Communist Revolution in the US?

tqm111

Banned
I was just reading the Wikipedia article on the First Red Scare (1919) and it made me wonder about a Communist revolution in the US.

Seems that the major successful communist revolutions (Russia, China, Cuba) happened in places where the government was rotten soft so it could be toppled.

That was not the US in 1919, but there was a series of events: The Seattle General Strike, two waves of mail bombings, the Boston Police Strike, the Steel Strike, the Coal Strike, all in one year. Combine this with a president who stroked out in Oct of 1919...

Idk, could it have happened?

And if not in 1919, then when?
 
Damn unlikely, all Communist revolutions occured in relatively backward areas with weak governments(Russia, China, Cuba). The US was neither of these things in 1919. Best bet would be 1933 which was the worst year of the Great Depression and even that is a long shot.
 
If I might point out Jello_Biafra's excellent TL series Reds! which showcases the path to a communist America, the affects on the world stage of, and glimpses of the future. The first part deals more with the path to a successful revolution, and the second deals with the aftermath and the future. As well, there is the special edition which is being reworked and uploaded to the Timelines and Scenarios board.

All in all its one of the best TLs I've seen in this community. Very well written, and very well researched.
 

Technocrat

Banned
I was just reading the Wikipedia article on the First Red Scare (1919) and it made me wonder about a Communist revolution in the US.

Seems that the major successful communist revolutions (Russia, China, Cuba) happened in places where the government was rotten soft so it could be toppled.

That was not the US in 1919, but there was a series of events: The Seattle General Strike, two waves of mail bombings, the Boston Police Strike, the Steel Strike, the Coal Strike, all in one year. Combine this with a president who stroked out in Oct of 1919...

Idk, could it have happened?

And if not in 1919, then when?

The Chinese Revolution wasn't communist. Sun Yat Sen was a bit of a social democrat or a Christian socialist or Left populist though I think.
 
Norton's Law:
68. If You Remove A Moderate Solution To A Problem, And The Problem Still Persists, A More Radical Solution Will Come In To Take It's Place.

That means:


  • Prevent workers rights
  • Prevent social safety nets where it concerns consumers and workers, working conditions, pay, etc.
  • Prevent Trust Busting and Monopolization
  • Prevent Welfare Laws
 

Spengler

Banned
get some of the trust busting laws repealed in the twenties than have al smith elected in 1928, 1929 the crash happens smith isn't agresssive enough fighting the depression and a liaizze faire fan gets elected in 1932 from the republicans who decides to do away with the attempted reforms of smith, Around 1935 the shit hits the fan.
 
Probably not enough. The US simply wasn't the politically weak and technologically backward country in the 1930s that China, Russia and Cuba were during their revolutions.
 
Any communist revolution isn't going to have sway over the entire continental U.S., that's for sure.

Probably deep south, depending on how much of the black population supports the revolution. Midwest as well. I don't see New England supporting revolution either, though it would be easier to coerce them than say, Alabama.

It would be concentrated in urban areas, like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan. In fact, it would probably be the closest revolution to that of Marx's original envisioning: industrial workers seizing the means of production for an industrial society.

Nevermind the fact that it was near impossible to launch.
 
Probably deep south, depending on how much of the black population supports the revolution. Midwest as well. I don't see New England supporting revolution either, though it would be easier to coerce them than say, Alabama.

It would be concentrated in urban areas, like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan. In fact, it would probably be the closest revolution to that of Marx's original envisioning: industrial workers seizing the means of production for an industrial society.

Nevermind the fact that it was near impossible to launch.
America is unique from Europe in that rural areas were not reactionary strongholds during the critical period for a communist revolution. In Europe, the Social Democrats and Labourites had their influence entirely contained in the urban centers of the country.

In the US, the Socialist Party had mass support in the rural Western states. Prairie socialism is a phenomena that American and Canada experienced due to a lack of a feudal economic past. A stronger farmer-labor alliance is certainly possible in the United States.

In any event, a communist revolution would have significant support from the rural proletariat and yeoman farmers in the West.
 
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