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Title: Universal Revolution Author: Chu Minyi Date: September-November 1907 Language: en Topics: Chinese Anarchism, revolution, China Source: From Robert Graham (Ed.), Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas; Volume One: From Anarchy to Anarchism (300 CE to 1939). https://libcom.org/library/anarchism-documentary-history-libertarian-ideas-volume-1-2
NO REVOLUTION, NO SOCIAL PROGRESS. When justice flourishes, revolution
approaches justice as well as peace. In the past, bloody destruction was
called revolution. Nowadays, ideas in speeches and books can result in
revolution. Everybody knows justice. Everyone will resist that which
does not accord with justice. Therefore, might cannot arbitrarily
repress the masses; the rich cannot enslave people. Government cannot
abuse its power; money cannot buy ease. If nobody wants to be a soldier,
armies cannot form, and war ends automatically. If nobody wants to
accept the law, reward and punishment will be ineffective, and people
will automatically break away from regulation. When might is overthrown,
everybody can fulfill his position and get what he needs. They can work
and study freely and enjoy freedom ...
Revolution relies on justice. Might does not accord with justice. So
revolution is against might. Government is the most powerful location of
might. So to oppose might is to overthrow government. However,
opposition to government must be approved by the majority. Now is still
not the time. The majority are still restricted by morality, indulging
their interests and reputation, and afraid of misfortune. In most cases,
people who assist might will damage others’ interests and benefit
themselves. This causes the society of inequality. Therefore,
revolutions in this century are still not peaceful. Relying on weaponry,
government protects its regime with guns. How could revolutionaries
fight government in the battlefield? Illegally smuggling weaponry is
strictly forbidden; drilling the army underground is prohibited. Th is
is still not the time to use the revolutionary army to overthrow
government. If everyone agrees with popularizing revolution, might will
fa ll down automatically.
When justice is apparent, people will know the necessity of revolution
and understand that revolution is evolution. The more people endorse it,
the easier to realize it, and the quicker progress is made. If
revolution is endorsed just by one person or a few people, it will be
more dangerous and progress very slowly, because the majority will still
not understand its necessity and will oppose it. Revolution kills people
like flies and disasters always happen ...If revolution is endorsed by
most people, it will be less dangerous and progress very quickly,
because few people will oppose it. So revolution succeeds by the
majority’s agreement. If revolution is endorsed by everybody, it is
peaceful and also progresses very quickly because there is no more
opposition. Everything which accords with justice will be carried out
accordingly; everything which violates justice will be discarded
accordingly. This is what is called social revolution.
Government relies on weaponry to protect might. It can abuse its power.
Since civilians have no arms, they have to tolerate what the government
does to them ... In pre-modern times, if government did not follow the
way, people could protest and overthrow it. Nowadays there is a popular
adage, “Guns fire and revolutionary armies die out.” Might uses weaponry
to consolidate itself. So if we are going to overthrow government, we
must first destroy its base. The only way is to oppose weaponry, and let
those who are oppressed by might be aware of the fact that weaponry only
victimizes their property and lives to ensure might’s personal property
and interests. Moreover, killing somebody for no reason is the most
inhuman conduct. People who understand this will not be willing to do
it. If everyone has the same idea, weaponry will be automatically
discarded and government will lose its foundation. Even though there is
no revolutionary army, government will be destroyed by itself.
Otherwise, if we also advocate the weaponry that might relies on,
although it is not used for conquering the land to serve our own
interests and we just want to use it once to kill the enemy of humanity,
we can only hope that it will work forever. The enemy of humanity uses
weaponry to protect its might, oppress and exploit people, and oppose
revolution. How could we still advocate and encourage weaponry? For me
the only way to eliminate the enemy of humanity is to popularize
revolution, vindicate justice, and educate soldiers in the common ways.
Otherwise, how could we persuade soldiers to turn their back when they
march for battle? If we could do this in the common ways, it would not
be necessary for us at the same time to advocate the expansion of
weaponry. We should protest it and make sure that might has no basis to
consolidate itself. If we advocate and expand it, and neglect
popularizing revolution and vindicating justice, people will be deceived
easily by the wrong, indulge in selfish interests forced on them by the
situation, and finally be used by might. It is like killing a person and
then placing the weapon in his hands. How dangerous it is!
... Those who with ambition advocate and expand military power with the
goal of revenge go against justice. Alas! I don’t know how to
distinguish these people from those who work for their own interests in
the name of the people. It also recalls to me the words, “violence
begets violence.”
So opposition to weaponry not only destroys governments’ power base, it
also avoids the killing caused by war. This is really the right way to
maintain humanity ...
Government relies on weaponry to secure itself, and at the same time
oppresses brave opponents. Relying on law, it also manages to restrict
opponents ...
The human being is human because of freedom. Restricted by others (thus
unfree), you are even inferior to the animal ... The law restricts
humankind and violates freedom. So the law does not accord with justice.
We should oppose it. Then might has no disguise to deceive and fool the
common people, and we break away from its restrictions to achieve
freedom. It is because the law violates freedom and does not accord with
justice that we should eliminate it. Then might has nothing to rely on
to restrict the people. And we get complete freedom ...
The mighty want to enjoy supreme glory forever. Unless they encourage
the commoners to sacrifice their lives and property for them, they must
submit to insult or rule by other powerful countries. Humiliation will
decrease their glory; submission will end it. Therefore, the idea that
people will be enslaved and live in pain if the country submits is in
the interests of the mighty. If there were no government that cared
about its glory and beat the drum of nationalism and militarism, how
could people belonging to two sides have different feelings? Although
there are ordinarily no wars between the two sides, why must there be
war despite the people? Benefiting themselves and imperiling
others-xenophobia and discrimination always originate from this. Alas!
Government actually ruins people’s minds and disturbs the peace ...
No government, no boundaries; no boundaries, universal harmony comes.
People will not enslave others, and vice versa; people will not depend
on others, and vice versa; people will not harm others, and vice versa.
This is what is called freedom, equality, and humanitarianism ...
When people are born into the world, they deserve to have clothing,
food, and housing. How could people born into the world have no clothing
to resist cold, no food to resist hunger, and no housing to resist
sunlight, dew, wind, frost, rain, and snow? If one starves or freezes to
death, this is society’s fault. Because of hunger and cold, more than
tens of millions of people die each year. Although clothes for the rich
pile up like a hill, food rises like a sea, they never think about the
poor people. The granary is full; the national treasury is substantial.
But the starving and frozen are everywhere. This is the result of the
private ownership of property. Workers who work hard all their lives
still cannot afford a life; sons of the rich who inherit property from
their ancestors lead parasitical lives. One is a life of toil, the other
of ease; one is a life of pain, the other of happiness. How unequal it
is... It is this private ownership that makes people struggle with each
other... Renting a piece of land, a single peasant cannot feed himself.
How can a family which has many members? Workers who enter a factory to
get a job must rely on capitalists. They work very hard everyday to
ensure food. Once they get sick or laid off, their families are thrown
into a terrible situation. Alas! If property is not eliminated, the gap
between the poor and the rich will become bigger. How can we tolerate
the fact that a few capitalists are satisfied with their ease, but a
great number of commoners end up with miserable lives? So to oppose
property is to eliminate capitalists’ ferocity and save commoners from
hardship. When private property is eliminated and property is
collectively owned, there will be no difference between the poor and
rich. Worries about hunger and coldness will end. People will work and
enjoy life together, work and rest together. Isn’t this the phenomenon
of communist society?
... Religion restricts the mind, hinders progress, and makes people
submissive. Superstition emerges out of it. Slavishness takes root from
obedience. So-called high priests and saints ... frightened people by
exploiting their weakness and their mortal fear of death; they animated
them by visions of immortal spirits. They terrified people by promising
harm for their dissolute lives ... They made people willing to abandon
life here and now in exchange for happiness in heaven ... They rendered
life an elusive dream, and the afterlife the real thing. Thus people
came to undervalue this life ...
Religion has been turned into the tool of government. It advances with
politics. Politics hinders the evolution of humanity visibly, religion
does this invisibly ... We should replace religion with education,
dispel superstition by science. How wrong it is for people to still
regard religion as the way to redemption!
... Religion is also the opposite of revolution. Revolution aims at
progress, religion adores conservation; revolution emphasizes action,
religion adores inaction. If we aim at progress, society will reform
daily. If we admire conservation, the world becomes more and more
corrupt. If we emphasize action, new enterprise and a new society emerge
daily. If we admire inaction, the abhorrent and disgusting become more
and more prevalent. So religion hinders the universalization of
revolution. To popularize revolution, we must oppose religion. Religion
will also delay the development of science. To develop science, we must
oppose religion. Therefore, opposition to religion must popularize
revolution and develop science ...
Revolutionaries are not viewed in a favourable light by most people who
cannot understand their ideas and methods of overthrowing government.
However, revolutionaries cannot allow might to tyrannize people and
hinder evolution. They have to practice assassination to kill one or two
enemies of humanity. They hope their action will make people more aware
of their plight, and also terrify the mighty ... Assassination will help
arouse revolutionary agitation and quicken social evolution. Once
agitation begins, the revolutionary engine will get started. Phony
revolutionaries use revolution as a pretext, and only care about their
own interests and fame. They easily retreat, or turn against revolution.
Real revolutionaries believe in truth and justice. They march forward
bravely. When might uses cruel killing and fierce torture to intimidate
people, its cruelty is instead manifested, which awakens those who trust
in the existing order and oppose revolutionaries. They start to
understand why anarchists kill the enemies of humanity and destroy
violent governments. Most truthful people do not dare to attack might
but submit to the existing order, and rebuke revolution. The assassins
not only arouse revolutionary agitation and jumpstart the engine of
revolution, they create revolutionary movements .
... Assassination is for the elimination of evil, not for one’s own
interests; for justice, not for fame; for the elimination of might, not
for revenge. If assassination is for personal interest, it is not
assassination but murder; if it is for fame, it is not assassination,
but gratuitous violence; if it is for revenge, it is not assassination,
but frantic killing. Only killing that has proper goals may be called
assassination. Only people who have courage and purpose may attempt it.
Assassination originates from extreme justice and sincerity. If people
just rely on courage and temporary anger to do it, they will never
understand the principle, and assassination will be used only for
personal interests. Or they just do it for revenge ... Alas! How can
this be assassination! Government slaughters the masses, and then relies
on the law to justify it as legal killing. If assassination does not
accord with justice, there would be no difference from government.
Assassins have to be benevolent and righteous people.
Why are the rich always happy and the poor prisoners of toil? Because
the rich rely on property to enslave the poor; they do not work but
enjoy ease and happiness. The poor work with neither ease nor happiness.
This is the greatest inequality. If we submit to it in order to maintain
humanity, the rich will get richer, the poor will get poorer. What is
the way to resist? Strikes, which serve to prevent the rich from using
their wealth to avoid hardship and impugn the poor ...
Strikes help workers break away from enslavement, but not for rest and
more money. Once they have eliminated enslavement, workers will not be
restricted by others; they will seek social reform, pursue public
welfare, work according to their ability, get what they need, bear the
same hardships, and enjoy the same ease and happiness. This is called
natural life.
Free work and natural life need the exercise not only of strength but
also of the mind. Workers can choose work according to their
temperament, and exercise both body and mind. The mind seeks knowledge;
the body pursues physical force. Use of the mind alone will result in
weak physical strength; use of the body alone will result in
underdeveloped mind. Neither is healthy. The mind should secure
strength; the body should secure the mind. Interdependence of the two is
the healthiest way ...
Those who get used to parochialism, and are consumed with self-interest,
cannot develop intellectually. When the intellect does develop, people
extend former love of king and family to love of country, former love of
one’s own body and parents to love of the race, and former love of
country and race to love of humankind and the world. Philanthropy is
natural. People always change their preference according to parochialism
and interests. However, once they overcome this, philanthropy can be
realized.
Parochialism is because of family. Family is because of marriage. If we
want to eliminate custom, we must start with the family. To eliminate
family, we must eliminate marriage. When marriage is eliminated, family
cannot come into being. Then people will rise above their own interests.
If there is no parochialism, then people will help each other. Then
people from all over the world will belong to one family. The world can
thus achieve great harmony. Then there is no difference between king and
minister, father and son, husband and wife, and brothers. There is only
friends’ love . So love can be universal.
Interests are people’s key concerns. They struggle for subsistence. The
superior win and the inferior lose. Their struggle is over clothing,
food, and housing. Therefore, private property is highly valued. Because
individuals are weak, they gather together. When the group is big and
powerful, they always win; when the group is small and weak, they always
lose ... They have to set up government to maintain their advantages.
Thus national boundaries are set lip. Therefore, to eliminate interest,
we must start with national boundaries. To eliminate national
boundaries, we must start with private property. When private property
has been eliminated, there will be no way to determine national and
racial boundaries. Then people will abandon ideas of interest. Humankind
will achieve equality and enjoy great harmony. There will be no national
and racial boundaries, but only philanthropy. love will thus be
universal.