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The Coming Civil War and Repolarization for Revolution in the Present Era

by duko Thursday, Apr. 07, 2005 at 7:14 PM
darbycrash1965@yahoo.com

Just to be clear, I didn't choose this title lightly or facetiously, but in all seriousness. In speaking to "a coming civil war" I am "drawing inspiration" from Newt Gingrich (the prominent Republican politician who was formerly the Speaker of the House of Representatives), who has made the observation that what's happening now in the electoral arena and the broader things that it reflects in U.S. society is analogous to what was going on in the U.S. in the 1840s and the 1850s, and that this isn't something that will—I'm paraphrasing, but this is the essence—this isn't something that will go away. It will only be decided when one side or the other wins out.

Revolutionary Worker #1274, April 10, 2005, posted at rwor.org

EDITORS' NOTE: This is part of a series of excerpts on various subjects—drawn from conversations and discussions, as well as more formal talks, by Bob Avakian—which we will be running in this newspaper over the next period of time. This has been edited for publication and footnotes have been added.

Just to be clear, I didn't choose this title lightly or facetiously, but in all seriousness. In speaking to "a coming civil war" I am "drawing inspiration" from Newt Gingrich (the prominent Republican politician who was formerly the Speaker of the House of Representatives), who has made the observation that what's happening now in the electoral arena and the broader things that it reflects in U.S. society is analogous to what was going on in the U.S. in the 1840s and the 1850s, and that this isn't something that will—I'm paraphrasing, but this is the essence—this isn't something that will go away. It will only be decided when one side or the other wins out. While, obviously, we don't take at face value things that representatives of the ruling class say, we do have to think seriously about this, and I do think that this reflects—through the prism of Gingrich's own point of view, it does reflect a very profound reality. We can look at the alignment in society now and see very profound polarization—without reducing things to how things fall out in bourgeois elections, which are shaped by the bourgeoisie after all, and by the very real conflicts within the bourgeoisie. This is shaped not simply through manipulation on the part of some unified bourgeoisie, but by real conflicts within the bourgeoisie—conflicts that do, more or less, correspond to what was said in the piece on "The Pyramid of Power"1 in terms of what is represented by the Republicans on the one hand, and the Democrats on the other.

So there is something about that Newt Gingrich statement, there is something about the alignment that you can see, there is something about what was represented in the New York Times Magazine article by Ron Suskind2, with its representation of the polarization between "reality-based" and "faith- based" communities—which, once again, in and of itself and in the way that it's expressed, represents the conflicts seen through the eyes of, and more or less proceeding from the standpoint of, the capitalist ruling class itself, but nevertheless does speak to something very real in U.S. society at this point.

You really do have two fundamentally opposed forces in society, in potential; and I'll speak to how we can't leave the alignment and the polarization as it is now—for many different reasons and in many different dimensions and on many different levels it has to be transformed. But you can see that (even while many people are not fully aware of this yet, though many are becoming more fully aware of it) there are two camps in antagonistic conflict with each other. Out of this can arise different kinds of resolutions, representing different interests, and ultimately different classes, going to wholly different places in terms of the future of society and the world.

We have spoken philosophically, drawing from Mao, about how "irreconcilable" is not a correct philosophical concept because the opposite would be "reconcilable," and Mao pointed out that there are no reconcilable contradictions. But nonetheless [ BA laughs ], leaving that aside, these really are irreconcilable world views and fundamentally irreconcilable views on what society ought to be based on and what it ought to be like.

There is something very profound and important going on here, even though—and this is another fundamental reason why there is a need for repolarization—the pole of the revolutionary proletariat, and the forces gravitating to it, are at this present time woefully small, nowhere near as large and powerful as they need to be. That has to change—and that's where we come in. But it is interesting, the comment by this guy Hertzberg from The New Yorker —to the effect that two bad things are going to happen because of the Bush re-election: One, all the terrible stuff Bush and company are going to do; and two, this is going to lead to, or provide an opening for, the revival (if you'll pardon the expression) of the radical left. So what people like that are recognizing, we should not fail to recognize—and seize on.


NOTES:

1Bob Avakian, "The Pyramid of Power and the Struggle to Turn This Whole Thing Upside Down," RW No. 1237 (April 25, 2004).

[Return to article]

2"Faith, Certainty and the Presidency of George W. Bush," The New York Times Magazine (October 17, 2004).

[Return to article]


This article is posted in English and Spanish on Revolutionary Worker Online
http://rwor.org
Write: Box 3486, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 60654
Phone: 773-227-4066 Fax: 773-227-4497
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No Civil War

by BA Thursday, Apr. 07, 2005 at 11:30 PM

There isn't going to be a civil war. The left couldn't get together enuogh fighters for that. The left is more and more marginalized every year. They're doing it to themselves and so they deserve it.

America is moving toward a Republican majority in every state. There are still a few islands of liberalism (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Wash DC) but the country is mostly Republican and thats a positive trend that's on the upswing.

The House is firmly Republican. There is a majority of Republicans in the Senate. The next major hurdle is to get to 60 Republican Senators so filibustering won't work. We can then talk about serious forward progress. That would include getting good judges to replace the clowns like those on the 9th Circuit Court in Calif.

We could also rework the tax system to make it fair. And we could reform the labor laws to make right to work the law of the land and to outlaw the closed shop. No one should be required to join a labor union. No one should be required to pay dues to a labor union that then go to support someone like John Kerry.
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BA nonplussed

by Meyer London Friday, Apr. 08, 2005 at 5:24 PM

Still don't get it, do you, BA? Measures like the progressive income tax under Wilson and the legalization of labor unions under FDR were enacted to blur class lines and make civil war or revolution less likely to break out by causing the masses to think that just about everyone in the US belongs to a largely mythical "middle class." People like you and your hero, George "Bubble Head" Bush may inadvedently make revolutionary change come sooner than it would anyway, although you can be sure that the revolution won't be led by Bob Avakian, who may be an FBI agent anyway. If not, he's getting gipped out of his paychecks because he seems to be doing his best to make the left look like some lunatic carricature out of the alcohol-soaked brain of J. Edgar Hoover.
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Oh yes, I get it Meyer

by BA Friday, Apr. 08, 2005 at 9:31 PM

America is a great country with a few major problems that need to be corrected.

Progressive income tax is one of the great injustices.

Ditto for organized labor.

Get rid of those two lame and unfair items and America would be a great country again.
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Here's one, Meyer

by Dr. D Friday, Apr. 08, 2005 at 10:13 PM


Why don't progressives unify under a common, no sales tax - no income tax below the national income average, referendum?
Oh and sack the criminal wealthy after criminal and civil prosecution for general crimes that selective enforcement has 'overlooked'?


This will happen after we release the audio, A to D, IC, microprocessor for a wristwatch sized voice-stress analyzer available to everyone that will flash when the bullshit level crosses threshold.
opps, I didn't say that.
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