There are no models or blueprints for building socialism. Nor is there a blueprint for the revolutionary transition from capitalism to socialism. It will be the product of a complex process. Real people will orchestrate that process. People who are consciously and creatively re-shaping their conditions of existence in order to make their lives more livable, secure, enjoyable and meaningful, will orchestrate it.

The transition to a socialist USA will be shaped by our country’s unique history and culture. Its wonderfully diverse working class and people will shape it.

The means to achieve this goal will have to correspond to the end– solidarity, empathy, equality community, compassion and a dedication to putting people and our planet before profits. The movement that leads this transition must itself be deeply democratic and inclusive. It must express the highest moral and ethical values. It must value the warmth of community, but also respect the rights and dignity of the individual.

Communists don’t agree with the view of some that a socialist revolution is can only be brought on by a general strike or a collapse of the economy. We don’t agree that it is inevitably violent. On the contrary, a socialist revolution is not a single cataclysmic event. Rather, it will span an era of transition – of radical economic, political, social and cultural change.  The electoral process will be part of that process. It will be a deeply democratic process, one that unleashes the creative energy of millions of people in motion.

John Bachtell

National Chair, CPUSA

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