REVOLUTION in the USA – an action program for radical youth

Filter through the CNN anchor man warning of another raised security level, past the falsified history lessons at school, past the hysterical shouting and bell ringing of the stock market circus and you will hear something. Underneath the razzmatazz of corporate America you will hear the static of billions of people in desperation. The sound you will hear is made up of millions of cries: the wailing of the grieving families of dead Iraqis, the crackling of the electric chair frying someone for having the wrong skin color, the sighs and groans of workers slaving away for 12 hour days for a few dollars so that Nike shareholders can get a bigger dividend. The sound you can hear is all around you; it is the sound of the human race being tortured by its rulers and exploiters. The world we live in today is in a desperate state: most people are systematically oppressed, exploited and starved whilst a few live in absolute luxury. But although the present is bleak the future need no be like this. America prides itself on being a ‘can do’ society – a land with a dream of a better world. When doctors find a tumor they don’t cry in despair and resign themselves to the fact that the patient will die just because that’s the way things are. Instead they find out what the problem is, how to cure it and then treat the tumor or cut it out. People who see that there’s something wrong with the world we live in must do the same.

The Bush administration is the greatest threat to the ordinary people of this world that we have seen in our lifetimes. In him the capitalists of the USA have found a champion, a big dumb idiot with dollar signs for eyes who will follow every command that he is given. If the US ruling class wants oil he will get it for them. If they want an end to dissent and protest against capitalism then he will deliver it. He is willing to wage a never-ending war against an unknown enemy (simply called “terrorists” – they can be anyone, at any time, even you) all in the name of securing profits and dollars. Of course they will dress if up with fancy words like “liberation”‚ and “democracy”‚ but we know what it is all really about. It is about making sure that the US maintains its position as the world’s only real superpower for another 50 years. Bush is an imperialist.

The Bush administration beat the Democratic candidate John Kerry in 2004 to keep the White House, playing on the fears of ordinary Americans about the global terror threat. He ran his campaign on fear and insecurity, promising to make the world a safer place. Bush is a liar. He is only interested in making the world safer for the business interests of American companies and the capitalists who own them. He will use the US army to invade, occupy and control any country that they require him to. If we are to resist Bush and everything that he stands for, then we must support those that resist the imperialist invasions of their countries.

In the 1970s the people of Vietnam resisted US aggression and won. They created the so-called Vietnam syndrome, which meant that the US government was wary of sending GIs in large numbers to occupy other countries. This was a huge gain for the sons and daughters of the poor, white, black and Chicanos who make up the bulk of the ordinary soldiers. Bush wants to break that syndrome – i.e. overcome ordinary Americans’ hatred of getting involved in bloody wars abroad. If he does an endless chain of such wars lie ahead. Already the propaganda campaign is beginning to prepare us for further “interventions” in Syria or Iran.

As in the days of the Vietnam war we want the soldiers to assert their democratic rights, to refuse to go to their deaths, to expose the crimes ordered by their commanders and the likes of Donald Rumsfeld.

We want a mass anti war movement back home making the country ungovernable for the ruling class. We want national liberation struggles springing up all over the world as a result of the poor and oppressed seeing the mighty USA and its allies like Britain, humbled and driven out. We call for strikes, direct action and protests that unite black and white, male and female, young and old in their opposition to the war. But in order to really defeat the US ruling class we must look to bring down their whole system. That is where young people in the USA today come in...

The youth of America are in the forefront of the fight back to the US-led war on terror. The younger generations that have grown up in the shadows of the attacks on the Twin Towers have been enthused with the spirit of Seattle, when the young anti-capitalist movement took to the streets and closed down the WTO in 1999. Young people in the US today are the children of Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr., two Republicans who spearheaded the attacks on the working class, smashing their trade unions and attempting to roll back the progressive gains of the movements from the 60s and 70s. REVOLUTION is the wing of the anti-capitalist and anti-war movement that fights for genuine revolutionary socialist politics.

In the “movement of one no and many yeses” we have an answer to the problems in the world today. We believe that capitalism cannot be saved, it cannot be fixed it must be smashed in a mass revolutionary movement, and that the only force in society that can do that is the working class. As Karl Marx said capitalism creates its own grave digger: the working class. It produces all the wealth for the capitalists, they produce the profit.

What would McDonalds be without its low paid workers flipping its burgers and super sizing customers’ happy meals? Where would Gap or Nike be without its sweatshop labour mass producing the swoosh of Baby Gap designer clothes for 2 year olds? If the workers become conscious of their role in society and begin to organize as workers against their bosses then we can really begin to create a movement that can defeat capitalism once and for all. The USA is the biggest imperialist on the planet, it is our aim to create a mass revolutionary youth movement, to bring revolutionary ideas to the workers in the US and to create a force inside the belly of the beast that can smash the whole system. This program is the starting point for a mass revolutionary youth movement, if you agree with it, join us and help us to bring down Uncle Sam.

There is a polarisation in US society. The war on terror and the invasion of Iraq in 2003 brought out millions of people in protest against the government. People all over the world demonstrated and showed their solidarity with the Iraqi people who were about to be bombed back to the stone age in order to secure their countries natural resources. After the invasion there was a presidential election and the world held its breath, surely the most hated man on the planet could not be elected president for a second time? (Was he ever elected the first time though?!) But then on November 2nd the horrible truth was revealed: Bush was going to be in the driving seat of the world’s most powerful economy and military for another 4 years.

So what went wrong? Firstly the anti war movement was in trouble because its leadership told everyone to vote for the Democrat, Kerry – even though he was pro-war. A lot of people knew deep down that he would have made no difference in the White house, he even promised to send another 25,000 troops if he was elected. Great, that is really what they anti-war youth of the US wanted, more troops in Iraq!

So Bush is presiding over a country that has one of the greatest divisions between rich and poor, where democratic rights are under attack where black people are getting executed, Arabs are getting tortured in Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo, women have difficulties getting abortions, gay people can’t get married, sick people can’t get medical care, homeless people can’t get a house and the world is going to hell in a toxic, greenhouse gas filled hand basket.

REVO does not just preach the need for an ideal socialist society in the future – a utopia which depends on people getting together and pooling resources. Society cannot be changed if we leave the large scale factories, offices and supermarkets in the hands of the billionaires. We have to win working people to the struggle for a different society through struggle against this society.

For this reason we use demands, and tactics and types of organisation in struggles in the here and now that link up with the revolutionary struggle of the future, they lay the foundation for us winning the fight ahead. These are called transitional demands because they bridge the gap between demands that can be granted and leave capitalism intact and those which require the abolition of capitalism. They are necessary to meet our basic needs today but they call into question the entire profit system, make inroads into the vast wealth and power of our rulers and help people to understand the need to overthrow capitalism Any activist organisation of revolutionary socialist youth would be useless without activity, but activity should be done around demands that link up the struggles of today to the revolutionary struggles of the future. The following should be a starting point for the activity of revolutionary youth, but obviously not their limits.

Stop the war

End the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Troops out now!

Freedom for Palestine – one socialist republic for both Arabs and Jews.

Close down the School of the Americas, Fort Bragg and the CIA training school. Disband the ATF, FBI and CIA.

Smash the Patriot Act! For mass mobilizations on the streets that target government buildings. For solidarity movements to release political prisoners worldwide. Bring all the US troops stationed around the world home from and close down the US bases.

Replace the standing army and the present national guard with a real workers and people’s militia where the right to bear arms is a right for the poor, not the rich and the privileged.

Social justice

End the racist mass jailing of black youth! Abolish the death penalty. Jobs for all, a massive increase in wages, pensions and health care will bring down the levels of crime and an organized community self-defense force will guard our communities better than racist cops.

Disarm the racist police!

Free abortion on demand, as early as possible, as late as necessary. Women must have the right to control their own bodies – not the churches and not the state.

For a living minimum wage of at least $15 an hour to be paid to all regardless of age, gender or skin color.

Legalize same sex marriage and relationships. Keep the state out of the bedroom!

For an end to state repression against activists. We call for mass direct action to make the repressive laws unenforceable.

Worker's rights

Trade unions must get young workers organized. Top union officials are paid huge salaries – some in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. All officials should get the average wage of their members. Then they might actually fight to raise them instead of putting up with falling real wages, which has gone on for over twenty years now. No wonder the unions continue to shrink. Organize the rank and file members to take control of all actions by the unions!

The Democratic party is the alternative party of Big Capital. Yes it relies on the support of the unions and the black and other oppressed communities. But it repeatedly swindles them, having taken their money and their votes in support of its millionaire candidates. Workers should be represented by workers, black people in the ghettos by their own. We need a party of our own – a workers party. The first step is to break from the Democrats.

Campaign in the trade unions, anti capitalist and anti war movement for conferences to be held for the purpose of creating a mass workers party in the USA. We revolutionary youth want such a party to have a revolutionary program – for a new American revolution, a socialist revolution. For this we need a party that is not primarily about winning elections but coordinating all the struggles towards one end: getting rid of the power of the huge corporations and banks and running the economy and society for the people who work or who want to work.

In the age of globalization this party has to be just a part of a huge global party – a new revolutionary workers International, the Fifth international.

For a mass campaign of civil disobedience and working class action to smash the draconian laws of the anti terror legislation. Down with the Patriot Act!

For free healthcare and education for everyone. These should be given to everyone in society, not just to those who can afford them. For a massive campaign of job creation and socially necessary public works, to bring in the excluded, the unemployed black youth of the ghettos, the people the millionaire media call “trailer trash.” Schools, hospitals, affordable good quality housing can be built and equipped and to the question “where’s the money coming from?’ our answer must be “Make the Rich Pay!” – the people Bush has given billions to.

For a revolutionary youth international!

For a mass revolutionary youth movement in the US, that reaches out to the workers and oppressed minorities and organizes to shut down capitalism!

We support the nationalization of industry, banks and infrastructure under workers control; ultimately we support workers control over all industry, transport and services. They should be run under a democratic plan that means society works for need not greed.

For a workers state, based on democratically elected workers councils, defended by a revolutionary militia.

What is REVOLUTION?

REVOLUTION is an international socialist youth organization. We have groups in the UK, Sweden, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Indonesia and members scattered around the world.

The British newspaper The Independent on Sunday got it right in an exposé of REVO’s involvement in organizing the May Day demonstration in London. It said: “REVOLUTION wants to build a revolutionary socialist mass movement and overthrow capitalism.”

Exactly right. We are opposed to capitalism and the misery, alienation, war and environmental destruction it creates. We support all struggles for progressive change, but we do not believe that the capitalist elite will allow their wealth and privilege to be voted out of existence. We believe force will be required to take the power and property away from the few and give it to the many.

Want to get involved? Check out our international web site. There you’ll find our manifesto “The Road to Revolution” and some of our activities.

We need young radicals like you to get in touch – together we’ll build up a revolutionary youth movement in the USA and around the world. The racist police and the imperialist armies are strong, but we are billions and we are stronger. If we organize globally, we can win.

We will be free!