Author’s Note: Workers die all the time – and we die in many different ways. If we are lucky we might die of old age, but we will probably die of some type of oppressive abuse perpetuated by the capitalist system. Dying is what we do – and regardless of how brave our individual (or collective) deaths may be – there is NOTHING special about any of it. The Communist Party should recognise that the Lumpen Proletariat die like flies – as that is our task. There is nothing special about natural processes – or the ability of one unnaturally empowered class to lord it over another. When enough of us have died – then perhaps the world will change for the better. When individual subjectivism is removed from the situation – our individual lives simply do not matter. It is only within the hyper-individualism of the capitalist system that we are told the “lie” that what we personally think and feel is important. When we fall for this “lie” – this is exactly the mechanism through which the bourgeoisie controls the working-class. We are exploited through the lies we are taught to believe. There is nothing special about biological processes that are developed entirely through accidental association. I would argue that far from being “bleak” – realising this reality is “freeing” in a Revolutionary manner. ACW (29.6.2026)
I have often been concerned by the habit practiced by religionists – and political fanatics – to often decribe those who die for their respective causes(s) in (unjust) wars and/or violence – as being “Maryrs”. I do not believe that there is anything particularly noble to a once living body being rendered “dead” – regardless of the circumstance of that death. Yes – deaths can be both brave and stoic (as they can be worthless) – but these are judgements superimposed over past material facts by the still living. A dead body rots and decomposes – a process that is not pretty to observe. This is why a dead body, if the means exists, must be respectfully processed – so as to remove its decaying toxicity from the world of the living. The dead body is either cremated or buried – and quite often in parallel with some type of religious justification – although a Secular State also applies medical science to the stoorage and preparation of a dead body – before it is processed through fire, freezing (and shaken into dust), buried, or placed in a tomb, etc.
Within the Chinese language, the term “Martyr” is written as:
烈士 (Lie Shi) = “Stoic Scholar” or “Strong Warrior”
An added meaning derives from another interpretation of the ideogram “烈” (lie4) which is to “Burn” – or “Shine” – creating the image of a “Shining Warrior-Scholar”. Indeed, in the “Records of the Grand Historian” – authored by Sima Qian (91 BCE) – it is written:
‘貪夫徇財兮，烈士徇名；夸者死權兮，品庶馮生’
‘The greedy sacrifice themselves for wealth, the man of “Shining Scholarship” for a lasting reputation. He who boastes dies striving for power, whilst the common masses rely on the dignity of their allotted lifespan.’
Later, with the arrival of Christian missionaries, the term “烈士” (Lie Shi) came to be associated with rhe Greek (New Testament) term “Martyr”. It would seem that in so doing – the meaning of 烈士 (Lie Shi) was changed from a positive “Strong” and “Well-Educated” “Warrior-Scholar” who could influence society through the inherent and virtuous content of his character – into a negative “victim” of an externally applied (and “unjust”) oppression. Within the ancient Greek, the term in question is written as “μάρτυρ” (martyr) – which appears to which appear to be non-religious and refer to a “witness” giving evidence in a court of law. Therefore, the term “Martyr” originally referred to the secular requirement pertaining to the providing of a reliable (objective) “description” concerning an event or happening. As the early Christians “borrowed” Greek philosophical terms and deliberately distorted (or “altered”) their meaning (see “psyche” and “soul”) – the term “Martyr” came to mean the “voluntary inviting (or acceptance) of physical death so that the glory of god could be spiritually ‘witnessed’ both during and after the dying process”.
In modern usage – there is the disturbing trend of an individual being blown into non-functioning pieces being described as a “Martyr” – or performing the function of a “Martyr” (this is a term claimed by political systems regardless of hue – and all three religions of the Abrahamic persuasion). I understand that it is a human-habit to try make it seem that a pointless death possessed some type of ethereal meaning – but does it really? Dying for a noble cause is certainly acceptable – but the cause – whatever that may be (as noble causes tend to be a relative matter) – does not in any way alter the demeaning process of hot pieces of metal being forcibly penetrated through the body. Surely, it would be a far more noble cause to “remove” the ignorance from human society – and the human-mind – that causes all forms of oppressive death, be it through weaponry, abuse, torture, injury, illness, or starvation. Why not permanently change the basis of the situation – rather than passively give-in to – and normalise the oppression? In that sense, the original Chinese-language concept of 烈士 (Lie Shi) is much more preferable.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 