I know there’s some Che quote about this, but I can’t translate it into the reality of living side by side with treatlerites. It rings so hollow. Some say a revolution only requires 3% of the population, but that assumes that you eventually gain the support of most of those remaining 97%. I just don’t see it ever happening. There has never been even a fledgling revolution in an imperial core country.
And with this mindset, I’m guaranteed to become an elitist asshole who plays perfectly into the stereotype of the ivory tower communist, further alienaiting and discrediting myself and the cause, reducing the odds.
If you haven’t already, I’d recommend reading Masses, Elites, and Rebels. It talks about avoiding becoming an ivory tower communist, but also about seeing people not as evil but as trying to survive. You should also check out Cowbee’s reading list.
As for what percentage we are, that’s the work of organizing. We should not wait passively until people are aligned with us - not only is that unlikely to happen, but it’s also disheartening. We need to actively go out and get people and bring them into the fold and turn them into organizers who do the same.
It’s an absolutely enormous amount of work, but that’s just… it. We need to climb a mountain that has never been climbed before, and we’re at the base. We can study what has been done before, but we will still pick wrong paths and need to backtrack. We don’t know how long it will take. We will lose people. But NOT climbing the mountain is simply not an option.
The best antidote to feeling helpless is getting out there and trying to build socialism. There will never be a point where you’re “ready,” you just need to be willing to learn as you go. You’ll have conversations that make you want to throw in the towel, but you’ll also find people that believe in the same thing and will help.