The idea, held by
some Marxists, that capitalism will inevitably collapse in a massive depression and that this collapse is a requirement to have an anti-capitalist revolution is false. Feudalism did not suffer a 1930's style collapse yet it was abolished, so why could the same not also happen with capitalism? There have been many revolutions & times of unrest that did not happen as a result of a depression. Capitalism wasn't in a major depression in the late 60s. Some of the largest peasant revolts in the late middle ages came about in the wake of things getting better. The last time capitalism collapsed it resulted not in proletarian revolution but in fascism and world war. If that happened again with today's technology it would probably destroy civilization.
There are two upcoming crises which could potentially destablize the system, but this is not guarenteed nor will such destabilization necessarily lead to anarchy. One is the emergence of a global ruling class and it's conflict with (and eventual overthrow of) the American Empire. Hypothetically this could lead to a temporary global crisis, similar to France 1789 or Russia 1917 on an international level, which may create an opening for a global revolution. The other is enviromental crisis. Capitalism, especially stable capitalism, is a system that continually uses more and more rescources. It is based on growth for the sake of growth. Thus it will progressively destroy the enviroment because the Earth is finite. Eventually things will grow to a breaking point, bringing about ecological crisis. It may be possible for capitalism to avoid this, perhaps by colonizing space. And ecological crises could just easily lead to eco-fascism, luddite dictatorship and a return to feudalism. The future has not yet been written.
Workers should destroy capitalism (and hierarchy in general) because it produces massive poverty and oppresses us. I want to be free, not to follow the orders of bosses. Capitalism doesn't need to implode to produce massive misery. Billions live in poverty, thousands starve to death every day. Things may look decent for most in the "first world" but on a global scale there is massive misery produced by ordinary stable capitalism. This is why I think the revolution(s) will probably begin first in the "third world" - it is more oppressed. We can't just sit around and hope that capitalism will automatically destroy itself. We have to organize to bring about it's destruction. Consciousness is often derivative of material conditions, but not always. Consciousness can sometimes change material conditions, and vice versa.
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