This blog is called “Strange Times” for two reasons.
1. Politically the times are especially strange. The old ways of thinking have become formulaic and no longer help us make sense of world events. “Left” is now Right – how’s that for a start?
2. I think that “strangeness” is in some sense an intrinsic characteristic of life, the universe and everything. The times will always be strange. Let’s beware of the warm glow of “understanding”.
This is a group blog. Although we share a common stance, each blogger here writes for him/herself.
We are a bunch of people who all have communist backgrounds and are still committed to the overthrow of capitalism. We want the working people to take over, which means that the means of production will be socially owned and wage slavery (the final form of human slavery) will become a thing of the past. When this occurs it will be a truly revolutionary change, a leap into the future, qualitatively more dramatic and far-reaching than the democratic revolution which has been (slowly) transforming the way of life of people on this planet since the 17th century.
We think that Marx was right when he wrote that the bourgeoisie “ has been the first to show what man’s activity can bring about. It has accomplished wonders far surpassing Egyptian pyramids, Roman aqueducts, and Gothic cathedrals“. Wherever capitalism has taken root it has played an historically progressive role in undermining aristocratic and religious authority, unleashing productivity for profit and forcing people to confront the real world.
However we also think that Marx was correct when he argued that capitalism creates its own negation, one that establishes the basis for a new society based on social ownership of the means of production , a society based on genuine free enterprise; a society based on the principle ‘from each according to their abilities, to each according to their needs’. The latter is rather dated when it speaks only of ‘needs’; in the twenty-first century let’s add ‘and wildest fantasies’.
The word “left” has been hijacked by a pseudo-left which derives its world view from a naive anti-capitalism. It stands in the way of the development and progress which most of the world is crying out for. This flies in the face of the reality that globalization, modernity, rule of law and democracy are essential by-products of capitalism. And these things have consistently raised living standards and increased freedom.
In this view, we do have something in common with certain elements of the “progressive Right”. Where we differ (and this is a deep difference) is that we don’t see capitalism as the end of history, the best system we can hope for. It’s still a system based on exploitation and as such is incapable of fully releasing human potential. Nevertheless we want to see it triumph over the feudalism and tribalism which currently infects too many parts of the world.
Our logo is “Liberty Leading the People” because we think it is a wonderful depiction of the still incomplete democratic revolution. Painted to celebrate the day of 28 July 1830, when the people rose and dethroned the Bourbon king, it depicts the allegorical figure of Liberty as a half-draped woman wearing the traditional Phrygian cap of liberty and holding a gun in one hand and the tricolor in the other. For us in the West it can easily be seen as “just a bit of history” but in most parts of the world that is a battle which is still waiting to be won.
One place to watch at the moment is Nepal where an elected Maoist dominated government is currently taking shape following a long period of successful people’s war. The position of the Maoists in Nepal is that their focus will be on promoting the development of capitalism and fast-tracking that nation out of its current semi-feudal state.
keza
Relevant discussion on our old forum:
(**if you want to know more about us go to www.lastsuperpower.net. To see our entire old forum in archived form, click here .)
This last sentence contains much of what this blog stands for and helps explain the strangeness of the times.
For those of us in the west – the economically advanced sections of the world – the bourgeois revolution has been done and dusted (and for a considerable period). This revolution has not occured evenly and its gains have often been like drawing teeth without the benefit of anaethesia. The key economic changes were wrought first, the democratic advances came second (in the case of Britain the lag time was over two centuries), and the sweeping away of many feudal and pre-feudal prejudices effecting social and personal relations, a distant third. Examples of the latter are the still ongoing (and succeeding) struggles against the oppression of women and of gays.Importantly, we have had the benifit of experiencing the fruit of the Enlightenment and its revolution.
It is, as Marx expressed so powerfully in the Manifesto, a mixed bag. Its advances and benefits have been spectacular and driven human development forward; its costs, (and disappointments), also ‘spectacular’ and drive people to destroy it.
Over 150 years ago Marx pointed out that the system was on the nose and anti capitalist forces of the left and the right have had no shortage of reasons to denounce and complain.
Lenin’s appraisal of advanced capitalism (modern imperialism) as moribund, made over 90 years ago, was an indication, back then, of how capitalism had become a major impediment on human economic, social and personal development; it remains so.
So this is the battle that we want most of the people in the world to win? Well, yes, and the sooner the better.
Off the top of my head there are two main reasons for this. The first is that the advances in material well being, health, longevity, mastery over ones environment, knowledge etc would be dramatic and beyond most people’s imaginings, (as they would have been for our not so distant forebears). This alone would be more than sufficient reason.
But wait, as they say in some of the more haranguing style of ads, there’s more. The second is that it appears that a revolutionary transformation of capitalist societies is not going to be possible when a large chunk of the world’s people remain mired in pre-captalist or primitive capitalist circumstances.
This suggests that the quickest way to get rid of capitalism is to encourage its development in those areas of the world were it does not exist in any significant form. The future for people living in these circumstances is our past. Because of this we understand that the Democratic Revolution, in resolving a whole raft of problems that beset pre-capitalist societies, create a raft of new ones in its wake. But we are hardly in a position to insist that they bypass it. These are lessons they need to learn from their own experience.
I wrote my comment as a blog, strange times“I don’t want to stand by and watch on TV while women have their breasts and legs cut off for supporting democracy”
from the CPA(ML) to this!!!!At least they present coherent arguments in Vanguard – you just took one too many hits from the bong in the 60;s
The CPA (ML) !!
I just googled it for old times sake. They’re still rabbiting on about “Australian Independence”, full of lamentations about “Golden Circle” being taken over by Heinz. Yes, it’s all very ‘coherent’.
You would know that most psychotic delusions are internally coherent. They just have nothing to do with reality.
If you think I’m wrong, how about explaining why, rather than just expressing disbelief?