Key terms
Key concepts
Readings
Activities
Discussion questions/points
Key terms
Objective
Subjective
Revolution
Economic revolution
Political revolution
Social revolution
Line of march
Top of page
Key concepts
Economic changes in society are fought out in various ideological ("legal, political, religious, aesthetic, or philosophic") forms.
Political revolution develops within the social revolution and accomplishes the goals of the objective struggle.
The shifting polarities in and intensification of the social struggle are the conditions within which the political and conscious aspects of the revolutionary process can be developed. But the social struggle against the destruction at the hands of the old system does not grow into a political struggle, that is, into a struggle for the political power to reconstruct society on a new foundation.
The economic revolution and social disruption destroy the foundation for the politics of the past period and open up the opportunity for politics that reflect the new class polarities.
The communist reconstruction of society (that is, around the program of this new class – with distribution according to need) is the solution to the objective demands of the social struggle.
In the revolutionary process, the leap to the new quality is not possible without the development of the subjective side of the process. This reconstruction of society will require a new consciousness and a new class in political power.
Top of page
Readings
"Revolution – the line of march" (Institute resource paper # 6)
Excerpt from Engels, Introduction to Socialism: Utopian and Scientific
Marx and Engels, "Illusion of the epoch" (excerpt from The German Ideology)
Engels, Letter to Heinz Starkenburg, January 25, 1894 (esp. section 2a)
Labor Party program
Excerpt from Lenin, What is to Be Done?
Peery, Nelson. Excerpt from Entering an Epoch of Social Revolution "The revolutionary process," (pages 17-18)
Top of page
Activities
Make the line of march of the revolution graphic by assigning current short readings that illustrate the philosophical and political points in the questions. (If you want suggestions for articles that do this, ask the Institute staff in Chicago for ideas.)
Top of page
Discussion questions/points
1. What is the political response of the ruling class to the new situation? In what ways do they act as a class?
2. What is political struggle?
3. Does the social struggle grow into the political struggle?
4. Why is important for our class to think and act as a class, that is, to think and act politically? What will that mean? What are some of the steps to accomplishing that?
5. Why is it important for revolutionaries to develop the consciousness about what the problem is, a vision of what the world could be, and a program for the reconstruction of society?
Top of page
