- 22 Apr 2003 19:46
#8409
Proletarian Dictatorship, Democracy and the Rights of the People
Democracy in capitalist society, including in the much advertised “American democracy,†is a fraud. It is democracy only for and among the ranks of the bourgeoisie, but it is a ruthless dictatorship over the proletariat and the masses of people generally. This can be seen in the ghettos and barrios, where the police act as an occupying army. And it can increasingly be seen in many resistance movements, even some based among middle-class people, which quickly run up against police spying, beatings, and jail time once they depart from the tightly approved limits of “dissent.â€
Proletarian dictatorship, on the other hand, will be a million times more democratic—for the masses. First of all, the most basic right of the masses, which they can never exercise under capitalism, will be the right to be masters of society, in every sphere, and to transform it in their interests. The masses will have the right to collectively join together to reorganize production to meet human needs rather than profit, to do away with the many forms of oppression inherited from capitalism, and much more.
In order to foster broad political debate and struggle throughout society, the state will provide time and space in all the mass media for groups and representatives among the masses to put forward and struggle over their ideas on the major political and ideological questions. And the masses as a whole will be organized, where they live and work, to hear and debate these views and to struggle out these questions in general. While the Party will enter into and strive to lead this, it will take care to encourage an atmosphere where the masses freely express their ideas.
Specifically, views and opinions that are contrary to those of the Party will not be suppressed, unless they are part of attempts of actual counter-revolutionaries to overthrow the proletariat’s political power and restore capitalism. And in that case, too, the masses themselves will be relied on to struggle against, expose, and suppress such forces and to distinguish through such struggle what are backward and mistaken ideas among the masses from what are actual attempts at fomenting counter-revolution.
The proletarian state must value dissent, even dissent coming from an oppositional point of view. Such dissent will help keep the political atmosphere lively and may shed light on important problems or shortcomings of the socialist state. Dissent can play a particularly important role in sparking debate and struggle over the unresolved problems facing socialist society in moving towards classless, communist society.
Leadership on all levels of government will be chosen through a system involving consultation between the Party and the masses, and in a fundamental sense the Party will rely on the masses and mass organizations in every institution throughout the country not only to select but to politically supervise leadership. In this context, elections will have a role as one means of selecting and developing leadership, and keeping it truly accountable to the masses. But the basic approach and objective will be to arrive at a consensus among the masses with regard to matters of leadership.
The standard for leadership will be a demonstrated devotion to the proletarian cause, a determination to grasp and apply its revolutionary science, and the ability to inspire and lead the masses in the same course.
The masses will have the right to criticize leaders on any level, to hold meetings, organize demonstrations, go on strike, put up posters, pass out leaflets, and so on.
The socialist state will develop a new legal system based on mobilizing the masses to ascertain truth and render justice. At the same time, there will be laws and procedures to protect the accused against abuses and/or mistakes.
The proletarian revolution will destroy the big crime syndicates and will increasingly dig at the roots of most crime—the dog-eat-dog conditions and values of capitalism. But the remaining capitalist relations and ideas will give rise to some criminal activity. The proletarian dictatorship will combine organs of mass vigilance and supervision with professional security forces to deal with crime, distinguishing between disputes among the people, petty crimes, and serious crimes. Hardened criminals will be stopped by force, and those connected to counter-revolution will be severely punished.
Prisons will not be degrading and brutal hell-holes. Those imprisoned will be allowed—and required—to carry out productive labor and other useful activities to benefit the people, will be given the chance to rehabilitate themselves, and will be struggled with to change their world outlook.
In regard to religion, the socialist state will uphold people’s right to worship and to hold religious services, and will provide them with the necessary facilities and materials for doing so. Religious people will neither be allowed special privileges nor permitted to use religious activity as a means to promote reactionary political movements or to accumulate capital and exploit the masses; barring that, however, they will not be suppressed.
At the same time, communists are atheists and do not believe in supernatural forces or beings of any kind. Communists also recognize religion’s role in instilling a sense of powerlessness in the masses and discouraging them from rising up in revolution. But, again, the Party will not attempt to force people to give up these beliefs. Instead, it will rely on education, persuasion, and debate.
In this respect, the state will propagate atheism and educate the masses with regard to the scientifically knowable workings of society and nature, working to instill in them a critical, revolutionary scientific attitude and method. Analysis and criticism of the Bible, the Koran, the Torah and other religious works and doctrines will be organized, using the method of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism (MLM). And as the masses themselves increasingly master society, overcome oppression through their own conscious activism, and take up and wield the outlook and method of MLM, they will begin to voluntarily cast off religious beliefs.
These basic rights and general policies will not be applied to the bourgeoisie, its agents, and other counter-revolutionary forces seeking to undermine and overthrow the new society. They will be dictated over. This is not to say that they will never be allowed to speak in the media or even to publish books. But when the proletariat allows such things, it will be in the context of its overall rule—and of criticizing and conducting mass exposure on such material as part of strengthening the critical ability of the masses to themselves prevent the restoration of capitalism.
FROM THE DRAFT PROGRAMME OF THE REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNIST PARTY, USA
Democracy in capitalist society, including in the much advertised “American democracy,†is a fraud. It is democracy only for and among the ranks of the bourgeoisie, but it is a ruthless dictatorship over the proletariat and the masses of people generally. This can be seen in the ghettos and barrios, where the police act as an occupying army. And it can increasingly be seen in many resistance movements, even some based among middle-class people, which quickly run up against police spying, beatings, and jail time once they depart from the tightly approved limits of “dissent.â€
Proletarian dictatorship, on the other hand, will be a million times more democratic—for the masses. First of all, the most basic right of the masses, which they can never exercise under capitalism, will be the right to be masters of society, in every sphere, and to transform it in their interests. The masses will have the right to collectively join together to reorganize production to meet human needs rather than profit, to do away with the many forms of oppression inherited from capitalism, and much more.
In order to foster broad political debate and struggle throughout society, the state will provide time and space in all the mass media for groups and representatives among the masses to put forward and struggle over their ideas on the major political and ideological questions. And the masses as a whole will be organized, where they live and work, to hear and debate these views and to struggle out these questions in general. While the Party will enter into and strive to lead this, it will take care to encourage an atmosphere where the masses freely express their ideas.
Specifically, views and opinions that are contrary to those of the Party will not be suppressed, unless they are part of attempts of actual counter-revolutionaries to overthrow the proletariat’s political power and restore capitalism. And in that case, too, the masses themselves will be relied on to struggle against, expose, and suppress such forces and to distinguish through such struggle what are backward and mistaken ideas among the masses from what are actual attempts at fomenting counter-revolution.
The proletarian state must value dissent, even dissent coming from an oppositional point of view. Such dissent will help keep the political atmosphere lively and may shed light on important problems or shortcomings of the socialist state. Dissent can play a particularly important role in sparking debate and struggle over the unresolved problems facing socialist society in moving towards classless, communist society.
Leadership on all levels of government will be chosen through a system involving consultation between the Party and the masses, and in a fundamental sense the Party will rely on the masses and mass organizations in every institution throughout the country not only to select but to politically supervise leadership. In this context, elections will have a role as one means of selecting and developing leadership, and keeping it truly accountable to the masses. But the basic approach and objective will be to arrive at a consensus among the masses with regard to matters of leadership.
The standard for leadership will be a demonstrated devotion to the proletarian cause, a determination to grasp and apply its revolutionary science, and the ability to inspire and lead the masses in the same course.
The masses will have the right to criticize leaders on any level, to hold meetings, organize demonstrations, go on strike, put up posters, pass out leaflets, and so on.
The socialist state will develop a new legal system based on mobilizing the masses to ascertain truth and render justice. At the same time, there will be laws and procedures to protect the accused against abuses and/or mistakes.
The proletarian revolution will destroy the big crime syndicates and will increasingly dig at the roots of most crime—the dog-eat-dog conditions and values of capitalism. But the remaining capitalist relations and ideas will give rise to some criminal activity. The proletarian dictatorship will combine organs of mass vigilance and supervision with professional security forces to deal with crime, distinguishing between disputes among the people, petty crimes, and serious crimes. Hardened criminals will be stopped by force, and those connected to counter-revolution will be severely punished.
Prisons will not be degrading and brutal hell-holes. Those imprisoned will be allowed—and required—to carry out productive labor and other useful activities to benefit the people, will be given the chance to rehabilitate themselves, and will be struggled with to change their world outlook.
In regard to religion, the socialist state will uphold people’s right to worship and to hold religious services, and will provide them with the necessary facilities and materials for doing so. Religious people will neither be allowed special privileges nor permitted to use religious activity as a means to promote reactionary political movements or to accumulate capital and exploit the masses; barring that, however, they will not be suppressed.
At the same time, communists are atheists and do not believe in supernatural forces or beings of any kind. Communists also recognize religion’s role in instilling a sense of powerlessness in the masses and discouraging them from rising up in revolution. But, again, the Party will not attempt to force people to give up these beliefs. Instead, it will rely on education, persuasion, and debate.
In this respect, the state will propagate atheism and educate the masses with regard to the scientifically knowable workings of society and nature, working to instill in them a critical, revolutionary scientific attitude and method. Analysis and criticism of the Bible, the Koran, the Torah and other religious works and doctrines will be organized, using the method of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism (MLM). And as the masses themselves increasingly master society, overcome oppression through their own conscious activism, and take up and wield the outlook and method of MLM, they will begin to voluntarily cast off religious beliefs.
These basic rights and general policies will not be applied to the bourgeoisie, its agents, and other counter-revolutionary forces seeking to undermine and overthrow the new society. They will be dictated over. This is not to say that they will never be allowed to speak in the media or even to publish books. But when the proletariat allows such things, it will be in the context of its overall rule—and of criticizing and conducting mass exposure on such material as part of strengthening the critical ability of the masses to themselves prevent the restoration of capitalism.
FROM THE DRAFT PROGRAMME OF THE REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNIST PARTY, USA
.gif)
- By Deutschmania
- By litwin
- By Potemkin
- By RealPolitic