Why 14th March 2005 is Not a Leftist Revolution

I remember few weeks after 14th March 2005 took place, (which I was participant in), plenty people told me that this was either the workers' revolution or the marxist revolution, or simply the leftist revolution. I would like to skim through that a bit and see:

First: In order to develop a workers' revolution, you need class awareness:

In this case, it was a sectarian line-up to oppose syrian presence in Lebanon specially when MP Bahia Harriri called the Sunni to come down to the streets in reaction to Nasrallah's "crowd" along with his allies. Marxists argue plenty of times that the workers' revolution is when the workers hit the streets and throw down the government. We may believe in hitting the barricades, not grabbing AK47s, to defend the demonstrators. The revolution may end up bloody because the tyrannical government would shoot the defenders of the workers' rights. Class awareness takes place due to either economic crisis or the Marxist movement is highly active in preaching the workers their rights and their capacities.

Second: Workers' Revolution annhilates Feudal or Semi-Feudal systems

In such a case, I do not recall in the name of the workers the demonstrators went down. They went down to establish to hail anti-Syrians logans and demand the truth (a la Future Harriri owned TV style). Perhaps a small faction went down in hope of better work conditions, but that was not the case as none of the speakers spoke of class struggle and how the rich are getting richer at the people's expense. Interesting enough, we got plenty of feudal titles bestowed upon the heroes of 14th March: Sheikhs and Beiks, if only we had prince Talal Irslan, then we would have had a prince as well. It is noted that plenty of the figures of 14th March inheritted their positions from their families.

Third: Workers' Revolution demands a better work conditions and tends to Nationalize Means of Production for the Proletariat's sake

Currently, the Future Block led by MP S. Hariri (who has a Prime Minister) are celebrating the closeness of Lebanon of entering the WTO and assisting the IMF in liberating the already liberated Market, but within IMF standards and general agreements. The Workers' conditions are doomed to become worse as the gigantic Transnational Corporations are going to invade Lebanon with their dumping policy of wiping out domestic production. Minister of Agriculture already celebrates the abolishion of domestic agriculture is good in face of international corporations specialized in those. Just ask any of the anti-WTO activist organizations in Lebanon. Plenty of workers will be replaced with foreign cheaper labor (as the international standards of WTO indicate in terms of free market), and the Proletariat will be thrown out of work while the newly immigrant ones will suffer racism. Already Lebanon has foreign labor that undergoes partially racism.

Fourth: The Head of the Workers' Revolution is the People's Party

Well, on 14th of March, indeed it was a good day to get rid of Syrian monopoly over Lebanese economic market (and controling the elites for their national and economic securities), and it is good to disregard French and U.S. pressures on Syria as well as the entire international community that condemned Syria's interventions in post-R. Hariri's assasination era. In a workers' revolution, it is the priority that the people's party (in such a case real Marxist Party) to lead , after all it is such a party that teaches the rest their rights and hence the multiplication factor continues. In 14th March, we had two parties that had leftist names: the Progressive Socialist Party and Democratic Leftist Movement. The PSP have a Baik for a leader who inherited his position from his father. To continue a bit more, they are a party that represents the Sect of Druze and one of the three sectarian major parties. The other are the Democratic Leftist Movement, who I mentioned a lot earlier, and had nothing to do in terms of balance of power. They are one of the small parties that bandwagoned with the stronger right winged parties in order to make it. Their central committees privately say screw our allies, but at least we are changing Lebanon for the better. No Workers' movement can change Lebanon for the better unless they are at the top of the pyramid guiding the workers for their victory. Lenin always made sure that the participants used to know exactly why they were undergoing a revolution, while Trotsky focused on the importance of knowledge as a power for the workers. The DLMs preach an elite style of Leftism where a person allies with the right wing to get a chair in the parlaiment and change in the topic, disregarding the fact that their allies would never approve of such policies ( they produce any).

Fifth, The Workers' Revolution Causes a Chain Reaction through out the Region

This comes in the line of the Permenant Revolution Theory. The concept is that once a real Marxist revolution takes place, it will cause a chain of revolutions through out the region. This what the October Revolution caused in 1917. Afterwards 6 nations decided to join the Union, and a huge chain of revolutions took place globally. No wonder John Reed called his Book: "Ten Days that Shook the World." In Lebanon, we simply replaced one class of Bourgeoisie with another. It is exactly what Marx and Engels describe in the simple but astonishing book "The Communist Manifesto", that plenty of revolutions are led by bourgeoisie against others for profit maximizing goals. After all, more money means more social strengths. The "Revolution" was nothing but international pressures, or else to borrow an idea of aMarxist from Israel/Palestine that focuses on the theme if the Lebanese "Demonstration/Revolution" was really a workers' revolution, not only the Arab nations will stop it militarily, but even Israel will assist them. This was just a sectarian block allied against a Sect and its political allies who are in allegiance to Syria. Sadly, such a movement ended up with ultra-Lebanese nationalism and its DLM faction as the fascists within it (rather the Phalangists) since Fascism is simply in a summary of a mathmatical equation: Fascism = Socialism + Ultra-Nationalism. To focus 14th March's ultra-nationalistic factor, they hail Lebanon first logic, and sadly the leftists think in terms of workers as well because politically the country can not support currently to think of social welfare or workers' rights...

Sixth, The Workers' Revolution Eliminates on the Spot the Top of the Pyramid

Sadly, I see the ever corrupted President of Lebanon Lahoud still on the top. 14th March preach the majority's will, and already dominate the majority of parlaiment, yet they need to reconcile with the 8th of March to mutually agree on plenty of points (rather blame everything on the President remaining in power rather their screw-ups on a national scale). I also know that the new leaders are nothing more than the Proletariat themselves, not the almost the same families who existed during the war, or played a role (even secondary) in the sectarian war of Lebanon.

I have more to say, but I think these six points will do, as I will get more references on the topic.

Yours Truely
MFL