Revolution #239, July 17, 2011
Part 2: BUILDING THE MOVEMENT FOR REVOLUTION
Editors' Note: The following is the eighth excerpt from Part 2 of a recent talk by Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA, which is being serialized in this paper. Previous excerpts appeared in Revolution #232 to #238. This has been edited, and footnotes have been added, for publication. The entire talk is available at revcom.us.
Profound and acute contradictions, real potential for revolution
But there are contradictions, fundamental contradictions, that are asserting themselves today: Profound contradictions in the economic relations, in the social relations, of this society are unresolved—and are unresolvable within this system. That reality is going to assert itself in various ways, and if we are not looking for stereotypes and not stuck in conventions, then we're going to be able to relate to the actual dynamics that these contradictions are giving rise to, in the current configuration of social and class forces in the U.S., in the way that the underlying forces are exerting themselves in the world, and in the interconnections between what is happening in the world overall and in the U.S. It is very important to understand that these contradictions have not gone away, have not been resolved—and cannot be resolved under this system. One striking manifestation of this is the oppression of Black people. And the ruling imperialists of the U.S. also face very serious contradictions in terms of the significant immigrant population. The oppression of women is assuming some different forms and expressions, and finding some different "concentration points," than it did when the women's movement really broke loose in the 1960s, for example—although much of it is the same, and the essence of it is the same—but this, too, is a contradiction that is unresolved and unresolvable in fundamental terms under this system.
Things are not going to repeat themselves in the same form as they did in the last major upsurge in this country, in the 1960s. This further emphasizes the importance of being scientific, and attuned to the realities on a scientific basis, in order to have a real and deep understanding of how these contradictions are actually posing themselves. Now, in some ways we've made real advances in that—in understanding, for example, how with regard to the masses in the inner cities, there is a concentrated and cutting edge character to the brutality and murder that is carried out by the police against the people, and in particular the youth. And there are ways in which other contradictions have cutting edge and concentrated expressions—you can think, for example, of abortion with regard to the woman question, although of course the assault on the right to abortion is not the whole of the oppression of women. Once again, we have to be searching out the ways in which social contradictions are assuming concentrated form—and then work to develop things in the direction of revolution and to rally forces for revolution.
It would be very wrong, for example, to simply look at the fact that right now what's going on among the youth in the middle strata is not very inspiring, and to conclude that there is no potential for bringing forward a very positive force from among those youth and for transforming the situation, in the context of the overall developments in the world and in this country, and in the context of overall and all-around work to build a movement for revolution. So there is still the potential of youth, including youth of the middle strata, even though "things are different now."
And, even though things are different now, there is an important potential role for radicalized women, particularly young women. This is so, even though right now many are caught up in a lot of nonsense, and even though what holds sway now—to a significant degree, not uniformly and unilaterally, but what has significant influence—is the idea of "empowerment." Instead of liberation, it's "empowerment"—and "empowerment" is basically reduced to the notion of increasing your value as a commodity in one form or another—this has all too much sway among particularly younger women, but more generally as well. Still, even though things are not the same as in the time of the 1960s upsurge, and things right now are not very positive in terms of what is happening on the political terrain and the polarization in society, we should not look at things only in immediate terms, and in a short-sighted way—in an empiricist, pragmatic way—but should look at the underlying contradictions and the potential for things to be radically transformed on the basis of what in fact are driving forces that are embodied in these unresolved contradictions.
It is not the case that there is not a tremendous amount of alienation and anger—which is now largely pent-up—over these oppressive relations. It is that this is being directed and channeled into—and "spontaneously" finding—outlets in ways that are not leading toward emancipation and toward revolution which is necessary for that emancipation. But we should not therefore underestimate the potential radicalization and potential force for revolution that exists among the masses of women, and in particular young women, as well as other sections of the people.
As I referred to earlier, there is the battle in the sphere of culture and morality, and we should also not underestimate the importance or potential of that battle. Even with the whole thing of going along with, and being caught up in, the self-absorption, consumerism and individualism that is being incessantly promoted, there is also a lot of distaste and alienation with this, and it finds a lot of outlets—many of them not very good and some even very negative, including the ways in which many are being drawn now to Christian fundamentalist alternatives to this. There is a great need, and also a great potential, for repolarization, by strongly asserting a whole different vision—and a practical-political movement to realize, on a scientific foundation, the vision—of a radically different world that actually is emancipating; raising people's sights to begin to imagine, and then to get a scientific grounding in the possibility, of that radically different world. In this context the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America (Draft Proposal) has a tremendously important potential role.
We also need to be aware of the positive—and in significant ways "subversive of the system"—potential of the assertion of gay "identity" and gay rights, even with the very real contradictions in this, including the narrowing tendencies of "identity politics" as well as conservatizing influences related to traditional marriage, and, for that matter, the campaign to be allowed to be part of the imperialist military while being openly gay. Even with all that, in its principal aspect this has, and can to an even greater degree have, a very positive, "subversive of the system" effect. This is a contradiction which, in the society overall, is "out of the closet." It could be forced back into the closet, and underground, with not only the stronger assertion of the kind of fascist movement that is being supported and fostered by powerful ruling class forces in this period, but with the actual assumption of a fascist form of bourgeois dictatorship. But the struggle against the oppression of gay people is not going to be easily suppressed. We should understand the potential of this as well, and the need to relate correctly to this, to foster the further development of its positive potential and its contribution to the movement for revolution.
Intellectual and cultural ferment, the intelligentsia and communist revolution
There is also the importance of the transfer of allegiance—the winning over to revolution and communism—of a section (even today a relatively small section) of the intelligentsia. We have heard, from some people who have been attracted to programs we've done on campuses, that they came to college—often this is younger students—looking for big ideas and were bitterly disappointed at what they have run into, in terms of the prevailing culture and ethos in those universities. This is a significant phenomenon, even if at this point we're only hearing a few people talk about this. The whole swirl of big ideas, intellectual and cultural ferment, and communism contending within that in a lively, compelling way—being, yes, completely outrageous and eminently reasonable—applying the principles I spoke to earlier in terms of, on a scientific foundation, looking to incorporate what can be incorporated, while in some aspects transformed, from other ideas, conceptions and visions, even from utopianism: all this is very important in terms of being able to attract, and win to revolution and communism, youth among the intelligentsia, as well as people among the intelligentsia more broadly. Even for a small section of the intelligentsia to actually be fired up now about the vision of communism and revolution that we are bringing forward—that represents something very significant. We have to persevere to make breakthroughs in that.
There is the point that was brought up by a leading comrade in our Party about intellectuals dancing in the streets on the basis of the new synthesis of communism.1 Well, in some ways so far these intellectuals have had a hard time getting with the music. Nevertheless, what was being emphasized with that image of intellectuals "dancing in the streets"—the potential for the new synthesis to inspire many intellectuals and for a section to make the leap to really taking this up and becoming communist revolutionaries on this basis—this remains real and very important. Once again, in this sphere, as in all spheres, we can't rely on or tail spontaneity. The intellectuals today are still largely listening to the same old boring music and dancing in the same old stereotyped, confined steps (to continue the metaphor). But that doesn't mean the potential isn't there for many to break out of that, in numbers which in this period might be relatively small but still very significant. We need to approach this correctly, understanding scientifically that what is captured in the metaphor of the intellectuals dancing in the streets on the basis of the new synthesis is very real and represents very important potential.
It is actually very inspiring, what we embody and represent; and the more we actually embody and represent and fight for this, as what it really is, in a living way, the more inspiring and attractive it is going to be—even while it will require a sharp struggle to win people to this, going up against all the "spontaneity" that is engendered and promoted by the operation of this system and by the ruling class and various institutions and functionaries of its rule and domination in society. What we represent does draw people forward, and then they run into all the shit that's out there, and some fall away. This is the dynamic, and we have to persevere and struggle through that, and increasingly win more waves of people through that process—because there is a need, a great and acute need, for people with developed intellectual curiosity and abilities to not only be fighting in the realm of public opinion for the communism that we're all about, but also to be doing work to contribute to the further development of that communism, which can't be a static thing, but has to keep on being a living, breathing, developing science.
The strategy of UFuLP
With all this, there is the question of winning over the middle strata—or as many people among these middle strata as possible—there is the continuing need to apply the strategy of United Front under the Leadership of the Proletariat (UFuLP), understood not in a reductionist or economist sense, but in a broad sense, with a recognition of the "many different channels"2 point that I referred to earlier, and the multi-layered, multi-colored map metaphor3: the complexity of the social configuration and of the dynamics of changing society and winning different forces to revolution. This goes back to what is in fact a significant contradiction—that what is involved is a proletarian revolution, but quite possibly most of the forces fighting for that revolution won't be in the strictest sense proletarians. All the complexity and contradictoriness of that is part of what goes into "lighting a fire"—metaphorically speaking, that is, politically and ideologically—under the middle strata, and the dynamic of the "two maximizings" back and forth: the "mixing and meshing," as we've sometimes put it, of political resistance, of ferment of various kinds, the overall development of the revolutionary movement among these different strata and the interconnections of this.
This will not be a process in which, first and overwhelmingly, the proletariat and other basic masses will come forward and inspire the intellectuals and "light a fire" under the middle strata more broadly, and only then will there be positive motion on the part of the middle strata and the positive influence of that on the basic masses. No, this will be a much more dynamic and back and forth process, from the beginning and throughout. Through the course of this, and overall, what needs to come forward—what must be brought forward—from among the basic masses will be principal. But this has to be understood in a living sense, with all the back and forth, the mixing and meshing, and the synergy, that will be involved.
This gets us back, once again, to the particular role of youth—and here I'm speaking specifically about youth in the middle strata—and everything that's been said about all the different elements that go into the development of a force among youth that's actually won to the revolutionary communist position, takes up the science of communism, and actively struggles to win people to that, including by contending creatively in the sphere of ideology, culture and morality.
To be continued
1. The Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America (Draft Proposal)—published by the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA—states, in the Preamble of that Constitution, that the Party has its theoretical basis in "the science of communism and the further development of this science through the new synthesis brought forward by Bob Avakian." Numerous talks and writings by Bob Avakian, and other publications by the Party—including Revolution and Communism: A Foundation and Strategic Orientation; Communism: The Beginning of a New Stage, A Manifesto from the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA; and the Constitution of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA—speak to this new synthesis; and, as pointed to in this talk, the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America (Draft Proposal) is a living application of that new synthesis. [back]
2. In "Making Revolution and Emancipating Humanity," Part 1, in the section "Freedom...and Necessity," the following is emphasized: "But, fundamentally (and, so to speak, underneath all this) freedom does lie in the recognition and transformation of necessity. The point is that this recognition and the ability to carry out that transformation goes through a lot of different 'channels,' and is not tied in a positivist or reductionist or linear way to however the main social contradictions are posing themselves at a given time. If that were the case—or if we approached it that way—we would liquidate the role of art and much of the superstructure in general. Why do we battle in the realm of morals? It is because there is relative initiative and autonomy in the superstructure. And the more correctly that's given expression, the better it will be, in terms of the kind of society we have at a given time and in terms of our ability to recognize necessity and carry out the struggle to transform necessity." [back]
3. References to this metaphor of the "multi-layered, multi-colored map" are found in some recent works by Bob Avakian, including "Unresolved Contradictions, Driving Forces for Revolution" (section headed "It Is What It Is—and It Can Be Transformed"), online at revcom.us/avakian/driving, and "Making Revolution and Emancipating Humanity," Part 2, which is available online at revcom.us/avakian/makingrevolution2, as well as in Revolution and Communism: A Foundation and Strategic Orientation, a Revolution pamphlet, May 1, 2008. [back]