Novara Media Novara FM: What Communism Actually Is w/ Jasper Bernes
May 22, 2025
Jasper Bernes, a Communist writer and author of 'The Future of Revolution,' shares insights on the essence of communism and historical movements. He discusses the lessons from the Paris Commune, emphasizing creating new governing structures for the working class. Additionally, Bernes dives into the challenges of worker autonomy and the relationship between climate change and social justice within a revolutionary context. He critiques capitalism's influence on value and advocates for transparency while exploring how collective action can lead to true social change.
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Marx's Paris Commune Insight
- Marx saw in the Paris Commune that the working class cannot just use existing state machinery for its purposes.
- He viewed the Commune's delegate structure as a model for revolutionary communism that needed to abolish the bourgeois state.
Workers' Councils vs Paris Commune
- Workers' councils differ from the Paris Commune by restricting delegate roles explicitly to workers.
- This proletarian limitation expresses Marx's dictatorship of the proletariat as direct workers' control.
Communes' Ambiguity and Councils' Aim
- The Commune's openness allowed potential liberal appropriation if it only reorganized government.
- Councils aimed to reorganize the economy on communist principles, beyond just democratic government.
