“In spite of worsening economic conditions, nothing can be accomplished until the American people hold a vision of where they want to go and what they want to be. Creating and imbuing them with such vision is the overriding task of revolutionaries and the foundation of our organization.” — Program of the League of Revolutionaries for a New America

The word revolutionary has many different meanings that are often twisted in the popular culture. Its more violent connotations can alienate people, while its sense of a fresh start with a new world attracts others. The League uses this term with a scientific clarity that arises from understanding that profound changes in the economy create revolutionary changes in society, and that individuals respond to this situation, and among those that respond are revolutionaries. Some are becoming revolutionary in their outlook irrespective of what they call themselves; others call themselves revolutionaries.

Economic change in our country and around the world is throwing society into mayhem and destruction. As problems persist and grow worse, some people inevitably rise up to face the challenges of the day. They fight back in their community or at their job. They want a resolution to the problems of poverty, war, racism, and spiritual and environmental destruction, but they cannot seem to find the solution.

Among the people fighting to end the problems of society are those whose ideas are opening up to new possibilities. They begin to question the ideas handed down to them, and to discard the ideas that hold them back. Many begin to call the (capitalist) "system" into question and begin to see more clearly the class forces at play. These are the people who are becoming revolutionary in their outlook, but do not see yet themselves as revolutionaries.

There is another fighter in this theatre of struggle. These fighters clearly and absolutely reject the capitalist system. They clearly see themselves as an active participant in society and see their historical role in changing the world in which they live. They join an organization of revolutionaries that formulates a realistic plan, and puts it into action. These conscious revolutionaries arrive at their conclusions not through struggle but through intellectual study. These ideas do not come about spontaneously; they must be learned. As new revolutionaries learn, they must in turn go out to convey these consciousness-forming ideas to their peers.

The new must replace the old. This is true when it comes to society. It is also true when it comes to ideas. The new ideas must actively confront and expose the old ideas as obsolete and bankrupt. But ideas have no physical life in themselves. People must engage in this clash of ideas. That is the role of today's revolutionary.

Like any process there are stages of development. Between questioning the system and having a specific solution there is a very large gap. The League's purpose is to gather revolutionaries and to bridge that gap in order to develop class consciousness and scientific clarity around issues of political strategy and tactics. This stage of development must be accomplished in order to move on to the next stage.

Too much is at stake for any romantic notions about the revolution. Simply being against the problem is not enough. The conscious revolutionary has a responsibility to the front of struggle in which they fight, and also an obligation to raise the consciousness of those around them. The human mind is the only revolutionary tool that can solve the problems we face and change our world. But without a plan and an organization, a "revolutionary" individual is only a talking head.

Hardcore reality calls for scientific study and critical thinking. The overwhelming majority of people in this country have been mis-educated for generations concerning the meaning of revolution. Class consciousness and the clarification of the class enemy are necessary ingredients for the revolutionary movement in this country to advance further and these ideas will not and cannot occur spontaneously. They must be persistently and tenaciously brought in. Unless a conscious revolutionary force rectifies the erroneous thinking of the American people, other forces like racist, nationalist or fascist ideas, can and will recruit those same objectively revolutionary people to their cause. Poverty does not create revolutionaries. Ideas do.

The League takes a sober look at the current stage of development and has given itself the task of completing this current step of the process so that we can eventually take the next step that is needed for the revolution to develop in the United States. We call on all revolutionary forces to join in this struggle for the consciousness of the people that will ultimately determine the fate of our world.

 

December.2007.Vol17.Ed6
This article originated in Rally, Comrades!
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