How Socialists Resist Rightist Coups: Lessons from the Early Communist International
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- Published on Tuesday, 12 January 2021 04:32
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How Socialists Resist Rightist Coups: Lessons from the Early Communist International
John Riddell
Parliaments and elections are no guarantee of democratic rights and fair treatment for working people. Capitalist forces displeased with an electoral outcome are all too likely to take direct action to impose their will, whether by financial manipulations, economic blockades, or military coups.
Even apparently stable parliamentary regimes in dominant countries can be challenged in this way. So it was that a military revolt brought down the French Fourth Republic in 1958 and, in 2020-21, Donald Trump mounted a campaign including an apparent coup attempt aiming to overturn the outcome of the US presidential election.
Socialists are challenged... to actively oppose rightist coup attempts without lending support to any wing of the ruling capitalist class.
This challenge has come up repeatedly during the history of socialism. Let us survey a portion of the record: the Russian revolution of 1917 and the experience in Europe during the next six years. During this period, the workers’ movement in Europe faced four major rightist coup attempts.
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