THE REASON WHY authentictoday in the colonial countries rather than the advanced capitalist states - is not hard to discover.
revolution, including socialist revolution, is often seen simply as a huge mass struggle. Barricades, general strikes, ruling class violence and working class defence against this violence are the pictures conjured up by the world 'revolution'.
But from the Marxist point of view such a picture is quite inadequate by itself and therefore wrong. Even the most tremendous oppression of the semi- working class, even the most heroic and prolonged struggle against it, is not sufficient to create a revolution. Indeed noting ual happens simply 10e working class is by itself sufficient to create a revolution. possible only when the ruling class also is incapable of going on in the old way.
As Lenin put it in his famous pamphlet Left Wing Communism - An Infantile Disorder: *The fundamental law of revolution, which has been confirmed by all revolutions... is as follows: for a revolution it is not enough for the exploited and oppressed masses to raise the impossibility of living in the old way; for a revolution to take place it is essential that the exploiters should not be able to live and rule in the old way. It is only when the lower classes' do not want to live in the old way and the 'upper classes' cannot carry on in the old way that the revolution can triumph.
This is the reason why, for example, revolutions have so often broken out in countries defeated in war. In war for example the First or Second World Wars — the capitalist classes are themselves forced to attack and weaken each other. The crisis produced in the ruling class by the war then combines with rising working class discontent to produce revolution. This was the pattern for example in Russia in 1905 and 1917.
A similar example to Russia, on a lesser scale, 1974. The Portuguese dictatorship of Salazar and A revolution For was seen in Portugal in Caetano was gradually worn down by the long wars against national liberation movements in Angela, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau. The Portuguese dictatorship was then overthrown by an internal military coup and the Portuguese ruling class fell into acute crisis throughout 1974 and most More recently - - and again on a lesser scale so far - a similar proces has taken place in Argentina. The Argentinian military dictatorship was shattered by the war with Britain waged over the Malvinas. This released the ris ing social tensions inside the country and Argentine has been plunged into increasing political turmoil. duces a crisis in the ruling class. It may be simply that a political regime has lasted too long and has become ill suited to the needs of capitalism itself.
example in France a major cause of the general strike of May/June 1968 was that the personal rule of de Gaulle had lasted too long not simply Tor une working class out also for unl needs of the French ruling class. De Gaulle had already been challenged by sections of French capitalism elections of 1965. Then by 1968 his entire regime had become intolerable to the working class and was rocked to its foundations by the student riots and the general strike that followed.
Even although de Gaulle won the elections which followed the May/June as capitalism did not wish a
Muslim militiaman in Beirut
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ally revolutionary struggles break out in the 'periphery' of a social