The Communist Revolution Takes Place Simultaneously

Marx and Engels’ vision on the process of communist revolution.

In 1846, Marx and Engels criticized the poor, local communism in The German Ideology, pointing out: “Communism is only possible as the act of the dominant peoples ‘all at once’ and simultaneously, which presupposes the universal development of productive forces and the world intercourse bound up with communism.” In 1847, Engels further elaborated in his Principles of Communism: “It follows that the communist revolution will not merely be a national phenomenon but must take place simultaneously in all civilized countries—that is to say, at least in England, America, France, and Germany. It will develop in each of these countries more or less rapidly, according as one country or the other has a more developed industry, greater wealth, a more significant mass of productive forces. Hence, it will go slowest and will meet most obstacles in Germany, most rapidly and with the fewest difficulties in England. It will have a powerful impact on the other countries of the world and will radically alter the course of development which they have followed up to now, while greatly stepping up its pace. It is a universal revolution and will, accordingly, have a universal range.” The Communist Manifesto called on communists of all countries to unite and achieve communist revolution. “Though not in substance, yet in form, the struggle of the proletariat with the bourgeoisie is at first a national struggle. The proletariat of each country must, of course, first of all settle matters with its own bourgeoisie.” Since then, when Marx summed up the 1848 Revolutions in Europe and the 1871 Paris Commune Revolution, he still repeatedly talked about the idea of the “simultaneous generation”. In his later years, as for the future revolution in Europe, Engels predicted that the French would open fire, and the Germans would decide the battle.

The above shows that Marx and Engels have habitually restricted the “simultaneous generation” of the communist revolution to civilized countries, and distinguished the generation, development and realization of the revolution.

The “simultaneous generation” rests upon the world nature of the communist revolution. With the rapid development of capitalist large-scale industry, socialized large-scale production has gone beyond the boundaries of nations and countries, opened up a world market and formed a world system; the intercourse between people gained a universal development, and the world has increasingly formed two antagonistic classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The proletariat has common interests and common enemies, which determines the international nature of the cause of proletarian emancipation and the necessity of united struggle. Capital is an international force, and the proletariat in any country can hardly repel its encirclement and suppression, let alone eliminate the bourgeoisie in one country. The world nature of the capitalist system and class struggle determines that the communist revolution is not partial or local, but necessarily a united, all-round, consistent and world revolution.

The course of the communist revolution varies from time to time and from place to place. Western Europe was regarded as the heart of capital. In the epoch of liberal capitalism, Marx and Engels imagined that revolution would first take place simultaneously in developed civilized countries, and then affect other backward countries. The “simultaneous generation” is not simultaneous revolutions and simultaneous victories of several countries, but rather that one country will launch (initiate, start) and that several countries will link up one after another in order to cope with the siege of capital, safeguard the revolutionary power and avoid a common defeat. Even if the communist revolution develops into a world revolution, every country will first revolutionize its own bourgeoisie, neither starting at the same time, nor winning in one country first. The situation varies from country to country, and revolutions develop faster or slower, harder or easier. The realization of communism requires joint efforts from all countries, and it is by no way possible for one or several countries to succeed. Marx and Engels insisted on combining the pioneering and flexible nature of revolutions of all countries with the bond of brotherhood of internationalism, which incites them to stand firmly by each other, and by bringing the advanced to the backward, moving from the point to the surface, from different paths to the same destination finally abolishing capitalism throughout the world, emancipating all mankind and replacing it with an association of free men without classes and exploitation, i.e., communist society. This is the ultimate aim of the simultaneous generation of the communist revolution and the proletarian revolution.