John Riddell: On the democratic character of socialist revolution

John Riddell writes On the democratic character of socialist revolution.

All experience shows that the electoral process under capitalism is constrained by the surrounding institutions of the capitalist state and economy, which prevent elected governments, under most conditions, from initiating radical social change.

Movements for social change usually run far ahead of the electoral process or bypass it entirely. For example, the great mass movement in the U.S. for Afro-American human rights in the 1950s and 1960s gained ground through a campaign of non-violent mass action that defied existing segregationist laws and endured fierce and brutal police repression and rightist violence. Dozens of activists for Black freedom were murdered before their movement won significant legislative support.

In a similar way, the movement for abortion rights in Canada mobilized in the streets in the face of a campaign of widespread rightist violence that killed ten supporters of abortion rights in the U.S. and attacked many others in Canada. The movement in Canada openly defied existing prohibitions, winning mass support to the degree that the reactionary law against on a woman’s right to choose became unenforceable. Only at that point did parliament take action, repealing the reactionary law.

Great social movements redefine legality and human rights, setting in motion a process of change that becomes irresistible. Socialists utilize electoral opportunities while recognizing that they are far from the whole story.

A workers’ government committed to socialism will probably be achieved as the democratic ratification of a program that has already gained majority support through discussion and mobilization among the population at large.

Emphasis Mine

Riddell contends that too many Socialists are enamoured of the insurrectionist nature of the Bolshevik revolution. This has enabled the security services to persecute Socialists in preventing the overthrow of the State.

Riddell argues correctly that Socialists should work for the expansion of democratic rights with the view to transition to a Socialist state through democratic means. In 1917, this path was blocked by the provisional government as it flirted with a military dictatorship in order to suppress the Workers' Soviets. Then the insurrection became self-defense.