Socialism through elections

Why do we need a revolutionary party? The basic reason is in two statements Marx made. He stated that "the emancipation of the working class is the act of the working class" and at the same time he said that "the prevailing ideas of every society are the ideas of the ruling class."

safeduck wrote:No. For these reasons:

* The elections could just be faked to keep the bourgeoisie protected. Obviously meaning you would never win power.

* The armed forces of a "democratic" nation, full of associates and apologists of the bourgeoisie in it's high ranks, would probably just coup you.

* Other bourgeois parties would still remain in power, meaning they could just try to get you kicked out in one way or another.

* The bourgeoisie could just use the courts to stop you from seizing any means of production.

* In a "democratic" country, you have to obey some form of rules, such as a constitution to stay in power. Socialism has many "unconstitutional" policies.

The bourgeoisie has constructed a system of parliamentary "democracy" to keep them and their wealth completely protected from any possibility in terms of elections. Therefore, it would be pretty much impossible to have any kind of socialist revolution with this method.

They aren't really faked in most western governments; though there are some exceptions like Karl Rove. The way that the bourgeoisie determines the outcomes of elections is through influencing voting zones and through marketing techniques.

I don't think that you would find that many enlisted men with 'associates' in the bourgeoisie, let alone the richest. If enough considered themselves to be socialists then why would they enact a coup against those that they agree with?

Without physical enforcement, police and military, they couldn't. Even if they did there would hopefully be enough of us to make that seem unwise.

3) The flow and ebb of the movement, and tactics. Tactics are the determination of the line of conduct of the proletariat in the comparatively short period of the flow or ebb of the movement, of the rise or decline of the revolution, the fight to carry out this line by means of replacing old forms of struggle and organisation by new ones, old slogans by new ones, by combining these forms, etc. While the object of strategy is to win the war against tsarism, let us say, or against the bourgeoisie, to carry through the struggle against tsarism or against the bourgeoisie to its end, tactics pursue less important objects, for their aim is not the winning of the war as a whole, but the winning of some particular engagements or some particular battles, the carrying through successfully of some particular campaigns or actions corresponding to the concrete circumstances in the given period of rise or decline of the revolution. Tactics are a part of strategy, subordinate to it and serving it.

Tactics change according to flow and ebb. While the strategic plan remained unchanged during the first stage of the revolution (1903 to February 1917), tactics changed several times during that period. In the period from 1903 to 1905 the Party pursued offensive tactics, for the tide of the revolution was rising, the movement was on the upgrade, and tactics had to proceed from this fact. Accordingly, the forms of struggle were revolutionary, corresponding to the requirements of the rising tide of the revolution. Local political strikes, political demonstrations, the general political strike, boycott of the Duma, uprising, revolutionary fighting slogans-such were the successive forms of the struggle during that period. These changes in the forms of struggle were accomplished by corresponding changes in the forms of organisation. Factory committees, revolutionary peasant committees, strike committees, Soviets of workers' deputies, a workers, party operating more or less openly-such were the forms of organisation during that period.

In the period from 1907 to 1912 the Party was compelled to resort to tactics of retreat; for we then experienced a decline in the revolutionary movement, the ebb of the revolution, and tactics necessarily had to take this fact into consideration. The forms of struggle, as well as the forms of organisation, changed accordingly: instead of the boycott of the Duma-participation in the Duma; instead of open revolutionary actions outside the Duma-actions and work in the Duma; instead of general political strikes-partial economic strikes, or simply a lull in activities. Of course, the Party had to go underground that period, while the revolutionary mass organisations were replaced by cultural, educational, co-operative, insurance and other legal organisations.

The same must be said of the second and third stages of the revolution, during which tactics changed dozens of times, whereas the strategic plans remained unchanged.

Tactics deal with the forms of struggle and the forms of organisation of the proletariat, with their changes and combinations. During a given stage of the revolution tactics may change several times, depending on the flow or ebb, the rise or decline of the revolution.