MIA > Archive > C.L.R. James > Gathering Forces
Few words have suffered more grievously from distortion and manipulation than “socialism” and “democracy”. At the root of the pre-occupation with what may seem to be mere words is the revolutionary promise of decision-making by the great masses of the population. Two central events, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the Cuban Revolution of 1958 and thereafter, demonstrate that mass direct democracy is the basis for socialism, not fixed categories of “party”, plan”, and “vanguard”. From our analysis of these two revolutions, conclusions will present themselves to the otherwise complicated query about what is socialism for our time.
Last updated on 18 October 2020