From Class Consciousness to Revolutionary Struggle: Why Marxism–Leninism for the Youth of Afghanistan? Published: 2026-10-09 Author / editor: Hotak Introduction: Young People Confront the Great Question of History The youth of Afghanistan are living through one of the most difficult periods in the country’s contemporary history. They inhabit a society where poverty, unemployment, exclusion from education, social inequality, the oppression of women, forced migration, and the collapse of opportunities have narrowed the horizons of millions of people. A generation that should be helping to shape the country’s future is, in many cases, forced to struggle for the most basic necessities of life. Its talents, labour, and aspirations are being worn down by unjust social relations, political crises, and social underdevelopment. But is this situation the unchangeable destiny of the Afghan people? Are poverty, inequality, deprivation, and oppression eternal conditions before which humanity must bow? Or do these realities have roots in historical, economic, and social relations that can be understood scientifically, opening the way to fundamental social transformation? Answering these questions directs the youth of Afghanistan towards the necessity of class consciousness, the scientific understanding of society, and the critical examination of theories that seek not to justify the existing world, but to understand its contradictions and identify the paths through which it might be transformed. In this context, Marxism–Leninism, as a revolutionary intellectual and political tradition, offers analytical tools for examining class relations, structures of power, economic exploitation, and the organised role of working people in social transformation. Its significance for Afghan youth lies, above all, in its capacity to raise fundamental questions about the roots of poverty, the nature of political power, relations of production, and the possibility of building a more just society. 1. Class Consciousness: From Individual Suffering to Social Understanding One of the fundamental concepts of Marxist thought is class consciousness. It involves understanding the economic and social position of a class, its shared interests, the power relations affecting its life, and the possibilities for collective organisation to change existing conditions. A worker who sees unemployment merely as a personal failure may place the entire burden of responsibility upon themselves. But when that worker recognises that widespread unemployment is connected to the structure of the economy, ownership, investment, relations of production, and government policies, their understanding expands from individual experience to social analysis. A farmer who regards poverty solely as the result of misfortune may overlook landownership relations, unequal access to resources, the absence of productive facilities, and economic dependency. A woman who views exclusion from education and employment only as a family problem may fail to recognise the role of social structures, discriminatory laws, and patriarchal relations in reproducing that deprivation. Class consciousness does not mean denying individual responsibility. It means moving beyond superficial, individualistic explanations towards an understanding of the structural roots of social problems. Marxism teaches us that understanding society requires looking beyond appearances. We must ask how wealth is produced, how it is distributed, who controls the means of production, and who sells their labour power within relations in which the benefits are distributed unequally. Class consciousness is a light in the darkness of exploitative relations. It enables people to connect individual experiences of suffering with the structural contradictions of society. 2. Afghanistan: A Society Whose Material Realities Must Be Understood Understanding Afghanistan’s crisis requires more than examining daily political events, changes of government, or conflicts among competing groups of power. Scientific analysis demands an investigation of social history, economic structures, property relations, forms of production, the class composition of society, and the domestic and international connections of power. Afghanistan faces interconnected crises: a weak and dependent economy, limited employment opportunities, widespread poverty, the migration of workers, the exclusion of large numbers of women and girls from education and employment, weak productive infrastructure, and unequal access to resources and the means of living. These realities cannot be adequately explained through moral appeals, individual advice, or political promises alone. We must ask which relations have produced this situation, which forces benefit from its continuation, which social groups bear the heaviest burden of the crisis, and what changes might enable society to escape this cycle. Historical materialism, one of the foundations of Marxism, emphasises material conditions of life, modes of production, and social contradictions in understanding historical change. It does not treat history as a collection of accidental events or merely as the product of the will of a few powerful individuals. Instead, it examines the roles of material conditions, social struggles, political institutions, and human agency in historical processes. Applying this method to Afghanistan does not mean mechanically copying the experiences of other countries. Afghan society has its own historical, national, ethnic, linguistic, economic, and social characteristics. Any serious analysis must recognise these specific features and avoid careless generalisations. Marxism becomes an effective instrument of understanding when it is combined with genuine research, the examination of evidence, knowledge of people’s lived experiences, and the concrete analysis of concrete conditions. 3. Why Marxism–Leninism? Marxism draws attention to the economic and social roots of inequality through its analysis of class relations and modes of production. Leninism, within its theoretical and political tradition, emphasises imperialism, political organisation, the relationship between theory and practice, and the importance of organised movements in revolutionary struggle. From this perspective, understanding society without understanding relations of power is incomplete. Similarly, opposition to injustice may remain at the level of dissatisfaction if it is not accompanied by an understanding of the mechanisms that reproduce it. Marxism–Leninism raises fundamental questions: Who controls economic resources and the means of production? How do property relations affect the lives of the majority? Whose social interests does the political structure serve? How do economic dependency and pressure from foreign powers affect national independence in decision-making? And how can the everyday struggles of the people be connected to a broader vision of fundamental social transformation? This tradition also emphasises organisation, political discipline, theoretical education, and the relationship between progressive forces and working people. Yet revolutionary organisation can play a constructive role only when it is grounded in a genuine understanding of society, the conscious participation of the people, responsibility, and the continuous critical examination of its own conduct. Embracing Marxism–Leninism must not become the mechanical repetition of terminology or the unquestioning imitation of historical experiences. A theory that claims to offer a scientific understanding of society must continually be tested against reality. Its shortcomings must be examined, and past experiences must be studied critically. Faithfulness to revolutionary thought is not measured by the uncritical repetition of established formulas. It is demonstrated through the ability to understand reality, analyse contradictions, and develop solutions suited to the specific conditions of society. 4. The Youth of Afghanistan: A Potential Force for Social Transformation Young people are not merely an age group. They constitute a significant part of the country’s workforce, intellectual capacity, cultural potential, and social energy. Nevertheless, youth alone does not guarantee revolutionary consciousness. Dissatisfaction with existing conditions, if not accompanied by knowledge, study, experience, and conscious organisation, may remain confined to despair, forced migration, or fragmented reactions. Young people who seek change must learn how to study, analyse, question political claims, and distinguish evidence from propaganda. Reading the works of Marx, Engels, and Lenin can provide a starting point. However, theoretical study must be connected to Afghan history, political economy, labour movements, the experiences of political parties, the history of women’s struggles, and the critical examination of socialist experiences. Young people must learn to examine society not through the lens of ethnic or linguistic prejudice, but from the perspective of the real interests of working people, equal rights, and social solidarity. Workers, farmers, teachers, nurses, employees, students, and unemployed young people occupy different social positions. Nevertheless, they can identify common grounds for cooperation in struggles for education, decent work, social justice, civil liberties, and human dignity. The purpose of class consciousness is not to erase the real differences among these groups. It is to understand those differences and identify the material foundations for solidarity and common struggle. 5. Women’s Emancipation: A Fundamental Measure of Progressive Change No genuine project of social emancipation can deprive half of society of the right to education, employment, political participation, and free involvement in social life. The exclusion of Afghan women and girls from education and employment not only violates fundamental human rights but also restricts society’s intellectual and productive capacities. A society that suppresses women’s talents and creative potential undermines an essential part of its own capacity for progress. From a materialist perspective, gender oppression must be examined in connection with economic relations, the division of labour, family structures, property, and social institutions. This approach highlights the material and social roots of gender inequality without diminishing the importance of struggles against cultural, legal, and political discrimination. Conscious young people must defend women’s equal rights to education, employment, economic independence, free choice, and participation in determining society’s future. Women’s equality is neither a secondary privilege nor an issue that can be postponed to an indefinite future. It is an inseparable component of social justice and human emancipation. A movement that speaks of justice while reproducing gender discrimination in its own internal relations and practices contradicts its declared principles. 6. From Fragmented Protest to Conscious Organisation The history of social struggles demonstrates that widespread dissatisfaction alone does not guarantee fundamental change. Without understanding the roots of a crisis, a clear programme, and lasting connections among social forces, protest may remain fragmented or be appropriated by other forces for purposes different from those of the people involved. The relationship between theoretical understanding, practical experience, organisation, and social participation is therefore fundamental. Conscious organisation must be accompanied by political education, collective study, critical discussion, an understanding of people’s actual needs, and responsible, peaceful efforts to improve living conditions. Building relationships with workers, labouring people, women, students, and other social groups must rest upon respect for their intellectual independence and voluntary participation. No organisation becomes a liberating force simply because it adopts a revolutionary name, employs militant slogans, or claims to represent the people. Political legitimacy must be earned through practice, honesty, transparency, accountability, the capacity to learn from mistakes, and a genuine connection with people’s needs. Political discipline does not mean the suspension of critical thought. Discipline that suppresses questioning leads to intellectual stagnation. Discipline grounded in consciousness, shared responsibility, and clear objectives, however, can strengthen collective action. 7. Proletarian Internationalism and the Independence of National Struggle The struggle for social justice in Afghanistan cannot be separated from regional and global developments. Wars, rivalries among major powers, foreign interventions, economic dependency, and unequal international relations influence the destinies of less powerful countries. Through its analysis of imperialism, Leninism draws attention to the connections between capital, political power, and international domination. This framework can help explain aspects of Afghanistan’s economic dependency and the pressures exerted by foreign powers, provided that the analysis is grounded in concrete evidence and does not reduce complex regional relationships to simplistic explanations. Proletarian internationalism does not mean rejecting national identity or disregarding Afghanistan’s independence. On the contrary, it emphasises solidarity among working people across national borders and collective opposition to exploitation and domination. Solidarity with workers, women, and movements for social justice in other countries can coexist with the defence of the Afghan people’s right to determine their own future freely. The struggle against foreign domination comes closer to genuine emancipation when it is also connected to the struggle against exploitation, discrimination, and oppression within society itself. 8. Socialism: A Horizon of Justice and Social Transformation Within the Marxist tradition, socialism represents a horizon of transforming economic and social relations based on exploitation and class domination. Its aim is to create conditions in which social production can be organised to meet society’s needs and support the full development of human beings, rather than serving the narrow interests of dominant groups. In Afghanistan, discussion of a socialist alternative must begin with the country’s actual conditions. How can sustainable employment be created? How can education and healthcare be made accessible to everyone? How can domestic production be developed, workers and farmers supported, public resources used more equitably, and economic dependency reduced? Answering these questions requires realistic planning, an understanding of the country’s material capacities, an examination of historical experiences, and serious attention to social and political freedoms. The experiences of socialist movements around the world have been neither uniform nor free of contradictions. Their achievements, defeats, successes, and mistakes must be examined critically. Defending social justice must not become an excuse for denying historical realities or overlooking the consequences of misguided policies. A socialism committed to human emancipation must also respond to people’s actual needs, individual dignity, social participation, and the possibility of criticism and reform. 9. The Historical Responsibility of Youth: Study, Understanding, and Action The youth of Afghanistan face a consequential choice: to surrender to despair and fragmentation, or to transform social suffering into a source of understanding, solidarity, and responsible action. This choice cannot be realised through stirring slogans alone. It begins with study: understanding the country’s history, learning political economy, reading theoretical works carefully, learning from past struggles, and refusing to accept claims blindly. The next task is to connect theoretical knowledge with people’s lived realities: listening to workers and labouring people, defending the rights of women and girls, promoting education and awareness, opposing ethnic and linguistic discrimination, and cooperating through responsible and peaceful means to improve social conditions. No lasting transformation is possible without the conscious participation of the people. Emancipation cannot simply be handed to people in their absence; its foundations must be built through their own presence, understanding, and action. Young people can become a leading social force not merely because of their age, but through knowledge, integrity, intellectual courage, and social commitment. Conclusion: Consciousness, Organisation, and the Horizon of Change For the youth of Afghanistan, Marxism–Leninism can provide a framework for understanding class relations, analysing power, examining exploitation, and exploring the connections between domestic conditions and international relations. But the value of this framework cannot be reduced to its name or the repetition of its slogans. Its worth must be assessed by its capacity to explain reality, illuminate social contradictions, and contribute to practical and humane paths towards transformation. Class consciousness acquires historical significance when it moves beyond theoretical understanding and becomes connected with social solidarity, conscious organisation, popular participation, and the struggle for people’s actual rights and needs. Afghanistan needs a generation that does not regard poverty as destiny, inequality as natural, discrimination as justifiable, or human deprivation as something to be met with indifference. It needs a generation that refuses to submit to unjust realities, seeks to understand and criticise them, and works responsibly to change them. History is transformed neither by abstract wishes nor by unsupported slogans, but by people who understand the conditions of their lives, recognise the possibilities of change, and act consciously and collectively to realise them. From understanding exploitation to struggling for justice; from class consciousness to social solidarity; and from criticising the existing world to striving for a more humane one, the path of transformation begins with consciousness and advances through conscious action. Workers of the world, unite!