Callahanism
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Callahanism refers to the political ideology, means of governing, and implementation of Marxist-Landonist policies – especially the national policies implemented in the United Commonwealth from about 1924 to 1947 – developed and espoused by Continental paramount leader Seamus Callahan (1875–1947). The ideology is sometimes also known as Marxism-Landonism-Callahanism or Marxism-Callahanism; during Callahan's lifetime none of these terms were used in any official capacity, with Callahan viewing his regime as simply Landonism, Continentalism, or a continuation of (Marxism-Landonism-) Warrenism—the political theory and state ideology of Aeneas Warren. Callahanism is described as a form of authoritarian socialism, in which political and social liberalism is deprioritized – whether that be the concepts of multi-party representative democracy, expansive legal recourse, or individual rights or abilities – as a means to a socialist end or to eliminate counter-revolution; Callahanism is in opposition to and mutually critical of reformist social democracy, libertarian strains of Marxism, and anarchism which rejects the need for a state or a vanguard party. These policies are officially designed to accelerate development toward communism, and to face the challenges imposed by the enemies of communism.
In Callahanism, a vanguard party governs a one-party socialist state on behalf of the proletariat, however, claiming to have evolved from the lessons of earlier Landonist movements' failures, such as Landon's own Second California Republic, Callahanism rejects the traditional Landonist reliance on republicanism, believing that social democracy could be used as a tool to introduce conciliatory policies toward counterrevolution, or introduce obstructive gridlock. Additionally, Callahanism involves the centralization of state hierarchy and organs of government; in Callahanism group and individual opposition is curtailed, a high degree of control and regulation over public and private life is exercised, and the public conscious is shaped by surveillancism and mass propaganda, which often leads to the development of a cult of personality. Callahan famously intertwined the Continentalist Party with the innerworkings of the state, centering absolute authority around that of a Secretartiat. Callahanism rejects the concept of permanent revolution via the conscious revolutionary action of the global working class, advocating for localized enstrengthening of socialism in one country, which can be better defended and later exported. To this end, Callahan advocated for the complete self-sufficiency of the United Commonwealth, necessitating a high degree of industrialism, militarism, and nationalism.
Economically, the means of production are controlled by the state, including in the form of nationalized state-owned enterprises, and investment, production, and allocation of capital goods is directed by state planning. Under Callahan, mass industrialization, mechanization, and collectivization was utilized to encourage economic growth, and to increase the proportion of the economy that was part of a socialized sector. However, Callahanism is not opposed to market-oriented economic policy if under the scrutiny of the state, as Callahan was lenient toward a mixed economy of small enterprises. Although putting the interest of the nation above the immediate proliferation of world revolution, Callahan believed that the United Commonwealth would in time have a leading role introducing Landonist views globally. To this end, to the "advancement of the happiness of mankind", and in order to erode the dominance of the global capitalist hegemony, Callahan sought to turn the United Commonwealth into a "global problem solver", that would use its economic dominance to combat world hunger, homelessness, disease, and war. Initiatives such as Food for Peace and the Green Revolution dramatically improved the conditions of the global population. Callahan oversaw involvement in the Great War as a means to propagate Landonism to the rest of North America, ultimately subscribing to the Continentalist cornerstone that the continent will be unified. The war allowed Callahan to consolidate domestic control in its totality, and abroad became the catalyst for the creation of a network of Landonist states, both to aid the protection of the United Commonwealth, and to advance Callahan's strategy of eroding capitalist hegemony. Culturally, Callahanism advocates for control over matters of belief and the dissemination of information, often manifesting in the suppression of organized religion, on the grounds that religion begets institutional concentrations of power and alternatives to the state doctrine. According to Callahan, the embedding of traditional religious institutions in society, existent from the pre-revolution United Commonwealth, threatened to create organized opposition to progressivism, which was of greater importance to uproot than the proliferation of the religious beliefs themselves.
In his lifetime Callahan's policies were criticized by his contemporaries. Although the Continental Revolution received widespread support and optimism from the leftist world and fellow travelers, by the time of Callahan's consolidation of power, the Continentalist Party received condemnation from figures such as Rosa Luxemburg for its progressively authoritarian policies. Callahan's divergence from traditional Landonism has been criticized as inherently oppressive, undemocratic, or as degenerative. Callahanism is opposed to Continentalism as described by Zhou Xinyue, Callahan's principal ideological rival. After Callahan's death in 1947, a period of Decallahanization occurred in the United Commonwealth which evolved under the influence of such leaders as Rupert Gardner. Post-Callahanist Continental thought has emphasized collective leadership, or the decentralization of power from one individual back into the hands of an organization structure, federalism, peaceful coexistence, and democratic socialism. Alternatively, Callahanism has served as a major influence on the development of Marxist-Landonist states abroad, especially the People's Republic of China and United People's Committees, whose rejection of Decallahanization contributed to the Sino–Continental split. Callahanism has also been praised as a model for rapid economic growth in a socialist mode of production, and for its egalitarianism in seeking to solve global crises.
Definition
Seamus Callahan did not officially advocate for "Callahanism" at any point in his lifetime, as according to official Continental policy the governing principles of the state was Continentalism, and the state was administrated on a Marxist-Landonist and Warrenist model. Colloquially the term caught on to describe political developments in the history of the United Commonwealth after 1922. The term first appeared in a speech given by Winston Ashtabula in 1930, who wrote in support of "replacing Warrenism with Callahanism", however, this proposal was rejected by Callahan as prideful. Conversely, "Callahanism" was used incessantly as a term by critics of Callahan and his regime without such consideration all throughout his reign. After Callahan's death in 1947 the term received widespread adoption to describe the collective theories and policies put forth over the least 25 years, and soon after, helped coin opposition to such terms in the form of Decallahanization. Writing in support of Callahanism in 1950, Ashtabula defined it as:
- Support for the strategy of geographically incremental and accumulative socialism, as opposed to permanent revolution, in the creation of global communism.
- Total self-sufficiency in matters concerning the national welfare, to prevent manipulation, and to harbor strength against global capitalism.
- Consolidation of state offices to prevent excess bureaucracy and inefficiency.
- Absolute leadership in the hands of the Continentalist Party to prevent placatory, revisionist deviations.
- The use of socialist policy to increase the happiness and betterment of all mankind.
Alternatively, foreign observers and critics of Callahan argue that Callahanism stands separate from the socialist and Landonist ideals it stems from, having evolved or devolved past the point of syncretism; Callahan's personal understanding or regard for Landonism is questioned. Instead Callahanism is characterized as a political system involving the following:
- Dictatorship; the pursuit of personal power
- State influence over public and private aspects of life
- Merging of state bodies with the ruling Continentalist Party
- Political force to cultivate leaderism and to otherize opposition
Theory
Autocratization
- Seamus Callahan, 1933
Callahanism is often defined by its skepticism of Landonist-republicanism and its autocratization, leading to a characterization of authoritarianism. Theoretically and philosophically, socialism itself is democratic, and Marx and Engels historically opposed any institution that was "conductive to superstitious authoritarianism". The idea of a vanguard party, as espoused by Isaiah Landon and later developed by Aeneas Warren, was not opposed to democracy or intended to be authoritarian, but rather called for a class of professional revolutionaries who could best implement the desires of the working class. The United Commonwealth under Callahan was not opposed to democracy, but deprioritized the role of democratic, "bottom up" decision making on the national level, according to Callahan out of necessity.
It was Callahan's belief that the Second California Republic during the Sierran Civil War had partially failed due to the obstructionism of the republic's assemblies, citing the general population's lack of knowledge or apathy in Landonist ideology. Callahan also cited Executive Order No. 177, passed by Landon in 1877 which dissolved the National Assembly, seemingly confirming to Callahan that Landon himself had realized the problems in democratic socialism and had no choice but to change his position—a decision made too late to save the revolution. The mid 1920s in the United Commonwealth saw a democratic backlash against Continentalist rule, as the instability of the early administration led to the election of representatives opposed to Callahan's regime. The cynical interpretation is that Callahan broke the power of the democratic bodies in order to preserve and expand his personal power; domestic policy punished opposition and gradually curtailed the rights of individuals critical of the regime, until Callahan became an unrivaled leader. However, supporters of Callahanism argue that this was necessary to preserve the nation at all, and as a necessary step toward Landonism, as internal opposition was threatening to unwisely undo the revolution as a whole. The Election of 1924 is viewed as an example of mob rule, in which the masses were panicked by bad actors whose agenda was antithetical to Landonism. Callahanists argue against the charge that it is oppressively authoritarian or antidemocratic, as while decision making became top-down, democracy on the local level was expanded and empowered. Callahan cultivated an atmosphere of criticsm, believing that voicing one's concerns was a cornerstone of democracy and also efficient toward the improvement of the country. In 1925 he wrote:
"One of the most serious obstacles, if not the most serious of all, is the bureaucratic apparatus. I am referring to the bureaucratic elements to be found in our Party, government, trade union, cooperative, and all other organizations. I am referring to the bureaucratic elements who batten on our weaknesses and errors, who fear like the plague all criticism by the masses. And who hinder us in developing self-criticism and ridding ourselves of our weaknesses and errors."
Foreign observers described the Callahan-era Commonwealth as having a uniquely open attitude toward criticism, which is incongruous of the idea that the United Commonwealth crushed all free speech. According to author Dora Black, "[Criticism] is not only officially tolerated, but also deliberated instigated, as a powerful incentive to improvement." However, according to Continental historian Robert Brovkin, the fear of criticism aided in the creation of internal policing and surveillance, as workers were encouraged to report their bosses, and that while criticism was tolerated, defiance of authority was not. Criticism was also used to police within the Continentalist Party itself. The success of the Continentalists in the revolution had created a class of opportunists in the Party, according to both Warren and Callahan; the improper adaptation of Landonism by faux or uneducated Continentalists was blamed as contributing to disorder and oppression, which was a primary point of criticism from opposition. Callahan's forceful removal of regional elites is often seen through the lens of removing undemocratic oligarchs, as party leaders on the regional level were forgoing fair elections for party positions, and were building up regional power centers.
Under Callahan, elections would continue in the United Commonwealth on the local level; decisions could be made that affected local communities, factories, and collectives, and representatives could be elected to the National People's Congress. Officially the nation was made up of a collection of such councils and local communities, democratically governing the course of the nation, and in Callahan's view participation on the local level would placate most concerns that people had about their governance. However, on the national level the Continentalist Party reserved complete control over the decision-making process and had influence over national elections. The National People's Congress effectively functioned as a rubber stamp and advisory board, with Callahan reserving the right to make final decisions, which were in theory from compiled information and complaints from subordinates.
During the 1930s Callahan became increasingly critical of social democracy, as in his view, social democracy was a means to placate the masses through piecemeal reforms, which contributed to prolonging suffering in the long run by delaying the communist revolution. During the Great War he observed social democrats in Sierra and elsewhere as kowtowing to the far right, as they would inherently have to compromise and work with Derzhavist elements.
There is evidence to suggest that Callahan planned to implement increased democratization prior to the Great War. The Constitution of the United Commonwealth as reformed under Callahan "was designed as the most democratic constitution in the world", according to Premier Bill Haywood. Its writing involved a mass mobilization of the population, in which millions of complaints and suggestions were heard, debates were held, and proposals were voted upon by the population at large. According to Samantha Lamb, "There is no documents in the archival record to contradict the Continental leadership's public support for a more participatory Constitution, or to indicate they viewed the constitution and the subsequent discussion as mere propaganda as some historians suggest." Callahan himself would remark at the finalization of the constitution in 1930: "The development of socialist democracy on the basis of the completion of the construction of a classless, socialist society, will increasingly convert the dictatorship of the proletariat into the dictatorship of the Continental people."
The discussions regarding this constitution highlighted ideological differences between the concepts of freedom and liberty, with the pre-revolutionary, Americanized ideal of laissez-faire individualism being condemned as an example of personal freedoms encroaching on collective liberty. In Callahanism, individualism is seen as potentially cultivating opposition to the good of the many for the selfish interests of oneself, with Callahan citing the example of "housing determined by one's ability to pay" as an example of individualism deemphasizing equality. Instead Callahanism puts forward the notion that the betterment of society, the building of communism, and the good of all is more important than the personal enrichment of a single individual. If the empowerment of the single-party system was necessary to propel the goals of the state forward, Callahan therefore saw empowering the system in all avenues as crucial.
Centralization
- Seamus Callahan, 1929
Related to Callahan's autocratization was his centralization of political power. Warren envisioned the United Commonwealth as a state governed by collective leadership; in theory there would be no single head of state or government, as a committee of equals would fill these roles, and these branches would be distinctly separate. During the revolution, Warren occupied both the presidency and the premiership in what was officially a temporary measure, however, he died before these offices could be refined and separated. Similar to his critique of Landon, Callahan viewed the fact that Warren would have to occupy both offices as proof that in practice it was more efficient to not have them separated. During his tenure he gradually eroded the separation and collectivization of high ranking offices, becoming general secretary in 1922, president in 1924, then premier in 1932. Callahan decollectivized the secretariat to the point that the term colloquially came to refer to just himself rather than a body of people.
To Callahan, centralization was undertaken to make government less burdensome and more efficient. He criticized the growing bureaucracy that had emerged and was ever expanding, because it opened more opportunities for mismanagement and abuse down the chain of command, and required an ever increasing number of bureaucrats, diluting the standards within the Party. Callahan viewed the disempowerment of the emerging party bureaucracy, even if through undemocratic means, as ultimately being more democratic and unoppressive for the common people. Post-revolution a class of party officials had developed that dominated regional politics, often displayed ignorance of Landonist values, and were disinterested in national oversight. Thus Callahan sought to simplify the state organs of power and decrease the size of the national government, and implemented increased scrutiny to evaluate party members.
Historians such as Brovkin note that centralization in practice played a self aggrandizing role, as checks and balances were removed or eroded, allowing Callahan’s power to become unrivaled. In this lens, the gradual removal of party officials to “reduce bureaucracy” constitutes a war against the party itself, which removed all opposition or challenge to Callahan’s rule. Despite Callahan’s pretenses, the size of the Continental government did not significantly decrease in size, but rather became less diverse at the top. For this reason, Callahanism has been criticized as “bureaucratic oligarchy”, in which surplus is distributed not among the working class, but to a tighter circle of elites.
Additionally, Callahanism calls for the entwining of the ruling party with government functions. Under Callahan the Continentalist Party still steadily grew in membership despite higher regulations for leaders. The secretariat unofficially became the sole controller of the nation, while local party offices became regional governance. This would become a major point of Decallahanization; in 1948 premier John L. Lewis wrote: “Any pretense of an effective and fair government is lost, if we allow the Party to supersede it. The Party has been hijacked by dogmatism and leaderism, which breeds complacency and stagnation. If the government is indebted to the Party, then the government will face complacency and stagnation. Let the Party serve the betterment of the people, rather than the people serving the betterment of the Party.”
National Communism
In Marxist theory, all communist revolutions are part of a single, global class struggle, and conscious revolutionary action of the working class will overthrow capitalism in all countries. Marx and Engels were skeptical of the possibility of a socialism being built in one country alone, writing that capitalism had created global interdependence and the necessity for revolution in all industrialized countries. The Communist Manifesto also notes that, “The Communists are further reproached with desiring to abolish countries and nationalities. The working men have no country. We cannot take from them what they have not got. Since the proletariat must first of all acquire political supremacy, must rise to be the leading class of the nation, must constitute itself the nation, it is, so far, itself national, though not in the bourgeois sense of the word.” The United Commonwealth made efforts to propagate a global revolution, such as through the creation of the Landonist International and Continental aid for rebellions in Superior. The defeat of other revolutions worldwide gradually caused belief that the world revolution was imminent to be walked back.
After Warren’s death in 1922, Callahan popularized the belief that the United Commonwealth should look internally and build socialism domestically, as this would create adequate conditions to defend the revolution, would establish a positive example and model for the rest of the world, and would help erode the capitalist hegemony. Callahanism stresses that it does not reject the idea of the world revolution, which it confirms is inevitable, but rather looks toward the defense and enrichment of countries gradually, in order to better prepare for such a revolution. A cornerstone of Callahanism became the self-sufficiency and economic success of the United Commonwealth, which would dislodge the country from the global market and shield it from capitalist manipulation. This tendency would later be nicknamed “national communism”, although this is philosophically and historically distinct from the Derzhavist appropriation of socialist rhetoric, which popularizes “national socialism” as an alternative to international socialism as promoted by Marx.
According to Zhou Xinyue, the adoption of a nationalist or patriotic character in Continental socialism supported by Callahan contributed to Continental isolation, and that isolation bred bureaucratization of the proletarian dictatorship. Callahanism would be criticized by the “Left Opposition” of the United Commonwealth for allowing a “degeneration” toward bureaucracy, which deprioritized the rights and privileges of the working classes, and stated that Callahanist isolation created an “us versus them” mindset that reinforced state control, weakened criticism, and made opposition seem criminal. According to Zhou and Harry Haywood, national communism also bred an embrace for white American nationalism as a consequence of its non-internationalism. This is most widely seen in Callahan’s undermining of Okaloosa. According to Haywood, while this may have had a political or strategic interest, it was also chiefly guided by a nationalist, racist ideology. Anti-Callahanists also cite Callahan’s proclivity for exportations and mass migrations of peoples, which later inspired similar ethnic nationalist tendencies in China and other countries.
Praxis
Economic policy
Seeking to create a self-sufficient society that would not be vulnerable to capitalist manipulation on the global market, the economic plans of the 1920s issued by Callahan called for a focus on industrialization and urbanization. In 1923 his first five year plan went into effect, calling for a well-researched, scientific planned economy to replace the “wastefulness” of a market economy. Its goals were ambitious: self-sufficiency in raw materials and intermediary goods, a focus on high-quality finished goods by the end of the plan, mass housing for all citizens, mass electrification to connect the country, and a transformed agricultural sector through mechanization, collectivization, and technological innovation. However, Callahan remained lenient to the idea of allowing some market reforms, which he called “a free market and capitalism, both subject to state control.” The National Board for Industrialization and Cooperation (NBIC) was developed as the government agency in charge of rebuilding the nation. From 1923 until 1928, the NBIC was designated as sole operator of the economy. In 1924, the Commission for Financial Stability and Fair Practice (CFSFP) was established to control inflation and to rebuild the financial industry. The currency was stabilized and optimized after 1924, with the adoption of a gold-pegged monetary system, and by the end of the 1920s Callahan experimented with tariffs on foreign goods in an effort to spur local development and pay off national debt, as well as new taxes on the expanding heavy industry to subsidize loans to workers seeking to establish more consumer driven collectives. Although independent financial groups and banks were officially banned, the Commission for Financial Stability and Fair Practice allowed cooperatives to engage in regulated interest loans after 1926, with regulations requiring union consent.
During the Great Depression (1928–1932) the United Commonwealth was mostly unaffected, although the threat of potential economic downturn allowed Callahan to re-nationalize most sectors of the economy. His second five year plan took into account the declined global market, which would have a negative effect on exports and prices, and focused on public work projects, financial reforms and regulations, and investing in roads, rails, public housing, and the nation's waterways. The advent of the Great War caused a rapid reshuffling to create a war-time economy, canceling the initial envisioned plan. Military spending would remain high for the rest of Callahan’s tenure. Post-war the nation focused on the rebuilding of the country and allied nations, dispersing over $10 billion in foreign aid via economic recovery programs. In addition to modernizing and developing the infrastructure of allied nations, which made them more reliant on the United Commonwealth, the plan also sought to entice foreign nations into favorable trade conditions with the country, and prevent the spread of rival, capitalist ideologies in nations that the United Commonwealth interacted with. Callahan’s last five year plan emphasized education, scientific discovery, and technological innovation. This would lay the groundwork for the first artificial nuclear reactor, the first testing of an atomic bomb, and the development of modern rocketry.
Labor relations
To accelerate development, Callahan deprioritized issues pertaining to labor; he would be criticized for his crackdowns against strikers and his repression to quell public dissent. His opposition to the power of trade unions became a critical difference between the Callahanist camp and the Labor Front of William Z. Foster and Zhou Xinyue. Drawing from his experience with overseeing the reconstruction of the country after the war, Callahan sought to incorporate the trade unions directly into the state apparatus to create a militarized “production atmosphere”. As Callahan would argue in front of the 12th Party Congress:
"....a regime in which every worker feels himself a soldier of labor, who cannot dispose of himself freely; if the order is given to transfer him, he must carry it out; if he does not carry it out, he will be a deserter who is punished. Who looks after this? The trade unions. It creates the new regime. This is the militarization of the working class."
Callahan’s position was criticized as a “factional attack” and "bureaucratically nagging the trade unions" by Foster, who said, "Introduction of genuine labor discipline is conceived only if the whole mass of participants in productions takes a conscious part in the fulfillment of these tasks. Bureaucratic methods and orders from above cannot achieve this". Nonetheless, Callahan exercised his powers as general secretary to erode the position of Foster during the First Triumvirate, ultimately leading to his removal from government. Having won the debate against the Fosterites, over the next decade Callahan dismantled the powers of the trade unions, making it clear that the party and the government would lead, while the trade unions had no recourse to challenge central policy. During the 1930–31 labor dispute between the United Continental mine Workers and Continental Electric, Callahan sided with the latter and pushed back decisively against the strikers, however, he also created the Commissariat for Appalachian Urbanization and Development as a partial compromise to improve conditions in the region.
Agriculture
Callahan inherited the Great Famine upon taking office, which was primarily affecting the southern states. The People’s Commissars would identify a return to self sufficiency, then net exportation, as tantamount goals of the early administration. The Callahan administration considered alleviating food scarcity in the country an utmost imperative, seeing it as a cornerstone of stabilizing the economy and social unrest, but also to repair national pride and end the country’s outreach to other countries for aid as soon as possible. However, there is also evidence to suggest that Callahan used the food crisis as an opportunity to break opposition; he would battle the Southern Insurrection throughout the 1920s. The Continentalist Party had failed to permeate into Southern society, causing a democratic revolution in 1924 in which rural voters organized heavy opposition to Continental rule. Callahan identified this discontent as one of the greatest threats to the Continentalist regime, and also to his personal power. As such, the South entered a period of widespread famine that has been called by numerous governments an act of genocide, owing to the government’s apathy or alleged involvement in worsening conditions.
Over the course of the 1920s, Callahan enacted numerous policies meant to break the power of the farmer unions and rural voters. The first would be collectivization, as Callahan identified that larger, state controlled farms could more efficiently control larger groups of people, and would concentrate wealth less in the hands of those actively opposing his reforms. Collectivization was most widespread in the South where opposition was fierce, which also had the added benefit to Callahan of dismantling the power of black landowners who could pose a threat to Okaloosan cooperation in the future. Under threat of violence or intimidation from party officials, thousands of farmers flocked to the collective structure despite it being officially voluntary. Disdainful of blacks and their newfound independence in Okaloosa, and especially their assumption of private property under the leadership of Warren, Callahan sought to have his collectivized model gradually replace the system of property owners that still existed in the south. Throughout the period, productivity slumped, and revolts broke out on several occasions; Callahan responded that sabotage from the reactionary south and the local abuse of some officials had been to blame, not the policy or government issuing it, and he ordered distribution of emergency food relief.
Although possibly contributing to the famine in the early 1920s, Callahan’s collectivization efforts eventually stabilized and quality of life in the south returned, spurred on by mechanization and the introduction of new goods from the northern factories. Post-Revolution the United Commonwealth would become poised for an agricultural boom. Cut off from the global market, competition from Europe and other North American countries dematerialized, while domestically yield in agriculture rose significantly. As part of the collectivization efforts, thousands had been forced back onto farms; unemployment gradually disappeared, but this was made possible by industries contracting an overabundance of workers when offered unemployed workers by the government. Although in the short term output had dramatically risen, debate arose in the government if such growth was sustainable. Under the leadership of People’s Commissar Orion Marshall, the nation instituted a focus on mechanization, technological innovation, and increased agricultural efficiency. He appealed to Callahan’s desire to increase industrial output in the country by arguing for increased mechanization, as to Marshall, the growing migration to the cities should not be reversed, but rather utilized to produce more and more technological and mechanization farming innovations, which would alleviate the overdemand for workers on farmland.
By 1928 the United Commonwealth was the largest producer of mechanized farming equipment, tractors, and combine harvesters. This trend toward mechanization synchronized with the trend toward collectivization, as it became more efficient for larger farmers to replace individual family farms. The nation established extension services to test farming methods and education farmers on best practices, and agencies such as the Central Farmers’ Agency to elevate the conditions of farmers through insurance, subsidies, and collective bargaining. As a result by 1926 the United Commonwealth was a net exporter of most staple crops such as wheat, which generated foreign capital to pay for government expenses, and also had the added benefit of disturbing Sierran and Superian agricultural dominance. With the increased stockpile, the government instituted a number of programs such as the National School Lunch Act, which would provide free school meals to all students in the country.
Callahan hoped to solve hunger in the country, after which he would turn toward the rest of the world to “show the greatness of the Continental system”. Eliminating world hunger was seen as a long term goal of the administration, to show just how far the country had bounced back under Landonist policies, and to set an example for the rest of the world. At the 14th Congress of the Continentalist Party in 1928, Callahan would declare, "Food is strength, and food is peace, and food is freedom, and food is a helping hand to people around the world whose goodwill and friendship we want." To fulfill this goal, Callahan issued the Agricultural Trade and Assistance Act, which created Food for Peace, an international organization tasked with providing food assistance around the world. In 1940 the Food and Agriculture Commission was created as an international organization focusing on combating food scarcity through research and technical aid. These initiatives would lay the foundation for the global Green Revolution, which the United Commonwealth spearheaded.
Cultural Revolution
The ongoing Cultural Revolution was expanded under Callahan, who used propaganda campaigns to create a mainline from the foundational ethos of the United States to that of the new regime, and to educate the population on Landonist concepts. The state would exercise complete control of the media, outlawing or heavily censoring all other national newspapers not sanctioned by the government. The Continental Commissariat for Rehabilitation and Corrections shifted Continental justice toward rehabilitation, but also toward the ideological reeducation of millions of inhabitants, and the expansion of controversial labor camps for political dissidents.
The nation took a heavier hand in regulating education, banning pre-revolutionary and foreign media, but also contributing to raising the country’s literacy; in 1925 a decree was issued requiring that all people between the ages of 8 and 50 be literate, ultimately leading to a modern literacy rate of 99%. The Central Communications Commission would be created to regulate all nationwide communications, and would be placed in charge of the efforts to catalogue, inspect, and regulate all printed media at its inception. Although censorship intensified, so did efforts to improve communications generally; by 1940, 92.6% of Northeastern American urban households would have a radio. Organizations such as the National Broadcasting Cooperative were created in 1926 to promote and distribute entertainment and information. The effects of the revolution as well as Callahan’s policies gutted the entertainment industry, and led to a momentary collapse of Cinema and Music, however, government sponsorship revitalized these industries under the model of Landonist realism.
The Cultural Revolution saw the erosion of organized religion. Initially there was not an ostensible commitment to the annihilation of religious institutions and ideas, however, a gradual revoking of religious rights took place. There was a noticeable decline in religiosity in the United Commonwealth (as well as many other western countries) during the turbulent years of the 1910s and 1920s, which the government sought to exploit. With the explosion of the fundamentalist movement prior to the revolution, there was an overexpansion of churches across the country, which now struggled to financially support themselves; the government revoked tax exemption status for religious organizations, further weakening the influence. Fundamentalists were looked upon with contempt by the government, especially due to many churches possessing ties to the federalist movement. As a result many churches were shut down or relabeled as terrorist organizations, leading to mass arrests. Education and the sciences were viewed by Callahan as an alternative to religion, and he sought to promote the sciences, while also breaking the power of religious education. The end of the 1920s saw a bout of intense religious repression, as Callahan decentralized powerful institutions such as the Catholic Church, and undertook campaigns to stigmatize and imprison religious officials.
Legacy
Decallahanization
After the death of Callahan in 1947, a period of Decallahanization occurred, in which the United Commonwealth’s official stance was that many of the elements of Callahanism needed to be walked back. Under president Darlington Hoopes, Callahanism was criticized for its fostering of a cult of personality, and he gradually phased out pro-Callahan propaganda. Callahan’s political system, in which power was centralized and autocratized, was also reversed. Immediately after Callahan’s death a Second Triumvirate was initiated as a rapid reversal of Callahanist policy, as Continental leadership feared the ascension of a single, strongman in policymaking once more. The offices of president and premier were separated once more, the secretariat was collectivized, and decision making in the national government was democratized. Decallahanization became one of the central debates of the 1950s, with Amelia Crawford instituting a temporary pushback against collective leadership. After the 1950s no one person ever controlled as many offices as Seamus Callahan, although it would not be made law that the offices must be separate until the 1982 Constitution.
The leading political theory of the 1960s, often called Gardnerism or the "Gardner Thaw" after Rupert Gardner, is seen as a rejection of Callahanism and an embrace of more traditional Landonist-republican views regarding democracy. Gardner subscribed to the belief that active participation by the people in government was essential to the survival of socialism, and actively increased democratization efforts. The post-Gardner assumption of power by the party elite in the 1970s is often seen as a Callahanist restoration.
Neo-Callahanism
According to a survey among Continental citizens conducted in 2012, 70% of people view Callahan as a net positive figure in Continental history. He is most often praised for his wartime leadership in the Great War, his success in improving and growing the post-revolution economy, and his social welfare projects. Major pushback to Decallahanization occurred in the 1950s, led by Old Continentals such as Winston Ashtabula, who criticized the denigration as Callahan as leading to the gradual rejection of Landonism itself. Amelia Fowler Crawford is seen as championing the Callahanist cause, and successfully took control over the United Commonwealth from 1950 to 1953.
Callahanists push back against the popular notion that Callahanism is "totalitarianism", noting the extensive efforts made by Sierra and other western powers, as well as the modern United Commonwealth itself in some cases, to label Callahanism as authoritarian and negative for politically expedient reasons. Marxist historian Michael Ellmen notes that Callahan expanded workplace and local democracy, and when compared to the pre-revolution, Federalist government, enfranchisement actually increased, especially for non-white minorities and women. He also cites the 1930 Constitution spearheaded by Callahan as evidence that he was not opposed to democracy. Callahanism is often juxtaposed with other contemporary movements of the day, which did not shy away from the same techniques that Callahan employed.
Left Communism
The rise of Callahanism gave rise to the “Left Opposition” in the United Commonwealth, loosely coalesced into the Labor Front, which is critical of Callahan’s authoritarian proclivities and theories. Left communists in the United Commonwealth supported Decallahanization, calling for a restoration of workers’ democracy and a revolution against Callahanist bureaucracy. Leading figures in the left communism include Zhou Xinyue and William Z. Foster, who accused Callahan of stoking nationalism and isolationism, in order to make criticism or opposition to him appear criminal. Left communists also see Callahanism as in practice leading to alliances with right-wing and bourgeois powers against other leftists. Foster warned that the United Commonwealth was poised to become neither socialist, capitalist, nor communist, but a "bureaucratic oligarchy", in which exploitation is still controlled by a ruling caste, although not through owning the means of production. He also noted that Callahanism was the "neo-bourgeois" that Landon predicted.
Haywoodism
Callahan was often opposed by the paramount of Okaloosa, Harry Haywood, who viewed Callahanist policy as attempts to undermine his regional authority. Although both men were verbally opposed to the state of increased bureaucracy, Haywood’s perspective was that Callahan was expanding the bureaucracy in the South, and was doing so by appointing northern, “foreign” party cadres, who were abusive to the population at large. Haywood also viewed this move through a racial lens, interpreting Callahanist policy as undermining the conditions of the black population. Officially, Haywood sought to comply with the orders from the Callahan administration to deter harmful bureaucracy and decentralization. After 1947 Haywood became an outspoken Decallahanist, calling the influx of Callahanite Landonists in the South to pacify it as a form of imperialism. Haywood’s “cultural revolution” of the mid 1940s sought to elevate the agrarian population, which spurred the southern population to muster the courage to challenge the authority of local party bosses.
In 1947, as part of the general easing of restrictions that followed Callahan’s demise, Haywood felt he had free reign to begin openly publishing criticism of the Callahan administration, and consequently his own deification only intensified. The “Black Book”, assembled from sayings of Haywood and the Landonist forefathers was widely printed and distributed, which embolden the Black Guard and the student movements in their quest to uproot revisionism.
Maoism
Mao Zedong declared that Callahanism was “mostly good”, praising Callahan for leading the United Commonwealth and the international proletariat. However, he was also largely inspired by the example of Haywoodism, finding the southern model more appropriate to the material conditions of China. Maoists consider Decallahanization to be a form of revisionism; it posed problems of ideological credibility and political authority for Mao, who had sought to emulate Callahan’s leadership and practical application of Marxist-Landonist policies in the development of China. As such, Mao’s discontent with Decallahanization would be a contributing factor in the Sino–Continental split, in which relations deteriorated between the United Commonwealth and China.
Other interpretations
According to Pierre du Bois, Callahanism evolved to legitimize Callahan’s rule and aid in his personal power. Dr. Robert Brovkin adds that many of Callahan’s policies can be viewed in a cynical lens; farm collectivization punished or disenfranchised rural opponents of Callahan, and centralization gave him the power to remove political opponents. Brovkin considers Callahanism’s rejection of democratic socialism as making it antithetical to Landonism and Marxism, and instead views Callahanism as Machiavellian in nature, appropriating Landonism for the purposes of expanding personal power and authority, but with little interest in actual Landonist goals. Skeptics of Callahanism call into question Callahan's own knowledge of Landonism, or postulate that he was an opportunist himself who lodged onto the Continentalist movement after it gained success and proved lucrative. Callahanism has also been compared to Derzhavism, and has been called "Red Derzhavism" by critics. However, Derzhavist regimes contemporary to Callahan were ideologically opposed to the United Commonwealth and antagonistic to Landonism. Vladimir Salkinov viewed Callahan's cultivation of nationalism in the United Commonwealth as a positive.
See also
- A-class articles
- Altverse II
- Callahanism
- Seamus Callahan
- Anti-capitalism
- Anti-derzhavism
- Anti-revisionism
- Authoritarianism
- Communism
- Economic history of the United Commonwealth
- Eponymous political ideologies
- Marxism–Landonism
- Landonism
- Politics of the United Commonwealth
- Totalitarianism
- Types of socialism
- Ideology of the Continentalist Party of the United Commonwealth