in Esperanto
Chapter 8: NEW REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT
4. Let's start with the revolution in consciousness.
4.1. Illusion of "happiness"
If there is anything that stands in the way of revolution today, it is not the police or the military, but the masses, our own consciousness. In other words, as Marx said earlier, with the development of capitalism, the masses in capitalist countries, including the working class, have come to accept capitalism as a "self-evident law of nature."
Marx looked for the cause of this in the effects of "education, tradition, and custom," but in modern times, it is thought that not only that, but also the more aggressive cultural strategy of capitalism is exerting a powerful effect.
In this respect as well, the role of the cultural empire of the mass media is significant. The mass media in capitalist countries every day indoctrinate people with capitalism as a self-evident system and spread the doctrine that "there is no other way but capitalism" (so-called "the end of ideology").
But even more powerful is the culture of consumption. As pointed out in Chapter 1, this is also the field where capitalism won against collectivism represented by the former Soviet Union, and is the specialty of capitalism. A rich consumer culture invites the masses to shop rather than revolution. We feel happy to be surrounded by a variety of commodities, believing that we are no longer alienated. As a result, class consciousness is erased from the working class.
This social-psychological illusion of "happiness" created by capitalist cultural strategies - what French Marxist sociologist Henri Lefebvre called "generalized alienation" - is also a subjective factor that effectively invalidates the term "working class.''
In order to bring the revolution to fruition, it is necessary to start with a consciousness revolution to escape from this illusion (revolution over shopping!). Here, we recall the proposition we saw in Chapter 3 that “consumption is also an exploitation by capital on a par with labor.” In other words, consumption is expenditure. This means that the contents of our wallets are being sucked like fresh blood every day by capital.
4.2. Possibility of revolution of the elederly
In relation to the consciousness revolution, there is the question of whether the ongoing aging of the developed capitalist countries will be a negative factor for the revolution.
It is true that revolutions are generally political actions of young people in their prime, and all historical revolutionaries were young - at least at the time of the revolution. The mental rigidification that accompanies aging tends to be politically linked to conservatism. This is thought to be one of the reasons why revolutionary movements are in decline and conservative forces are growing in advanced capitalist countries where the population is aging.
However, the conservatism of consciousness is by no means a phenomenon limited to the elderly these days. No, in fact, it can even be said that the young people who have been completely isolated from such movements and have been politically bleached are more conformist than the older people who have lived through radical labor movements and revolutionary movements in the past.
Nonetheless, the growing anxiety about employment and pensions will make the old age of the current young and middle-aged generation harsh. While rebuilding one's life is difficult, welfare financial resources will be depleted, and life anxiety will reach a peak. There is good reason to predict that by the time the current generation of young adults reaches the age of old, their consciousness will probably become more awakened amidst the hardships of life. What is faintly visible beyond that is the possibility of an unprecedented "revolution of the elederly."
Traditionally, the conservative aging pattern has been that the revolutionary consciousness of youth loosens as one gets older and adapts and integrates into the existing society, and eventually recedes to the point where one completely negates the revolutionary consciousness of the past. However, from now on, a pattern of radical aging may become common, where the relaxed and conformist consciousness of youth becomes more radical as one ages and falls out of the existing society, and finally reaches a revolutionary consciousness.
In this sense, it cannot be concluded that the aging of the population is a negative factor for the revolution; in fact, it may even be a positive factor in a situation where the limitations of capitalism will directly impact the highly aged society of the future. Moreover, the method of “stay-at-home revolution” through collective non-voting can be easily practiced by elderly people with weak legs.
4.3. Cultural transformation strategy
Even so, where and how should we start this revolution in consciousness? The first step towards a revolution in consciousness depends on how deeply we become aware of the limitations of capitalism.
As discussed in Chapter 1, the limitations of capitalism are defined as crises in the four areas of environmental sustainability, total technological innovation, stability of life, and human sociability. The problem was that it was essentially impossible to solve the following problems: "the global environment is not sustainable, "technological innovation is stagnant," "lifestyle anxiety is increasing," and "humanity is deteriorating."
However, we are not easily persuaded by just being lectured about such things in an abstract manner. Therefore, it is precisely in cases like this that the creative powers of literature, theater, film, etc. must be brought together. This is because creative works that delve deeply into the problem of the limitations of capitalism are bound to be more effective than just a thousand sermons.
In fact, it seems that proletarian literature, Brecht's epic plays, and Chaplin's comedic films of the past had such power, but their successors seem to have disappeared at some point. Once again, the problem of the law of commercial value and market censorship based on it stands in the way. Today, literature, theater, and movies are also tied up in the law of commercial value, and the reality is that there is a remarkable tendency for creators to become manufacturers of products called novels, dramas, and movies.
Once again, the use of Internet commons may come to the rescue. The Common's Convention Movement should also support various anti-capitalist creative activities. Specifically, it is possible to provide an opportunity to introduce works on the official website of the Common's Convention, and if possible, the Common's Convention itself may own an Internet TV/radio station and provide a place to present works.
In addition to the traditional means of creative expression described above, modern means of expression such as manga and animation also have the advantage of being accessible and are being considered for use. Such a strategy that causes change in the cultural realm and promotes a revolution in consciousness can be called an "cultural transformation strategy."
4.4. Organic cultural persons
The cultural persons who are at the forefront of such cultural transformation strategies can be defined as "organic cultural persons" by expanding the term "organic intellectuals" of the Italian Marxist thinker Antonio Gramsci.
As Gramsci's "organic intellectual" was often misunderstood, this "organic cultural persons" is not a "party (communist party) purveyor of culture," but refer to those who step out from among the people and play the role of promoting a revolution in consciousness through free creative activities while maintaining an organic connection with the people.
By the way, even if Chaplin did not directly fit into the category of "organic cultured person" in this sense, his knack for satirical comedy accompanied by sharp criticism was completely different from commercial comedy. His talent for satirical comedy coupled with his sharp critical power seems to have had the potential to have a revolutionary effect that was completely different from commercial comedy. Also in an cultural transformation strategy, the power of high-quality critical laughter combined with Chaplin-style entertainment would be very effective.
