Don’t Defend Democracy, Mobilize Masses for Communism Instead
Los Angeles, USA, Nov. 7
USA, November 23 — “Defend democracy!” demanded broad coalition marches across the US on November 7. “Democracy in danger!” scream print and other headlines.
Trump’s openly racist coup attempt is a flop. The transition is happening. But leading US industrial and finance capitalists worry some about Trump supporters who distrust the electoral system.
However, they worry more about young workers and students who may have voted for Biden but don’t trust “the system” either. The rulers need to chain the masses to elections – or perhaps “nonviolent civil protest” — to keep them away from communism and the armed struggle to win it.
“What is democracy?” a comrade asked a group of liberal anti-racist friends. “What is it that you aspire to, really?”
“That’s a good question,” one responded. “I’ve never really thought about it,” admitted another.
Textbooks say that democracy is “government by the people” or “majority rule.” In this imaginary world, economics is separate from politics. The social relationships of production have no relation to “power.”
Everyone can see that’s not true in the US or El Salvador or Belarus or Peru or anywhere else. The wealthiest capitalists know it and love it. Masses see it as “corruption” and want to “get money out of politics.”
“DEMOCRACY = COMMUNISM!” posted Comrade T in an online chat.
“I don’t agree,” Comrade H responded. “Democracy, started by Greek slave holders, was a way to try to get their subjects who weren’t slaves to buy into their system. Communism is where the masses decide everything about our lives and carry it out together. It’s the only way the masses will control our future. Because it will be based on collective production for need without capitalists or wage slavery.”
“If communism is not democracy, why do we fight for it?” T asked. “The most democratic form of society is communist; I have always thought. How is that wrong?”
“In a communist society there is no class of exploiters or oppressors,” H replied. “So, we are not using the fig-leaf of democracy to deceive the masses. We will run society with mutual relationships, not based on profits, to help each other as one human race.”
Communism: How Will Masses Decide?
The key is building one mass communist party. We understand that the international working class has a common interest. As a new friend put it, “Eight billion people working together can do anything!”
It’s not always easy to see what best serves the international working class at any moment. All who agree with communist principles and want to fight for a communist world need to figure that out through party collectives.
Unlike communist parties in the past, we want all these comrades to be Party members. Not just a select few. Not just those who can be on call 24/7. Not just those who have read a lot or have a lot of experience.
If you want to help build a communist future, we need you to pull up a chair and sit at the table. We need you to speak up.
We invite you to join a party club (cell, collective). Together, we all come to understand communism better. We fight for it more effectively. We recruit more members, build stronger communist relationships, expand our influence, build our power.
Local party collectives are linked globally through a unified structure of direct participation. We struggle for all members and friends to help make decisions. We struggle for all to help carry them out, evaluate them, and move forward. Red Flag helps in these struggles.
We all have the responsibility for thinking about and building the new society. Capitalism doesn’t train people to do that, but communism does.
Whenever and wherever the party succeeds in mobilizing masses to establish communist workers’ power, this is how our “liberated zones” will function. We’ll throw out ballot boxes and elections along with money and markets. We’ll strive for consensus (or near-consensus) in a growing mass communist party whose members influence even broader circles among the masses.
Why don’t we call this “the most democratic form of society”?
First, because communism unites the working-class to lead the oppressed masses – not “the people” – to rule. As long as there are classes, even remnants of formerly ruling capitalist classes, it’s misleading to talk about “government by the people.” We don’t welcome class enemies into a government. We organize masses to suppress them.
Second, because the idea of democracy involves each person voting for what they want (as an individual) instead of resolving collectively what the international working class needs. We have to hear and consider everyone’s opinion. “Majority rule” closes off discussion. It often prevents the collective from reaching the best decision.
That’s why we don’t “defend democracy.” Instead, we mobilize masses for communism.