Revolutionary Movements and Leadership
Revolutionary
Movements and Leadership
"Too long have the workers of the world waited for some Moses to
lead them out of bondage. I would not lead you out if I could; for if
you could be lead out, you could be led back again. I would have you
make up your minds there is nothing that you cannot do for yourselves."
--Eugene Victor Debs - December 18, 1905
By Charles Sullivan
02/03/06 "ICH"
-- -- As a writer, I get many responses to my articles across a wide
spectrum of ideologies, from all over the world. This is one of the
things that make writing interesting to me—engaging people and hearing
their ideas about things that matter. Almost invariably people ask me
what they can do, or who is going to lead the next great social justice
movement. What follows is my response to those inquiries. Bear in mind
that it is hastily crafted and intended as a rough outline—a starting
point. I will leave it to others more capable than me to build upon the
foundation I have laid; or if necessary to start anew.
As the result of our hurried lifestyle, we live in a relatively
intellectually shallow culture that has been softened by the idea of
instant gratification. When we are sick we take a pill with the
expectation that it will quickly make our malady disappear. We rarely
consider the underlying causes of illness and disease. Our meals are
rarely savored: they are prepared quickly and eaten in haste.
Everything we do is predicated upon speed. This, I believe, has led to
a kind of intellectual laziness that is prevalent among Americans, more
than anywhere else in the world. We want quick fixes, easy
answers—instant gratification. We want someone to lead us and tell us
what to do, in essence relieving us of the burden of personal
responsibility we know is ours.
Let us come to understand, however, that the complex problems facing
not only America, but also the world, have no simple or easy solutions.
If solutions exist—not all problems can be solved by mortal minds—these
issues will require deep thought and long and persistent effort on the
part of many. If we are serious about the business of revolution we
must not only be committed to meaningful change, we must be in it for
the long haul. Unfortunately, change often occurs at glacial speed, not
at the velocity of light, as we might hope. Even when change appears to
happen very quickly, it only appears that way after a long hard
struggle on the part of many to reach critical mass. When critical mass
is reached, and we rarely know exactly where we are in relation to it,
then things happen quickly and dramatically. But it is a long and
difficult process that leads up to critical mass.
It is expecting too much of anyone to lead a revolution. Revolutions
succeed only by the force of many, acting in unison toward a common
goal, not by the leadership of a few. If they are to succeed, movements
must be bigger than the leadership that organizes them. They must be
essentially self-organizing. Leaders can be assassinated, movements
cannot. Effective national and global movements are the result of the
efforts of millions upon millions of individuals united in common
belief, and common effort. They are the result of many single acts
added together that move the whole toward a common goal. These acts
have a cumulative and profound impact when carried out day after day,
month after month, year after year. This is when they acquire the force
of revolutionary change for the betterment of all.
Centralized power is concentrated power that is prone to corruption and
betrayal. Decentralized, loosely organized movements disperse power
throughout the entirety of the movement or cause. It places power
equally into the hands of all, rather than a few. This is the kind of
movement that, it seems to me, is most likely to succeed. It is the
kind of movement in which, paradoxically, everyone is a leader, and no
one is a leader. This kind of organization is the kind that most
troubles authority, the status quo, because they do not know how to
attack it. Its leadership is at once everywhere and nowhere. How does
one assassinate an entire movement without engaging in genocide?
There are few tried and true methods to follow. Mostly these are
uncharted waters where we venture. However, there is one absolute
certainty—we must massively organize on a global scale across a broad
spectrum of interrelated concerns and issues. There is no other place
to start than at the beginning. This means we must start from where we
are—at home and in our respective communities. We might begin by
creating decentralized but loosely organized networks of local
activists, who meet regularly at someone’s home, or a local library,
perhaps, to discuss matters of importance to them; who work both
individually and in unison on the issues that concern them.
Partnerships are formed and alliances made, as we educate ourselves and
decide how to solve local problems.
Some members of this group might work on organizing and democratizing
the work place; others might address homelessness and affordable
housing. Another group might work to put their own people on school
boards, or run candidates for county commissioner. Still others might
work on preserving wild forests or monitoring the biological health of
local streams and rivers. There are any number of issues to choose
from. It requires no more than a single person to begin working on
them. The work can begin immediately and its impact can be felt at
once. Of course, the more people involved the better. The idea is to
find common ground and to make connections based upon commonality.
Meanwhile, broader networks begin to branch out from the local network
into the surrounding county, then to the state level. From the state
level they broaden their scope to the National level. From there the
next step is the global level. All of these citizen activists will be
in constant communication with each other, coordinating their efforts
and broadening membership in the group. The network continuously
branches out in concentric circles, building bridges across platforms
and ideologies as it proceeds, until it circumnavigates the globe and
joins hands with the people of every nation. There is no fast way to
accomplish this. It requires time and persistent effort. This is the
basis of a sound and enduring foundation.
Thus we now have large numbers of individuals working on specific parts
of interrelated issues that produce specific outcomes. Rather than
being overwhelmed by the immensity and complexity of the larger
problem, they are broken down into manageable parts. Similar groups
will form in every community. They will talk to each other, teach each
other, share results and coordinate their efforts. The enormity and
complexity of issues can be overwhelming and paralyzing. One hardly
knows where to begin, so nothing gets down. The pitfall of enormity can
be avoided by delegating work and breaking everything down into
manageable portions. If there are enough people willing to do the work
they may need to be given a rough blue print and a little guidance.
There will necessarily be some false starts, but together we will find
our way.
Seemingly disparate but interrelated issues such as corporate control,
revolutionary unionism, militarism, public funding of political
campaigns, proportional representation in government, sweatshops, civil
rights, starvation and hunger, disease, safe organically grown food,
small family farming—a broad spectrum of issues—are addressed in this
way. Clearly, there is no shortage of issues to select from. There is
something for everyone. Find something that interests you and get
started.
By continuously attacking these individual issues on many levels, we
will be making steady progress on the broad front of a massive social
justice movement of global dimensions. Thus we must reach out to the
people working in other but related movements, who are already working
on their own issues and know them best. In effect, we would be uniting
the working poor with labor unions at home and in Sri Lanka;
democratizing and liberating the work place through revolutionary
unionism, taking public ownership of the economy from the corporations
and redistributing wealth equitably to those who produce. We would be
cleaning our streams and rivers, even as we address global warming. All
things are related. Pluck a flower, trouble a star.
We would work in unison with the disempowered and voiceless across
every front, in every nation. Together we have a voice. Separate we do
not. Those working on civil rights issues would be united with people
working on labor issues, because those issues are interconnected.
Individual problems will not be fixed in isolation from the whole. A
particular problem can be isolated temporarily for the purpose of
making it a manageable part, but it must be reassembled within the
matrix of the integrated whole if it is to work. For example, women
chained to work tables in Chinese sweatshops would be working with the
employees of Wal-Mart in the US and Germany to emancipate all parties
from wage slavery. The problem must be fixed globally; otherwise, it
migrates to regions where there are few environmental regulations, or
no protection for workers against corporate tyranny.
Creative and visionary ways must be found to bring groups of people
together in common causes that may appear to be unrelated, but which
are in fact interrelated. I will leave that to minds more brilliant
than my own, but I will participate.
Ours will be a movement that gives voice to the voiceless, wherever
they are, whatever they do. Uniting thousands of smaller issues into a
great river of revolutionary activism is the only thing that will set
us free. Many of these movements already exist—we have only to join
forces with them. It is a monumental undertaking that will require
relentless effort, self sacrifice, and commitment to the larger common
cause. Uniting all of these disparate factions and moving them forward
under a social justice umbrella, pushing forward in unison against our
oppressors gives us enormous power that is virtually unstoppable. It is
a power that can remake civilization by working toward the common good,
by looking out for each other. It requires a different way of thinking
than the one we are accustomed to. This way of thinking and doing
stresses cooperation over competition and exploitation.
The most important principle of the movement is also logistically the
most difficult to achieve—to unite and to focus the disparate parts—to
make them function as a single organism in the cause of social justice.
This means that we must work in accord across party lines, race, sex,
socioeconomic class, political ideology, theology and geopolitical
boundaries. We will be creating a global Commonwealth that tolerates
and celebrates diversity. It will be based upon mutual respect and
concern for the welfare of others. The needs of the many outweigh the
wants of the few.
The rug weaver in India, the peasant farmer in Bangladesh, the Jewish
Monk living in the rocky deserts of Israel; the truck driver moving
across the plains of Montana, the anti-war protester in the streets of
Washington or London in the prelude to war; the soldier in the sands of
Iraq, as well as the insurgent on the other side of the fight; the
political prisoners in the US such as Leonard Peltier, and his
counterpart in China—all share a commonality with enormous potential to
unite. Our rulers succeed by keeping us apart.
The wars that continually erupt across the planet and cause misery and
suffering to the poor and the disenfranchised; the enormous gaps that
exist between the classes; racism, sexism—the concentration of wealth
and power into the hands of the few must be abolished. They will not be
abolished by the system that created them. We must believe that another
world is possible. We must believe it with all our heart and we must be
willing to work for it. It will be humankind’s most incredible journey.
It will be the most important and satisfying work we can do.
As we proceed along this diverse but united front toward a goal of
social justice and world peace, we must recognize that what we are
trying to accomplish is nothing less than a global revolution of
Democratic Socialism. The name is not important; the substance of the
dream is.
This requires a new paradigm—that of the Commonwealth, which is really
an old paradigm that has served humankind well for thousands of years.
From this moment forth let us not work for private gain and individual
wealth; let us work for the common good of everyone, everywhere. Let us
recognize that no one can be free until everyone is free.
Let those with technical expertise now come forward to organize global
forums online so that we can share ideas, even as we set out to change
our respective communities. Let us not only begin talking among
ourselves; let us begin the work that we know must be done—work that we
can do ourselves beginning this very moment. Let us come together for
peace, whatever name we give to it. Everything we do matters—the effect
is cumulative.
This hope for remaking civilization in the image of the common people,
rather than the money changers, must rise, like a Phoenix, out of the
ashes of capitalism. That will be a glorious day. Let us begin the
Great Work.
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