textfiles/politics/SPUNK/sp000010.txt

Keywords Revolution, Cuba, Nicaragua,  

ANARCHISTS SAY that capitalism can not be reformed away.  We 
say it must be overthrown through a revolution.  Many people 
however believe that the failure of the Russian revolution of 
1917 shows revolutions just replace one set of rulers with 
another.  The failures of the revolutions in Nicaragua, Iran and 
Cuba to fundamentally change life for the workers of these 
countries seems to point to the same thing.  So why all this talk 
of revolution?

A revolution essentially is a sudden upheaval in society which 
fundamentally alters the way that society operates or who that
 society is run by.  It occurs when the mass of the people desire
 change that their rulers are unwilling or unable to grant. 
 It can not be the result of the action of a small group of 
plotters.

History is full of revolutions.  Capitalism gained dominance
 over feudalism through revolutions, particularly the French 
revolution of 1789.  Revolutions in countries like Cuba, Nicaragua
 and Iran since the second world war have had major effects on a 
global scale. 

Of course none of these were anarchist revolutions.  They all
 resulted in the substitution of one ruling class for another.
  They failed to bring about classless societies.

MISSING FACTOR

What was missing was an independent working class fighting for 
its own class interests.  Instead working class militancy was
 harnessed by radical nationalists in a fight for 'national 
liberation'.  In power these radical nationalists crushed the
 working class at home while seeking terms with imperialism abroad.

In the case of Nicaragua and Cuba at least the radical nationalists
 in power used socialist jargon as a cover for their policies.  Cuba
 went so far as to nationalise the economy.  A successful socialist
 revolution however involves more than nationalisation and left
  wing jargon.  
 
In the course of a revolution the working class spontaneously
 throws up organs through which it tries to re-organise society.
  These organs however are normally made subservient to the new
 state within a short period of time. Normally there is some
 resistance to this but such resistance is brutally crushed.
  In 1917 the Bolshevik state apparatus crushed the Soviets and 
factory committees, in Iran the radical nationalists around Khomeini 
performed the same function.

SMASH THE STATE

This could only occur because the vast majority of the workers
 accepted the necessity of state rule.  This is why anarchists
 emphasise the importance of smashing the state rather then using
 it's apparatus to introduce socialism.  There is no more utopian
 idea then the idea of a minority introducing socialism through 
the state apparatus.
 
Anarchists believe that a successful revolution which introduces 
socialism must for the first time in history involve a huge 
subjective factor.  This subjective factor is a large proportion
 of the working class holding anarchist politics.  This does not mean
 the WSM must be the largest faction or even that anarchist groups 
must be the largest faction.  It does mean that workers must see
 the introduction of socialism as something that is their task, and 
that the state has only a counter-revolutionary role to play.

BATTLE OF IDEAS

This will not just happen spontaneously.  Some anarchists make 
the mistake of thinking politics will become irrelevant once
 workers seize the factories.  They think that the various
 Leninist and reformist left theories will become instantly irrelevant.
  In actual fact this is the period when politics will become 
relevant as never before.  It is a period where millions of 
workers will be looking for a political direction.

In the past revolutions have been led to disaster because the
 ideas that led the working class were reformist or 
authoritarian.  Once in power such parties 
brutally crushed working class activity.  This is as true of 
the reformists in the German revolution of 1919 as it is of the
 Bolsheviks in 1917-21.  Anarchist organisation must be capable of
 debating and defeating such ideas as they arise.  

CRYSTAL BALL

Not being crystal ball gazers we can not predict when the next
 opportunity for revolution will occur.  In Ireland at least it 
would appear to be many years away.  We do know such opportunities
 will arise however, they are a product of the inability of 
capitalism to meet the needs of all the people.  Capitalism may
 have changed and developed over the years but this has not changed.

This does not mean we do nothing until such an opportunity arises.
  Now is the time for us to develop and spread anarchist ideas.
  We need to build strong anarchist organisation(s), not just in Ireland 
but internationally.  Indeed it is likely that revolution
 will arrive on the agenda in Ireland due to the success of 
revolutions elsewhere.  We ensure the continued relevancy of our ideas by 
involvement in the struggles of fellow workers and demonstrating the 
usefulness of anarchist politics and tactics.

This is the purpose of the WSM.  We are in the process of building an 
organisation capable of asserting anarchist ideas.  We are
 developing these ideas while being involved in struggles at all
 levels of society.  We are building 
international links with anarchists in other countries.
  If you too wish to see this rotten system smashed and replaced
 with anarchism then get in contact and get involved.

Joe Black

This article originally appeared in the Irish anarchist magazine 
Workers Solidarity.  For more information on the Workers 
Solidarity Movement contact

WSM
PO BOX 1528
Dublin 8
Ireland