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2. Set up counterpowers.

2.5. Communist revolution against the Communist Party

In this article, we advocate a direct communist revolution by the people without relying on the Communist Party, but this argument is based primarily on countries where the Communist Party is not the ruling party. And in the post-Soviet world, most countries do not have communist parties as the ruling party, so this argument is valid for most countries. 　

However, at the time of writing this article, there are still some countries ruled by a single Communist Party. However, assuming that the Communist Party-controlled system continues for the time being, what kind of "direct communist revolution by the people, not by the Communist Party," could be in these Communist Party-controlled countries? 　

To summarize this simply, it is a "communist revolution against the Communist Party." This provision sounds paradoxical, but in reality, despite the party name, the Communist Party of the current Communist Party-controlled countries, including China, has shelved communism and largely incorporated market economic principles, and effect, is switching to a capitalist path.

In other words, it is "capitalism led by the Communist Party." As long as it continues on this twisted path, it can be said that the established Communist Party has distanced itself from communism, and to that extent, the "communist revolution against the Communist Party" is no longer a paradox.

2.6. Voluntary dissolution of the Communist Party? 　

However, as long as the Communist Party remains a Communist Party, the possibility of returning to the original communist path and building a communist society led by the Communist Party has not disappeared. What we are recalling here is the process of communist revolution that Marx (and Engels) laid out in the Communist Manifesto. I will quote it below.

...If the proletariat inevitably coalesces into a class in its struggle with the bourgeoisie, becomes the ruling class through revolution, and as the ruling class powerfully abolishes the old relations of production, then these relations of production will be abolished. With abolition, the proletariat abolishes the condition of class antagonism, of the existence of classes in general, and thus of its own domination as a class.

The "own domination as a class" here is not the same as the "domination of the Communist Party," but even if we understand it in the latter way, according to Marx, the Communist Party is scheduled to be voluntarily dissolved once it succeeds in abolishing the old production relations = capitalist production relations. 

However, the established Communist Party has not followed this path; instead, the Communist Party itself has adapted to the old production relations (capitalist production relations) and is now at the forefront of the merger with capitalism. Therefore, there is no hope of voluntary dissolution of the Communist Party.

2.7. Not an anti-communist revolution

What must be noted here is that a "communist revolution against the Communist Party" not the same as a "revolution against the Communist Party." In the process from the so-called Eastern European revolutions to the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of the 20th century, popular uprisings against the Communist Party-controlled system represented by the Soviet Union occurred successively in Eastern European and Soviet countries, albeit in varying degrees and forms, leading to the collapse of the system. 　

Because this revolution was based on the political repression of the Communist Party of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the failure of the collectivist system, it took on the characteristics of a "revolution against the Communist Party" and the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union all followed the path of market economy and capitalism, which continues to this day. In the end, the Eastern European revolutions converged into reactionary revolutions that turned the wheels of history back on track, and did not become progressive revolutions aimed at creating a truly communist society. 　

The "communist revolution against the Communist Party" is not such a reactionary revolution, but a progressive revolution, so it does not simply attack and dismantle the established Communist Party system.

2.8. Commons' Convention as a true Soviet 

The "communist revolution against the Communist Party" also uses a Commons' Convention as a base to create a counter-power situation. However, the relationship with the ruling Communist Party is not one of simple hostility, but one of coexistence or immanence. In other words, it develops in a way that is parasitic within the Communist Party. In other words, it develops in a way that is parasitic within the Communist Party. 　

In fact, even at the time of the Russian Revolution, the people formed soviets (councils) to oppose the established parliament of imperial Russia, but as the revolution progressed, these people's soviets were taken over by the Bolsheviks and then the Communist Party, and were replaced as the party's ratifying body. The "Soviet" in the country's name, the Soviet Union, ended up being just a facade. 

In order to prevent a repeat of this bitter history, the Commons' Conventions must grow as a parasitic force without being taken over by the Communist Party. In other words, the Commons' Convention is the true Soviet. 　

It is not a good analogy, but the Commons' Conventions feed on the Communist Party from within, just as a real parasite sucks nutrients from its host. The ideal revolutionary process would be the complete opposite of the Russian Revolution, in which the Commons' Convention would take over the Communist Party and lead it to dissolution. 　

However, the Communist Party authorities, who are wary of this, may try to eliminate the Commons' Convention as if to exterminate parasites, and in that case, they will have no choice but to externalize it by forming a Commons' Convention in exile overseas. 

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Chapter 9: THE PROCESS OF THE UNARMED REVOLUTION

2. Set up counterpowers.

2.1. Pre-revolution

In the revolutionary process, the climax of the collapse of the old regime and the establishment of a revolutionary regime does not suddenly appear, but rather there is a stage as a preliminary revolution (pre-revolution) leading up to that point. In other words, it is a situation where the ruling system that still exists and an unfinished system that serves as the framework of the revolutionary system coexist and compete with each other. This is called a "counter-power situation."

This situation will officially begin when the World Commons' Convention enacts the draft Charter of the World Commonwealth and declares the provisional establishment of the World Commonwealth. In response to this, once the formation and development of the Commons' Conventions in each region of each country is completed, some kind of primordial counterpower will be created at that stage. This is because each Commons'Convention itself is scheduled to become official governing body after the revolution.

However, in order to create such a situation of counter-power, it is necessary to have a wide range of people recognize the democratic legitimacy of the Commons' Conventions, and to create a groundswell that calls for the significance of the revolution and for participation in collective non-voting. I have to frankly admit that it is truly difficult.

First, in order to make people recognize that the Commons' Convention is the political institution that truly represents the majority, the key is whether the Commons' Convention can build up the numerical superiority to claim that it represents the majority including potential sympathizers.

Furthermore, an important accomplishment of the Commons' Convention during the stage of the preliminary revolution is its counter-legislative activities. In particular, it is the establishment of a charter that would serve as the highest standard after the revolution. In addition, it is necessary to prepare a system design for an environmentally sustainable planned economy that does not rely on a monetary economy and other major basic laws at the stage of the revolution.

2.2. Implementing collective non-voting

After all, the most technically difficult task is organizing the collective non-voting that forms the core of a non-armed revolution. As mentioned above, the minimum number of votes required to win a public office election is intentionally set extremely low by law, so even a slight decrease in the abstention rate will have no effect on the legal validity of the election. 

Therefore, it is necessary to organize abstentions to the point where the election is legally invalidated, but is this really possible? This is an unprecedented challenge in world history.

Although it is certainly possible in theory to carry out a collective non-vote that would completely invalidate all public office elections, it may not be possible in practice. However, even if public elections with extremely low voter turnout are legally valid, they lose political legitimacy. 　

In such a situation, there will be the possibility that the Commons' Conventions will lead the revolution to success with the support of popular actions such as street demonstrations. Therefore, as discussed in the previous chapter, the revolutionary method of collective non-voting does not have the property of being successful purely on its own, but depending on the time and situation of each country, it may be combined with methods such as popular uprisings.

In order to avoid such a revolutionary situation, established countries may introduce compulsory voting systems or strengthen the penalties for compulsory voting systems that have already been introduced. In this case, a movement of disobedience must be organized to abstain according to conscience and without fear of punishment.

The more abstainers there are, the more effectively it becomes impossible for the police and others to control abstentions, so it is essential to carry out public awareness campaigns to increase the number of abstainers.

2.3. Abstention as a political right

The barrier to implementing collective non-voting is the idea that abstaining is considered an abandonment of voters' duties. Indeed, according to the conventional wisdom of Western bourgeois political science, which has become popular throughout the world, voting is the sacred right of voters, and it is through our pure vote that we can carve out a future of hope. To abstain would be considered foolish and an abandonment of one's duty as a voter.

However, it is possible to distinguish between "lazy non-voting", which is simply due to political apathy, and "revolutionary non-voting," which is a more active expression of intent toward revolution. It goes without saying that abstention as a new method of unarmed revolution is not "lazy non-voting,'' but "revolutionary abstention."

The pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention needs to effectively spread this new idea of abstention as a political right = revolutionary abstention throughout the world, and unless it succeeds in this, there will be no unarmed revolution. 

2.4. Establishing the counter-power situation

In any case, as the abstention rate will increase in every public office election and the legitimacy of the established parliament and government is shaken, people will give up on the established parliament and government, which had lost the ability to deal with the increasingly exposed limitations of capitalism, and will begin to realize that the Commons' Convention is our true political representative body. As a result, there will be a final collective non-voting, as an act of all-out no-confidence in the established parliament and government, that will result in the failure of the parliament and government.

This does not mean that the revolution is complete, but that the counter-power situation as a pre-revolution has been established, and we can finally stand at the starting point of the revolution. 　

In many countries, constitutional provisions have been made in advance to ensure that a power vacuum is not created by allowing the previous government to continue or appointing a substitute government unless a new government is formed for some reason after an election. Even if a new government is not formed due to collective non-voting, there is a system in place that allows the old regime to legally remain in place. 

It can be predicted that in most cases, the remaining old regime will refuse to transfer power to the Commons' Convention and will do everything in its power to prevent the establishment of a revolutionary admistration. Therefore, we must consider the process that goes beyond that.

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A communist society can be realized through the unarmed revolution by plebs. A powerful means of achieving this is collective non-voting as mentioned earlier. So what is the specific process?

1. Figure out the timing of the revolution.

1.1. Continuation of social pain

In this chapter, I would like to consider a process that could serve as a model for a possible revolution, focusing on the other method of revolution discussed in the previous chapter, namely, a revolution based on collective non-voting. The first hurdle in doing so is determining the timing of the revolution.

While a revolution does not take place on a set date like a coup d'état, it also does not suddenly erupt one day like a major earthquake. There is a time when a revolution is ripe. In particular, revolutions based on collective non-voting are different from popular uprising revolutions, which are often sparked by spontaneous demonstrations, and the timing is delicate. So, what is the timing?

First of all, it is necessary for many people to clearly recognize the limitations of capitalism. It means that the fear that we will no longer be able to live under capitalism takes on a realistic sense of urgency.

However, a sudden Great Depression situation will not immediately lead to a revolution. Historically, the Great Depression that began in 1929 did not lead to revolutions, not only in its epicenter, the United States, but also in Europe, Asia, and other countries.

In the midst of a sudden economic crisis, the masses can endure temporary poverty and feel that the sun will rise again once the storm passes, so the will to end capitalism through revolution does not emerge. As stated in the United States Declaration of Independence, "mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." 

Therefore, the timing of a revolution would be when a situation of continued insufferable pain becomes established. Specifically speaking, this social pain, which should also be called capitalist pain, is not only general anxiety about food and shelter due to the worsening environmental crisis, but also chronic conditions such as constant life insecurity due to job insecurity and pension insecurity, the disintegration of local communities and family breakdown due to the progressing loss of human sociability, and an increase in crime due to these factors.

On the other hand, if established parliamentary politics (or electoral politics in general) is unable to take any effective and appropriate measures to deal with such chronic crises, and if the situation continues without any measures, people's patience will reach its limit. When these conditions is almost certain, it can be said to signal the beginning of a revolution.

1.2. The era of late capitalism

So, when exactly will the revolution begin? In this regard, the currently progressing and expanding "global capitalism" is taking on the aspect of a "tsunami economy" in which an economic and financial crisis in one country spreads throughout the world. It is also necessary to take into account the stagnation of economic activity caused by natural phenomena such as abnormal weather, major disasters, and infectious diseases, which can trigger a global economic recession.

In addition, even if the economy turns into a boom/growth phase for a while, capital companies will prepare for unforeseen circumstances and strive to save on personnel costs more than ever (preventive exploitation), resulting in a "(stable) economic recovery/economic growth without employment." There is a high possibility that this will happen. In that case, the paradoxical phenomenon of "hard life in a booming economy'' becomes quite normal.

"Global capitalism" will destabilize the world economic system, and the limits of capitalism will be strongly exposed in each country of the world in its own way. If we look at it this way, we can be allowed for diagnosing that capitalism has already entered a late period of sustained suffering as described earlier - if not the apocalyptic stage.

1.3. The time to form the Commons' Convention

If this is the case, it can be said that the momentum for the establishment of the Commons' Convention as a revolutionary movement organization, as proposed in the previous chapter, is arriving. The basic structure of this organization was described in the previous chapter, so I will not repeat it.

What I would like to summarize here is that the new communist revolution of the 21st century (and beyond) will be a global series of revolutions that begins with the formation of the World Commons' Convention, completes revolutions by the Commons' Conventions at the national level, and ends with the creation of the World Commonwealth. The subject of this chapter is to further refine the details of that process.

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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 rather than 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 elderly

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 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.

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3. Do it differently from the Communist Party.

3.4. Flexible alliance

I have stated that the pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention is a decentralized network-type organization without a central leadership, but such network-type organizations tend to have too loose membership and easily become club-like activities.

Therefore, the membership of the pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention is organized somewhat strictly, and only those who have agreed to all the articles of the Commons' Convention Covenant, which is the constitution of the pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention can become members. 

Those covenant members  are obligated to pay operating expenses equal to or higher than the minimum amount specified in the agreement once a year. 

In addition to the Central (or Federal) Liaison Committee members, the members of local Commons' Convention Liaison Committees are chosen by lottery from among the members of the alliance - in the case of local level Commons' Conventions, they must be residents of the jurisdiction - for a term of approximately two years.

In this way, by implementing a rotation system for positions within the organization through a lottery system, it is possible to prevent leadership members from becoming fixed and creating an authoritarian internal party bureaucracy, as is the case with Communist Party organizations. 　

In addition, the general meeting delegates who have the right to attend the general meeting of the Commons' Convention are elected from among the Liaison Committee members of the provincial (or quasi-zonal) and regional Commons' Convention, but in addition to these, a prescribed number of general members can become a general meeting participant on a first-come, first-served basis. 　

Although the number of these core alliance members will be limited to some extent, so-called organizing activities such as acquiring party members will not be carried out. Instead, full-time employees will carry out inspirational activities using the Internet, and focus on spreading voluntary external sympathizers. 　

The membership and organization of the Commons' Convention is by no means circle-like, but it is also not a Communist Party-style "iron unity"; with a limited number of covenant members as the core, it will be composed of a large number of voluntary sympathizers forming an extension, and will be an amoeba-like organization that can be described as a "flexible alliance."

3.5. Fusion of red and green

The pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention differs ideologically from the Communist Party in that it internalizes ecology. This is also reflected in the new planned economy method to be implemented after the revolution called sustainable planned economy, which we saw in Chapter 2. 　

In this regard, it is worth recalling that since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ecological parties such as the Green Party have emerged mainly in Europe in response to the unprecedented rise in interest in global environmental issues. 　

However, the Green Party is generally negative about communism, and only advocates tightening environmental regulations within the framework of capitalism, without attempting to fundamentally change the mode of production. In this sense, their position ends up being "green capitalism," which simply dyes capitalism green. 

This will only result in capital being used to pursue opportunistic profit-seeking strategies such as eco-business. A symbolic example of this is the nuclear power export policy, which promotes global warming countermeasures as its rationale, but "green capitalism" cannot essentially criticize the eco-opportunistic business practices of capital. 　

On the other hand, labor unions tend to join forces with management in opposing environmental regulations, fearing that a decline in production or an increase in production costs due to stricter environmental regulations will result in layoffs. The Communist Party, which shows its understanding of the union's position, is also likely to take an anti-ecology position, partly due to its wariness of the Green Party's rise.

The pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention aims to redefine a new communism that internalizes ecology, existing between anti-communist "green capitalism" and communist "anti-ecology." 　

The traditional symbol color of communism has been red. Since the pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention also aims for communism, it is fine to use red as its base color, but add green to it. However, it should not be just a two-tone color of red and green, but something like an arabesque, a fusion of red and green in a deep dimension.

3.6. Collective non-voting movement

The main activity of the pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention is, first of all, the development of a collective non-voting movement, which will become a new method of revolutionary movement. In other words, with the World Commons' Convention the base, through the collaborating Commons' Conventions of each country, you will gradually increase the number of abstainers in various public office elections, undermine the legitimacy of existing parliaments and governments, and lead to an eventual revolution. 　

What should be noted here are movements in countries where voting is mandatory with penalties. In this case, abstaining will be considered a criminal act. However, in most cases it is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine and not strictly enforced, but if abstention is severely punished, it becomes a form of conscientious disobedience.

On the other hand, in countries where public office election systems do not yet exist, or even if they do exist, where elections have become a mere formality due to one-party rule, collective non-voting campaigns cannot be effectively developed in the first place. In such a case, the Commons' Convention should focus on the counter-legislative activities mentioned in the next paragraph rather than the abstaining movement, or, if that is difficult, the Commons' Convention in exile should be formed abroad. 　

Incidentally, the Commons' Convention movements in countries where communist parties have established one-party rule systems seem at first glance to be a contradictory act of "communism confronting communism", but there are discrepancies between the partisan communism of the established communist parties and the communism of the Commons' Conventions, so "communism confronting communism" is not a contradiction. 　

In this case, rather than attacking the dictatorial Communist Party externally from an anti-communist standpoint, a movement is developed to internally counter it with a new, redefined form of communism.

3.7. Counter-legislative activities

The second mainstay of the pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention activities is counter-legislative activities. That is, counter-legislative activities are legislative activities carried out by the Commons' Convention in opposition an existing legislative body. Of course, when "legislation"  mentioned here, in the pre-revolutionary stage, it remains a private program that has no effect as a regular law, but when the revolution is completed, it becomes an official law, so to speak, it is a chrysalis of law .　

At the center of this is the Charter. A charter is the highest standard equivalent to a constitution in terms of the existing national legal system, and can practically be called a constitution. As already mentioned, communism does not assume a sovereign state, so the constitution, which is the highest standard of society, comes in the form of a charter (the Charter of the Commons' Convention).

These Charters use the Charter of the World Commons' Convention which also serves as the Charter of the World Commonwealth, as a unified source of law, and each Charter of the Commons' Convention is enacted. In this way, Charters are enacted in multiple layers for each sphere, forming a web of Charters. 　

In addition to the enactment of the Charter, the enactment of economic legislation related to the mechanism of a sustainable planned economy also constitutes an important counter-legislative activity of the pre-evolutionary Commons' Convention. In order to avoid the post-revolution economic and social turmoil, careful pre-revolutionary preparations are indispensable, since the abolition of the monetary economy is a major undertaking in human history.

3.8. Abstinence from becoming a political party

Beyond the two pillars of activity mentioned above, one question may be whether the pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention should also engage in political party-like activities such as participation in elections. 　

While basically agreeing with the direction of the Commons' Convention, which aims for a new communism, if capitalism has a strong vitality and will not easily collapse on its own, It may be possible to make a cautious recommendation that we should aim for possible reforms through elections within the framework of capitalism. 　

However, the pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention should not turn into a political party or similar political organization. This is a major turning point from the established Communist Party. 

As mentioned earlier, in the post-Soviet world, many remaining communist parties participate in parliamentary elections and hold a certain number of seats. At the same time, most of them have effectively abandoned the communist revolution and adapted to capitalism because it would be difficult to win and retain seats if they did not do so.　

It is also because the bourgeois parliamentary system forces all parliamentary parties, including the Communist Party, to assimilate to capitalism as an implicit condition for retaining seats. As a result, the meaning of the term "communism" evaporates and becomes a nominal name. It would be meaningless for the pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention to follow the same path as the remaining Communist Parties. Therefore, the pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention should be strictly prohibited from turning into a political party and participating in elections.　

In the end, the pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention is not a political party, nor is it an underground organization, but it must maintain its character as an open movement organization that is scheduled to become an official governing organization after the revolution.

3.9. Mutual aid barter activities

The pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention is a revolutionary movement that rejects club-like elements and works toward the lofty goal of establishing a communist society. To sustain such a lofty movement, political activities alone are unlikely to maintain the organization without difficulty. It must also provide economic benefits for its members.

Therefore, in addition to political activity, it would be beneficial for the pre-revolutionary Commons'Convention to begin forming barter networks among its members in preparation for the post-revolution planned economy, which will no longer be based on monetary system. This could also be considered a welfare-oriented mutual aid activity, in that it involves exchanging personal necessities and providing mutual support.

Such mutual aid barter activities can also be socially significant as a movement to support the impoverished outside the organization, potentially serving as a driving force in gaining social recognition for the Commons' Convention and helping it permeate society.

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3. Do it differently from the Communist Party.

3.1. Commons' Convention as a revolutionary movement

As the name suggests, the communist revolution was conventionally thought to be carried out centered on the Communist Party, but that is no longer the case. The communist revolution by the people presented here is a direct revolution by the nonpartisan people, not by the Communist Party, but by any political party organization.

However, I am not so simple as to claim that the revolutionary business can be completed without any kind of organization. Organizing a revolutionary movement is also inevitable. What is that organization? 

It is the Commons' Convention. This concept has already been mentioned. While it appears as a new governing organization in a communist society where the state is abolished, the Commons' Convention also has the consistency of being formed and developed as a revolutionary movement organization before the revolution.

This "pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention" is an organization that is planned to become an official governing body after the revolution - a sort of chrysalis - so to speak. We have already discussed the structure of the Commons' Convention after the revolution in Chapter 4, so here we will look at the Commons' Convention before the revolution.

3.2. Outline of the pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention (1): World Commons' Convention

A communist revolution that abolishes the monetary economy and state system cannot be practiced by a single country alone; it must go through successive revolutions in each country and ultimately reach the creation of a transnational and global World Commonwealth.

To that end, the Commons' Convention needs to advance from its first step toward a globalist organization that transcends existing nations. That is, the formation of the World Commons' Convention.

The World Commons' Convention is the world center of the Commons' Convention movement, which is scheduled to function as the General Assembly of the World Commonwealth when it is established in the future. 　

However, even though it is called the world center, the relationship between the World Commons' Convention and each country's Commons' Convention is not a hierarchical relationship between headquarters and branch offices. It will be positioned as a forum with the pillars of information exchange and situation analysis. 

At the same time, it is also important to create a Commons' Convention at the grand-zonal level, which was touched on in Chapter 4. This will be formed for each of the five grand zones, which will be described again in the final chapter, and in the future it will be a representative body that will elect five representatives to constitute the Grand-zonal Representatives' Conference that will function as the executive body of the World Commonwealth. However, until then, it will serve as a temporary general council for the Commons' Convention of each country belonging to the large region that will constitute the grand zone in the future. 　

Supporting exiled Commons' Conventions in countries where domestic activities are particularly difficult because organizations such as the Commons' Convention are targets of repression and persecution domestically is an important mission of the grand-zonal Commons' Convention. As such, the  grand-zonal Commons' Convention will have a temporary base in a country where Commons' Convention activities are relatively free, if not entirely risk-free.

3.3. Outline of the pre-revolutionary Commons' Convention (2): Commons' Convention in each country

 When the World Commonwealth is established through successive revolutions, sovereign nations will be abandoned, but before the revolution, a Commons' Convention linked to the World Commons' Convention must be organized for each existing country for the time being. 　

At that time, in light of the nature of the consistency system mentioned above, each country's Commons' Convention organization was established at each level of communes, regional areas, and provincial areas (quasi-zones in the case of federal states) in accordance with the development after the revolution. If governing bodies corresponding to regional areas or provincial areas were not established before the revolution, provisional divisions will be applied. 　

However, even here, there is no hierarchical relationship between the Commons' Convention of zones and the Commons' Convention of each local area, and no centralized leadership body such as a central committee is placed in the Commons' Convention of zones.

Instead, a Central Liaison Committee(Federal Liaison Committee in the case of federal states) will be established as an organization that connects local networks. To avoid capital centered operations, the commission will be located in a city other than the capital. 　

In addition to holding regular meetings of its own, the Central Liaison Committee plans and hosts an annual general meeting. The general meeting is a forum for exchanging information and analyzing the situation, and unlike political party conventions, it does not pass binding resolutions. 　

On the other hand, the Commons' Convention of provincial areas (or quasi-zones) and regional areas will also have a Liaison Committee to act as a liaison body for each Commons' Convention. In addition, a small Liaison Committee will be set up in the Commons' Convention of communes and serves as a conduit to the Commons' Convention of regional areas. 　

In this way, unlike the Communist Party, the Commons' Convention does not have a central leadership—therefore, the Central Liaison Committee does not have a chairperson or equivalent general secretary. It will be operated as a decentralized network-type organization in which the Commons' Convention of zone and the Commons' Convention of each local area within it organically cooperate.

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Chapter 8: NEW REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT

2. There is another way of revolution.

2.1. Methodology of revolution

Speaking of revolution, the proletarian theory of revolution in the past assumed that the armed working class would stand armed. But Marx, who was basically an armed revolutionist, also suggested that revolution could be done by peaceful means. However, he never specified a specific methodology for a "peaceful revolution." 　

No matter how much you call a revolution, if you can't find a concrete way to put it into practice, it will end up as empty words. However, in the past, there was little tendency to think about revolutions in a methodological way, and even in an era when people could still feel a great deal of reality in revolutions, they tended to end up with vague images of armed revolutions. 　

However, precisely because the revolution is losing its reality today, it is necessary to thoroughly question the method of revolution - especially the method suitable for the plebeian revolution shown in the previous section. Through that, the reality of the revolution will be regained again.

2.2. Popular uprising

The popular uprising is the most symbolic image of the revolution due to its dramatic nature. The Russian Revolution (1917) is a representative example of a successful popular revolution since the 20th century, but the Cuban Revolution (1959), in which young people raised armed uprisings through guerrilla activities, can also be included in this category. 　

In this method, the people who participate in the revolution usually stand armed, but there are also unarmed popular uprisings. The large-scale demonstrations (1989) that dismantled the "Berlin Wall" and forced the extinguishment of the former East Germany, a loyal satellite of the former Soviet Union, symbolic of the Soviet-style collectivist system and Cold War. It can also be seen as an example of an unarmed popular uprising.

In any case, the opponent of a revolution caused by a popular uprising is always determined to be an autocratic repressive regime. This is because a large-scale popular uprising can only be realized when the people's antipathy and hatred toward the regime are used as energy. 　

In that sense, a revolution caused by a popular uprising would create a fierce confrontation with the regime. In addition to the inevitability of full-scale confrontation with the police and military mobilized by the regime to suppress it, as was the case with the Russian Revolution, counter-revolutionary maneuvers by the old regime may develop into civil war even after the revolution is completed. 　

On the other hand, in some cases, the regime itself may become as oppressive as the old regime. The oppression by the Communist Party after the Russian Revolution should be remembered as the most bitter example.

In general, revolutions caused by popular uprisings are often triggered by accidental demonstrations by the people, and it is difficult to predict the direction of their outbreak and development. 　

In any case, it can be said that the chances of witnessing a revolution by this method are also decreasing today, as blatant forms of tyrannical rule are gradually decreasing. A plebeian revolution in the form of such a popular uprising is still possible under repressive totalitarian regimes, but it will be relatively limited.

2.3. Collective non-voting　

In recent years, many countries have increasingly implemented "democratic" elections. There is something to be happy about in this trend, but on the other hand, In many countries, indirect representative politics through elections has become dysfunctional due to the alienation between professional politicians and the public, corrupted influence-peddling, etc., and is exposed to its ultimate limits.

However, it is practically difficult to overthrow a regime established through elections that satisfies "democratic" criteria with a popular uprising. Therefore, the method of collective non-voting is assumed. This is a method by which voters do not vote collectively in all public elections, both central and local, to prevent election candidates from being elected, and to establish neither parliaments nor governments (including those at the local government level).

In this way, after creating a "state of anarchy" by legally invalidating elections based on the provisions of the election law, the steps will be taken to peacefully transfer power through negotiations with the remaining former government. Therefore, this method is basically an unarmed, peaceful revolution, and also has the unique character of a "stay-at-home revolution," in which citizens do not have to go out into the streets to implement non-voting. 　

However, as far as I know, there have been no historical examples of revolutions using this method. The reason for this is the technical difficulty of the very means of collective non-voting. 　

In fact, in the electoral law, the minimum number of votes required for election is almost intentionally set low in preparation for situations such as mass non-voting, and in some countries, voting itself is mandated with penalties. Because of this, the establishment can also force the masses to vote with the threat of punishment.

Therefore, collective non-voting may not be successful in its purest form, unless it is implemented in combination with the popular uprising methods described above. Despite such technical difficulties, this method can be said to be suitable for the plebeian revolution as another method of revolution through a kind of civil disobedience.

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Chapter 8: NEW REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT

1. The leading actors of the revolution is the people.

1.4. Deconstruction of the "proletarian revolution"

Marxists, who once vigorously called the "proletarian revolution," now seem to abandon the difficult "proletarian revolution" and adapt to capitalism in a situation where the working class has almost has made capitalism part of itself. In fact, many of the remaining marxist parties in the world today (the marxist parties of various countries that have survived the dissolution of the Soviet Union) have either explicitly or implicitly tried to turn this line in the name of "pragmatism."

However, here I would like to avoid such self-abandoned "pragmatism" and explore the path to communism as far as possible. To that end, the "proletarian revolution" must be deconstructed using a different terminology and methodology.

1.5. Common sign "exploitation"

The first thing to confirm here is the iron rule that the latent central subject of the communist revolution is the working class. However, as mentioned above, today's working class is deeply divided. But there are signs that allow this to be reunified. This is the “exploitation” discussed in Chapter 3.

In this regard, capitalist terminology tries to minimize the meaning of "exploitation" and limit it to cases of extremely low-wage labor. But, in fact, people are forced into unpaid labor under various pretexts and are "exploited."

In terms of being exploited, there is no essential difference between the general worker class and the senior worker class, the stable class and the unstable class in the general worker class, and even the private sector workers and the public service workers. If there is a difference, it is in the way exploitation is manifested. In other words, it is only the difference between low-wage exploitation and falling into poverty, or high-wage exploitation making a living but suffering from exhaustion and dying from overwork.

In addition, the difference between the stable and unstable classes will also become relative at once due to the relaxation of dismissal regulations for regular workers and the suppression of wages for regular workers - this has been the case for small and medium-sized enterprises with weak management foundations.

On the other hand, it is quite difficult to subdue the generational conflict between the incumbent workers and the retired workers. However, it seems that this can also be solved to a certain extent from the viewpoint of "deferred exploitation."

In other words, the amount of pension benefits for retired workers is calculated based on the wage level at the time of their current employment, along with the premiums paid, so if they are exploited at low wages during their current employment, their future pension benefits will remain at a low level. In this way, an old-age pension is nothing but a “deferred exploitation” that continues until old age. This will become even clearer if a self-responsible, income-proportioned pension system is introduced in which the relationship between benefits and contributions perfectly corresponds.

Therefore, the image of retirees living carelessly on pension income supported by pension premiums steadily paid by incumbent workers is not accurate. In reality, pensions alone are not enough, and many elderly people find themselves in financial difficulties. It could be you or me in the future.

I would like to call people who share the common indicator of being exploited, even if the form of exploitation varies, "exploitediat."

1.6. Perspective of the "global environment"

Even so, we live in an age where categorizing people as the "working class" no longer holds much reality. So let's add the perspective of the "global environment" to the label of "exploitation."

Naturally, if the foundation of survival, the global environment, is destroyed, survival itself becomes impossible, so ensuring the sustainability of the global environment is a common challenge for all people.

However, capitalism is based on "exploiting" the global environment as well. The exploitation here is on a different level from exploitation in labor; it is literally exploitation that squeezes the environment out of us. The result is a crisis for survival.

Let's call those people whose living environments are at risk of survival due to the deterioration of the global environment - most of whom would overlap with the working class and the middle-peasant and lower-middle peasant classes - "ecologiat" in particular.

If we expand the common indicator of "exploitation" to include the exploitation of the global environment, this indicator can break away from the traditional boundaries of class, and by adding "ecologiat," it can become a common indicator that enables cross-class solidarity that includes people other than the working class.

1.7. Possibility of the "plebeian revolution"

Therefore, I would like to present the new term plebs, or "the commons（the common people）," which encompasses the exploitediat and ecologiat who are unified under the expanded common label of "exploitation," as well as the middle class people who are in a similar position to them. The commons are the actor of the new communist revolution.

By the way, a synonym for "commons" is "masses", which may be more popular. But here we make a clear distinction between the commons and the masses. Masses are politically unawakened, free-floating, and therefore opportunistic and at the same time easily provoked into a mob of disjointed individuals who, at worst, are lured into fascism.

In contrast, the commons referred to here are agglomeration of individuals associated and united as a politically awakened revolutionary class. Wage laborers are at the core of this, but there are also poor farmers, small farmers, marginalized intellectuals, petty capitalists, and others who are suffering from the laws of capitalism and who are trying to find a way out for the realization of a communist society. The commons encompass the whole mentioned above.

And in each country, these commons make up the majority of the population. Therefore, it is the communist revolution that is carried out in the name of the true majority of the people - including the minority. In short, it can be summed up in the conception "plebeian revolution, by the commons, for the commons."

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Chapter 8: NEW REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT

In order not to end communism as a pipe dream, we need a new revolutionary movement with a new term and a new methodology that breaks the old revolutionary common sense, armed proletarian revolution. What could it be like?

1. The leading actors of revolution are the common people.

1.1. Political enterprise called "revolution"

Up until the previous chapter, the reality of communist society has been described quite concretely, but the big question of how communism is actually realized in the first place still remains. If this big problem cannot be solved, communism will be nothing more than an unreachable blue bird.

So, first, I would like to review what was discussed in Chapter 1. I argued there that capitalism is strong and incapable of self-destruction, but that this 'modern' economic system reveals serious limitations.

Therefore, if we do not simply object to capitalism, but rather give up on capitalism and truly desire the realization of a communist society - for those who do not wish to do so, this chapter and the next chapter are unnecessary -, we must artificially break away from capitalism through the political enterprise of "revolution." Who will lead the revolution? This section is about the answer to this question.

1.2. Marxist model answer

According to Marxist theory, which is considered "orthodox", the working class (proletariat) is the main subject of the communist revolution. This answer is still politically correct. This is because capitalism, no matter how much it changes its superficial form, cannot, at its fundamental level, subside the class antagonism between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.

Today, the line of labor-management cooperation has taken root in developed capitalist countries. However, this is nothing more than a remnant of the honeymoon period, when total capital increased the share of labor in an era of soaring growth, and managed to achieve relatively high wages. Therefore, when faced with an economic crisis such as the Great Recession of the World, the harsh structure of wage slavery will immediately surface.

The fact that it is the wage workers who suffer the most from the logic of capitalism is a universal law of political economy almost all over the world. Indeed, it is the wage laborers, i.e. wage serfs, who have the strongest reason for the final end of capitalism, and the proletarian revolution aiming at the realization of a communist society is the uprising of wage serfs. 

1.3. A difficult "proletarian revolution"

However, the above is just a revolutionary subject theory based on political economic theory, and from a social dynamics point of view, a "proletarian revolution" is no longer possible. why? First and foremost, today's working class is so deeply divided that it cannot be brought together by a single class interest.

First of all, this division has arisen in the form of a polarization within the incumbent workers between the general worker class (blue-collar workers) and the senior worker class (white-collar workers). The former are mostly non-career workers in the operational sector, while the latter are career workers who are candidates for future management positions.

Even though they are the same workers, they are placed in different positions. Senior workers are generally well-educated and highly paid, and although they are wage workers, they are candidates for future management positions and have the logic of capital. It is an elite who is fully educated and walks the path of management. They can be superior and sometimes even hostile to the common working class.

This division of "blue vs. white" has a long history with the development of the joint-stock company system, but in recent years, a dichotomy between relatively stable and unstable classes has become noticeable even within the general worker class. The stable class joins a labor union and manages to maintain solidarity, but the unstable class consists of many unorganized and fragmented non-regular workers, and their interests tend to conflict.

Furthermore, in modern times, public authorities such as the national and local governments also employ many wage workers. These public workers (so-called civil servants) are in a position to supervise the activities of private capital, have relatively high educational backgrounds and wage levels, and wage workers are also divided by these public and private sectors. However, even within the public sector, there is a clearer class difference between general workers and senior workers than in the private sector.

In addition to this division within incumbent workers, the generational divide between incumbent workers and retired workers is deepening with the development of the old-age pension system. If the pension income of retired workers is guaranteed by the pension insurance premiums paid by incumbent workers, whose future pension benefits may decrease, a clear intergenerational conflict will surface.

The intra-class divisions described above have also succeeded in relativizing the class differences between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat to a considerable extent. Many of the corporate executives who represent today's bourgeoisie are promoted and selected from among the upper working class (in some cases, the general working class). In this way, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie are connected by a staircase - by no means a smooth one. Furthermore, retired workers who invest part of their savings can be considered to be subsumed by the bourgeoisie as a class of petty investors.

In this way, the confrontational scheme of "bourgeoisie vs. proletariat" has, in fact, liquefied considerably without being subdued in essence.

Moreover, assimilation to capitalism is progressing remarkably even within the consciousness of the working class itself. Marx once wrote in the first volume of Capital,  “As capitalist production progresses, the working class who accepts the demands of this mode of production as self-evident natural laws through education, tradition, and custom will appear.” Now it seems that the working class has almost has almost made capitalism part of itself.

As such, it cannot be said that a "proletarian revolution" is completely impossible, but it must be said that it has become a project with little feasibility in its literal form.

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Chapter 7: SKETCH OF COMMUNIST SOCIETY -- CULTURE

4. The culture of competition will decline.

4.1. Capitalist struggle for existence

Competition is as important as commercial value as a capitalist cultural value. This is closely related to the fact that commodities, which are the main characters of capitalist society, are competitive bets sold through the market, which is, so to speak, a playing field among producers.

This kind of competition is the principle of the market economy that is the cornerstone of capitalist society, and at the same time, it is also a cultural value that defines our lives.

In fact, in a capitalist society, in addition to economic competition between capitals, everything from exams, contests, competitions, competitions to elections is organized competitively. People born into capitalist society are exposed to the struggle for existence from the day they are born, and are screened out at each stage of the life cycle, and their lives are divided into winners and losers.

In such a competitive culture, it is a virtue not to feel guilty about knocking others down in competition. It is a triumph of my talent and hard work, and I am innocent of it.

If such a sense of values prevails, the trend of socially cooperating to accomplish a single project will disappear, and humans will become separate atoms in competitive relationships with each other. The local community is also dismantled, and the neighbors look like unknown foreigners.

People in a society with highly developed capitalism are lonely. They are further reduced to an indivisible individual-person, and in exchange for a rich consumer life, they are buried in a "huge collection of commodities." On the other hand, once they are defeated in the struggle for survival, it is difficult for them to start over, lose their place to belong, and become socially excluded and marginalized.

However, even those who survived the competition never seem to be truly satisfied, and it seems that there is a gaping empty hole in their hearts.

There are strong voices complaining about the "hardness of life", but this is a sociopathological symptom that the culture of competition produces on the side of the "losers" of the competition. On the other hand, the culture of competition causes pathological symptoms such as emptiness on the side of the  "winners'' of the competition.

4.2. Possibility of coexistence instinct

Contrary to the beliefs of competition supremacists, there is also evidence to speculate that humans are not necessarily competitive animals by nature. For example, the etymology of the word competition is "com: together" and "petere: pursue".

This original meaning does not have the nuance of kicking down other rivals, but rather it has the implication of encouraging and improving each other. When this competition falls into the hands of capitalism, it becomes a ruthless struggle for survival.

Another example is the cartel. Cartels are cracked down as illegal conspiracies between capitalists that impede capitalist competition, but they are cracked down with penalties because they will continue to exist if left unchecked.

Why does capital, which glorifies competition on the surface, tries to avoid it behind the scenes? The end result of purely pursuing capitalist competition, in which rivals are kicked and crushed, is that the winner of the competition takes everything, in other words, a monopoly without competition.

Competition results in non-competition. Here lies the self-contradiction of capitalist competition. The only way to avoid this contradiction is to form a cartel and coexist with competing capitals. This is also one of the coexistence instincts inherent in capital.

Such examples seem to suggest that humans, who appear to be competitive animals, have a nature that can be called an instinct for coexistence. In fact, recent behavioral economics has revealed that humans are endowed with not only selfishness but also altruism.

4.3. Competition as friendly rivalry

Some people criticize the communist society as a lukewarm society with no competition, but even in a communist society, competition = friendly rivalry in the sense just mentioned is not denied. Social cooperation, which is emphasized in communist society, is by no means lukewarm, but rather teaches people the value of friendly rivalry.

If that happens, the meaning of exams and competitions will surely change. Exams will not be a means of sifting out, but a measure for discovering each person's aptitude, and a means for teachers themselves to verify the results of their own teaching methods. It will change from a place of jealousy where rivals secretly anticipate hope for their rivals' missteps, to a place like a festival where they show off and evaluate each other's skills.

The meaning of competitions such as the Olympics may also change. It will no longer be a competition for medals between countries sending athletes, or a competition for profit and advertising between sponsorship companies, but will return to their roots as a sports festival where participating athletes and teams are purely immersed in the competition, and spectators are purely enjoying watching.

In the realm of production, as we saw in Chapter 2, the free production system will be adopted in fields where the planned economy is not applied, and in the communist economy, the concept of exchange value will disappear, and a world centered on use value will arrive. As a result, there remains a kind of competitive relationship over the true value of products, namely how to produce high-quality, easy-to-use, and long-lasting products.

In a communist society, competition will generally change into a "co-running."

4.4. Ultimate suicide prevention measures

With the decline of the culture of competition, it is predicted that there will be some important changes in terms of spiritual culture.

First of all, the number of people who lose the competition and choose death because they are unable to start over in life will decrease significantly. Of course, even in a communist society, the number of suicides will not be zero, but many of the causes of suicide will be limited to purely existential causes (such as illness and bereavement). In this respect, communism should be more effective in preventing suicide than any psychiatrist.

The other is that the number of people seeking salvation in religion may decrease. Since "relying on God when in trouble" is a common phenomenon throughout the world, people pray to God in societies with more problems.

Exhausted by capitalist competition, even if they do not commit suicide, there are many people who are attracted to spiritual things in search of "healing". So long as it actually heals the capitalist trauma--although here too there is always the danger of being caught by a counterfeit--religion is more than opium, despite Marx's famous proverb. The religious fervor of the Muslim world is the most bitter yet powerful illustration of this.

However, the culture of friendly rivalry and communist "co-running" will reduce social problems and limit the role of religion to that played by philosophy. It is in this sense that communism is atheistic, and it cannot imply religious oppression that deprives people of freedom of religion.