BOB AVAKIAN: A RADICALLY DIFFERENT LEADER—A WHOLE NEW FRAMEWORK FOR HUMAN EMANCIPATION

Bob Avakian (BA) is the most important political thinker and leader in the world today.

February 8, 2020 | revcom.us

Bob Avakian is completely different than the endless stream of bourgeois politicians who are put forward as “leaders,” whose goal is to maintain one variation or another of this system of capitalism-imperialism that is founded on and perpetuates itself through cruel and literally life-stealing exploitation, murderous oppression, and massive destruction, in all parts of the world. BA is a revolutionary who bases himself on the scientific understanding that this system must finally be overthrown through an organized struggle involving millions of people, and replaced with a system that is oriented to and capable of meeting the most fundamental needs of humanity and enabling humanity to become fit caretakers of the earth.

Bob Avakian is the architect of a whole new framework of human emancipation, the new synthesis of communism, which is popularly referred to as the "new communism."

BA is the author of the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America, an inspiring application of the new communism—a sweeping vision and concrete blueprint for a new socialist society, whose fundamental goal is to bring about a world without classes and class distinctions, a world without exploitation and oppression, and without the destructive divisions and antagonisms among people: a communist world.

Ardea Skybreak, a scientist with professional training in ecology and evolutionary biology, and a follower of Bob Avakian, speaks to the importance of what he has brought forward:

Bob Avakian ... on the basis of decades of hard work [has been] developing a whole body of work—theory to advance the science of communism, to advance the science of revolution, to more deeply explain where the problems come from, what the strategy is for getting out of this mess, what the methods and approaches should be to stay on track and actually build a better world, to build a society that most human beings would want to live in. (From 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, An Interview with Ardea Skybreak)

BA is a leader who is firmly convinced, on the basis of a consistently scientific method and approach, that the goal must be nothing less than all-out revolution, and who at the same time has emphasized:

the new communism thoroughly repudiates and is determined to root out of the communist movement the poisonous notion, and practice, that “the ends justifies 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 Breakthroughs: The Historic Breakthrough by Marx, and the Further Breakthrough with the New Communism, A Basic Summary)

As a revolutionary leader, BA also embodies this rare combination: someone who has been able to develop scientific theory on a world-class level, while at the same time having a deep understanding of and visceral connection with the most oppressed, and a highly developed ability to “break down” complex theory and make it broadly accessible.

A leader like this has never before existed in the history of this country, and this leadership is of tremendous importance for the emancipation of all humanity.

What is urgently needed now is for continually growing numbers of people—in the thousands, and ultimately millions—to become conscious and active followers of BA, building the revolutionary movement, based on the new communism, for which BA provides this unprecedented leadership.

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June 1, 2020 | revcom.us

To all those who have risen up so powerfully and are demonstrating to say “No More!” after the murder of George Floyd, and all the other cold-blooded murders by police.

To all those who have drawn inspiration from this righteous uprising.

To all those who have had the blinders forced from their eyes and have been provoked to think anew about what kind of country it is that we live in.

This has raised the biggest questions about what is needed for people everywhere to live fully as human beings:

AN END TO INSTITUTIONALIZED RACISM
AND MURDER BY POLICE—NOTHING LESS!

AN END TO ANY WAY PEOPLE ANYWHERE ARE
USED, ABUSED, AND BRUTALIZED—NOTHING LESS!

We need a world without white supremacy and male supremacy—a world where no one is regarded as “alien”—a world without war, where people from all over the globe, with a beautiful flowering of diversity, act together for the common good and are truly caretakers of the earth.

THIS IS NOT JUST A DREAM.

The possibility for this is being powerfully demonstrated in this uprising of the people, of all different races and genders, from all parts of the world—refusing to remain silent or stay passive while all this oppression and brutality goes on.

To Make All This Real
We Need: REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS!

A strategic plan for how to make this revolution, and a sweeping vision and concrete blueprint for a radically different and much better world, where all this can become possible—can be found in the work I have done, including the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America.

You can learn more about this revolution and become part of making it a reality by going to revcom.us and joining with the revcoms.

We do not need to live in this world where so much of humanity suffers so unnecessarily under this system of capitalism-imperialism that cannot exist without exploiting and degrading people, suffocating their humanity and killing them without mercy.  We can do much better!  Don’t listen to talk about how “it can never happen.” 

Look around you—what seemed impossible yesterday is happening right now!  Revolution, why should we settle for anything less?

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RACIAL OPPRESSION
CAN BE ENDED—
BUT NOT UNDER THIS SYSTEM

by Bob Avakian

June 15, 2020 | revcom.us

Everywhere we go, and in everything we do, we revcoms boldly put forward: REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS!

This is not just a slogan—though it is a very good and very important slogan. It is the concentrated statement of a very profound truth, which is also captured in our slogan: This System Cannot Be Reformed—It Must Be Overthrown!

But what do we mean in saying that this system cannot be reformed, and why is that true? In Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution, I speak to the “5 STOPS”—deep and defining contradictions of this system—and all the terrible suffering to which this system of capitalism-imperialism subjects the masses of humanity, and why all this cannot be ended under this system.¹ Here I am going to focus on the systematic and murderous oppression of Black people, and racial oppression overall—which has been sharply exposed with the outpouring of outrage sparked by the murder of George Floyd—and discuss the basic reasons why this oppression cannot be eliminated under this system, but can (only) be ended through revolution.

The continuing terror and murder carried out by the police particularly against Black people (as well as Latinos and Native Americans) is not fundamentally because the police are racist—although, speaking of the police overall, that is certainly true. The fact that the police are racist is itself an expression and a function of the fact that terror and murder against Black people (and other people of color) is required by this system—is necessary in order to maintain the “order” of this all-around oppressive system—and this would be much more difficult to carry out if the police were not racist.

The Fundamental Causes of This Oppression

But, going deeper, why is this terror and murder necessary for this system, in order to ensure its “order” and its ongoing functioning? The answer is that, from the beginning of this country, white supremacy has been poured into the foundation and built into the institutions and the ongoing functioning of this system. Specifically with regard to Black people, the centuries of oppression they have suffered—from slavery days to the days of Jim Crow segregation and Ku Klux Klan terror, to the present time, with the continuing systematic discrimination against Black people, in every part of society (employment, housing, education, health care, and on and on)—all this has resulted in a situation where masses of Black people today, and in particular youth, have been robbed of a means for a decent life, with many maintained in conditions of desperate poverty and deprivation. This, again, is not simply because those who are in the seats of power and deciding government policy are racist (though that is true of most of them). It is fundamentally because of the nature of the system itself and the historically-evolved requirements and dynamics of this system of capitalism-imperialism.

Now, that is a big mouthful (“the nature of the system itself and the historically-evolved requirements and dynamics of this system of capitalism-imperialism”), so let’s break it down. This country was founded on the enslavement of masses of African people, as well as the genocidal subjugation of Native Americans and theft of their land (and its further development involved the conquest of huge parts of Mexico, reducing people of Mexican origin to second-class status as well). This required the propagation of racism to “justify” all the horrific oppression. Then, when the Civil War broke out over the question of slavery, and even when slavery was abolished as a result of that Civil War, given that white supremacy had been, and remained, such a crucial part of the “glue” holding the country together, the only way to “put it back together,” on the foundation of the capitalist system, was to once again forcefully assert white supremacy. That is why, very soon after the end of the Civil War, Black people were subjected to the system of Jim Crow segregation (backed up by systematic terror, punctuated by repeated lynchings), while the genocidal aggression against and theft of the land of Native Americans was stepped up, and immigrants from Mexico were subjected to ongoing discrimination and violence by the enforcers of this system.

Generations later, during World War 2, because of the needs of the rulers of this country in waging that war, large numbers of Black people were able to migrate to the North and get jobs in industries that served the war effort. And then, largely as a result of the fact that the U.S. was on the winning side of that war—and the fact that the war was not fought on its territory and it experienced no damage to its industrial facilities and infrastructure—there was an expansion of the economy in this country after the war. In this situation, significant numbers of Black people were able to continue getting employment in large numbers, including some better-paying jobs in factories (making steel, cars, and so on).

But, at the same time, because of the white supremacy built into the system over centuries—and the fact that really moving to overcome this would tear apart the fabric of the system and crack its very foundation—Black people continued to be subjected to systematic discrimination, including in employment (with “last hired and first fired” an accurate description of the situation of Black people with regard to employment). To cite another ugly example, government policy with regard to housing involved conscious, deliberate discrimination: after World War 2, loans were given to white people to enable them to buy their own homes, and increasingly move to the suburbs, while this was denied to Black veterans (and others) and instead Black people were piled into segregated housing projects in the inner cities. And this was part of the continuing systematic segregation and discrimination to which Black people were subjected.

As a result of the Civil Rights movement and then the more radical Black liberation movement in the 1960s, some concessions were made, and there has been an increase in the number of “Black faces in high places” and a growth of the Black middle class, although their situation is far more precarious than that of white middle class people (something which was cruelly demonstrated in the 2008 crisis, which resulted in large numbers of Black people losing their homes and much, if not all, of any savings they had). And, in more recent times, huge numbers of factories and other sources of jobs for people in the inner city have closed down, often moving their operations elsewhere—particularly to countries in the Third World (Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia) where the desperate situation of masses of people, including children, has left them vulnerable to being super-exploited, at near-starvation wages.

All this, together with increased automation and “cybernation” of production, when combined with the ongoing segregation and discrimination built into this system, has led to a situation where huge numbers of Black people, and especially youth, have, for generations now, not only been unemployed but are left with no prospect of meaningful employment in the regular (“formal”) economy.

The “Toxic Combination” of Capitalism and Racism

Here we see the “toxic combination” of systematic, historically-evolved segregation and discrimination, enforced with brutal violence by the powers-that-be, together with the basic functioning and requirements of the capitalist economy—which involves the greater and greater concentration not just of wealth, but of the means of production (technology, factories and other physical structures, sources of raw materials, and so on) in the possession and under the control of large-scale capitalist enterprises and financial institutions, which are locked in cut-throat competition with each other, not just within a particular country but increasingly on a global scale, and are therefore driven to ruthlessly exploit people and constantly search for ways to even more viciously super-exploit large numbers of desperate people, including children, in a worldwide network of sweatshops. (For example, cell phones and computers depend on the mineral coltan which is mined under horrific conditions by people, including large numbers of children, in the Congo in Africa; and a large part of the clothes that are bought in the U.S. are produced by huge numbers of women working in horrific conditions in the Asian country of Bangladesh.)

In this situation, and especially with the growth of the international drug trade, and its deep penetration into the U.S., many of those, in particular youth, who found themselves locked out of the “formal economy,” have turned to drug-dealing, as well as other criminal activity—something which has been encouraged by government policy that has actually resulted in the movement of large amounts of drugs into the inner city, even as the authorities seize on this situation to carry out systematic repression against the youth in particular, with such things as “stop and frisk.” The result of all this has been a huge increase in mass incarceration, as well as the continual murder of large numbers of “minority” youth by police.

At the same time, the way that the U.S. has continued to dominate Mexico, as well as other parts of Latin America, and to distort the economies, corrupt the governments and bring ruin to the social relations among the people in those countries—all this has resulted in large numbers of people being forced to flee those countries and migrate to the U.S., where they are vulnerable to being viciously exploited in factories and farmlands, and other parts of the economy of this country. And large numbers of the younger generations of these immigrants have also formed (or joined existing) gangs and become involved in the drug trade and related crime.

More recently, however, in at least many of the inner-city neighborhoods, for a number of reasons—including the fact that the “crack epidemic” had taken a terrible toll on people—there has been a decrease in the trade in cocaine and the high profits this brought for the relatively small number of “higher-ups” in the drug trade hierarchy. For a period, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s, given their desolation and desperation, the drug trade was a “major employer” of youth in the inner cities, female as well as male, and a major source of at least a basic income for many (even if the promise of “getting rich” remained an illusion for most). Now, even this source of employment and income—as perverse and harmful as it is—has dried up or greatly diminished for many. This has further added to the miserable situation of massive numbers of inner-city youth in particular who have no future—under this system—no future but prison, an early death or a life of desperate hustling, in one form or another, in the attempt to survive and care for loved ones.

All this cannot be changed—cannot be transformed and overcome—within the confines of this system. Despite what any politician (“liberal” or outright fascist like Trump) may say, there is no way that this system could “reverse itself,” bring large parts of industry back to the inner city and provide meaningful employment, with “a living wage” for all those it is now depriving of this. Even if the government had the “political will” to try to do this, doing so (with the employment of millions of formerly unemployed or “underemployed” people at a “living wage”) would seriously undermine the competitive positions of American capitalists in the global economy. And, if they attempted to do this while at the same time trying to seriously overcome the whole historically-evolved relations of white supremacy, this would completely disrupt the social “cohesion” that “holds this country together,” with white supremacy a crucial part of this.

It is one thing for “good-hearted people”—and in particular many white people—to say (and sincerely mean) that it is wrong for the police to just wantonly, cruelly murder people, and to mobilize in protest against this. But imagine what would happen if, under this system and with the way its economy functions, the government tried to adopt policies that would deal with the long-term unemployment of Black people in the inner cities, who have not only been denied jobs but also the training for the jobs that do exist—imagine what the reaction would be of many white people who would in fact lose their better-off positions as a result of these policies. Imagine what would happen if these kinds of policies were applied not just to employment, but to education, and on down the line. (We have already seen the “backlash” that was fostered in response to even minimal efforts to implement “affirmative action” programs in employment and education.)

Again, this is not simply a matter that “white people are racist.” Many are racist, although many do not want to be. But the deeper problem is that given the basic way the capitalist economy works, and how everyone is encouraged to be “out for yourself”—and, more fundamentally, the fact that people are actually driven and compelled to compete with each other in every significant part of life, including employment and education—it would actually create destructive chaos and conflict among the people, and tear apart the “cohesion” of the society, to try to really and fully undo and overcome the reality and effects of centuries of racist oppression—under this system.

This most definitely and emphatically is NOT an argument for holding back from struggling against every form of discrimination, inequality and oppression in every part of society. Fighting back against oppression, and wrenching concessions from the powers-that-be, is very important—in enabling masses of people to feel their own strength in standing up and standing together in opposing oppression, and drawing people from all parts of society to join in this struggle—rather than feeling isolated, beaten down and hopeless. And it is important in contributing to the ability of masses of people to gain the understanding and build up the organization necessary for the final all-out struggle to bring down the whole oppressive system. But that is just the point—as important as these mass struggles are, if they are not built toward, and do not finally get to the point of, taking on the whole system, with the aim of bringing it down, and bringing something much better into being, then, as I have emphasized before, even where concessions are won, “so long as this system remains in power, there will be powerful forces who will move to attack and undermine, and seek to reverse, even these partial gains,” and people will remain oppressed and once more weighed down with a feeling of demoralization, as they are once again divided and pitted against each other.²

The basic and crucial point is that the fight against racial oppression (and all oppression) must not remain confined within the limits of this system, and instead must be carried out and carried forward as part of the overall struggle toward the goal of abolishing this system. The fact that this oppression cannot be abolished under this system is not a reason for giving up in despair—it is a compelling reason why this system must be and can be abolished—and it is the fundamental basis for why people can be won to wage the revolutionary struggle to finally bring it down!

All this is why there will not be any real and meaningful move by the powers-that-be (and any of its politicians and political parties) to overcome the centuries-long experience and legacy of brutal racist oppression and the situation it has led to today, where millions and millions of Black youth and other youth of color have no prospect of a decent future—under this system.

As I have pointed out before: “So what does this system do with youth that have no future and no prospects? It contains them.... contains them violently.”³

And all this is why there is systemic and systematic police terror directed at Black people and other people of color. It is why this is brought down not only on the youth (and others) in the inner cities, but why it can and does lead to harassment, brutality and murder of any Black person, anywhere, even those with more education and status in society. If the system needs the police to “violently contain” the masses of people in the inner cities—and it does—then this is bound to “spill over” and be applied to Black people, and other people of color, more generally. The police have neither the interests, nor the ability, nor the will to make distinctions between “good” ....... (fill in the blank as to what racist terms they use) and “bad” ones. And, beyond that, the “random” nature of the brutality and murder makes it all the more effective in terrorizing people—making everyone, even the “better off,” feel, correctly, that they could be a target of this.

There IS a Solution: Revolution and a Radically New and Different World

It is for all these reasons that racist oppression will continue so long as people are living under the domination of this system of capitalism-imperialism. It is not only right but crucially important to rise up and wage a determined fight against this, but it is also crucial to recognize that this racist oppression will never be, can never be, eliminated under this system—and, to finally put an end to it, we need a radically different system.

We need a radically different economic system—a socialist economic system (mode of production) that is geared to and proceeds by developing and utilizing the means of production collectively, to meet the needs of the masses of people, materially (for employment, food, housing, health care, and so on) as well as their needs intellectually and culturally, and to provide them with the means not only to live a life worthy of human beings, but also to scientifically understand the basis and need, and to more and more consciously take part in, carrying forward the transformation of society to finally and completely eliminate all relations of oppression and exploitation, and to support that struggle throughout the world. And, as one of its highest priorities and goals, this will involve the determined struggle to overcome and finally eliminate racial oppression in every aspect of society.

The radically different socialist economy (mode of production) will provide the foundation on which the ongoing process of uprooting racial oppression, and all oppression, can be waged on favorable ground, and can finally succeed in overcoming all this. The following from my work Breakthroughs speaks to this key relation and process:

Ultimately, the mode of production sets the foundation and the limits of change, in terms of how you address any social problem, such as the oppression of women, or the oppression of Black people or Latinos, or the contradiction between mental work and manual work, or the situation with the environment, or the situation of immigrants, and so on. While all those things have reality and dynamics in their own right, and aren’t reducible to the economic system, they all take place within the framework and within the fundamental dynamics of that economic system; and that economic system, that mode of production, sets the foundation and the ultimate limits of change in regard to all those social questions. So, if you want to get rid of all these different forms of oppression, you have to address them in their own right, but you also have to fundamentally change the economic system to give you the ability to be able to carry through those changes in fundamental terms. To put it another way: You have to have an economic system that doesn’t prevent you from making those changes, and instead not only allows but provides a favorable foundation for making those changes.⁴

The Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America provides a sweeping vision and concrete blueprint for such a radically different economic system, and for government institutions, laws and a legal system, as well as an approach to education, science, art and culture that go along with this mode of production and contribute to its continual development, opening the way to finally eliminating all oppression and exploitation.⁵ And in Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution (as well as other works of mine) the basic strategy is spelled out for carrying out the revolution that will make it possible to apply this Constitution in working to bring about a world free of all the unnecessary suffering and madness to which the masses of humanity are subjected under the domination of this system of capitalism-imperialism.

This is why, and this is how, racial oppression, and all the oppression, which is built into this system of capitalism-imperialism, can be ended—but only through a revolution to abolish this system.

This is why we continue to emphasize this basic truth: we have two choices: either, live with all this—and condemn future generations to the same, or worse, if they have a future at all—or, make revolution!

This is why we continue to boldly raise the slogan: REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS!

1. The text and video of this speech by Bob Avakian (Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution) is available at revcom.us. [back]

2. The statement quoted in this part of this article is from Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution. [back]

3. Bob Avakian On Police Brutality And Murder: Consent Decrees Won’t Stop This—We Need A Revolution! This excerpt from a Question and Answer Session with Bob Avakian, after his presentation in 2018 in Chicago of the speech Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution, is also available at revcom.us. [back]

4. This statement is contained in Breakthroughs: The Historic Breakthrough by Marx, and the Further Breakthrough with the New Communism, A Basic Summary, by Bob Avakian, which is available at revcom.us. It originally appeared in the book by Bob Avakian, The New Communism: The science, the strategy, the leadership for an actual revolution, and a radically new society on the road to real emancipation, Insight Press, 2016. Italics in the original. [back]

5. The Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America, authored by Bob Avakian, is also available at revcom.us. [back]

REVOLUTION, ROGER FEDERER'S TENNIS:
WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?
A LOT, ACTUALLY.

by Bob Avakian

June 1, 2020 | revcom.us

The title of this article will likely come as a surprise to many—not least Roger Federer himself, since he is clearly not an advocate of the kind of revolution I am talking about, a revolution to bring about socialism and ultimately communism throughout the world, in place of the current capitalist-imperialist system that now dominates the world. Federer himself is not merely a tennis player with world-class—and, as I will speak to, unrivaled—abilities; he is also a multi-millionaire, on the verge of becoming a billionaire, as a result of business deals and investments that his tennis achievements have made possible. (At the same time, Federer has devoted significant resources, and personal efforts, to charity benefitting children in southern Africa in particular, and he is widely respected and admired for being, at the risk of sounding corny, “a genuinely nice guy” on a personal level. Federer, from the small country of Switzerland, is one of the most recognized, and popular, athletes in the world, not only among tennis fans but more generally, and that is not just because of his accomplishments on the court, or simply because of successful “marketing of his brand,” but also because of what people perceive in his personality.)

What is put forward in the title of this article—that Federer’s tennis has a lot to do with revolution—can be understood to be profoundly true, once there is the necessary appreciation for both Federer’s unique, unmatched approach to and performance in tennis and what the revolution I am speaking of is, and needs to be, all about. Here, I am not going to enter directly into the debate about whether Federer, or on the other hand one of his current main rivals, Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal, is the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) in men’s tennis ( although I have made a case for why that title legitimately rests with Federer in an Appendix at the end of this article). What defines Federer’s tennis, and more than anything sets it apart from even his greatest rivals—more than all of his great accomplishments, playing at the highest level of men’s tennis for nearly two decades, from the time he was around 20 to the time, now, when he is approaching 40—is the artistry and beauty of his game. And the revolution I am talking about—a revolution guided by communism, in its further development with the new communism that has resulted from decades of work that I have carried out—this revolution, and the radically different society and world that it aims to bring into being, could not do without, and has as one of its main goals and requirements, precisely an appreciation of and the flowering of beauty and artistry, in many different dimensions of human endeavor.

As I have emphasized, one of the essential qualities that defines human beings is “the need to be amazed.”¹ Certainly, in the tennis of Roger Federer there is a continual source of amazement. It is not simply that he can—and, in the course of his matches, repeatedly does—hit every conceivable shot (and many that seem inconceivable). It is not just the fact that, if you pay careful attention, you can see an incredible display of skill and artistry even when Federer hits a ball to a ball girl or boy (young people responsible for collecting and distributing balls to the players) between points in a match. It is, more than anything, the footwork, the movement—the flow—as Federer floats around the court to get himself in position to hit the ball. While with more or less everyone else among the world’s top men’s tennis players—including Djokovic and especially Nadal—their movement is broadcast with various noises, and their striking of the ball is often accompanied by audible, and often loud, grunts, Federer moves silently, seemingly effortlessly, and the only sound accompanying his strokes is that of the racket meeting and delivering the ball, with an incredible consistency, to just the spot where he intends it to go. Metaphors that could be invoked to describe this movement, such as those comparing it to ballet or other dance, are not, in this case, cliches but actually come close to capturing the fluidity and beauty of Federer’s movement.

Djokovic and Nadal are clearly great tennis players—legitimately considered among the greatest of all time—but one of the things that sets Federer apart from them (and this may seem ironic or even illogical at first) is the fact that their greatest strength is their consistency, while in the course of a match, or a tournament, Federer is likely to have more “ups and downs.” Nadal is relentless, intensely playing each point, and even each shot, as if the whole match depended on it; and, besides—or, in a real sense, even more than—his highly skilled shot-making, it is the wearing down of his opponents through this relentlessness that marks Nadal’s game and accounts for his great success. The key to Djokovic’s game is his defensive skill, which rests to a large degree on his considerable physical flexibility: he is able to return powerful (and/or well-placed) serves and great ground strokes by his opponent, time after time, in a way that puts Djokovic in at least a “neutral position,” and often at an advantage, in relation to the opponent, enabling Djokovic to eventually turn defense into offense and win the point. Here, again, although in a somewhat different way than with Nadal, it is Djokovic’s consistent relentlessness that is his greatest strength.

With Federer it is different. As more than one observer has commented, Federer is an artist, and with an artist you are going to have times of brilliance, beyond what others are capable of achieving, and you are also going to have times when that brilliance does not fully shine. Ironically again, to some degree errors on Federer’s part (and specifically what, in tennis terms, are considered “unforced errors”) stem from his tremendous abilities, particularly his movement and footwork, which allow him to be in position to hit a variety of shots at a given time, and his “racket skill” which enables him to execute so many different shots. There are many instances when Federer gets himself into a position where he has many options in terms of hitting a shot, and on some occasions having so many options—rather than being more limited and forced to just play quickly and “instinctively”—actually results in Federer “out-smarting” himself, including sometimes when he “changes his mind at the last second” about where and how to hit the ball, causing him to either hit an ineffective shot or to miss a relatively easy shot and lose the point. One of the things that makes Federer so uniquely great and breathtaking to observe is that we see the artist at work, trying things that others would not dare to try, willing to fall down at times, in the immediate, in order to find the way to reach the greatest heights.

This comes through in all aspects of Federer’s performance on the court. There is the unrivaled precision, combined with artful deception, in Federer’s game. This finds perhaps its most concentrated expression in Federer’s serve (starting the point), which is one of the very best and most impactful in the men’s game. In the case of Federer, this is not because of raw speed and power—there are many in the men’s game who significantly exceed Federer in those categories—but rather because of disguise (it is very difficult to tell where Federer is going to deliver his serve) and placement (he regularly succeeds in putting the ball right where, or very near to where, he intends to place it with his serve). With his ground strokes, once the point is underway (on his own serve or that of his opponent), it is the same—the same deception and precision, combined with effective power, or subtle “touch.” Watching Federer “paint the lines” (hit the ball right on, or very close to, a sideline or the baseline) is indeed like taking in a breathtaking painting. And there is no equal, anywhere in tennis, to his balance and racket skill at the net (volleying back a shot by the opponent from a position near the net) and here, too, he often makes even the most difficult of these shots seem effortless.

Once again, it is the movement that underlies all this and makes it all possible. As tennis author and journalist Mark Hodgkinson puts it, in a book analyzing not just Federer’s prowess and accomplishments but his unique presence on the court: Federer “Moves Like A Whisper.”²

To some, in particular those who have never concerned themselves with questions of this kind, this might seem “forced,” but in the way Federer is able to use his movement, and his other remarkable skills, to neutralize and overcome the raw power of the “heavy hitters” in men’s tennis, there is an analogy to how the stranglehold of the world’s most powerful oppressive forces could actually be broken and shattered, by the creative action of masses of people, freeing them to embark on the road of bringing into being a society and world free of oppression. But the comparison and relevance of Federer’s tennis to revolution cannot, and should not, be reduced to that. Beyond that, it is the fulfilling of profound human needs—“the need to be amazed,” the appreciation of artistry and beauty—that is the link between the tennis of Roger Federer and the revolution that humanity needs.

Federer’s tennis is not simply the product of a genetically-established high-level athleticism, but also of a great appreciation for the creative and innovative, beyond that of even his most highly skilled world-class contemporaries and competitors. Among the highest level tennis champions, it is only Roger Federer who will frequently experiment with shots, running the risk of losing a point, or even a game, during the course of a match in a high-stakes tournament. It is only Roger Federer who would feel, and at times say openly, that if he did not do this he could find such a match boring, even while he was winning. This is not a “lack of discipline” on Federer’s part, but once again a real appreciation for, and giving life to, an artistry and beauty that can and should characterize the sport of tennis—and does, in its highest form, in the game of Roger Federer. There are a few others near the top ranks of tennis who are willing, or who feel the need, to try “trick shots” and other displays of artistry, at the risk of losing a point, a game, or even a match. Nick Kyrgios, an athletic and highly-skilled young player from Australia, is the most striking example of this, but neither Kyrgios nor anyone else besides Federer has achieved the combination of brilliant artistry with the necessary focus and, yes, discipline—channeling and translating this into world-class level competitive tennis, with the consistency required to repeatedly win matches and tournaments, including the most prestigious and highly-prized Grand Slam tournaments (which involve all, or nearly all, of the world’s top tennis players and require winning seven consecutive matches, within the two week period of the tournament, in order to claim the title).

As much as there is a “magical quality” to Federer’s tennis, it is at the same time the product of consistent hard work—both off the court, in physical work-outs, to reach the peak of fitness, and on the court, in endless hours of practice. And there is the constant striving to increasingly master the game mentally. Federer is a great student of tennis. It has been noted, and demonstrated in practice, that he is very often able to tell (in observing the footwork and position, and knowing the “preferred tendencies,” of his opponent) where that opponent is going to hit a shot, even before that opponent has begun his stroke. And Federer possesses the greatest ability to adapt his game, including in the middle of a match—something that can be seen not only by serious students of the game but even by more casual observers in paying attention to the changes he makes in his approach, including the kind of shots he chooses to make, whether he “stays back” on the baseline or increasingly “comes to the net,” and so on.

All his mental as well as physical preparation and continual “refinement” of his game underlies and is the basis for Federer’s ability to both have tremendous success competitively and to do so with his unparalleled artistry. Hodgkinson writes that, early on, Federer was inclined toward the stand that doing things with artistry was even more important than winning, even as Federer has always had a very strong competitive drive. This was reflected, even fairly far into Federer’s success atop the men’s game, in the fact that Federer resisted using the “drop shot” (hitting the ball just a little ways over the net, especially when the opponent is far back in the court), believing that this shot was somehow a violation of the aesthetics (and perhaps the ethics) of tennis. But, not only did Federer change his mind on this and develop one of the game’s most effective, and yes artistic, drop shots, but more generally, and fortunately for Federer—and for everyone who appreciates the beauty with which the game of tennis can be played—Federer has achieved an unrivaled combination (or synthesis) of artistry and competitive achievement overall.

And he has continued to adapt to competitive challenges, and to technological changes that have affected the competitive challenges. For example, less than a decade ago, Federer was still playing with a racket that was smaller than those of nearly all of his major opponents, feeling that he possessed the necessary skill to hit the shots he needed/wanted to hit, and to avoid excessive errors, with this smaller racket. But the rising level of competition finally convinced Federer to increase the size of his racket, which has played a significant part in his finally gaining a decisive upper hand over his long-time rival and significant nemesis Rafael Nadal. In coming back from a knee injury and surgery in the latter part of 2016 and resuming competitive play in early 2017, aided by the increase in his racket size, Federer worked systematically to improve his backhand stroke, which was key in enabling him to overcome the tactics Nadal had used against Federer to force him on the defensive and out of position, making him more vulnerable to winning shots from Nadal. (For those interested in some of the more technical aspects involved in how Federer has been able to offset Nadal’s tactics and decisively gain the upper hand in matches with Nadal—or, as Federer himself has put it, “crack the Nadal code”—in a footnote below some of the details involved are discussed.^*)

Federer has continued to play competitive tennis on a world-class level, vying still to be at the very top of men’s tennis, into his late 30s (which is extraordinary, since in terms of world-class tennis, this is definitely considered “old”). It is remarkable that Federer has been able to retain a powerful competitive spirit, and at the same time an unequaled “cool,” not only during the time when he was the undisputed “number one” in men’s tennis (and frequently referred to then as the Greatest Of All Time) but for many years after that as well. It is one thing to be “hungry” and “focused” when one is young and “rising,” striving to get to the very top of the rankings—or in the situation with Djokovic, who has yet to become, but has openly declared his intention to become, the holder of the most Grand Slam titles and presumably the honor of being declared the Greatest Of All Time—but it is a whole other matter to continue to strive for greatness at the highest level long after one has seemingly achieved all there is to achieve, as has been the case with Federer for some time now.

But, even as he was planning, after another knee injury and surgery, to return once again in the summer of this year (2020) to compete at Wimbledon, the most prestigious of the Grand Slams—and the tournament where Federer has had the most success, winning 8 times—with the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus, including the cancellation of this year’s Wimbledon tournament, it is unclear when Federer will return to tennis (interestingly, the French Open, normally held in the late spring, has been re-scheduled for the fall, and as of now has not been canceled—see below, in the Appendix, for the relevance of this to the “GOAT” question). In any case, before too long, Federer’s age will finally catch up with him, and he will retire from world-class level competition. When he does, it is likely that Djokovic and/or Nadal (who are both about 5 years younger than Federer) will continue playing for a few more years; and, if they have not done so already, it is possible that one or both of them will then surpass Federer’s Grand Slam titles record, which now stands at 20 (again, more on this, and how it relates to the question of Greatest Of All Time, in the Appendix below).

But, as truly great as Djokovic and Nadal are, and with whatever specific number of Grand Slam titles they ended up winning, when they leave tennis there will be others, young and hungry, who will rise to, or near, the level of play that has characterized the best of Djokovic and Nadal. With Federer, however, it is not a matter of quantity, not something that can be captured simply with statistics—the number of Grand Slams and other tournaments won, the amount of time as the top-ranked player, and so on—but much more one of quality: the artistry and creative genius of Federer, which has no equal in tennis, in any era, including the present one. As much as the governing bodies of a sport—and the television networks and other financial institutions which profit from it—seem to feel the need to market things in terms of “rivalries,” and this is definitely the case with tennis, there really is no “rival” to Federer, no one whose approach to the game and performance on the court compares to his or gives expression to the same synthesis of artistry and accomplishment. When Federer leaves, it will be a long time, if ever, before someone comes along who will bring to tennis the beauty and, yes the awe and wonder, that Federer has embodied and inspired.

To return to the theme of this article, as expressed in the title, in the future being aimed for with revolution based on the new communism, tennis will not play the same role as it does in the world as it is now, dominated by the dynamics and dictates of the system of capitalism-imperialism and consequently restricted far too much to those with (or with backing from those with) a certain level of finances and resources. But, as spoken to in the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America—a sweeping vision and concrete blueprint for a radically different and far better society and world—there will continue to be a need for and importance to sports, with an emphasis on basic sports activities involving the masses of people, to promote their health and recreation, but also providing for full-time (professional) sports, which will take place within the overall framework of the relations and values of this radically new society, and will serve to foster friendship and comradeship among those competing, and those following such competition, while promoting and giving expression to the joy, the beauty and the wonder that sports, at its best, can inspire.³

From this perspective, as we look forward to and work actively to make a reality of this revolution, and everything it will finally make possible, if we do not wish to diminish the vision and the goal to which this revolution must aspire, and the kind of society and world it must strive to bring into being, we cannot fail to appreciate beauty and wonder, in the natural world and in the creations of human beings, even now amidst the terrible conditions which this currently ruling system of capitalism-imperialism imposes on the masses of humanity. And from that standpoint, the tennis of Roger Federer has a great deal to do with the revolution we need, even as that revolution will give rise to beauty, and give expression to the need to be amazed, in ways beyond what can even be imagined today.

* Note on Federer’s Gaining Decisive Dominance Over Nadal:

Nadal is left-handed and, particularly with his forehand, he hits the ball with a lot of “top spin,” which causes the ball to bounce high after it lands (this is true on all tennis court surfaces but is especially so on clay, which is by far Nadal’s favorite surface, on which he is most effective—more on that below, in the Appendix). Both of these factors (Nadal’s “left-handedness” and his extreme top spin) for some time enabled Nadal to create a lot of problems for Federer in their matches, because (for various reasons, including the fact that the net is lower in the middle of the court than it is on the sides) hitting the ball cross-court is easier and less risky than hitting it “down the line” (over the higher part of the net, on the same side of the court the player is on when hitting the ball). So, in the course of points in matches against Federer, Nadal would repeatedly try, with a large amount of success, to hit the ball with his forehand cross-court, where Federer (being right-handed) would be forced to hit the ball, not with his own forehand—his stronger stroke—but with his backhand. And the extreme top spin with which Nadal hit his forehand cross-court—causing the ball to bounce up to shoulder height, or sometimes even higher, before Federer could “make contact” with the ball—often resulted in a situation where Federer either hit a weak shot, setting Nadal up to hit a “winner” ( a shot Federer could not return) or Federer actually “missed” with his backhand (hit the ball into the net or “out” of play), giving Nadal the point. And this was especially so in the frequent exchanges where Nadal would hit forehand after forehand with top spin to Federer’s backhand—something Nadal was often able to do, because it was difficult for Federer to “redirect” the ball “down the line,” to Nadal’s backhand, and in attempting to do so Federer would run a higher risk of mis-hitting the ball and either losing the point outright by hitting it out, or into the net, or hitting a weak shot in response to which it would be easy for Nadal to hit a winner.

In recovering from a knee injury and surgery, and in preparing to return to competitive tennis, in the latter part of 2016, Federer focused on improving his backhand—aided, again, by his now larger racket—which enabled him to “stand his ground” on the baseline (rather than being pushed back farther and farther behind it, in an increasingly defensive position) and, from that position on the baseline, “take the ball earlier” with his backhand (before it could bounce as high), giving him more control and the ability to hit winners with his backhand and generally to hit backhand strokes with more variety, including by “re-directing” balls “down the line” to Nadal’s backhand, his less imposing shot. This resulted in Federer beating Nadal in the final of the Australian Open (one of the four annual “Grand Slam” tournaments) in early 2017. Since then, in matches played between the two, Federer has beaten Nadal 4 out of 5 times—the only exception being a semi-final match in the 2019 French Open (another of the Grand Slams), a match on clay, played moreover in conditions so ridiculous, with such powerful gusts of wind, that it was impossible for Federer to come close to playing his normal game, which relies, much more than other top players, not so much on power but at least as much on finesse and “touch” and fundamentally on movement to get in position to hit an incredible variety of shots—all of which was effectively impossible under the conditions.  [back]

Appendix: The Greatest Of All Time

As spoken to in the main part of this article, in one sense the argument about who is the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) in men’s tennis (a debate that now centers around Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic) is mis-placed, especially if (as is generally the case) this debate focuses on matters of quantity—numbers of Grand Slam titles, etc.—because with Roger Federer it is above all a matter of quality: the unique and essentially irreplaceable artistry he brings to the game, playing on a world-class level. But, without abandoning that decisive understanding, let’s examine the question of quantity—in a scientific way, drawing on relevant evidence in its significant dimensions.

First of all, in what is generally regarded as the most essential measure of greatness and achievement, there are the totals of Grand Slam titles won. While, as I will speak to shortly, this number, taken by itself, is not adequate to determine the issue of greatness (or, specifically, Greatest Of All Time), it does provide one important part of the picture. The current Grand Slam title numbers are: Federer 20; Nadal 19; Djokovic 17.

Looking into this further, however, we see that a clear majority of Nadal’s titles (12 of the 19) have been won on one particular surface—clay—at the French Open Tournament. It is true that a large number of Federer’s Grand Slam titles have been won on his most favored surface—grass, at Wimbledon—but the majority of Federer’s titles have been won on other surfaces. And it is not simply the case, as more than a few commentators are known to say: “Well, Federer is the best on his favorite surface, and Nadal is the best on his.” If we subtract from Federer’s total of 20 the 8 he has won on grass at Wimbledon and subtract from Nadal’s total of 19 the number he has won on clay at the French Open (12), we end up with this count: Federer 12, Nadal 7—a difference far greater than the total numbers (20 and 19).

Beyond that, clay is not just “another surface.” It is a very different surface than either grass or “hard courts” (courts consisting mainly of asphalt or concrete), the other surfaces on which Grand Slam Tournaments are played. Clay causes the ball to bounce higher and effectively “slows down” the game, with the result that hitting “winners” (either with the serve or other shots) is more difficult, and those players whose game relies to a large extent on lengthy rallies, wearing down opponents, have an added advantage. All this plays heavily into the strengths of Nadal’s game. That there is not just a minor but a qualitative difference between clay and the other main tennis court surfaces is reflected in the fact that, on the one hand, in the men’s game specifically, there are at least 10 people who have won the French Open but have never won another Grand Slam title, while there are a number of tennis greats, with multiple Grand Slam wins (on grass and/or hard courts), who have never won on clay at the French Open—including not only Pete Sampras (with 14 total Grand Slam titles) but also Jimmy Connors (8), John McEnroe (7), Stephan Edberg, and Boris Becker (6 each). (Also, among women, those who have won multiple Grand Slam titles but never won at the French Open include Venus Williams, Virginia Wade, and Martina Hingis. And, although she has won at the French Open, Serena Williams—who can legitimately be considered the greatest women’s tennis player of all time, and indeed is one of the world’s greatest athletes in any sport—has had much less success on the clay at the French Open than she has on other surfaces.)

This difference in surfaces is strongly reflected in the head-to-head competition between Federer and Nadal: On every surface except clay Federer has the advantage, while on clay Federer’s wins against Nadal are less than 15%!

There is also the fact that changes, beginning more than 15 years ago, in the other surfaces besides clay—and in particular the grass at Wimbledon—has meant that, even while it is still the case that on Wimbledon’s grass the ball tends to “skid” through the court, overall the courts at Wimbledon do not “play faster” than many of the hard courts. In short, these surfaces, other than clay, have become much more similar, with grass no longer significantly different than hard courts—and the difference is certainly nothing like that between grass, and hard courts, on the one hand, and clay on the other. Thus, Federer’s wins at Wimbledon—which have come after these changes began there—are in no way in the same category as Nadal’s at the French Open.

All this puts into perspective the actual significance of Grand Slam titles won by each. Even if Nadal were to equal Federer’s total of 20 by winning the French Open this year (assuming it is actually held), that would not change the reality that Federer’s total of Grand Slam titles is much more meaningful in terms of being representative of overall accomplishment.

In regard to Djokovic, his Grand Slam total of 17 titles is also more evenly spread out among the different tournaments, with most coming at the Australian Open, but also significant numbers at Wimbledon and at the U.S. Open, the last of the 4 Grand Slam Tournaments. (Notably, Djokovic, like Federer, has only won once at the French Open.) A number of commentators have offered the opinion that Djokovic, who is presently healthy and in “top form,” is likely (some even say “almost certain”) to catch or surpass Federer in number of Grand Slam titles.

This, however, is not certain. Federer won a majority of his titles before 2010, when he was in his 20s—although it is a measure of his greatness that he has won 3 titles in the last 3 years, at the age of 35 or older. Djokovic is now 33, and just as Federer faced very strong competition, from Nadal and then from Djokovic as he hit his prime just after 2010 (when he was in his early to mid 20s), as alluded to in the main part of this article, there are now a number of very talented younger players in the men’s game, who are just as hungry to win Grand Slams as Djokovic is to become the all-time Grand Slam title winner. Besides the question of age in general (and again, in terms of world-class tennis competition, being well past 30, and especially beyond 35, is “old”) there is also the fact that, with increasing age the likelihood of injuries, including more serious injuries, increases, and Djokovic has already not been free of injury during the overall period when he was at, or near, the very top of the men’s game. (It is another manifestation of Federer’s greatness that he has not only won a number of Grand Slam titles at 35 and older, but that he has done so after being sidelined with a knee injury serious enough to require surgery and then a period of rehabilitation.) For these reasons, among others, one is inclined to reply “not so fast” when hearing predictions that Djokovic will (almost) certainly surpass Federer, and overtake Nadal as well, in Grand Slam titles (besides the very real possibility that Nadal will win more Grand Slams, particularly keeping in mind his peculiar success at the French Open, there is also the fact that it would be a mistake—one which has been made before with regard to Federer—to discount the possibility of his winning one, or more, additional Grand Slam titles).

In terms of the GOAT argument, there is the fact that Djokovic has an overall narrow lead over Federer (27 to 23) in head-to-head matches. Here it has to be noted that this is the result of the fact that Djokovic gained the upper hand over Federer in head-to-head matches only after Federer was well past 30, while Djokovic was only in his 20s. Djokovic has continued this overall dominance in recent years, although a number of the matches he won were very close, and in 2 of their last 3 matches Federer has either beaten Djokovic—as he did convincingly in the end-of-the-year championships in 2019—or he has very, very narrowly lost to him, as happened in the 2019 Wimbledon final. (In that final Federer had two “match points”—a situation where he needed only to win one of the two next points in order to finish the match victoriously—on his own serve, but he was unable to finish Djokovic off and eventually suffered a heartbreaking loss in a classic match that was extended to nearly 5 hours. See the footnote below for some analysis of why Federer did not succeed in winning one of those two match points.**)

It was after this devastating defeat that Federer rebounded and decisively defeated Djokovic in two straight sets (2 sets to 0) in the end-of-the season championship (although Federer did not go on to win that tournament). It is true that Federer lost to Djokovic a couple of months later in the semi-finals of the Australian Open (a tournament won by Djokovic), but in that semi-final match Federer was clearly injured and not capable of playing anywhere near his best. Assuming world-class tennis is able to resume, in more or less its full dimensions, before so much time has elapsed that finally Federer has actually passed his prime, it remains to be seen whether, as he has with Nadal, Federer can gain a decisive upper hand over Djokovic, one more time, before Federer does finally decide it is time to give up competitively playing the sport he loves.

In any case, while Grand Slam titles and head-to-head competition are a significant part of the picture, in terms of determining who deserves the title of Greatest Of All Time, they are not the only factors that matter and they do not, by themselves, settle the question. As indicated above, the fact is that Federer has only been overtaken by Djokovic in head-to-head competition in more recent years when Federer has been in his 30s, even past 35—an age when, before Federer (and Serena Williams, in the women’s game), tennis players would have been considered well past their prime, certainly in terms of winning Grand Slam tournaments, something Federer has done as recently as 2018 (and very nearly did the next year at Wimbledon). Federer’s “longevity” is another important dimension to his greatness and to the argument for his status as the Greatest Of All Time. This is not just a matter of “hanging in there,” even at the very highest level, but of continually adding to an incredible record of accomplishment.

Looking at overall achievement, Federer has won far more tournaments overall (103) than either Nadal (85) or Djokovic (79). He has won far more matches (1,227) than Nadal (977) or Djokovic (893). He has gotten to more Grand Slam finals (31) than Nadal (27) or Djokovic (26). Federer has won more Grand Slam semi-finals (47) than Djokovic (36) and Nadal (33). Even more remarkably, Federer has far out-done both Djokovic and Nadal in consecutive appearances inGrand Slam semi-finals (23) and quarter-finals (33), accomplishments that are incredibly difficult to achieve.

It would be possible to go on at greater length into various statistics (and, while I believe the most relevant statistics strengthen the argument for Federer as the Greatest Of All Time, there are some that could be cited that are favorable to Djokovic or Nadal); but again, statistics, while part of the picture, do not give the full story, nor get to the essence of the matter. So, with regard to all that has been spoken to here, let me end with what I wrote near the conclusion of the main part of this article:

But, as truly great as Djokovic and Nadal are, and with whatever specific number of Grand Slam titles they ended up winning, when they leave tennis there will be others, young and hungry, who will rise to, or near, the level of play that has characterized the best of Djokovic and Nadal. With Federer, however, it is not a matter of quantity,not something that can be captured simply with statistics—the number of Grand Slams and other tournaments won, the amount of time as the top-ranked player, and so on—but much more one of quality: the artistry and creative genius of Federer, which has no equal in tennis, in any era, including the present one. As much as the governing bodies of a sport—and the television networks and other financial institutions which profit from it—seem to feel the need to market things in terms of “rivalries,” and this is definitely the case with tennis, there really is no “rival” to Federer, no one whose approach to the game and performance on the court compares to his or gives expression to the same synthesis of artistry and accomplishment. When Federer leaves, it will be a long time, if ever, before someone comes along who will bring to tennis the beauty and, yes the awe and wonder, that Federer has embodied and inspired.

** Note on Federer’s Narrow Loss to Djokovic in the 2019 Wimbledon final:

Federer’s failure to win one of the two match points he had on his serve in the 2019 Wimbledon final against Djokovic has to do, on the one hand, with Djokovic’s “grittiness” but even more, and more concretely, with minor mis-steps on Federer’s part. On the first of those two match points, Federer narrowly missed his first serve—which, if he had gotten it in play, would very likely have resulted in his winning the point, and the match—and on the second serve of that point, after Djokovic returned the serve to a spot deep in the middle of the court, Federer attempted to hit the ball back on an angle into Djokovic’s backhand corner, which if it had succeeded would likely have put Djokovic on the run and given the advantage to Federer, with the probable result that Federer would have prevailed. But, in attempting this, Federer “went for a little too much” (hit the ball on too sharp an angle), with the result that the ball landed out and Djokovic won the point. On the next point, Federer’s first serve was in and, in response to a fairly routine return by Djokovic, Federer chose to come to the net, with the aim of finishing the point off quickly with a successful volley that Djokovic could not return (or could return only weakly, setting up Federer to finish off the point with his next shot). But, in this case, Federer’s “approach shot” (the shot he hit to set up his coming to the net) did not have quite enough on it (it was hit toward Djokovic’s forehand corner, but not deeply enough or at a sharp enough angle to force Djokovic into a position where he could only hit a weak shot in return, enabling Federer to finish off the point, and the match, from a solid position at the net). Instead, in response to Federer’s approach shot, Djokovic was able to set up well and hit a forehand winner, which got past Federer at the net and landed securely within the court, beyond the reach of Federer’s attempted forehand volley. From there, a no doubt momentarily deflated Federer lost the next two points and the game—and the chance to finish the match off then and there—although he was far from “folding,” and in fact he continued to fiercely battle Djokovic for another 8 games, before losing the final match-deciding “tie-breaker.”

Again, credit definitely has to go to Djokovic for “hanging tough” and “refusing to fold” when he was on the brink of defeat. But, at least as much, this was a matter of Federer quite understandably feeling the great pressure of being “oh so close” to what would have constituted one of his greatest victories—winning a Grand Slam title, at this late point in his career, in a match against another great player who has dominated Federer for most of the last few years. The result was that, in a situation where literally inches decide things, Federer failed, by the thinnest of margins, to prevail. If Federer had played either of these two match points a little less anxiously, it is very probable that he would have succeeded in winning the match. (With the first match point, Federer could have “gone for a little less” with his first shot after Djokovic’s return of serve—hitting the ball toward Djokovic’s backhand corner but “leaving a little more margin,” to make sure the ball was “in,” while still being an effective shot—and then working from there to gain the advantage in the point and finish it off. With the second match point, here again having an aggressive approach, as Federer did, rather than passive one, is right and necessary—and also difficult, because in a situation like this it is very tempting, and seemingly easier, to just keep the ball in play and hope that the opponent will make a mistake and “give you the point.” But, instead of “coming into the net” right away, Federer could have again “worked the point” a little longer, in order to get a clear advantage and then finish the point by coming to the net or with a winning ground stroke. Or, if Federer were going to come to the net early in the point, as he did following his first shot after Djokovic’s return of serve, then it would probably have been better to hit an “approach shot” into Djokovic’s backhand corner, forcing him to hit a difficult “passing shot,” which could then be volleyed away for the win. Of course—of course!—it is easier to offer these opinions here and now, far removed from the court and the crucial moment of play, and without any of the pressure that inevitably accompanies such a momentous situation, in which a decision has to be made on literally a “split-second” basis; but observations removed from the heat of the moment can be valid and valuable—and, in any case, I could not resist offering these observations here, for whatever they are worth!)

As I wrote in the main part of this article:

It is remarkable that Federer has been able to retain a powerful competitive spirit, and at the same time an unequaled “cool,” not only during the time when he was the undisputed “number one” in men’s tennis (and frequently referred to then as the Greatest Of All Time) but for many years after that as well. It is one thing to be “hungry” and “focused” when one is young and “rising,” striving to get to the very top of the rankings—or in the situation with Djokovic, who has yet to become, but has openly declared his intention to become, the holder of the most Grand Slam titles and presumably the honor of being declared the Greatest Of All Time—but it is a whole other matter to continue to strive for greatness at the highest level long after one has seemingly achieved all there is to achieve, as has been the case with Federer for some time now.

Ironically, however, that very determination almost certainly results in a feeling of tremendous pressure, especially up against one’s major competitors, in a situation where beating them still has great significance, especially after they have for some time had the upper hand over you, as was the case for Federer in his 2019 Wimbledon championship match against Djokovic.  [back]

1. See "Materialism and Romanticism: Can We Do Without Myth?" This is an excerpt from Getting Over the Two Great Humps: Further Thoughts on Conquering the World, which is available in BA’s Collected Works at revcom.us.  [back]

2. Mark Hodgkinson, Fedegraphica, A Graphic Biography of the Genius of Roger Federer, Updated edition, Aurum Press; Revised edition, 2018. “Moves Like A Whisper” is the title of the fourth chapter of this book.  [back]

3. The Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America, authored by Bob Avakian, is also available at revcom.us.  [back]

Episode 16 of
The RNL Show—Revolution, Nothing Less!

July 9, 2020 | revcom.us

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"July 4, 2020: A Battle of Ideas, History, and the Future"

Premieres on youtube.com/therevcoms
Thurs, July 9, 2020
5pm PDT / 8pm EDT

This year's 4th of July was like none before. On one side: Protests for Black lives continued, the RevComs led in burning the American flag across the country, and people of the Lakota Nation and others protested a broken treaty as Trump spoke on their land. On the other side: The fascist-in-chief, Donald Trump, doubled down on Manifest Destiny, white supremacy, and outright fascism. Join us as we dig into all this and more.

Also in this episode: a look at the work by the Chicago Revolution Club to get the youth out of killing each other and into the revolution, straight talk on the gangs from Bob Avakian, and a new American Crime installment on the Trail of Tears and Andrew Jackson.

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The RNL Show Episode 16 Talkback with Sunsara and Luan 
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A REAL REVOLUTION—
A REAL CHANCE TO WIN

Further Developing the Strategy for Revolution

by Bob Avakian

July 13, 2020 | revcom.us

In Part II of Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution, as an important application of the new communism I have developed over a number of decades, I speak directly to the fact that everything that we are doing now needs to be aiming for something very definite: a revolutionary situation. In that speech (as well as a number of other works), I have discussed key features of a revolutionary situation, including the crucial element of a revolutionary people in the millions, in the context of a deep crisis for the whole system. Here, I want to focus on the following from the same part (II) of “Why We Need/How We Can”:

we need to work back from that [revolutionary] situation and what would be required then—how the all-out fight would need to be waged—to have a real chance to defeat the powerful violent forces of this system.¹

There follows, in Part II, a discussion of key principles that would need to guide the revolutionary forces waging such an all-out fight, when the conditions for that had been brought into being. But, of course, the problem of actually defeating the powerful violent forces of repression of this system (and counter-revolutionary forces allied with them), even in the radically changed and more favorable conditions of a revolutionary situation, represents a difficult and complicated challenge. So, even now—when the conditions required for this all-out fight do not yet exist—it is necessary, and of great importance, to continue to grapple with the theory and the strategic conception and principles involved.

The Struggle Against Fascism Now and the Future All-Out Fight

One important dimension to all this is addressed in the following—speaking to the challenges in going up against the Trump/Pence fascist regime and its “base,” and how this relates to the fundamental goal of revolution to do away with this whole system which has given rise to this fascism:

What is urgently needed is a massive struggle against the fascism of the Trump/Pence regime and determined opposition to the “base” it is mobilizing in its support. This struggle needs to be waged in a serious way, in accordance with the actual stakes involved—not seeking or initiating violence but also not cowed into submission by the actions of the fascists.

And what is needed, in working toward the fundamental solution to all this, is to wage this anti-fascist struggle as part of accelerating—“hastening”—the development of things toward the point where it will be possible to carry out the revolution, the all-out fight, to finally put an end to this whole system of capitalism-imperialism, with all of the horrors it has already brought about for the masses of humanity—and the even worse horrors it will unleash if it is allowed to continue—when all this is completely unnecessary and there is the basis and possibility for a radically different and far better world.²

Hastening and preparing for the revolutionary showdown needs to proceed, and is proceeding, in accordance with the basic principles for the revolution that are concentrated in the 5-2-6, including Point 6 of the Six Points of Attention for the Revolution:

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.³

At the same time, it is noteworthy that the threats of violence, and actual violence, by fascist thugs, often heavily armed, have not succeeded in intimidating people from righteously protesting against institutional racism and police terror, and in fact there have even been instances where disciplined groups of Black people have shown up to make very clear that they will defend protesters from attacks by these fascist thugs. And it is important to keep the following clearly in mind, especially given the threats and inclination to violence of the fascist thugs who have attacked demonstrations and even stormed into government buildings while armed:

To a significant degree now, the conflict between the sections of society upholding this fascism and those opposing it, from various different perspectives, is shaping the terrain on which the struggle for revolution must be carried out; this conflict is likely to intensify, and could erupt further in violent confrontation, and in any case it would be a significant factor in the context of an all-out struggle between revolution and counter-revolution.⁴

In line with what is said there, it is even possible that this “conflict between the sections of society upholding this fascism and those opposing it” could at some point, in combination with the heightening and intensifying of other key contradictions, lead to (or develop into) the all-out fight. And this conflict would also likely influence where different sections of people, within different institutions, would be inclined to line up (or could be won to line up).

Defeating “Encirclement and Suppression”—Carrying the Revolutionary Fight Forward

With all that, however, it is very likely that, when it comes down to it—when the revolutionary situation has finally emerged and the all-out struggle is underway—the main thing the revolution would then need to confront would be “the institutional forces of the old ruling class,” even while this would almost certainly involve a significant element of “a civil war between two sections of the people,” and this element would interact with (and influence) the conflict between the revolutionary forces and “the institutional forces of the old ruling class.”⁵

With this in mind, there is the need to take into account the following, even as it is coming from the point of view of the counter-revolutionary forces of the old, oppressive order:

The only way [for the counter-revolution] to gain the necessary control is to garrison troops 24/7 among the civilians; periodic “sweep” or “cordon and search” operations, even when conducted by counterinsurgents as cruel as the Nazis, fail because civilians know the rebels will return the moment the soldiers leave and exact a terrible revenge on anyone who collaborated with them. The populace will embrace the government only if it is less dangerous to do so than to support the insurgency, which is why successful population-centric policies aim to control the people, not to win their love and gratitude. As John Paul Vann, the legendary American adviser in South Vietnam, said, “Security may be ten percent of the problem, or it may be ninety percent, but whichever it is, it’s the first ten percent or the first ninety percent. Without security, nothing else we do will last.”⁶

This statement presents things in a crudely distorted and upside-down way: It is not the revolutionary forces that would bring down murderous violence against the masses of people; it is the military forces fighting to maintain the oppressive and exploitative system of capitalist imperialism who would do so in the attempt to terrorize people into supporting the counter-revolution. In opposition to that, the revolutionary fighting forces, guided by and proceeding in accordance with the basic principles of the new communism, would work to win the support of the people through applying an approach and methods that flow from and correspond to the emancipating goals of the revolution. Nevertheless, in spite of the reactionary viewpoint and distortion of the author of the above-quoted statement, it raises something very important, whose implications would need to be taken into account in the strategic approach of the revolutionary forces.

This points to the need to include the following in the basic strategic approach that is discussed in Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution, Part II, as the basis for winning (actually defeating them) in the future conditions of a profound revolutionary crisis and with a revolutionary people in the millions:

There would need to be an added emphasis on the need for the all-out revolutionary fight to be country-wide in scope, from the beginning, or very quickly after the start, for the revolutionary forces to have organized strongholds of support in many different parts of the country—and to have the ability to act simultaneously, or in quick succession, in many different parts of the country (to effect a “popcorn” phenomenon of actions breaking out repeatedly and in quick succession all over the country)—in order to effectively counter the “encirclement and suppression” of the revolution by the counter-revolution, and in particular the ability of the counter-revolution to not only concentrate forces against but to actually occupy the areas that constitute the strongholds of support for the revolution (even while those strongholds are not yet being openly controlled and administered by the revolution), particularly in the early stages of this all-out fight.

The above would constitute an important further development of what is spoken to in Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution, Part II, in terms of the strategic approach and principles that would need to be applied in waging the all-out fight in the most effective way, in accordance with the fundamental orientation and goals of the revolution, in order to have a real chance to win, once the conditions that would make that possible had been brought into being.

At the same time, it needs to be strongly emphasized that none of this will be possible—and even the development of a truly profound crisis in society is very likely to be resolved in a negative, or even a very negative and potentially disastrous, way—if there is not “an organized vanguard force with the vision and method, strategy and plan—and deepening ties among masses of people—to actually lead the fight to defeat and dismantle the violent repressive force of the existing system and its power structure, and to bring into being a new revolutionary system that can provide the means for people to radically transform society toward the goal of abolishing oppression and exploitation.”

Bringing forward an organized movement for revolution, numbering not just in the hundreds but in the thousands—growing numbers of people with a basic scientific understanding of the need and possibility for revolution, grounded in the new communism, and concretely working together to apply the strategy laid out in “Why We Need/How We Can” to “hasten” and prepare for, and then lead millions to seize on, the revolutionary situation when it has fully ripened—this is the critical immediate challenge and goal for all those who hunger for the chance to bring a radically different and much better world into being.

1. The text and video of this speech by Bob Avakian (Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution) are available at revcom.us.

Besides what is said in that speech, in terms of key elements of a revolutionary situation, this question is also addressed in a number of other works by Bob Avakian, including the following:

An actual revolution requires two essential factors: a revolutionary situation, and a revolutionary people in their millions. And these two factors are closely interconnected.

A revolutionary situation involves not just a crisis in society in some general sense but a situation where the system and its ruling powers are in a profound and acute crisis and millions and millions of people refuse to be ruled in the old way—and are willing and determined to put everything on the line to bring down this system and bring into being a new society and government. Key components and signs of a revolutionary crisis are that the violence used to enforce this system is seen by large parts of society for what it is—murderous and illegitimate—and that the conflicts among the ruling forces become really deep and sharp, and masses of people respond to this not by falling in behind one side or the other of the oppressive rulers, but by taking advantage of this situation to build up the forces for revolution.*

* Bob Avakian has also characterized a revolutionary situation this way:

What is a Revolutionary Situation? A deep crisis and sharpening conflicts in society and in the government and ruling circles, where they cannot find a way to resolve these conflicts—in society and among their own ranks—which do not make things worse for them and call forth more resistance and further undermine people’s belief in their “right to rule” and in the “legitimacy” of their use of force to maintain their rule; programs of “reforming” the system are shown to be bankrupt, totally unable to deal with what more and more people recognize as profound dysfunction and intolerable injustice of the whole setup; those, in society as well as among the ruling class, who are trying to enforce the existing system are on the political defensive, even if lashing out; millions of people are actively seeking radical change, determined to fight for it, willing to put everything on the line to win it, and searching for a force to lead them in doing so; and a solid core of thousands is united around a leadership, an organized vanguard force with the vision and method, strategy and plan—and deepening ties among masses of people—to actually lead the fight to defeat and dismantle the violent repressive force of the existing system and its power structure, and to bring into being a new revolutionary system that can provide the means for people to radically transform society toward the goal of abolishing oppression and exploitation.

The above is a footnote to the article by Bob Avakian, “Boomers”—”X,Y,Z”: The Problem Is Not “Generations,” It’s the System; this footnote includes a passage from another work, Bob Avakian Responds To Mark Rudd On The Lessons Of The 1960s And The Need For An Actual Revolution. These works are also available at revcom.us. [back]

2. Bob Avakian On Civil War And Revolution. This article by Bob Avakian is available at revcom.us. [back]

3. The 5-2-6 refers to the 5 STOPS—five deep and defining contradictions of this system of capitalism-imperialism—5 ways in which this system oppresses people, plunders the environment, wages unjust wars and continually commits massive crimes against humanity; the two choices articulated by Bob Avakian (“we have two choices: either, live with all this—and condemn future generations to the same, or worse, if they have a future at all—or, make revolution!”); and the Six Points of Attention for the Revolution. The full presentation of the 5-2-6 can be found at revcom.us. [back]

4. These statements, cited in Bob Avakian On Civil War And Revolution, are originally from Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution. [back]

5. These statements, cited in Bob Avakian On Civil War And Revolution, are originally from Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution. [back]

6. Max Boot, Invisible Armies, An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present (Liveright Publishing, 2013). The quote here is from the concluding chapter, “Implications” (p. 563), emphasis added. [back]

Revolution Club in Chicago Marches to Challenge the Violence Among the People:
"Get Out Of This Madness & Get Into Revolution"

July 13, 2020 | revcom.us

The Revolution Club Chicago march through a South Shore neighborhood on Sunday, July 12.

This summer in Chicago, young Black people’s deep anger and alienation is being taken out on people who look just like them who live across an invisible boundary a few blocks away. Killing and crippling each other is horrific enough but the flying bullets have also cut short the lives of babies, toddlers, teenagers, elderly people. All of this causing deep, deep hurt, pain and cries of enough is enough. It is felt not just in Chicago. This urgently needs to change.

This system has no answers. The racist-pig loving Trump threatens that the feds will come in and “take care” of the problem if the city does not do the job. The “liberal” Chicago mayor flips Trump off, and then tells the ACLU to get an “attitude adjustment” when it objects to rounding up youth in preventive detention and backs up the new police chief whose only answer is prison and more prison and a “jump out” squad. A similar unit was disbanded because it so egregiously and illegally terrorized entire communities.

Bob Avakian has powerfully spoken to how this situation where Black people who are suffering such terrible oppression, besieged by the police, are also killing each other in tragic numbers is heartbreaking. But he uncovers the reality: “...this too, is caused by this system—it is the system ‘working on’ people, confining masses of Black people in conditions of deprivation, degradation and hopelessness, and continually pumping at them the ‘dog eat dog’ mentality that fuels this cut-throat system of exploitation and oppression, from top to bottom.” (From “Anything But The Truth”)

The Revolution Club in Chicago has been setting out to do what BA has called for—to win these youth to the revolution that can bring down this system that is the fundamental cause of all this and bring into being a system which would uproot the conditions and transform the ways of thinking that give rise to this. Through their press conferences, in going out in the neighborhoods, reconnecting with those who have a past in “the life”—the Revolution Club challenged youth caught up in this to lift their sights above the degradation, to stop killing and dying for no good reason and to get into the revolution that can actually change all this by emancipating humanity. They also got out “Anything But The Truth” to opinion makers to support what the Revolution Club is doing about all this.

On July 11 the Revolution Club led a march and car caravan through Englewood, an impoverished Black neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. There on July 4, eight people were killed or wounded, including a 14-year-old boy, when someone opened fire on people gathered for fireworks.

The march and car caravan led by the Revolution Club—”We are the revcoms, the mighty mighty revcoms... fighting for a new world...”—snaked through the residential areas where cliques are at war with other cliques a few short blocks over. The march also stopped at memorials along the way for the people who had lost their lives in the past few weeks. Interestingly, the pigs who normally maraud in this community were nowhere to be found.

The event was joined by members of Refuse Fascism with their popular sign “Fuck Trump,” a Black Lives Matter activist from another city who had grown up on the south side, a friend from Juneteenth protests and others who came out because they learned about it on-line and wanted to be part of it.

It was an important beginning. Overall, it was well received by those who saw it, and people showed their supporting by honking their car horns and raising their fist, and in one instance, a whole family joined in singing "We are the RevComs, the mighty, mighty revcoms" from their porch. The No More! flyer and a pamphlet of “Anything But The Truth” by BA were distributed. The Revolution Club has made it clear that this march was not a one-off.

The leap that is urgently needed—bringing into the revolution even a relatively small critical mass of these same youth willing to go up against everything, both among the people and up against the ruling class—that leap is still yet to be made. Doing so can have an outsized impact on being an attractive force in accumulating the thousands that are needed to lead the millions to make an actual revolution at the soonest possible time.

On the march, Niko, a leader of the Revolution Club, Chicago, drew on BAsics to indict this system that turns beautiful children into supposedly irredeemable monsters and called on the youth to get with the revolution to overthrow the system. The revolutionary message stood out. WBBM, the main news radio station in Chicago, contrasted this march with one pressuring the city for more programs. As the Revolution Club prepared to march in South Shore the next day, the interview with Niko was still being aired. Revcom.us will also be covering the Sunday march in South Shore in the next few days.

The march was also covered on local NBC station’s nightly news and on WGN Channel 9—brief but visually very powerful video of the Revolution Club marching with its banner, “Revolution Nothing Less!”

The Revolution Club, Chicago going to the masses on the South Shore.

The Revolution Club, Chicago going to the masses in South Shore.

The Bloated Bag of Fascist Feces Donald Trump at Mount Rushmore

A Christian Fascist and White Supremacist Ode to "Manifest Destiny"

July 13, 2020 | revcom.us

Editors’ Note: Following are edited excerpts of commentary by Andy Zee on Episode 16 of the RNL Show—Revolution, Nothing Less!, a weekly show on the @therevcoms YouTube channel. The July 4th weekend was marked by continuing protests against police murder and the oppression of Black people, and in which people righteously took up burning the U.S. flag, including in manifestations led by the Revolution Club (see  revcom.us coverage here). But there was another ugly side, of what Zee terms “the fascist-in-chief Donald Trump on the stolen sovereign native land at Mt. Rushmore or, as it should be rightly known, Paha Sapa,” referring to the name used by the native people.

Following is commentary by Zee on one key aspect of that speech.

TRUMP [speaking at Mount Rushmore]:

Mount Rushmore will stand forever as an eternal tribute to our forefathers and to our freedom....

Our Founders boldly declared that we are all endowed with the same divine rights—given [to] us by our Creator in Heaven. And that which God has given us, we will allow no one, ever, to take away—ever. (Applause.)

Seventeen seventy-six represented the culmination of thousands of years of western civilization and the triumph not only of spirit, but of wisdom, philosophy, and reason.

And yet, as we meet here tonight, there is a growing danger that threatens every blessing our ancestors fought so hard for, struggled, they bled to secure.

Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children....

Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our Founders, deface our most sacred memorials, and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities. Many of these people have no idea why they are doing this, but some know exactly what they are doing. They think the American people are weak and soft and submissive. But no, the American people are strong and proud, and they will not allow our country, and all of its values, history, and culture, to be taken from them. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!

Andy Zee: This and Trump’s speech the next day in Washington, DC, were a deadly serious doubling down. Among other things, this was a call to battle for his hard core fascist racist thuggish movement.

I call them FASCIST not as hype or curse, but for people to confront what this movement really is. So, here I am making an aside that is not really an aside, but is to the point. Bob Avakian has pointed out in the speech THE TRUMP/PENCE REGIME MUST GO! In The Name of Humanity, We REFUSE To Accept a Fascist America, A Better World IS Possible—let’s not keep letting all these newscasters and “experts” keep legitimating these forces as “Trump’s base”—his voting bloc—but call them out for what they actually are—a fascist hard core that are actively preparing to do whatever they have to do to bring about their white supremacist, fascist, theocratic rule over this country as well as the millions more who support that and are not just OK with it, but are a part of it—these are people who support the Confederacy in the form it takes today.

I said that Trump’s “base” is fascist because this is a movement that calls for and supports naked and brutal repression by the police and the military against those groups they consider “undesirable.” This is a movement that is preparing to and does take matters into their own hands putting down or even shooting down anything and anyone who threatens what these fascists perceive as their rightful place—of white supremacy and male supremacy... who want no rule of law other than the law of the Bible taken literally. I just showed you a tweet from the White House: “DESTINY.”

In front of Mt. Rushmore with fighter jets flying overhead you heard before Trump say: “Seventeen seventy-six represented the culmination of thousands of years of western civilization and the triumph not only of spirit, but of wisdom, philosophy, and reason.”

Never mind discoveries of people from Africa, Asia, and the Mideast in the realms of agriculture, architecture, and math, and much more... whose cultures and lands have been trampled on in the centuries since by Western civilization. Never mind the insights and wisdom of the people who inhabited the land of this continent for thousands of years before the conquistador Columbus and the vicious enslavers who followed.

Trump continued: “And yet, as we meet here tonight, there is a growing danger that threatens every blessing our ancestors fought so hard for, struggled, they bled to secure. Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children.”

If I had had the time before this episode, I could have found such words from Hitler.

Trump goes on: “Americans are the people who pursued our Manifest Destiny across the ocean, into the uncharted wilderness, over the tallest mountains, and then into the skies and even into the stars.”

Manifest Destiny is the idea that “God” gave white men of the early U.S. the right to expand the territory of the United States. Its first expression has been traced to these words: “our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence [that is, ‘God’] for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.” In practice, this meant stealing Texas from Mexico for the purpose of spreading slavery! It meant the westward expansion of the U.S. that was a genocide against the native peoples and the theft of their land.

Decades ago Bob Dylan put it this way:

Oh, the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged  
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh, the country was young
With God on its side.

And the “god talk” is at the heart of this imperialism. Listen to Bob Avakian—who has done a scientific dissection of this movement and the Christian fascism at its core:

One of the most distinguishing and significant features of this particularly American version of fascism is the “unholy alliance” between Trump and fundamentalist Christian Fascists. As I pointed out in another recent talk:

Trump, I think it’s fair to say, could not have won the election if the Christian Fascists not only had opposed him, but if they’d been unenthusiastic about him.... And... even when the... pussy-grabbing thing came out, they didn’t turn against him (...Jerry Falwell, Jr. and all these others)—because they recognized: ‘“Here is somebody who is going outside of the whole rules and the way this is done in the “‘swamp of Washington”,’ who will actually carry through on this stuff [like outlawing abortion and suppressing gay people]’....” And Trump, for his part, recognized that if didn’t get this force behind him, he was not going to be able to do it....

Pence is obviously a critical linchpin in... this uniting of what’s represented by Trump... and the Christian Fascists.... The regular bourgeois institutions,... like CNN, the Democratic Party and so on, they keep... saying: “He can’t do that, that’s not the way things are done.” But then [Trump] does it, because he’s not playing by those rules. He’s not working within the norms as they’ve been. He is going directly up against them, precisely as an important part of what he’s doing.

And, while Pence plays a very important role in all this, he is far from the only Christian Fascist in this regime. Besides the appointment of Neil Gorsuch, who is himself a Christian Fascist, to the Supreme Court—re-establishing, after the death of Antonin Scalia, the right-wing majority on the Court—Trump’s cabinet is full of these Christian Fascists.

Perhaps it seems harsh, or even extreme, to refer to these fundamentalist Christians as fascists. Well, in Katherine Stewart’s book The Good News Club, The Christian Right’s Stealth Assault on America’s Children, she cites these comments by Rich Lang, himself a former Christian fundamentalist, who broke with that and became a liberal Christian pastor:

“When I was born again [Lang recalls], faith was something inside of you, something you were supposed to reflect through your life. But in the 1980s, something happened. Fundamentalist Christianity jumped back into the public square with the intention to reshape the country as a Christian nation as defined by them....

“It’s no different than the Nazis wanting to start with the Hitler Youth. That is where you’d want to start if you were trying to build a fascist movement....

“That’s the word, ‘fascism.’ Nobody likes to use it in this country. But I believe that in this country, underneath the appearances, that is exactly the great temptation of our time.... and you have to call it what it is—‘Christian Fascism.’”

Stewart further summarizes Lang’s views this way: “Modern fundamentalism, like fascism in earlier times, [he says], involves a strong feeling of persecution, typically at the hands of godless liberals or a religious ‘other’; the belief that one belongs to a pure race or national group that is responsible for past greatness, suffers unjust oppression in the present, and is the rightful ruler of the world; the impulse to submit unquestioningly to absolute authority; and the relentless drive for power and control. It is, [he says], a kind of supremacist movement, with religion rather than race at its core.”

And there is this chilling statement by Lang:

“People have no idea it’s going on....

“What does it mean that the conservative church that’s growing in America is an end-times church? What does it mean that we are raising a generation of children to believe that they are the last generation? What is going to happen if we keep on telling them, ‘“Don’t care about the environment, and bring on the war, because we’re going to be lifted out of here, and you can forget about loving your neighbors, because they’re just going to get blown away?’”

So, that is the insight of someone very familiar with these Christian Fascists. And the fact is that, in this country, with its whole history of genocide, slavery and racism, any form of fascism, including one basing itself on “Christian supremacy”—any urge to “restore past greatness”—cannot help but be bound together with white supremacy.

The Republican Party has been moving in a fascist direction since the late 1960s, with further leaps since then to becoming more and more openly fascist.

In running for president in 1968, Richard Nixon adopted what has been called the “southern strategy,” which the Republican Party has followed ever since. This is a direct appeal to white supremacy—to the racism of white people, particularly (though not only) in the Southern states, who are enraged that Black people are not “staying in their place.”

The Republican Party is not “the Party of Lincoln”—as it sometimes demagogically claims to be—it has become much more the Party of the Confederacy.

Trump spoke in Washington the day after his speech at Rushmore and said this: “No enemy on Earth stands a chance—$2.5 trillion, we’ve invested—all made in the USA. We’ve never had anything near the power and the equipment that we have right now. We did that over the last three years.... Everywhere these aircraft have flown, they’ve rained down American thunder, delivered American justice, and they have fiercely defended every square inch of American sovereignty.... In their steel frames, broad wings, and roaring engines, we see the story of America’s daring defiance, its soaring spirit, and undying resolve.”

This is what Manifest Destiny means to people around the world today—and what it has meant to the eight million killed in U.S. wars, coups, and subversions in defense of their empire since World War 2 alone.

Watch the full show.

A “Unity of Opposites,” A Matter of Taste
Trump and Biden React—Differently—to the Toppling of the Statues

July 13, 2020 | revcom.us

Editors’ Note: Following are edited excerpts of commentary by Andy Zee on Episode 15 of the RNL Show—Revolution, Nothing Less!, a weekly show on @therevcoms YouTube channel. The Beautiful Rising of the struggle against police murder and the oppression of Black people has included the toppling of statues and monuments to Confederate generals and leaders, and raised questions about the real history of this country, its foundations in slavery and its continuing legacy of the oppression of Black people. Zee’s commentary below—going into the July 4th weekend—focuses on the differences in approach between the fascist Trump and the Democrat Biden to some of this.

The cultural shift that is tearing down the monuments and ripping the names of so-called “great men” who enforced slavery, segregation, and oppression strikes at crucial formative myths at the core of how people have thought and continue to think about this country—in its foundation in the genocide of the native peoples and the enslavement and continued oppression of Black people. This needs to be the gateway to looking at the whole history, understanding why and how it developed, and then what must be done to end it. To do this—ending all forms of oppression—requires digging up the roots that continue to nourish and compel that oppression to this day. And, that can only be done through overthrowing the system that enforces that oppression. Why that is necessary and how it could be done is something Bob Avakian goes deeply into in the film Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution and is what you will learn about through the RNL Show—Revolution, Nothing Less! and at the website revcom.us.

Let’s do a bit more tearing into the history and role of America this July 4th. In the struggle around monuments there is a lot to learn about reality. First, I want to recommend an article by Bob Avakian on the website revcom.us, A Beautiful Uprising: Right and Wrong, Methods and Principles, that provides a way to approach how to evaluate the arc of an individual’s life and history—which applies not only to monuments, but to more.

Here, I want to draw a contrast that reveals something important about the situation we face. This is the sharp contrast between the fascist Trump/Pence regime and the Democrats, led now by Joe Biden.

The fascists and the Democrats are bitterly opposed and represent radically different ways that they each see how this country should be ruled. Yet they share something basic in that they both uphold, defend, and enforce the rule of this system here and its role in the world. Let’s get into this...

First, Donald Trump is an open and outright defender of slave owners and the Confederacy. He threatens serious jail terms and defends the great generals of the South. Trump—that racist to the core pig—tweeted in the last week white supremacists shouting white power at people who were protesting Trump. Later in the week he tweeted video of two white home owners in St. Louis pointing their guns at protesters as they marched by.

Joe Biden—the Democrat who will run for president against Trump—is OK with taking down and putting in museums monuments to those advocates of slavery who committed treason by fighting for the South in the Civil War. But when it comes to the founders of this country... George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, that is too far for Joe Biden, and if he were in power he would use the force of the government to stop that. Earlier this week he said:

there’s an obligation that the government protect those monuments... [Jefferson and Washington] may have had things in their past that were now and then distasteful [“distasteful,” Joe Biden? to who? the slaves, to Black people hounded and lynched by the KKK during the era of Jim Crow, to thousands—thousands—of parents who have lost their children to murder by the police? I think distasteful is insult that adds to their unbearable pain...]

[Biden continues...] Taking down, toppling a Christopher Columbus statue, George Washington’s statue ... I think that is something that the government has an opportunity and a responsibility to protect from happening.

Two quick points, (1) on the reality: Both Jefferson and Washington were not just slave owners, but especially Jefferson viciously fought to expand slavery with the Louisiana Purchase a prime example.

And, (2), you see here in the response of Trump and Biden the difference and what they fundamentally have in common. Trump is, as Chuck D (who will be on the show later) said about Elvis and John Wayne—“straight-up racist, don’t mean nothing to me...” That’s Trump.

But for the Democrats with Biden at their head—for them, even with their real differences, which Biden characterized as “distasteful,” but a mere matter of taste; for them, the line is drawn at protecting and defending those who founded this country and the system that continues to exploit and oppress people here and around the world.

Let’s go a bit deeper: This system that is celebrated on July 4th does not just oppress people here, but around the world.

You will hear on July 4th not only the bellowing and belching of USA #1 from the fascist-in-chief and his very fine people. But you will also hear the leaders of the Democrats complain that with Trump, “WE” are no longer leaders of the Free World...

I am going to play a clip from the film THE TRUMP/PENCE REGIME MUST GO! In The Name of Humanity, We REFUSE To Accept a Fascist America: A Better World IS Possible! on the reality of the U.S. as “Leader of the Free World”...this from 2017 (see clip here).

[transcript of the clip] But from childhood we are indoctrinated with the notion that America is a shining light of freedom, and the President of the United States is “the leader of the free world.” Well, when has this been true? Was it true during all the years of slavery? Or during the long years of Jim Crow segregation after the Civil War, when thousands of Black people were lynched while leering mobs of white racists celebrated, and Black people as a whole were subjected to constant terror? Is this a shining light of freedom now, when Black people have to take to the streets demanding “Stop Killing Us!” because the police kill a thousand people every year, many of them unarmed, especially Black people, Latinos, and Native Americans? When millions of women are battered and huge numbers are raped every year in this country, is this a shining light to the world? And what is this “free world”? Does it include the countries where the U.S. has backed and armed military juntas and other oppressive dictatorships, with their bloodthirsty death squads terrorizing the people, over the last 100 years and more, throughout Latin America and many other parts of the world? Does it include today countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey—all “allies” of the U.S. and all ruled by brutally repressive governments? Or what about the Philippines, where the government has carried out the cold-blooded murder of more than 10,000 people within the last year, and the head of state, Duterte, openly boasts of this? Does the “free world” include Israel, a nuclear-armed state that has occupied Palestinian land, in flagrant violation of UN resolutions, for 50 years, and forcibly maintains over a million Palestinian people in Gaza in what amounts to an open-air prison, living barely above survival level, and subject to repeated bombardment by Israeli armed forces, which in 2014, with full support from the U.S. government (headed then by Obama), killed over 2,000 people in Gaza, the overwhelming majority civilians, hundreds of them children? Is all this the “free world” of which the U.S. is the leader? Once you remove the blinders of the Great Tautological Fallacy, it can be seen that the “free world” simply means those parts of the world that are under the domination of, or are “friendly” to, the United States, no matter how monstrous their ruling classes may be, while the “non-free world” is made up of those who remain outside of, and especially those who pose opposition or obstacles to, the domination of the U.S. empire.

The U.S. government wages war in Africa and Asia, as well as the Middle East, claiming it is fighting to defend civilization against the brutal and murderous Islamic fundamentalist jihadists. But the imperialists of the U.S. are certainly no less brutal and murderous, and the “civilization” they boast of is literally built on the blood and bones of people all over the world. And why is this Islamic fundamentalism such a force now? Fundamentally because of the workings of capitalist imperialism itself. Besides the overall role of imperialism in creating more favorable soil for these Islamic fundamentalists, actions of the U.S. imperialists have further fed their growth.

In the 1980s the U.S. actually armed and built up Osama bin Laden and other Islamic fundamentalists to strike at the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

In 2003, in violation of international law, the U.S. invaded Iraq to overthrow the head of government there, Saddam Hussein. This invasion was carried out under the cover of lies that Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. This invasion, and the occupation of Iraq by American forces that followed, caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, set off bloody conflicts among the Iraqi people and created more fertile ground for Islamic fundamentalist forces.

And the same thing happened in Libya. Under the presidency of Barack Obama, and with the insistent urging of then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the U.S. intervened in a conflict within Libya on the side of forces opposed to the long-time ruler Muammar Qaddafi. With the fall of Qaddafi—which was brought about mainly as a result of massive bombing of his forces by the U.S. and its allies—the rivalries and conflicts within Libya were intensified, and Islamic fundamentalist forces gained strength. 

Or take the case of Iran. In 1953 the CIA engineered a coup that overthrew a popular government that was moving to nationalize the oil of the country, so that it could be used for the development of its economy, instead of being controlled and plundered by the U.S. and Britain. This coup brought the Shah of Iran to power, and the people of Iran suffered decades of torment and torture at the hands of the Shah and his secret police. And, here again, these actions of the U.S. created more favorable ground for the forces of Islamic fundamentalism, which ultimately seized power through the revolution that overthrew the Shah in 1979.

These are only a few examples of the American crimes that have been committed, and the kinds of consequences that have followed from these crimes, in countries all over the world. And all this underlines the crucial importance of casting off the blinders of the Great Tautological Fallacy and breaking with American chauvinism. We need to think about humanity, first and above all.

This July 4th can be an important new step for many who have taken to the streets to look deeply at and act against the enormous injustice and horror brought down on Black people, and people everywhere who are abused and mistreated, whose lives are devalued and snuffed out by the system which the USA sits on top of—a dead weight on the people of the world and the planet itself.

There is a way out of the horror and madness of all this...

Watch the full show.

Letter from a Reader:

Trump Regime Escalates Fascist Repression in Response to the Beautiful Rising

July 13, 2020 | revcom.us

Editors’ Note: We received this letter from a reader, highlighting and documenting some key repressive moves by the fascist Trump/Pence regime, which it is important for all our readers to know. In the face of these moves and any heightened repression, it is really important not only to fight these politically and legally, but also that the beautiful and righteous struggles of the people come back stronger and grow through this, furthering the illegitimacy of the regime and its acts. Stay tuned for Episode 17 of the Revolution, Nothing Less! weekly show on the @therevcoms YouTube channel where they will cover some of the key lessons—with broader and relevant implications of the victory in the Freeway 9 case.

***

Since the heartless murder of George Floyd seven weeks ago, the U.S. has been swept by wave upon wave of protests demanding an end to police brutality and to the systemic racist oppression that stalks every moment and every aspect of life for people of color. And millions, including many white people, have rebelled against, or at least begun to seriously question, the myth of “America, the Land of the Free” and to examine the actual foundations of this country—which are slavery, genocide and conquest.

As part of this, mass demonstrations have targeted and sometimes torn down or defaced monuments honoring historical figures who have been held up as “heroes” in the U.S. It began with statues of Confederate soldiers, generals and leaders who waged a bloody Civil War to defend slavery. Almost 1,800 of these monuments were erected decades later, to celebrate white supremacy and to terrorize Black people.

Later, other figures who were seen as symbols of oppression were targeted, including Columbus, “The Founding Fathers,” and Trump’s hero, President Andrew Jackson, a genocidal monster and wealthy slave owner known as “The Indian Killer” in his time. [Read Bob Avakian’s “On Statues, Monuments, and Celebrating—or Ending—Oppression” for a fuller and deeper look at all of this.—Editor]

Even if not every action taken as part of all this upheaval has been right, as a whole this has truly been “a beautiful rising.” And the calling out of the “saints” of white supremacy is a liberating challenge to the oppression and exploitation that has been suffocating and killing people for so many generations.

And for that very reason, this uprising is intolerable to the Trump/Pence regime, which is now targeting it for heavy repression. I am writing this letter to inform revcom readers of some of this.

Trump’s Fascist Executive Order

On June 26, Trump signed an “Executive Order on Protecting American Monuments, Memorials and Statues and Combating Recent Criminal Violence.”

To be blunt, this Order is a fascist call to arms, a frenzied tirade against the uprising, culminating in a concrete plan to suppress it.

The Order seeks to justify fascist repression by painting a wildly distorted picture in which “innocent citizens” are under attack by “arsonists and left-wing extremists” who “have led riots in the streets, burned police vehicles, killed and assaulted government officers as well as business owners defending their property...”

But the language of the Order makes very clear that Trump’s fury is not fueled by concern for the “innocent,” or minor property damage. It is the fact that the protests have gone beyond challenging one glaring injustice, and are starting to take on the oppression that pervades U.S. history and U.S. society today. Trump’s Order complains that the uprising “paints the United States of America as fundamentally unjust,” “shamelessly attack[s] the legitimacy of our institutions,” and challenges “the fundamental truth that America is good, her people are virtuous, and that justice prevails in this country to a far greater extent than anywhere else in the world.”

In an ominous passage, Trump targets “Marxism” in particular, saying that:

Many of the rioters, arsonists, and left-wing extremists who have carried out and supported these acts have explicitly identified themselves with ideologies—such as Marxism—that call for the destruction of the United States system of government.

All this is what turns protesters—in Trump’s eyes—into “violent extremists” in the grip of “a fringe ideology.”

Blind, unquestioning loyalty to the “fatherland,” and an almost religious fervor about the “virtue” of its people, are particular hallmarks of fascism (though the Democrats, too, chant “USA, USA,” wave the flag and talk about America as the “exceptional nation” in the world). The whole upsurge against police murder and racism is at odds with that, and Trump sees the struggle around the monuments as the cutting edge of this... and he is determined to smash it.

His Order says:

Key targets in the violent extremists’ campaign against our country are public monuments, memorials, and statues. Their selection of targets reveals ... a desire to indiscriminately destroy anything that honors our past and to erase from the public mind any suggestion that our past may be worth honoring, cherishing, remembering, or understanding.

And:

My Administration will not allow violent mobs incited by a radical fringe to become the arbiters of the aspects of our history that can be celebrated in public spaces.

This is what guides the Order, a plan for major repression that the Trump/Pence regime has already begun to implement.

Extreme Penalties for “Participating”

For starters, the Order directs the U.S. government to bring federal charges—and to seek the maximum penalty under those charges—for “any person or any entity” [i.e., group or organization] “that destroys, damages, vandalizes, or desecrates a monument, memorial, or statue within the United States or otherwise vandalizes government property.” The maximum penalty for this charge—which could be applied to graffiti on a monument—is 10 years in jail and a $250,000 fine for each count.

But it doesn’t stop there—it makes the same threat against “any person or entity” that “participates in efforts to incite violence or other illegal activity in connection with the riots and acts of vandalism.” Likewise, anyone who “assist[s] the agitator” or “aid[s] and abet[s]” others accused of federal crimes is subject to the same penalty.

Terms like “aid,” “abet,” and “assist” are quite broad and can include things like giving someone a ride or a bottle of water. What this comes down to is that anyone arrested at a protest at which vandalism was alleged to occur could be charged with “participating”... and face 10 years in jail. In other words, this Order criminalizes the whole storm of protest that has been unfolding for two months.

And these are not idle threats. The same day, Attorney General William Barr announced the formation of a Task Force:

... not only to enable prosecutions of extremists who engage in violence, but to understand these groups well enough that we can stop such violence before it occurs and ultimately eliminate it as a threat to public safety and the rule of law.

A plan to “eliminate” potential “threats” “before they occur” is punishment for “pre-crime”—arresting people because of what you suspect they are going to do. And it is only a short step away from “thought-crime,” where holding certain ideas that could lead people to criminal acts is itself a crime.

According to CNN, “More than 150 people have been charged federally related to the riots in recent weeks...” And in a June 25 interview on NPR, Barr said the Department of Justice has “approximately 300 investigations” nationwide, and, “We are obtaining information and intelligence about the operations of these people.”

Trump himself tweeted “wanted poster”-style flyers put out by U.S. Park Police for 15 unidentified people photographed allegedly defacing the Andrew Jackson statue in Lafayette Park on June 22. Over the next few days five people were arrested, including the so-called alleged “ringleader” who was hit with two federal charges—a potential 20-year sentence.

Demanding—and Getting!—More Repression from Democratic Local Officials

Trump’s Order rails against “State and local governments” that have “surrendered to mob rule” and “lost the will or the desire to stand up to the radical fringe.” In fact, local governments across the U.S. have been extremely repressive—with cops and National Guard beating and in one case shooting protesters, gassing people, imposing curfews and arresting thousands. But most have combined this repression with trying to appear sympathetic, negotiating with protesters and making some minor concessions. Trump was particularly incensed by the decision of the mayor and police chief of Seattle to allow protesters to occupy the Capitol Hill district for three weeks. Trump demands more unrelenting and severe repression.

The Order threatens local governments and police departments with cuts in federal funds if they have “failed to protect public monuments, memorials, and statues” in the manner and spirit that Trump demands. And it directs federal agencies (like the FBI) to “work with state and local law enforcement ... in connection with their investigations or prosecutions” of protesters, and to bring federal charges wherever possible. In other words, he wants agencies under his command to be in the mix with local officials, making sure they crack down with heavy charges.

Trump issued his Order on a Friday, and a sense of what these changes will mean soon followed. That Monday, an LA task force of local law enforcement and the FBI announced it was investigating “individuals committing criminal activity” during protests, and would “hold people accountable for ... federal violations.” On Wednesday, Seattle police attacked and cleared the Capitol Hill protesters, arresting 31 on state charges. The same day, cops attacked an occupied area in New York City.

“Pre-Deployed” Armed Enforcers

Perhaps the most chilling part of the Order is that it authorizes the use of federal forces in local areas, without being requested by local officials. It says that “Upon the request” from one of several federal departments, “the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide ... personnel to assist with the protection of Federal monuments, memorials, statues, or property.” These three departments command a lot of armed force—the U.S. military, Border Patrol, ICE, FBI, the Secret Service and more, none of which are normally used against local street protests, and the legality of doing this without a request from local authorities is questionable.

Days later, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) went into action, announcing the formation of a task force to “protect monuments,” whether on federal land or not. The head of DHS said:

As we approach the July 4th holiday, I have directed the deployment and pre-positioning of Rapid Deployment Teams across the country to respond to potential threats to facilities and property.

Two days later, it was reported that these teams had been sent to a number of cities, including Portland and Seattle, while others were being pre-positioned to be able to reach anywhere in the U.S. within six hours! According to CNN, Border Patrol and ICE agents are playing a major role in these teams. The Border Patrol in particular is notorious both for its thuggish brutality and for being enthusiastic supporters of Trump.

The Larger Context

All this constitutes a reorganization of repressive forces under direct command of the regime, explicitly targeting a mass movement for justice that also challenges blind American patriotism and American exceptionalism. And it is happening in a larger context in which the Trump/Pence regime is making shocking and bold moves almost daily to consolidate fascism. Among these are: Trump is rousing his hard-core supporters on the basis of all-but-open white supremacy, re-tweeting people chanting white power or using firearms to threaten protesters. He is issuing threats against universities for allowing “Radical Left Indoctrination” on campuses. Attorney General Barr is firing people in key positions in the Department of Justice and replacing them with Trump loyalists. And much more.

This is a very serious situation. Many progressive and liberal people are being led to so focus on Trump’s declining poll numbers that they don’t notice that fundamentally, the regime is not aiming to be popular, it is focused on using the vast power and significant support it already commands in order to bring the hammer down on its opponents—an approach that could easily “trump” their lack of majority support, unless people are mobilized in the streets in their millions to oppose this and actually drive the regime from power.

Israel Threatens to Annex Much of Palestinian West Bank—Accelerating U.S.-Backed Genocide of Palestinian People

July 13, 2020 | revcom.us

The storm clouds of U.S.-backed Israeli ethnic cleansing and genocide are growing ever darker over the Palestinian people.

On May 28, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was committed to annexing Israeli settlements, connecting roads and other territories in the Palestinian West Bank by July 1—“once a joint Israeli-U.S. team completes mapping the exact vision of the future of the territory based on a conceptual map released by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration,” according to the Times of Israel.

This could amount to up to 30 percent of the West Bank, which is located west of the Jordan River, between Israel and Jordan. The West Bank is a key part of historic Palestine and home to 2.8 million Palestinians, and ’it has long been promised to Palestinians as the core of a future state. Now Palestinians are facing the prospect of having yet more of their land stolen—including key agricultural lands and water sources—their lives and society further shattered, and being forced to live under even more draconian Israeli rule.

July 1 has passed and the exact scope and timing of Israel’s next steps remain unclear. There are reports of differences within the Israeli ruling class, including due to the COVID-19 pandemic and international opposition. There’s an outcry from right-wing Israeli settlers who don’t want any hint of any Palestinian state, although Netanyahu insists there’s no mention of a state in his plan.¹ And the U.S. and Israel may still be working through the precise dimensions and timing of the land grab. But Netanyahu insists he’s going forward, perhaps in a more step-by-step way, despite the global pushback. The U.S.-Israeli threat to the Palestinian people is real—and extreme!

100 Years of Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide in Service of Imperialism

This annexation is the latest chapter in a 100-plus-year history of U.S and Western imperialist-backed Israeli ethnic cleansing and genocide against the indigenous Palestinian population. It’s like what this country has done to Native Americans—stealing their land, destroying their societies, and carrying out massive, bloody crimes through wars, land theft, forced removals, military confinement, and one broken promise and broken treaty after another.

This has been done in service of the reactionary interests of Israel, and the reactionary interests of Western capitalism-imperialism, particularly U.S. imperialism, in dominating and controlling the strategic, oil-rich region of the Middle East, exercising global power, and fending off global rivals.

What is today Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza were once all part of historic Palestine, where the Palestinian people had lived for many centuries. This all began to change during World War 1, when the British empire backed the Zionist movement’s program of Jewish colonization of Palestine.² By 1948, the Palestinian people still owned more than 90 percent of the land, and comprised two-thirds of the population, but during the 1948 war, Zionist settlers violently drove a million Palestinians from their homes, lands, and villages, seized 77 percent of Palestine, and established the settler-colonial state of Israel—with the backing of the U.S.

In 1967, Israel launched another war of aggression, seizing the remaining 23 percent of historic Palestine—Gaza and the West Bank as well as Syria’s Golan Heights—which it has ruled ever since. And since 1967, Israel has become an ever more important cog—a nuclear-armed attack dog—in U.S. imperialism’s global empire, receiving billions in aid and military support each year.

Israel has turned Gaza into an open-air prison, confining nearly two million Palestinians in inhuman conditions.

In the West Bank, Israel has built up 132 settlements and 124 smaller “outpost” settlements, with about 640,000 Jewish settlers now living there (including in East Jerusalem)—all of it illegal under international law. These settlements, barriers, and the Jewish-settler-only roads that connect them to Israel, are instruments of ethnic cleansing—surrounding, isolating, and literally walling off what are increasingly concentration camp enclaves where Palestinians are confined. Many are essentially militarized bases from which virulent racists carry out a reign of terror on the Palestinian population.

Democrats and Republicans have both fervently backed Israel, including its crimes against the Palestinians. But as revcom.us summed up, “What is new, is that Trump is ... abandon[ing the] pretense that the U.S. is any kind of ‘neutral broker’ and instead frames the U.S.-Israel alliance in terms of a holy war between the West and Islam. This converges with an aggressive move from the U.S. policy of supporting the two state solution to an openly ethnically cleansed Israeli state.”

This shift has been expressed in the Trump/Pence fascist regime’s decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in the West Bank in May 2018, its March 2019 declaration of support for Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, and the announcement this January of its Middle East “peace” plan.

As revcom.us analyzed, “This plan gives the right-wing government in Israel everything it has asked for. It legalizes Israel’s seizure of the most fertile Palestinian land. It legalizes Israel’s seizure of what had been the most important Palestinian city, Jerusalem. It says that if there is to be a Palestinian state in the future, it will be on different bits of terrible land separated from each other, and that this so-called state will not be allowed to have an army. This plan does represent a major escalation in the oppression of the Palestinian people.”³ In short, it’s an escalation and leap to genocide.

All this has been fervently advocated and supported by the Trump-backed Christian fascist movement in this country.⁴

At this moment when millions are reckoning with America’s white supremacist past and present, people also need to reckon with what America has done around the world—including its support for genocide in Palestine. And those of us living in the U.S. must not only reckon with this bloody history, but actively expose and oppose the towering crimes being carried out by Israel, which should be stamped “Made in the USA” because they’d be impossible to carry out without American involvement. And we must do so as part of seriously organizing and preparing for the actual revolution that will do away with the oppression of whole peoples, wars of empire, armies of occupation, and crimes against humanity.

For more background, see:

Bob Avakian, Bringing Forward Another Way, 2006

Special Issue of Revolution: Bastion of Enlightenment... or Enforcer for Imperialism: The Case of ISRAEL, revcom.us, October 10, 2010

Take the Quiz! Israel: Perception & Reality
Part 1. The Origins of the State of Israel, the Palestinians, and the Holocaust,” revcom.us, September 26, 2010

1. Netanyahu also insisted that Palestinians living in areas annexed by Israel would not receive Israeli citizenship. He summed up, “What this plan says is that Israel and its security forces will militarily control all the territory west of the Jordan River.” Netanyahu said, “I stress: all the territory, with no exception. Tell me, when has there ever been such an American approach? They allowed us, at most, to conduct urgent pursuits of terrorists. Now there’s a profound paradigm shift.” “Netanyahu: Palestinians in Israeli-annexed Jordan Valley won’t get citizenship,” Times of Israel, May 28, 2020. [back]

Netanyahu’s need to address the settler outcry reflects the growing political strength of “fanatic Jewish fundamentalists who openly call for the violent extermination of the Palestinian people in the ruling coalition,” as revcom.us has written, and the erosion of Israel’s traditional legitimizing norms as a quasi-secular (bourgeois) democratic state. For more, see “With Trump’s “Blessing” Netanyahu calls for Israel to annex West Bank settlements,” revcom.us, April 8, 2019. [back]

2. Zionism is an openly pro-Western colonialist, imperialist ideology and political movement among Jewish people. See “Setting the Record Straight on Anti-Zionism, Anti-Semitism and the Important Difference Between the Two,” revcom.us, January 18, 2019. [back]

3. In the Wake of Trump’s Middle East “Peace Plan” Revolution Reprint: Bastion of Enlightenment... or Enforcer of Imperialism: The Case of ISRAEL, revcom.us, February 1, 2020. [back]

4. “And Trump’s ‘blessing’ [for Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights] was accompanied by a literal blessing by Trump’s Christian fascist, ‘end times’ lunatic secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who posed in an interview with the Christian Broadcast Network that it was possible that God raised Donald Trump to be president of the United States in order to protect Israel from Iran, and who declared ‘the Lord is at work’ in Trump’s announcement.” With Trump’s “Blessing” Netanyahu calls for Israel to annex West Bank settlements, revcom.us. [back]

The green-shaded area of the second map above is land mandated by UN resolutions and international law for the Palestinian people. The small, encircled green areas on the fourth map represent enclaves where Palestinian people now live encircled by Israeli "settlements" (often paramilitary outposts), locked down by walls and Israeli military checkpoints.

The following, on why Israel is such a key ally for the U.S. in the Middle East, is from Bringing Forward Another Way, a talk given by Bob Avakian in 2006. This groundbreaking analysis, made during the George W. Bush years, continues to be very relevant, especially in the context of sharpening contradictions centered in the Middle East and aggressive U.S.-led moves against Iran. This work is an illustration of applying the scientific method to approaching international conflicts and understanding social and political contradictions—and identifying where the fundamental interests of humanity lie, providing concrete leadership and guidance for the strategic repolarization for revolution and a thoroughly internationalist orientation. Given the current situation in the world, we urge our readers to study, discuss and share the entire important work.

If you look at any other regimes in the region, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are big allies of the U.S. But in Saudi Arabia and in Egypt, the situation is very unstable and potentially very volatile: there are serious tremors beneath the throne, so to speak—there is the growing danger of "social earthquakes" that could threaten to topple, or actually topple, those regimes. You don't have that in Israel. Hopefully, as things develop overall, there will not be just a "loyal opposition peace movement" among Israelis but the development of a much more powerful progressive movement with a much more radical view in Israel—and this is something that progressive people in Israel, or with ties to people in Israel, should work to foster and develop. But right now a positive and truly radical movement of that kind does not exist in Israel, and the dynamics with regard to Israel are not now such that the more that the regime in Israel is hard-core, the more it is going to run into antagonism with the bulk of its population. In the short term, the dynamic is essentially the opposite, unfortunately.

Oppose U.S. Imperialist Aggression!

Explosion Destroys Nuclear Fuel Site in Iran as Trump/Pence Regime Steps Up Attacks

July 13, 2020 | revcom.us

On July 2, a huge explosion destroyed Iran’s main nuclear fuel enriching facility at Natanz. According to various news reports, the explosion may have been caused by bombs planted at the site or by a cyberattack operation. Iranian officials said the destruction of the facility set back the country’s nuclear program by months.¹

The New York Times cited a “Middle Eastern intelligence official” as saying that Israel was behind the attack.² Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the Natanz attack, but the Israeli foreign minister said, “Iran cannot be allowed to have nuclear [weapon] capabilities,” and that to prevent them from having such capabilities, “we take actions that are best left unsaid.”³ Some Western officials have described the Natanz incident as part of an evolving “joint American-Israeli strategy” involving “a series of short-of-war clandestine strikes.”⁴

Whatever the actual role of Israel and U.S. in this particular incident was, it takes place in the context of aggressive, intensifying threats and attacks against Iran by the Trump/Pence regime along with Israel, the main attack dog for U.S. imperialism in the region.⁵

In January of this year, Trump ordered the assassination by drone of Iranian general Qassim Soleimani while he was in Iraq. This American assassination of a high government official of a sovereign state, on the soil of another sovereign state, was objectively an act of war. To be clear, Soleimani was a key part of the reactionary Islamic fundamentalist regime of Iran, which has committed real crimes against its people and supports other reactionary forces in the region. But the butchery and massive crimes carried out by America in the Middle East alone, not to speak of across the world, is thousands of times greater than what the likes of the Iranian reactionaries could even dream of!⁶

Assassination, Military Build-up, and Murderous Sanctions

Even before the Soleimani assassination, the U.S. had stepped up deployment of warships, high-tech weapons, and thousands more troops into the region, expressly targeted at Iran. While the U.S. denounces Iran for allegedly aiming to develop nuclear weapons, it is the American rulers (Democrats and Republicans alike) who have thousands of nuclear weapons that they wield against any other power or forces threatening their domination of the Middle East and the entire globe. And now this monstrous arsenal—which could bring doom to humanity if used—is in the control of a demented fascist bully with his finger on the nuclear button.

When they came into office, the Trump/Pence regime sharply changed the U.S. imperialist policy vs. Iran, previously marked by Obama’s signing of a multinational deal with Iran to limit its nuclear weapons program. Trump unilaterally pulled the U.S. out of the nuclear deal⁷—and then imposed draconian sanctions against Iran as a form of economic warfare. This, in conjunction with Iran’s dependence on oil exports, has strangled Iran’s economy—and brought extreme hardships to masses of Iranian people, affecting many aspects of life.

As one journalist reported, “The many Iranian people I have interviewed have described some of the worst sanction impacts as hurting children and patients suffering from cancer, asthma, cardiovascular disease and other ailments.... Even when medicines, supplies and equipment are available, they are increasingly unaffordable.”⁸ This situation was made even worse in the past few months when Iran was one of the countries hardest hit with the COVID-19 pandemic.⁹ For the U.S. rulers, the suffering of the people is precisely the point of their sanctions—to foment widespread discontent in the hopes of weakening or even toppling the Iranian regime, in order to strengthen the U.S. grip on the Middle East.¹⁰

In June, the U.S. and the International Atomic Energy Agency publicly accused Iran of blocking international inspections of its nuclear sites and hiding alleged nuclear activity. As one news analysis put it, this “provided cover should he [Trump] choose to intensify pressure on Iran in the midst of the presidential election season.”¹¹ And in early July, the U.S. declared that four tankers now on their way to Venezuela with cargo of Iranian gasoline—in defiance of U.S. sanctions—will not be allowed to make their deliveries.

The reactionary Iranian rulers, for their part, have been acting on their own perceived needs—and ambitions for greater regional power. In a major move aimed directly at the U.S., Iran and China recently signed a series of economic and military agreements.¹² For the U.S., this means that China,¹³ which is increasingly challenging U.S. power in different regions of the world, will step up their presence in the crucial Middle East in a big way—and that Iran could have an important outlet for its oil exports in the face of the U.S. sanctions.

The Real Interests of Humanity

It’s unclear how all this will develop in the coming period. But the bombing at the Natanz nuclear facility, quite possibly with U.S.-Israeli involvement, is part of ominous developments in a situation already fraught with great dangers—for the people of Iran and the region, and humanity. Whatever steps the Trump/Pence regime takes vis-à-vis Iran will fundamentally be with the aim of fighting for the U.S. domination of an entire region. While the Democrats and others in the ruling class who oppose the regime’s policies have sharp differences with Trump, they also base themselves on what they see as the best interests of their criminal capitalist-imperialist system, and continued U.S. supremacy atop that system, which has NOTHING to do with the interests of humanity.

In this situation, it’s more crucial than ever for many more people to get into and spread widely what Bob Avakian says about the interests of the rulers vs. our interests:

The interests, objectives, and grand designs of the imperialists are not our interests—they are not the interests of the great majority of people in the U.S. nor of the overwhelming majority of people of the world as a whole. And the difficulties the imperialists have gotten themselves into in pursuit of these interests must be seen, and responded to, not from the point of view of the imperialists and their interests, but from the point of view of the great majority of humanity and the basic and urgent need of humanity for a different and better world, for another way. (BAsics 3:8)

1. Why Do Things Keep Blowing Up in Iran?, Slate.com, July 7. 2020.  [back]

2. Iran Admits Serious Damage to Natanz Nuclear Site, Setting Back Program, New York Times, July 5, 2020. Also, Israel speculated to be behind mysterious explosion at Iranian nuclear site, Independent (UK), July 6, 2020.  [back]

3. Why Do Things Keep Blowing Up in Iran?, Slate.com.  [back]

4. Long-Planned and Bigger Than Thought: Strike on Iran’s Nuclear Program, New York Times, July 10, 20.  [back]

5. For a deeper understanding of the role of Israel, see the revcom.us special issue: Bastion of Enlightenment… or Enforcer for Imperialism: The Case of ISRAEL.  [back]

6. To read about some of those crimes, see the revcom.us resource page In the Middle East and the World… America: #1 Terrorist. See also the revcom.us American Crime series, which exposes many of the worst crimes committed by the U.S. around the world, including in the Middle East.

As Bob Avakian says in the film THE TRUMP/PENCE REGIME MUST GO! In The Name of Humanity, We REFUSE To Accept a Fascist America: A Better World IS Possible! on the reality of the U.S. as “Leader of the Free World:”

The U.S. government wages war in Africa and Asia, as well as the Middle East, claiming it is fighting to defend civilization against the brutal and murderous Islamic fundamentalist jihadists. But the imperialists of the U.S. are certainly no less brutal and murderous, and the “civilization” they boast of is literally built on the blood and bones of people all over the world. And why is this Islamic fundamentalism such a force now? Fundamentally because of the workings of capitalist imperialism itself. Besides the overall role of imperialism in creating more favorable soil for these Islamic fundamentalists, actions of the U.S. imperialists have further fed their growth.

In the 1980s the U.S. actually armed and built up Osama bin Laden and other Islamic fundamentalists to strike at the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

In 2003, in violation of international law, the U.S. invaded Iraq to overthrow the head of government there, Saddam Hussein. This invasion was carried out under the cover of lies that Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. This invasion, and the occupation of Iraq by American forces that followed, caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, set off bloody conflicts among the Iraqi people and created more fertile ground for Islamic fundamentalist forces.

And the same thing happened in Libya. Under the presidency of Barack Obama, and with the insistent urging of then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the U.S. intervened in a conflict within Libya on the side of forces opposed to the long-time ruler Muammar Qaddafi. With the fall of Qaddafi—which was brought about mainly as a result of massive bombing of his forces by the U.S. and its allies—the rivalries and conflicts within Libya were intensified, and Islamic fundamentalist forces gained strength.

Or take the case of Iran. In 1953 the CIA engineered a coup that overthrew a popular government that was moving to nationalize the oil of the country, so that it could be used for the development of its economy, instead of being controlled and plundered by the U.S. and Britain. This coup brought the Shah of Iran to power, and the people of Iran suffered decades of torment and torture at the hands of the Shah and his secret police. And, here again, these actions of the U.S. created more favorable ground for the forces of Islamic fundamentalism, which ultimately seized power through the revolution that overthrew the Shah in 1979.

These are only a few examples of the American crimes that have been committed, and the kinds of consequences that have followed from these crimes, in countries all over the world.  [back]

7. For background, see previous revcom.us coverage including America—the Lying, Deal-Breaking Aggressor in the Persian Gulf and How Long Must This Go On? Tankers Damaged in Persian Gulf—America Again Ratchets Up Threats, Danger of War Against Iran.  [back]

8. Intensified US Sanctions Bolster Iran’s Hardliners and Fuel Angry Protests, truthout.org, November 19, 2019.  [back]

9. Coronavirus—and Global Countermeasures: A Gathering Tsunami of Pain in a World of Savage Inequalities, revcom.us.  [back]

10. See Massive Protests Rock Iran: Islamic Republic Shoots Down More Than 100, Injures or Arrests Thousands More—U.S. Sheds Crocodile Tears While Intensifying Collective Suffering, Risking War, revcom.us.  [back]

11. Iran Is Accused of Hiding Suspected Nuclear Activity, New York Times, June 19, 2020.  [back]

12. Defying U.S., China and Iran Near Trade and Military Partnership, New York Times, July 11, 2020.  [back]

13. The leaders of China call themselves “communist”—but, in fact, they head up a capitalist system that exploits and oppresses its people and is a rising rival of U.S. and other imperialist powers internationally. For a deep look at how an actual socialist society was defeated in China after the death of revolutionary leader Mao in 1976 and capitalism was restored, see this special issue of revcom.us: You Don’t Know What You Think You “Know” About… The Communist Revolution and the REAL Path to Emancipation: Its History and Our Future.  [back]

Two photos of the site of a missile production facility near Parchin, Iran. Left, before the explosion; right, the black spot shows the scorched remains after an explosion on June 26 that was so big it rattled Iran's capital. (Photo: AP)

Editors' note: The following was translated by revcom.us from Aurora Roja, the blog of the Revolutionary Communist Organization, Mexico.

Healthcare Workers Protest Against Lack of Equipment, Medical Care and Against Repression

July 13, 2020 | revcom.us

We received this report on one of the protests on July 1 and we encourage other people to share their experiences, exposures, and struggles (auroraroja.mx@gmail.com). For an analysis of why this system worsens a lot the impact of SARS-CoV-2, resulting in many unnecessary deaths, check out “Unnecessary COVID-19 Deaths Show This System Is Obsolete—Revolution Is Needed.”

On July 1, in front of the main offices of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in Mexico City, you could see and hear the healthcare workers continuing with their demands that they be provided with personal protective equipment to care for and save the lives of those infected with COVID-19. They also demanded the reinstatement of their colleagues who have been fired for demanding, exposing, or demonstrating the lack of basic supplies. On the same day, mobilizations were held in 13 states of Mexico, including Oaxaca, Hidalgo, Puebla, and Chihuahua, organized by the National Union of Healthcare Workers (SNTS).

Despite protests and complaints from healthcare workers throughout Mexico, there is still a lack of personal protective equipment, testing, other supplies, and guidance for new staff, which has greatly increased the risks they face and has contributed to a high number of unnecessary deaths and contagions among healthcare workers. According to official figures (which do not include all cases), in Puebla there are 2,252 infected healthcare workers, of whom more than 40 have died. In Mexico City, 200 health workers have died from COVID-19 contagion,¹ and nationwide, 46,013 healthcare workers have been infected, of whom 683 have died,² all according to official figures. However, a SNTS representative has denounced that “the numerical disparity in the accounting by Zoé (Robledo) [director of the IMSS], (Hugo López) Gatell [Secretary of Health], and the real lethality of our hospitals is offensive and insulting.... They put out the statements, we put out the dead.” One of the demands is “A real count and posting of the names of the people who have died and have been infected.”³

As a healthcare worker from a hospital in Chimalhuacán, State of Mexico, explained to us, the proportion of infected medical personnel is so high, “Because we do not have quality supplies, because we do not have protective equipment, and they only use the supplies in certain areas or COVID-19 hospitals, and my hospital is not comprehensive.” In addition, many of these people who are risking their lives to help others lack health insurance: “In question as workers, well, we are in a super bad situation... And now with INSABI [Institute of Health for Well-Being], we have not even signed a contract. There are colleagues who even have 12 [years] of seniority with the previous six-year terms, only signing a contract every six months, so it is practically half a working life, which, therefore, is practically not taken into account. So if we do not have a contract, we do not have medical benefits either, my colleagues are getting sick and there is no medical care, therefore our deceased colleagues do not even have indemnity, much less a pension.” This is completely criminal.

During the rally outside the IMSS main offices, the demand to provide healthcare workers with personal protective equipment was a constant, as well as the reinstatement of their fired colleagues who have made these demands, or who have exposed the poor conditions in which they are forced to work. In the Mexico City protest, they also demanded the cessation of threats against those who continue to mobilize, granting permanent positions to those workers who are under temporary contract, and call for the authorities to sit down to dialogue and seriously commit to and comply with these demands. Via the sound system, voices of people from different hospitals were heard. After a while, it was reported that there would be a meeting with authorities at the main offices of the Secretariat of Health and Care (SSA). So we left on a brief march along Reforma Avenue, led by the healthcare workers, followed by the other groups who were supporting this mobilization.

Before leaving, candles were lit and a minute of silence was observed in honor of those who have died, infected by COVID-19. Once at the SSA, we blocked the circulation in the other direction of Reforma Avenue, because they were making it difficult to enter the offices of the healthcare workers commission that had been organized at that point. Finally, the commission was able to enter, but it later came out to basically report that they tried to pull our leg, because there were no authorities who would really guarantee full compliance with the agreements reached. Right there, the healthcare workers announced that they will hold a congress on August 1, 2020.

The flyer “Unnecessary COVID-19 Deaths Show This System Is Obsolete—Revolution Is Needed,” by the Revolutionary Communist Organization, Mexico, was gotten to almost everyone at this mobilization.

The mobilization by these workers is not stopping. On July 3, again, doctors and staff from the Lomas Verdes Traumatology Hospital in Naucalpan, State of Mexico, demonstrated. They blocked the side lane of the North Loop Highway to pressure to be provided with basic supplies to continue caring for the COVID-19 cases, in addition to the firing of six hospital officials.⁴

In the face of the authorities’ stonewalling their just demands, this battle continues and deserves everyone’s support.

Posted by Aurora Roja

1. La Jornada del Oriente, July 3, 2020. [back]

2. La Jornada, July 2, 2020. [back]

3. “Trabajadores de la Salud amagan con marchar el 1 de julio en la Ciudad de México” [Healthcare workers threaten march on July 1 in Mexico City]. [back]

4. Facebook: “Desde las Bases IMSS Emergencias” [From IMSS Rank and File Emergency Care Workers]. On this page you can find information about the mobilizations and the demands of the doctors. [back]

Protest at the IMSS main offices. The signs say: "Apologies for the inconvenience. There are no supplies." "We demand: Personal protective equipment!" "Corruption is killing us. There are no supplies." (Photo: Israel Lorenzana and Juan Carlos Gutiérrez, from Siete24.mx)

At the IMSS. The posters demand permanent positions for healthcare workers under temporary contracts. (Photo: EFE)

Fantasies of “Remaking Politics” by “the Left”—
Or the Reality of the Need for an ACTUAL Revolution

July 13, 2020 | revcom.us

Sunday’s New York Times has an op-ed by Amna Akbar that claims “The Left Is Remaking Politics” with an “intersectional” approach to “police violence, global warming and unaffordable housing.” She concludes with a call to “stay focused on building mass movements of ordinary people who are serious about restoring and redistributing social wealth,” somehow distinguishing this from plain-old reformism. She is in “awe of how they inaugurate a new political moment, as the left offers not just a searing critique, but practical ladders to radical visions.” (July 12, 2020)

Leaving aside Akbar’s virtual blind spot on what this country and system does to people around the world, with its wars,¹ sanctions² and sweatshops,³ two essential points to her concluding awe and fantasy:

First, as Bob Avakian has written before, pointing to Marx’s scientific insight:

... one of the distinguishing features of reformists—including reformist “socialists”—is that, insofar as they identify the economy as the source of inequality and other social maladies, they tend to locate the problem in the sphere of distribution, whereas the fundamental source of the oppression and inequality that characterize an exploitative society, such as capitalism, resides in the sphere of production, and more specifically the relations of production.

In referencing this in “DAVID BROOKS—THE NOT SO GREAT PRETENDER—AND THE PROFOUND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRUMP, SANDERS AND ACTUAL SOCIALISM,” Avakian goes on to say:

... the transformation of the mode of production is fundamental. The “mode of production” refers to the economic system which embodies certain relations of production, and most essentially the ownership of the means of production—land, raw materials, physical structures such as factories, and technology— which under this system are privately owned and controlled by capitalists, or major associations of capital such as corporations, banks, etc. This is the foundation on which capitalists exploit masses of people—in all parts of the world—who own no means of production and are therefore forced to work for the capitalists who monopolize the means of production. And this is the basis on which capitalists accumulate profit privately, in feverish competition with other capitalists.

Second, Akbar's "practical ladders" conveniently sidestep the basic and necessary "ladder" of an ACTUAL revolution, the defeating and dismantling of the state apparatus that brutally enforces this system of capitalism-imperialism—its mode of production and all the oppressive social relations and ideas that go with it. This state is now headed by the Trump/Pence regime, a fascist regime that poses an immediate and existential danger to all of humanity. A crucial need obscured by the so-called "Left" with their deep-seated reliance on electoral politics, this fascist regime needs to be driven out through mass sustained nonviolent mobilization of the people. All of this contributing towards and strengthened by what is fundamentally needed, the mass movement for an ACTUAL revolution—and organized forces—for that.

An actual socialist revolution aims to transform the ownership of the means of production into common ownership by society as a whole, which makes it possible to do what can never be done under capitalism: to carry out production on the basis of an overall plan, proceeding not through exploitation but through the conscious and active involvement of the masses of people, interacting with the rest of nature in a sustainable way while meeting the material as well as the cultural and intellectual needs of the people—not just in one part of the world but ultimately in the world as a whole—and moving to do away completely with poverty, deprivation, and degradation, and all the unnecessary suffering that masses of people throughout the world endure under the domination of this capitalist system.

At the same time, the transformation of the mode of production must be carried out in a dialectical relation (a back-and-forth mutually influencing process) with the transformation of oppressive social relations (such as the relation between men and women) and the ideas and culture that reinforce oppression and exploitation. And, of great importance, all of this depends upon—and is impossible to achieve without—defeating and dismantling the state apparatus (in particular, the armed forces and police, as well as the courts and bureaucracies, and the executive power) enforcing the rule of the exploiters (the capitalist class) and replacing this with a socialist state power whose purpose and function is to serve and promote the radical transformation of society, and the world as a whole, toward the abolition of all exploitation and oppression.
(From DAVID BROOKS—THE NOT SO GREAT PRETENDER—AND THE PROFOUND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRUMP, SANDERS AND ACTUAL SOCIALISM)

1. See the revcom.us American Crime series for exposures of U.S. wars around the world, including in Vietnam, Korea, and the Middle East.[back]

2. For background on the current U.S. sanctions on Iran, see revcom.us articles "Explosion Destroys Nuclear Fuel Site in Iran as Trump/Pence Regime Steps Up Attacks" and "America--the Lying, Deal-Breaking Aggressor in the Persian Gulf." For background on U.S. sanctions against Iraq, see "American Crime Case #76: U.S.-UN Sanctions on Iraq--'A Legitimized Act of Mass Slaughter.'" [back]

3. See revcom.us articles by Raymond Lotta: "An Empire of Exploitation, a World of Misery, and the Revolution Humanity Cries Out For" and "From Vise Grip to Death Grip Imperialist Domination, COVID-19, and the Poor of the World Be Damned." [back]

A man carries wet cobalt from the Shinkolobwe Cobalt Mine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that produces 60% of the world's supply of cobalt, used in lithium-ion batteries for electric cars, laptops and smartphones, 2004. (Photo: AP)

A civilian vehicle in Afghanistan burns after being shot by U.S. forces after an attack near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, April 2019. (Photo: AP)

Immigrants from Central America in an overcrowded detention center at McAllen, Texas, July 2019. (Photo: AP)

Garment workers wear face masks against the coronavirus as they sew surgical gowns in a factory in the Industrial Zone in Yangon, Myanmar, May 2020. (Photo: AP)

To Those Rising Up and Awakening:
It Takes Science and Leadership to Truly Get Free

June 8, 2020 | revcom.us

This is written especially to those who have been righteously standing up and fighting back against murder by police and the oppression of Black people more generally, and to all those who have taken heart and inspiration from this, who are newly encountering the Revolution. Welcome! We stand side by side with you in this struggle and unite with your outrage and fury against centuries of oppression that truly must be NO MORE. This outpouring of resistance must continue and it must grow. People must stay in the streets, and this upsurge must get bigger, broader, deeper, and even more determined. At the same time, the big question that now presents itself—one that literally millions of people are asking—is: What will it take to truly put an end to police brutality, murder by police, and the oppression of Black people, once and for all?

The answer is that it will take far more than just people staying in the streets and fighting back, as critically important as that is. And this oppression can never be ended by trying to make a few reforms to a system that is completely rotten to its core. As with any big problem—whether a natural disease like COVID-19 or a social disease like racial oppression—solving that problem will take a deep understanding of the cause of that problem and the solution to it. In other words: It will take science. And it will take leadership. So let’s talk about what science and leadership have to do with changing the world.

Many people hear “science” and think biology and ecology; climate change and the environment; chemistry and physics; labs and microscopes; medicine, technology and new inventions. All of these are very important examples of—or closely related to—science. But for some reason, many people don’t think you need science to understand and change human society as a whole, or even that you can apply science for this purpose. This makes absolutely no sense. Science means investigating reality, gathering evidence, analyzing that evidence, identifying patterns, and drawing conclusions about reality on that basis. Why would it possibly be that this scientific method can’t or shouldn’t be applied to understanding and changing society? Because human society is complicated? All the more reason you need science to understand it!

Many people hear “leadership” and think of an activist with a bullhorn or a person leading a protest. These can be important and necessary examples of leadership, but leadership in the most important sense is something much bigger than that: Leadership in that sense is a matter of identifying and leading others to see the most fundamental problems confronting humanity and the solutions to those problems. Leadership is a matter of saying “Here’s why we’re in this situation and here’s how we can get out of it.”

In Bob Avakian (BA), we have the science, the leadership, and the understanding of problem and solution we need to not only emancipate Black people but all of humanity from centuries of oppression. Sound like a bold statement? GOOD. It’s meant to be. And it’s backed up with more than 50 years of substance.

BA came forward as a revolutionary in the 1960s, working and struggling alongside the Black Panthers. In the decades since he has been working tirelessly on bringing forward and continuing to develop the deep, scientific understanding of the need to NOT reform but rather overthrow and completely sweep away this system through an actual revolution; the strategy for bringing into being the conditions necessary to make that revolution and win in those conditions; and the vision for a completely new and radically different system, society, and world. Underlying all of this is BA’s scientific method, which he continues to apply to the biggest questions facing humanity while leading a movement for revolution. A deep understanding of and visceral hatred for the oppression of Black people and the ways that Black people suffer, and a burning desire to see Black people free of this oppression, is at the core of BA and everything he is about, and is a constant thread that runs through his life and work over decades.

People throughout society and throughout the world need to know about BA. Thousands now and ultimately millions need to follow him in order to make an actual revolution to get free of this monstrous system and bring a far better society, world, and future into being.

See for yourself. Start with BA’s powerful new statement, “NOTHING LESS!” Read it and spread it to everyone you know. Go to revcom.us to see the latest articles from BA on an incredibly broad range of topics related to revolution and radically changing the world, and learn more about and find out how to get involved in the revolution BA is leading. Check out BAsics, from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian, the handbook for revolution, and the film Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Could Really Make Revolution. Go to the BA portal to get deeper into his extensive works. Learn more as you get involved in spreading this throughout society. Write to us to find out how you can specifically learn more and get involved. Write to us with your questions and let us know what’s on your mind.

One last thing: Make no mistake—hell yes, this is controversial. Once again, we say: GOOD. Think about this: Could there ever be a genuine movement for an actual revolution that didn’t offend anyone or make them uncomfortable!? There are all kinds of people out there who might talk a big game but are scared of an actual revolution, who want to get in on this system and try to get a better deal for themselves, or who just plain don’t know what they’re talking about. There are people who would have you believe that if the skin color of a person who has a way out for humanity is white, you shouldn’t listen to that person. Needless to say, these people are not going to like BA and what he stands for. And they’re going to come up with all kinds of lies, cheap shots, and slander to attack BA and cover their own asses. This kind of behavior is despicable, it is very harmful and it must be taken seriously and fought against. But it is not at all surprising.

So let’s end with a question back to you: Are you going to listen to lies and bullshit from the mouths of people who—in one form or another—want to keep the world basically the way it is? Or will you have the courage, integrity, and intellectual honesty to go directly to the source, get into BA, and see for yourself? Just how badly do you want to end oppression, change the world, and get free once and for all?

Bob Avakian On
EMANCIPATION
FROM MENTAL SLAVERY AND ALL OPPRESSION

May 4, 2020 | revcom.us

In 1863, mid-way in the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln finally issued the Emancipation Proclamation and, as a result of the Civil War, Black people were formally freed from literal, physical slavery. But today the question is: When, and how, will Black people finally be free from all forms of slavery and oppression? And this poses straight-up this big question:

When will Black people finally emancipate themselves from the mental slavery of religion?!

We have seen the possibility of a world without oppression powerfully expressed in the not-too-distant past, during the radical upsurge that took place within this country and throughout the world during the 1960s and early 1970s.¹ Within this country, the struggle of Black people was at the forefront of all this, and as that struggle became more radical in opposition to the system itself, and groups like the Black Panther Party, driven by the impatience and daring of Black youth, grew and gained influence, the advanced role of the struggle for Black liberation exerted an even more powerful positive role. And, as a very significant part of the widely and strongly held conviction that it was not only necessary but possible to put an end to the nightmare that had been endured for so long:

among Black people—who we’re always told are just sort of inherently religious—there was a massive turning away from religion, especially among the youth. Why? Because people were filled with hope, they didn’t believe that there was no hope for a better world. They were full of hope for a better world right in this world. And so, among Black people, there was, on the part of the youth in particular, a major turning away from religion and from all the old conventions that went along with religion that were conservatizing influences holding down the people.²

Hard Truths, Emancipating Truths

But the great promise of the 1960s radical upsurge, and the hopes that it raised, were not realized—fundamentally because things did not go all the way to an actual revolution. And, over the decades since then, through conscious policy by the ruling powers to foster the growth of more bourgeois and petit bourgeois strata among Black people, while at the same time maintaining and containing the masses of Black people in conditions of deprivation, oppression and vicious repression, this bitter reality has resulted:

Among the basic masses of people, including Black people (not the more middle class strata being developed through conscious ruling class policy, but the masses of oppressed people), there was a tremendous amount of demoralization and sense of defeat, and the introduction (including through deliberate ruling class policy and action) of massive amounts of drugs further intensified the desperate conditions of the basic masses and further reinforced the sense of demoralization. A lot of people were dying or being reduced to broken wretches on the basis of turning to drugs out of despair—the lack of hope, or the death, in immediate terms, of the hope that inspired so many people, on a real basis, through the course of the 1960s upsurge, which had now ebbed and been transformed. And this situation was made even more desperate and demoralizing with the growth of gangs in the ghettos and barrios of this country (as well as internationally), with youth drawn to the gangs in conditions of increasing deprivation and desperation and what was for most the illusion of getting rich, with the orientation of “get rich or die trying,” fueled by the growth of the drug trade and the influence of the putrid culture promoted throughout society that fostered and extolled the exploitation and degradation of others as the means for making it big, whether on Wall Street and on the world stage, or on the streets in the neighborhoods of the inner city.³

In the face of all this, amidst a feeling of fatalistic hopelessness, there has been, on the part of large numbers of Black people, a retreat into religion. It is often claimed that religion is what has allowed Black people to endure and persevere through all the trials and tribulations—the very real horrors—they have been subjected to throughout their experience in America, and that this remains the case now. But this is a logic of defeat—it rests on the underlying assumption (spoken or unspoken) that the system will basically remain as it has been, and that Black people will continue to be despised and discriminated against, persecuted, brutalized and terrorized, and the best they can hope for is to somehow survive, and strive to thrive, through all this—or, if you suffer in this life but you “get right with the Lord,” or submit to Allah, you will be rewarded in some “next life.”

Once more, the question is sharply posed: How can Black people be finally and fully emancipated from centuries of oppression, and how does this relate to ending all oppression, of all people, everywhere?

The answer is that the possibility of this is real, but it can happen only on the basis of a scientific approach to changing the world and the scientifically-grounded understanding that this oppression is rooted in and caused by the system of capitalism-imperialism—the same system that is viciously exploiting and murderously oppressing people not just in this country but all over the world and is plundering the natural environment—and that this system must and can be overthrown through an actual revolution and replaced by a radically different and far better system: socialism, whose final goal is a communist world, without any oppression or exploitation of anyone, anywhere.

As I have put it, expressing a simple and basic truth: “in fundamental terms, we have two choices: either, live with all this—and condemn future generations to the same, or worse, if they have a future at all—or, make revolution!”⁴

And, in relation to this, I have also spoken to this profound truth:

There is the potential for something of unprecedented beauty to arise out of unspeakable ugliness: Black people playing a crucial role in putting an end, at long last, to this system which has, for so long, not just exploited but dehumanized, terrorized and tormented them in a thousand ways—putting an end to this in the only way it can be done—by fighting to emancipate humanity, to put an end to the long night in which human society has been divided into masters and slaves, and the masses of humanity have been lashed, beaten, raped, slaughtered, shackled and shrouded in ignorance and misery.⁵

But here is another way that, in fundamental terms, there are two choices: either cling to the mental slavery of religion and remain oppressed, or cast off the mental chains of religion while rising up to fight with a real chance to get finally and fully free, in putting an end to all oppression and exploitation.

Religion may seem to give people comfort in the face of the oppression and anguish they are forced to endure, or to make people feel that with religion they can keep from “doing wrong”—or, even though they may “do wrong,” they still have some worth. And it is true that, for some people, their religious views are a motivation to fight against various forms of oppression, and many people who approach things from a religious standpoint have insights and knowledge that it is important to know about and learn from. But it is also true that, as a way of thinking and a guide to acting, religion relies on the invention of supernatural beings that do not exist but which are said to ultimately shape and control reality, including the fate of human beings. Religion calls on people to submit to those imaginary supernatural beings (or, to very human authorities speaking in the name of those imaginary supernatural beings) and to follow scriptures that in reality do not lead to ending oppression but actually promote and reinforce all kinds of degradation and horror. (This is something I have illustrated very concretely in the book Away With All Gods! Unchaining the Mind and Radically Changing the World, particularly with regard to the three main monotheistic [one-god] religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.⁶) In this way religion stands in direct opposition to taking up a consistently scientific approach to understanding reality and waging a scientifically-grounded fight to end all oppression.

This is why the powers-that-be, whose very existence, wealth and power rest on oppression and exploitation, continually promote religion. It is why the very same slavemasters who prohibited Black people from learning to read (and severely punished those who did) actively encouraged their slaves to take up religion and get down on their knees in prayer. And it is why today, the ruling powers in this country are only too willing to provide a platform for, and parade around, any Black people who are inclined to engage in passionate “god-talk.” This may be painful to hear, but the question is: is it true, or not? Think about it.

It is neither possible nor principled—and no one should ever try—to force people to give up beliefs they hold at any given time. In the most fundamental terms, emancipation—from every form of slavery and oppression—must be the voluntary and conscious act of people. But there is a great need and importance to waging ideological struggle, in a principled way but as sharply as necessary, to win people to take up a scientific approach to understanding, and changing, the world and break with ways of thinking that actually contribute to keeping them, and others, oppressed.

Again, it is true that many religious people take part now in important struggles against oppression; and it is also true that many religious people will be among the millions taking part in the revolution to do away with this whole oppressive system. But this revolution, and the continuing struggle to end all oppression and bring about real and complete emancipation, must be led by those, among the most oppressed, and others as well, who have taken up a scientific approach to changing the world and have cast off the mental slavery of religion, along with every other way of thinking that promotes, or at least rationalizes and objectively justifies, oppression.

A bitter truth is this:

Oppressed people who are unable or unwilling to confront reality as it actually is, are condemned to remain enslaved and oppressed.⁷

But, an even greater, emancipating truth is this:

The notion of a god, or gods, was created by humanity, in its infancy, out of ignorance. This has been perpetuated by ruling classes, for thousands of years since then, to serve their interests in exploiting and dominating the majority of people and keeping them enslaved to ignorance and irrationality.

Bringing about a new, and far better, world and future for humanity means overthrowing such exploiting classes and breaking free of and leaving behind forever such enslaving ignorance and irrationality.⁸

1. In HOPE FOR HUMANITY ON A SCIENTIFIC BASIS, Breaking with Individualism, Parasitism and American Chauvinism (available at revcom.us), Bob Avakian speaks to this major change taking place during the 1960s:

In the 1960s, masses of people all over the world, including in this country, were filled with hope and determination about the prospect of bringing into being a radically different and better world. Throughout the Third World, there were liberation struggles aimed at throwing off the yoke of colonial oppression that had been imposed on them for decades, generations and even centuries. And in the imperialist countries themselves—including, in particular, the U.S.—the generation that came of age in the 1960s had both the understanding of the need and a real belief in the possibility of bringing a radically different and better world into being, and was not interested in hearing all the arguments about why things had to be the way they are.  [back]

2. HOPE FOR HUMANITY ON A SCIENTIFIC BASIS.

In Bob Avakian Responds to Mark Rudd on the Lessons of the 1960s and the Need for an Actual Revolution (available at revcom.us), this point is emphasized:

in moving from the limitations of the civil rights movement to the more advanced position of demanding Black liberation and linking this with liberation struggles in the Third World, those Black revolutionaries exerted a powerful positive force in influencing the movements of those times, including among educated youth, toward a more revolutionary orientation, even as that orientation was (in the parlance of those times) a “mixed bag,” involving a complex of conflicting tendencies, including the revolutionary communism that was coming from China as well as various revolutionary nationalist and other contradictory trends.  [back]

3. HOPE FOR HUMANITY ON A SCIENTIFIC BASIS.  [back]

4. In the speech Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution, from which this quote is drawn, Bob Avakian speaks to those crucial questions. The text and video of this speech are available at revcom.us. And in the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America, authored by Bob Avakian, (available at revcom.us) there is a sweeping vision and a concrete blueprint for a socialist society aiming for the final goal of communism throughout the world.  [back]

5. This statement, along with other works by Bob Avakian speaking to the oppression of Black people and the road to their full emancipation, is available at revcom.us.  [back]

6. Bob Avakian, Away With All Gods! Unchaining the Mind and Radically Changing the World, Insight Press, 2008.  [back]

7. BAsics 4:1 (BAsics, from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian).  [back]

8. BAsics 4:17, emphasis added.  [back]

Tune in and Be Part of Promoting the Podcast:

EMANCIPATE HUMANITY with Bob Avakian

Be part of this revolutionary journey

Updated December 18, 2020 | revcom.us

EMANCIPATE HUMANITY with Bob Avakian, presented by The RNL Show—Revolution, Nothing Less!, is a weekly podcast featuring the voice and work of Bob Avakian. Bob Avakian (BA) is a revolutionary leader, architect of a whole new framework for human emancipation, the new communism, and author of the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America.

Climate catastrophe, wars for empire, white supremacy and police murder, hatred of women and LGBTQ people, the demonization of immigrants, and the rising threat of fascism... what will it take to STOP all this and bring into being a world where this really is no more? Tune in to hear directly from BA with short, biting commentary, deep exploration, answers to these most burning questions, and an invitation for you to be part of this revolutionary journey.

You can see the early release of these podcasts on YouTube—posted now so they can reach people quickly. These podcasts animate and enliven the written word with people hearing from BA directly in this momentous time.

The aim is to develop a high-impact plan to build up anticipation and audience once these are posted on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play... wherever podcasts are found. The full launch of this podcast needs to itself be a culmination of outreach and promotion involving and reaching all those who care about the world.

We are working now to build a national team to develop and work on this plan and looking for volunteers. If you’re into podcasts or have ideas, please send in your thinking, including podcasters we should reach out to or any thinking on promotion. We’re also looking for audio engineers, graphic designers, fundraisers, and people enthusiastic about building an audience for EMANCIPATE HUMANITY with Bob Avakian.

Write to us at therevcoms@gmail.com.

The Oppression of Black People & the Revolutionary Struggle to End All Oppression

Updated June 22, 2020 | revcom.us

Bob Avakian on The Oppression of Black People & the Revolutionary Struggle to End All Oppression

From “Part III. The Strategic Approach to An Actual Revolution,” an excerpt from the section: 

National Liberation and Proletarian Revolution

Read here

Learn more about the book.

 
There would be no United States as we now know it today without slavery. That is a simple and basic truth.

Bob Avakian, BAsics 1:1

Communism and Jeffersonian Democracy

Read online

Listen to MP3 audio:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Authored by Bob Avakian, and adopted by the Central Committee of the RCP.

Article II. Section 3. Minority and Formerly Oppressed Nationalities. (Page 51)

Article III. Rights of the People and the Struggle to Uproot All Exploitation and Oppression. (Page 63)

American Crimes — The Ugly History of This Country

From the revcom.us series American Crime:

Case #99: May 13, 1985: The MOVE Massacre

Case #84: Medical Racism and Homicide—the Tuskegee Syphilis "Study"

Case #82: Murderous Neglect and Repression After Hurricane Katrina

Case #81: September 13, 1971—Massacre of Heroic Attica Prisoners

Case #74: The FBI-Chicago Police Assassination of Fred Hampton

Case #71: The Colfax Massacre of 1873... and the Supreme Court Stamp of Approval for Racist Terror

Case #66: The "War on Drugs," 1970 to Today

Case #62: How Capitalism + White Supremacy Created Chicago's Black Ghetto

Case #60: The 1917 Camp Logan Rebellion and the Mass Legal Lynching of 19 Black Soldiers

Case #42: COINTELPRO—The FBI Targets the Black Freedom Struggle, 1956-1971

Case #36: August 28, 1955: The Torture and Lynching of Emmett Till

Case #33: The 1944 Lynching of 15-Year-Old Willie James Howard for Writing a Christmas Card to a White Girl

Case #31: Double Murder by Police in Chicago—on the Night After Christmas, 2015

Case # 26: The 1946 White-Mob Lynching of Two Black Couples at Moore's Ford, Georgia

Case #25: The "Neo-Slavery" Killing Fields of Sugar Land, Texas: 1878 1911

Case #22: The Barbaric Suppression of the 1811 Louisiana Slave Uprising

Case #15: Chicago 1919: The Racist Riot and the Righteous Resistance

Case #12: The 1921 Tulsa Massacre and the Destruction of Black Wall Street

Case #11 (Part 1): Violent Suppression of Black People's Right to Vote

Case #11 (Part 2): 1965 to Today: Gutting the Voting Rights Act and Disenfranchising Millions of Black People

Read the entire American Crime series