Comrades, Socialist Revolution is Class Struggle, is Marxism

By Franz J. T. Lee

* In spite of all the differences, what do social revolutions, including the socialist one, have in common?

* What is the quintessence of social revolution?

Let us recapitulate: within history, the process of production, there exists not 'rich' and 'poor' but masters and slaves. Any form of production, any formation of labor, logically produces antagonistic social classes, social class relations, the ruling ones and those who are being ruled, are exploited, dominated, discriminated, massacred and alienated. This is the quintessence of class struggle. This is the raison d'etre for social revolution.

*Another lesson for Venezuela: All social revolutions, especially the socialist one, are class struggles.

It does not matter on which level of production a social revolution finds itself. This transhistoric reality ranges from primitive capital accumulation in a slave-owning society till modern global corporate imperialism: a modern system that economically exploits the very meso-, micro- and macro-cosmos in its totality. Furthermore, at this level of our Bolivarian Revolution we should distinguish between the accumulation of capital within past dominant modes of production and capitalism which is a contemporary dominant globalized mode of production. The latter is what we have to annihilate.

* This lead us to the next lesson: Socialism is class struggle, is not class consensus, is not a pacific alliance of labor and capital, is a social revolution within world capitalism, is a negation, is the categoric negation of capitalism, is truly anti-capitalist, and only as such is truly anti-imperialist, the very contrary of being anti-Empire or anti-imperial.

* This launches the next lesson, the decisive question for us: Reform or Revolution, Barbarism or Socialism?

As Rosa Luxemburg pointed out in her famous writing 'Social Reform or Revolution' (1900) against Eduard Bernstein, pure social reform within the global capitalist mode of production could be a means of revolution, but it is never the end of socialist revolution, of modern class struggle. It is counterrevolutionary to make reformism a revolutionary goal, its quo vadis. Reformism is limited social change within the exploitative capitalist mode, it is not its abolition. Socialist Revolution is crossing the Rubicon, is destroying barbarism, neo-liberal savagery.

* Hence, comrades, socialist revolution is class struggle, is Marxism. We are free to make anything which we want, but we have to be very careful what we call it. Hitler, Goering and Goebbels called Fascism National Socialism.

At this moment, this year 2008 is decisive. In Venezuela, the Bolivarian Revolution is destined to reveal its transhistoric quintessence, to make the socialist leap into real, true, anti-capitalist emancipation, or, to stagnate in 'Chavism without Chavez', reformism, gentlemen agreements, corruption, impunity, barrels of imported Yankee whiskey, class consensus, neo-liberal savagery and Nazi barbarism.

I read George Plechanov's famous book in 1960, The Role of the Individual in History, in South Africa, and learned that no single god, idea, man or people could ever make 'history', could make the socialist revolution. By coincidence, President Chavez also read this book years later.

If we love Chavez, please send him to enjoy holidays in Amazonia, and in the meantime, let us multiply him with millions. Only then he will not collapse, will not become a victim of ruling class treachery.

* Hence, the final lesson: The workers of Venezuela, of the world, have no Patria, no homeland. It is their revolutionary duty to found their own socialist vanguard party, in the tradition of the victorious Bolshevik Party of Lenin. (See: http://www.franzlee.org/marxmanifesto.html)

The only way to stop such a workers party was to kill all its vanguard leaders, only as such fascist Stalinism could triumph in the Soviet Union. This tragedy should never occur on Venezuelan soil. Hence comrades beware! We live in an extremely dangerous local, regional, national and international epoch. Venezuela: It is socialism now or never! http://www.franzlee.org/pandemonium01308.html venezuelanews@franzlee.org http://www.franzlee.org