So You Say You Want a Revolution?

[beabuenosaires]

I'm not quite sure where to put this thread, so, I'm just putting it here. I am slowly but surely coming into my own politically, mentally, philosophically, etc...I consider myself a socialist anarchist (correct term?), at least for the time being. What I know for sure is, I loathe what capitalism has turned the country I live in into, I hate facism, and most of all, I just want a change, and I will go to extreme measures to get it. But, who else will? What are we doing about what's going on in the world around us? I see people talking about revolutions, I see a lot of talk but I don't see as much action, especially now that I live in the U.S. My friends say that the government will get what's coming to them, that a revolution is soon coming. But I don't see it, we're not planning it, nothing is happening. What are we going to do? What are we doing? Is there a revolution in sight? How do we put this into motion?

[Wanted Man]

I'm active in my country. The question is, what are you doing?

[Tatarin]

I consider myself a socialist anarchist (correct term?), at least for the time being.

That depends on the terms. A socialist is, generally, a person who support that the state controls all industry (everything is public property), and the people in turn controls the state. Then we had Marxism-Leninism in what we knew as the Soviet Union and China (Maoism is a further extent in Marxism-Leninism).

The state works towards a point where control, police, weapons and every other aspect that prevents people from living their lives as they wish, is gradually weakening and disappears - in which the society will be turned into a communist society - a place without any control but the one the people creates for themselves in their various communes.

An anarchist is a person who wants to remove the capitalist society that we live in today, and go straight for a communist society - thus no "middle society" in which the state overlooks the transision.

(Anyone is free to correct me :) .)


What I know for sure is, I loathe what capitalism has turned the country I live in into, I hate facism, and most of all, I just want a change, and I will go to extreme measures to get it.

That is good - but don't think of your country as good too, so to speak. A country is basically a corporation too, and the left works to abolish not only capitalism, but also the abolition of land that is owned by a group or person, i.e. country. In order for communism to properly work, there can be no countries.


What are we going to do? What are we doing? Is there a revolution in sight? How do we put this into motion?

That is the very question that people talk about here. We all agree that we all want a communist society in the future, but we don't have a plan that everybody agrees on. Some want a state with one party that leads us into communism, similar to the Soviet Union, some want a better and just society like the one we have today, some want a direct revolution to communism.

But there are problems in every direction, and we must solve them before anything can be done. What happens if we "use anarchism" and go to a free society right away? What about groups like nazis and fascists? Who would fight them? What if other countries are formed? Same thing with the "socialist path" - what if the party grows too strong, and it becomes another one-party state with flashy symbols and words, but where no one is better off than they are today?

We know at least one thing - that we have to educate people on what capitalism really is, and why we can't live with it. We have to show people that a better society is possible.

:)

[Rawthentic]

What are we going to do? What are we doing? Is there a revolution in sight? How do we put this into motion?

It is impossible to say when a revolution will come. There has to be a certain social consciousness and material conditions for it to arrive. But people make history, so get involved in your community and get something done. There are loads of organizations out there, so look them up.

[izquierda80]

I agree with Tatarin's conclusion. What we should all equally strive for is finding the best possible ways to expose the flaws of the current capitalist system of exploitation and manipulation, working towards alternatives that should correct its structural flaws or simply make them irrevelant to begin with.

It is important for each person to do what can be done, according to his or her own abilities and the actual opportunities for action that are available, and this will logically lead to different opinions and activities in each country and even between different social and political movements in the same nation.

[cb9's_unity]

actually there are being some predictions that a revolution could come somewhat soon. and actually this prediction came from lou dobbs. i mean if a proponent of capitalism is saying that there screwing up so bad that theres going to be a revolution then we should probably start doing our part.
People want a change and capitalism has done it's job of creating resentment in people now we just have to show people the revolutionary alternatives. :D

[RED VICTORY]

Originally posted by cb9'[email protected] 16 2006, 06:21 PM

People want a change and capitalism has done it's job of creating resentment in people now we just have to show people the revolutionary alternatives

People want a change and capitalism has done it's job of creating resentment in people now we just have to show people the revolutionary alternatives

This is well put comrade. People do want a change, but often, too often, I hear people say stuff like, " you can't change the system" and all that junk. I hear it so much and it just seems like people desperately want change but have no hope. I just think the working class first off needs education and that is where we all come in. Second we need to help them come out of this "comfort zone" that everyone seems to be in. What I mean by that is people are afraid to stand up against the ruling class because they are pounded with graphic images from around the world of different peoples standing up for what they believe. A fear tactic, I have no doubt. But anyways they are worried by this war against extremism and would rather live comfortably in their exploited position in society to which they are accustomed. If only they knew what they could have!

[Matty_UK]

I think the greatest contribution you can make is casually engaging others in debate. Most working class people I've talked to about communism end up agreeing or being more sympathetic than they previously were even if they aren't willing to actually be a partisan if that's the right word. The media misrepresents communist ideas enormously and through making sure our friends understand Marxist ideas is the only way to counter the bourgeois media.

I think saying "no! it's nothing to do with everyone getting exactly the same!" and really emphasising that point tends to be effective in making people look at it from a fresh angle.

[Tatarin]

One simple phrase depicts the illogical in capitalism, and that is that we, the people, have built everything, we keep capitalism going, yet we are the ones being punished every day, being put in jail and laughed at. If all workers in the world were to stop working for one week, capitalism would be no more.

[beabuenosaires]

Thank you all, I really appreciate your input. I guess knowledge is the thing that leads to change, so let's keep educating eachother.