Stepanism

The symbol of Stepanism

Stepanism is a communist ideology, political philosophy, and method of socioeconomic analysis that became the largest faction of the communist movement within Cirréone. It posits the need for a 'War on Capital,' more simply a revolution against capital, and the liberal political systems upholding it, as a means of establishing national communes, and ultimately one international commune, uniting the entirety of Cinder. Stepanism originates from the works of the Cirréonese philosopher Valerie Stepanoff. Stepanism has developed over time into various schools of thought, however, Orthodox Stepanism, the direct interpretation of Stepanoff's works, remains the most popular in Stepanist circles. Stepanism, notably, is the state ideology of the Second Commune of Cirréone, as enshrined in their Constitution.

Overview

Stepanism seeks to answer the issues of a society by positing that it all stems from oppression and class divide, which as of the rapid development of industry, is materialised in the divide between capitalists and the working class, illustrating the interconnectivity of all social issues, and their root in the economic organisation of a society. Stepanism describes the solution as to all issues of society as the reorganisation of the economy of a society, by way of abolishing private property, and collectivising labour in a society's vast working body.

Furthermore, Stepanism posits that the way in which this economic reorganisation must occur should be through Stepanoff's theories of the War on Capital and the subsequent national and international communes. The former is the name for the concept of the international socialist revolution, by which capital should be abolished across all of Cinder. This, according to Stepanist theory, would materialise through the individual revolutions of each nation or region or people of Cinder, by which national communes would be established, collectivising labour through a state serving its nations people, until eventually the entirety of Cinder should be free of capital, in which case the Stepanist international commune should be formed, uniting the entirety of Cinder under one society of stateless, classless, egalitarianism. The War on Capital is notably not expected in one set time frame, but rather, a more overarching conflict including any and all anti-capitalist action. Notably, the War on Capital would be symbolically declared in Stepanoff's Capital, And Its Crushing Weight.

The Orthodox Stepanist national commune is defined as needing the constitutional prescription of socialist economics and the unity of socialist parties under one united party. It also calls for the representation of the people in its government, in some form, most commonly representation. However, it is the theory surrounding the national commune that is normally at subject to revision by Revisionist Stepanists.

Schools of thought

Orthodox

Orthodox Stepanism denotes the collection of socioeconomic theories expounded by Valerie Stepanoff, the direct teachings of her philosophical works, and their interpretation and continuations by figures such as Sebastian Kouzmine and Elliott Dupont, figures who claim to be 'Orthodox Stepanists.' The term 'Orthodox Stepanism' emerged in the face of the wake of revisionist interpretations of Stepanoff's works, around the time of the Cirréonese Coal Worker's Crisis. Orthodox Stepanism remains the most prominent Stepanist school of thought, with Valerie Stepanoff herself raised to an almost deified status in Stepanist circles.

Revisionist

Revisionist Stepanism, also known as 'New Stepanism,' refers to the revisionist interpretations of Valerie Stepanoff's philosophical works, emerging around the time of the Cirréonese Coal Worker's Crisis. These revisions were mostly concerning Stepanoff's depictions of national communes and how they should be governed. Famous Revisionist Stepanists would include Leon Crivanne, the last Chairperson of the (First) Commune of Cirréone.

Anarchist

Anarchist Stepanism, or Anarcho-Stepanism, refers to the rejection of Valerie Stepanoff's national communes, and the eventual international commune, for anarchic communes governed directly by the people inhabiting it. Anarchist Stepanism, however, is largely rejected in Stepanist circles, claiming it to not adhere to the philosophy of Valerie Stepanoff enough to be seen as Stepanism.

Revolutionist

Revolutionist Stepanism, emerging from the rise of Revolutionism, denotes the interpretation of Orthodox Stepanism as an early form of Socio-Revolutionist Thought, with the 'War on Capital,' being extended to a 'War on Stagnation,' needing to be repeated systematically to ensure the interests of the people within a national commune. Revolutionist Stepanism is famously rejected by Orthodox Stepanists such as Elliott Dupont and Paul Grasé on the grounds that it can only bring instability to a national commune, resulting in the collapse of the commune and the opportunity for foreign or internal capital to regain control.

Stepanism-Lángism

Stepanism-Lángism, the former state ideology of Paxia, is a development of Orthodox Stepanism lead by General-Secretary Láng Jun of the International Commune.

History

Valerie Stepanoff

⚠️The following information is considered external lore, containing events that did not influence the characters or the world of Cinder.⚠️
First a liberal polycrat, Stepanoff would delve into proto-socialist theory, aged 29. This would mark the beginning of her development of socialist theory, which, over the course of 12 years, would culminate in her publishing of Capital, And Its Crushing Weight, a 1100 page thesis on her political ideology, a critical analysis of the capitalist mode of production, and a reflection of history through an anti-capitalist lens. At first however, Capital, And Its Crushing Weight did not reach the hands of any members of the working class in substantial numbers, and so, Stepanoff would write the pamphlet Black Capital, as to simplify the concepts in Capital, And Its Crushing Weight, being only 6 pages long in its original publication, and quickly spread the fundamentals of her ideology. Black Capital would be immensely successful in this goal, largely spreading the core ideals of socialism throughout Cirréone and beyond, inspiring many political theorists, revolutionaries, and activists alike. It would also reach the status of the single most reprinted political text in all of Cirréone in half a century, often printed in secrecy as to avoid bans placed only two years after its release.

Stepanoff would continue with her socialist activism, helping form trade unions and inspiring strikes across Cirréone, along with writing more on contemporary issues in society from a Stepanist lens, until she would be expelled from Cirréone by order of the Viscounty. With this she would move to Wolfberg, where she would live in seclusion, but would continue to write many more texts, many of which never published in her lifetime. After Stepanoff died, her works would be found by the local government and would be confiscated. They would not be found until Cirréonese expansion into Wolfberg, now Historic Louveberg. They have since been published.

Cirréonese June Revolution and the First Commune

With the Cirréonese June Revolution, the Cirréonese Stepanist Party took power from the Second Viscountist Government, establishing the first Stepanist commune, 7 years after Stepanoff's passing in solitude. However, the Commune would struggle greatly with the conflict between Orthodox and Classical Stepanist thought. While first led by the Orthodox Stepanist Sebastian Kouzmine, he would be assassinated only 3 days into the lifetime of the Commune, placing the revisionist Leon Crivanne in power, eventually being the end of the Commune, as it would be him and the other revisionists in the party that would champion for different terms for the constitution of the Commune. Ultimately, while thinkers from the June Revolution such as Kouzmine are now praised for their contributions to Orthodox Stepanism, it was largely a failure, and raised the issue of infighting more than ever.

Paxian Revolution and the Worker's Republic

⚠️The following information is not considered external lore.⚠️
TBA

Cirréonese Firework Revolution and the Second Commune

With the Cirréonese Firework Revolution, the (second) Cirréonese Stepanist Party took power from the Federative Government, establishing the Second Commune of Cirréone. This time around, both the revolution and the Commune would be much more successful, with a much more defined and unified goal and ideology under the strong leadership of the Orthodox Stepanist Elliott Dupont, an avid proponent of both Stepanoff's and Kouzmine's, and other such Stepanist writers', works and the ideas they describe. The Second Commune of Cirréone would continue to prosper, becoming more and more so an internationally important figure, before unifying with Paxia and Bardovia to form the International Commune.

The International Commune

The International Commune is a multinational Stepanist commune, formed from the Second Commune of Cirréone, the Worker's Republic of Paxia, and the Bardovian Republic.

Nations

Nation	Population (June 2024)
International Commune	6