“We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings.”
- Ursula K. Le Guin
The story of why people utilize a political theory always has modern lessons. The story of Democratic Centralism, the Narodniks, the German Social Democrats, and the Mensheviks has parallels to modern stances.
If folks were more familiar with the history of Russia from 1905 to 1989, we would have a major ideological shift. Because folks would see that many common ideas have been tested and found lacking.
Fourteen invasions from countries previously fighting each other in WW1, Woodrow Wilson funds the White Army in a civil war!
But despite this non-ideal situation the revolution made it possible to go from a peasant nations with 10% literacy to 90% literacy, the same calorie intake as the U.S. (according to the CIA), industrialization levels able to win a world war and beat the nazis, major movement for women's rights, major combating of racism, major expansion of children's rights, and a huge expansion of economic democracy.
The sad reality is they lost 27 million people who cared very much about securing their victory against the Nazis, and their revolution. This, along with pressure from the newly formed NATO, brought about a situation of national and historic nihilism; people didn't realize what they would lose if the USSR fell. This, along with lies from later leadership like Kruschev and compromise with the West by Gorbachev, led to the events of Perestroika, where we can see one of the largest economic disasters in human history.
However, the people in many Soviet nations did vote to keep socialism, and were not pro-free market. We see decreased living standards before and after the USSR.
Now, back to the beginning, Lenin sees his brother, a Narodnik (anarchist sorta), die trying to assassinate the Czar. The conditions become ripe for revolution during an inter-imperialist conflict, where they sent working people to die for the rich folks’ interests. Lenin then sees the German Social Democrats lie to the 2nd International. They say that they won't support the war, but then they immediately vote for the war in the German parliament. It was this process of seeing what didn't work that led to what did; it was being able to correctly identify that revolutionaries must build a party capable of revolution. Historical circumstances must be ripe, and we shouldn’t let popular emotion dictate the party’s direction. We must be able to turn on a dime, but remain consistent in our pursuits.
(For the mensheviks were also followers of Democratic Centralism.)
I know that before I studied this, I did not understand geopolitics as well as now. While I had lots of praxis, I fell into demarcated traps had I been privy. This is the importance of studying theory and history.
Our conditions are quite different, but we must understand what it takes and has taken. Do what must be done to see a future without technofeudalism or nuclear Armageddon, but instead make a system where everyone's living standards increase as the nation’s wealth does.
If we see how horrible the conditions were for people of previous revolutions, we will have more revolutionary optimism. Formerly enslaved people became spies, soldiers, and assassins against the cotton kingdom! And once the world is freed from Western hegemony, a new age of peace and prosperity will be ushered in.
Their material conditions were far worse, and they fought so we could, too!
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in articles and submissions to Solidarity Tribune are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the collective as a whole. We publish diverse perspectives rooted in solidarity, liberation, and mutual aid, but we recognize and respect a range of voices within our broader movement.
Content Warning:
Some articles may discuss topics like state violence, systemic oppression, or personal trauma. Reader discretion is advised.
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