We need revolution in the industrialized countries

A recent article was posted in the
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/MAOIST_REVOLUTION, posted by Joseph Ball , Monday, August 1, 2011  

And I would like to respond to it.

To quote some of it;

”I am rather worried by (Italian) CARC's statement:
'In actual fact, we believe that it is difficult for the new democratic revolution to grow beyond a certain level in the oppressed countries if the communist movement will not establish socialism at least in some of the imperialist countries.'

This just sounds like the Trotskyist notion that Third World nations cannot make revolution unless there are revolutions in First World countries, so the proletariats of these countries can 'help' the Third World nations with advanced technology etc. 'Help' from First World nations is the last thing the Third World nations need. With China and the USSR, this 'help' just led to Soviet social imperialism as Khruschev attempted to bully and dominate the Chinese. Third World countries have to learn to develop their own industries by their own efforts. They have to learn how to develop and apply technology themselves. If they rely on 'foreign experts', their development will be forever subordinate to the needs of whoever supplies the 'experts', as the Chinese found out. Cuba didn't benefit much from staying in the Soviet camp, after the Chinese made their decisive break-they just carried on exporting sugar.”

This all reminds me of the work we did for Central America. We supported revolutionary movements in Guatemala and El Salvador. The left had won a major victory in Nicaragua so leftists here defended it. Just looking at the situation in Nicaragua, I can see two major problems they had. They could only trade with the Soviet Block, because the Ronald Reagan Regime tried everything to topple them. They strangled the economy, financed a guerrilla movement against them, led a major propaganda war against them inside the US. They may have even interfered with their elections. Nicaragua had been a very poor country dependent on US aid before the revolution. After, the Sandinistas had to rebuild a country that was war ravaged, politically and economically alienated from the West and it needed trade. They had few resources to rebuild their country.

I had been to the country once and they couldn’t even get new glass soda pop and beer bottles made or imported and that was after the Sandinista election defeat.

It was a strong revolutionary movement in the US that hindered this country’s war against Viet Nam and those efforts allowed a victory.

When I was in Nicaragua the army had old surplus equipment. There is only one paved highway through the entire country. The capital was simply moved outside the center rather than rebuild all the earthquake damaged buildings. The country resembled the state of Kansas, not only the scenery but the population numbers.

We had hoped that Central Americans would provide a socialist model for government that we could sell to the people in the US, but as many activists warned us, we needed to focus more on our own poor, in our own country. 

As Ball points out:

'Help' from First World nations is the last thing the Third World nations need. With China and the USSR, this 'help' just led to Soviet social imperialism as Khruschev attempted to bully and dominate the Chinese. Third World countries have to learn to develop their own industries by their own efforts.”

When Mao died, China withdrew most of its support for revolutionary organizations. When the USSR collapsed, Marxist revolutionary parties that had won power found themselves without development resources and constant destabilization programs from the western countries, such as the US and South Africa. Mozambique’s FRELIMO Party and the Sandinistas turned to the Democratic Socialist Parties of Europe for a new alliance that would both stop guerrilla wars and help the rebuild their war torn countries.

There is nothing wrong with supporting the Revolutionaries in Nepal, the Communist Party of India or any other of the insurgencies in that area if we have some common ground. India is the only country in Asia right now that might have the resources to sustain a revolution, such as the Soviets or China had. Any of these countries can make their own revolution, but we desperately need a revolution in a developed country to stop the imperialist western block. This will probably happen in European countries well before it happens in the US. But the US is now creating a new class of poor who will mimic the shanties of the Third World countries of today. They may lack homes, medicine, education, and may be forced to live on food handouts. The US poor and many workers can’t afford to wait until there is another successful third world revolutionary country to lead us to liberation. We need revolution in the western block now more than ever. We need to break the financial and military back of imperialism. For other revolutions to take place this is a necessity. Even if we weaken the country as was done in the Vietnam era, that is not only what we must do, we must go ever further and attack the core values of capitalist America. If another revolution springs up as did in France, in 1968, every communist, every Marxist-Leninist must join in and support it. We need to smash the myth that revolution can’t happen in an industrialized country.

Another point Ball makes;

“On Libya, I think the situation here is quite significant. I must admit I made some errors about Gadaffi. Whatever compromises he made in the last few years with the imperialists, he is clearly in a very antagonistic relationship with them now. Is he really a reactionary? He is not a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist who is leading the Libyans to communism perhaps.
But when it comes to fighting the imperialists, what are we going to do? Only fight with those who call themselves Maoists? It is true that the Communist Party must lead the United Front against imperialism but this is not the same as saying that everyone in the United Front must be 100% communist.”

In the short run he is right. Yet we don’t have to actually endorse  Gadaffi, while we condemn and oppose NATO’s attack on him. We do need to support United Fronts against imperialism. The degree of support of each member, leader and group should reflect out support for a Marxist oriented government. We should give some support to quasi Marxist governments such as Cuba and North (DPR) Korea, and those who are tolerant of Marxist groups, if those as Hugo Chávez really mean what the say. Supporting our fellow Maoist should be our highest priority. It is a revolution without borders that we really need, even if that is only a stated goal rather than a reality.

The US style austerity is beginning to catch on for the leaders of Europe and the reaction of their people is what should be happening in the US. They are rebelling. Of course that is not happening in the US, yet. If people in the west refuse to put up with this kind of government attacks on their way of life, revolution of some kind is a necessity. This is a time we must not waist.

--សតិវ អតុ

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