Thank you! I did put a lot of effort into this one. I’ve sort of had writer’s block lately but should be writing more soon. To respond to your questions briefly, first I’d say I’m a Marxist, and am still learning about Marxism. However, I do think Marxism is the best method with which to evaluate history and current material conditions. I also think that Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks accomplished the first tangible example of Marxism in practice. Keep in mind though that not only is there heavy anti-communist propaganda in the West (so our view of this is often misinformed), but also that the material conditions in Russia at the time were essentially a destitute, semi-feudal, “backward” (the term even used by Russians at the time) society with little infrastructure. What the USSR accomplished — lifting millions out of poverty, industrializing rural areas within a matter of decades, providing basic necessities to all, aiding revolutionary movements around the world, empowering women and minorities, defeating the Nazis, and sending the first person to space — was astounding. The Russian Revolution of 1917 inspired countless revolutionary movements around the world — in Vietnam, Cuba, Nicaragua, Burkina Faso, Angola, China, even the U.S. (the Black Panther Party, for instance). Although it was far from perfect, I believe the Russian Revolution and the successful proletarian revolutions that followed it should be studied to give modern socialist movements a better understanding of how socialism can be realized (and the inherent challenges, such as imperialist assaults and counterrevolution by the bourgeoisie).
There is a rich history of global socialism and American leftists need to draw from these lessons to build a proletarian state with the ultimate goal of communism. (And, even though it’s a century old, I’d highly recommend reading Lenin’s “State and Revolution” for an analysis of this process.) Since we are in “the belly of the beast”, it will likely be more difficult than any previous revolution. But I’d still say that building a working-class movement, centered largely upon labor and following in the Marxist-Leninist tradition is the way forward. (That means applying Marxism-Leninism to our material conditions, not trying to re-enact any previous revolutions.) I’d recommend checking out Party for Socialism and Liberation if you haven’t already (for an example of a possible vehicle to pursue this goal). Class consciousness, political education of the masses, and on-the-ground organizing are some of the tasks facing us now. Also, we may need a socialist or communist political party (such as PSL), as that has been historically necessary (in terms of seizing state power). But overall it’s about workers realizing their collective power and seizing the means of production, which in modern times would consist of the state and the economy. When this is accomplished, productive forces can be harnessed to meet human need, empower the previously marginalized, and enact other socialist policies, rather than the current model of simply using the economy to concentrate wealth in the hand of the wealthy. Okay, I think this is getting kind of long, but I’ll drop a few links below. Hope this sort of answered your questions!
Another relevant piece I wrote on this topic:
My Linktree, which contains tons of resources related to these topics (I have a bunch of Instagram followers, which is why I made this):
https://linktr.ee/MatthewJohn
