Materialism and Revolutionary Struggle for Communism
Comrades in South Africa always emphasize the importance of communist philosophy
The last article described how Marx and Engels modified the old traditional materialism. They developed a new social, historical, and dialectical materialism. The differences between the new materialism and the old are crucial for organizing communist revolution.
The old materialism simply said that everything that is real is made of matter. It saw material reality as completely independent of human thinking. In contrast, the new materialism recognizes that social structures can be material. Thus, it must acknowledge that ideas and ideologies can have real effects on what is material.
Ideas are products of material systems: that is, of human brains and social structures. But ideas are not material. They only exist as long as some material structure sustains them. The myths, religions and natural knowledge of ancient societies, for example, are gone forever unless they were written down or depicted in pictures and carvings.
People’s thoughts constantly influence how we act. Workers would not go to work without believing they would be paid. Communism will be created when many people think it should be and understand how to fight for it. People learn what communism is and how to fight for it from the practical, material action of workers’ revolutionary class struggles, past and present.
We learn from material reality only through “hands on” actions on reality. These actions are the basis for the correct theories that we need to know in order to deliberately and effectively change reality.
Chinese communist Mao Zedong noted that Marx and Engels could work out their theories mainly because “they personally took part in the practice of the class struggle and the scientific experimentation of their time.” He advised, “If you want to know the theory and methods of revolution, you must take part in revolution.”
“An idea becomes a material force, once it is grasped by the masses,” Marx wrote. Our party can build the movement for communism with ideas learned from practice.
But ideas are not enough to overcome capitalism. Marx also stated correctly that “The weapon of criticism [of capitalism and capitalist ideas] cannot replace criticism by weapons. Material force must be overthrown by material force.” Only the organized masses, in a communist revolution led by industrial workers and soldiers, can apply that force.
We need theoretical argument and debate to unite the working class and guide it in the fight for communism. So, communists must conduct class struggle for communist ideas, including communist philosophy.
But ideological struggle is not all it takes to achieve communism. Marx’s new materialism concluded that “all forms and products of [capitalist thinking] cannot be dissolved by mental criticism, but only by the practical overthrow of the actual social relations which gave rise to this idealistic humbug.”
We must absorb the lesson that “not criticism but revolution is the driving force of history [and] also of religion, of philosophy and all other kinds of theory.”
Why don’t the truest ideas become dominant under capitalism? Because of the power of the capitalist state and propaganda machine. “The class which is the ruling material force of society,” Marx wrote, “is at the same time the ruling intellectual force.”
For example, the capitalist class of every country uses its control of the economy, the schools, mass culture and the state to try to guarantee that divide-and-conquer ideologies dominate people’s thinking. That includes racism, sexism, nationalism, xenophobia, religious bigotry and more.
Capitalist ideas are never completely dominant, however. Capitalist efforts to divide us can backfire dramatically. That happened worldwide after the racist murder of George Floyd, exposing the murderous racism of capitalism. It’s happening now in India, where Hindu and Muslim workers are uniting in support of farmers.
The material reality is that capitalism does not and cannot meet the masses’ needs. This is a foundation for our communist movement. It makes it possible to win a large section of the masses to communism.
But only after destroying capitalism with communist revolution can we bury all the vicious capitalist ideologies. Like the other miseries of capitalism, they are inescapable until we escape from capitalism.
Materialism means that our party needs to prepare for communist revolution. We must discuss revolution, study past successes and failures and engage in practical struggles that can help us and the masses learn how to fight for communism.
We have already made the crucial decision that preparing for revolution includes organizing inside the bosses’ militaries. Our aim is to win millions to the fight for communist revolution.
Join us as we prepare to win communism by “criticism with weapons” against the capitalist system.
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