Any works on Communist support of the people being armed?

[Christopher Hill]

I know the reasons we as Marxists support the people being armed, but does anyone know of a work which explains this so that this can be more easily communicated?

[Pie]

Might this help?:
http://www.socialistappeal.org/content/view/201/81/

[CyM]

Hey comrade, there's a very good 3 part article on Marxism and the state, which includes the question of the arming of the workers as well, on the IMT site.

http://www.marxist.com/marxism-and-the-state-part-one.htm
http://www.marxist.com/marxism-and-the-state-part-two.htm
http://www.marxist.com/marxism-and-the-state-part-three.htm

There's also the book State and Revolution by Lenin, which addresses these issues as well.

[Christopher Hill]

Thanks, I was trying to find a condensed article to help me explain the subject, I knew about State and Revolution but not that great little article!

[caesarscook]

The three part article recommended by CyM from IDOM is an excellent introduction to the subject.  The question is complicated, because on the one hand, we don't want to make reformist and pacifistic errors, but on the other, we are also not violent "grab your guns and run for the hills" militia folks either. 

Our tradition has always put forward the argument in this way: To the extent that there is violence in a revolution, it is a sign of weakness, not of strength of the revolutionary forces, e.g. in the Russian example, the extent of violence in the Civil War was an expression of the backwardness of Russian social conditions and the relative weakness numerically and culturally of the proletariat relative to other class forces.  To the extent that there is violence in a revolution, the blame can be placed squarely at the feet of the current (reformist, often "pacifist") leadership of the existing workers' organizations, as their failure to take decisive action in breaking the material and social power of the bourgeoisie merely emboldens the class enemy and allows them to regroup and gather violent counter-revolution. 

It is our contention that the class balance of forces in the advanced capitalist countries vis-à-vis the State strongly favors the working class, although this argument runs counter to the popular and defeatist liberal hysteria about the supposed "unconquerable" and "unassailable" character of the current state machinery (particularly in the US).  In our opinion, this is because of the extreme numerical size of the working class relative to all other classes in society.  The ruling class can have all the guns in the world, but if the class that they expect to fire them is the same class that is revolting, their situation becomes slightly more complicated.  The document from IDOM cites multiple examples to bolster this argument, drawing greatly on the experience of 1968 in France.  All of that said, due to the insidious role that the existing union and political leadership plays in these countries, violence may yet occur, and we, not being pacifists, believe fully in the working class's right to defend current gains and fight for new ones by whatever means are dictated by conditions. 

Anyway, definitely check out the article.  Very good stuff!