We Reject Silence in the Face of Oppression and Submission to Outdated Thinking; We Have Chosen the Path of Revolutionary Transformation!

Published: 2026-10-08

Author / editor: Hassanpour
Introduction: We Have a Responsibility to History!

We refuse to remain silent in the face of oppression, because silence in the face of injustice, when the possibility exists to understand, protest, and struggle for change, can contribute to the continuation of those relations that deprive human beings of freedom, equality, and a dignified life. We refuse to submit to outdated thinking, because no society can advance towards a more humane future by glorifying backwardness, worshipping supposedly unchangeable traditions, and endlessly repeating the past.

We have chosen the path of revolutionary transformation—not out of fleeting excitement, not to acquire fame or status, and not to replace one ruling group with another, but because we believe that human society, with all its complexities and contradictions, is a product of history and that its social relations can be transformed by conscious and organised human beings.

We belong to a generation that refuses to remain on the margins of history; a generation that must learn, think, understand reality, draw lessons from past experiences, and accept responsibility for the challenges of its time. For us, being revolutionary is, first and foremost, more than a political label: it is a conscious commitment to humanity, society, and the future.

Yet we must make one thing clear from the outset: revolutionary passion without scientific understanding becomes fruitless excitement; revolutionary thought disconnected from the realities of people’s lives remains confined to abstraction; and the ideal of social justice, without organisation, discipline, criticism, and conscious action, cannot become an effective force for transformation.

Our struggle must therefore be, at one and the same time, a struggle to transform society and to elevate our own political consciousness.

I. Society Must Be Understood, Not Merely Addressed with Slogans

Marxism begins with a fundamental question: How do human beings live, how do they satisfy their material needs, how do they produce, and how are their economic and social relations formed?

This question takes us beyond appearances and directs us towards an examination of the deeper structures of society.

From the standpoint of historical materialism, the history of human societies cannot be explained solely through the will of individuals, the decisions of leaders, or changes in ideas. The mode of production of material life, relations of production, class structures, and social contradictions play fundamental roles in shaping historical transformations. Politics, culture, ideology, and human agency also exert influence in this process, and the relationships among these factors are complex and reciprocal.

Society cannot be understood outside history, just as poverty cannot be regarded merely as the result of individual laziness, inequality as the consequence of natural differences between human beings, or deprivation as the unchangeable destiny of nations.

When a large section of the population remains deprived of decent work, education, essential services, and equal opportunities, the task of critical thought is to move beyond merely describing people’s suffering and investigate its economic, political, and social roots.

What relations reproduce these forms of deprivation? Who benefits from their continuation? Which social forces possess the capacity to transform these relations? And what conditions are necessary for the conscious organisation of those forces?

These are questions to which a serious political force must seek answers through research, analysis, and engagement with the realities of people’s lives.

For us, Marxism is not a collection of memorised phrases. It is a method for critically understanding society and guiding conscious action. Its value does not lie in repeating its name; its value lies in our ability to use scientific methods to understand the concrete reality of our society and explore genuine paths towards its transformation.

II. Afghanistan: Historical Wounds and the Necessity of Social Transformation

Afghanistan is a country whose people have endured the heavy burdens of wars, foreign interventions, struggles for power, poverty, instability, and deprivation throughout history. Successive generations have paid a terrible price for crises whose consequences continue to cast a shadow over the lives of millions.

Yet the historical suffering of a nation does not, by itself, guarantee its liberation. Experience has shown that people can live through years of suffering without properly understanding its causes; repeatedly speak of freedom while reproducing the very relations that restrict it; and defend social justice without possessing a clear and practical programme for achieving it.

We must therefore examine Afghanistan’s contemporary history with intellectual courage—not to glorify the past uncritically, nor to reject all its achievements, but to understand its accomplishments, failures, contradictions, and historical lessons.

No political experience should be exempt from criticism. No historical figure should be allowed to replace scientific understanding. No great ideal should become an excuse for ignoring mistakes, limitations, or the unintended consequences of political decisions.

We must learn to distinguish between the ideal of social justice and the methods used to achieve it; draw a clear line between the goal of human emancipation and actions that may conflict with that goal; and distinguish fidelity to principles from the uncritical repetition of past experiences.

Afghanistan needs a way of thinking that does not regard poverty as destiny, present inequality as natural, justify the deprivation of women, or turn backwardness into an unchangeable privilege in the name of tradition.

Our society needs a programme that begins with Afghanistan’s concrete realities; examines its economic and class structures, the condition of its workforce, relations of ownership, the education crisis, the deprivation of women, economic dependency, foreign interventions, and the weakness of social institutions; and uses this understanding to explore realistic paths towards change.

If revolutionary transformation in Afghanistan is to move beyond slogans, it must begin with a scientific understanding of Afghan society.

III. Oppression, Exploitation, and Class Contradictions: Why Is Change Necessary?

In his analysis of capitalism, Marx demonstrated that relations of production and ownership of the means of production play fundamental roles in shaping society’s class structure and the distribution of wealth and power. Under capitalism, the worker’s labour-power becomes a commodity bought and sold in the market, while a substantial portion of the value produced accrues to the owners of capital.

From a Marxist perspective, exploitation does not simply mean that an employer treats a worker cruelly. Its roots lie in the structure of relations of production. Even when relations between individuals appear outwardly normal, the relationship between capital and labour may remain founded upon inequalities in ownership and economic power.

However, class analysis must not be reduced to a mechanical formula. Different societies possess different historical and social structures, and understanding each society requires examining its particular conditions.

In Afghanistan, too, we cannot provide an accurate picture of social contradictions without investigating relations of ownership, production, the labour market, the informal economy, rural and urban relations, economic dependency, and the structure of power.

Nevertheless, one principle is clear: if our objective is to liberate human beings from poverty and exploitation, we must address the structural roots of these phenomena rather than merely confront their visible consequences.

A society in which wealth and opportunities are distributed profoundly unequally, workers lack adequate security and rights, education becomes a privilege available only to a limited section of the population, and a large proportion of people are excluded from meaningful participation in public decision-making requires critical examination and fundamental changes to its economic and political relations.

From this perspective, the struggle for social justice is not merely a moral aspiration. It is an effort to transform the material conditions of human life and expand the opportunities for people to participate freely and equally in society.

We support a society in which no person is deprived of fundamental rights because of poverty, gender, ethnic affiliation, language, belief, or social position; a society in which human labour is valued, social wealth serves people’s genuine needs, and no group can impose its own interests upon society in the name of a common destiny.

Such an ideal cannot be realised without a scientific understanding of social relations and an organised struggle to transform them.

IV. Outdated Thinking: A High Wall Against Freedom of Thought

Outdated thinking does not simply mean adherence to the traditions of the past. No tradition is worthless merely because it is old, just as no idea is necessarily true merely because it is new.

The problem begins when tradition becomes an instrument for preventing questions; when authority replaces argument; when people are made afraid of independent thought; and when every critical voice is met with humiliation, threats, or social exclusion rather than reasoned responses.

A society in which questioning is treated as a moral offence gradually loses its capacity to understand and reform itself. Thought that evades criticism ceases to pursue truth and instead concentrates on protecting its own position.

From the perspective of dialectical materialism, reality is in motion and undergoing change, while human understanding must also develop through continuous engagement with reality, experience, and criticism. No concrete analysis can remain sufficient for all time without taking changing historical conditions into account.

For this reason, we oppose dogmatism, blind imitation, and the treatment of theory as a collection of unquestionable commandments.

Being a Marxist-Leninist does not mean suspending thought. It means committing ourselves to the scientific investigation of society, understanding its contradictions, analysing class relations, and connecting theory with practice.

We must learn to engage critically and thoughtfully with the ideas of others; to prefer argument over assertion, research over rumour, and understanding over prejudice.

A revolution in thought does not begin by humiliating people. It begins by expanding awareness, strengthening the capacity for independent judgement, and creating conditions in which people can think freely, ask questions, and respond to reasoned arguments.

We aspire to a society in which knowledge prevails over ignorance, critical dialogue over the imposition of opinions, and freedom of thought over fear and self-censorship.

V. Women: Free Human Beings and Builders of Society, Not Prisoners of Discrimination

No discussion of human emancipation is complete if half of society remains deprived of its fundamental rights.

Depriving women of education, employment, political participation, and free participation in social life is not only a violation of their human rights; it is also a serious obstacle to the scientific, economic, and cultural development of society as a whole.

In Afghanistan, restrictions imposed upon women and girls have narrowed the horizons of millions of lives and deprived the country of the free participation of a substantial part of its intellectual, scientific, and social potential in shaping the future.

No society can claim to be progressing while its girls are denied education; it cannot claim to uphold justice while its women lack equal employment and social opportunities; and it cannot call itself free if the freedom of half its population depends upon the decisions and will of others.

From a Marxist perspective, the question of women’s emancipation must be examined in relation to economic relations, the social division of labour, ownership, family structures, and historical conditions. Yet this structural analysis must not lead to the neglect of specific forms of gender discrimination. The struggle for women’s equality requires confronting the legal, economic, cultural, and political barriers that restrict their freedom and equal participation.

Women’s emancipation cannot be postponed to an indefinite future. Legal equality, the right to education, the right to work, security, individual autonomy, and political participation are inseparable components of any serious programme for the progressive transformation of society.

We defend a society in which women are neither subordinate to men’s will, nor instruments for preserving traditional relations, nor second-class citizens, but free and conscious human beings enjoying equal rights.

Without women’s emancipation, the emancipation of society remains incomplete. Any movement that speaks of social justice but fails in practice to struggle for women’s equality creates a fundamental contradiction between its ideals and its actions.

VI. The Revolutionary Generation: From Political Passion to Consciousness and Responsibility

Being part of a revolutionary generation means more than possessing intense emotions, speaking in grand words, or repeating passionate slogans.

A revolutionary generation must possess the ability to think independently, analyse critically, learn continuously, and accept responsibility. It must be able to distinguish reality from aspiration, possibility from illusion, and scientific analysis from unsupported claims.

If we wish to play an effective role in transforming society, we must first elevate ourselves from the level of consumers of slogans to that of producers of thought and knowledge.

A comrade who speaks of exploitation must study relations of production and class structures. Anyone who defends social justice must learn about political economy, the history of the labour movement, and the experiences of liberation struggles. Anyone who advocates women’s emancipation must understand the realities of discrimination and the structural obstacles to equality. And anyone who advocates transforming Afghanistan must examine the history of their own country through a critical and scientific perspective.

We need to study systematically the works of Marx, Engels, and Lenin. Yet studying classical theories without understanding contemporary developments and Afghanistan’s specific conditions is not enough. We must also take seriously history, economics, sociology, philosophy, political science, and the actual experiences of social struggles.

No one becomes knowledgeable merely by claiming to possess knowledge. No movement achieves political maturity by imagining itself immune to error. And no organisation can preserve its capacity to understand reality by closing the doors to criticism.

We must strengthen a culture of study, reasoned debate, comradely criticism, acceptance of responsibility, and honest evaluation of our own performance.

Criticism, when based on argument and directed towards improvement, is not the enemy of solidarity; it is one of the conditions for its growth. Discipline, too, is valuable when accompanied by consciousness, responsibility, and commitment to principles—not when it degenerates into thoughtless obedience and silence in the face of mistakes.

A revolutionary generation must begin with itself—not in the sense of reducing social transformation to individual self-improvement, but in the recognition that changing social relations requires conscious, responsible people capable of working collectively.

VII. The Revolutionary Party: Uniting Thought, Organisation, and Action

The history of social movements demonstrates that public discontent alone is insufficient to bring about lasting transformation. Discontent can become an effective social force when it is connected with an understanding of conditions, a clear programme, responsible organisation, and the conscious participation of the people.

From a Marxist-Leninist perspective, the revolutionary party has a role to play in understanding society’s contradictions, raising political consciousness, organising social forces, and developing a programme for change. Yet this role cannot be fulfilled merely through a name, a claim, or a declaration of loyalty to a particular theory. It must be demonstrated through practice, the quality of political thought, engagement with the people, and the ability to respond to society’s actual problems.

A party cannot replace society. It cannot think on behalf of the people while disregarding their will. Nor can it claim to fulfil its historical role merely by issuing statements and repeating political positions.

A political organisation can earn social trust when its words and actions are consistent, when it welcomes constructive criticism, when it is accountable for its performance, and when it places the public interest above individual or group privilege.

These responsibilities are equally fundamental for the New Standard-Bearers of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan. If we aspire to become an effective force in the struggle for social justice and progressive transformation in Afghanistan, we must strengthen our ability to understand society scientifically, develop a programme suited to the country’s conditions, train conscious cadres, expand the culture of study, and establish meaningful relationships with workers, labouring people, women, young people, intellectuals, and other social forces seeking change.

We must ask ourselves: How much concrete knowledge do we possess about the lives of Afghanistan’s workers and labouring people? What programme do we offer for expanding education and employment? How do we defend the rights of women and girls? What measures do we propose to reduce poverty and inequality? And how can we earn the people’s trust through responsible conduct and considered action?

The answers to these questions must emerge from research, dialogue with the people, scientific analysis, and an assessment of society’s actual possibilities.

A revolutionary party must be a school of consciousness, a space for cultivating critical thought, and an instrument for the responsible organisation of social forces—not a breeding ground for personality cults, individual rivalries, or the endless repetition of slogans.

We need an organisation in which knowledge and commitment, criticism and discipline, solidarity and responsibility develop together.

VIII. Revolution Is the Science of Transformation, Not the Worship of Excitement

We speak of revolution, but we must properly understand the meaning of this word.

Social revolution cannot be defined merely by anger, haste, or the intensity of slogans. The fundamental transformation of society requires an understanding of social forces, power relations, economic and political contradictions, historical capacities, and the actual conditions for action.

Revolutionary commitment without analysis can lead to costly mistakes, just as analysis disconnected from people’s lives can remain confined to abstract discussions.

Our task is to establish a considered relationship between theory and practice, ideals and possibilities, will and understanding.

Lenin emphasised the importance of political organisation, the understanding of concrete conditions, and the connection between revolutionary theory and the actual movement. One of the important lessons of the Marxist-Leninist tradition is that revolutionary politics cannot be reduced to the mechanical repetition of historical experiences. The conditions of each country, the balance of social forces, the level of public consciousness, and its economic and political characteristics must be examined concretely.

For this reason, we must avoid uncritical imitation. The experiences of revolutions and movements around the world are important sources of knowledge and historical lessons, but no experience can replace an independent understanding of Afghanistan’s realities.

The path to social transformation must be based on study, conscious organisation, popular participation, the defence of human rights, and the continuous evaluation of the results of our actions.

We need a struggle that does not separate means from ends; a struggle that does not postpone freedom and justice to an uncertain future, but reflects them in our present relationships, political culture, and methods of action as well.

The objective of revolutionary transformation is to expand the possibilities for human emancipation. Therefore, consciousness, responsibility, human dignity, and the avoidance of imposing one’s will upon the people must remain at the centre of our political practice.

IX. Proletarian Internationalism and Solidarity Beyond Borders

Oppression, exploitation, and inequality do not stop at national borders. Capital, markets, production chains, economic powers, and geopolitical relations influence people’s lives internationally. Economic crises, wars, dependency, and competition among powers also produce consequences that extend beyond the borders of individual countries.

For this reason, within the Marxist-Leninist tradition, proletarian internationalism emphasises solidarity among workers and progressive forces worldwide in the struggle against exploitation and domination.

Yet internationalism does not mean indifference to the independence and interests of a country’s people, just as patriotism must not turn into hostility towards other nations.

We can simultaneously defend Afghanistan’s independence, oppose foreign interventions aimed at domination, and support solidarity among workers and labouring people throughout the world.

Opposition to the policies of a government must not become hatred directed against the people of that country. Political responsibility requires us to distinguish between peoples, governments, social classes, and specific policies.

Despite their historical and national differences, workers in Afghanistan and workers in other countries can share common interests in defending labour rights, fair wages, job security, the right to organise, and human dignity.

International solidarity acquires genuine meaning when it rests upon mutual understanding, respect for the independence of movements, the exchange of experiences, and cooperation towards shared objectives.

We aspire to a world in which the destinies of nations are not sacrificed to the rivalries of great powers, human and natural resources are not turned into instruments of domination, and cooperation among peoples replaces the creation of enemies and exploitation.

Afghanistan’s future is not separate from the future of the world. Overcoming dependency and poverty requires understanding international relations and developing relationships that strengthen political independence, economic capacity, and the interests of the people.

X. What Kind of Society Do We Want?

Every political movement must make clear not only what it opposes, but also what alternative it proposes.

We oppose structural poverty, exploitation, discrimination, deprivation of education, the denial of women’s rights, the suppression of freedom of thought, and relations that trample upon human dignity. But opposition alone is not a programme.

We must think clearly and responsibly about the society we seek to build.

We aspire to a society in which quality education is accessible to everyone; women and men enjoy equal rights; workers benefit from appropriate rights and employment security; poverty and deprivation are reduced through considered economic and social policies; and people can participate effectively in decisions concerning their own destiny.

We aspire to a social order in which public resources serve society’s actual needs, corruption and the pursuit of privilege are addressed, and opportunities for scientific, cultural, and economic development are not monopolised by a limited number of groups.

We aspire to a society in which ethnic affiliation, language, gender, belief, or social position cannot serve as a pretext for deprivation and discrimination; a society that recognises human diversity and strengthens social unity on the basis of equal rights and the common interests of the people.

Yet achieving such a society does not depend on good intentions alone. This objective requires a realistic economic programme, accountable institutions, social participation, considered policies, and an understanding of the country’s actual limitations and possibilities.

We must discuss the mode of production, ownership, the distribution of resources, the financing of public services, the development of the workforce, education, healthcare, and economic independence. We must distinguish long-term objectives from immediate measures and provide arguments and practical solutions for every claim we make.

A social ideal acquires political credibility when it moves beyond the declaration of aspirations and becomes a clear, assessable, and accountable programme.

A better future cannot be built merely by rejecting the existing situation. We must understand the relations that reproduce it and consider alternatives capable of genuinely improving people’s living conditions.

XI. From Words to Deeds: Our Responsibility Today

We cannot defer our responsibilities to an indefinite future. If we speak of consciousness, we must study. If we defend justice, we must reject discrimination in practice. If we advocate women’s emancipation, we must work for their equal rights. And if we speak of organisation, we must cultivate our capacity for cooperation, planning, and accepting responsibility.

Every effective step requires understanding. Every serious programme requires an assessment of possibilities and limitations. Every political organisation needs criticism, learning, and accountability.

We must distinguish political courage from recklessness, steadfastness in principle from prejudice, discipline from blind obedience, and solidarity from turning a blind eye to mistakes.

We cannot speak of a free society while refusing to tolerate questions within a movement. We cannot defend social justice while disregarding the value of human labour and each person’s contribution. We cannot speak of class consciousness while remaining detached from the actual lives of the labouring classes.

The responsibility of a revolutionary generation is to establish a connection between ideals and reality: neither abandoning its ideals because reality is difficult, nor distorting reality to make it conform to its ideals.

We must learn how to turn differences of opinion into opportunities for understanding; how to draw lessons from historical experiences; how to correct our mistakes; and how to earn the people’s trust through honesty, knowledge, and responsible conduct.

This path is not easy. Transforming deeply rooted social relations will encounter numerous obstacles, forms of resistance, and contradictions. But the difficulty of the path is no reason to surrender to injustice, just as the greatness of an ideal is no licence to disregard reality and responsibility.

We have chosen a path that begins with consciousness, develops through criticism and organisation, and seeks the conscious and fundamental transformation of social relations.

Conclusion: We Must Understand History and Build the Future

We refuse to remain silent in the face of oppression, because silence cannot take the place of justice.

We refuse to submit to outdated thinking, because thought that fears questions and criticism obstructs the path to understanding and progress.

We refuse to accept exploitation and discrimination, because human beings deserve rights, freedom, dignity, and equal opportunities.

We refuse to leave the future to chance, because the destiny of society is also shaped by understanding, decisions, social relations, and human action.

Yet we understand that passion without consciousness is insufficient; ideals without a programme cannot reach their destination; and an organisation without criticism and accountability loses its capacity to correct itself.

Our task, therefore, is to learn more, think more precisely, act more responsibly, and strengthen our connection with the realities of people’s lives.

We need a generation that neither kneels before difficulties nor closes its eyes to difficult questions; a generation that combines the courage to change with intellectual humility before the truth, steadfastness in principle with a willingness to correct mistakes, and revolutionary passion with knowledge and social responsibility.

We learn from history, but we do not remain trapped in the past. We draw upon theory, but we do not turn theory into a substitute for reality. We struggle for justice, but we do not reduce justice to an empty slogan.

We seek a transformation that confronts the roots of poverty and exploitation, expands freedom and equality, ensures equal rights for women and men, and creates the conditions for the conscious participation of the people in determining their own destiny.

This is our historical responsibility: to understand society, cultivate consciousness, organise responsibly, and work persistently towards building a more humane and just future.

We reject silence in the face of oppression; we refuse to submit to outdated thinking, and we are not afraid of the difficulties along the path of transformation. We have chosen the path of consciousness, solidarity, and struggle for social justice, because a future worthy of humanity is built not through passive waiting, but through scientific understanding, conscious determination, and responsible action.

New Standard-Bearers of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan