POLICE AND PRISONS: REFORMIST ILLUSIONS AND THE REVOLUTIONARY SOLUTION by Bob Avakian

NEW from Revolution/revcom.us:

POLICE AND PRISONS:
REFORMIST ILLUSIONS
AND THE REVOLUTIONARY SOLUTION

by Bob Avakian

July 20, 2020 | revcom.us

In the course of the beautiful uprising against institutionalized white supremacy and police terror, the notion of “defunding,” or even “dismantling,” the police—replacing the existing police with a different kind of force, and accompanying this with a focus on meeting the social needs of the people who are now the main target of police violence—has been put forward as a “solution.” But does this idea of changing institutions and shifting priorities and funding, within this same system, really represent a way to put an end to police brutality and murder, and at the same time overcome the conditions of discrimination and poverty that cause people to be caught up in continual violence—both the violence carried out by the police and the violence among the people themselves, and in particular the youth in the inner cities?

No. In reality, this idea (of “defunding” or “dismantling” the police and shifting priorities and funding) is something that will not, and cannot, solve the problems it claims to be addressing. It is something that will not, and cannot, happen under this system of capitalism-imperialism. It is actually a dangerous illusion—or delusion—which will lead people to being disarmed ideologically in a demoralizing dead-end. This is because of the fundamental nature, functioning and requirements of this system itself. To end police terror you have to put an end to the system that needs police terror.

Let’s get into why this is true.

The “Priorities” of This System Are Determined by the Basic Nature of the System

Thinking about this, I was reminded of the days of the mass movement against the U.S. imperialist war in Vietnam, when groups like the tired-out “Communist Party” (which in fact was not about real communism or actual revolution) would raise demands like “Money for Jobs, Not War!” It had to be pointed out then that the reason that the U.S. imperialists were waging war in Vietnam was the same reason that there were unemployed people in this country: both of these things flowed out of the basic nature, functioning and requirements of this system of capitalism-imperialism.

People were unemployed within this country because they could not be profitably employed—that is, exploited—by the capitalists who rule this country (or they could not be exploited profitably enough, given the compulsions these capitalists faced in cut-throat competition with other capitalists, not just within this country but on an international scale). It was more profitable, and conformed to the competitive compulsions of the capitalists, to introduce technology to replace many workers in this country, and at the same time to super-exploit people, at much lower wages, in other parts of the world (in particular the Third World of Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia). And waging war in Vietnam was part of the same fundamental necessity of those who rule this system—in this case their need to control strategic parts of the world in order to maintain their dominant position in the world. For the capitalist-imperialist rulers of this country to have “shifted their priorities”—ending their war in Vietnam and using the money instead to create jobs for unemployed people in this country—would actually have gone against their fundamental needs and interests.¹

And it is for the same basic reasons that, under this system, there will be no “dismantling” or real “defunding” (or changing of the essential role) of the police and no meaningful shifting of priorities and funds into the social needs of the people now violently targeted by the police.

The fact is that even the allocation of huge amounts of money for social programs in the inner cities could not overcome the desperate conditions of millions of people that has resulted from years, decades, generations and centuries of oppression, through slavery, segregation and ongoing discrimination. As I pointed out in Racial Oppression Can Be Ended—But Not Under This System:

Despite what any politician (“liberal” or outright fascist like Trump) may say, there is no way that this system could “reverse itself,” bring large parts of industry back to the inner city and provide meaningful employment, with “a living wage” for all those it is now depriving of this. Even if the government had the “political will” to try to do this, doing so (with the employment of millions of formerly unemployed or “underemployed” people at a “living wage”) would seriously undermine the competitive positions of American capitalists in the global economy. And, if they attempted to do this while at the same time trying to seriously overcome the whole historically-evolved relations of white supremacy, this would completely disrupt the social “cohesion” that “holds this country together,” with white supremacy a crucial part of this.²

On the terms of this system, and from the point of view of its ruling class, to bring about the severe damage to the competitiveness of “American capital” and the massive “social upheaval” that would be caused by actually attempting to overcome the conditions of oppression and deprivation of masses of people in the inner cities of this country—and the inequality built into this—would be highly destructive and irrational. And that is why this will not happen under this system.

There Is Police Terror Because This System Needs Police Terror

Growing numbers of people have begun to get a basic sense that white supremacy has been built into this system in this country from its very founding. In a number of writings (and most recently in Racial Oppression Can Be Ended—But Not Under This System), I have analyzed scientifically and in some depth why the oppression of Black people (as well as Latinos and Native Americans) cannot be abolished under this system, but is bound to continue, as a result of the “toxic mix” of racism and capitalism. And this is a major reason why the police cannot be either literally “dismantled” or fundamentally “reformed” to function without terrorizing, and outright murdering, masses of oppressed people.

But the ruling powers of this system need this kind of brutal police force not only to violently enforce racial oppression, as significant as that is. This system rests upon, and continually gives rise to, social divisions and conflicts—between masses of people and the ruling class, and among the masses of people themselves—conflicts which hold the potential for, and frequently erupt into violence and “chaos,” which in some circumstances can reach dimensions that threaten the “stability” of the system. So the capitalist ruling class requires a force of organized institutionalized violence—the police (as well as the military)—to contain and control these conflicts, and to forcibly suppress them when they erupt into violence and “chaos” that does immediately, or potentially, threaten the “established order.” Even with real, and in some ways sharp, differences among them, about some of the particulars of how this should be carried out, the entire ruling class is in fundamental agreement on the need for this, because once again it flows from and corresponds to the fundamental nature and requirements of this system.

A serious contradiction in this society—something which is the result of the “workings” of this system itself but at the same time does cause real problems for the system’s ruling class—is the fact that there are large numbers of people among the oppressed who have been effectively “locked out” of the regular “formal economy,” and for whom, in the conditions and on the terms of this system, crime seems like the only means to make a way in the world, or for some the only means of survival, even with all the risks it involves. A heartbreaking part of this is the fact that, in this situation, large numbers of oppressed youth in the inner cities are killing each other. These days especially, there are all these fascist asses braying about “Black-on-Black” crime. These racists are complete hypocrites: They care nothing about the horrors that the masses of Black people suffer, and they raise “Black-on-Black crime” only to distract attention from, or to justify, the police terror and murder against Black people—to convey the “message” that Black people are “a bunch of animals” who need to be kept in check, as violently as necessary, by police. But the reality is that Black people, and in particular the youth, killing each other is a very real and serious problem, and a cause of deep anguish for all those who genuinely want to see an end to this and to the conditions (and ways of thinking) that have given rise to this and keep it going.

The way forward out of this terrible situation is not unleashing even more terror against these youth by police (or the National Guard or the army!), or simply preaching at them to stop the violence, but winning growing numbers of them to become part of the revolution aiming to put an end to their oppressed conditions, and all oppression, by putting an end to this system.

But, of course, crime is not committed only by some people in the inner cities. Crimes, including violent crimes, are and will be a significant phenomenon and problem, in the society as a whole, so long as society is marked by relations of exploitation and oppression and the divisions and conflicts they give rise to—all reinforced by the ideology (the way of thinking) of “getting yours” and advancing your own interests at the expense of others, which is widely promoted throughout this society, from top to bottom.

And here is a heavy contradiction: In this kind of society, on the one hand, without the police crime would be an even greater problem, not just for the ruling class but for the society and the people overall; while, on the other hand, the police will be directed to “selectively” enforce the law, and to use the fact of crime as a “justification” for terrorizing whole sections of people, especially masses of Black people (and others) whose mere existence, in conditions of systematic discrimination, oppression and deprivation, is seen as posing a threat to the system. There is no way out of this under this system.

To sum up the essential point: So long as society is founded on relations that embody exploitation and oppression, and give rise to antagonistic conflicts and violence, including violent crime—so long, in other words, as this system of capitalism-imperialism continues to rule and set the terms for how society functions—there will be a police force that will use violence and terror to maintain the “order,” and enforce the conditions and relations, that conform to the basic nature and requirements of this system. No illusions or wishful thinking can change this reality.

And the same applies to the existence and role of prisons.

Under this system, prisons can never and will never be abolished, or play any fundamentally different role than what they do now: to exercise control and, yes, terror, over those (both those actually in prison and those for whom prison is a real and ever present possibility) who might pose a threat to the “orderly functioning of this system,” in one way or another—through “subversive political activity,” or “common crime,” or merely because their oppressed condition itself, and the likelihood that it will lead to rebellion, is seen as posing a potential threat to the system.

For these basic reasons, under this system, the politicians who get into, and remain in, the seats of power will never actually adopt policies that will have the police (or the prisons) do anything fundamentally different. Even if (or where) someone might be elected to office on a platform of “re-envisioning the role of the police” (or “prison abolition”) they will be frustrated, defeated and turned away from any attempts to implement changes that seriously threaten or undermine the basic functions of these institutions and forces of violent repression and control—whose role and “mission” is to maintain the rule and “order” of this system—whether in more blatantly extreme forms (as with the fascist program, represented by the Trump/Pence regime and the Republican Party) or with minor and ultimately meaningless reforms (as with the “mainstream” section of the ruling class, represented by the Democratic Party).

The reason politicians pushing such platforms are bound to fail is not simply that they would be outnumbered by “outdated” and “behind-the-times” representatives of the “old status quo.” More fundamentally, it is because this system could not function—it would “come unraveled,” or be torn apart, actually descending into destructive chaos—without these institutions (the police and prisons) performing these repressive functions, as viciously and violently as necessary.

This is a system which cannot be “pressured” to become other than what it is, just because some people, or even many people, would like it to. It can function only in accordance with its fundamental nature, requirements and dynamics. And, sooner or later (most often sooner), anyone who tries to have things work in a fundamentally different way under this system—in a way that runs counter to its basic nature and requirements—will be reminded, often forcefully, of the impossibility of this.

All this can be ended—not, however, under this system, but only through the revolution to abolish this whole system and bring a radically different and much better system into being.

Revolution: A Radically Different Society, Radically Different Public Security

As set forth in the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America—a sweeping vision and concrete blueprint for a radically different and emancipating society—in that new, socialist society there will still be a need for laws and institutions of public security (and armed forces), as well as prisons, because (in addition to the threats from remaining imperialist and other reactionary governments and forces in the world) there will still be contradictions within the socialist society itself that give rise to conflicts, including violent conflicts. Although “common crime” will no longer be a major social problem, it will not yet be possible to eliminate all such crime. There will be forces who will seek a return to the old society through violent means, and they will need to be defeated in this. But there will be no need for, and no tolerance for, police that trample on the rights of people and terrorize whole sections of the population—and, in fact, any such actions will themselves constitute a violation of the law, and will be punishable under the law. It will be a basic principle guiding the institutions of public defense and security that one of their main purposes is to safeguard the rights of the people in this new socialist society, including the right of people to dissent and protest. Even the right to oppose the new system and seek a return to the old, exploitative society will be protected, so long as this does not involve violence.

With regard to prisons, for the reasons referred to here (and spoken to more fully in the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America), they will still be necessary for some time, in dealing with serious violations of the law. But prisons, too, will be radically different in this new society. Torture in any form, and cruel and unusual punishment of any kind, will be outlawed in dealing with people imprisoned (and in society as a whole). As this Constitution explains, the basic orientation with regard to people convicted of crimes and imprisoned will be to rehabilitate them, and to “release them and reintegrate them as productive members of the larger society, as soon as it may be possible to do so, in accordance with the judgment that this can be done without unacceptable risk and danger to society and the people, and where doing so would not be contrary to what is set forth in this Constitution.” And no one will be “kept in prison for a period longer than that provided for by law and through legal proceedings embodying due process of law.” Further:

To this end, education, in accordance with the principles set forth in this Constitution... including education in the communist worldview and values but also access to a wide variety of political and philosophical, scientific, literary and other works, expressing a diversity of views—shall be afforded prisoners, and they shall be provided with the means to engage in productive work which can make a contribution to society, under conditions which are not only humane but which conform to the general standards of work in society at large.³

Only with the advance to communism throughout the world—with the abolition and uprooting of all economic relations and social relations that contain elements of exploitation and oppression and give rise to antagonistic conflict, and with the revolutionary transformation of the culture, morality, and ways of thinking of the people—only then will it be possible to do away entirely with armed forces and institutions of public security as well as prisons. But, with the overthrow of the system of capitalist-imperialism, which is based on exploitation and oppression, it will be possible for these institutions to be radically different and to serve the process not of exploiting, oppressing and degrading people but of moving toward the goal of ending all exploitation, oppression and degradation.

If there is going to be a real dismantling of police that terrorize masses of people, this can only happen, and can only really lead to something positive, if it happens as part of the revolution that is needed. And, with this revolution, the institutions of organized repression and violence of this system (the police and the armed forces, as well as the prisons) will be replaced by new institutions which are led with a radically different outlook and are serving a radically different purpose and goal.

Does this mean that the only thing that can be done now is to wait for this revolution to somehow “magically” come about? NO. This revolution must be actively, consciously, scientifically worked for. And a big part of this is fighting back now against institutionalized white supremacy and police terror, as well as the other ways that this system oppresses, degrades, and slaughters masses of people, in every part of the world, while plundering the environment—building these struggles as powerfully as possible, linking them together on the basis of the recognition that they all have a common source in this system of capitalism-imperialism, and building up the basis to bring down this system through an actual revolution.

Working for this revolution—working now to Fight the Power, and Transform the People, For Revolution—this is what is urgently needed. This means:

strengthening the resistance and rebellion of masses of people against the outrages and injustices of this system, while waging struggle to win people to the emancipating outlook, methods, goals, and morality of this revolution, based on the scientific understanding that only the overthrow, the defeat and dismantling, of this whole system, and all its oppressive and repressive institutions, can finally put an end to all these injustices and outrages;

organizing growing numbers of people into the ranks of the revolution on this basis;

moving to make the “political terrain” and the thinking of masses of people more favorable for revolution, in order to “hasten” the development of things toward the situation where this revolution becomes possible, and building up the organized revolutionary forces that will be capable of seizing on that situation.

This is what we revcoms are dedicated and determined to do, now and going forward.

In this we base ourselves on the new communism, which has further developed communism as a consistently scientific outlook, method and approach, program, strategy and guide to action, bringing alive the need, the possibility, and the means and goals of this revolution, whose ultimate aim is the emancipation of all humanity from every form of exploitation and oppression with the achievement of communism throughout the world.⁴

This is what everyone who really wants to see an end to institutionalized white supremacy and police terror, and all oppressive relations, needs to become actively involved in, now—casting off illusions and working for revolution.

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1. The U.S. imperialists were eventually forced to withdraw from Vietnam, because they were unable to achieve their objective of defeating the Vietnamese liberation fighters and subjecting Vietnam to U.S. domination, and a “consensus” finally developed, among the political representatives of this system, that it was best to “cut their losses” in Vietnam before this fundamentally undermined and threatened their position in the world overall—and within the U.S. itself, where there was massive opposition to the war and militant protest and rebellion against the oppression of Black people and other outrages perpetrated by this system, a radicalization that reached right into the U.S. imperialist armed forces themselves. But neither this withdrawal from Vietnam, nor later the “victory” of U.S. (and allied) imperialists in the “cold war,” with the unraveling of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s—none of this produced the “peace dividend” (government spending for social programs, etc.) that various reformists had declared could be the result of ending these (“cold” and “hot”) wars. Why this did not happen is once again because of the basic nature, functioning and requirements of this system of capitalism-imperialism.  [back]

2. This article by Bob Avakian (Racial Oppression Can Be Ended—But Not Under This System) is available at revcom.us.  [back]

3. The Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America, authored by Bob Avakian, is available at revcom.us. The passages from this Constitution quoted (or referred to) are from Article III, “Rights of the People and the Struggle to Uproot All Exploitation and Oppression,” Section 2, “Legal and Civil Rights and Liberties.”  [back]

4. The substance of the new communism, brought forward by Bob Avakian (BA), is contained in BA’s Collected Works at revcom.us. This includes BAsics, from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian, the handbook for revolution. Along with the sweeping vision and concrete blueprint for a radically different society in the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America, the strategy for the revolution leading to this radically new society is spelled out in BA’s speech, Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution (the text and video of which are available at revcom.us), and is spoken to in more recent writings by Bob Avakian, in particular A Real Revolution—A Real Chance to Win, Further Developing the Strategy for Revolution, which is also available at revcom.us. As the title suggests, a basic summary of the new communism, and its relation to the communism founded by Karl Marx, is found in BA’s work Breakthroughs: The Historic Breakthrough by Marx, and the Further Breakthrough with the New Communism, A Basic Summary (which is also available at revcom.us); and there is a fuller presentation of the new communism in the book by BA, The New Communism, The science, the strategy, the leadership for an actual revolution, and a radically new society on the road to real emancipation (Insight Press, 2016).  [back]

Bob Avakian (BA) is the most important political thinker and leader in the world today.

Get Into BA »

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Also, in this new issue of Revolution:

Trump Gestapo Violently Assaults, Snatches
Portland Protesters
Not “Theater”—Part of Deadly Serious, All-Round Fascist Escalation

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Read: www.revcom.us
Watch: youtube.com/TheRevComs

Come Together, Get Into The Revolution

To all those lifting their sights to a world without oppression and wanting to know how to fight today for an actual revolution, The RNL Show—Revolution, Nothing Less! is a weekly YouTube show about ACTUAL revolution, based on Bob Avakian's new communism It premieres every Thursday 5pm on YouTube.com/TheRevcoms This Thursday, 7/16 you're invited to a Revolution Club socially distanced, outdoor viewing party LA - 4:30 pm, Revolution Club Organizing Center, 2716 S. Vermont Ave. OC - 4:30 pm. Hart Park 701 S Glassell St. in Orange (bring a blanket or chair for seating)”

A REAL REVOLUTION—A REAL CHANCE TO WIN | by Bob Avakian

NEW from Revolution/revcom.us: A REAL REVOLUTION— A REAL CHANCE TO WIN Further Developing the Strategy for Revolution by Bob Avakian July 13, 2020 | revcom.us In Part II of Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution, as an important application of the new communism I have developed over a number of decades, I speak directly to the fact that everything that we are doing now needs to be aiming for something very definite: a revolutionary situation. In that speech (as well as a number of other works), I have discussed key features of a revolutionary situation, including the crucial element of a revolutionary people in the millions, in the context of a deep crisis for the whole system. Here, I want to focus on the following from the same part (II) of “Why We Need/How We Can”: we need to work back from that [revolutionary] situation and what would be required then—how the all-out fight would need to be waged—to have a real chance to defeat the powerful violent forces of this system.1 There follows, in Part II, a discussion of key principles that would need to guide the revolutionary forces waging such an all-out fight, when the conditions for that had been brought into being. But, of course, the problem of actually defeating the powerful violent forces of repression of this system (and counter-revolutionary forces allied with them), even in the radically changed and more favorable conditions of a revolutionary situation, represents a difficult and complicated challenge. So, even now—when the conditions required for this all-out fight do not yet exist—it is necessary, and of great importance, to continue to grapple with the theory and the strategic conception and principles involved. The Struggle Against Fascism Now and the Future All-Out Fight One important dimension to all this is addressed in the following—speaking to the challenges in going up against the Trump/Pence fascist regime and its “base,” and how this relates to the fundamental goal of revolution to do away with this whole system which has given rise to this fascism: What is urgently needed is a massive struggle against the fascism of the Trump/Pence regime and determined opposition to the “base” it is mobilizing in its support. This struggle needs to be waged in a serious way, in accordance with the actual stakes involved—not seeking or initiating violence but also not cowed into submission by the actions of the fascists. And what is needed, in working toward the fundamental solution to all this, is to wage this anti-fascist struggle as part of accelerating—“hastening”—the development of things toward the point where it will be possible to carry out the revolution, the all-out fight, to finally put an end to this whole system of capitalism-imperialism, with all of the horrors it has already brought about for the masses of humanity—and the even worse horrors it will unleash if it is allowed to continue—when all this is completely unnecessary and there is the basis and possibility for a radically different and far better world.2 Hastening and preparing for the revolutionary showdown needs to proceed, and is proceeding, in accordance with the basic principles for the revolution that are concentrated in the 5-2-6, including Point 6 of the Six Points of Attention for the Revolution: We are going for an actual overthrow of this system and a whole better way beyond the destructive, vicious conflicts of today between the people. Because we are serious, at this stage we do not initiate violence and we oppose all violence against the people and among the people.3 At the same time, it is noteworthy that the threats of violence, and actual violence, by fascist thugs, often heavily armed, have not succeeded in intimidating people from righteously protesting against institutional racism and police terror, and in fact there have even been instances where disciplined groups of Black people have shown up to make very clear that they will defend protesters from attacks by these fascist thugs. And it is important to keep the following clearly in mind, especially given the threats and inclination to violence of the fascist thugs who have attacked demonstrations and even stormed into government buildings while armed: To a significant degree now, the conflict between the sections of society upholding this fascism and those opposing it, from various different perspectives, is shaping the terrain on which the struggle for revolution must be carried out; this conflict is likely to intensify, and could erupt further in violent confrontation, and in any case it would be a significant factor in the context of an all-out struggle between revolution and counter-revolution.4 In line with what is said there, it is even possible that this “conflict between the sections of society upholding this fascism and those opposing it” could at some point, in combination with the heightening and intensifying of other key contradictions, lead to (or develop into) the all-out fight. And this conflict would also likely influence where different sections of people, within different institutions, would be inclined to line up (or could be won to line up). Defeating “Encirclement and Suppression”—Carrying the Revolutionary Fight Forward With all that, however, it is very likely that, when it comes down to it—when the revolutionary situation has finally emerged and the all-out struggle is underway—the main thing the revolution would then need to confront would be “the institutional forces of the old ruling class,” even while this would almost certainly involve a significant element of “a civil war between two sections of the people,” and this element would interact with (and influence) the conflict between the revolutionary forces and “the institutional forces of the old ruling class.”5 With this in mind, there is the need to take into account the following, even as it is coming from the point of view of the counter-revolutionary forces of the old, oppressive order: The only way [for the counter-revolution] to gain the necessary control is to garrison troops 24/7 among the civilians; periodic “sweep” or “cordon and search” operations, even when conducted by counterinsurgents as cruel as the Nazis, fail because civilians know the rebels will return the moment the soldiers leave and exact a terrible revenge on anyone who collaborated with them. The populace will embrace the government only if it is less dangerous to do so than to support the insurgency, which is why successful population-centric policies aim to control the people, not to win their love and gratitude. As John Paul Vann, the legendary American adviser in South Vietnam, said, “Security may be ten percent of the problem, or it may be ninety percent, but whichever it is, it’s the first ten percent or the first ninety percent. Without security, nothing else we do will last.”6 This statement presents things in a crudely distorted and upside-down way: It is not the revolutionary forces that would bring down murderous violence against the masses of people; it is the military forces fighting to maintain the oppressive and exploitative system of capitalist imperialism who would do so in the attempt to terrorize people into supporting the counter-revolution. In opposition to that, the revolutionary fighting forces, guided by and proceeding in accordance with the basic principles of the new communism, would work to win the support of the people through applying an approach and methods that flow from and correspond to the emancipating goals of the revolution. Nevertheless, in spite of the reactionary viewpoint and distortion of the author of the above-quoted statement, it raises something very important, whose implications would need to be taken into account in the strategic approach of the revolutionary forces. This points to the need to include the following in the basic strategic approach that is discussed in Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution, Part II, as the basis for winning (actually defeating them) in the future conditions of a profound revolutionary crisis and with a revolutionary people in the millions: There would need to be an added emphasis on the need for the all-out revolutionary fight to be country-wide in scope, from the beginning, or very quickly after the start, for the revolutionary forces to have organized strongholds of support in many different parts of the country—and to have the ability to act simultaneously, or in quick succession, in many different parts of the country (to effect a “popcorn” phenomenon of actions breaking out repeatedly and in quick succession all over the country)—in order to effectively counter the “encirclement and suppression” of the revolution by the counter-revolution, and in particular the ability of the counter-revolution to not only concentrate forces against but to actually occupy the areas that constitute the strongholds of support for the revolution (even while those strongholds are not yet being openly controlled and administered by the revolution), particularly in the early stages of this all-out fight. The above would constitute an important further development of what is spoken to in Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution, Part II, in terms of the strategic approach and principles that would need to be applied in waging the all-out fight in the most effective way, in accordance with the fundamental orientation and goals of the revolution, in order to have a real chance to win, once the conditions that would make that possible had been brought into being. At the same time, it needs to be strongly emphasized that none of this will be possible—and even the development of a truly profound crisis in society is very likely to be resolved in a negative, or even a very negative and potentially disastrous, way—if there is not “an organized vanguard force with the vision and method, strategy and plan—and deepening ties among masses of people—to actually lead the fight to defeat and dismantle the violent repressive force of the existing system and its power structure, and to bring into being a new revolutionary system that can provide the means for people to radically transform society toward the goal of abolishing oppression and exploitation.” Bringing forward an organized movement for revolution, numbering not just in the hundreds but in the thousands—growing numbers of people with a basic scientific understanding of the need and possibility for revolution, grounded in the new communism, and concretely working together to apply the strategy laid out in “Why We Need/How We Can” to “hasten” and prepare for, and then lead millions to seize on, the revolutionary situation when it has fully ripened—this is the critical immediate challenge and goal for all those who hunger for the chance to bring a radically different and much better world into being. 1. The text and video of this speech by Bob Avakian (Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution) are available at revcom.us. Besides what is said in that speech, in terms of key elements of a revolutionary situation, this question is also addressed in a number of other works by Bob Avakian, including the following: An actual revolution requires two essential factors: a revolutionary situation, and a revolutionary people in their millions. And these two factors are closely interconnected. A revolutionary situation involves not just a crisis in society in some general sense but a situation where the system and its ruling powers are in a profound and acute crisis and millions and millions of people refuse to be ruled in the old way—and are willing and determined to put everything on the line to bring down this system and bring into being a new society and government. Key components and signs of a revolutionary crisis are that the violence used to enforce this system is seen by large parts of society for what it is—murderous and illegitimate—and that the conflicts among the ruling forces become really deep and sharp, and masses of people respond to this not by falling in behind one side or the other of the oppressive rulers, but by taking advantage of this situation to build up the forces for revolution.* * Bob Avakian has also characterized a revolutionary situation this way: What is a Revolutionary Situation? A deep crisis and sharpening conflicts in society and in the government and ruling circles, where they cannot find a way to resolve these conflicts—in society and among their own ranks—which do not make things worse for them and call forth more resistance and further undermine people’s belief in their “right to rule” and in the “legitimacy” of their use of force to maintain their rule; programs of “reforming” the system are shown to be bankrupt, totally unable to deal with what more and more people recognize as profound dysfunction and intolerable injustice of the whole setup; those, in society as well as among the ruling class, who are trying to enforce the existing system are on the political defensive, even if lashing out; millions of people are actively seeking radical change, determined to fight for it, willing to put everything on the line to win it, and searching for a force to lead them in doing so; and a solid core of thousands is united around a leadership, an organized vanguard force with the vision and method, strategy and plan—and deepening ties among masses of people—to actually lead the fight to defeat and dismantle the violent repressive force of the existing system and its power structure, and to bring into being a new revolutionary system that can provide the means for people to radically transform society toward the goal of abolishing oppression and exploitation. The above is a footnote to the article by Bob Avakian, “Boomers”—”X,Y,Z”: The Problem Is Not “Generations,” It’s the System; this footnote includes a passage from another work, Bob Avakian Responds To Mark Rudd On The Lessons Of The 1960s And The Need For An Actual Revolution. These works are also available at revcom.us. [back] 2. Bob Avakian On Civil War And Revolution. This article by Bob Avakian is available at revcom.us. [back] 3. The 5-2-6 refers to the 5 STOPS—five deep and defining contradictions of this system of capitalism-imperialism—5 ways in which this system oppresses people, plunders the environment, wages unjust wars and continually commits massive crimes against humanity; the two choices articulated by Bob Avakian (“we have two choices: either, live with all this—and condemn future generations to the same, or worse, if they have a future at all—or, make revolution!”); and the Six Points of Attention for the Revolution. The full presentation of the 5-2-6 can be found at revcom.us. [back] 4. These statements, cited in Bob Avakian On Civil War And Revolution, are originally from Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution. [back] 5. These statements, cited in Bob Avakian On Civil War And Revolution, are originally from Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution. [back] 6. Max Boot, Invisible Armies, An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present (Liveright Publishing, 2013). The quote here is from the concluding chapter, “Implications” (p. 563), emphasis added. [back]

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On Statues, Monuments, and Celebrating—or Ending—Oppression | by Bob Avakian

From Revolution/revcom.us: ON STATUES, MONUMENTS, AND CELEBRATING—OR ENDING—OPPRESSION by Bob Avakian July 6, 2020 | revcom.us One of the significant trends associated with the upsurge sparked by the sickening murder of George Floyd has been the targeting of statues and monuments honoring a number of historical figures and events. This began with the attempts (some successful, some not) to tear down (or have removed) statues and monuments to soldiers and political leaders of the Confederacy—which is entirely justified and righteous! Clearly, removing these Confederate statues and monuments is not only justified and righteous, but long overdue! As I have written previously, the “tirades” from Trump (and others) against tearing down these statues and monuments to white supremacy is “one of the clearest demonstrations of the poisonous presence of ongoing white supremacy, from the White House to the white people (and a few Black lackeys) who are defending these statues as part of the ‘great history and heritage of this country!’”1 And it must also be said: Any country which began with its foundation in slavery (and genocide against the native peoples); which maintained, and expanded, slavery (on land stolen from native peoples and Mexico) for nearly 100 years after its founding; which for another 100 years after the Civil War carried out thousands of lynchings of Black people, with mass celebrations of this, including the selling of postcards of lynchings throughout the country; which still has thousands of monuments to the Confederacy and white supremacy; and which today continues racist oppression in every dimension of society, enforced by continuing police terror—any such country has absolutely no claim to any positive celebration of itself or its history and heritage!2 But in the current situation the targeting of statues and monuments has also reached beyond just those dedicated to the Confederacy. So, here again, rather than attempting to discuss every particular instance in which a statue or monument has been targeted, it is crucially important to discuss the basic methods and principles that need to be applied to determine right from wrong, positive from negative. As a point of fundamental orientation, this must be emphasized: What is needed, in order to end not only white supremacist oppression but all oppression, is nothing less than an actual revolution, to overthrow this system of capitalism-imperialism and bring a much better system into being—and, in the radically new society brought into being through this revolution the symbols extolling this country and this system will not continue to occupy a place of honor in the way they do now. Does this mean that all these statues, monuments, and other symbols will be destroyed? No, it means that, when this revolution finally succeeds, those that remain, and what they celebrate, will in fact be treated as part of history, and placed in their proper context in history, with a scientific explanation as to what role they actually played—and this will be utilized as an important part of educating people about history and the way to correctly, scientifically understand history and its relation to the present (and the future). This, by the way, serves to further expose the utter hypocrisy of those, like Donald Trump, who try to “dress up” their racist rants against tearing down Confederate statues and monuments by claiming that these statues and monuments represent important history, and it is important to learn about history. Yes, it is important to learn about history—definitely including the horrific history of slavery and the role of those who fought to maintain slavery, and the reasons why all this should be thoroughly denounced and condemned! And, in the future society, any remaining statues, monuments, etc., that celebrate such horrors will be removed from any positions of “honor,” and from public squares, parks, streets, and so on—and will be placed in museums where they can be given the accurate, and damning, treatment they deserve. That is what will be done in the society envisioned in the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America, which sets forth the goals for which the revolution is aiming.3 Once More: The Crucial Importance of a Scientific Method and Approach In speaking about the beautiful uprising that has burst forth against institutional white supremacy, police brutality and murder, I have stressed the importance of a scientific dialectical materialist method and approach in distinguishing right from wrong, positive from negative, and determining what does, and does not, contribute to advancing the struggle—both in more immediate terms and in relation to the fundamental goal of finally abolishing racist oppression and all oppression. As I wrote in that article, this scientific dialectical materialist method and approach emphasizes the importance of, and provides the means for, identifying “what, in any given phenomenon (a system, a movement, a person), is the main thing (the principal aspect), which defines the essence of that phenomenon at any given time, and overall.”4 Using the examples of the rebellions against slavery led by Nat Turner and John Brown, that article also speaks to the importance of viewing things in their appropriate historical context and determining what was the principal contradiction that was being confronted in that historical context (the article cites the fact that these rebellions were not rising up against all systems and forms of exploitation and oppression but against what was then the principal contradiction, involving the main form of exploitation and oppression that it was then necessary and possible to abolish: outright slavery). Returning to today’s situation—where, in connection with the beautiful uprising against racial injustice, and police terror as a concentrated focus of that, statues and monuments (and other symbols) associated with the history of this country and key figures in that history are being targeted—it is critically important to apply this scientific dialectical materialist method and approach, in order to sort out right from wrong and determine what will advance, and on the other hand, what will set back, this righteous uprising and its potential to contribute in a major way to the struggle to end all oppression. First of all, it is necessary to determine if the targeting of such things as statues and monuments is contributing to the struggle or not. Where, and to the extent that, this forces into public consciousness important questions about the nature of this society and the history of this country which have too long been buried and suppressed—and where the targeting of people and things is mainly correct—then this can make a positive contribution. Where, on the other hand, the targeting of such things as statues and monuments actually gets to the point where it is more diverting attention from than contributing to what needs to be the main focus and thrust of the struggle against racial injustice, and the mobilization of masses of people in this struggle—or where people and things are targeted that should not be—then this will have a negative effect on the struggle. And this last point is very important: It is critical to apply the scientific dialectical materialist method to determine what (which statues, monuments, etc.) are legitimate targets of the struggle, and which are not. Where people or things are targeted whose main (principal and decisive) aspect is that they are more perpetrators of than opponents of the main form(s) of oppression in their time, then this targeting is correct. Where, on the other hand, people or things are targeted where the opposite is the case—where, overall, they more contributed to ending, rather than perpetuating, the key form(s) of oppression in their time—then targeting them is incorrect and can cause real harm and undermine the struggle. All this can be complicated—and that is all the more reason why it is so important to take up and apply the scientific dialectical materialist method. For example, as I have pointed out in Breakthroughs, during the Civil War there were more than a few Native American peoples who sided with the Confederacy; and, after the Civil War, there were emancipated Black people who, as the infamous “Buffalo Soldiers,” took part in the U.S. military’s concentrated campaign to kill off large numbers of Native Americans, steal their land, and force those who remained into concentration camp-like “reservations.”5 But here the crucial points of method and approach that I have been emphasizing need to be applied. First of all, which in the history of Black People and Native Americans, in their relation to this country, is the main (principal) thing: negative roles such as those just cited, or their overall experience of horrendous oppression and their struggle against that oppression? Along with this, it is necessary and important to view things in terms of what is the decisive (principal) contradiction being confronted in the present time—and looking to the future: the need and the possibility of carrying out a revolution to do away with all oppression, of all people everywhere. This provides the fundamental standpoint from which it is possible to unite all the different struggles against various forms of oppression (rather than being mired in and weighed down by conflicts and divisions that are rooted in the exploitative relations of the present system, or even in the past). Of course, it would not only be wrong, it would actually be quite harmful, to insist that people must take up the scientific dialectical materialist method and approach before they rise up in struggle against outrageous injustice and oppression. No, what is needed, what is crucially and urgently required, is to build such struggle as powerfully as possible and enable it to contribute as fully as possible to the fundamental goal of abolishing all oppression—which includes the need and the responsibility of those who have been able to learn about and take up this scientific method to widely and boldly propagate and spread this method, and struggle to win constantly growing numbers of people to themselves take it up and apply it. This will both strengthen the struggle in immediate terms and strengthen the basis for developing the all-around struggle to end all oppression, through the revolution that aims to overthrow this system and bring the much better system into being, on the basis of the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America. In that radically different and much better society, the scientific dialectical materialist method and approach will be applied, in an all-around way, including to history and the role of different people and events in history, in determining whether they should be upheld and honored, or toppled and condemned, from the perspective of where they stand in relation to the long struggle, of human beings everywhere, against oppression and injustice, which is finally advancing to the point of striving for the emancipation of all humanity. 1. See, Bob Avakian On: A Beautiful Uprising: Right And Wrong, Methods And Principles which is available at revcom.us. [back] 2. These monstrous, widespread and continuing atrocities are laid bare in the American Crime series at revcom.us, and in a number of writings and speeches by Bob Avakian—including his powerful exposure and denunciation of lynchings and “selling postcards of the hangings” in his 2003 speech Revolution: Why It’s Necessary, Why It’s Possible, What It’s All About, which is available in BA’s Collected Works at revcom.us. [back] 3. The Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America, authored by Bob Avakian, is available at revcom.us [back] 4. Bob Avakian On: A Beautiful Uprising: Right And Wrong, Methods And Principles [back] 5. Breakthroughs: The Historic Breakthrough By Marx, and the Further Breakthrough with the New Communism, A Basic Summary, by Bob Avakian, is available atrevcom.us. [back] Bob Avakian (BA) is the most important political thinker and leader in the world today. Get Into BA »   Bob Avakian On: A BEAUTIFUL UPRISING: RIGHT AND WRONG, METHODS AND PRINCIPLES Read more

Also, read: July 4: Beautiful, Defiant Protests and Flag-Burnings Go Up Against Trump’s Fascist, White Supremacist “Make America Great Again” Ugliness

From the Revolution Club, Los Angeles: This July 4th: Demonstrate How to Dishonor the American Flag June 30, 2020 | revcom.us In words that echo down to today, Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist and former slave himself, said in a July 4th speech in 1852: "For revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival." WE DEMAND: AN END TO INSTITUTIONALIZED RACISM AND MURDER BY POLICE — NOTHING LESS! AN END TO ANY WAY PEOPLE ANYWHERE ARE USED, ABUSED, AND BRUTALIZED — NOTHING LESS! WE NEED: REVOLUTION — NOTHING LESS! The Revolution Club challenges you this July 4th to think about the following from Bob Avakian, a radically different leader with a whole new framework for human emancipation: If you can conceive of a world without America—without everything America stands for and everything it does in the world—then you’ve already taken great strides and begun to get at least a glimpse of a whole new world. If you can envision a world without any imperialism, exploitation, oppression—and the whole philosophy that rationalizes it—a world without division into classes or even different nations, and all the narrow-minded, selfish, outmoded ideas that uphold this; if you can envision all this, then you have the basis for proletarian internationalism. And once you have raised your sights to all this, how could you not feel compelled to take an active part in the world historic struggle to realize it; why would you want to lower your sights to anything less? — Bob Avakian, BAsics 1:31 Saturday, July 4th 1 pm B.Y.O. Flag to Desecrate (Art and Theatre Welcome) Rally and march beginning at Sunset Blvd. and Cahuenga Blvd. 4 pm Celebration and Program MacArthur Park (7th St. & Park View St.) Come together, meet each other, learn about the history of American Crimes. LOCAL INFO: revclub_LA@yahoo.com (323) 245-6947        @revclub_LA YouTube/Social Media: TheRevComs Website: www.revcom.us The U.S.A. was founded on enslavement of Black people and genocide against Native Americans. It expanded through war—stealing large parts of Mexico and continuing to drive native people off their land. The U.S.A., on the original foundation of slavery and genocide, has since built itself up as a world-wide empire of plunder and exploitation. Its wealth and power built up through Jim Crow Segregation followed by a New Jim Crow of mass incarceration targeting Black people and other people of color; and through invasions and genocidal wars, CIA coup d’etats and assassinations, and support for murderous regimes all through Africa, Asia, South America, the Middle East… On July 4th, all of this is CELEBRATED as “greatness”!!!??? WTF!? This July 4th… as people around the world have stood up to say NO MORE to racism and murder by police... as people confront what kind of country it is that we live in, and its real history… as people defy police batons, arrests, and tear gas... a beautiful uprising has come into being. While Democratic mayors and governors have used their pig forces and called in the National Guard, this is not enough for the fascist Trump regime. Trump has threatened to send in the military into the cities to crush the Black Lives Matter uprising. He is threatening 10 years in prison for people righteously pulling down white supremacist statues. And now he has declared that burning the American flag should be illegal, asking the Supreme Court to reconsider the Texas v Johnson ruling that made flag burning constitutionally protected Speech. As the defendant in that case Joey Johnson has replied: "Fuck Donald Trump. I am determined to defy Trump on July 4th," Johnson states, "by burning an American flag as a fitting symbol of Trump and his fascist regime.” And Joey has called on everyone who opposes the crimes of this empire to join him in doing that! This July 4th The Revolution Club joins with Joey's call. And we call on you to not only be part of condemning MAGA—"America First” chauvinism—but to be part of bringing a radically different world into being where people from all over the globe, act together for the common good and are truly caretakers of the earth by making REVOLUTION - NOTHING LESS! Join with us to take action that day, and to learn about the revolutionary leader Bob Avakian and get into the strategic plan he has developed for how to make this revolution, and the sweeping vision and concrete blueprint for a radically different kind of society that can be found in the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America that he authored.

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