The Way Forward

Michael Albert's presentation ["Anti Capitalist Strategy: Opening Presentation by Michael Albert for A Debate on Anti Capitalist Strategy (with John Holloway)", January 26, 2006] at the World Social Forum of the Americas lays out nothing less than the proper roadmap for worldwide revolution.

His talk briefly expands upon the immensely valuable contributions he and Robin Hahnel have made to theories of economic vision and democratic structure (see parecon.org). While I identify as an anarchist, the inadequate ideology of most strains of anarchism has long frustrated me. This short passage resolves two centuries of inept debate between anarchists and Marxists:

Winning the state isn't the goal. Eliminating the state isn't the goal.

Turning the state, or polity, into what we desire partly by transforming it and partly by creating new structures that will replace it, is our goal - or it should be.

Applying those principles to Venezuela, Albert continues:

In this last case the Venezuelan example, the Bolivarian Revolution, throws up incredible hope and also some worry.

That Venezuela has embarked on creating institutions of direct self management is inspiring and I think hopeful for the whole world.

That this is being initiated not so much from the bottom up, but rather at the initiative and with the full force of the existing government - which is in some sense trying to build its own replacement - is both remarkable, I think pretty much unprecedented, and certainly very hopeful, but it is also a little worrying.

It is what should be done by a revolutionary government, I think.

But the sooner the initiative and energy of popular movements in local communities and institutions throughout Venezuela starts being the driving force, the better, I also think.