posted 7 years ago
First I must show a definition of terms. Without this, we may well (and with great rapidity), have a delightful conversation devolve into a logoconflagaration. I will here examine the two different concepts of permanent revolution spoken of by Karl Marx and Leon Trotsky respectively and their application to the revolutionary ideals of permaculture. I should note that my personal politics are Anarchist in nature, but I take time to study the ideas of many different thinkers, and can entertain ideas that I disagree with. So without further ado, here are the definitions as I understand them. Karl Marx believed that for a revolution to be successful, it had to be sustainable and able to be propagated by average people under any economic circumstance without the aid of leaders or vanguards, a true grassroots movement as it were. Trotsky believed that for revolution to be successful, it had to occur in places where Marx's preconditions for revolution (industrialization chief among them) had not yet ocurred as well as in developed nations, and that people must always strive for better conditions no matter their starting situation.
So in our terms, a permanent revolution would mean several things.
First is that for our revolution to succeed, we need to be able to do it no matter our economic status.
Second, we need independence from leadership. By that, I mean that we should stand on our own experimentation and not be afraid of failure should we stray from a particular formula set down by our heroes. It is perfectly okay to have esteem for the pioneers of our movement, but they are human and make mistakes like the rest of us.
Third, in order for permaculture to be accepted worldwide, it must be able to be utilized effectively without knowledge of industrial farming and without the specialty tools we use in wealthy nations. The agricultural revolution must be carried out for the benefit of all humanity, and by all of humanity.
Fourth, even if conditions and circumstances prevent immediate shift to permaculture, we should still strive to improve conditions for farmers and consumers. As unions practiced direct action and won us the 8 hr workday and the 5 day week, so will getting organized and working toward better conditions for farmers.
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