What to do with "Dissidents"

[greymagik]

(forgive me if this has been addressed already)

I was wondering what, after a successful communist/anarchist/etc revolution, one do with people such as capitalists, politicians, fascists, or people who are just generally not a far-leftist. Would we kill them? Jail them? :confused:

[Flying Trotsky]

I think it'd go something like this:

I. Give the most heinous Capitalist dissidents a fair trial. If found guilty these people (I'm guessing it'd be people like the board of Monsanto) will be punished justly but humanely. Don't get me wrong, these people deserve worse than death, but that's not within our ability to meet out. I say, jail 'em or drop 'em off in the middle of the desert with all their cash, and tell 'em to have fun creating a capitalist society without workers they can exploit.

II. For the average upper-class our bourgeois dissident, I say, let 'em go. They don't offer much to society, and we have no use for them or their (now) worthless cash. If they want to stay, let 'em stay, if they want to leave (and I'm guessing most will), we should encourage them to do so. It'd mean their vacated property can more easily be distributed among the local populace and workers.

But that's just my take on it.

[Pretty Flaco]

If the revolution was successful, then they'd have to learn their place in the social spectrum. They'd lose their privilege and probably need to rebuild their lives, so they get a job and do something productive. If the revolution is successful and widespread enough, then they don't have any authority over everybody else anymore because there would be no one to enforce what they want. Sort of like when nobles lost their status in many European countries. When capitalism and liberalism came in well they just sort of had to deal with it. Except in some countries, such as France, where they successfully organized counterrevolutions.

[Sensible Socialist]

Considering a capitalist no longer has the ability to use capital to exploit others, there is no real reason to "do" anything to them. They've lost the ability to harm society. I only see a need for trials for those individuals who committed gross acts of injustice, far beyond that of normal business (i.e. BP CEO, Massey Energy CEO, etc.). If the revolution were to succeed, I couldn't imagine there being many people who would listen to someone advocating going back to a system where only a select few have the power. What do we do today if someone advocates for a return to the monarchy? We laugh, shake our heads, and be on our merry way. No need to put someone on trial because of beliefs.

[Optiow]

If they have taken up armed resistance against the workers, then they will be given a fair trial as war criminals. But if they are just bourgeois, let them participate in the new society. For if it is truly a revolutionary society, a few bourgeois will not be able to destroy that.

[Nox]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kQZxysNQd6c/S1DPvNzePQI/AAAAAAAAAaA/rb1vT_bCHpM/s400/3275894875_b1c953c9d2_o.jpg

[Die Rote Fahne]

"Freedom is always the freedom of dissenters." - Rosa Luxemburg

[Libertador]

Do nothing to them except remove them from their halls of power. Break the legs of their power base and they'll never stand to harm another again.

[Sugarnotch]

I don't see why anything in particular really needs to be 'done' with them. The revolution is about making a safer, more humane world, not killing people. They will find their place in the new social order. If they take up arms against the community, they deserve a trial and rehabilitation.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

You don't do anything to a capitalist just for being a capitalist.

If anything, if our society is any good, dissent will (mostly, hopefully) be constructive, and it can and should be taken on board, at least.

[Jimmie Higgins]

(forgive me if this has been addressed already)

I was wondering what, after a successful communist/anarchist/etc revolution, one do with people such as capitalists, politicians, fascists, or people who are just generally not a far-leftist. Would we kill them? Jail them? :confused:

Well non-leftists are not a problem, dissenters who are not reactionary are welcome, but reactionaries and people trying to destroy the democracy and liberation won through revolution will have to be prevented from attempting a restoration of the old order which would necessarily cause not only disenfrancizement of everyone liberated but also a bloody repression and street-level terrorism to get everyone to submit to minority class rule again - even when feudalism won over republican revolutions, there was massive repression as the old ruling class reasserted its dominance. Every ruling class in history has had to do this after coming out on top in a revolution (infamously the French - even though the Monarchy was much more brutal than the french "terror", Lincoln during and then after the Civil War, and so on) and worker's won't be much different in having the need to do this to a certain extent at first. What the working class has going for it though is it would control production and so could simply stop supplying capitalist strong-holds and cause that island of reaction to be isolated and fall apart. We'd also have the numbers and so brutal repression would not be as required as it is when a minority ruling class needs to terrify and suppress the majority.

But if someone is actively trying to restore wage-slavery or overthrow popular worker's power, then they should be put in jail and have their ability to actively organize reaction prevented through restrictions on communication or internet propaganda.

It all really depends on the circumstances. If workers are very secure in ruling society in a democratic way, then some lone capitalist apologist would be no threat and just become the town joke. If there is a threat of reactionary war, then people will know they need to stop it. Even in Cairo, protesters "arrested" military and police... and they were treated much better than Mubarak's pro-democracy prisoners. Essentially the protesters neutralized the thugs ability to be a thereat and that was all that needed to be done. Capitalists and Dictators execute and brutalize their prisoners because they have to make people afraid of the state in order to go along with the staus quo.

[Decommissioner]

Unless it is organised dissidence aimed at destroying the gains of the revolution, nothing should be done.

Capitalists will be integrated into the new order. It's not like they have a choice, there will be no classes.

As far as fascists are concerned, let them be fascists. The revolution will not magically wipe away racists and fascists..people will be allowed to have their opinions and speak their mind. They will be met with the same reaction they do now, a punch to the face. Besides, in generations time a good majority of racist and fascist attitudes will be eliminated due to a lack of overarching racist media teaching racism to children from a young age.

[Tim Finnegan]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kQZxysNQd6c/S1DPvNzePQI/AAAAAAAAAaA/rb1vT_bCHpM/s400/3275894875_b1c953c9d2_o.jpg
Ugh, so blasé.

http://www.redstoneprojects.com/trebuchetstore/catapult_2.jpg

:thumbup1: