Skip to main content

Bourgeoisie Resistance

This may be because I'm new to all this literature, but I have a burning question. I understand the journey to communism as a circular one, one in which power is the main driving force. So, the proletariat revolution "smashes" the bourgeois state and takes control under a proletariat dictatorship. They need to have the control of the state in order to ward off and shatter the resistance of those formerly in power (the state). My question is when is it time for the dictatorship to dissolve? I know they talk about the whithering away. But, how is this to happen? Organically? Will those in power decide to give up their power? Power corrupts, are they capable of giving up this power? How do they know when to give up the power? How long must they wait for the bourgeoisie to give up their resistance in order to have a pure communist state? Centuries?Is this where countries such as Cuba are? Awaiting the resistance to die down?

I found it very interesting to think about resistance from the point of view of the bourgeoisie. Will they be as persistent as the masses? We don't expect the masses to give up when they are being oppressed, why should we expect those who have already tasted power to give up trying to get back on top?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Academic integrity and knowing what you stand for

Reading the story of the UVa President Teresa Sullivan, I am filled with amazement at her integrity and character. Professor Sullivan first and foremost is an A-grade academic, a solid researcher, a great teacher, and an engaged citizen. Of course above and beyond these top-notch credentials, she is a strong leader, one with vision and compassion for her faculty and students. When I read more and more about her leadership style, I am reminded of something my father used to tell me when I was young "You need to have integrity to do anything well in life. You need to figure out where you stand and make sure to stand up for what you believe in, even when that is inconvenient." Now, I don't think I have always been able to follow this dictum consistently, but it is a broad principle that guides me and the way in which I understand leadership. Part of the story of Professor Sullivan's integrity is her excellence as an academic. Academic excellence to me is deepl

Purdue's Professional Revolutionary

In light of the discussion we had during our advisee meeting on Friday about being strategic in our means as critical scholars I was struck by the words of Lenin who emphasizes the role of the intellectual. He says, "The history of all countries shows that the working class, exclusively by its own effort, is able to develop only trade-union consciousness, i.e., it may itself realize the necessity for combining in unions, for fighting against the employers and for striving to compel the government to pass necessary labor legislation, etc. The theory of socialism, however, grew out of the philosophic, historical representatives of the propertied classes, the intellectuals." (pg. 74) This idea of the bourgeois socialist intelligentsia as an instrument of raising consciousness and fomenting dissent is an ideal one I am sure but in contemporary times we, the academics, forming a substantial part of the "intellectual elite", occupy a unique position which forces us into &

Activism, Communication and Social Change

Now days I am trying to engage myself with various issues related to indigenous communities. As a part of academia it is a constant quest for all of us, how can we engage ourselves to make the world a better place to live. All the reading of this week addressed the aspects of reflexivity and engagement; and, one of them is an article by Zoller (2005) that discussed many aspects of activism, communication and social change. Though in his article he focused mainly on the health and related issues; I think we can use this framework (along with other frameworks like CCA) in other broad contexts, such as the context of indigenous lives, indigenous knowledge, science, technology, art, craft, and other infrastructural issues. Zoller (2005) perceived activism as a means for social change by challenging existing power relation. He mentioned different approaches of participation and emphasized on the aspects of community group mobilization for collective actions. In this context he discussed var