Russian Revolution here ⊠US Democracy: Death of an Illusion here âŠ
“COMMUNISM”
Learn from the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia
This issue of Red Flag marks the anniversary of the 1917 communist-led revolution in Russia (October 25 Old Style/November 7 New Style).
As we said in Mobilize the Masses for Communism, it was the second great victory for our class after the Paris Commune of 1871. The Bolsheviks mobilized masses of workers and soldiers to overthrow the liberal Kerensky government. They established the Soviet republic. However, they retreated from the goal of building communism. Instead, they built a socialist society with wages, money, and markets.
We have so much to learn from its successes, its shortcomings, and its fatal errors. Articles we published for the centennial of the Bolshevik Revolution are available at this link:
History of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917
US Democracy:Â Death of an Illusion
Masses Everywhere Need Communist Workersâ Power
October 21â âWhy is the Pax Americana in decline?â asked US capitalist pundit Paul Krugman a few days ago. âThe world no longer trusts US promises, and perhaps no longer fears US threats, the way it used to.â
Krugman blames the Republican Party, which blames Democratic President Biden for everything. Heâs partly right. As weâve said before, Trump and his openly fascist supporters are both a symptom and a further cause of the US decline.
The Israel/Palestine crisis could explode into regional war at any moment. Together with Ukraine, even into world war. And the US Congress has been paralyzed since October 4. Why? Because the fractured Republican Party canât agree on a House Speaker.
It canât approve funds for its Israeli partners. Or for Ukraine. Or even keep the government open past November 17 unless something changes fast.
âTo many watching at home and abroad, the American way no longer seems to offer
a case study in effective representative democracy,â wrote New York Times columnist Peter Baker. âInstead, it has become an example of disarray and discord.
The US capitalist rulers arenât the only ones in trouble. The Council of Europe met in May to discuss âElections in Times of Crisis.â Europe is in disarray, and China is making huge gains there.
The leading capitalist party in Israel picked a fight with a key centrist party over the role of the judiciary and the occupation of the West Bank. Mass protests exploded for monthsâincluding among military reservists. Hamas saw and seized its opportunity.
Joe Bidenâs embrace of Bibi Netanyahu was a watershed moment. After Modi snubbed Biden publicly at the G20 meeting in India, the US is doubling down on its few loyal allies. Its global isolation is in full view.
We could go on. Pakistan. Ecuador. Iran. Niger. And more.
Workers worldwide must see and seize these capitalist crises as opportunities for communist revolution.
Democracy:Â Not As Advertised
Democracy is supposed to mean âpopular ruleâ or âpeople power.â Weâre told, âYour vote is your voice.â   Well, very few of us have any voice on how our workplace runs!
As for government, a September Pew Research study documented that most people in the US think that big donors, lobbyists, and large companies have âtoo muchâ influence on Congress. They think that âpeople in their districtâ have âtoo littleâ influence. No kidding! Over a quarter have no use for either party.
Reformers call US democracy âimperfect.â They want us to make âour governmentâ better. This is a dangerous illusion.
Itâs not âourâ government. The ancient Greek enslavers invented democracy to manage their system that exploited masses of slaves. It oppressed âfreeâ people (including almost all women). The US âfounding fathersâ adopted this democracy to manage their system that⊅ did the same!
Protest marchers chant âThis is what democracy looks like!â They are right, but not in the way they mean. We get to yell in the streets (sometimes) while the capitalists and their politicians make decisions from their corner offices high above us (always).
In class societies, there is no âthe people.â There are exploiters and exploited. Either the exploiters hold power, or the exploited make a revolution to take it away from them. Thatâs what weâre preparing to do.
Communist workersâ power wonât be a âbetter democracy.âÂ
Instead, the International Communist Workersâ Party will mobilize masses in workplaces, neighborhoods, and everywhere else into decision-making collectives. For local matters, weâll use our voices directly. Weâll debate and decide what to do to meet the massesâ needs, and how. Weâll carry out and later evaluate those decisions.
But these collectives canât be âautonomousâ when it comes to big issues like water and food supplies or the environmental crisis. We need to communicate with each other through the Party center. That way, decisions can respond to the short-term and long-term needs of the masses everywhere. We work to spread revolution and abolish borders.
We prepare for communist workersâ power by building the ICWP today. Party members must be immersed among the masses. That way, we can respond to their material and political needs. We must participate actively in our ICWP collectives.
If youâre sick of capitalist politics â if you are a communist or like communist ideas â please talk to us about joining or building an ICWP collective wherever you are.