Study Group on Quantity into Quality here ♦ Workers’ Revolutionary Solidarity Key here ♦
Study Group on Dialectical Materialism: Quantity into Quality
Quantity is measured in numbers. Some things that are considered quantitative are temperature, age, and hourly wage. This aspect must be measurable.
Quantities go through “intermediate stages.” An example is how a car speeds up. These changes tend to happen gradually rather than instantly. A car cannot go from 0 mph (kph) to 100 mph (or 160 kph) instantly. In getting to 100 (160 kph) it goes through all the speeds in-between. Similarly, children don’t instantly become adults. We must gradually age through the different stages of life.
Quality cannot be measured numerically. For example, a car’s color, someone’s facial features, or the taste of a beverage. Qualitative changes can happen instantly. For example, going from being employed to being unemployed. Or turning on a light switch. The light fills the room instantly, not gradually.
Quantitative changes can lead to qualitative changes. For example, how water turns into steam. When heat is applied to water, its temperature rises gradually. Once it reaches a certain temperature, the water instantaneously changes from a liquid into a vapor. Also, if we remove heat from water, eventually it will turn to ice.
These two examples help us understand the dialectical principle that changes in quantity, positive or negative, will lead to qualitative changes if they go far enough. Like quantitative changes, there can be multiple qualitative changes.
Example: Distributing Red Flag
If we distribute enough Red Flags, then we will eventually see a qualitative change. We don’t know the number, but we know that it’s not 10 but maybe closer to 100,000 or beyond. In this process we may experience multiple qualitative changes in our pursuit of toppling capitalism with communist revolution.
We had a lively discussion where comrades shared examples from their lives. One mentioned trying to write something. As they went through several drafts, they noticed qualitative changes happening in their writing and in their interest in the topic.
We debated whether quantitative changes are necessarily number-driven or are they small processes leading to qualitative change. One comrade agreed quantitative change was numerical but also thought that perhaps just processes lead to qualitative change. She said she thought qualitative change came from our interactions when distributing Red Flag, not just from the sheer numbers distributed. She gave the example of attending workshops (a quantitative process) was leading to her feeling more confident in writing for Red Flag (a qualitative change).
What do others think?
Workers’ Revolutionary Solidarity Key to Breaking Capitalism’s Chains
NATO is expanding its influence in contested regions like Ukraine and Taiwan. This follows a predictable playbook. The laboring masses must recognize the ideological struggle as competing capitalists fuel conflicts, pursuing profit and dominance.
Workers must seize power through solidarity, unity and finally revolution. That’s how we can dismantle the capitalist agenda of exploitation and oppression.
NATO was once limited to the North Atlantic. It has been consistently expanding. Recently Finland was included in NATO. That further heightened tensions with Russia. It intensified conflicts in Ukraine.
Also, NATO has increased its presence in East Asia. Japan and Korea signed individually Tailored Partnership Programs near China’s borders. This added another layer of complexity.
Multi-national inter-imperialist rivalry is intensifying. This underscores the inherent link between capitalism, fascism, and war. Throughout history, competing bosses’ pursuit of profit and control has given rise to fascist ideologies and conflicts.
We must protect the laboring masses from the dangers of fascism and prevent further imperialist wars. For that, workers must actively engage in the ideological class struggle against capitalist bosses.
Facing this, the laboring masses must build international communist solidarity. By mobilizing together, workers can shatter the shackles of inequality and exploitation.
Through this unity, the path to a communist revolution becomes clearer. This path promises to dismantle imperialist wars and topple capitalist bosses. It can create a world that serves the collective interests of all.
Multi-national inter-imperialist rivalry is escalating. This threatens to deepen inequality and suffering for the laboring masses. The capitalist bosses seek power and profit. Workers must recognize the importance of building international communist solidarity against their exploitative practices.
We must seize power through an ideological class struggle for communism. That is key to breaking free from the shackles of imperialism, fascism, and war. Only through collective action can the laboring masses pave the way towards a world that prioritizes their well-being and dismantles the chains of exploitation and oppression imposed by capitalist bosses.
—Comrade in Los Angeles (USA)