Trump, is a white supremacist, male supremacist, anti-LGBT, immigrant-hating, aggressively environment-destroying, anti-scientific, religious fundamentalist fanaticism, determined to use the power of the government to forcibly compel obedience to its dangerous and destructive lunacy, and to viciously persecute those who oppose or resist. And, now that the election is over, here are the leading Democrats anxious to cooperate with and assist the fascist Trump!

For the Democrats, the “stability” of the rule of this system of capitalism-imperialism, even in the form of fascism, is more important than actually defeating fascism.

Yet another glaring demonstration of the reality that this whole system, and every part of its ruling class, is completely rotten, criminal and thoroughly illegitimate!

As opposed to what the Democrats are helping to impose on people, what is needed is bold defiance and a determined refusal to go along with any of this—now, and in an ongoing way.

As I said in message #102: This is not a time for demoralization and despair—it is a time for righteous anger and revolutionary determination.

There will definitely be a need to defend the rights and the lives of people who are the targets of this fascism. At the same time, in the face of this fascism and those who are its supporters, there should be no defensiveness, but instead a firm stand of defiantly opposing everything they are about, and everything they do in moving to carry out this fascism.

As for people who voted for and back Trump: regardless of the reason, or rationalization, they give for doing this, the fact is that they are supporting fascism, with everything that means. And it is necessary and crucial to consistently and actively take the offensive against this. (This definitely goes for those “bros” who are openly trumpeting rape culture, assaulting women and girls with the depraved chant: “Your body, my choice!” And it goes for every other putrid expression of this fascism.)

Even more fundamentally, as I have consistently emphasized: This fascism is rooted in the very soil of this system in this country, and more and more people need to be won to recognize, and act on the understanding, that the fight against this fascism needs to be waged as part of fighting to abolish this whole system, through an actual revolution.

Coming Soon: How can I talk seriously about a revolution when the fascist Trump just got elected?

This is Bob Avakian—REVOLUTION—number 104.

Right after the election, one of the revcoms wrote up these very important points of orientation that speak to this question:

To those who might say, “Trump just won in a landslide, how are you going to win people to revolution?”—the answer is: A) Because it’s not the same people; B) There are still tens of millions of people vehemently opposed to fascism; and C) We don’t need to win over the majority of  people to be actively involved in this revolution.... we need to win over thousands in order to reach, influence, and lead millions.

The first point (A) is another way of getting at the crucial reality that I emphasized in my message #102: There are “two countries” within this so-called “United States.” Contrary to what is constantly being declared, including in the “mainstream” media, the “American people” did not vote for the fascist Trump. Basically, of those people who voted, half voted for Trump and fascism. At the same time, the other half voted against Trump and (as emphasized in point B above) there are huge numbers of people who are “vehemently opposed” to this fascism. Once more: “two countries” within this so-called “United States.”

This division cannot be covered over and cannot be resolved, in any positive way, within the confines of this system of capitalism-imperialism.  And:

So long as the horizons of people are limited to what is possible within the confines of this system—so long as people believe that the only “realistic choices,” in terms of the direction of society, involve supporting one or another ruling class party of this system (Democrat or Republican)—the result will be a continuation of horrors.

To refer back to my message #101: When this system presents us with the “choice” between a lunatic racist, woman-hating, all-around fascist (Donald Trump) and a genocidal war criminal (Kamala Harris), it is time to recognize that this system is a thoroughly rotten, monstrously criminal, massively destructive, thoroughly outmoded system—long past the time when it can represent anything positive. (And in case people are not paying attention, the Biden/Harris administration is continuing to give full support—providing arms and backing—to Israel as it even further intensifies its genocide in Gaza and its massive slaughter and destruction in Lebanon.)

As I emphasized in message #102: 

That is just the point: Things must no longer remain, and continue to be confined, on the terms and within the limits of this system and its ruling class.

It is time to look seriously for solutions outside and beyond this system.

It is time for a revolution to overthrow and uproot this whole system and bring into being a fundamentally different and much better system.

There is a need, and there is a basis, to bring forward a hardcore force of revolutionaries who have broken fundamentally with this whole system, which has brought forth this fascism, along with all its other atrocities. People who have gained the scientific understanding—and, on that basis, have the heart and determination—to make the sacrifices that are necessary not only to give leadership and direction to the determined resistance that must be built against this fascism, but also to win continually growing numbers of people to actively work for the revolution that is urgently needed to finally do away with this whole monstrous system.

This relates to the important point C. Revolutions do not come about with all of those who want a positive radical change actively involved in fighting for that revolution, while all those who oppose that positive radical change are actively fighting on the other side.

Instead, on each side there are the backbone forces directly involved in the fight, while greater numbers of people support one side or the other, or have a position of “friendly neutrality” toward one side or the other (while some try to “sit it out” or go back and forth between one side and the other).

In this country that would mean (as stated in point C) winning over thousands in order to reach, influence, and lead millions to be actively involved in the revolution—with many millions more supporting or at least sympathizing with the revolution. (Yes, that includes winning over some people from the other side, through the course of the revolution—winning them over on the basis of the strength, determination and resoluteness of the revolutionary forces.)

In the context of this all-out revolutionary fight, what have been the dominant institutions of this system are likely to split and break apart in significant ways, with the prospect of winning significant numbers to the revolution.

In order to have a real chance to bring this about, it is necessary to sharply expose and actively oppose not only the fascism spearheaded by Trump, but the whole putrid system out of whose rotting soil this fascism has grown.  As I also emphasized in message #102, this means “finally and decisively defeating” this fascism—“and doing so as part of putting an end to this whole system which has given rise to this fascism, along with all its other atrocities” (atrocities which are built into this system; atrocities which I have brought to light through these messages as a whole, and which are analyzed extensively and in depth in the American Crime series at revcom.us).

I will end, for now, with this basic point, drawing from crucial history of this country:

Leading into the Civil War in the 1860s, the election of Lincoln as President was the “last straw” that propelled the slave-owners in the South to break with the “United States” and wage war to maintain their slave-based Confederacy. Today, for those opposed to slavery and oppression in every form, this election of the fascist Trump must be the “last straw” which propels a revolutionary struggle to break with, and bring down, this whole system which, as I have shown over and over again, rests on ruthless exploitation and murderous oppression, and which has now given rise to this fascism, as the direct political descendant of the slave-owning Confederacy.

This is Bob Avakian—REVOLUTION—number 105: answering some big questions, and refuting dangerously wrong arguments.

First, this basic question, which many people are not clear about: What is fascism—and what specifically is this Trump/MAGA fascism?

Fascism is the open, undisguised dictatorship of an oppressive system. Trump/MAGA fascism represents the open, undisguised dictatorship of the system of capitalism-imperialism that rules in this country—the country that is the world’s most powerful capitalist-imperialist plunderer of people and the environment.

In my messages numbers 82, 83 and 84 I go into this more extensively, but to summarize here some crucial points:

Despite constant attempts to mislead people away from a true, scientific understanding of this, the rule of the capitalist class, in any form, is actually a dictatorship: it is the monopoly of political power by the capitalist class—and in particular its monopoly of “legitimate” armed force and violence, by its police and military. This dictatorship is based on the domination of the economy by the capitalist class: its ownership and control of what is produced, how it is produced, how goods and services are exchanged (sold) and the profits that come from this.

In the “democratic” form of this capitalist dictatorship, people are, to varying degrees, allowed certain rights, and the “rule of law” is applied as a general principle, even while all this is based on, confined within, and conforming to the rule of the capitalist class and the oppressive relations of the capitalist system. (In today’s world, this is the system of capitalism-imperialism. Capitalism-imperialism refers to the fact that capitalism has, for some time, been an international system of exploitation and oppression.)

In the fascist form of capitalist dictatorship, the “rule of law” is essentially what the fascists say it is, and the rights of people are more or less openly limited to what is allowed by the fascists, while such rights are only extended to those who go along with the rule of the fascists.

As I made clear in my 2017 speech about the first Trump regime (The Trump/Pence Regime Must Go!—available at revcom.us), the program and policy of Trump/MAGA fascism is:

relentlessly assaulting civil rights and liberties and openly promoting bigotry and inequality; acting with callous disregard or cold-blooded malice toward those they consider inferior and a drain or stain on the country; on a mission to deny health care to millions who will suffer and many who will die without it; crudely degrading women, as objects of plunder, breeders of children without the right to abortion or birth control, subordinate to husbands and men in general; defying the science of climate change, attacking the science of evolution, and repudiating the scientific method overall... intensifying state terror against Muslims, immigrants and people in the inner cities; unleashing and giving encouragement and support to brutal thugs spewing vile “America First,” white supremacist, male supremacist and anti-LGBT venom—a regime that boasts of all this and declares its intention to do even worse.

And, although, in the recent election, Trump posed as some kind of “anti-war” candidate, during his first time in power he ordered a number of acts of war—and he threatened more than once to use nuclear weapons.

Now, with Trump coming to power again—having learned from his previous experience, having “vanquished his enemies” electorally, and moving to do so in the legal arena, with the vengeance he has openly proclaimed—Trump will be determined to do far worse.

As I emphasized in Hope For Humanity On A Scientific Basis (also available at revcom.us), while capitalist dictatorship in any form is very oppressive of the masses of people, and needs to be overthrown, an overt fascist dictatorship will mean that the oppression, atrocity, plunder and destruction that is built into this system will be carried out more openly and aggressively, without the usual pretense of rights for the people or concern for the environment.

All this is the answer to those who, in one form or another, argue for going along with this fascism, or “playing by the rules of this system” in opposing this fascism—when it is this system that has given rise to this fascism, along with all its other atrocities.

As I spoke to in message #103, the leaders of the Democratic Party, after finally feeling compelled to speak to the reality that Trump is indeed a fascist, are now aiding and facilitating this fascism.

Some who are tied to, or resist breaking with, the Democrats, and the system they represent, make this argument: “We are going to be ok. We survived Nixon and Reagan, and we can survive Trump.”

This ignores the very important reality that what is represented by Trump/MAGA fascism, especially this time around, is in a whole different dimension, and on a whole other level, than what was involved with Nixon and Reagan.

It is crucial to understand this analysis from my speech The Trump/Pence Regime Must Go!: Nixon represented a move of the Republican Party in the direction of fascism, and with Reagan there was a further move in that direction. And, after George W. Bush took things still further in a fascist direction, the Trump/Pence regime, which came to power in 2017, made the leap into all-out fascism.

Now, with Trump coming to power again, after his loss—and his refusal to accept his loss—in 2020, there has been another major, qualitative leap: fascism with a vengeance, making clear that it will not accept any limits or restraints on this fascism.

Trump is determined, and already making preparations, to carry out his horrific fascist program. Only determined resistance, involving growing numbers of people and becoming truly massive, holds the possibility of creating a situation in which he will be prevented from doing so.

All this is the answer to the perverted argument that Trump won the election this time, so “in the name of democracy,” we have to accept the results and let Trump carry out his program. Well, Hitler also came to power through the “normal, legitimate” processes of democratic (“Weimar”) Germany in the 1930s, so should people have accepted that—with all the horrors it involved?!

If, in this country today, the fascist Trump is coming (or returning) to power as a result of the “normal” processes of this system, that does not make this fascism legitimate and something people should accept—instead it reveals the thoroughly rotten and fundamentally illegitimate nature of the system of capitalism-imperialism as a whole.

This powerfully demonstrates that, while a determined fight must be waged against this Trump/MAGA fascism—uniting all who can be united in this fight—in order to uproot the basis for this fascism, along with all the other atrocities of this system of capitalism-imperialism, it is necessary to finally abolish this system, and bring a much better system into being.

Coming Soon: Defend the Rights and Lives of People Targeted by Trump/MAGA Fascism. Take the Offensive in Opposition to This Fascism And The System That Has Given Rise to This Fascism.

In relation to the election—and the larger conflict it is part of (and concentrates now)—the striking fact that the “mainstream” ruling class cannot fight the fascists in the way they need to be fought has found expression again in relation to the comment by Biden that the actual “garbage” is Trump’s supporters. (This was in response to the recent Trump rally in Madison Square Garden, and specifically the racist “joke” by a “comedian” that Puerto Rico is a floating island of garbage.) The way the Democrats have allowed themselves to be put on the defensive about Biden’s remark, and the “mainstream” media have to a significant degree played into the fascists’ hands in how they have covered this: All this sharply highlights the basic point that the “mainstream” imperialist ruling class representatives cannot fight the fascists in the way they need to be fought.

Here these “mainstream” forces (including the New York Times) are finally acknowledging, and emphasizing, that Trump is an actual fascist (and Trump’s former Chief of Staff General Kelly, in his interview with the Times, even gave a fairly accurate characterization of the content of fascism) but then these “mainstream” forces become defensive—refusing to follow through on the logic: If Trump is a fascist, which he clearly is, then his supporters are supporters of fascism, and that means they are truly despicable people.

As I made clear in my social media message REVOLUTION #98 (@BobAvakianOfficial),

Don’t bother with that bulls**t that the basic reason why people support Trump is because they are having a hard time economically, and so on. In fact, many Trump supporters are well-off economically (and some are very rich). But even for those who are having a hard time economically, the really relevant question is: why do they support the all-the-time-lying, ignorance-promoting, racist, misogynist (hater of women) and all-around fascist Donald Trump? The answer can only be that, at the very least, they find nothing wrong with racism and misogyny—which makes them misogynists and racists (what a terrible irony for those Black people and other people of color who support Trump!). Just like those who supported Hitler and the Nazis in Germany, they support a fascist because fascism appeals to them.

Would, or should, anybody be defensive about saying that those who supported Hitler were despicable people?!

But the “mainstream” politicians, media, commentators, etc., cannot follow this logic to its logical conclusion. Biden immediately “clarified” his comments to indicate he was just talking about that “comedian” who made the racist “joke” about Puerto Rico (and racist “jokes” about Latinos in general—and about Black people). And, again, the “mainstream” media allow Biden’s comment to become something that puts the Democrats on the defensive.

The Democrats cannot break free of the line—continually voiced by Barack Obama for 20 years, and by others—that “we are all Americans” and the problem is that Republicans, and now especially Trump, are “dividing us” (“the American people”). The Democrats (and their “surrogates” in the media) are allowing themselves to be put on the defensive when Trump spokespeople make the argument that, after all, Trump supporters are “half the country.” The Democrats (and other representatives of the “mainstream” section of the ruling class) cannot recognize, or acknowledge publicly, that there is a whole mass fascist phenomenon in this country—of which, as I have said, Trump is both an expression and a driving force. The Democrats cannot deal with this correctly because, in the framework of elections, they think it is a losing strategy to do so (allegedly alienating those largely mythical “undecided voters”). And, for more fundamental reasons, the Democrats (and the “mainstream” section of the ruling class overall) cannot do so because to acknowledge that essentially half the country is fascist blows apart the whole “shining city on a hill” and “leader of the free world” mythology, which is crucial for the way they seek to hold the country together and project its power in the world.

The actual, larger and more fundamental dynamics are (as I pointed to, for example, in my 2017 speech The Trump/Pence Regime Must Go!) that the current polarization is basically an extension of the polarization that led to the Civil War in the 1860s. And, as I have also pointed out, the outcome of the Civil War—with the defeat of the Confederacy and the formal ending of slavery—was in decisive ways substantially reversed with the ending of Reconstruction in the 1870s, which basically paved the way for an unreconstructed South to “rise again,” not only in the sense that essentially the same kinds of forces that led the slave-owning Confederacy dominated in the South itself, but also in the sense that they increasingly exerted disproportionate power in the country as a whole. All this is a big part of the historical background and basis for the strength of fascism in the U.S. today.

The fact that, in today’s situation, the fascists have been able to win a section of people, and in particular men, who are themselves victims of white supremacy—this is to a large extent due to the role and impact of male supremacy. In this regard, there is the fact that in the historical development of this country, male supremacy—rationalized to a large extent on the basis of a literal reading of the Bible—has been closely interwoven with white supremacy. It is in those parts of the country—especially but not only the South—where white supremacy has historically been, and remains today, most overt and openly aggressive, that this is also true of male supremacy. Look, for example, at the states where draconian, severely restrictive and repressive bans on abortion have been enacted, especially after the fascist-dominated Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade: to a large degree, this is the old Confederacy (and, to use the parlance of the times, “Confederate-adjacent” areas).

But now, unlike in the time of the Civil War (and the end of Reconstruction) the U.S. is not a country with relatively limited impact in the international arena: Through the course of a number of “cycles,” or spirals, of world events, particularly involving two world wars, the U.S. has emerged as the world’s most powerful imperialist country, and the greatest plunderer of people and the environment. Of even more fundamental and decisive importance, as I emphasized in “Something Terrible, Or Something Truly Emancipating”:

This is not the time of the Civil War in the 1860s, when the goal of those fighting against injustice was to abolish slavery, and—in terms of who ruled society—the only possible positive outcome was the consolidation and strengthening of the rule of the rising capitalist class centered in the North. That time is now long gone. And this system of capitalism, which has developed into a system of worldwide exploitation and oppression, capitalism-imperialism, is long outmoded—long past its expiration date, long past any circumstances where it could play any positive role. The goal now must precisely be getting rid of this whole system of capitalism-imperialism.

All this relates to the critical point that the “mainstream” representatives of the ruling class cannot fight the fascists in the way they need to be fought. And this has very important implications precisely with regard to the fact that the fight against this fascism must be waged, not to maintain (or restore) this system of capitalism-imperialism, as it has imposed its domination over people, here and throughout the world, for generations—but, instead, this fight must be waged as part of fighting to abolish this whole monstrous system. This is of strategic, and very immediate, importance in the current situation where the contradictions and conflicts in the country overall, and within the ruling class, are deep-seated and intense, and cry out for resolution, but can have no good resolution within the framework and confines of this system.

The reality now is that the fascist section of the ruling class, represented by and concentrated in the Republican Party, is actively and aggressively engaged in a “two-pronged” move to achieve and consolidate fascist rule. These “two prongs” are: corrupting and controlling the electoral process and key government institutions; and the threat and use of violence, including through the mobilization of violent mobs. These fascists are, for now, relying mainly on the first, but with the second (violence) as an “accompaniment” to this—which could become their main means, if that proves necessary for them. In any case, if they succeed, the full power of the government—including the executive power of the presidency, the courts and legal apparatus, the prisons, as well as the police and the military—will be wielded to crush any effective opposition to fascist rule and to forcefully impose its program of “restoring” America to its mythological “greatness” on the basis of aggressive white supremacy, crude and brutal male supremacy and suppression of LGBT people, xenophobia (hatred and persecution of foreigners and immigrants, particularly from what Trump infamously referred to as “shithole countries”), forceful assertion and chauvinistic trumpeting of American dominance and “the superiority of western civilization,” along with willful rejection of science and the scientific method, especially where it would interfere with unrestrained plunder of the environment, as well as people.

***

[T]hese observations of mine, from a number of years ago now, not only have great importance in general and at all times, but are especially important now:

The religious fundamentalists, of various kinds, make a point of recruiting in the prisons, and they come with a heavy ideological message.... It is not at all the case that people can only “lose their religion” by replacing it with another religion in some form. But there does have to be another explanation about the world and existence and why this is the way it is, and how it could be different.... If you want to rupture people out of shit, not only stuff that lands them in prison, but the daily shit they are caught up in, in the society, you have to have a really strong hardcore ideological thing to bring to them.... [I]t has to be coherent and systematic. It has to explain the world—and in our case we can actually explain it in a scientific way. That’s an advantage of communism over religion, even though religion has certain short-term advantages.... But we have the advantage of actually being able to make reality make sense for people. That’s a very powerful thing.

We should not underestimate the importance, not only with prisoners but in general, of doing a lot of ideological work to really enable people to see the world in a wholly different way—really the way it is. To take the pieces of this puzzle that are all out of whack and don’t fit together—it’s like looking through a weird kaleidoscope the way most people see reality. And then it’s misinterpreted for them by all these different bourgeois and reactionary ideologies and programs, and so on, including various religious views. But communist ideology and its application to the world is a way of taking reality and having it make sense for people.

At the same time, winning basic people, and in particular the youth, to revolution also requires making further critical breakthroughs in what I have called the “George Jackson question”—the problem sharply posed by George Jackson, a prisoner who became a militant revolutionary associated with the Black Panther Party during the upsurge of the 1960s, and who grappled deeply with the question of revolutionary possibility, before he was assassinated by the authorities. To a slave who does not expect to live beyond tomorrow, Jackson said, the idea of gradual change, and revolution in some far-off future, has no meaning and no appeal.

This takes on particular and special meaning in a rare time like this—a time when revolution could actually be possible, exactly not in some vague far-off future, but through the swirl of the sharpening events and conflicts that are happening right in this present time.

Here, again, is the decisive question of how much the organized forces of revolution are built up and have an impact on all this, in the direction of the revolution that is so urgently needed.

To appeal to masses of people, and in particular basic youth, the revolution must become a growing, organized, disciplined, bold and fearless force which, through its scientifically based method, its sweeping vision, its emancipating program and goals, and its actions, is an increasingly powerful pole that will attract these youth—and fighters for revolution from all parts of society.

There is plenty that needs to be done, and urgently, which requires real boldness and heart, in working for this revolution: powerfully spreading the word about this revolution, challenging people to get into this revolution, recruiting and organizing them into this revolution—going up against and breaking through all the bullshit that people are caught up in that goes against their own real interests—doing the work that needs to be done to transform people’s thinking, and their actions—standing up against the forces oppressing the people, waging the fight that needs to be waged against the atrocities of this system—doing all this to get ready, and to have the basis, to wage the all-out fight to finally overthrow this system, as soon as the necessary conditions for that have been brought into being.

And, as the revolution grows in this way: There is plenty that needs to be done, and urgently, which requires real boldness and heart, to stand up against the fascists, and any other oppressive force, in their moves to threaten and intimidate, brutalize and even murder people. Let me make clear that I am not calling for launching unprovoked and unjustified attacks on anybody; but there is a right, and a need—and there is the responsibility—to defend the people who are oppressed and brutalized under this system, and those who represent and stand for what is right, and are being attacked because of that.

In the six Points of Attention for the Revolution—which are basic principles that the Revolution Clubs, a key form of organization for this revolution, base themselves on and fight for—the final point is this:

We are going for an actual overthrow of this system and a whole better way beyond the destructive, vicious conflicts of today between the people. Because we are serious, at this stage we do not initiate violence and we oppose all violence against the people and among the people.

Yes, this is something very serious: going for an actual overthrow of this system and a whole better way. And, yes, a big part of this is overcoming how people who are already messed over, in so many ways, by this system, get caught up in yet another way this system messes them up: fighting and killing each other. This needs to stop.

But it doesn’t need to just stop. People who have been caught up in this need to become part of something really positive—they need to become part of the forces for the revolution that is so urgently needed now.

The frustration and anger that so many feel, especially so many basic youth, because they can sense that life under this system has nothing good for them—that, from the time they are born, they are locked down and surrounded by forces that regard and treat them as alien objects of fear and hatred—and that those with power look at them as scum who deserve nothing more than a boot up the ass and a bullet in the brain—this frustration and anger needs to be redirected to fighting the system that treats them this way, and has robbed them, and so many like them throughout the world, of a decent life and a decent future, or any future at all.

Once more, there is plenty that calls, urgently, for great courage and boldness in doing what needs to be done: to be part of rising up against this system and getting ready to go all the way with revolution as soon as the time is right—and, as an important part of that, supporting, and defending, people who are constantly being subjected to unjust attacks on their rights and their very being.

There are the continuing attacks on people and movements that are rebelling against racist oppression.

There are threats against, and physical attacks on, health care officials and providers, local government officials (and their families!), as well as employees in stores, and so on, when they are advocating and implementing much-needed and life-saving measures, such as mask and vaccination mandates to deal with the continuing COVID pandemic. There are attacks on school board members not only for adopting these basic health measures but also for things like approving the teaching of some truth about the white supremacy that has always existed in this country, or allowing rights for trans people.

There are the threats, harassment and attacks on women seeking abortions, and on clinics and medical personnel working to provide those abortions, along with the escalating assault on the right to abortion by the Republican-fascist party, and those it has placed in the courts.

There are brutal and often murderous attacks on LGBT people.

There are continuing moves, including with the threat or use of violence, to once again prevent Black people and other oppressed people from even exercising what are supposed to be basic rights, such as voting. (With a scientific method and approach, it is both possible, and important, to actively oppose attempts to deny people the right to vote, and at the same time win people to see that their efforts need to go, not into voting for representatives of this system that is oppressing them, but working to build up the basis to overthrow this whole system.)

All these attacks on people and their rights need to be powerfully opposed, and people on the good side of this need to be actively protected and defended, where they are assaulted with threats and even outright physical attacks.

There is the need to prevent the police from brutalizing and just coldly murdering people. Let us remember what was said by some people who witnessed, and even recorded, the slow-motion vicious execution of George Floyd: They agonized over whether they should have done more, should have acted to stop this blatant assassination of a defenseless Black man. Now, again, what I am pointing to is consistent with point 6 of the six Points of Attention for the Revolution—and, in what I am saying here, I am not calling for launching an attack on anyone. But there is no right for anyone, including police, to just murder someone—and there is a right and responsibility to defend and protect people from unjust attacks on their rights, and on their very lives.

Imagine if, in these different kinds of situations, there were a force of hardcore revolutionaries, including basic youth, whose presence in a disciplined and organized formation made clear that no unjust attacks on people would be tolerated. But this must not just be imagined—it must be developed as one important part of the overall process of preparing for, and building the organized forces for, revolution.

This must be taken up in a serious, scientific way—not attempting, at any given point, to do what there is not yet the basis to do, but actively working to bring into being the conditions where what was not possible before becomes possible, as the organized ranks of revolution continue to grow and become steeled as a disciplined force. Taken up in this way, this can increasingly have dynamic effect—with “reverberations” and impact far beyond the immediate situation, attracting more people to this revolution... which, in turn, will make it possible to have even greater impact... and attract even larger forces.

All this is an important part of the overall approach that I have laid out in the course of this talk, which will enable what are today the small organized forces of this revolution to continue to grow—increasingly by leaps and bounds—in numbers, organized strength, and impact on society as a whole. This is what more and more people must be challenged, and enabled, to become part of.

Introduction:

Some people have argued that an attempt to make an actual revolution, to overthrow the ruling system of capitalism-imperialism in this country, up against the powerful armed forces of this system, would be suicidal. This is something I spoke to, a number of years ago now, in the talk Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution:

Many people, including many who say they would like to see a radical change in society, insist that revolution is not possible because “they” are too powerful, and “people are too messed up.” Well, it is true that, shaped as they are by this system, the masses of people, in any part of society, don’t know shit and have their heads up their asses, when it comes to an understanding of how things really are, why they are the way they are, and what could and should be done about this. But this stands in sharp contradiction to another important truth—that millions of people really do care about one or more, and many care about all, of the “5 STOPS.” This is a contradiction that we have to go to work on, to move masses of people in the direction of the revolution that is needed to finally put a stop to those “5 STOPS” and the horrific conditions to which the masses of humanity are constantly subjected. [The 5 STOPS refers to five major social contradictions and forms of oppression and devastation that are built into this system of capitalism-imperialism and which can only be eliminated through a revolution to overthrow this system.]¹⁸

It is also true that the ruling powers of this system, with the machinery of death and destruction they wield to enforce this system, are indeed very powerful. But a big part of people’s difficulty in imagining that we could actually defeat them is the inability to conceive of a situation that is radically different than the “normal” functioning of this system, a situation where, for large parts of society, the “hold” of the ruling class over people—its ability to control, manipulate, and intimidate them—is broken, or greatly weakened. Fundamentally, people cannot imagine this because they are not approaching things with a scientific outlook and method.¹⁹ (Emphasis added.)

This series of five articles speaks more fully to why such a revolution is not only urgently necessary now but why, with the right scientific approach, such a revolution could in fact have a real chance to succeed—and why anyone who really wants to see a radically different world, without all the horrors that are continually brought about, and the even greater horrors for humanity that are now threatened by this system of capitalism-imperialism needs to be actively involved in working tirelessly, with scientifically based determination, for this revolution.

The following is the first in a series of selections from my talks and writings speaking to how to go about carrying out a revolution in this country, mobilizing millions of people, with the goal of actually defeating the violent enforcers of this system of capitalism-imperialism, abolishing this system altogether, and bringing into being a radically different, emancipating system based on the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America.²⁰

 This part one contains an excerpt from “Something Terrible, Or Something Truly Emancipating” (which is available at revcom.us); and then an excerpt from a presentation to a gathering of revcoms (revolutionary communists) in 2022.

Everything depends on bringing forward a revolutionary people, from among the most bitterly oppressed, and all parts of society, first in the thousands and then in the millions, as a powerful revolutionary force, organized from the start and consistently with a country-wide perspective, impacting all of society and changing the terms of how masses of people see things and how every institution has to respond. Everything must be focused now on actually bringing forward and organizing this revolutionary force.

And then, once this revolutionary force is brought into being, everything would be focused on how to actually fight to win.

At that point, this force of millions would need to be mobilized and wielded in such a way as to make clear that it is going for a complete, revolutionary change—that it will not back down from this goal and accept anything less. In this way, it would constitute a powerful pole attracting and drawing forward even broader numbers of people from all parts of society—and it would pose a definite challenge and call to people everywhere in society, including in all the existing institutions of this system, to come over to the side of this revolution.

~~~~~~~~~~

As I said in the Dialogue with Cornel West: It is important that we are right, and righteous—it is important that we stand with the wretched of the Earth and stand up against their oppression—but we have to win. We have to actually shatter the rule of this monstrous system, and bring something radically different and much better into being. Or else, we will at best “fight the good fight” but the horrors will continue, and get even worse.²¹

The sixth point of the Points of Attention for the Revolution says this: “We are going for an actual overthrow of this system and a whole better way beyond the destructive, vicious conflicts of today between the people. Because we are serious, at this stage we do not initiate violence and we oppose all violence against the people and among the people.”²²

I have highlighted the words “Because we are serious” in order to emphasize that this Point of Attention is not a declaration of some idealist pacifist notion that the struggle against this system can and must always remain non-violent. First of all, while we are against all violence against the people and among the people, and at this stage we do not initiate (and we do not encourage others to initiate) violence, at the same time we strongly recognize and uphold the right of people to defend themselves against unjust attacks. And, more strategically, we scientifically understand that: the fundamental source of violence in the world is this system of capitalism-imperialism, that by far the greatest perpetrators of unjust violence are the ruling classes of the capitalist-imperialist powers, most of all this country—and that the fundamental reason why the abolition of this system cannot be achieved peacefully is, once again, because of the nature of this system itself, and the fact that those who rule in it would never allow their system to be swept away without attempting to violently suppress and crush any such attempt.

This is what it means that we are serious about all this.

It is with this understanding, and this orientation, that we have to very seriously approach the question of how to actually win—win in the more immediate fight, historically speaking, to seize power—and win in a way that lays the basis for winning in the largest sense, with the goal of uprooting all oppression and exploitation, all over the world, bringing into being a communist world in which human beings can truly thrive with the fullest expression of their humanity.

Next >>

Let’s begin with this: In the most fundamental sense, communist revolutions do not come about simply as a result of the revolutionary work and struggle of the communists.

Why am I raising this? To argue that what communists do is unimportant?! No—obviously not. It is of definite and vital importance for communists to work consistently, and struggle vigorously, with determination and creativity, to win masses of people to see the need for and become actively involved in preparing for and then carrying out the overthrow of the oppressive system, in order to bring into being a radically different and emancipating system. (And clearly revolutions could not come about as a result of the revolutionaries carrying out something other than consistent revolutionary work and struggle.)

But revolutions do not proceed in a straight line—and it is crucial to grasp, and act decisively in relation to, those rare times when a profound, qualitative change in the situation opens up the possibility for major advance for revolution, perhaps even the possibility of carrying things all the way to the overthrow of the existing system and the establishment of a radically different and much better system.

This possibility may not be, and generally is not, immediately apparent, and on the contrary what is often more readily seen on the surface is the way in which, in the short term, the situation is worsening.

The point is that all this can only be correctly grasped, and acted on, with a consistently scientific method and approach.

One of the most important things that such a scientific method and approach makes clear is this: Revolutions are made possible, in the most fundamental sense, as a result of the intensification of the contradictions of the oppressive system, leading to crucial turning points, providing rare opportunities for major revolutionary advance, even potentially opening the way for the victory of the revolution. And the prospects for revolution hinge to a great extent on whether the conscious forces for this revolution not only carry out consistent revolutionary work and struggle, but more specifically whether they recognize—and on that basis act boldly and with scientifically grounded determination, to take full advantage of—these crucial turning points and all-too-rare opportunities.

Of course, the role of communists is not to wait around passively for such crucial turning points and rare opportunities. On the contrary—and this is a basic point of orientation in the new communism which I have brought forward—communists must continually work to maximize the development toward, and accumulate forces for, the revolution that is needed: applying the approach of hastening while awaiting the necessary conditions that make it possible to go all out in the fight for revolution, with a real chance to win. And then, when the necessary conditions have come into being, it is of crucial importance to act decisively—to lead masses of people, in their millions, to actually seize power.

But simply going along carrying out “routine” work in the name of revolution, actually lacking any revolutionary orientation and sense of urgency—“tolling the bell” timelessly, like monks in a monastery, paying no attention to the larger developments in the world, and in particular the way the fundamental contradictions of the ruling system are becoming much more acutely posed than in “normal times”—this will result in failure to grasp the potential this opens up for revolutionary advance and will lead to throwing away the rare opportunity.

The successful communist-led revolutions, first in Russia and then in China, during the first half of the last century, illustrate these crucial lessons. (Even though the socialist systems that were established through revolution, first in Russia/the Soviet Union and then in China, were eventually overturned and capitalism restored in both countries, the essential points I have emphasized here are highlighted by the experiences of these revolutions in leading masses of people in overthrowing the oppressive old order and establishing a new, revolutionary society and government.)

Russia: World War 1 as a “Stage Manager” of Revolution

For the Russian revolution, it was World War 1, beginning in 1914, that greatly heightened the contradictions of the capitalist-imperialist system overall and in a particularly acute way within Russia. (This was a war between rival imperialist powers for the dominant position in the world, and in particular the domination and exploitation of vast colonial empires especially in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.) As this war unfolded over several years, and intensified the contradictions that led to the war, it made the objective basis and possibility for revolution more favorable, although this possibility had to be firmly grasped and actively worked on—and the opportunity to overthrow the old order had to be decisively seized, when that opportunity arose toward the end of this war. 

But it is worth noting that for some time before the start of World War 1, and then during much of that war, the Russian communists (the Bolsheviks) were severely weakened—with their leader Lenin and some other leading figures in exile, desperately hanging on in extremely difficult circumstances (with some comrades living, and even dying, on the streets). This difficult situation was to a large degree the result of the defeat of a revolutionary uprising in Russia in the decade before the start of World War 1 and the severe repression that followed that defeat. In those circumstances, many former supporters, or intellectual sympathizers, of the revolution adopted “philosophical” rationalizations for turning away from Marxism, and more than a few people within the ranks of the Bolsheviks retreated into self-indulgent individualism. Further, for much of World War 1, because the Bolsheviks took and maintained the principled stand of refusing to support their own imperialist ruling class in that war—while exposing and denouncing the war overall as imperialist—they were very unpopular among large sections of the Russian people, who especially at the start of the war were swept up in patriotic fervor in support of Russia’s involvement in the war.

But as the war dragged on, with the Russian ruling class continuing to be actively involved in this war that was causing enormous casualties for the Russian troops and terrible suffering for the masses of people in Russia, the Bolsheviks were able to increasingly win growing numbers of people and organize them into a powerful revolutionary force—including a section of the government armed forces that came over to the side of the revolution—and in the latter part of 1917 this revolutionary force succeeded in seizing power as the contradictions continued to intensify, largely as a result of the continuation of the war and the way it concentrated the underlying contradictions of the system of capitalism-imperialism.

That is what Lenin meant when he said that this war, with all of its massive destruction and terrible suffering, was a “stage manager” of revolution. But this did not happen “automatically” as a result of the mounting horrors of the war. There would have been no revolution in Russia then if the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, had not, first of all, maintained a principled stand in opposition to the war—going against the powerful tide of patriotic fervor at the beginning and for a good part of the war. Beyond that, there would have been no revolution in 1917 if Lenin had not provided decisive leadership in making the scientific analysis of the ways in which this war was greatly heightening the contradictions of the capitalist-imperialist system, overall and in a particularly acute way in Russia—or if the Bolsheviks had failed to apply this analysis and seize on the rare situation toward the end of the war when, as Lenin also put it, years and even decades of “normal times” became concentrated in months or even weeks of intensified contradictions and accelerated developments.

The Chinese Revolution and the Japanese Invasion and Occupation of China

In the late 1920s, after the slaughter of large numbers of Chinese Communists by reactionary forces headed by Chiang Kai-shek in Chinese urban areas, Mao Zedong led in making a crucial leap for the Chinese revolution: he headed a force of revolutionaries, recruited especially from among desperate sections of Chinese youth, to retreat into remote mountains and launch an armed struggle—a people’s war—against the oppressive and murderous government headed by Chiang Kai-shek (backed by “western” imperialists, including the U.S.). For several years, this people’s war succeeded in establishing and extending revolutionary base areas in the Chinese countryside and defeating successive attempts of the counter-revolutionary forces to suppress and liquidate these base areas and the revolutionary forces leading them. But, finally, in the mid-1930s, the Chiang Kai-shek government adopted new military strategy and tactics, which succeeded in forcing the revolutionaries to abandon the base areas and embark on what became known as the Long March, covering thousands of miles and ending up with the establishment of a new base area centered in Yenan in the interior of China.

Particularly with the eventual victory of the Chinese revolution—with the final defeat of Chiang Kai-shek’s forces and the establishment of nationwide revolutionary political power in 1949—the Long March has come to be seen as a great revolutionary achievement. And it was. But it is also the case that, although this Long March did make possible a new and crucial stage in the Chinese revolution, the great majority of the revolutionary forces that embarked on this Long March—numbering in the tens and tens of thousands—died in the course of it. And it is entirely possible that not only those massive numbers of revolutionary fighters, but the revolution itself, could have been killed off—at least for a whole period of time—as a result of having to abandon the original base areas and carry out the tortuous Long March.

As it turned out, even with the great losses, a significant force survived the Long March, and this force—having fought many battles and overcome many hardships—was further tempered and steeled. Then, as a result of the invasion and occupation of large parts of China by Japanese imperialism, it became both necessary and possible to rally broad sections of the Chinese people in opposition to this invasion and occupation. And the need for the broadest possible resistance against the Japanese occupation, as well as the weakened position of Chiang Kai-shek’s government as a result of this occupation, established both the necessity and the basis to enter into a united front with this Chiang Kai-shek government to fight the Japanese invaders. (Because of “the reality on the ground” Chiang Kai-shek was forced to agree to this united front, even though, during the course of the war of resistance against Japan, Chiang continued his attempts to wipe out the communist-led forces, while giving up more and more ground to the Japanese.)

The result of all this was that, through the course of World War 2—which began in 1939 and finally ended in 1945 with the defeat of Japan and its allies, including Nazi Germany—the revolutionary forces in China led by Mao grew in numbers and strength; and, after a relatively brief interlude of attempted but failed negotiations with Chiang Kai-shek, through three more years of people’s war the revolution succeeded in thoroughly defeating the reactionary forces of the old order in 1949, capturing power throughout the Chinese mainland and forcing Chiang Kai-shek to flee to the island of Taiwan.

As was the case with World War 1, this second world war came about because of the intensification of the basic contradictions of the system of capitalism-imperialism. But the course of World War 2, including the Japanese occupation of China and the war of resistance waged against that occupation, in which the revolutionary forces led by Mao played a decisive role—all this resulted in a major change in the power relations within China, in a direction more favorable for the revolution; and this prepared much of the ground for the fight for the final victory of the revolution in 1949. In a real sense, the Japanese invasion and occupation of China constituted a kind of “fulcrum,” shifting the terms of the revolutionary struggle and providing the objective basis for a crucial advance of the revolution, after the devastating setback (the need to abandon the initial base areas of the revolution) which made necessary the Long March, with not only its real achievements but also its great losses.

This is what Mao meant when he said that Japan should be thanked for invading China. Obviously, Mao was not unaware of, or unconcerned about, the terrible atrocities which Japan’s occupation forces imposed on the Chinese people. His point was that the Japanese invasion and occupation, with all the destruction and suffering it brought for hundreds of millions of Chinese people, and for the Chinese nation as a whole, ended up contributing, in a major way, to the eventual victory of the Chinese revolution, and with it the possibility of uprooting the fundamental and overall causes of the horrific exploitation and oppression to which the masses of Chinese people had been subjected not just for years and decades but for centuries and millennia.

Mao’s ironic statement—we should thank Japan for invading—reflects the reality that the invasion and occupation of China by Japanese imperialism ended up contributing, in a major way, to the success of the Chinese revolution. But this revolution could not have succeeded if those leading it, and in particular Mao, had not grasped and acted in accordance with the changing objective conditions brought about by the Japanese invasion and occupation, particularly as this took place in the overall context of World War 2—and then the qualitatively changed conditions again, within China and in the world as a whole, with the end of World War 2, in which Japan was defeated and its occupation of China ended.

Crucial Lessons for This Rare Time When Revolution Has Become—More—Possible

Of course, no one can say with certainty that the Chinese revolution could not have eventually succeeded even if Japan had not invaded (or that there could never have been a communist-led revolution in Russia without World War 1). As Mao also emphasized, Marxists are not fortune-tellers. Marxism—communism—is a continually developing science, which proceeds on the basis of analyzing a continually changing objective reality.

The point, once again, is that revolutions do not proceed in a straight line, but through many twists and turns, including setbacks and defeats, sometimes very serious setbacks and defeats, along the way. The actual process is in line with another statement by Mao, which applies to even a successful revolution—that it is a matter of fighting and failing, repeatedly, until victory is finally achieved. And, all along the way, there is a need to apply a scientific method and approach to learn not only from advances, and from what prove to be correct policies, but also from mistakes, difficulties, setbacks and defeats, to continually make a scientific analysis of the constantly changing situation, and to recognize and seize on openings for advance, especially situations where there are profound, qualitative changes in the objective situation providing the potential for major advance, even perhaps the victory of the revolution.

Through the application of this scientific method and approach, it can be, and has been, firmly established that there is a basis and a possibility—not a certainty or “inevitability” but an actual basis and possibility—for revolution aiming for a communist world to ultimately triumph. And even while today the conditions in the U.S. and the world are vastly different than they were during the different phases of the Chinese revolution, in the first half of the last century, or the Russian revolution in 1917—and revolution in this country obviously will not and cannot come about as some kind of “copy” of either of those revolutions—especially in these tumultuous times now, the possibility of an actual revolution is real, yes right in this powerful imperialist USA. But this possibility cannot be grasped without the scientific method and approach of communism, as it has been further developed with the new communism. And a revolution will not, and cannot, be brought about without applying this method and approach to continually make, and act on, a scientific assessment of the constantly, and now rapidly, changing objective reality—including the daunting challenges and vexing difficulties, but most fundamentally the development of the contradictions of the system of capitalism-imperialism and the consequences of this, on a world level as well as within this country itself.

This scientific approach is especially crucial in those times when the contradictions of this system are changing in a major way—and, above all, those rare times when, as Lenin noted, years and decades of “normal times” become concentrated in months or even weeks, when contradictions are repeatedly intensified and changes rapidly accelerated, heightening the prospect of great disaster for humanity but also the possibility of wrenching a radically different and far better future, through revolution.

This is one of those rare times.

Why? As explained in Organizing for an Actual Revolution: 7 Key Points,

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.⁸

This, once more, requires resolutely “going against the tide” of spontaneous mass sentiments, including the stubborn tendency of many to remain stuck in the well-worn rut of relying on “the way things have always been,” even as that “way” is being profoundly disrupted and shattered by the intensifying, and even potentially existential, “earthquakes” erupting in this country and the world overall. As I have emphasized before, people—masses of people, in different parts of society—need to be shaken awake, through sharp, and at times fierce, struggle to get them to confront the very real horrors shaping up on the near horizon but also the real possibility for a revolutionary way forward out of this madness. This means breaking with the dominant relations and ways of thinking of this putrid system of capitalism-imperialism, including its quicksand trap of elections to choose between the Democrat and Republican representatives of the ruling class of this system.

The following, which I wrote years ago now, has greatly heightened and urgent meaning today:

Indeed, if and when conflicts among different sections of the ruling class reach the point where they are beginning to assume antagonistic proportions themselves, that is a sign of extremely deep and acute cracks and fissures in the entire established order; and such a situation must be seized by the oppressed not to side with one section of the bourgeoisie against another—thus helping the ruling class to “repair” the rupturing old order and reinforce its dictatorship, in one form or another—but instead to rise in revolutionary struggle to overthrow the rule of the bourgeoisie altogether.⁹

Masses of people: all those who suffer so horribly in the “normal times” of living under the rule of this system of capitalism-imperialism...all those who hunger for a more just world and a future worth living in, but whose future will be something truly terrible if things are allowed to continue on the terms set by this system... Masses of people, in continually growing numbers, must be made aware of the meaning and implications of this rare time, including through fierce struggle as necessary to win them to raise their sights and recognize not only the necessity but the possibility to seize on this rare time to make revolution and wrench something really positive, yes something truly emancipating, out of this rare time.