I’m watching the DNC, and it’s made me even more aware of the power of liberal bourgeois democracies to let out a little revolutionary energy whenever it gets close to the edge, through concessional policies, like New Deal policies or whatever Kamala might do if she wins, or even the act of voting and campaigning itself. Do they have to go through a fascism phase first, or has there been a liberal bourgeois democracy that has successfully had a socialist revolution? Will it take new theory to figure it out?
Not really (with maybe the exception of east germany, but not through any internal revolution, but dragged into socialism by the USSR after WW2). Every country that became socialist was previously a feudal monarchy, and largely produced an agricultural surplus.
One of Lenin’s major correction’s to Marx and Engels, was that capitalism does not break in it’s birthplaces, where capitalism is most entrenched, but in the weakest links in the chain, where capitalist industry and power is still in a precarious position.
This was the case in Russia, China, Cuba, DPRK, Vietnam, Laos, - etc. Peasants formed the base of the revolutionary armies, and they fought kulaks/landlords, and other whites.
Old comment about this:
| Start MoP -> | End | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Clan | Socialist | Mongolia |
| Clan | Feudal | Germany |
| Clan | Slave | West Africa |
| Slave | Capitalist | US |
| Feudal | Capitalist | Western Europe |
| Feudal | Socialist | USSR, China, DPRK, Vietnam, Cuba |
| Capitalist | Socialist | East Germany |
| Socialist | Capitalist | USSR |
| Feudal | Slave | Roman Republic |
| Slave | Feudal | Late Roman Empire (Colonate) |
Note:
- Marx and Engels wrong abt birthplaces transition.
- Almost every one of these transitions came through war.
- The most common socialist transition is not from capitalist -> socialist, but feudal -> socialist
Also to your point, if there is a list of countries most likely to have a revolution, IMO the US would be dead last on the list. Far more likely would be a few countries taking the socialist road in South America, and Africa. Also possibly Russia, which some comrades have commented on.
